[note: this is kinda just a personal journal entry for myself - just my uninhibited unedited freeflow thoughts tonite.]
So I guess I took a mini sabbatical from blogging. Over a month. I finally found some down time to reflect on the whole past month or so of my life. It's been a total crazy whirlwind of everything. I took a little break from drawing, henna, peacock bags, work, and overdosed during the holidays with family, travel, eating, knitting, skiing, dancing. I've been deep in my self-conscience, mindful and alert of all the signs in the world around me and listening intently to the Universe speaking to me. Family has come back in my life so strong. Art speaks for itself. Love, and the endless search. Friends, cherished and more beautiful. Passion. Energy. The Secret. The Law of Attraction.
I've been wanting to write about this "law of attraction" I've been experiencing intensely for the last few months. My life has been kind of tossy turny to say the least. My heart was wounded. My job is boring but I can't complain. I was lost, still lost. I've turned to art for healing, expression, focus, meditation, relaxation, motivation, energy, passion, collaboration, fun, friendship and love. I can feel the energy all around me. It gives me energy and gets me all excited whenever I get myself into a project. Just ask my friends. There's proof in every person I'm meeting, family, friends and in all my travels, encounters, conversations. I'm going to cram more than a month's worth of blogging into 1 long run-on sentence. Here goes... from my brother, my dad, the sudden flood of emotions all directly related to the hours...days....weeks I've spent with my family this past year (it was good but intense, not including the funniest thing - they want me to go to dental school and they said they would pay for it), my encounters with Austinites (this is one of the reasons why I love Austin - all the cool people I've been meeting!).... the mysterious awe-amazing energy of a woman that bought my first piece of art, the henna peacock drum, the musician at the (my uncle's) Mi Bar on New Year's eve, Ella Reese's Pieces' birth, my hotshot famous artist friend, the beautiful and so talented painter, neuro-linguist Syrian masseuse that I instantly connected with at the Austin Asian Film Festival, my friendships with the pilllow designer, models, photographers, the fashion designers, the dreadlocked San Franciscan musician hitchhiker I picked up on my way to Houston the week before Christmas and the conversation I had with him, my cousin Lee's sweet friend that I met in Germany 3 years ago and took me skiing at Mt. Snow, Vermont, cooking with my mom, tennis with my niece and nephew, ice-skating with my cousins in Hartford, CT, karaoking with my cousins in Houston, my brother's mouthwatering and romantic foodblog, his awesome xray flower photography, his fiance Kim Dao's Jalapeno Poppers in a blanket (Vote for her too!), job searching, internet dating on eHarmony and Okcupid.com, the german-speaker, the salsa dancer, the journalist, the filmmaker, and so many more unidentified experiences and people yet to be known. I think that's a whole lot of attraction and creative energy going on in just a month or so, don't you think? I had no time to pause and blog. I was focused on living in the moment. I feel very lucky.
My current artistic venture is painting. This is the first time in my life, seriously. Believe it or not. And I admit I'm scared. I was scared of drawing. I'm also scared of painting. I vaguely recall helping an older schoolmate paint a mural on the wall for young kids after school. That was maybe between the 7th and 8th grade. I'm starting with acrylic on canvas. It's a photograph that Miriam Daugherty took of me in my black Vietnamese Ao Dai and conical hat with a bold red sash. This was my first photoshoot. The thing that really started the ball rolling in my world of creative experimentation and exploration. My friend kept saying I should try painting and that I would like it. He's right. Now I'm painting with my lovely Syrian friend and she said I'm talented. I hope she's right too. :) I will post photos of it when I'm done.
My upcoming events:
I'm excited to say that I'll be doing henna tats and selling whatever art type stuff I can create at the Austin Reggae Festival, April 16-18, 2010. I'll be sharing a booth with several other Austin artists, http://www.dracouni.com/.
I'm also super honored to do my friends Ekta Shah and Anirban Chatterjee's wedding henna, the date is June 19, 2010. I told her to submit their photo to the Austin360 Cutest Couple in Austin. so please vote for them! Yes, they're the cute Indian couple. In fact, they're a smart techy couple and both not vegetarian. This is my first wedding henna, yikes!! Super nervous. Wedding henna tats are a big deal, majorly auspicious! And just think that all her Indian family and friends will see it and examine it? OMG, I'm scaring myself. When I'm not nervous about it, I like to tease her and tell her I will sneak in 2 fishies into the henna design (fish is a symbol of fertility) and that I'll be extra careful to make them identical. :) She says, "NOoooo!!! You better not! I will take 2 days off work and travel to Dallas...and experience a full-on traditional Indian wedding. Wow, that part is going to be freaking exciting! I gotta get myself a Sari! In fact, my bollywood SRK crazy Indian girlfriend is working on getting it for me from India, right this moment...
It's half past midnight and the storm is rolling in. It's thundering and lightning. I want to be awake to hear it. It's pounding on the roof now. I love it. It makes me miss Hanoi. I love Vietnam.
Ella Reese Michaud, Born December 27, 2009 in Hartford, CT. 6.1 lbs and a precious little 17 inches. I knit her those snuggly soft booties and mittens in record time so she wasn't cold. I think she's the Secret. I call her my little Reese's Pieces.
It's going to be an awesome year of art and attraction in Austin...Go Tiger!
It's going to be an awesome year of art and attraction in Austin...Go Tiger!
Niki, you have met an incredible number of people and done an incredible number of things over the past month. In writing it all down, I hope that you realized the artistic, creative, passionate energy that has been enveloping your life recently. Sometimes, you can get distracted by the things that you want in your life, that you haven't yet found. But it's good to look back every once in a while and see all that you have done, all the people you have met, the amazing life that you're living. I'm glad that you had a moment to be able to reflect - and to update your blog. All your readers have been patiently waiting! :)
ReplyDeleteWhat readers? It's just me and you, Sara! This is just to make up for the distance between Austin and Altea....miss you and wish we could be sitting in a nice beachside cafe writing our blogs together and dreaming our dreams.
ReplyDeleteHi Niki,
ReplyDeletethat is not true, I believe you have many more readers than yourself and and your friend Sara. To be sure, I have read your many of your postings, and I find your style, receptiveness and wit very touching. In fact, reading your entries not only wants me read more of them, but I'm toying with the idea to relaunch my film blog (unfortunately, after the first reviews last year, the comments kept vanishing...). So kept up the spirit, and I hope to read soon more about your exciting life in Austin or wherever you will be.
Ulli
PS. you mentioned that you have been in Germany, do you speak (read or write) it?
Dear Ulli,
ReplyDeleteWow, I must say you have just made my day! Thank you!! I so so very appreciate your comment and for reading my blog. And you have just inspired me to keep writing! Inspiration is and should always be a constant mutual flow of energy and so you MUST relaunch your film blog!! I assume you are a filmmaker of some sort? In case you're interested, christophersharpe.com is a filmmaker in Austin and has a nice blog of his film projects.
Und ja, Ich kann ein bisschen Deutsch sprechen und schreiben. Aber seitdem 6 Jahre lange, dass ich kein Deutsch sprechen. Ich habe fast alles vergessen un niemals sprechen. Ich liebe Deutsch zu sprechen und lernen...
viel Gruesse...und viel Glueck mit dein Film Blog, Niki
Hi Niki,
ReplyDeletethank you very much for your friendly reception of my comment. Yours was definitely encouraging: I've relaunched my film site, and needless to I'd like you to read it.
Although I'm not a filmmaker, I'll have a look at Chris's web site and his projects. Unlike Chrism I teach German film, literature and language at Texas State... So my background and approach is less practical, but I L O V E movies ever since I was a kid, and secretly I always desired to be a film director!
How long did you stay/live in Germany? It sounds like you were once fluent in the language. But to learn (or maintain) a language one needs a real reason. It is unfortunately different from riding a bicycle...
look fwd to hear from you
Gruesse
Ulli
Ulli, where is your film site? In case you don't already know, there is a German TV show, Arc Attack, being produced this Saturday at Kenny Dorham's Backyard.
ReplyDeleteI lived in Germany sporadically for a few months at a time. A couple times in Hamburg back in 2000 and then in Ramstein, the Air Force Base in 2005. But I actually learned it when I was in Hanoi, at the Goethe Inst. I was conversational at one point but not so great anymore.
Dear Niki,my blog is up under , but it is up with problems. The pictures of the films I have discussed/mentioned so far, seem to literally disappear over night. Probably copyright issues and/or how I've saved the files, but I still don't know how to do it properly. The other issue pertains to formatting, especially line spacing. So if you look at my blog please keep this disclaimer in mind.
ReplyDeleteThe Arc Attack gig and the ProSieben film team sound interesting. I drove by the Victoria Club on 11th Street earlier today, but nothing to be seen. What has happened to the "sprichwoertliche Effizienz" of my fellow countrymen. Barely in Austin for a weekend, and they already start to slack? Well, I guess I'll give it a try later in the afternoon.
Your command of German sounds great, being bilingual to begin with, you've started early enough, spend several times in the host country, and took an intensive grammar class at the Goethe Institute. If you feel a little rusty right now, that merely means that your active ability to converse, has become a latent asset, ready for retrieval.
Gruesse-Ulli
I'm glad that Ulli spoke up to prove that there are readers, indeed! And I too wish that we could be sitting in a beachside cafe writing our blogs together! That doesn't seem like an impossible dream, though! Let's make it happen!
ReplyDeleteUlli, a latent asset indeed. I think I have a few of those lying dormant somewhere. Arc Attack was a great show!! i'll post a video soon. Ich hoffe, alles gute mit dein blog.
ReplyDeleteSara, i've already checked into flights...$800 plus...i'll keep looking though. Vietnam, Spain...can't I just do it all?
Dear Niki,
ReplyDeleteas a child, I was very impressed when I saw a peacock for the first time. A lot of my favorite fin-de-siecle artists used the royal bird as a symbol for aesthetic refinement. I like our henna stenciled image very much, and I've rooted online for your bags. Hope you'll win the competition swiftly.
Yes, I also liked Arc Attack, the presentation was very funny, but towards the end my feet got cold, and I headed for the Longbranch Bar across the street. Needless to say, it is flattering to be called a 'latent asset,' but apart from inhabiting virtual reality, I live --quite overtly-- on the East Side.
ub
Hi Niki,
ReplyDeletemany thanks for looking at my fledging films & emotions blog. I don't believe for a minute that you "don't know much about movies." The style of your prose contradicts this (under)statement.
If you haven't heard of it already, the present exhibition and film series in the Blanton Museum "Desire" shows this months four independent movies on the topic. Unfortunately, Antonioni's splendid "L'avventura" was screened already, but Wong Kar-wai's "Happy Together" is an exploration of love you might like.
Ulli
Niki - How can you say you "don't know much about movies?" Your knowledge of the ouevre of Hugh Grant is unmatched. I've met very few people who are so intimately familiar with the work of this great actor and even fewer who appreciate the underrated masterpiece that is "Music and Lyrics." Don't sell yourself short!
ReplyDeleteUlli - Thanks very much for voting for my henna peacock bags and I'm glad you like the peacocks. They are magnificent birds with so much beauty and meaning. You can actually see them running around the Barhsama Dahm temple grounds, the Hindu temple down south near the Salt Lick. And thanks for letting me know about "Happy Together." I know of the movie and believe I have seen it years ago, but I need to see it again.
ReplyDeleteChristopher - Thanks so much for your flattering comment but really, my appreciation for Hugh Grant as an actor is mainly credited to his irresistable and relentless charm, wit, and accent besides the fact that he happened to surprise me with his hidden singing and dancing talents. And I totally agree with you that "Music and Lyrics" is an underrated masterpiece that has all the elements of a perfect romantic comedy.
ReplyDeleteNiki--thanks for the tip about Hugh Grant's musical (I still have to watch 'Nottinghill'). I filled out your "dating survey." Great topic and interesting questions. "Dating" is perhaps the most malleable word in the English language. This malleability makes it difficult to rely on ones lover's statements, but the same discursive malleability enables us to talk about relationships in public in an open manner...
ReplyDeleteI look forward to your results of the questionnaire.
ub
The truth of the matter is that Niki is extremely knowledgeable and skilled at so many different things! You can talk to her about henna, movies, love, psychology, philosophy and she knows it all. She's very well read and definitely knows her movies. Her high esteem of "Music and Lyrics" only slightly indicates her fine taste in films! :) But, Niki, can you please write a new blog soon. Your faithful readers are waiting!
ReplyDeleteYou are so sweet Sara!! and all of you guys are really giving me so much more credit and praise than I deserve. Nevertheless, I'm enjoying it and I will post very soon! Thanks Sara and sending lots of love from Texas!! Hope the biz is going well!
ReplyDelete