Sorry I haven't posted in a long time. I've been busy with schoolwork. Today, I'm going to write about a special store. Last summer, we were visiting Seattle and exploring Chinatown when we found KOBO, which is a small store in Seattle that features Japanese, Asian, and Northwest arts and crafts. We ended up spending two hours there looking at all the art work and curios. The store features many different types of artwork by different artists. The artwork they feature is amazing and cute. They sell a wide range of items such as books, posters, paintings, mugs, ceramics, t-shirts (THEY'RE SO CUTE I BOUGHT TWO!), spray painted...objects, and much more. A few of my favorite art pieces were by Enfu. However, I loved all the other pieces as well. I'll post a few of them below.
We bought these silver spray painted baby durians. They're very cool and decorative. Maybe they are better spray-painted then eaten, because I hear that the inside is supposed to be stinky.
The store inspired me to paint some artwork of my own. For me, the topic is food, of course,. Here are a few.
Episode 1 of Way Off Broadway Can't wait to check out the first episode of the new series "Way Off Broadway" on March 2 at 8:00 p.m. on Bravo! Be sure to catch it.
Who says Asian students are just nerds?!! Our uncle Jonathan Lee (to the right) who just graduated from Medical School to be a psychiatrist, (nerdy, yes. . .) will be featured in the brand new 13 episodes Bravo reality show "Way Off Broadway" (way cool), undergoing intensive training for eight weeks to put on "The Wizard of Oz" to benefit charity. In the press release, he is described as Jon Lee – psychiatry resident at the University of Toronto who does research in transcranial magnetic stimulation at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. How awesomely nerdy is that!! Go Uncle Jonathan! Check out the link to information about Jon Lee on Bravo Canada's website. Jon Lee
Check out the newly released trailer for the show:
Hey guys, so if you’re looking for some good new music to listen to, boy do I have a treat for you.
Last year, I was mindlessly surfing Youtube for decent music when I stumbled upon a cover of Brandi Carlile’s “The Story” performed by Lijie Yang.I started checking out the rest of her posts, and I was really impressed with her voice and beautiful songwriting abilities.I checked out her website, read her great biography, and I was absolutely hooked.
My parents took us to Seattle for a short trip over summer vacation.I’d read on Lijie’s website that she was having her CD release party in Seattle while we were there, but it was going to be held at a bar so I knew I couldn’t go.Instead, my parents took us out to have dinner in celebration of my birthday.After our meal, the most unexpected thing happened: Lijie walked into the restaurant, walked over to our table, and started talking to my mom like they’d met before.Apparently, my mom had arranged for me to meet her, even though I couldn’t go to her CD party.It was definitely a great experience—I got a signed copy of her album and the chance to meet one of my favorite musicians.
As someone who follows her dreams, Lijie is definitely a role model to me.Check out her website here for free downloads of a couple of her songs: www.IamLijie.com. While you're at it, check out and buy her albums:The Music Maker, and Roam. Some of my favorite songs of hers are: I Left a Part of Me, Love's Melody, and Time from the Music Maker, Roam, Blue, and LA from the album Roam.
I'm in the middle of my school midterms, which is why I haven't been thinking about blogging much. However, this last couple of weeks, a lot of news came out about Jeremy Lin, the Chinese American dude who graduated from Harvard, and now plays for the New York Knicks. My sister and I already follow Jeremy Lin and his funny Youtube videos with KevJumba and Nigahiga.
Last week, my dad keeps making me watch clips of Jeremy Lin playing point guard for the New York Knicks. I can't help but think that maybe there is athletic potential in all of us Asian kids after all.
I've been playing in an Asian League basketball team since 2nd grade. We had a very lame name for our team: "The Shooting Angels".
Me in third grade with the Shooting Angels
When we were kids, we didn't mind so much, but in 6th grade, we started feeling a bit embarrassed by the name. My teammates were saying that they don't want to wear our team shirts to go out because of the name. So we finally changed our name to the Magic. Still lame, but better. Apparently, the Asian leagues have the funniest team names: the QD's, Below the Rim, Happy Shoyu, Hoops a Daisies, Hollywood Dragonettes, Mustang Rainbows, Kukui Nuts, and many more. It's kind of quaint and nice, as long as you don't have to wear those names on your shirts.
In the Asian league, we play over thirty games a year. We play all over Los Angeles County, Orange County, and even in Las Vegas. We are drilled on the fundamentals, and we develop great friendships with our teammates whom we've been together with since 2nd grade or even younger. My team doesn't exclude girls who are not so good at playing. We know each other's strengths and weaknesses, and we encourage each other during games. I started off shooting at the wrong basket, but now I am the point guard for my team (mainly because I'm short but fast). We've had some good seasons (we were last season's champs), and some bad ones (We're in the midst of a losing season right now). On my part, I also play with kids from my local parks and recreation center perhaps another ten to fifteen more games a year.
In middle school this year, I joined the school basketball team. Because my school is mostly non-Asian, I think most of the school coaches and students assume that this short scrawny Asian girl doesn't play sports. But, when I signed up for basketball this season, I find myself to be one of the more experienced players on the team. While we've been losing quite a few games, I know that I help keep the team competitive. When we play against other schools, I'm pleasantly surprised that I run into players from the other Asian league teams I've played against before. We're happy to see each other.
If we all keep playing, and schools and teams give us a chance instead of assuming that Asian kids can't play sports, maybe there will be more Asian boys and girls playing ball in college, and in professional teams too. Go, Jeremy Lin!
