On Narcissism

I cut the fuck up and knock the fuck down

2009-05-16T00:57:12Z

Locked. 5.15.09. Comment to add.

Moving

2009-05-07T02:12:24Z

I'M MOVING TO CHICAGO MAY 30TH. Found a place near UIC. $375/mo summer sublet. I am extremely excited, anxious, and terrified!!!

Time to be a realist here

2009-05-05T21:27:23Z

Everyone tells me that I'm a strong designer and that I'll find a job, but it's all BS unless I actually find one.

I'm looking at sublets right now, omg

2009-05-05T20:05:23Z

ATTENTION: There is a very real possibility that I will be subletting in Chicago this summer in hopes of finding a job. I basically have no safety net in this. I am terrified at the possibility of failing, having to move back home for a second time, and being in debt to my parents.

EDIT: I am ~~99%~~ 100% going to Chicago. I just heard back from my old internship and they're not hiring. It's nice to know that they would've hired me, and did ask me to come back earlier except I was still in school.

I'VE GRADUATED!!

2009-05-04T05:38:46Z

Graduation day wasn't as high-stress/bad as I thought it was going to be. I enjoyed almost everything about it, and am still tired. I love everyone, and am kind of sad because today was so static comparatively. Hopefully I'll post something more detailed with photos later.

FOOD

2009-04-23T17:45:51Z

I just prepared this--tilapia and couscous--and GUESS WHAT? My oven's not working. I am pissed and starving.

CONTACT!

2009-04-18T02:04:06Z

My exhibition is finally up! Please visit it at contactexhibition.com!! This is the culmination of 8+ months of work, sweat and tears!

Good day

2009-04-15T20:25:10Z

Today has been a good day. Let me list the reasons:

- I JUST GOT OUT OF MY LAST CLASS AS AN UNDERGRAD
- I have an interview with a design group in Chicago
- Roundtrip train tickets to Chicago are $58, which means I don't have to worry about getting lost in Chicago or traffic aaaand it costs as much as gas would if I'd driven anyway
- I finished my last project, and it is one that I am extremely proud of
- Said project was very well-received at critique
- Marc just gave me a free (albeit stale) bagel. I was starving beforehand.

taken by Jessica E.

2009-04-09T21:17:31Z

Amsterdam '07: Carefree days

Which dress should I wear?

2009-04-03T01:22:57Z

Shei, the magazine I'm on (aka what I slave over), has gone to print and delivers tomorrow! The magazine launch party is Saturday and I bought the following dresses. Dress code is, well, "dress to impress." I don't know if the first is too casual or if the second is too business. Which should I wear??

or

PS. Here are craptacular photos of me in each (respective) dress.

I will become productive after midnight

2009-04-01T03:19:24Z

Today has been indulgent:

Breaking down. Stolen bagels. Detroit. Gallery visits. Naps. Chocolates. Cheese. Warm laundry. The Office. Not doing work. Most importantly, currently not giving a damn.

FOOD:

Julienne-cut calimari in lemon-wine beurre blanc sauce with basil, capers, red onion and roma tomatoes.

Black angus steak on onion-rosemary Focaccia bread. Ceasar mayonanaise, roma tomatoes, mixed greens and (imported Spanish) Manchego cheese.

oh, the things I do when I'm bored...

2009-03-30T00:26:34Z

I was wondering what my singing voice sounded like, so I recorded it. Not bad for being tipsy. Clicky!

Verdict: I like it better than my speaking voice.

I AM SO HUNGRY!!!

Waha

2009-03-29T22:15:16Z

Dear Diary,

As of today, I have had 10 pizza rolls and a draft cider. I do not have any other food in the apartment, and seeing as I've been drinking and will continue to do so, I do believe I cannot take the car out to fulfill my growing appetite. What should I do, Livejournal-land?

Movement & progress

2009-03-27T16:43:23Z

There's a line of art and design students outside of the art and architecture building. They're standing still like statues. Oh no, they're not. They're slowly moving. Minuscule movements. It is like tai chi, but not. I want to go outside and push them over.

They're not very good about coordinating with each other.

Reworking...

2009-03-26T15:03:15Z

I have come to realize, in the process of becoming a graphic designer, that design is married to communication. The topic of communication has grown through shifts and advances with technology, with the Internet at the forefront of it all. I am interested in how the Internet continues to permeate everyday life, as well as the dichotomy between physical and virtual communication. As a designer, I am intrigued by exhibition design, and the process of gathering art as well as its presentation within a set environment. Contact is an online exhibition which explores aspects of both web and exhibition design by presenting artists who would not otherwise come together in a medium which may be accessed by viewers anywhere. This online exhibition within a physical exhibition, Hello! My name is:, speaks to the continuity of communication.

Counting stripes

2009-03-26T06:10:36Z

A friend prompted me to tell him a story. Something from memory, so I told him. I decided to post this because I was surprised with what I came up with, probably because it seems so minute.

My family and I used to live in Ann Arbor. We only one car between us: a black Ford Escort, old but reliable. We didn't have a lot of money between us, having moved from China and fact that the Chinese Cultural Revolution took basically everything away from both my father and mother's side of the family. We lived in an apartment along Huron Parkway. Two bedrooms, one long, narrow hall. My dad went to Wayne for his second master's, and worked as well. Mom worked as a waitress. So it would be my mom, sister and me during the day. I don't remember a lot of what we did. Occasionally, Mom would take us on a walk down Washtenaw to a strip mall collectively known as Arborland. We'd almost always stop by the Toys "R" Us. It was like a palace to me, but we rarely bought anything. Once I remember she bought us chewing gum. It was multi-coloured and I think striped, with some sort of zebra character on the front. It lost its flavour quickly. There were coloured panels out front of the store as well. Stripes, just like the chewing gum. They covered the wall. Every time we went, to and from, I'd count those stripes. Mom never waited, so I'd really just be counting as fast as I could, running my fingers along each stripe. I got a different number each time.

Artist statement for my thesis project: FML

2009-03-26T05:30:11Z

It's 1:30am, and this is the best artist statement I came up with.

I've never called myself an artist, only a designer. I switched from a degree in psychology to graphic design when I found myself playing with photoshop instead of writing essays, and have never looked back. I have discovered, in the process of growing and becoming a designer, that design is married to communication.

The practice of viewing and displaying art, at least in museums, has traditionally been within a calculated setting. Exhibition design comes into play by taking into consideration such elements as how art should be arranged, what order it should be viewed and how it interacts with the space surrounding it. These factors come together to create a carefully constructed exhibition within a carefully constructed setting.

As a graphic designer, I am intrigued by the process of taking not only art into consideration, but its environment and presentation as well. This process works off the topic of communication and how to best present information. As a designer, I am also interested in how the internet continues to permeate "real life." The dichotomy between physical and virtual communication is an unavoidable subject matter. This online exhibition, Contact, within an exhibition, Hello! My name is:, attempts to explore just that.

I'll come back to this after I wake up. I'm out.

The Invitation, Oriah Mountain Dreamer

2009-03-24T19:42:32Z

It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living.
I want to know what you ache for
and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing.

It doesn’t interest me how old you are.
I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool
for love
for your dream
for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn’t interest me what planets are squaring your moon...
I want to know if you have touched the centre of your own sorrow
if you have been opened by life’s betrayals
or have become shrivelled and closed
from fear of further pain.

I want to know if you can sit with pain
mine or your own
without moving to hide it
or fade it
or fix it.

I want to know if you can be with joy
mine or your own
if you can dance with wildness
and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes
without cautioning us
to be careful
to be realistic
to remember the limitations of being human.

It doesn’t interest me if the story you are telling me
is true.
I want to know if you can
disappoint another
to be true to yourself.
If you can bear the accusation of betrayal
and not betray your own soul.
If you can be faithless
and therefore trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see Beauty
even when it is not pretty
every day.
And if you can source your own life
from its presence.

I want to know if you can live with failure
yours and mine
and still stand at the edge of the lake
and shout to the silver of the full moon,
“Yes.”

It doesn’t interest me
to know where you live or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up
after the night of grief and despair
weary and bruised to the bone
and do what needs to be done
to feed the children.

It doesn’t interest me who you know
or how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand
in the centre of the fire
with me
and not shrink back.

It doesn’t interest me where or what or with whom
you have studied.
I want to know what sustains you
from the inside
when all else falls away.

I want to know if you can be alone
with yourself
and if you truly like the company you keep
in the empty moments.

Waste of my time

2009-03-23T20:59:58Z

Class is a waste of my time. I shall be skipping it and work this entire week to focus on more important things, like my THESIS PROJECT. Ironically, my thesis project is part of class.

I can't escape this can I? Let it come gently. But first a nap!

re: higher education

2009-03-23T01:09:20Z

My dad just sent me this. I wonder if this is a hint. (SARCASM)

This song is one second over three minutes

2009-03-21T17:36:44Z

I think the thing I want most in life is to not become apathetic.

In other news...

2009-03-18T05:52:29Z

I decided it would be nice to pursue either a master's or a PhD in art history. In a couple years, of course...

I am so ashamed..

2009-03-16T16:43:54Z

I just made a twitter account. Hahaha, wtf?

http://twitter.com/gujacq

Just to remember

2009-03-12T21:23:23Z

Drink to me, only with thine eyes,
And I will pledge with mine;
Or leave a kiss but in the cup,
And I'll not look for wine.
The thirst, that from the soul doth rise,
Doth ask a drink divine
But might I of Jove's nectar sup,
I would not change for thine.

I sent thee late a rosy wreath,
Not so much honoring thee,
As giving it a hope, that there
It could not wither'd be.
But thou thereon didst only breathe,
And sent'st it back to me
Since when it grows, and smells, I swear,
Not of itself, but thee.

Song: To Celia by Ben Jonson

13!

2009-02-14T16:45:00Z

So Nathan and I decided to spend Friday the 13th getting tattoos. We went to Ink Addiction in Garden City since they were offering "good luck" tattoos for $13 on the 13th. Our tattoo artist was Kurt, and he was adorable. This is probably the last tattoo I'll get for a long time. I went for the experience, and it was amazing! Now onto the photos:

We arrived when the shop opened, at 11am, and this is the line we found. It wrapped around the building!

Me and Nathan! Our heights differ like whoa.

We finally got inside after about two and a half hours of waiting. I was freezing to death! This crowd is what greeted us inside...good thing I'm not claustrophobic. We picked the tattoos we wanted, and waited some more, starved a little, left for food, and came back.

After about 7 hours of waiting, we were ready to get tattooed at 6pm! I made Nathan go first.

He totally got a rocking chair on his foot. SO RANDOM, but this trip was pretty random as well...

Kurt tattooing Nathan. Apparently foot tattoos are one of the most painful, but Nathan held it like a man, which is good, because I don't know what I would've done if he had cried. Also, I'm not sure why I didn't take a photo of the final thing...

Finally it's my turn! Here I am waiting in anticipation while Kurt gets ready.

I chose to get a black cat with the number "13" on it for this day. It was SO awkward getting tattooed because the shop was still packed and there were tons of people looking through the window. Also, the entire time we were in there, we only saw one other Asian. I felt connected to her--maybe.

The final product! This was the least painful of my tattoos. Also, I feel like I need to come up with a name for my cat...Suggestions?