This is considered the largest wooden structure in the world, last time I checked. It’s in Sevilla, about 30 mins from Rota, a small village where I was stationed with the US Navy in Spain for 3.5 years.
I went to my storage unit today and pulled out a bunch of Polaroids which I’m installing and selling for 2nd Friday at the Greenhouse. A lot of the photos are from my time in Europe, and I got nostalgic for that period in my life.
There was an innocence about that time. I was blessed with youth and a paycheck twice a month. I traveled anywhere in Europe as I pleased. If I wanted to go to London for the weekend, I could. I visited Paris and Barcelona at least 4 times each. The friends I kept around me were wonderful and supportive, for the most part, and also loved to travel.
Nevertheless, there was a prying dissatisfaction, knowing I wasn’t supposed to be there in the military, that every fiber of my being was telling me I needed to be making art and being around more like-minded people. It felt suffocating. The first quarter of 2011 was a long waiting game for my separation on May of that year.
During my last year in the military (and consequently, my last year in Spain), I took on a project in which I photographed my life with Polaroid cameras. I called it Placer Instantáneo (Instant Pleasure). Each day I designated a Polaroid photo for that day. Today, I went through some of those photos, looking at a life I lived so long ago. It feels like a lifetime has passed. I’m not that person anymore. I still have similar hopes, dreams, but I’m much more affirmed of my place in life. Though times are harder now (I rarely travel, as I’m just barely getting by with rent and food and art supplies), I’m much more confident in my skin, I feel much better supported and loved by family, friends and lovers, and so much happier in every sense.
Meanwhile in the Philippines.
YUP! I have fond memories of wading through the flood as a kid. It was like the town was a giant swimming pool.
(Source: ay-drian)
Not bad. I enjoyed it for the most part. Got to travel all over and meet amazing people. I always told myself it was all temporary, which made it easier to deal and play along with bullshit. Much of it is bullshit. Some of it was genuine. It fosters a very simple, limited perspective and utopic existence. I kinda miss it sometimes, it was easier to just live. But I wouldn’t trade the freedom I have now.
About a year ago, I left my little town of Rota, Spain, where I lived for over 3 years.
I can’t believe a year has already passed. I am so thankful to have gotten the chance to live overseas, learn and live in a different culture, and meet such amazing people. Living in Spain was truly living each day to the fullest. The days were long and open to be enjoyed, with work only a distant necessity for living.
Granted, I was in a position of privilege, working for the US Navy, an occupying foreign force in the country, so my experience was a bit skewed. Spain (especially the province of Andalucia where I lived) is still plagued with unemployment, economic, and political unrest. But the friends I made, and the lifestyle I encountered and surrounded myself with always seemed to see the better, easier side of life. Even with all of life’s negativities, you’re still alive, there’s still the sun, and the beach. When you live that close to the water, I think the social attitude just changes.
I can honestly say that Spain has changed me, even now a year after leaving the country.
I really enjoy this article and I’m sure you’ll be able to relate as well.
If you’re not feeling happy, take a look at this list and see what you can remedy.
Some samples:
You need to make plans to see someone on a Tuesday because having a guaranteed fun activity in the middle of the week will keep you sane and give you something to look forward to. And let’s face it, we all need something to look forward to during the work week…
You need music you can fall in love with…
You need someone in your life who excites you, makes you nervous, and forces you to question what you think you already know… someone who’s challenging, who we can’t figure out, and can tell us that we’re full of crap.
And of course, as Donna and Tom from Parks & Rec have promoted… a day or two to TREAT YO’ SELF!
We need to treat ourselves to stupid stuff. We spend a great deal of our time saying “NO” to things just so one day we can be like “Screw it. I’m doing me today.” If you did “you” every day, you’d either be broke or ridden with STDS.
EVERYBODY’S FREE TO WEAR SUNSCREEN.
“enjoy your body, use it every way you can. don’t be afraid of it or what other people think of it. it’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever own”
So much of what I’ve learned in life is in this video. I haven’t heard this song in years, and it resonates so deeply now more than ever. I’ve been trying to live my life with these principles, and it’s wonderful to see and hear them.
My good friend just sent it to me, and it reminded me of the beauty of life and the power of now.
Enjoy this and keep it in mind for the coming new year.
Namaste.
A simple, bittersweet, lovely little animated short film.
We all create the world around us by our thoughts and beliefs, and our perceptions of events (and of ourselves) determine how we experience life. If we believe that life is gloomy, then we will perceive gloom in events and by that perception we have drawn gloom into our lives and gloom is what we then experience.
“A hostile person lives in a hostile world,
A loving person lives in a loving world.”We only need to look at a situation from a different angle, or from another’s point of view, (or see the ‘bigger’ picture), and that can totally change our experience of life and its myriad of events.
I’ve been believing in this for a while now, and it’s interesting to see someone say it like I say it in my head.
I’ve encountered many a people who think the whole world is out to screw them over. In turn, this is what they find: people with unkind hearts and ready to take advantage of you. Some think that God keeps putting up challenges in their paths and making them suffer, and I think “I’m sorry, but your god is an asshole. I will have nothing to do with him (and it’s always a ‘him’).” Some people see their neighbors as lazy and incompetent, their neighbors as closed in and unwelcoming. This is what they continue to find.
We only notice things that reinforce our own beliefs. And if this is the case, I would much rather notice good things. Things that make me happy, people that bring joy, people who want to learn about the world and be a functioning, productive (not reproductive, but that’s fine too), part of it.
When I turned 25 last year, I promised to cut out people in my life who only bring negative energy. I have no room for anyone else’s drama or baggage. I just want to live my life as well as I can. Whatever negativity seeps in, I’ll deal with as it comes.
Live the life you want to live. Because in reality, no one else cares as much as you should.
Google - Zeitgeist 2010
The most-searched topics on Google shows us a bit about the state of our world this year.
What have I done so far this year?
It began with a vacation in France, new tattoos from The Little Prince, followed immediately by getting shipped out to Haiti to help with the earthquake relief efforts. Found peace amidst the chaos. Had an epiphany. Experienced shipboard life. Sailed back to the US. Religion and Misery. Graveyard.
Came back home. Feria. Rebujitos. Uncovered some buried childhood trauma. Slowly learned to deal with it. Progressing. Yoga Retreat. Reinforced my dreams and goals. Moved apartments. Got a dog. Beach. Infatuation. Placer Instantaneo
Summer Vacation 1. On a Boat. Yak. Lost camera and phone. World Cup Championships in Madrid. Home. Beach. Drinks. Visit from best friend. Summer Vacation 2. Fell in love with Berlin. Photos. Couchsurfing. Meeting strangers. Snuck into SOHO house. Real People Project.
Turned 26 years old. Krishnamurti. Feria de Tapas. Food. Drinks. Beach. Clubs. Gave away my dog. Friends depart to brand new lives. Food. Karaoke. Silence.
Yoga. Swim. Art projects. School of the Art Institute of Chicago phone interview. Merit scholarship nomination. portfolio. artist statement. Love of Food. Journalist. Thanksgiving. Barcelona. Centre of the World.
Looking for inspiration? Watch this interview with Mira Nair, acclaimed director of such films as Salaam Bombay!, Monsoon Wedding, Vanity Fair, and the Namesake.
In this hourlong interview, she discusses much of what inspires her, the artistic drive and how to listen to it, the importance of standing by your own vision and choosing the road less traveled. She also imparts a lot of insight about Indian culture and what it means to have an international viewpoint.
I appreciate much of what she says here. Her sincerity about her passion for art is very apparent and inspiring. I watched the first half of this interview this morning, and the second half tonight. Throughout the day, was able to work on 6 different art projects. Her passion is contagious.
(click on the link for a GREAT article on procrastination) Some of you may be proud procrastinators. You may think that you are like that guy (or perhaps you were that guy) in school who always came to class late or high or not at all, then at the end of the course would always ace the tests and turn in groundbreaking essays. If it works well for you, if the time pressure brings out your best work, the most productivity, and you are happy that way, then so be it. But to many of us, procrastination is a bitch. We lament the fact that we put things off to the last minute. We turn in a lackluster essay or article, or project, and deem it “good enough” by our own standards, since we “didn’t really have the time.” But ask yourself, is it really good enough? Whatever you turn in, is it indicative of your full potential? Often the answer is no. I have this problem. I make hundreds of plans - to empty out my closet, to swim 3 times a week, to do yoga and Pilates every morning, to organize my portfolio, to write my artist’s statement, to wash that pile of dirty dishes, to do my laundry. But something else more momentarily gratifying always comes up: a night out with friends, socializing of facebook, reading blogs and news sites, eating fried cuttlefish, drinking summer wine. As the article states, when we choose these immediate gratification, we are only pulling ourselves farther from our idealized future. We think that we will have more time later to take care of everything. Next week, I will have more time to exercise. But what actually happens? Next week will be just as busy as this week, and another week, another month, will pass before I do anything. So, now that I realized all this, and I want to change, I’ll have to be more vigilant of making the right choices for myself. What should I eat for lunch today? Home-cooked french fries sound damn appetizing. But I also have a bowl of salad that’s only going to go bad if I don’t eat it. But first, let me check my email. And my facebook. And see if there are any new articles up on Gawker. And also…
