construction

Blogging from work so not able to post pics. But imagine a hole in the ground where a part of your house used to be. That's what was going on in my mud room/laundry room last week.
We haven't done any construction in the house in a long time. I mean 15 years long time. So I'd forgotten. Forgotten how much I love the demolition process. The rawness of it is what I find inspiring. 100 year old walls. Thousand year old rocks beneath the concrete and dirt. Then, tiny animal prints in the newly poured floor.
Yes, it was cold without the oil tank hooked up. And I fortunately missed the day of jack hammering that Larry had to contend with. But I've ended up with a stone faux foundation around the outside of the house -- thanks to the back breaking excavation work -- which hides a multitude of cosmetic sins.
And it will be soooo nice not to be kicking up pieces of broken cement everytime I do the laundry. Which I will soon be doing in a new washer and dryer. The old ones were used when we bought them and might be from the 70's. So we'll be saving electricity and water too.
And every time I walk into the laundry room I will find at my feet a little creative surprise that I've been saving up for with broken pottery and plate shards now embedded in the cement at the entry from the kitchen and the door that leads outside.
A stone foundation and a mosaic in my floor - two things I've always dreamed of and wasn't quite sure would ever happen. But carry those dreams around long enough and happen they will, as if the universe had been waiting for the right moment all along.

Next Stop: Hospital Taiping

Finally got my offer letter, the postman came at about 9am just before I was going out. When I saw it's such a thick one and was from Ministry of Health, I knew this is gonna be it. Having tachycardia while opening it, and HOORAY! I'm posted to hospital of my first choice - Hosp. Taiping! It'll be where I spend 12 to 18 months doing my housemanship, the first, as well as the most dreadful phase

inspired

Last week I had my first phone consult with art coach Brainard Carey, and I couldn't be more thrilled. I'm more excited about my work than I have been in an extremely long time. Feeling very hopeful and positive. What happened? A few little time management tips and just having someone listen well and be supportive I think. Oh yes, and hearing myself outloud.
I spent a lot of time this week looking at inspirational art books that are similar in genre to the one I've been working on, and that just got me very fired up. I'm working on the back jacket copy that describes the book and hooks a reader. And today, after swimming in Sabrina Ward Harrison's website, I'm reconsidering an idea I had when I first started the book. Which is to design or create the pages as if they were a part of the art process itself.
What I'm finding particulary amazing, is that in this jam-packed life of mine where there never seems to be enough time for the things I love -- I am finding time to work on this project and getting so jazzed by it, that I'm spending even more time on it. I'm not even worried that my steam will fizzle.
There was a moment that I thought, maybe I should give up the harmonium lessons, and then I rethought, definitely not. This is all about living fully and embracing the extremely multi-faceted person that I am. Brainard gave me a shot in the arm about this: there are more than numerous examples of people who do a lot of things successfully. Some of us are just built that way. I may need to focus on one thing at a time, but that doesn't mean I have to confine myself, or limit myself in any way.
Maybe this is second nature to most folks, but I feel like I'm relearning life. Isn't it amazing?
This post is linkless because I'm writing from work where the usual bells and whistles don't work. More about this exciting process in future posts, with links to inspire and fire you up too.

Happy Birthday, Mom

Had a great birthday celebration for my mom yesterday in Jogoya, a japanese seafood buffet restaurant in Starhill Gallery. If you have not visited this restaurant before, please do so. This is something in life that you seriously can't miss. Vast variety of food are here..lobster, crab, oyster, codfish, scallop etc, you name it..served in Japanese, Western and Chinese cooking style. Eat as much