The Old House

The Old House, originally uploaded by Shazzbazz draws the Line!.

A neighbor found photos of our house and the land. His family has been here for decades, I think it was his grandfather that built this house, I'm not so sure. But it's pretty cool to see how it used to be.

We are not sure of when the house was built some say it was built 1900 but others think it was 1910 or possibly a decade later. Anyhow it's still standing but it does need a lot of work. I'm a bit worried about the winter as I've been spoilt by my last apartment with it's warm floors as Korean homes are heating through the floors. But this house.... the insulation isn't finished and many walls are open as we are still going through renovations.

It's a cute home that my parents fell in love with.

Pink Party

Pink Party, originally uploaded by Shazzbazz draws the Line!

I haven't been sketching this week, but I have been fooling around with Illustrator. I should learn more, such as being able to convert this to JPG straight off from an Illustrator file as the quality gets lots a bit the way that I'm doing it. The lines look a bit pixelated. 

Have a smashing weekend :)

A Drawing!

My Nado!, originally uploaded by Shazzbazz Draws The Line!.

Seeing that I named my blog "Shazzbazz Draws The Line" I should post a drawing or two here and there. I did this last January for an Art Show curated by Mary Song, "Minority Report" in Seoul.

It's pen on a wooden table that was given to me by my school which I painted with acrylic. Unfortunately I had to take the legs off due to shipping charges being too crazy, and I'm glad I did as the legs had a few lodgers!

Decorating and Recycling

I have this on my desktop, I never liked blue in a home until now.

I love interior design and people's wonderful imagination in how to use their spaces.  Many of you may know that I've been posting a variety of links to websites/blogs that I frequent that feature interior design.  Well I'm still addicted maybe more than ever!  

I love how you can reinvent and give life to something old to be new again.

I'm still job hunting however I can't stay at home in Stavely and work in Calgary as it's just too far and I have much respect for those that do, but I am not looking forward to winter.  I can't and don't want to imagine myself driving each morning in the snow, and apparently the road into Stavely from my house is notorious in the winter months which is probably why everyone drives such monstrous pick-up beasts!  So the plan is according to me landing a job in Calgary or even Fort McMurray that I will purchase a place with the help of my family.

Which is why I'm feeding my addiction for interior design.  However I envy the flea markets that numerous bloggers blog about, Calgary is somewhat limiting, I know some Calgarians have good taste but my goodness some just don't.  I've been researching realty and eeeek many homes are so bland or just filled with flowery wreaths that decorate every nook and cranny.  I've been looking at Craigslist and Kijiji and wow, the things people sell are sometimes a cool bargain and others need to do some research before posting.  I saw a sofa and loveseat for sale for CDN$300, "What's the prob?" you may ask, well it was hideous, brown and flowery in a not so nice way. (Check out the Ugliest Couch Contest some have interesting shapes.)  I remember when I first came to Canada in '91 that stores where trying hard to flog em.  Gosh and to think I sold a nice white sofa for $20 and a grey one that I bought brand new and used for two years for $75!

I took this photo to show how ugly and uncomfortable these beasts are but yet they're popular in Korea, as well as the arrangement.  This house was huge, the space was empty.

Anyway we should recycle furniture more than we already do I've heard of some cities having a recycle furniture day or I remember in Hong Kong that every Chinese New Year many families would refurnish their homes in the hopes of cleaning out the bad luck well my friends and I would go on scavenger hunts to all the garbage dumps and come home with new furniture most expats arrived in HK with just a suitcase and now had fully furnished homes thanks to the garbage.  I knew of a few people who created businesses from this.

When I see Linda Crispell's home I just melt and get inspired.  Hope you do too.

I'm max

I'm max, originally uploaded by Shazzbazz draws the Line!.

I've posted before about "Where the Wild Things Are" and how I used it in the classroom. I miss my kids and maybe I should become a true elementary school teacher. It allows me to reach my own inner child too as you can see above :)

Argh!

I don't know if anyone else has these issues when they are trying to log into their blogger account. It takes three or more times for me to sign in, I am always automatically directed to the "Create a blog" page which is so annoying.  

Oh dear maybe it's just me getting old and falling behind technology ~ LOL 

Calgary Craigslist find: Tulip Dining Set

Calgary Craigslist find: Tulip Chairs and table, originally uploaded by Shazzbazz draws the Line!.

I'm so excited to find this set, I've been following websites like Design Sponge or Decor 8, I love what people have done. You can check them out in my favourites on Flickr as well as other things that tickle my fancy!

Also I really am inspired by artisans like Thomas Wold who created the amazing "Fractured Fairy Tales"

Or Danny Seo the "environmentalist lifestyle expert" who finds a greener creative approach to everyday living.  With some simple ideas to create some unique and fun alternatives.  Like painting your old fridge with chalkboard paint which serves two purposes like covering the ugliness as well as being functional art or lists.

I used to collect the Readymade magazines when I lived in Korea, as "What the Book" is an awesome store that you can order books online (for those in Seoul, Korea) with them as they're connected with U.S. Amazon.  So really for a Canadian gal like me  getting mags or books there was cheaper as some publishers still refuse to see that the Canadian dollar is just about on par with the U.S. dollar or is sometimes stronger but yet the pricing is still higher for Canadians which sucks!!!  Anyway the main point here was the fact that I was telling you to go get a Readymade mag, you won't be disappointed, or click and check out the website!

Well that was the highlight of my day the other part was me stuck in the South of Calgary with an overheated engine with steam pouring out of my hood.  Got that fixed just before my hour long drive home, luckily it happened here and not on the highway!  Once I got home and made myself a tuna sandwich as my brother recommended last night, well I broke my tooth in half :(

It's a sign of good things to happen, he he he he!  Happy weekend all!

So uhm, I didn't quite post the next day ~ oops!

So I left the last post at Ho Chi Minh City.  Well I went to Hong Kong kind of alone as United Airlines wasn't so kind in my request for my parents and I to sit together; yeah right, if one end of the plane to the other constitutes as together then I shouldn't complain!!!  Once in HK, my parents tried hard to change their flight to Canada and allow them to stay two days, but thanks to Oasis Airlines closure there was no way for them to get another confirmed flight and was best to stay on course :( so we said our goodbyes and parted our ways.

It was a sad and lonely bus trip to Fotan where Cherie lives.  I was so hoping that my parents could make it there with me as it's another place for them to visit as I had lived there for a couple of years and seem to be always drawn back to HK.  Anyway I got to Fotan and was to pick up the key from my old school, however they were away for a two hour lunch, so there I sat at the Mac Donald's next door for two hours!!!  It was interesting I even got chatting with a university student, so that was cool.

I stayed in HK for three weeks it was supposed to be a week and then to L.A. with Young-joo however she had some visa issues and had to return to Korea, so I was stuck in HK, but that was okay, it meant a longer stay with Cherie :)  I was a bit lazy too, as I had my own room for the first time in a month, so I slept a lot.  

HK was fun, I got to see more of Wanchai than I did when I lived there.  I met up with Vicki too which was cool.  I  love and hate HK for many things, and this trip made me see the better side of the city, and IF I ever move back I am definitely not living in the New Territories again, I want to be on the island.

I still had to fly to L.A. to get my connecting flight to Calgary, as my Air Canada ticket was carved in stone and I couldn't change it at all :(   I remember last year I was stuck for ten hours at LAX coming in from Maui to Calgary as the flight was delayed, well I thought no way am I going to sit for the four hours layover I had in the same gate again.  So I took off to Venice beach for a bit, which was awesome, if only I knew the last time just how close the beaches were to LAX!  I just relaxed on the beach did some people watching and took a taxi back with the best driver ever, he was from Tanzania and really made my day :)  But that was soon shattered to see that the same delay was about to happen, what are the chances of that???  I was flying the same flight as last year and again there were delays!!!!  I took how many flights on this trip and AC still can't get it together!!!  AARGH!

I finally arrived in Calgary just about midnight, then it's a two hour drive home :(

Anyway life in Canada has slowed down a lot, I mean sloooooooow!  I did get roped into drywalling and painting in the house, even when I visited my brother for a week in Fort Mac my mum and I were landscaping.   My friend Hee-jeong came to visit from Korea, she was to spend three months here, but it got cut short due to her dad's health, but luckily he's not too bad now that she's back there.  So now I'm home alone in Stavely still living out of a backpack, my shipping made it here okay but is now is storage awaiting the next phase.  JOB!  HOME!  In the meantime, I enjoying the creative energy that has recently hit me, I'm painting plates, sketching, painting furniture and playing with shrinky dinks (LOL)!!!

Wish me luck with the job hunt and the reversal culture shock!

I Know, I'm Sorry :)

It's been a long time since I posted I do apologize about four months!!!  Hi-ya!  Well as you can imagine lots has happened as well as the meaning of my blog which I will get into later.  So I last left off at "Moving Sucks" and let me tell ya it most certainly did!

The shipping company came in and packed up everything nicely for me, it's here in Canada, but I'm living in a small room in my parent's place so until I get my own space again can I unpack my stuff, for the moment I'm still living out of my backpack!

It was hard to hand over my keys as it meant much more than that.  I was lucky enough to find new tenants who wanted to buy most of all my stuff giving me some extra cash as well as saving me from the heartache and stress of selling each piece.  But I will miss my apartment however I'm looking forward to my next space as I'm determined that I will no longer rent, but instead own my home!!!  Damn I had better get a job!

Well as you can guess I'm now back in Canada with the folks but they themselves took a big leap this year along with my brother as they met me in Korea like I mentioned in an earlier post.  

It was fantastic to introduce my Korean life to my family who embraced more than I had anticipated which was awesome.  My friends were worried to meet them as they were nervous as the cultural barrier of how to speak or act around elders was really evident but once my friends met my family they realized how down to earth my family really is.  It was awesome!!!

We only stayed in Seoul, if there was more time I would have liked to take them to Daegu and introduce them to my first school and Mrs Cho who has helped me so much in Korea.  After all 대구 was my Korean hometown ~LOL!

Well even though it was great to be with my family it most certainly helped with the harsh reality that I was LEAVING Korea and all my wonderful friends.  It made it a lot easier as I'm still teary eyed knowing that I can't just call up Nado, or go to Hongdae in some club or gallery and meet up with Valthino, Sanae, Joo-young or other friends to party all night.  Or have a girly chit chat in Itaewon with Maryon or be involved in some art show thing with Mary!  I love them all and will miss Korea for it's people and the wonderful memories however I will be back for a visit as I left a piece of me there!!!

So that was that however another part was just beginning as my family and I were off to Thailand together.  I realized that it was the first time that all four of us were together on the same flight, the last time was when we first went to Canada for a holiday when I was 16!

WE had a wonderful time, mind you I think everything caught up with me the first night in Bangkok I was really ill, I've never thrown up in a restaurant, but I think I was under a lot of stress and now I can relax, but my body really went South!  Luckily the next day I was fine and ready to kick some ass as Bangkok's tour guide to the Palace and beyond ~ he he he!

We stayed in bangkok for three nights then flew down to Krabi where we stayed in a small resort that was absolutely the best ever!!!  Sure there were bugs but hey that's what you expect when in the jungle!

We had such a fantastic time going on a picnic with our longtail boats whizzing pass so many islands then picking our own private beach to eat baguettes and drink beer ~ that's the life!  The resort was so friendly and comfortable it was fun to eat dinner with everyone at one large table as well as go sea kayaking with everyone, however my parents opted out instead they took the dogs for a stroll along the empty beach that our resort was nicely located on.  The best place that I stayed in.

Andrew left to go back to work, but the three of us went onto to Siem Reap which I have been trying to go to, and I'm so happy that I got to go with my folks.

We visited Angkor Wat which was amazing, my parents weren't so sure what I was talking about but once we were there they were in total awe!  We had a great time with our driver who was the same age as me but his naiivety was quite cute.  He drove us around for the three days we were there, at only $30 a day I thought it was higher than what was advertised however it was a steal for what he provided for us in the end and what that money represents to his family.

The next day we were off to Vietnam by bus however we had to stop over for a night in Phnom Phen then the next we took another bus to Ho Cho Minh City.

We didn't stay too long in HCMC in fact as soon as we got off the bus we walked straight into a travel agent and booked the first flight to Hanoi.  We got to our hotel quite late, but weren't too pleased being on the top floor of the tall skinny hotel that has no elevators, so carrying all the luggage wasn't the most fun to do in Hanoi!  The next day not only did we find a better place to stay in but we also booked a two day tour in Halong bay.  It's about a three hour drive from Hanoi but Halong bay was worth everything.  However I was most disappointed with the pollution as the junk boats dunk all of their garbage into the sea!!!  :(  We took off to Cat Ba Island, but I wasn't too happy with the place, it was certainly quieter than the other places we had seen in Vietnam, but some of the worst food!!!  We didn't have good food until our last night in Vietnam but that was in HCMC as our flights to Hong Kong was from that point.

*Will write more tomorrow! I promise :)

Moving Sucks!

Once again I’m packing up my home and getting ready for the big move. Argh moving!!! At the moment I’m full of mixed feelings; I’m excited to be leaving my job and also that my parents and brother are finally coming out to Asia to see me. Then we will leave together to go traveling around S.E. Asia ~ I can’t wait. But on the other hand, I’m sad, really, really sad to be leaving my friends, my apartment the art scene the big city. I’m not really a small city gal, I love to get lost and find something new but in Calgary I guess I can get lost in the suburbs. I must admit for the first little while it will be new again and I will have to find my way around and I’m really hoping that things have changed but so far I can see that the city has gotten really expensive.

My apartment in one day of organizing has already changed and there’s no going back and I’m feeling cold. I’m moving out earlier than my original plan as I had mentioned to a neighbor that my place is free at the end of March. Well their building will be torn down in the first week of March ~ hhmmmmm I was in the same position this time last year were my building was being torn down. Well they took one look at my place and wanted it within the first five minutes of seeing which was the same reaction I had when I saw this place. Korea has some nasty apartments that in western standards are unlivable. Anyway I’m moving out early which will save me cash in the long run as well as I get to visit people in Daegu for longer too!

This is indeed the year of changes. My little group of, “Seoul Sistas” is dwindling fast, Irene is now living in DC, I will be going back to Calgary, Heejeong will go to Beijing for a while but will come to Calgary for a few months vefore returning home to Korea, Nado is trying hard to get a design job overseas preferably in Sweden. My other friends; Youngjoo is in L.A. and Nayan in Canada for a short while before heading back to India. Whaaaah!


By the way:

Say hay boke-mahn he pah du say oh! 

새해 복 많이 받으십시오! 

Best wishes for a happy new year!

Kung Hei Fat Choy!

恭喜發財

Congratulations on the New Year and be prosperous!

This is my livingroom before moving (shot on my new Canon) ~ the after pic coming soon ;p

Singledom on the Weekend!

This weekend has been really quiet, or the truth is that I spent yet another lazy weekend doing nothing. I am stuck in some broken record lately of procrastinating and arguing with myself to do the right things ~ don’t worry I’m not walking around my apartment talking to myself! However I end up doing nothing and sitting on my arse!!!

So I got myself a pizza, from the local joint for $6 it’s a steal, which I allow maybe once a week or two weeks. I watched “Copying Beethoven” which was great but some parts I didn’t understand the deliberate camera action/focus that reminded me of NYPD. It’s worth watching if you haven’t yet. Then I spent another couple of hours just browsing on the net wanting to listen to some new Indian music as it keeps me in touch with Southall, as you can never get the Southall out of me! Ha ha ha~!



Sunday I wanted to go out but then I thought of the dangers of me spending too much money, so staying home was the cheapest option. I searched online for accommodations, flights etc.. for the big trip that my family will go on in March. Man, there’s so much it’s really overwhelming I forget what I was looking for. I remember when I booked a resort back in 2000 for Cherie, her family as well as some friends and myself, it was so easy it took one evening and a few websites before I made my decision but now I’m all over the place. But I must admit I do have a biased view now as that time was my first time to Thailand but this upcoming trip will be my forth and the first for my family. So I feel some pressure to pick the best that I can as I’ve stayed in some icky places as well as amazing places too.

Well I still have lots to research but my trusted belly started to rumble and annoy me as I really didn’t want to cook. So off I went as I had a craving for kimchi jjigae and thought that I can do this thing by going to the famous place close to my apartment but it’s normally full of taxi drivers which isn’t so nice. I got there only to be disappointed as it was closed, I looked at the other restaurants and saw so many people in them. It’s weird I have eaten in all of these restaurants either alone or with friends. However I felt a different vibe to the weekdays as everyone was sitting in groups. All of a sudden I was feeling panicky and didn’t want to be alone in a restaurant and walked by to the point where there was no more places to eat. I had to go back but I felt so stupid as I felt like everyone had seen me by now as I walked by the windows, so I hopped on the minibus and ended up closer to home. I saw that Manilla Bay restaurant was still open and is normally quiet. I walked in and ordered the same seared tuna dish as last time. But this time, it was absolutely awful, I ate it all due to pure hunger! But now, I regret eating there as my belly is not a happy camper at all! It’s still rumbling but not from hunger and it hurts too, it reminds me of two years ago when I had some serious food poisoning which I’m hoping is not the case here.

Ooooh , tomorrow is one more day closer to this silly winter camp being over! YAY! But I’m excited to practice the play with my kids as we’re doing, “Where The Wild Things Are”.

UK Music

This is an interesting video and the part where Riz MC is talking about Harrow!


Riz MC ~ this is great!


And here's more of Riz MC this dude is wicked!

Happy New Year!

I guess I've been neglecting this blog for quite some time and I'm shocked to just how long it's been since my last post. Oops~!

Well 2008 is here and it seems to be the year of changes. The biggest for myself is the fact that I will be leaving Korea this March. I have come to the end of my rope with ESL teaching here. It's been good as well as it's been frustrating. I'm glad that I have had great kids who actually made it worth while at work. However it's the administration and the fact that as a foreigner I will never have a future and will always be entry level. I was most disappointed with the fact that my contract does not offer anything for signing for the third year however it is expected that I hold most responsibilities as a senior foreign teacher, which makes no sense. But oh well!

So, it's been one of the hardest decisions to make as I love many other things about Korea, I have many dear friends here who are all artisitc and creative in some way that inspire me and my art work. I have independence with the money that I make as I feel it goes a long way here, and I am sad to be giving up my apartment. My art ~ I've been able to partake in a number of shows as well as events with other artists as I'm part of the community here and I will dearly miss it. It took me a long time to get where I am at and I will leave for Calgary once again.

However I'm so excited that my family is finally coming to Asia! This March they will stay here in Seoul for a few days and all of us will leave for a tour of Thailand. My brother will leave and my parents and I will go onto Cambodia and Vietnam. From there they will go home and I am hoping to meet up with my dear friend in LA and possibly my other friend in DC.

I'm planning on starting my own line of necklaces and other art goods as well as the possible career with the oil and gas in Fort McMurray with my brother. So wish me luck!

Here's whats been happening:

My 6th graders created  Halloween comic stories and the 5th graders made 

bookmarks.  The winners received a bag of candies.

Having fun in Itaewon.

The Itaewon Ohs!

Toad in the hole darling?

Saying goodbye to the lovely Irene ;(

My crazy shopping spree except for the whale.

Nado's birthday :)

Preparing for the Minority Report Art Show.

Sketchbook and table.

Hey I found Santa on stilts!

Christmas shopping!

Christmas dinner with some friends.

The best turkey ever!

Boxing day trip to Insadong. 

 

Yatren, Sandy and Ananda visiting from Daegu.  I hope 

mum and baby are having fun at home in Canada~!

Outside the Minority Report show at Gallery 175.

The family pose~!

My work.

Irene's work.

Fashion is exciting and so is Doota in Dongdaemun!

I accidently ended up at Seoul Tower but took a walk around as it's close to 

my house.  But I love the suspended sculptures.

My new line of necklaces.  Tell me what you think ;P

Birds in Spring.

Geometry wasn't my forte but this is!

For the diva with friends.

Eloquence

My first necklace, "Nabi" also the first to sell.  My friends Jameet and I used to make and sell jewelry during our breaks in high school, but I miss shopping for beads and that as we used to go up to London and Neal Street.