2011 Q1

Ah! It's only March 6th and I am already posting my first installment of the Year in review. I thought it would be useful for me to lay out all the inking, I, a serial inker, have done during the first quarter, a sort of status report. There's not much to show here, not an oil painting for the first three months. This is the slowest I have been. I am very disappointed. Instead, I have used over one hundred 005 nib micro pigment pens. Datsa lotsa ink and I don't even have much to show!

I also joined a very special group of painters, illustrators, artists and dilettantes, who support each others' endeavors. So that's a lot of fun.

Obviously, I love vegetation and elephants and birds, my family and my friends. These drawings represent all that. It may not be obvious to others but to me, they are, for all the time I was inking, I had my loved ones in mind. My favorite is Elma, the chicken and Maes, the rooster. They remind me of my parents. I love Lindol because of all the ink and details I laid on that paper. I am enjoying the young Disaster Series. I may ink one before the week is over.

Work has been very busy for me. I moved to a new office before the year started and immediately implemented a major project. In between, I wrote several project-independent decision support rules, performed on call duties at least five times per month. I need a break and I scheduled myself for one. Incidentally, the first day I return to work, I have another project to implement! In fact. it starts on the day I travel back home. No excuse, no break. All these plus I have two busy teenagers, laundry on the weekend, cooking for my family everyday, sick family members...so what have you been doing?

Okay, I am being facetious. I know we all have our crosses to bear and we tackle life in our own way. I am no superwoman. In fact, I can hardly cope sometimes. If I make it appear easy, it's because I hate to hear myself whine. But I am also surrounded by people who truly love and care for me. I am grateful to The Viking who remains a faithful and loving husband and father. I am thankful to my children who try to do their best. I will be lost without them. I am also thankful to my sisters and brothers who encourage me to persevere in times of hardships, especially the only sister I have in the US, who calls me everyday. And I am thankful to my best friend; and to my sweet sisterfriend in the desert. They both offer their shoulders for me to lean on. Then there are my friends at work who make things easy by working hard. They are all very precious to me; to them and for them, I give thanks.

I also want to thank each and everyone of you who visit and leave me your precious comments. They are laced with love, kindness, support, encouragement and laughter. You mean a lot to me. I appreciate each and everyone of you. There are many of you and each and everyone, precious as the next. Some of you, have become a part of my life. I would like to give away a signed and matted giclee print of Lindol to one of you. I am sorry it will be unframed, I won't even attempt to try to ship glass, but it is all of acid-free and archival materials. The mat measures 11"x14" with an 8"x10" window. Here is a close-up of Lindol. Please don't be shy. Just leave a comment.

This is how I manage to smile, laugh and create the above black and white images. They are witnesses to my life. Those drawings know all my secrets! Sometimes when the wind blows, it howls and tries to knock things down, it passes without great devastation, not because I live in a sturdy house, but because it is a home with ties that are strong. It is my refuge. I know it is trite and commonplace but really, it is simple, love makes everything better.

Thank you very much.

Tsup!!!