happy new year!

Happy New Year! Due to my lack of holiday decoriations (and, let's be real, holiday spirit in general this time around), the New Year festivity will somehow have to be visually expressed through the above photos: an adorable box of cookies from my landlord, and a train selfie from a while ago. Bear with me!

Here's hoping that 2016 brings you wellness, success, and the unlikelihood of bugs creeping into your home this winter. I'm certainly hoping for the first two, because unfortunately that last wish has already failed me, as there happened to be a spider in my bathroom.

I've been having a very quiet New Year, and not entirely without its stress: spent both the eve and holiday alone in my tiny apartment, cleaning, job hunting around the clock, doing some errands here or there. Still, it wasn't without its redeeming qualities. I now have an excuse to buy a new, cute desk calendar (I've been browsing Etsy). When I wasn't sending out one resume after the other, I was replaying my favorite video game of all time, and enjoying the comforts of Elementary season one episodes with my boyfriend. Oh! And trying to brush up on some beginner's guides to inviting and hosting bees in the garden, because...

...My friend Alex got me a lovely house for bees as a Christmas gift! Maybe 2016 will finally be the year where I go from finding bees cute to finding them cute enough to want to try raising them in an urban backyard:

I checked this morning: no bees yet, but then again, it's probably too soon to expect any. I'm planning to set a nice, small pot of purple flowers nearby sometime soon. (Bees loving the color purple is probably one of the cutest things about them, ever. That, and festooning.)

Anyway, New Year's stuff aside, I've got a couple of ideas that I think I could get a really good use out of, in regards to this specific platform. The usual lifestyle stuff, of course, since it is a personal blog, but there's something about this medium that leave Tumblr read-more text posts in the dust. Bee updates? Yes. Insights on the creative projects I'm really eager to kickstart this year? Definitely. All those personal essays and reflections (and even poetry!) on race and relationships that I've been dying to put down somewhere, anywhere, for the sake of my well-being, and in hopes that it might help someone reading it? Hell yeah!

2016 might be off to a stressful, strained start, but I've got a good feeling about it. If 2015 was the year of firsts and first steps, 2016 will hopefully be the year of plot progression and security.

a (second) week with audrey

Hello!

It's the last Saturday of my summer break. On Tuesday, I'll be back on the morning train, probably regretting how late I'd stayed up the night before as I ache for another latte. It hasn't quite hit me yet that classes are resuming so soon, especially because I've just had the loveliest week with my friend Audrey.

Most of the week was spent showing her around San Francisco. I've been spending a lot of time indoors lately -- hiding from the obscenely hot weather, mostly -- so it was nice to wander around and show her some of my favorite places. Apologies, this post is a bit of a mess. 

We hit several stops on Monday (8/18). We started with lunch at Onigilly and Plentea, which are conveniently located right next to each other. Every time I pass by it there's always a line at both, but the wait is definitely worth it. Plus, there's a cozy seating area on the second floor of Plentea where you can escape the crowd on the first floor. (There are also outlets so you can charge your now-dying phone because you were refreshing Twitter incessantly in line.)

Afterwards we took the bus over to Japantown. We stopped by one of my favorite cafes in the city (if not my favorite so far), YakiniQ Cafe. I haven't been in there in ages and it's still the same, homey place I remembered it to be. Following our caffeine pick-me-up we strolled through the malls across the street, and headed over to Pika Pika to take pictures together. Both YakiniQ and Pika Pika are musts when you visit Japantown, so bring your friends next time you're stopping by! 

I picked up yet another box of Palty hair dye while we were there -- it definitely lightened my hair (I suppose the third time's the charm -- or was it the fourth?) although it's still not the color I want. Oh well. Maybe next time? I'm so close to achieving my dream hair!

We ended the trip with some delicious takoyaki over at Cafe Hana.

The next day I showed her around Berkeley (around Shattuck and Telegraph). Audrey and I had lunch at Paris Baguette before we browsed some thrift stores and record shops. I got some journals over at Moe's Books -- I'm trying to get back into the habit of writing in a handwritten journal again. I don't know. Something about it feels right at the moment.

On Wednesday it was back to San Francisco. Audrey was curious about Sushirrito -- yes, it's exactly what you think it is, and yes, it is delicious -- so we stopped by to have lunch there before we popped in and out of shops on Haight Street.

^ There was this lovely collared dress I tried on over at Wasteland. In the end, I didn't buy it -- actually, I can no longer remember why, but I'm sure I had a good reason. Something about saving money for the upcoming semester...yeah, something like that.

The rest of the week progressed calmly. After spending three days straight walking around the city we decided to rest a bit. On Thursday we spent most of the day having coffee and flipping through magazines at Barnes & Noble, and then had dinner at my favorite sushi place ever. On Friday we spent the evening reading creepy stories and playing some horror games. I've been in the mood for some good horror lately...I just can't seem to find any piece of media that'll satisfy the particular craving.

Audrey left this morning around noon. I returned home to some gifts she left behind -- some perfume from Lush, along with a lovely letter that made the space she left behind all the more harder to ignore. 

But there's no use in being sad, really -- goodbyes suck, but we talk and make each other laugh every day across various internet platforms, so in a way, it's like she never left! 

That's one of the best things about getting to meet and spend time with friends you made online: after you say your farewells, board your flights, and return to your own corner, you're never really alone -- all you have to do is pull up their name on a screen, and you can pick up right where you left off.

summer break

Hey! I figured it was about time I updated; it's been a little over a month since my last post. I've been on summer break since sometime in mid-May -- while I've got twice the amount of free time I had before, I'm still trying to figure out what I can do with all that time. In fact, I have no set plans for this summer other than sticking to my goal of simply doing something productive this summer.

I have a lot to cover in this post, so pardon the mess below. 

Here's a list of what's been going on since my last post:

+ I got a haircut:

  

+ Amidst the nightmare of finals week, I was blessed with a great opportunity: I've been featured in the Golden Gate Xpress under Fashion Forecast! Here's an excerpt of the article on summer style in San Francisco, and one of the photos from the shoot:

“It’s no secret that San Francisco weather is wildly moody, but that doesn’t mean style has to be sacrificed. There are a slew of ways to embrace the sun but still be well equipped for San Francisco’s temperamental temperatures. “I definitely have to pull out a pair of shorts when the heat wave strikes and set the leather jacket aside,” said Roanne Quiozon, a Comparative and World Literature major at SF State who interns for a college fashion website and has her own fashion and lifestyle blog. “I just make a series of simple swaps, such as switching from pants to shorts, skirts and tights to skirts without the tights, or boots to loafers.”

Read the whole article and see more photos here!

+ I turned 21. It's only been a little over two weeks since then, but so far, it's been a great age. There is nothing more refreshing at the end of a disgustingly 90+ degree weather day than a margarita.

+ I know I said I'd do commissions once summer began. For some reason, most of my drawing motivation flew out the window the moment summer break settled in. (It was all over the place during finals, though.) I'm working to get the drawing bug back. In the meantime, there's free shipping at my society6 store till June 8 at midnight, so check it out through this promotional link!

+ A few posts of mine at the Fashion Inspired by Art column over at College Fashion were published since my last update. Click the names of the following artists to see outfits inspired by their work: Suzuki Kiitsu, Wayne Thiebaud, Kobayashi Kiyochika, and Georgia O'Keeffe. I have one coming up next Wednesday, so be on the lookout in case I don't create a post here. If you're a cat lover like me, I think you'll enjoy it.

+ Thanks to the hot weather leaving me clueless on how to update my style (and some birthday money/gifts), here are a few cute things I've bought and have been wearing lately:

1) A bee necklace from J. Topolski. I've been wearing it literally every day since I've gotten it. I wear rings all the time, and I thought I'd try getting back into wearing necklaces on a regular basis. This special little trinket was my birthday present for myself, and it may or may not be a way for me to further express my love for my favorite TV show, and one of my favorite scenes, ever. (One year later and it still gets me.) 

2) Wedges. They're my first pair. Wedges have always looked so cute on other people but for some reason, I could never picture myself wearing them...I've never even bothered to try on a single pair until these came in the mail! These are the "Bamboo Tessa Wedge" from Urbanog.com.

3) Maroon felt hat from Mars Mercantile in Berkeley (a venue I recommend, by the way -- they've got the cutest vintage dresses organized by decade). Anyway, I haven't had a hat I regularly incorporated into my outfits since this one green slouchy beanie I wore all the time in high school. Since I cut my hair, and since it's in that weird, growing out stage right now, I wanted to have something to fall back on when it refuses to cooperate. My short hair looks better with hats than my long hair did.

4) Light wash denim overalls. (Or shortalls, technically.) I was actually looking for medium wash ones as I'm not a huge fan of light wash denim in general, but these were on sale, so.

Some other bits of my life: 

+ Joining the discussion at #YesAllWomen and partaking in countless angry feminist rants -- not that there are days I'm not an angry intersectional feminist. To be frank, I'm a furious one, and the fact that there are people out there that continuously misinterpret feminism and its goals gets on my nerves every day. The fact that there are people who treat these issues like they aren't important puts me in an even worse mood. 

Feminism isn't just some cute trend or man-hating club, y'all. Do your homework, do your research, remember to always keep intersectionality in your feminism, and spread the word because discussing and raising awareness to these issues -- as well as unlearning all the problematic notions you've internalized and continuously checking/correcting your problematic behavior -- is really fucking important.

If you haven't visited the #YesAllWomen hashtag yet, I suggest you stop reading this messy blog post now and go read everyone's contributions. (Various trigger warnings.) If what you read there doesn't open your eyes about the blatant misogyny in our society -- the same blatant misogyny that society continues to ignore -- I honestly don't know what will.  

Wake up. Please. Just because you yourself have not experienced what the women in the hashtag have, or just because you think you aren't part of the problem (being silent about sexism only further perpetuates misogyny and does nothing to help women), doesn't make misogyny any less real. It doesn't mean you are exempt from the issue and the discussion that desperately and continuously needs to be implemented into our daily lives.

+ Elementary ended its second season a few weeks ago, and even though this season was hit-or-miss (don't get me started on the last two episodes), I've felt a void in my heart ever since. I did binge watch Brooklyn Nine-Nine though, which I completely adore, and which I regret watching way too fast because that's left a void in my heart, too. (I'm watching Broad City now.) 

+ Speaking of Elementary, I've done a few doodles since my last update. View them here. 

+ After years of not really doing anything with nature, I went hiking at Redwood Regional Park. 

...I feel like I'm more or less done with this post for now. I'll try not to have such a huge gap in-between updates again to spare you the sloppiness, and to spare myself from trying to remember everything that's happened. I might add a few more things to this entry if I remember them.

One last exciting tidbit of news: Lucy Liu tweeted me. What a bad time to have a play on my name as my Twitter title, huh? (Somewhere, the 10 year old in me is crying with happiness. And by '10 year old' I mean me, now, as a 21 year old, and every age in between. She's just my absolute favorite.)

See you soon!

drowners @ great american music hall (3/14)

The thing about concerts is that after attending one, it's all you're going to want to do for a while. I have  Lana del Rey's show coming up on Friday, so before the experience and energy of that one consumes me, I'll write up this quick post about Monday's show at Great American Music Hall.

My friend Dainiz and I went to see Drowners (the opening band) and Temples the other night. There were several people, including us, who were really only there for Drowners from the looks of it -- the venue itself was more or less empty until Temples took the stage.

Unfortunately, given the lighting, continuous movement, and the fact that the camera on my phone isn't exactly the best, most of my photos didn't turn out so well despite being in the second row. It's nothing to mope about, though -- I had a great night, and there were plenty of nice photos from others in the #Drowners tag on Instagram.

I also took two quick videos of A Button on Your Blouse and Luv, Hold Me Down.

One thing I immediately noticed was that Drowners had great energy on stage! I think I might prefer their sound live to that of the studio, actually. (Sure, actually being there probably has a lot to do with it.) Jack Ridley on the guitar, in particular, was quite interactive with the audience.

Seeing as they were only opening (and that the duration of their debut album is about 30 minutes), they left the stage after a short set. A crew began to prep the stage for Temples, and people in the front began to leave too. Dainiz and I were at the very front row now, and the venue is quite small, so the shows make for a very intimate experience. 

However, the venue was starting to fill up fast, and there were some antsy Temples fans making their way to the front. Since we were only there for Drowners, we didn't mind giving up our spots at the front. We saw Drowners leave backstage and walking towards the merch table, so we left the crowd in that direction in hopes of being able to have a chat with them. And we did!

They were super friendly and eager to talk to fans. Matt Hitt (lead singer) was very patient when it came to taking photos -- the lighting was especially dim, and flash is especially unflattering, so there were plenty of retakes. I can't even remember how many we had to take. (I have a few photos with their new drummer, but the lighting is so awful that no amount of editing or filters could save it. Oh well.)

Luckily Dainiz brought her Fujifilm Instax camera, which yielded nice photos:

They stuck around the merch table for a while to talk to everyone, and by now the venue was definitely full. Temples came on stage, and conversation had to resort to shouting in order to hear anything. Anyway, Drowners eventually left, so after some mingling, I got a shirt and a free poster, and took a quick shot of Temples before we exited the venue:

Needless to say, the rest of the night went well. We were out of the venue earlier than expected so we stuck around whatever places happened to be open at the time. (Things in San Francisco close unfortunately early). Drowners are still continuing their US tour so I'm not sure when they'll be back, but when they do return to the bay area, I'll be sure to see them play again!

--

In other news, I have another article coming up on College Fashion's Fashion Inspired by Art column today, so check back there in a few hours. I probably won't be making a separate post for it this time around.

Next time: Lana del Rey!

an afternoon with Shelley (guest starring Lady Danger!)

I've been on the internet for as long as I can remember. 

Actually, looking back, I think I was one of the first kids in my community/circle of friends whose family got internet at home (my dad worked with computers). 

That being said, I've experienced various phases of the Internet through the social media platforms that fueled them. Be it talking about fan theories on forums, filling out surveys on the Myspace bulletins, discovering the world of fanfiction, making Livejournal icons -- yeah, each are parts of my past I look back at fondly...with the occasional cringe. 

Some of my most formative years were those I spent on Livejournal. Before Tumblr came into the picture, rather than scrolling through a blue dashboard and laughing at gifs, I'd be reading my fellow friends' journals and posts from communities who shared my interests. There are many aspects of Livejournal I miss terribly -- I liked the privacy, the communication system (Tumblr asks and replies just aren't the same), and the general sense of family I feel is easily lost in the image-heavy nature of Tumblr. Don't get me wrong: I do like Tumblr, I've been on there since 2008...but there are just certain parts of it that cannot compare to Livejournal. 

Anyway, I've made great friends at Livejournal, and have kept in touch with some of them since most of us have migrated over to Tumblr. Today I got to meet one of my longtime internet friends, Shelley! We've known each other for so long (around 8 or 9 years) that neither of us even remember how we came across each other, apart from our shared interest in Harry Potter (the fandom from which many of my earliest and oldest internet friendships stem from).

She was here in San Francisco for the weekend and I got to spend a few hours with her today. 

After meeting up at Coffee Bean we walked over to Cako Bakery for some cupcakes. I wouldn't say I'm a major sweet tooth but I really love their cupcakes! I've had their macarons in the past, though in terms of San Francisco macarons I'd still say Chantal Guillon is my favorite. 

We ate them over at Union Square Park (less crowded than it is on the weekends, but it's still a tourist spot so there was still a crowd) while reminiscing about the Livejournal days. I tend to be more open with friends I've met through the internet (even while we're talking in public) as I've basically got nothing to hide from them. Since I've known Shelley for so long and since she practically watched me grow up via Livejournal entries, I rambled on and on about those golden days.

Then we stopped by the newly opened MAC Cosmetics store. I wasn't planning on purchasing anything -- I've managed to get by just lusting over the Lady Danger shade for several months now -- but one of the employees applied it for me and...well, I caved. It's my first MAC lipstick and I'm already ridiculously impressed with it. I've always wondered if it was worth the price and oh man it definitely is.

Our last stop was Yerba Buena gardens where we relaxed (after battling with stubborn wind as we attempted to take multiple photos together). 

We said our farewells at her hotel a short walk away. Unfortunately she had to leave quite early, but I'm confident we'll see each other many times in the future! 

Another great thing about keeping in touch with internet friends is that since we're usually in different places, I don't have to worry about being alone in a new place most of the time! In fact, I've got my eye on a certain city for this spring break...but I'll save that for another post! I've got a lot ahead of me.

After our goodbye, I stuck around downtown for a while browsing clothes and accessories. I got a pair of sunglasses to replace some I broke recently. (Tip: Don't run after a train with your sunglasses on your head, because not only might you miss your train anyway, but your sunglasses might break. Mine did.) They're very cute, and reminded me of the Karen Walker Northern Lights sunglasses I hope to own one day.

Needless to say, I know which two things I'm going to be wearing a lot this season.

All in all, today was well spent. Shelley and I were lucky that the weather was absolutely perfect today! Sunny, breezy, not quite 70 degrees. After walking around a lot, that gets to be pretty hot for me, actually.

I admit I have no idea how to dress during the warmer months. (Trying to pack for New York last summer was absolute hell. Walking around New York last summer was even worse, save for the great places and great people.) Some of my favorite pieces tend to be those that are more suited for the fall and winter: coats, sweaters, boots, etc. I'm one of those. Usually I just go for one of my striped shirts and wear it with jeans or a skirt. I recently got a new striped shirt with red stripes and wore it today for the first time, and I already know it's going to be a favorite of mine this season. Breton stripe shirts go with literally everything -- I wore mine with a leather jacket.

After scoring those sunglasses this photo of Alexa more or less summarizes my simple outfit for the day, save for the shorts that I swapped for jeans instead. The Lady Danger shade matches the stripes on my shirt!

Anyway, I've got another band spotlight post coming up next. Also, I'm planning to replace my broken laptop with a new one this month, so I hope to get back to my artwork and start up some outfit posts! 

My spring break doesn't start till the 21st, and to say I'm excited would be a terrible understatement.

More details soon! Thanks for reading.