Showing posts with label life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label life. Show all posts
5.13.2013
4.16.2013
10.24.2012
9.10.2012
6.27.2012
4.17.2012
4.01.2012
3.17.2012
DETACH AND DETOX
Detach and detox
3.17.12
It's been a while since I've wrote a text-heavy entry.
I'm going to try to keep it as short and sweet as possible. The last few months—even days, have been a whirlwind. Living here in NYC has been a wild ride to say the least. Met people, left people; created things, destroyed things; nourished dying relationships, reviving bonds that needed nourishments. It all broke my heart the best way possible; so broken that I can now can soak even more experience and feeling into those broken cracks.
I'm planning to leave New York soon possibly end of month. Just to take a little break; I sort of felt this coming on all along. I mean it's nice being here in the city but only if you have something to do right? I can't wait to go home and see my mom and sister and to relax a bit. Then perhaps a week in Los Angeles to be by the water and clear my mind. Maybe back to NYC afterwards? Who knows. But one thing I know is that there are alternative ways of living rather than the typical pattern: grow up, go to school, get married, have kids, etc. We can just be a wanderer and travel the world until we find a place to call home.
I'm slowly adopting a streamlined aesthetic, or rather a more refined lifestyle; one where I could pick up and leave the country tomorrow if I'd like. To be boundless, and not so rooted. Live light and compact. Reassess your possessions; let go of what you no longer need and keep the ones you do. I set up my eBay account here, check it to see what you can give a new loving home to. Detach and detox; that's the current theme in my life. Because when we have nothing left to lose, we are free to do anything. I think that's how it is being an immigrant child in America. You slowly let go of your language, your culture, and everything becomes... limitless
I feel new. I feel reborn, as if I have crossed the other side. I have so much talent and services to offer... and my services doesn't have to be in one place, it could be mobilized. If you like my work and have grown with me as a visual artist throughout the years, you know where to find me; my portfolio, or even this blog and we can definitely discuss creative business.
When we are so bounded by life's mundane routines, we will never truly be happy; hence the pursuit of happiness. I can't sit at a place all day waiting for happiness — matter of fact I don't think we'll ever achieve happiness, it could only be pursued. But in the process of pursuing happiness we get that rare chance of being happy.
So again, if you'd like to give some of my clothing pieces a new loving home (including the Harajuku Creepers in pink metalltic, and Versace for H&M shirt, a beautiful faux-fur down vest, and all the blazers I've worn a few times before), please visit my eBay listings! :)
Here, I leave you with a few quotes that really spark my train of thoughts lately in life:
“I want to taste and glory in each day, and never be afraid to experience pain; and never shut myself up in a numb core of non-feeling, or stop questioning and criticizing life and take the easy way out. To learn and think: to think and live; to live and learn: this always, with new insight, new understanding, and new love.”
— Sylvia Plath“The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn, like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes: Awww!”
— Jack KerouacI really love this video and quotes because justifies my obsession with stars and astral bodies. Watch it in closed-caption or you can read the quote I put from the video underneath...
“The most astounding fact is the knowledge that the atoms that comprise life on Earth the atoms that make up the human body are traceable to the crucibles that cooked light elements into heavy elements in their core under extreme temperatures and pressures.
These stars, the high mass ones among them went unstable in their later years they collapsed and then exploded scattering their enriched guts across the galaxy guts made of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and all the fundamental ingredients of life itself. These ingredients become part of gas cloud that condense, collapse, form the next generation of solar systems stars with orbiting planets, and those planets now have the ingredients for life itself.
So that when I look up at the night sky and I know that yes, we are part of this universe, we are in this universe, but perhaps more important than both of those facts is that the Universe is in us. When I reflect on that fact, I look up – many people feel small because they’re small and the Universe is big – but I feel big, because my atoms came from those stars. There’s a level of connectivity. That’s really what you want in life, you want to feel connected, you want to feel relevant you want to feel like a participant in the goings on of activities and events around you That’s precisely what we are, just by being alive.”
— The Most Astounding Factby Astrophysicist Dr. Neil DeGrasse Tyson
See you on the other side!
xQ
3.06.2012
2.06.2012
1.11.2012
12.31.2011
12.18.2011
11.03.2011
8.28.2011
8.21.2011
8.19.2011
6.21.2011
5.23.2011
5.01.2011
ANSWERED QUESTIONS 5
Answered questions 5
5.1.11
1) Hi lovely! I need some advice on how to gain self confidence. I am such a shy and insecure person. People think I'm a stuck up and I am seriously not one! It's so hard making new friends and I'm majoring in fashion! I need connections! Please help me!
— Hi there. Sorry for this extra late reply!
Here goes my advice on how to gain self confidence, and believe me, confidence itself is a very hard thing to acquire and maintain, but once you have it, you will feel the power of it, and whether you choose to feel its positive or negative power, that's up to you.
Please don't feel bad if you're a shy and insecure person, I used to be very insecure and hated myself too. I would always be very conscious of what I say or do, because I'm scared people might think of me this way or that way BLAH BLAH BLAH... but sometimes we are our own worse enemies. So, I was my own worse enemy at that time in my life, the truth was, people didn't care about what I say or do, but in my mind I thought too much into it... so, what I'm saying is, sometimes you just have to GET OVER YOURSELF! like I finally decided to get over myself and tell myself to just stop over analyzing things and just be true to what i want, and go from there!
It's hard to make friends in general, it's even harder to establish a genuine connection with another human being, but if you open yourself and be social, active, and have interesting things to share, you will make new friends in no time. Also, connections are from knowing people, the more people you know, the better your connections get, but remember to choose wisely who you get to know! Good luck! :)
2) I love your post w/ the LB photos! I was wondering where did you get your fox tail?! I also liked how nicely you responded to a person's comment of it being offensive.
— thank you! I got my fox tail from eBay
yes, I didn't want to offend anyone so I try to be as mindful as I can, I just think people are so hyper-sensitive nowadays, I mean if you really do think about it back when we first evolved, that's how we survive, it's part of life, love it for all its dirty, beautiful, offensive glory! :)
3) Did you use a pattern for the red bag?
— I didn't make a pattern but I kinda drew out what I wanted it to look like and went from there.
4) Quan. U're amazing! I cried reading your "Do you think you can find it?" entry. It reminded how much I miss the simplicity (black & white) of life, long forgotten. Did you find what you were looking for? Or still looking? It is easy for you to forgive?
— Thank you so very much! I'm happy knowing it connected you on an emotional level. I wrote that entry in the thought of simplicity of life and its rural bliss.
I have yet to find what I'm looking for. Actually, I don't really know what I'm looking for. I'm still looking, I suppose. But I think now, instead of looking so hard for it, just enjoy what you've already found, and more treasures will reveal itself along this journey.
Forgiving is hard at first but very necessary, you must forgive so you can move beyond whatever that troubled you to greater things.
5) Who took those jumping shots for you? they're so cool. tips on taking self potrait pics?
— Thank you! My little sister takes all my "What I Wore" jumping shots, and then I retouch and edit them. Haha! I know, I'm training her early! ;)
I think self-portraits are great. It somewhat forces you to face yourself, accept your flaws, and get over it, so you can continue to take that photograph and perfect your vision. Tips? Well, I think a crisp, well-lit self portrait is always a good start. It all depends on your aesthetic though.
6) Any good movies you would recommend?
— yes of course. I actually answered this question before, and I listed out my top 10 favorite movies, here they are:
1) Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
2) 2046
3) Bad Education
4) Ghost World
5) Amélie
6) Volver
7) A Single Man
8) Closer
9) The Wedding Banquet
10) The Holy Mountain
7) What's the font you use on the 'Calm Chaos' title? it's really pretty, I never thought a script font could be so pretty. xx
— I didn't use any font. That was my handwriting, I wrote the words "Calm Chaos" and scanned it in the computer to trace it and made it red. My handwriting is a mixture of script and sans script at the same time. It's weird. I'm weird. But I love it though.
Thank you so much! ;)
8) If someone see's you and recognizes you from your blog, how should one approach you without looking/sounding weird/creepy, lol?
— lol. They should just come and introduce themselves and say they recognize me from my blog. That wouldn't be creepy right? It would be a great conversation starter actually!
9) Do you have a date for Valentine's Day?
— nope I didn't have a date for Vday. I was alone and busy with school and projects, but I'm happy and focused. Plus, I refuse to be told when I should express my emotions to people by greeting cards company! Any day can be Vday and I'll go on million more (better) dates in the future! :)
10) I honestly love you're blog! I love the clean minimalist style you use in you're pictures! Ever consider trying to do a real life magazine?
— Thank you so much. Well I'm quite messy in an artistic sense, I love mixed media, but thankfully with digitalized things I can keep it as clean and minimal as I can. Real life magazine as in working for a real life magazine or starting my own?! My won would be too much to worry about. However, I will definitely want to freelance for magazine firms, etc.
11) Hi Quan, what do you tell your hairdresser for your new hair? Did you show reference pics? I will cut my hair soon and I want the style exactly like yours. Side short.. and.. idk medium length on top? Hahaha
— Hello! There isn't really a name for this hairstyle, or not that I know of... I just describe it has a coiff meets faux hawk, short on the sides and long in the center. I think the person who wears it the best is male model, Ash Stymest.
12) Wondering where you bought those spikes to embellish your GaGa denim jacket? If not online do you know of any good hardware sites where I can get similar? -- LOVE that DIY by the way it looked fantastic! And that platinum do is too haute. Werk!
— Thank you! hahaha I literally searched in Google for "studs and spikes" and this was the website that came up: http://www.studsandspikes.com/ so yes, I bought my studs and spikes from that website. Happy DIY!
13) Tell me about the process of going blonde. did they get you from black to blonde in one sitting? how was your hair after?
— The process of going blond took me about 2 days... and I had my hair bleached 5 times in total of those 2 days. Then I started to use purple shampoo+conditioner (for blond hair), any purple shampoo would do, mine is Clairol's Shimmering Lights, it helps take away the orange/yellow and becomes more platinum after each wash.
14) Things you do when you feeling down?
— I love this question no matter how many times I've been been asked. Whenever I feel down, I contemplate and reevaluate all that I've done up til now and all that I will do in the near future. Thinking about the future excites and inspires me. I've come a long way. I also think about friends back home in Vietnam who doesn't have the chance to express themselves like I can right now, or a chance to live the American Dream, etc.
What my mom always tell me is that, I should always be grateful even though looking up I'm not there yet, but looking down, I'm more fortunate than a lot of people out there.
Or I always go for a long walk, listening to my favorite tunes, or write long emails to my dear friends and share my sadness with them, because I believe in sharing not only good, but bad too. Embrace everything.
15) How are you now compared to your younger self? Any regrets back then (besides the obvious we've all done before).
— Great question.
Well, certainly how I am now is totally different than my younger self in physical appearance, but I am still the same boy with the same dreams. The things I wanted when I was a kid, I am still pursuing them: to be wrapped in art and creativity, to live on my own, find love, have a stable life, and travel.
I have become more aware of myself and my needs, and I think that's a must; to know what you want so somebody else don't have to make the decision for you! One thing I'm really working on right now in my life is Patience and Balance; Patience because I'm always one for instant gratification but of course being older now I think that patience and hard work brings greater satisfaction. Balance because I believe that too much of a good thing is bad for you; there has to always be a mediation so we don't get too comfortable or suffer too much. That's why it's also a balance to be a grown-up but still have a child's imagination. I want to be a kid with adult tendencies! :)
Of course we all make mistakes and have regrets... but I feel that as I grow older, I realize more, I know better. Now, I always say I rather regret doing it than NOT doing it... that's one positive way to look at regrets.
Thank you to everyone who asked me questions so far (see I used them to make a blog entry, so you didn't wasted your time asking! hehe). You can go here (click!) to see the original links of these questions. And there are some that's too short, so I didn't include it. If you need to vent, I'm always here. Ask away!
Remember: even if people talk shit about you, or say negative things, you have all the rights to feel self-important! LOVE YOURSELF. FREE YOURSELF. BE COMFORTABLE WITH YOUR SEXUALITY. BE YOU! :)
what I wore;
Topman pants, H&M woven cardigan and tank top, biblical sandals, Urban Outfitters necklace
- - - - - - - -
“Men are born soft and supple;
dead, they are stiff and hard.
Plants are born tender and pliant;
dead, they are brittle and dry.
Thus whoever is stiff and inflexible
is a disciple of death.
Whoever is soft and yielding
is a disciple of life.
The hard and stiff will be broken.
The soft and supple will prevail.”
— Lao Tzu
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