49 Pairs of SHOES on the Wall

What do you do when you had 2 or 3 plans for the night and it all went looseygoosey on you, but you don't feel like stepping out? You clean out your shoe rack! I love shoes that silently scream HELLO. Say you're sitting on the train and you know from the corner of your eyes that the lady with the red pushy cart is peeking at your shoes, wishing they had your toes... I'm such an attention whore! The rest of my collection are preserved downstairs in the basement, but here are some of my more interesting ones:

Dickies with side pockets - I found a dollar.75 in them!

I love these Converses so much I barely wear them... don't you hate it when that happens??

my Blowfish ninja hobbit shoes... thumbs up.

oh trust me, they were NOT this shiny after a night out for my 22nd Bday bash... I had to use Cutex to get all the scuffs off.

American.

The adventures of Squirrel and Mouse! Mouse is moving to Plano, but one day they shall reunite. Dlruut! Dlruut!


6 Flats
6 Heels
8 Sneakers
15 Boots
3 Flipflops
4 Misc
7 Throw-aways

6+6+8+15+3+4+7= 49-7 = 42 ... great, now I must buy 8 more pairs to make it 50!

Delay No Mall

Hong Kong has over 50 shopping centres - that is one loaded two digit number for such a small area, no joke. Delay No Mall is my favorite mall located in Causeway Bay. This latest concept mall, opened up in the recent past year or two. MOCACHINA lives happily inside it, and there is always a different rotation and fresh variety of art exhibitions/events going on inside. They also have the coolest design bookstore ever. I was in love and I wish I could've folded it in a suitcase with me back to New York. What amazes me about it is the whole experience design of the space. And its completely eye-catching ways of advertising and branding itself - you must watch this youtube of one of their crazy promotions!! I LOVE the concept: Delay No More.





These two were from the Stitch exhibition where various artists interpreted how one blank figure can be translated into tons of designs.


Another exhibition that was up after Stitch was rotated out. If you didn't notice, that is not A-Lincoln. that is B-Obama. Check out R-McDonald!

Just some hallway art, and even those were cool.


I actually just read that MocaChina has moved out of DNM... so it's closed until further notice. Am I glad I caught it in time!



So detailed... and underneath here is another rotation called Canvas for Change after the first set with the squiggly dot artist. (Sorry, forgot to take down the name.)


See what I mean with the creative use of space? Even the galleries were set up in fashion.

They also had Metronaps energy pods - which is also available in New York. Basically, you pay $$ for a great 20-minute nap whether it be on lunch break or pre-happy hour. I haven't tried it yet, but I will definitely blog about it when I do. Someone I know had told me that it is surprisingly like bottled water - well worth the money for the quench of thirst.


LOVE pixels.





But my absolute top down favorite favorite thing about Delay No Mall? The pacman styled toilets. Watch this to see why it literally scared the SH*T outta me:

sicK!

JDHS

It's kinda disturbing
that the high school I went to
is now on the verge of being shut down.

When I went,
we had a kid by the name of Max.
He somehow got his way up on the roof.
He was high.
And he jumped.

When I went,
probably half the people from my graduating class
didn't even know the name of our principal.
His name was Barry Fried.
He can play the guitar.

When I went,
I had locker bays.
I decorated it with mirrors and colors.
But they took it away two years later.
It was causing too many fights in the hallways.

When I went,
Random kids
were transferred over to Dewey because of 9/11.
Lafayette HS probably had a lot to do with the downfall.
Because we were rival neighbors
near the same two train stops.
And supposedly one time,
they came to our lawn to spray bleach,
Clorox bleach, at our kids.

In March,
last year,
2008,
the school was locked down
because there was a student running around with a gun
on campus.
Another one time,
a student actually got busted with one.
And this was after they installed the metal detectors.
And the security cameras.
I guess no one seemed to care.
It was numb.
Too numb.

So now today,
why am I writing this little semi-poem?
Basically this article states
that John Dewey High School had a high school dance.
That dance was the first time students were allowed to bring outsiders in.
Upon leaving @ coatcheck, one of the guests
decided to act out against the school security officers.
Called her a bitch, proceeding to punching her.

"It was just shocking,"
said senior Briana Marin, 17.
“It’s one person that ruined it for the whole school.”

Cover

There is just something about the way someone sings a NICE cover for a song... that completely captures me in admiration with shivers down my spine. It's quite a theatrical feeling when I can feel the way they express themselves through interpreting another artist's song. It's as if they are transferring the words and meanings over to me, and they are all the noise that I can hear and need in my one addicted moment. Makes me wonder how far I might've gotten today if I had joined a singing club way back in high school to work out my voice. What if I had strummed my black guitar a little bit longer before college came along and sopped up all my time and sleep? But it's never too late to start tomorrow! ...

Anyways, here is Lydia Paek's cover of Erykah Badu's "Love of my Life." She is also a member of Boxcuttuhz, a dance crew that got cut from ABDC in the beginning of Season 3. I hate loving that show even though I know the results are rigged for statistic purposes. I just can't help that magical feeling of watching people express themselves physically too!! Okay, must not type anymore, must watch two more times max and then head to bed, must wake up in 4 hours!

In Line to Buy Time

Flashback at Bloomingdale’s. The whole floor only exists only because of 20 or so luxury power brands who sell the fountain of youthful hope in bottle or power hungry status on a handbag. I never knew what the hell a primer was until my friend educated me when I tagged along her makeup shopping session with her cousin. So I thought I’d go ahead and get one to see for myself if it really makes a difference in the final makeup finale or not. I am looking for a primer. And a new foundation, because apparently, that stuff also has an expiration date. Knowing me, the one sitting at home was way overdue along with a bunch of other eyeliners and lip gunk.

I walk by one counter. A lady asks me if my girlfriend and I would like to sit down and try a free mini makeover with them. I tell her that I am looking for primer. What do you have in stock for me? She shows me this nice clean tube of lube and squeezes some on my hand to let me try it. I like it - it has a little bit of a shimmer to it! No honey, it’s not a shimmer, our primers don’t contain shimmer as an ingredient. But it’s shiny, that’s what I meant. That is translucence, honey, not a shimmer. Right, that’s what I meant then, translucence… so anyway I also want to take a look at your foundation. Mine is getting old. Oh okay, sure, come have a seat this way. Let me go get our colorist over here for you, where is she… I will be right back!

Up, up, and away she ventured off to find her deep into the floor of never-coming-back, but back did she come with the colorist guru: Hi, it’s nice to meet you! What can I help you with today here? Oh alright, well let’s have a looksee here. I’m gonna clean your skin first with this solution okay? Oh you are so pretty! See how this anti-acne solution really takes your reds out? What products are you using at home right now by the way? Take a closer look at me - you see this? I used to have bad skin also, just like you. I’ve tried a bunch of other brands on this floor, and I won’t mention any names, but nothing seemed to work. All the makeup and products just seemed to keep caking on. But after I started using this solution, OMG, I was HOOKED. So if you came here today to look for primer and a new foundation, you might actually be better off to start thinkin about how to protect your skin and really clean it up. And sweety, let me tell ya, Asian skin can be so sensitive, just food for thought. And you are SO pretty - I really like your hair! Oh really, did you get it cut today? Looks great, very contemporary. Okay, now I’m going to apply the primer on you, let me know what you think of it. You see the little translucence that it gives off? You like that, huh? Yeah, it’s so important to have that extra barrier to protect your skin from particles and pollutants in the air, especially here in New York! And the primer gives your skin a base so that you have a fresh base to work with so that your foundation stays on for longer. And you put this on after your moisturizer, yes. Alright, let’s try this shade on you. I’m gonna try a little dab first to see how it looks. I think I might have another shade for you if this isn’t the right match. We also offer custom coloring for your foundations. This is where we look over your skin and do some tests to see how we can create a perfect blend of foundation that is just right for your skin. Always apply it with a brush, not with your hand. You just never know what bacteria you picked up along the way. Sponges absorb all the liquid away, so you’ll have no juice left. Actually, we’re having a promotion right now where if you make any purchase today, you can get this application brush for only 17 dollars. We usually sell it for 30, so this is a great steal! Alright, you’re all set. Take a look in the mirror and let me know what you think!

But I think... I look better without all this gunk on my face.

Announcement:

The Snuggie is having their first ever pub crawl in Chicago, genius!

Everybody hates Pepsi

A Pepsi Parody by Lawrence Yang that I found while watching Jake&Amir

I've always been more of a Coca Cola fan than a Pepsi fan. Honestly because it's less sweet and has more bubble action going on in the nice bottle shape they have. But lately, everyone seems to be hating anything that Pepsi does with their brands! I looked over the "breathtaking pdf" document this morning that Arnell supposedly spread around online as a viral. (Many people say it is a hoax though.) No offense, but quite bluntly, the 27 pages all scream BULLSHIT to me. How can you find linkage of Leonardo da Vinci and the golden ratio with Pepsi's 2009 plastic surgery? Seriously.

Here is a story my friend was telling me about her dad, who called her at the supermarket very confused because he thought that Tropicana had disappeared alltogether in supermarkets everywhere. It was like the whole brand just disappeared overnight. "It was just here last week when I bought my juice!" And I don't blame him at all, because I had to do a wide-eyed double take the first time I ever saw the new packaging sitting there in my refrigerator, just chillin (haha). I actually thought it was a bootleg that we bought from Waldbaum's by accident. It was just way too much of a drastic design change... I mean come on now: how can you take the straw out of my beloved juicy orange?!!

Even the Tropicana website has been redesigned to mirror the new do. And the original super cool tropicanapure.com microsite is no more either :'( The little apostrophe is there in my emoticon because I had helped out on the initial pitch of it when I was at e79. I guess that is just life, tough oranges. I wonder what will be the next front page...?

If a tree fell in the forest...

My random story of the day: I'm on my computer doing layouts and my dad calls me. "SAM YOU'RE HOME?? A TREE FELL DOWN, GET THE HELL OUT OF THE HOUSE!!!" My first instinct was to look outside my window to the backyard, but the tree was standing there perfectly healthy and happy, so I figured it might be in the front. I didn't even feel it, I thought it was just wind vibrations or something regular that happens on a mega windy day. Damn you Common for coming out with an album that I blast at full volume ahead. BUT Luckily, it wasn't our house that was directly destroyed and no one was hurt in the process.

SAM I AM

I'm super excited about all the new phrases I made up for another batch of my business cards! Of course, my phone number goes under my email address down there, but I had to clone that out for any potential blogger stalkers!

**update: I found my business card holders while browsing around, and they were clearanced out for less than 2 bucks each! So then I went to town with it - they were supposed to be compact mirrors but I popped them out with a Xacto knife while wearing sunglasses for protection. And then I put my own paper and logo on it. HA.


Other phrases include and/or/but not limited to:

• A;LKDSJF;ASLKDF
• I C A N K E R N
• HELLO // 你 好
• LOREM IPSUM MASTER
  
• ALLERGIC 2 COMIC SANS

Charming little things. Why is my name not a main focus at all on my cards? Well because... my email address is OBVIOUSLY spelling out my name, duh-ness. So I figure why repeat information that is already there? Why not draw attention to focus on the memorability of a first impression instead? Something a bit unprofessional, doesn't make sense, peek-a-boo random, humorously clever, and most importantly, fun! We are only human afterall... and we tend to forget that we are not robot androids of an assembly line. And I probably wouldn't hand out my bus card to you if we didn't already get a chance to network in person. (Networking is another post all in itself on another day when my eyes are not dry.) And then LinkedIn makes sure we keep shaking hands forever. And ever and ever. Till death do us part. What a creepy job hunting designer I am... *blows on gun. Hey that should be my next line :P or...

NOW AVAILABLE 4 HIRE.

Winter Restaurant Week

I know. i Know. I KNOW. We are all going down in recession. I am sick of that word. So are a lot of people. Especially the ones directly impacted by it. We are all victims. And the world is going to end. The ozone is cracking and that's the last thing on everyone's minds. Life must go on and you can't not eat... so!

I chose to go in denial for one night and go check out Kobe Club with a friend for restaurant week. Side note: love the redesign of the restaurant week site - so much easier now to look at menus. Whoever thought of it = genius! Restaurant week is sort of LIKE saving money since they give you an app, main, and dessert for 35$. Excluding tax tips and bev...wait why is this a deal again? Oh yes American Express donates 25 CENTS to charity if you use their card - that's what's the big deal!




I got carried away with catching up on old times and winery, so sue me for the wobbly pics. Kobe Club specializes in steakery and some seafood, which I have to admit I don't religiously know enough about, but I am a-learnin-along. And you saw right - I just ate dinner under 200 Samurai swords. I could've been the next wagyu whatever. (Okay I exaggerate, I was actually just sitting under ten or twelve knives, but still.) And there are bricky side booths where you sit inside a hole in the wall sorta. It had an interesting secret spot dungeons and dragons ninjas playing with stars and chains kind of vibe. The bathrooms were pretty cool too - I guess they make the toilet water extra minty ice cold so that when you piss, it gives off steam. ANYWAY up there is a tuna tartare appetizer. I don't think the food would be worth the regular $100-200+ price, but the decor was extremely impressive. I would recommend it for restaurant week though. As a matter of fact, Kobe Club is extending their restaurant week menu until March 31st Tuesdays-Saturdays, so hurry up and march your tooshies over there if you want to check it out. Just remember that wagyu in general is a lot richer and fatty compared to whatever you usually cut up at home, so don't order over 8-10 ounces per person or you will wake up up in the middle of the night feeling like you are going through some artery clogs... trust me on that one.

And then we came across a really cool 9 who tried to eat me. Or a really cute e... how confusing.