Day 18: Travel

Day 18

This is what I will doing for the next two weeks so this project will be on hiatus until I return. It is my first international solo trip.  While nervously searching for reviews of my already booked tour, I found this travel blogger's photo essay of my tour company. Her posts calmed my nerves, made me more excited, and inspired this poster. Expect to see a new poster Sunday May 18th at the latest, or Thursday May 15th if I have the energy.

How do you feel about traveling solo?

Day 17: Cut your Own Apple

Day 17

This is my first time working with watercolor pencils. I went over it with actual watercolors. Below is a quick colored pencil sketch on how to make attractive apple slices. Like the pineapple, I learned this from a college friend. I only do this when I'm sharing an apple with a friend and want a nice presentation. Otherwise, I eat apples whole.

Day 17: how to cut apple slices

How do you cut your apples? With an apple corer, with a knife, or do you eat it whole like I do?

Day 16: Resistance

Day 16

I used to think that if something wasn't difficult, then it wasn't work and it was a waste of time. If I was struggling, it meant I was growing. This mentality ruled all areas of my life.

Then I went to a spinning class designed for triathletes. I was the only one who had not completed a triathlon before. So I expected to work really hard and struggle. As always, when I got on the bicycle I cranked up the resistance. More resistance means more work which is good. Lower resistance and easier movement means I'm not working.


To my surprise, the instructor motioned for me to turn down the resistance so I could match the correct pace. It was a revelation to be encouraged to go at a lower resistance. Even though a lower resistance feels like less work, my legs got stronger over time because I was pedaling more. Also sustaining a pace at a lower resistance turned out to be more work than at a higher resistance. Starting fast at a low resistance means it's noticeable when you slow down. Starting slowly at a high resistance, means the resistance can be used as an excuse to remain slow. Once my legs got stronger, then it made sense to increase the resistance. When I pause to think about it, it's odd that I did not realize this before. The same thing happens in running: start with a walk, then a jog, then a run, then slowly add distance.

Not all activities need to be difficult to provide growth. Sometimes, starting easy will take you further than starting hard.

Have you taken a spinning class? Why do you like or dislike it?

Day 15: the Way Through

Day 15

Inspired by a run which explains its eloquence. Running makes me a philosopher of dubious merit. The phrase is rather silly but it has become a mantra for me. I say it every time I face a new challenge that scares me. I've said it during strenuous hikes, high-altitude races, and most recently, snowboarding. Any friend who's been on a mountain with me has heard this silly phrase.

The phrase can be serious too. One summer I planned a trip to Utah's national parks. My research on the parks emphasized safety such as carry enough water, have a good map, know where you're going, and tell people your plans. These are standard safety tips. I also read a news article regarding the roles of park rangers. Most visitors to parks mistakenly think that if they get lost, park rangers will swoop in and rescue them. This can be a deadly assumption. The role of the park ranger is to protect the park. While they provide guidance such as which trails are safe and which are closed, their role is not search-and-rescue.  Once a visitor ventures into the forest, the onus is on the individual to find the way back.

When my roommate learned of my plans to visit Utah, she shared her experience. Utah is a gorgeous state with amazing national parks and she had a great time. On the last night, however, four people in her group had not returned by sunset. The remaining party expressed concern to the park ranger. He said this was a usual occurrence, and everyone would show up fine the next day. My roommate was rather upset by what she perceived as a brush-off of her concern.  His statement was accurate. The missing people showed up the next morning. They were fine and had learned a lesson about taking too many pictures while hiking. Her story highlighted the fact that missing people do not always equate urgency for the park rangers. If you get lost in a national park, you must find your way out. The only way through is to continue through.

Disclaimer: do not take this poster literally. One rule of hiking is the half-point rule. Set a time that you expect to be half-way done with your hike. If you are not half-way by that time, turn around to return. (Um, learn from my mistakes.) Do your research and hike wisely. Sometimes being safe means to continue and sometimes it means to turn back. Do not make foolish decisions with the expectation that someone else will rescue you. They may, but they may not.

What is your silly mantra to help tackle challenging tasks?

Day 14: Drink Water

Day 14

Drink up!

How many glasses of water do you drink daily? How do you make water interesting to drink?

Day 13: look up

Day 13

Happy Friday! Go forth and star-gaze this weekend.

What are your plans for this weekend?

Day 12: Restriction is never the solution

Day 12

(Trigger warning)

Restriction is an insidious process. It starts with something small. Or it starts with something big. The restriction is incorporated into your daily life. It's encouraged and praised by others. Then it is not enough and you restrict something else. Gradually, the restrictions increase and you're spiralling out of control. But you can't tell how tight the bindings are getting. You don't notice how you can't breathe. You just wonder why there is too much air to breathe and why you need so much of it. You get mad at yourself for being greedy, for wanting more air. You restrict something else. It cycles. It spirals.

Then one day, you realize that something is wrong and you reach out. You learn that you have been holding your breath. Slowly you learn it is ok to breathe. It is ok to want air. Until you relearned how to breathe, you couldn't understand that it was ok to breathe. Breathe. Breathe.

Inspired by Mary Lambert's "Body Love"

Day 11: the Space Between

Day 11

(one) At a bar watching the summer Olympics with two friends. There is a list of things we plan to do that weekend: hikes, farmers' markets, waterfalls, food trucks, comedy show. It's our annual vacation but we are not ready quite yet. Our fourth friend is arriving at the airport. For now, we sit in a pub, listen to live music, and watch the Olympics.

(two) Trudging downhill in the hot, hot sun with two people I met that weekend. I'm tired, I'm out of shape, I'm dirty. Also, my water bottle is nearly empty. A teammate pauses to listen to the birds. He motions up to the sky, invites me to listen, and smiles broadly. I listen.

(three) Wet, cold, sore. I'm flat on my back on a snowy mountain. Again. I need to sit up and stand up. This is not as simple as it sounds. My feet are strapped to a snowboard and I've been doing this all day. I'm tired. My friend tells me to look across the mountain at the view. The sky is clear. The lake is flat. The air is crisp.

These memories are of between moments. The pause before a vacation, the pause between steps in a relay race, the pause between attempts at snowboarding.  I focus so well on completing tasks that I often miss the present. These memories are vivid because my tasks were interrupted, by circumstances or by people stepping in and telling me to pause. Society bombards us with the message to move quickly onto bigger and better things. Life is not worthwhile unless we are deriving the maximum enjoyment from each second and each action. This is untrue. The next time you're unhappy, overwhelmed, or frantically thinking about the next item on your to-do list, pause. For a second. For a moment.

Enjoy the space between breaths, the pauses between steps, the moments between the beginning and the end.

What is your favorite between moment?

Day 10: WWBD?

Day 10

Most people spend their early twenties in a hedonistic haze of drinking, partying, and indiscriminate dating. I spent mine in book clubs and knitting groups. While my natural tendencies skewer towards grandma activities, I find myself drawn to people whose hobbies skewer towards exciting: fire-breathing, mountain climbing, aerial silks. Those people are cool and I am not so I can't do those things. That was my thought process until last year when I had an epiphany: I can do those things.

"Would a bad-ass do it?" has become a helpful question. I'm not talking about a bad-ass who beats up grandmas, steals candy from kids, and kicks kittens. "Bad-ass" is a person who does cool activities that I would like to try but I do not think I can do.  Once I stopped believing in my misconceptions of what activities are suitable for me and simply started trying, life became a lot more fun. I learned snowboarding from a friend. I learned blacksmithing at the Crucible in Oakland (an amazing place which I highly recommend). I'm learning graphic design through a university extension center. An advantage of living in San Francisco is there is always a place to learn and people to learn from. I'm finally taking advantage of it.

What fills in your blank: "What would ____________ do?" What have you accomplished with that guiding question?

Day 9: Comparsion

Day 9

This was inspired by a recent conversation with a former roommate. We saw each other on the train and decided to catch up over drinks. I told her about my decision to pursue design over accounting. In my introductory graphic design course, my classmates impress and intimidate me, especially the ones with art schooling. Whenever I compare my work to theirs, my aspiration to be a designer seems to be a farfetched dream. My day job has no design aspects and I have no fine arts education or computer software training.  My friend immediately said, "Don't ever compare your work to others."

I loved hearing that advice so you can expect to see that advice again in different forms. This poster explores the thin line between the times when comparison is good and when it is bad. Comparison is bad when it makes you feel poorly and prevents you from trying. The world and the internet is filled with artists and their works. If I took the time to compare my posters with the work out there, I would probably stop this project. Instead, I use the time to sit down and create something fun that makes me laugh.

At other times, comparsion can be inspirational. For example, I love travel. Other people's travel plans inspire my plans. If I haven't been to a particular location, their plans give me ideas on where to go, what to do, and most importantly, what to eat. If I have visited that country, it makes me feel a little closer to them knowing that we have visited the same place.


When you start to compare yourself to other people, use this handy-dandy flowchart. If you feel inspired, continue comparing yourself to others. If you feel despair, stop comparing. Instead, may I suggest you start a silly 30 day project of your own?

In what areas of life does comparison inspire you? In what areas have you needed to stop comparing yourself to others?

Day 8: Knees together

Day 8

Today I celebrated Easter in a San Francisco way: I picnicked in the park with friends and attended an event hosted by the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, "a charity, protest, and street performance organization that uses drag and religious imagery to call attention to sexual intolerance and satirize issues of gender and morality." Their Easter event includes a Foxy Mary and  Hunky Jesus contest. I loved walking around the park and seeing everyone's outfits and picnic setups. Some people were very elaborate and brought full tables and silverware. I also saw one person hoisting a loveseat through the crowd. Another couple wore Mad Hatter hats (and not much else) and drank from teacups the whole day. There were elaborate Easter bonnets including one that involved a live parrot. Being a sunny day, there were plenty of sundresses which inspired this poster. For a long time, I rarely wore dresses as I never mastered the art of sitting like a lady. One day my friend mentioned seeing a woman on the train and wanting to post a facebook status stating "Remember, knees together, ladies." She resisted the urge but I remembered her advice. Simple but I always repeat it when I wear a dress: keep my knees together to prevent flashing people. Of course, in San Francisco, you are welcome to keep your knees apart or in any position you wish. Another option is to do what I usually do: wear shorts underneath and sit however you like.

Is there an article of clothing you struggle with wearing appropriately?

Day 7: My Art Process

Day 7

In case you cannot tell what this poster is about, here's a message for Wahl Clipper Corporation: call me. I love your product and will gladly make a poster for you. I get giddy when I use your product every two weeks--it means I just saved $40 on a haircut.

I am planning a lengthy post about haircuts and its effect on my personality so we can skip that today. Instead, let's talk about my art process. My current process is thinking of a phrase that's been useful to me or I find funny. Then I sketch ideas while riding the morning train to work and paint after work at night.  While sketching for Day 5's idea, I ended up with a derivative sketch for hair. My doodles are below.

Day 5 sketches

It seems a bit early in the challenge to recycle ideas but I did not feel inspired this morning. I decided it was better to make a poster based on a defined idea than make a poor poster based on a uninspired idea. Once I started the poster, I had fun. Since the idea was simple and there was more time today, I refined the typography. Edges were straightened and made to be crisp rather than blurring as seen in the previous posters. I also tried to paint "OWN" as a serif typeface. Since I decided on serif after painting "own", there is not much difference between the thick and thin parts but the "O" turned out rather nicely. As a sidenote, I'm still learning the correct usage of typeface versus font. So feel free to correct my usage.

The text and hair was black because my hair is black. Also I get a thrill from the inkiness of black paint and applying it to blank paper. The bow tie added color for visual interest. The tie is blue because I like blue. The dots are orange because blue and orange are complementary. To use up extra paint that would be wasted, the text was highlighted in a light wash. The wash also added balance to the poster so the color was not at the bottom only. The main lesson for today is: if you're reluctant to do something, just start. Once you start, it'll be fun and you may be pleasantly surprised by the result.

What item on your to-to list are you procrastinating on today?

Day 6: Infect your Friends!

Day 6

Happy Friday! Go forth and infect your friends this weekend.

What are your plans for this Easter weekend?

Day 5: Cut your own Pineapple

Day 5

Pineapples look intimating. They are spiky and hard. How can you tell when they're ripe? The only form pineapple was eaten in my household was from a can. Moving to California exposed me to fresh pineapple.  It was love at first bite. Fresh pineapple is sweet, juicy and tastes nothing like its canned counterpart.

I also love pineapples because they remind me of friends. A college roommate taught me how to cut a pineapple and I think of her every time I do so. My amended instructions are below.

Day 5: How to Cut a Pineapple

The same friend taught me to soak it in water for a bit to reduce the acid in the pineapple. Another friend taught me how to pick pineapples. Turn it upside down and check the bottom for mold. No mold is best, a little is fine but a lot is not fine. A lot of mold means the pineapple is too old. Then pluck a leaf from the top. If it comes out easily, then the pineapple is sweet. If it does not come out easily, then try another pineapple. My information may be scientifically inaccurate but they're tradition. Also, I've chosen and eaten some darn good pineapples over the years.

This poster was inspired by a pineapple purchase this week and the fact I really enjoy pineapples. It seems straight-forward but I felt as though the poster was about self-reliance and the phrasing seemed familiar. Then I remembered this wonderful article about the owner of Trouble Cafe. On the menu, there's an item called Build Your Own Damn House. It's a cup of coffee, a whole coconut, and toast. The menu may seem like a gimmick at first but the story behind it is compelling. It's about building connections and stability while living with a mental illness.  Each item represents something that has sustained her over the years. Pineapples remind me of friendships and knowledge sharing.


Do you have a memory associated with a particular food or food preparation? What is a favorite skill you learned from a friend?

Day 4: Embracing Fear

Day4

Standing at the top of a mountain and strapped to a 1/2-cm thick piece of plastic, I remembered that I'm risk-adverse. I decided where to live after college based on where I had family. I make friends through book clubs because it's easy to talk about books. I converse about food at parties because everyone eats. So, how did I end up at the top of a mountain even though I fear heights?

Having grown up in the Midwest, I miss the snow and the cold winters. Years pass strangely in California with its lack of seasons. For years, friends suggested I take advantage of California's mountains and go ski in winter. It's the joy of winter without the required daily work. I never went. Being afraid to sled hills, I could not imagine myself careening down a mountain on slim pieces of plastic.  Then last year, I started doing small things that scare me such as talking to strangers at parties or looking stupid while learning how to swim. I realized that once I could acknowledge what I was afraid of, I can move on from it. Last year also introduced me to a new friend who's fanatical about snowboarding. I have always loved doing things with people who are passionate about that thing. Enthusiasm is infectious. So when he invited me to go snowboarding, I said yes.

That day, I was regretting my yes. It was not my first day, but it was the highest. After we unloaded from the lift, he took me to a sheer drop-off and told me to go down it. I was utterly terrified. In fact, I was hyperventilating. I wanted to jump back on the lift and retreat to the nice, warm, safe lodge. Instead I sat in the snow for 5 minutes, gathered my fear and panic, and squished them into a manageable ball. Then I flung myself off the side.

I went nowhere. It was a powder day and there was so much snow that I sunk immediately. My fears of careening wildly out of control down a mountain, injuring myself, and killing others turned out to be irrational. It was an accomplishment to snowboard two feet without sinking.

Fear can be debilitating. In small doses fear can be useful. It can focus attention: "Oh crap, there's a tree. I need to steer away from it." However, in large doses fear can prevent us from experiencing life. If fear had prevailed, I would have missed out three things I love: being outdoors, being active, and being in snow. Acknowledge your fears, then ignore them. Fear will be always present, but its purpose and influence on your life can be changed.


What fear have you conquered lately?

Day 3: Get Up

Day 3

I learned how to snowboard this year. I heard this a lot.

When I snowboard alone, I tend to sit after falls. When I'm with my friend, I am told, "Get up. What are you sitting for? Get up." On my own, I practiced falling leaf; it is easy to control but very tiring. It is a tool to teach beginners how to find an edge. Under my friend's guidance and constant reminders to get up, I learned to turn. Turns are the key move to snowboarding. They take more skill but less energy than falling leaf. The breakthrough came when I finally understood what it means to pick a lead foot and only turn on that side. Completing the first successful turn was exhilarating and made me so glad I kept snowboarding despite weeks of failure.

New endeavors often require a large amount of energy and result in what seems to be constant failure at first. As much as I always want to sit after falling, getting up leads to success quicker.  As skills develop with practice, results will improve while taking less energy.  While resting after a fall can be prudent, getting up is more useful. That said, the actual act of getting up while strapped to a snowboard is difficult. I can empathize with upside turtles now. Successfully snowboarding down a mountain makes the effort worthwhile.

Have you pursued any activity despite constant failure? What led to your first breakthrough?

Day 2: Chasing Buses

Day 2

Inspired by this Bold Italic article : "Why the Chinese Chase the Bus" by Christy Chan. It appeared in my facebook feed today; if you think about it, Facebook is scary in its targeted advertising. The writer muses over how Chinese people tend to strive for goals that seem impossible. She explores how that tendency helped her become an artist: "And since you’ve never been told you have natural talent, looks, or gifts, you just have to honestly, unflinchingly believe in yourself. Faith is reason enough to chase the bus you choose."  I love the article and I highly suggest reading it for inspiration. The epilogue is funny too; it has happened to my friends.

This poster is also my personal metaphor for goal-setting. When I first started going to the gym 7 years ago, it was with a small, silly, and sincere goal: to be able to run after the bus.  Acheiving that small goal propelled me into 10ks, half-marathons, running down mountains, and snow-boarding over the years. I was the inactive bookish kid who couldn't run a mile in grade school and hated being outdoors. I never thought of myself as an active person who loves the outdoors until I took up running. It exposed me to nature, helped me meet people, and boosts my mood. None of these things would have happened if I had not made the silly goal one day to chase after a bus. Now, I'm making another silly goal of pursing design. I hope that this turns out as well as running.

What bus are you currently chasing? Has a stranger ever demanded a ride from you.

Day 1: A New Direction

30 Day Challenge: Day 1

In lieu of making a decision, I often ask others for advice. I do this in restaurants, with travel plans, at the movie theater. A positive result of this habit is I experience things I would not on my own. Take the Burren in Ireland as an example. My travel partner suggested it. Even today, the pictures make me think, "Cracked rock, how boring." Surprisingly, I loved it. It is a surreal landscape and created strange feelings in a good way. I experienced this place because I said yes to my travel partner's suggestion despite my own feelings.

However, asking for advice is not always a good thing. For the past years since college ended, I have been struggling with a decision. More precisely, I have been struggling with a lack of decision. Each new year, I make a resolution that I will work on building my career: I will create goals, make plans, FIGURE OUT THE REST OF MY LIFE. I never did. I work in billing (as I put it, not real accounting) and the most I did was completing an accounting certificate last year. I thought about continuing coursework towards a CPA but decided to take a break. It was a wonderful year in which I developed my social skills, made new friends, and learned more about who I was. This year, I decided I should go back to school because I feel lazy outside of it. Also, I do love learning. I thought about diving back into accounting courses but decided on a graphic design course instead.

So in the past few months, I've been talking with people about which direction to go: accounting or design. Some advised me to stick in accounting and work towards a CPA so I would get paid more doing what I currently do. One person counseled me, "I have a friend who does design. She is talented, went to all the art schools, and has all the skills. She sells bras for a living. I was in your place 15 years ago. MBA, CPA, and I wanted to go build houses instead. Someone else gave me the advice I am giving you: go do what you want outside of work. But stick with accounting. You will always get a job as an accountant." This spoke to the practical side of me. I like a 9-5, a 401k, vacation time, job security, etc. And what chance do I have of being successful in design when I have no art education or technical skills? I do not want to sell bras.

Other people said they could imagine me being a designer. I always loved to doodle, making posters for events, and creating cute signs for dinner parties. One reason I've been thinking about getting a CPA is because I already spent 6 years in the field without a plan. May as well get a CPA along the way. However, someone else gave me a different perspective: "Yes, you spent 6 years here. But you have another 20 years ahead. Go be a designer."

Then I went to a design conference this week and I heard these two talks: Maria Popova, "The Science of Productivity and the Art of Presence" and Lisa Congdon, "Embrace the Abyss & Other Lessons". They made me say,"Forget my fears. I'm going to try to be a graphic designer." I am keeping my job but I am going to focus my outside hours on design now. No more mental energy spent debating what classes to take, no more beating myself up for not being practical, no more seeking advice for what I really want to do.

The first part of this journey will be attempting a 30-day challenge. Yes, I really took Lisa's advice to heart. The general plan is to paint a poster about something that inspires me. I like making posters and it's an easy task. The timing of this idea is a challenge as I'm going out of the country May 1-15. I do not use the internet on vacation. So I plan to sketch/doodle on the road and then post them on my return.

I don't have the technical skills. I have no art school education. I don't know how to use the software. But I keep telling myself: it's like running. You start small. You start kinda crappy. But you keep doing it until it becomes a habit. Then you refine. You improve. Skills don't develop overnight. (I know my design class is already changing me because this font is kinda driving me crazy now. I thought it was so cute when I initially picked it. Now, I find the way it has no baseline to be irritating. It jumps up and down. I will change it in the future.)

Simple 30-day challenge rules:
1. Create something every day. Anything. Even a doodle on toilet paper counts.
2. Take a picture of it.
3. Write a blog post explaining its meaning. (Keep it short, because I need more sleep.)
4. Post it within the 30 days, April 14-May 14.

"Ask for advice. Follow what resonants." (Yes, spelling error. Because I was paranoid and spell-checked. I was right without it.)

I still believe in asking for advice. What is important is not what people tell you but how you feel about what you are told. If a part of you is reluctant to follow the advice, then examine why you feel that emotion. Is it untrue to who you are or are you afraid to be what is possible?

Advice which is good for you will not always appear to be good advice. In my head, my decision to choose design is like saying, "I choose to pick the unstable, uncertain, possible path to complete failure and abject poverty rather than a steady, stable, certain middle-class future with early retirement." However, the talks from strangers felt more right to me than all the practical advice I received from people who have known me for years. Design will make me happier than what I've been doing for the past 6 years. I know it will stress me out as I have stressed every week over the assignments but it will also make me happy. And if it does not work out, it will be okay. At least, I will have tried and have the stories to tell.

What are you like as a decision-maker? Is your decision-making process the same in all situations?