2024

The year of the Dragon. The Chinese zodiac is a traditional classification scheme based on the Chinese calendar that assigns an animal and its reputed attributes to each year in a repeating twelve-year cycle. Each is widely associated with a culture of ascribing a person's personality or events in their life to the supposed influence of the person's particular relationship to the cycle. The 12 Chinese zodiac animals in a cycle are not only used to represent years in China, but also believed to influence people's personalities, career, compatibility, marriage, and fortune.

In my culture, it is believed that when it is your zodiac year, you will experience misfortune and/or hardship that year. I’m not usually superstitious, but this I’ve always believed my whole life. It’s a reminder or rather a warning that my family and even friends would repeat every year to one another. I was born in 1988, therefore this year is my year. Now today, I can’t tell you what bad luck or terrible things that happened to me twelve years ago, but I believe something negative probably happened to me in 2012. This year is different. It feels like 2024 has been non-stop kicking me down and even though it’s nearing the end of the year, it’s not done with me yet. I survived two lay-offs, health scare, and injuries. But the hardest thing that I had gone through this year was losing our beloved cat, Thor back in July.

I want to think he lived a wonderful and happy life. He wasn’t afraid of anything or anyone. He had such an affectionate, bright, and silly personality. He never liked being picked up and so he would always climb up your shoulders to be as tall as possible. He hated being left out of a room and he’d howl until you let him in. Which means you’ll always have company when you’re on the toilet. He loved to sing us the song of his people. He would always jump on the bed and snuggle on top of you as you lie on your back on one condition that you’re waring a shirt or covered in a blanket. I think he disliked the feeling of bare skin on his fur. Never really quite figured out what that’s all about. He wasn’t afraid of dogs, big or small. He’d let them know this house is his kingdom. When they’d get anywhere near him, he’d rise to his hind legs and would prepare a smacking to the face if they get too close. Dogs loved him too. He would always protect his brother, Loki by lying next to him whenever there’s rain or storm. He really lived up to his name.

In early 2021 we noticed that Thor started to lose weight. Our regular vet couldn’t figure out why because his appetite was normal. After several months his weight continues to drop and at one point he reached a low 6 pounds body weight and we could feel his spine when we pet him. He wouldn’t have the energy to be playful so he’d spend most of his day sleeping. Our vet finally recommended us to an internist where he was diagnosed with small cell lymphoma. We were given a two year prognosis and Thor was put on chemotherapy. In comparison to human chemotherapy, cats handle chemo much better so we were thankful for that. For the last three years of his life, we barely had to be in and out of the vet besides the routine check up every few months and giving him medicine every day. After his diagnosis he gained back majority of the weight he lost. His energy too returned and for a while it felt like he was a kitten again.

In July, we came home from work one night and noticed that Loki wasn’t his usual self. He had lied down and wouldn’t get back up. We rushed to the emergency vet that night and he had to be hospitalized. He was diagnosed with HHS (Hyperosmolar hyperglycemic syndrome) and diabetes. They weren’t sure he was going to make it through the night. That was the worst thing for any pet owner to hear. We could barely sleep that night and Thor was there to comfort us. The next day, Loki showed some positive sign and he was eating and reacting to the insulin well, however they’re still not confident and needed to keep him at the hospital one more night. The next day we got a call that we can take him home that afternoon. It was the best news even though we were given three month prognosis for Loki, but we didn’t care because it meant we got a little bit more time with him. That’s when we noticed Thor had developed a skin irritation and his appetite was poor. After a couple of vet visits trying to diagnose his skin irritation we had to rush him to the emergency vet on Friday, July 26h just a week after we took Loki back home. By the time we arrived at the vet, Thor’s blood pressure had dropped significantly from the lack of appetite on top of his skin irritation. The vet told us he probably developed the skin irritation from being exposed to a virus or bacteria because he was immunocompromised from his small cell lymphoma. I remember his voice had sounded different, more coarse than his usual meows. He had lost weight and his fur was falling out from the irritation. He was a shadow of the cat he once was. The hardest part of losing Thor was how quickly his condition had deteriorate in just a week. I believe the stress we were expressing about Loki’s condition played a part in Thor’s rapid decline.

The grieving process has been a slow and steady progress. Having people to talk to has helped and now I can look at his pictures and it puts a smile on face because I get to remember all the good times we had together. It’s still very challenging to write or even talk about him without feeling sorrow and a deep sadness.

All Good Sauce

A few months ago, I had the pleasure of working with Sue Park, founder and creator of All Good Sauce. 

I'm very pleased with how this video turned out. It was my first solo project, and I'm honored to have been given the chance. Thank you Sue for trusting me! Sue is trying to raise money to expand her business. You can check out her Go Fund Me page here

 

Happy Birthday to My Husband

Today is Adam's birthday, so I'm dedicating this blog to him to wish him the happiest of birthdays! 

Happy birthday! I'm thankful for everything you've done for me. I hope this day will bring you happiness and joy as much as you have brought me. I love you dearly. #lifebuddies 

Nicole

I've been itching for a new project for a while, so when Nicole reached out to me to do this photo shoot I jumped at the opportunity right away. I haven't done fashion styled shoots in a while, because mostly I've been working with Pet Food Express and Pasadena Humane Society lately. I look forward to doing more of these with Nicole in the near future, so expect more of these types of work from me in the next couple of months. 

So we went to Highland Park, because honestly we were too lazy to drive out to LA. It was such a fun photo-shoot!

Thanks Nicole for the opportunity, and for being such an easy model to work with!

On The Street: Pasadena, 2016

Uncertainty, whether on the part of the observer or the observed, can be quite unsettling. At first glance, is he just another street ruffian to be sidestepped with a wide berth? Or maybe, on closer inspection, he’s just another of the disaffected, artistic youth clogging up the streets looking for a better way to live their lives. Rather than scurry, along and spend their money, they stop for a moment and absorb some small form of experience, mainlining information and stimulus in a way that bygone generations just can’t understand. In order to keep up with the demands for the future their parents promised them where they could all be astronauts and presidents, they had to dip themselves into the stream of life fully, and most did not come out unscarred. And when they did arise from their baptism by fire, they found a world laid to waste by those who came before, even as they lingered and vapidly displayed the trophies of their self serving capitalism. They were left with no choice but to take part, and hope they would be distracted enough to not see the end coming. 

words by: Adam Armstrong

Charleston, South Carolina

Last year I went to South Carolina, and I built a deck. 

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My construction skills are merely at amateur level, so luckily I wasn't assigned to complex and elaborate tasks. The last time I did construction job was volunteering for Habitat for Humanity a few years back. I must say, it is a lot of fun! Not only is it a work out, but creating something with your hands is very satisfying. 

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I was in South Carolina to celebrate Ashley's (Adam's sister) birthday. We were wrecking our brains to think of what to get Ashley for her birthday before we flew out, but we couldn't come up with anything. Ashley texted us a few days before we flew out and told us that we'd be helping her build a new deck for her house. So I said to Adam, 'well that's the best birthday gift we could ever get her.' 

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Built with love,

Adam + Monika 

Baby Chucky Norris

*Don't worry, that's not going to be the actual name of their baby. 

This is my friend Yvonne. She and her husband Josh are expecting their first child in just a couple of weeks! I can't wait to spoil the crap out of that baby. 

As you can see, Josh is loving this photoshoot. Secretly, I think he really likes having his photo taken. If that kid smiles half as much as these two do in real life, that will be one happy baby.

We were enjoying the symmetry here, but I was kind of hoping that James Earl Jones would show up and teach us how to play baseball.

We even tried to show him where to be, but alas, no Field of Dreams for us. 

I can't believe that the next time I see these two, there will be three of them! Oh, and eventually Josh warmed up to being photographed :)

behind the scenes 

However, Gear Boy was stoic as always.

Bright Coffee

Bright Coffee is a minimalistic specialty coffee shop nestled in the heart of Monterey, CA. It is a must visit if you're ever in the area. They share their space with Lilify, a small artisan shop next door. 

They are currently in the process of moving their roaster, therefore in the meantime they offer a variety of west coast based roasters. 

These guys are terrific! Check them out if you're ever in Monterey or just passing through. You won't be disappointed! Also, check out Lilify next door if you're not a coffee drinker. I always have to fight the urge to buy everything they carry.

 

- Monika