Up, Up and Away

I have a lot of time on my hands when I'm at home. I'm not working, going to class, writing papers, or walking everywhere. With all this time, I think a lot. I think about certain people. I think about my hopes and fears. I think about how I was supposed to go to grad school, get some work experience, have fun, and then move back home within two years. But then I think about how two years isn't enough, and that there's so much more I want to do, that I want to be anywhere but OC. A part of me feels guilty for not being able to spend time with my family but another part of me yearns for the excitement that places like New York City offer.

I'm leaving to Southeast Asia tomorrow. It will satisfy my craving for adventure, but I know that eventually I'll get restless again for something new. I can't pinpoint exactly what I'm looking for. I just want to feel like I'm living.

Meet Jesus at The Cloisters

The Cloisters Museum, a branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, showcases art from Medieval Europe from the 12th through 15th century. It's an interesting museum...if you're into castles and Christ.


A view of the outside of the Cloisters.


After walking through the entrance, you walk up these steps.


This is the St. Roch, patron of contagious diseases and sexy legs. If you zoom in, you can see a gaping wound on his leg where his left hand is resting. The sign read that the dog licked his wound and cured him...so really, the dog is the saint, right?

Baby Jesus getting a circumcision.



Three freaky looking women who need a tan.

Why would anyone want to kill a unicorn?!

Tombstones.

More tombstones.

A close-up of a stain glass window.

A chapel with tiny seats. People had small butts back then.

I love the details of the doors.

The indoor garden with different types of columns.

More Jesus. There were other rooms full of references to Jesus and and religion but I didn't take pictures of them.

Decoration on a door.

Some monster.

United Nations Tour

For one of my classes, my group had to work with the United Nations Global Compact to come up with a recommendation for raising awareness and driving interest in the agency. Last Thursday we presented to them and also took a tour of the United Nations building. We got to sit in the press box (on green courdoroy seats!) in the general assembly room and see a meeting in session but no pictures were allowed.


There was a security council meeting in progress and after the meeting, this is where the press interviews people. I was tempted to pose as if I was being interviewed but I think security would have tackled me...


As we walked onto the press floor, I smelled cigarette smoke. As part of an international agency, the UN staff doesn't have to adhere to the smoking laws. The UN building will go under renovation next year. I wonder if they'll keep these old school phone booths.


The press floor line with daily press releases from member countries.





I got excited when I saw this statue...cuz it's Saint Agnes! The tour guide down the room yelled at me for being loud.




Turning violence into art. One of the art pieces in the disarmament section.


There's a wall filled with art like this one describing the prinicples of the UN.

Giant paintings, murals and tapestry cover the walls through the building.

Many member countries give the UN art pieces. Above is a gift from China. They killed 20 elephants to create the piece. PETA should get up on the UN for this. Poor Dumbo :(

The meticulous detail is amazing...but still, poor Dumbo.

A mosaic mural based on Norman Rockwell's painting, the Golden Rule. The inscription reads, "DO UNTO OTHERS AS YOU WOULD HAVE THEM DO UNTO YOU."

A view of the front of the building.

Not sure what this painting is about. I just saw naked people and thought, "Whoa, naked people on the walls of the UN."

To-Do List

From the moment I wake up to the few seconds before I fall asleep, all I can think of is "What do I have to do next?" It's the last week of class, which means group presentations, papers and exams. I feel like no matter how much I get done, I still have more to do...in addition to cleaning my room, doing laundry, packing, and returning my crappy phone I just bought. My mom would have a heart attack if she saw the piles of clothes, boxes, cups, papers, food wrapper, books, and plastic bags in my room.

When this week is over, I'll feel like I can breathe again and get back to a clear state of mind. I need to feel balanced again. I need the warm SoCal sun pressed on my face (which is in need of color). I need to be around my family and old friends. I need to walk slower. I need to not think about what I'm going to do three months from now and just enjoy the present...

Week of Gluttony and The MOMA

My cousin from the Bay Area came in last Tuesday and left today. I've been in NY for over a year and she was the first family member to visit me. We didn't get along well as children, but as we got older, we became closer. She's my introspective cousin, the one that asks the right questions to get me thinking and to keep me grounded. She's also ridiculous at times so she keeps me from being uptight...I've noticed that this city has made me lose my patience and laid-back attitude. I wish my family were here to keep me in check.

We spent a lot of time eating and walking around the city. She ended up spending Thanksgiving with her friends and I ended up with my friends (and their friends). Thanksgiving isn't really a holiday of giving thanks...it's more of a day to stuff your face until you can't move anymore. But since I'm on the subject of giving thanks, I'm thankful for having a caring family, loyal friends, and good health, and to live in a country that affords its people opportunities to make something out of nothing. With all the suffering going on in other parts of the world, I'm lucky to be here.

So enough of the cheesiness. I went to the MOMA last Friday and saw some interesting exhibits (some weren't suitable for children).


From the fourth floor looking down to the second floor. People were sprawled out on the circular couch and watched the film projected on the four walls.

The film had random scenes, like this one of feet. I don't like my feet. I don't like people looking at my feet (unless they plan on massaging it). So I definitely didn't want to see giant feet on the wall.

Then there was this naked woman with an orange bush floating in the water. Seriously, if you zoom in, you'll see an orange bush.

Giant nipples with blood running down the chest.

My cousin and her friend were listening to creepy messages in the earphones. The man's voice sounded like a killer from a movie trying to brainwash his victims.

When I die, I want to be cremated and have my ashes tossed in the ocean so a surfer can get my ashes up his nose. But if I had to be buried, I'd like to wear roller skates and have my dog be buried with me.

That's good advice.

There's a bunch of chairs and one chair is missing the seat and back. What do you think it means?

I wonder when men are going to wear butt tight bell bottom jeans again.

A chicken can live with its head cut off as long as its jugular is still intact. That's one of the many useless animal facts I know. I could also tell you that after a male hippo beats up another male hippo, it defecates and swings its tail back and forth to spread the poo, marking its territory.