Just a minute.

Haven't blogged in a bit. I didn't disappear, I've just been wanting to keep my thought and musing private lately. More posts to come soon! 

The first rule of...

It's only after we've lost everything, that we're free to do anything. 

-tyler durden

6/9 5 Gratefuls

5 things that I'm grateful for this past week.

1. Talking. I know this sounds like something silly to be grateful for but its true! Sometimes talking just helps. Whether its about a problem, trying to work out a solution or sharing something amazing that happened. Having someone to talk to is great!
2. My date night with my wife. I had good food, a Wolverine burger at Red Robin!, we watched a great movie, Iron Man 3, and had plenty to talk about. It was a nice refreshing break from the week 
3. My artistic ability. I don't like to brag or boast or even claim that I'm artistic in any fashion but I'm glad I have the ability to draw. Lately I've been carrying around a small sketchbook and just jotting down notes and doing quick doodles whenever I can. It's very therapeutic to just work something out or to just let go and simply play with pencil and paper.
4. My sister. She always helps out when she can and even when its not needed she helps anyway. My wife and I owe a lot to her and she is way more appreciated than we can ever show her. 
5. My friend, Sabz. I had a really crappy day earlier this week. She might not have made it complete better but she reached out in such a way that it helped make a huge impact. She showed love and caring when I needed it. Others did as well and not to downplay them at all but what she did to put a smile on my face left me totally speechless. 

Splish splash!

So my illustration theme for this past week was "splish splash". I wanted to do something way different than the first two illos. I took a way more graphic approach. Hope everyone likes!

Weekly Illustration Challenges

I am a huge fan of an illustrator named Pascal Campion. He is amazing and is based semi locally in the Bay Area. Everyday Pascal posts a "sketch" of a random scene in life. The amazing thing about it is his  sketches are full blown illustration, that capture the moment he wants so perfectly. The viewer can see one of his illos and immediately be reminded of a moment that, that might have happened in their own life. His compositions are phenomenal and his palette of colours is brilliant. Check out his work here:

Pascal's Daily Sketch Blog

A few months ago I introduced his work to a dear friend of mine. She was blown away and immediately subscribed to his email list to get receive his daily sketches. She was as captured by his art as much as I am. I've been excited to send someone I know an occasional text saying "did you see PC today?".

So in a way to make sure that I do a little more illustration practice, to maybe add more pieces to my portfolio, and from being inspired by Pascal,  I asked my friend if every week she could come up with a  theme for me. On Monday mornings for the past three weeks she's giving me a theme and I've sketched out some rough ideas and then coloured them. The 1st two were done in a few hours and not really completed but that's ok. I wanted to just have fun with these and I figured I could always go back and refine them later on. I'll post the 1st two here and I'll post the third in a separate blog entry.

Week1: a night under the stars

Week2: a storm in the meadow

My friend has been amused at what I create based on her themes. I really like this partnership that we've created and can't wait to continue to draw up more of these little moments. 

Four Fantastic Friends.

I had a horrible day today. I don't want to go into details but it just started off bad and continued that way throughout the day. The only good thing about today was the people in it that made an effort to make my day the opposite of how it was. 

My dear friend texted me and asked how my day was going and I told her about my misery. She kept texting me and all of a sudden she asked me to come outside (I was at work) and she surprised me with a box of cupcakes! I was completely shocked and have no words for how this made me feel. The fact that she stopped what she was going, went out of her way to go to a bakery, pick out flavors I might like and brought cupcakes to me was just so sweet. It totally brought some sunshine to my gloomy day. 

Another great friend, that lives quite a bit away couldn't be here to cheer me up but kept texting me throughout the day to make sure I was ok. Even our short and brief phone call made me feel better. She also offered to call again later and continued to text to make sure I was ok. The fact that she continually was looking out for me meant alot. This was also the friend that sent me a book that reminded her of me as a complete surprise. A super sweet gesture that made me elated. 

Another friend whom I haven't had a chance to talk to much lately also texted to check up on me. We chatted for a bit and although this might not sound amazing it actually was. Since we haven't talked as much as we used to it showed that she cares and that meant so much. 

And then there is my loving wife. She was there to witness the beginning of the horribleness and throughout the day made sure I was ok and tried cheering me up. She cooked dinner entirely by herself, bought me a book and even just the simple gestures of rubbing my shoulder, and giving me hugs at the right time helped so much. 

I am lucky and very blessed to have friends in my life that care and that not only say that they'll be there for me but actually show it. For as bad as this day has been, four people made a whole world of difference and made it another day to thank God for. 

Veggie-Mite

My wife is a vegan. She has been for the past 4 years of so. Before that she was vegetarian way, way before I met her. 

This completely changed my life. I still eat meat but I am way more conscious of what I eat. She has never pressured me to turn but has said she would like it if I did became at least vegetarian but that's a decision I would have to make on my own. 

When we first got married she would cook meat but when she switched from vegetarian to vegan she stopped. That didn't bother me at all, I figured I'd never become vegetarian but at least when she cooked I'd eat vegetarian and I'd eat meat when she wasn't around. I'd still get my protein the old fashion way and would still respect her decision, no biggie. 

Now just to clear things up a little from my end, I've never been a big meat eater. I also hate bacon. Ok, ok settle down dear reader, if I have any readers left after the disgust of me not liking bacon. I also don't like steak, or eating any kind of meat that's attached to any kind of bone. Basically the only meat I do like is ground beef, fish fillets, and at times, boneless chicken. Basically meats that don't look like they've come from any kind of animal. I've always been this way. So my wife was never an influence on any of that. 

Like I said being married to a vegan has changed my outlook on food in general. I still eat fast food but not as much as I used to. I only drink soda at restaurants, other than that its water. My portion sizes are smaller than before. I eat way more vegetables (something my mom loves!). Even the types of dishes has expanded greatly. Before I ate heavy American, Mexican, and Italian dishes. Now I prefer Indian, Pakistani, Afghan, and Thai foods, with a burrito and burger thrown in there for old times sake. 

About 2 years ago I read a book called Eating Animals, by Jonathan Safran Foer. It's about factory farming and its effects on humans that consume meat that comes from this type of farming, as well as the effects on the animals themselves and the environment. It talks about the various ways animals are grown and butchered but went super into depths about the lives of chickens. It made such a huge impact that I didn't eat chicken for almost a year. Whenever I tried it would make me nauseated. I eat chicken now but cannot think of what it is I'm eating, I have to consciously think of something else or I have to load it with some kind of sauce so the taste is masked. 

Anyway, the whole point to this blog is because I've been mulling over something for awhile. I've been thinking of cutting out meat from my diet. Just to keep it real, I don't think I can completely, so instead of becoming vegetarian I was thinking what if I became a pescatarian and see how that works out for me. I haven't mentioned this to my wife because I want to make sure its something I really want to do. I figure eating fish will be a bit easier for me since I see how much problems my wife has when she eats out, plus it'll still be some kind of protein that's not from soy, nuts, or legumes.  I'm wondering how its gonna work out for me, if it does at all. I have gone a week here and there with no meat and it honestly isn't that bad. I don't feel any kind of loss in my diet. If anything I feel a bit "lighter" and not so full from eating and just generally better those weeks I don't eat meat. That's just me though. 

I'll give it a bit more thought and decide what to do. 

6/2 5 things to be grateful for this past week.

1. My wife for being loving and caring.
2. Music for giving me something to bob my head to while I do the various things i do throughout the day. 
3. Podcasts, for being about to fill the voids of quiet when I'm not in the mood for music, when I'm alone. 
4. My iPad! I've been sketching on it alot more often and have been loving it. 
5. Little gestures from friends that mean grand things, like surprises in the mail of things that remind them of me that they've sent me.