life itself is grace

with my love for polaroid shots, i was very disappointed to find out they were discontinuing the film (nostalgic blog post here). so when grace told me about an application called "poladroid" that allows you to upload your digital photos and transform them into polaroid-like images, i was nothing short of ecstatic. after seeing the photos she posted on her blog, i was inspired to upload some of my own images.

i've wasted most of my lazy sunday afternoon going through photos on my computer and "poladroid-ing" them. here are a few favorites:







i felt like i took a nice little jaunt down memory lane as i looked through photos on my computer, laughing out loud as i recalled some of the stories attached with the images. there's something about the look and feel of a polaroid shot that, for me, captures a moment in a wonderfully appropriate way. faded as if washed in a bit of time, the edges slightly fuzzy as if you are conjuring the image straight from the vault of your memory.

recently, i've been reading frederick buechner's listening to your life as part of my daily meditations. this quote, from which the book obtains its name, has stayed with me the past couple of weeks, stirring itself to the forefront of my mind particularly at moments of the mundane:

"Listen to your life. See it for the fathomless mystery that it is. In the boredom and pain of it no less than in the excitement and gladness: touch, taste, smell your way to the holy and hidden heart of it because in the last analysis all moments are key moments, and life itself is grace." - Buechner

life itself is grace. what a beautiful truth.


cups of coffee: 2 + 1 ginger milk tea

mood: soaking it in

new(er) mood

new year - new resolutions? new plans? new hopes?
sure.
but mostly, new playlist with current music fixations!

i have a new playlist entitled "newer mood" that i'm currently lovin'. so here's some of what's been spinning round and round on my ipod....

thanks to friend billy's amazing music blog, i've discovered a few bands occupying comfortable slots on my playlist. included are:

matt and kim have a fun and upbeat sound that catch your ear and get your foot tapping. check out "lessons learned."

noah and the whale. "blue skies" had me at the drop of the drum beat and first few chords.

phoenix plays brilliant pop. "girlfriend" is great for dancing around the apartment.

other bands that have been around but i'm just getting around to (cut me some slack. i'm old and i live in china.):

owl city. just missed his performance here in shanghai! i love the crowd pleaser "fireflies". and the song "umbrella city" makes me feel like i can fly.....or be a video game champ.

kings of leon. the first few measures of "use somebody" is absolutely stellar.

i love, love, LOVE ingrid michaelson. discovered her from "gray's anatomy" soundtracks. i can't get enough of "you and i". then again, i'm a sucker for anything with a ukulele.

the avett brothers. yes, i'll gladly jump aboard the new folk wave and confess my love for the avett brothers.

i came across "neverends" by vijay kishore on a compilation album i downloaded. this is simply a lovely swoon of a song. great listen for when you have an achin' heart.

i think it was off the same compilation album that i found ben howard's "cloud nine." intriguing guitar, great voice. i love melancholy love songs.

and a couple of sweet little ditties for the softer side. i've been listening to mindy smith for years and love her airy and sweet-as-whipped-frosting voice. "it really is (a wonderful life)" was a free holiday download from amazon and though christmas is over, i am still adamantly listening to this song. makes me feel like i'm walking through some snowy wonderland, sipping hot chocolate, making snow angels, holding hands and getting warm fuzzies. love it.

another lovey-dovey song without teetering into complete saccharine sappiness: sam & ruby's "this i know." jazzy instrumentals coupled with ruby's slightly raspy vocals and sam's tinge of a twang. feel-good stuff.

finally, some great recommendations from good friend and music fiend oli:

caravan palace! it's like 1920s swing jazz on acid. it works and it's absolutely brilliant. "dragons" especially gets my heart pumping and my groove on.

mumford & sons. wow. wow, wow, wow. talented musicians, and a commitment to honest and raw lyrics. they are quickly becoming one of my favorite bands.

there are a few more, but these top the list.

any other recommendations for a new playlist?


cups of coffee: 1 and a nice cup of yerba mate

mood: tiiiiiiiiired but happy

holiday recap!

december was a whirl of parties and food. the first day of 2010 finds me on the couch, trying to recall what happened this last month, sorting through photos on my computer while slowly digesting both the mound of food and alcohol in my stomach and the mishmash of thoughts in my head.

in brief:

a few friends from the arts group and i are chipping in to rent a studio space situated in an alley where tons of artists work. besides using the space for our own creative efforts, we are also hoping to host various events and commit the space as a nucleus for community. christmas was the perfect opportunity to throw an inaugural bash, and a bash we threw indeed! mulled wine, yummy treats, sing-along, and interactive art...we managed to squeeze in about 100 people in our small studio.


continuing our caroling tradition, some friends and i took it to the streets of shanghai again this year. perhaps it's because of preparations for the world expo, but the police were much more vigilant this year and we were shooed (firmly but politely) by security guards and cops on three separate occasions for drawing a crowd and creating a "potentially dangerous" situation. at one point, a newspaper photographer snapped some shots, which appeared in a local newspaper the next day - online version (in chinese) here.

we planned for our finale to be in the lobby of this big shopping mall that featured a wonderful open atrium with amazing acoustics - we sang here last year and it served as a fantastic finish. to our surprise, we arrived to find a large stage set up smack in the center of the lobby with bright lights flashing and techno dance music playing. they were setting up for some kind of performance, with "christmas carnival" sprawled out in purple and pink above the stage.

our fearless group leader, morris, asked the guys running the show if they wouldn't mind turning off the techno music so we could sing a few songs, and to our surprise they not only agreed but invited us to sing on stage! so we ended up as the "opening act" for this brazilian dance number that featured scantily clad women with huge feathered headdresses and one bare chested man whose hip-wiggling could rival that of ricky martin's.


we hosted our annual christmas party at the gallery, and our non-profit highlight this year was 'compassion for migrant children' (CMC). there was a special exhibit of CMC photos set up for sale, and we held a lucky draw with ticket proceeds benefiting CMC. it was a great turnout this year - especially a lot of young chinese folks who had heard about the event via word of mouth.

(photos by henry sha)

i hosted my own christmas gathering at my place - a small brunch on christmas day. nothing like hearty fare, fun friends and even a little impromptu music to celebrate christmas.


last but not least: new year's eve. kicked off with a dinner at my place. the menu ran the gamut from beef pasta casserole to dumplings to krispy kreme donuts (yes, we have a krispy kreme in shanghai now!), and of course, lots of wine and bubbly. we rented a van this year (after the nightmarish ordeal of trying to hail taxis on a freezing new year's eve last year), so we rode in style to azul/vargas grill for drinks following dinner. after reaching midnight and being showered in confetti, we were ready to groove and headed over to lost heaven on the bund, a gorgeous restaurant/lounge/bar with DJs that laid down some heavy beats for the evening's celebrations.


whew! so, that's the holidays at a quick glance.

2009 - it's been grand. thanks for the memories.

2010 - bring it. i'm ready.


cups of coffee - 1

mood: laaaaaazy