an Artist Date

After a rather long while I found myself finding time to get out of the house and do something purely to inspire myself and shake down some ideas from the slumbering shadows in my head.

I went to Heima along Brixton which is about a ten-minute walk from home. I told myself I would only look and soak in the creative energies and not buy anything. I ended up leaving with a shopping bag of goodies and a mental list of what to go back for. 

I did not spend very much. Just a little. Nothing like how I would spend in a bookstore. Besides, I seriously felt that I needed a boost of creative inspiration plus some proper reward for successfully moving out and moving in and keeping the family's spirits up and positively bent.

Of course, count on me to get all fired up for creative work just before the start of a new dayjob work project, when bulk of my time is about to be taken away. I seem to have a knack for hitting upon the muse button at the last minute, just when I have to go someplace else and it could not be helped.

In any case I refuse to be disheartened by the amount of time left. The work will only take three and a half weeks, four at the most. After that I have half a mind to keeping November to myself to write the draft for my second novel, with small art projects to serve as breaks in between. As I was browsing at Heima I am reminded of how much I really love the interplay of image and words and thus I would like to strive and practice it in my creative works. 

That is all I have to say for now. I write this post on my phone while tucked in bed. The very heavy volume of Sherlock Holmes awaits by my side. I hope to solve a few more mysteries before I call it a night, but to you I bid a sweet good night!

dressed up and went on a mini-date

Just a date with myself and a meet-up with a good friend whom I haven't seen for a while. He is the same friend who sells books and high-quality notebooks for a living and I have known him for more than a decade! He has supplied my personal library through all those years as well as fed my fondness for Moleskine. (Do check out his online shop and blog at http://www.avalon.ph)

So first, I went to see my friend and in the process discovered a new yogurt/donut/coffee place that looks good enough for a second visit. The place is called J. Co and it's from Indonesia. I got a single-serve yogurt with fresh strawberries and it's pretty good. I will definitely return for a bigger serving!

Meanwhile, this is what my bookseller friend had for me:

We had a good chat and updated each other on business and books and also promised to meet up again soon.

I went back into the mall and deliberated on where to have a late lunch (it was 1:30pm by then). I felt like eating in a nice place as some sort of treat but then I thought, what if I opted for a cheaper lunch and use the extra money to buy myself something I could actually take home and keep? So I went to have chicken and salad at KFC while reading Jack Canfield's Success Principles -- yes, feeding the body and the mind and the spirit all at the same time! I had a few epiphanies and made a mental note to write in my journal when I get back home (which is what I will do next after this blog entry).

Next I went to get a fresh stock of contact lenses as I am on my last pair. I had to go through three stores before I found one carrying my brand and grade.

Then I went to a bookstore.

I haven't browsed in a bookstore for a seriously long time. Lately I've just been limited to browsing in Amazon and downloading samples. But despite my love for trees and desire to save paper, sometimes I just simply crave the feel of a solid book in my hands and the smell of printing ink. Before there were all these sites that give you recommendations and reviews, I relied on my good ol' instinct in picking out good reads. First a cover catches me, then the title would either dissuade or persuade me to pick the book and read through the summary at the back cover. Then I check the price if it's reasonable given what it promises. Favorite authors get extra points, or those associated with favorite authors. If the book is not sealed, I check the feel of the paper and the font and the layout of the text. I also scan through a few sentences to see if the writing echoes with me. If the book is sealed then I rely on gut-feel. I have rarely been disappointed. I believe I have this certain affinity with books and they speak to me.

So after a very long time of just buying Kindle books, I bought these through the old ways:

I'm a bit of a fairy tale fan and if you add Neil Gaiman to the mix then I'm pretty much sold. This book literally presented itself to my face as I rounded a corner to a shelf. It was not even in the proper section. It's like it schemed to be there to be seen by me. It was the only copy too.

I love discovering new authors to read and these two are new to me. I was also drawn to the exoticness of the settings and the stories. And of course, both have the fairy tale aspect going for them.

And the best part of it all -- the bookstore was having some sort of summer book sale so I got everything at a discount!

Yes, I am pretty happy with my loot. I have made up my mind to sell a few books from my library to make space for the new. So I have also convinced myself that buying these new books will be paid for by the old books. *grin*

Happy Easter everyone!

a series of fortunate events

Despite the seeming imperfection of my Artist Date yesterday, it still put me in a certain mood and state of mind. As such, my meandering into unplanned activities as I try to re-anchor myself into the day-to-day somehow led me to creative ideas, and much more significantly, to creative memories.

Sometime in 2000 or 2001 I actually purchased two domain names, taught myself basic HTML, and went on to create websites just as the whole idea of blogging and having websites has not yet fully caught on mainstream. One was called "creativelife.net" which housed all my creative efforts, histories, projects, and pursuits. It never got to full launch because I got busy with work and my self-taught HTML could only take me so far. My design skills and tastes then were also immature and inexperienced. The other was called "biyahero.net" which was a travel website since I traveled a lot those days with my ex-boyfriend and he was a photographer and I loved to write so we were a perfect match in that way. The travel website was semi-launched and it actually started to gain a following. Then it got de-prioritized as I got sucked more into work and things also started going downhill with my romantic relationship.

I'm thinking now, if I had pushed through with both sites, at that perfect time, I could have achieved some online stardom by this time, maybe even getting to work or collaborate with the likes of Holly Becker!

But regrets do not take us anywhere except to serve to push us forward and do better. Remembering and rediscovering these things told me that it is not too late. This is the Year of Rebirth after all. Perhaps now is the perfect time for me to revisit and pursue these old dreams. The fact that my attention has only been called to them now means that I am ready to actually do something about it.

I actually dug through my very old files and found this opening page for the travel website:

And this is the home page for the creative website (and my brain is churning up fresh ideas to relaunch!)

I am amazed at how much of what I have written then echoes my sentiments now. I already knew by then the answers to my questions now except I did not fully recognize them. But now I am in a much better position to see things and to make better decisions (hopefully). I am also clearer on how I want my creative journey to go. I barely travel now (because of financial considerations) but who says I can't pick up where I left off? Didn't someone, or many someones, say, that if we truly intend things according to our heart's desire, the Universe conspires to make it all happen?

Have a happy, creative, and fruitful weekend to all!

a bit of a splurge on my first date

I went out on an Artist Date (one of Julia Cameron's Artist's Tools) which I actually did not do very well because I tacked on a few errands along the way and ended up trying to squeeze everything in one afternoon without getting caught up in the Friday rush hour.

In any case, the first part of the date was not too bad. I spent more than an hour browsing and I ended up buying these out of the, oh, fifty, that I wanted to buy.

I loved this author's first book entitled poemcrazy. That book helped me a lot in my poetry writing and got me through quite a few unrequited loves. This book is about the creative process which is a very timely subject in my life right now.

I love felt though I have yet to create anything out of the colorful sheets I have purchased three months ago. This book should get me started on something. Like coasters.

I've seen this book in the store a number of times and each time I check if it has been bought. Every time I would tell myself that if it is still there then I am meant to have it. This time I finally bought it. It was the last copy.

I treated myself to a super yummy lunch/dessert of peanut butter waffle which came with banana slices, cream and a swirl of plain delicious yogurt. I wrote in my journal while I ate, sitting by myself near a window in a small yogurt shop filled with happy families.

After the bookstore, the errands began : First a trip to the organic market to load up on fresh vegetables. Next was mailing a little token for a friend abroad. Next was paying the electricity bill. Last couple of stops were supposed to be buying dragonfruit at the fresh fruit market and checking art supplies in another bookstore but it was a little past 5pm and I didn't want to get caught in the mad rush of working people going home so I went instead to the taxi station and caught myself just as a wave of would-be passengers started to crowd towards the station. Good timing for me!

Next time I'll plan my Artist Date better and be less harassed. But for now I'm quite pleased with my loot. :)

crafty friday

One of my Etsy orders finally got claimed at the post office today. Hooray! (Although I am wondering where the other one has gotten to...)

I did say in a previous post that I will be knitting by February. Well, it looks like I am!

I plan to learn and practice with cheap yarn first before using these beautiful ones. (Uh-oh, I just realize I will need a storage for my knitting stuff. Maybe I could make something up from old empty boxes -- and yes this is such a perfect excuse to craft tonight after I come home from my Artist Date.)

Have a fabulous Friday everyone!