Sad rainy day in the city

It bothers me that I am still mad. I am not at all like this.

This great state of California voted to add more rights to chickens, pigs and other farm animals and then took away the right to marry from gay people.

What were you thinking 'progressive' California? So sad.

~rl


(The photo above is from my latest project using stamps from my journeys to unforgettable places.)

Un gorro azul en la ciudad

Estoy sentando
esperando por mijo
nos dimos
que vamos a quedar aqui
en un lugar
que nos encanta
donde hemos venido
por algunas veces
hace frio afuera
por eso, voy al adentro
hay muchas sillas, mesas
algunas personas estan comiendo
no se si tengo hambre o sed?
estoy cansado
cansadosobre muchas cosas
estoy pensando en el trabaho proyekto, escuela
ordeno algo
finalmente, mijo llego
esta llevando un gorro azul

me dijo lo siento
por veni tarde
le sonrei
de repente, estoy relajado
~rl

(La foto la sacaron en un bar en la ciudad de San Francisco)

Design class in the City

Here's my final design for the Scale project.

This is the third pass. After the first critique in class, I decided to remove the red shoe in the middle of the lower left side and added more detail by adding the smaller-than-life images of the shoes with legs in color. This adds more balance to the overall design, I think.

The larger-than-life suede shoe brings out the details of the leather material not generally seen by people – the grain, the creases, and the dirt. The same thing can be said about our lives. We see the details of a person, whether good or shocking, by close inspection.

The larger-than-life suede shoe is a black and white photograph taken using a 100mm macro lens and printed on a 12x18 matte paper. The smaller-than-life colored images are cut outs from 4x7 photos and then glued into the 12x18 paper to create a montage. The black and white photo of the suede shoe is larger-than-life and is proportional. By using a 100mm macro lens, I was able to keep the proportions. The colored photos are smaller-than-life and are proportional as well.

The tactile texture of the suede material is made obvious by the larger-than-life size.

The primary element is the large scale. It brings out the tactile textures of the suede leather. The secondary element is the balance that is created by the colored cut-out pictures with the black-and-white photo. The tertiary element is the amorphous shapes that are present in the montage. Another tertiary element is the lines created by the outline between the black and white and the colored photos.

~ral

(The photo above is my final design for the Scale project in my Design 101 class at the city college.)

Sounds of the City

It is amazing how listening to a portable music player creates a whole new surrounding for the listener making him or her detached from the real world. While enjoying the music being played in the device, it makes that person miss out on the noise and sounds of the true environment. Based on my personal experience, it is a mix almost being run over by a reckless driver and partly losing my hearing because the volume was inadvertently set to max a couple of times! My honey has also complained that this is why I keep missing his calls.

There are days I didn't have my device on because of my forgetfullness to always recharge, recharge, recharge. If it is any consolation, I had a wonderful, sometimes life-changing, experience listening to the sound the city reverberates and also the conversations I didn't fail to overhear.

~~~~

How nice it is to hear the clacking sound of shoes against the concrete city sidewalks.

~~~~

(Overheard inside a high-end store in Union Square between a Sales Associate and a shopper).
SA: Is someone already helping you?
Customer: No, not really.
SA: Do you have any questions?
Customer: Uhm, I'm just looking around to see the things that I can live without!

~~~~

(Overheard inside the city's SPCA - Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals).
SPCA: Do you already have a pet?
Visitor: No, we don't. Oh, actually, we do. (The adult looking down at the kids next to him.)
Kids: (Giggles and then laughter)

~~~~

The chic violinist and her hipnotic piece on the corner of Geary and Stockton in front of Neimann Marcus.

~~~~

(A group of friends inside a newly-opened Filipino restaurant in the Castro district).
This is what I call a 'dressed-up' traditional Filipino cuisine.

~~~~

(Overheard while walking down Market street between a young man and a young woman).
YW: Do you like older women?
YM: No, not really.
YW: It's just that I've always seen you with older women, that's why.
YM: I like them all.

~~~~

(Adult with a little kid while getting out of a subway station. In Spanish!)
No lo sale.
(It won't come out - referring to the ticket).

~~~~

(Overheard inside the J-train. A guy talking on his cell phone).
I'm on the J. I'll be there in half an hour (pause)
I have a movie called The Scandal. IT sounds good (pause)
Sorry I don't have anything to eat at my apartment and I just had brunch with friends (pause)
I only have ice cubes (pause)
Bring yourself something to eat like a snack.

~~~~

(Overheard while waiting in line for a movie at the Metreon. A guy talking to another guy.)
Oh my god! I'm so busy. If I'm not working long hours, I go to the gym. Work, gym, work, gym, work, gym or I sleep-in.

~~~~

~ral

(This photo was taken at the SF Museum of Modern Art on a Thursday evening.)

Herb Garden in the City

My herb garden upclose.


It is almost mid-summer and all my herbs have fully grown. With the exception of thyme or maybe sage, they will have run their natural course and wilt by the first frost of late fall or early winter. So I decided to frame them while they're at the peak of their growth. I didn't include the rosemary and lavender because, eventhough they are part of the garden, they are not part of that little corner called my 'herb garden'.


Here they are... drum roll please...



I planted them in my strawberry-pot a year ago and then I added some more herbs like savory and marjoram to make the pot look fuller. Thyme is good for seasoning blend for poultry, fish sauces and soups. It is often paired with tomatoes.



I think I have three varieties of tomatoes this year. Unfortunately, Cherry Red is the only one I remember. I love adding tomatoes in my salad, and is the main ingriedient in salsa. It is also great for making home made sauces for pasta dishes.





Sage has a fragrant aroma and a warm flavor.
I usually sprinkle a small amount of chopped sage in my focaccia bread dough just before baking. Sometimes I use this when grilling meats, poultry or fish. Use this sparringly as its flavor can overwhelm the foods' taste.




This is the first time I planted chamomille. I haven't experimented with the uses of this herb but I heard it is good for making teas. I am supposed to trim the flowers to encourage leaf growth but I decided to leave the flowers. They're pretty, I think.





I use Parsley mainly as a garnish. It has that sour, tangy flavor just like green mangoes. It mostly used in Greek salads.
Chopped parsley also enhances the flavor of garlic fries and herb pasta.





Cilantro is popular in Mexican and Asian dishes. Its pungent taste and smell spread quickly inside the kitchen you can almost always tell someone is chopping cilantro.
I use it for making salsa and for shrimp or chicken soup.




Mint is also popular in Asian dishes especially in Vietnamese cuisine. Personally, I think crushed mint leaves are perfect for making a cocktail called mojito.






Oregano is best used with vinegar for pickling onions, cucumbers, lettuce, etc. Mijo uses this for a Salvorian condiment called 'cortido' which is similar in taste as kimchi.






I have seen Chives used to tie crepes or to decorate wraps. Since I don't have savvy culinary skills, I basically use Chives as a garnish to dishes where onions and garlic are used.




~ral


(These photos were taken in my backyard I call Herbs in the City.)

Familiar scenes

Someone has been in the house.

I can tell by the smell that lingered in the living room. A familiar scent.

A work bag, folded newspapers and a pair of worn out black shoes all placed directly under the cityscape wall art. This is a familiar scene.

The backdoor is ajar.

The flower pots by the stairs, the jasmine planter, the spanish lavender, all newly hosed down. Another familiar scene.

Today's mail on the coffee table. Someone came home early, perhaps?

I tip toed my way through our abode and saw mijo, still in his work clothes, taking his treasured nap in the bedroom.

How I wish I had a camera handy to capture this picturesque, fleeting moment.

~ral

(The picture above is the inverted cube of the newly opened Contemporary Jewish Museum on Yerba Buena lane in San Francisco.)

Salamat sa Diyos at Biyernes na

Kausap ko si Mama sa telepono nang tumawag ang Salvadoran. Mula nung pumanaw si Papa, naisip ko na palagiang tawagan si Mama tuwing biyernes. Tutal, telecommute naman ako nang araw na yun. Nakakatuwa lang, di kami nauubusan ng kuwento. Ang laging bungad ni Mama pag-angat ng telepono ay ang American boy. Tumatagal yung kuwentuhan namin ng kalahating oras. Nakakausap ko rin ang kapatid kong si Nene kapag nataon na nasa bahay siya. Huwag nyo na lang itanong kung magkano ang phone bill ko kada buwan.

Sabi ko sa Salvadoran na tawagan ko ulit siya mamaya kasi kausap ko mama ko. Alam niyang aabutin ng siyam siyam ang usapan namin kaya nag-text na lang siya. Magkita daw kami sa harap ng GAP sa Powell.

Pagkatapos ng isang oras at kalahati, nasa harap na ako ng Gap. Kinakapa ko yung cell phone ko para tawagan siya na andito na ako nang may nakita ako sa di kalayuan. Sa gitna ng mga tourista, empleyado sa opisina, at mamimili - agad ko siyang natanaw.

Tumayo na lang muna ako sa isang sulok patuloy na nagmasid sa malayo nang tumunog ang cell phone ko. Nagtatanong ang Salvadoran kung nasaan na raw ako. Bigla akong napangiti.

~ral

(Ang larawan sa itaas ay ang tulay na ang tawag ay Bay Bridge sa San Francisco.)