EPIPHANY

We suffer in order to learn compassion

CHINA HAUNTS RETURN

One of my favorite stories from my trip to China in 2006 is my Kill bill like adventure. During the entire trip, I kept looking for Kung Fu schools in the cities that I visited, and somehow, all of the kung fu schools had been replaced with basketball courts. Yep, basketball. WTF? right? China, the home of Jet Li and Jackie Chan etc etc. Finally after two weeks if traveling, I am in a city called Dali, which is set in the mountains pretty close to Tibet. Walking along the old streets of this town, I come across a poster with a dude doing a badass high kick, doing kung fu, and the poster indicates that he teaches kung fu. BINGO!! I go in the store and ask about where this dude is and he hand over a business card with a weeeeeeeeeee little map on the back. Doesnt look that far, so why not??

An hour later after climbing a mountain via mountain bike, which Ive given up on, there is a dude with long hair and his American girlfriend tells me that kung fu class is about to begin. I say fuckit!! My ex husband finds himself a friend that is getting high and goes to get stoned, and I attend a two hour kung fu class (remember I just climbed a frikkin mountain). I did 3-4 days of kung fu in the mountain and it was my favorite part of the trip (ex husband was happy too cause he was getting high off his gourd, and YES, I judged him and obviously still do).

I kept that tiny business card on my fridge for the last 4 years and alas, the universe has delivered me the kung fu master. He came to visit last weekend and stayed with me, here are some picks to prove it. There are a ton more, but this is what I worked on today.

Thank you Xuan Yun for the Tai Chi lessons. here is a link to his WEBSITE

UNITY AT LAST

I just realized that I achieved a really important goal in my life.

The goal was for my gut feeling and my mind to operate as one. Neither one is fighting with the other any more.

I feel such peace and resolve by this union, it is like a marriage of the two that have always meant to be together.

STRANGE DAILY EVENTS

I didnt realize that looking for a bookkeeper could be so comically complex and strange.

Victoria (my studio manager) and I drive downtown and are running late to our appointment with a highly recommended bookeeper and accountant. We call to confirm and tell them we are running 5 mins late, they say OK. Vikki drops me off (michigan ave) and I rush to the 15th floor. I enter and get promptly escorted to the fake leather couch, FOX news is clicked on the TV to pacify me while I wait. The baseball shaped bowl next to me is filled with chocolate mint candies wrapped with $100,000 screen printed wrappers. Surrounding the TV, which is talking about terrorist and death and good ole FOX news banter, is an array of chatchkes, a Frank Sinatra plastic doll, bears hats, tinsel, teady bears, and other random things strewn about that dont make any sense. I also must add that it smells like musty brown shag carpet.

While I am waiting I notice on the door that not only does this place provide accounting and bookkeeping services, they also do passport photos as I simultaneously notice a Polaroid tab on the couch next to me, I think to myself, "this doesn't make any congruent sense". Soon after, a group of 3 foreign people come in and are greeted by an other office person that looks like a Scooby Doo character. He is square bodied with square glasses, and has 70s style auburn hair that fits like a wavy helmet on his head.

Victoria walks in and looks at me, I look at her back and I shrug my shoulders, she does the same and squeezes next to me as the rest of the couch is crowded with passport picks people waiting their turn. In walk in 2 more immigrant-like folk. We are all crammed in this tiny couch, shag, Sinatra, fox news area. Mr. Scooby Doo pulls out a polaroid contraption attached to a long extension chord which is being pulled across our feet. Scooby Doo lines up his first victim on the wall and stands at our feet shooting polaroids, I look at the first subject and she has her finest hair and makeup job on. Bright pink lips sharply lined with maroon lip liner, a good amount of mascara to accentuate her dark eyes, and big dangly white earrings that pop against her darker complexion.

I finally think to myself or maybe out loud to Vikki (I dont remember) "What the fuck is going on?" Vikki boldly stands up and shuffles past Scooby Doo as he is passing out polaroids and collecting cash, she inquires about our appointment and why we have been sitting in this strange scenario for like 15 minutes (frankly it felt like half and hour).

We are finally informed that the person we made our appointment has not arrived in the office yet and noone knows where the fuck she is and she is not answering her phone.

so alas, we are left with no new bookkeeper, but a hell of a fuckin story!!

BIG & littles

I had a burger at BIG & littles yesterday, uuuh... yeah... one of the better burgers Ive had in a long ass time. It was a protein explosion, had an egg and cheese on it, believe it or not, I ate it all, I ate all my fries, they have truffle fries there too. I highly recommend it for cheap amazingnessocity. The dudes there were totally great as well, playing some fabs ragae tunage. GO! 939 North Orleans Street.

KITCHEN CRASH

small kitchen + hot oven + plastic tools + multitasking + fun cooking = dead mandoline + funny photo + lesson learned + laughter

all good things

NINJA DIATRIBE

Last friday I shot for the fabulous online boutique twentythirtyforty.net

these lady's know style, they're smart, they're savy, they're funny, they kicked my ass with their coolness. Check out their wares on above linky. Ninja also had something to say as well, she was on her own trajectory though, zen dog must do what zen dog do.

AALIINEEEEAAAAAAHHHH

I had the great honor of going to Alinea this last weekend. CLICK HERE FOR MORE PHOTOS What I was left with the feeling that that restaurant, or whatever it is, needs to hook up an MRI machine to read the brains activities while a person is experiencing this insane culinary explosion. HOLY SHIT! I cant stop dissecting it in my mind and trying to figure out exactly what it was that I saw, felt, tasted, smelled, all I know is that when I try to verbalize it, it doesn't work.

PARENTS!

I know this is a weird blog entry, but I dont care, cause its my blog :)

If you remember when you were 11 and felt like shit, this is probably why you did. If you have kids around age 11, please read this and think about it.

When kids are young they act adoring of you, obeying you and obviously acting like they want you to like and approve of them – when they reach 11-ish on up this changes.

When kids get to this stage most parents feel:

• Disrespected
• A deep feeling of loneliness at the lost of the unconditional acceptance and esteem the child gave them when the child was younger
• Angry at the kid’s pseudo independent behaviors
• Threatened and powerless – this makes the parent do threatening things that make the child feel powerless (classic example: as long as you are under my roof you will follow my rules)
• Questioned and upset because it feels to the parent like the child is challenging their power and authority

This is the stage of development – that if not understood and responded to appropriately – causes the most permanent damage to the parent / child relationship.

It is not a child’s job to understand his parents. It is not something a child can even truly do in the way we need them to. It is the parent’s job to understand the child’s developmental needs and adjust to the child’s attempts at independence, honesty (calling his parents on their actions) and asserting himself behaviors.

At this stage things need to be extremely consistent – non shaming – and the rules you set up need to be clearly defined and adhered to. The rules must be fair and easy to understand from a child’s perspective – not an adult’s.

BOYS

I couldnt wait to post this, more shots to come.

Yesterday I shot for St Lawrence High Schools Rock club. These kids learn everything they can about being in a rock band, learn the ins and outs of the industry, and practice their asses off for their end of the year concert. KIDS LEARNING ABOUT SOMETHING THEY ACTUALLY LIKE!! how bout that??