The Part About Last November

HIIII GUYS I'M BAAAACK!!!

Wow, it's been one hell of a long time, but it's been nagging me that I never finished putting up my Project 365 from last year (yeesh, that's currently a solid 50 days ago, my bad). But I've finally finished my SCAD application, and I'm just sitting around rendering things now, working my day jobs, and being generally much more boring now that my love life has dropped off the map, so it really got to me that this thing wasn't finished. And yes, I am fully aware that my last photo dump was in OCTOBER (let alone my last blog entry being from the middle of December), so I'm probably going to be doing this over two days lest my account boot me from sharing things.

And yes, I have every intention of keeping this blog up on at least a weekly basis, though I doubt I'll be posting many pictures. I've already got a few ideas spinning based on current events, personal events, and general musings. Long live the blog!

October 30, 2013. Caitl came over to carve her pumpkin for her workplace's pumpkin carving contest. She wanted to do Jack Skellington ... admittedly, I don't quite remember how that went for her. I'm like 85% sure I fell asleep while she was carving.

October 31, 2013. Happy Halloween! Aka, my least favorite holiday! Why? Because, let's be honest, I'm a pansy and I can't stand zombies, which are so "in" right now. I kind of refused to go to Halloween Horror Nights and Knotts Scary Farm because I knew that I'd have nightmares for days if I went.

What did I do instead? Went over to TJ's and watched the original Amityville Horror. Still scary for sure.

November 1, 2013. So this must have been a Friday because I'm pretty sure this is the parking lot at Gnomon. I'm not sure why I picked this as my picture for the day other than that because it's PURTY. Los Angeles can be one giant hell hold (*ahem*TRAFFIC*ahem*), but she sure knows how to put on a show.

November 2, 2013. My Kairos co-leader Ray had a belated Halloween party/hang out time, and so he made a ... burger/pizza/bacon/thing. Because what else do you do when you are MAN. *chomp*

November 3, 2013. November, November ... sweet sweet November. Gosh it just felt so late in the year. Goodness knows it's because I'd be working my tiny tail off for quite some time at that point.

November 4, 2013. Went to get dinner and drinks at Cheesecake Factory right next to where I live, with Caitl.

November 5, 2013. The roommate, chillin like a villian.

November 6, 2013. Line dancing! I swear ... it's good for the soul! Maybe it's just the fact that it's two glorious hours of cardio (as long as you dance and move during the intermissions), but it's the best way to spend Wednesday nights :)

November 7, 2013. All the colors of the rainbow ... Los Angeles sunsets sure know how to stun a girl

November 8, 2013. One of the funnier stories from Gnomon ... This was just after class; the fog had rolled in creepily through Hollywood, but maybe six or seven of us all kind of ended up walking out as a group together, and literally we all stopped in the middle of the sidewalk to stare and comment at how the light was streaming through the fog and tree and talking about how to do it in Maya, and then our teacher comes up behind us, stops, looks at the tree and, upon us telling him why we're all stopped in the middle of the sidewalk gawking like idiots, laughs good-naturedly and points out that, yes, this is exactly why we are all meant to be in the vfx industry.

November 9, 2013. Getting E ready for the Frozen wrap party. She got her hair done and I sat around and drank tea. It was a pretty fun morning, actually.

November 10, 2013. Love the colors in this one. Books, books, books :) Beauty and the book!

November 11, 2013. Owning up to my failure ... I missed a picture for this day!! :(

November 12, 2013. The OTHER side of LA. The endless, ENDLESS traffic. -_-

November  13, 2013. Late night lights.

November 14, 2013. Sunset, looking east. Love these pictures. And look! There's the moon!

November 15, 2013. Wow. That's a lot of red. Best be getting on my project (for anyone who cares, I finished my Gnomon previs project with FLYING colors :))

November 16, 2013. Post-feasting. Yum.

November 17, 2013. If you squint, it's Caitl's fingers squishing the moon. No, really. It's not just modern art.

November 18, 2013. Christmas decorations at the Galleria. BUT IT'S THE MIDDLE OF NOVEMBER! People seem to forget that Thanksgiving is a thing ...

November 19, 2013. A picture of E skyping her sisters.

November 20, 2013. This was meant to be a pumpkin-shaming post, because E had left her pumpkin out since Halloween, but she threw it out that night! Haha, I guess it worked!

November 21, 2013. A light sprinkling of drizzle :)

November 22, 2013. The fateful car accident. Yes, those are my side curtain airbags. No, no one was on the passenger side of my car (thank God!). But then the night consisted of Doctor Who, setting off the fire alarm, and breaking a plate. All in good company of course.

November 23, 2013. I absolutely HAD to mark this momentous occasion with a picture ... the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who!! Got to spend it with some wonderful people, making squealing noises far too often, and reveling in the beauty that is the DW fandom.

November 24, 2013. Kairos XII leader group. So glad my not-so-little munchkin KaiChi is a leader now! I have grandbabies!!

November 25, 2013. There it is! Doctor Who 50th Anniversary, in theaters, because I wasn't able to nab tickets down in LA. I bought tickets for the encore up in San Jose and watched it with my parents and loved every second of it. Highlight: one guy holding up his sonic screwdriver and saying "my battery is dead ... does anyone have a real screwdriver?"

November 26, 2013. Went to Shoreline to watch Delivery Man with my brother and his girlfriend. Was a much more entertaining movie than I expected it to be.

November 27, 2013. Yes, that is my mother. Yes, that is also my father. I come from these two people. Is anyone surprised with how I turned out? :) LOVE YOU MOM AND DAD!!

November 28, 2013. The men of the Yee family. My brother was accepted to an internship program with the Kennedy Space Center and part of their preparation included interviewing people about their thoughts on the Space Program and it's current place in U.S. culture.

November 29, 2013. Had to drive back down to LA, so I took a big bag of persimmons, and knowing I had them made the drive oh so worth it.

November 30, 2013. Had a day off, so off I went to read!

Anyways, so there's November. It's crazy to look back and think that this was only three and a half months ago ... SO much has ... well, not really changed per se, but definitely shifted. I can't believe how fast time seems to move these days. I guess that's the tragedy of life. You get old enough to live it and then you no longer have time to do just that. Yeesh. That was slightly morbid. Haha, but what I really mean is that there's no better time to live life every day. And it's nice to look back on ordinary things, ordinary days. Because there were days that were amazing and fantastic and well-photographed, but the honest majority of Project 365 are just finding the compositions in day-to-day life. I guess that's why I enjoy the Project so much. I will definitely have to do it again another year.

So December will be up by the end of the week. Thursday, if not tomorrow, and Saturday if I don't get it up by either of those days, but it's looking relatively good for tomorrow, so here's to hoping!

I hope everyone had a fantastic New Year! Keep up those resolutions!

--Tiffany

The Part at the Intersection of Feminism, Chivalry, and Respect

As someone who likes to go perusing feminist websites during her free time, I've come across some pretty entertaining websites speaking specifically to the possible social and mental implications of CAT-CALLS directed at women on the streets. The argument, first and foremost, is that, while the male may not be specifically intending too make the woman feel uncomfortable in public, him directing wolf-whistles and "hey you're sexy!!!"s at an unsuspecting passerby automatically puts her on edge and takes away her basic right to feel safe in public. And, unfortunately, oftentimes the things said are derogatory and, more specifically, objectify women (which opens a whole 'nother can of worms).

This hasn't happened to me, personally, many times, but every time it HAS happened, I can say for a fact that, yes, I was very much uncomfortable, sometimes scared, depending on the time of day, and ended up booking it to wherever I was going. Which is unfair, because I live supposedly live in a first world country where things like sexual assault and harassment are supposed to have serious consequences, and I SHOULD be free to go somewhere without first having to consult the rape schedule! Yes, I live in LA, which isn't the safest place in the world, but I do my best not to be in the sketchier places whenever I can avoid it. I'm expected to always be attentive wherever I go because if I'm assaulted, it's actually my fault (sarcasm button anyone?)

This morning, I dropped my car off at the dealership to get some work done on it, and because it's in Santa Monica, I decided to try to get a chunk of my Christmas shopping done. The dealership is about a mile from the Third Street Promenade, so I walked west down Santa Monica Boulevard (a busy, well-trafficked street, for those of you who are unfamiliar with Los Angeles) to the Promenade. About two blocks away from where I was headed, a guy turned onto Santa Monica, walking about five feet ahead of me on the left side of the sidewalk. I walked behind him for about a block, until he caught sight of a friend (I think) sitting on a planter on the right side of the sidewalk and slowed to speak with him. From the other direction, another girl was walking east, and both she and I passed between the two guys because they were on either side of the sidewalk.

As we passed between the two guys, the guy I had been following said, "Babe Alert! Babe Alert!" and turned to laugh with his friend. I had passed by them, and, what with the few weeks I've had and how much I've been thinking about how to treat a girl well, I wasn't going to let that slide. Now, I'm sure some of you who know me well are sort of hoping that I really went off on the guy, but, while I gave him a very firm verbal lashing, I didn't do anything truly rash. And keep in mind it was like 8:45 AM, aka a time of day when there were people out and about, and it was moderately SAFE to call a guy out on his impropriety. 

The "conversation" went something like this:

Me: You know, that is completely unnecessary and rude for you to do.

Him: Oh shut up, I wasn't talking to you, I was talking about the other girl.

Me: It doesn't matter who it was about, you can't go saying those kind of things that objectify women like that.

Him: Get out of here, you don't know what you're talking about.

Me: I just hope you know that it's despicable for there to be men like you out there. (yes, I legit called the guy despicable. In a real conversation. In real life. Hahahahaha)

Him: Shut up, just get out of here.

And on and on. Essentially, I'd say something about him being disrespectful, and he would tell me to shut up and go away. It wasn't an elongated conversation. I'm not exactly well-versed in confronting people about things that upset me, but it's something I want to get better at, especially in these situations. And I had way more important things that I needed to get done to bother with doing more than calling out an idiot who was just going to spew more idiocy at me.

But this situation shows me that it comes down to this ... when you heckle or harass a woman in public, that means one thing, and one thing only, to me: you have opened up yourself to being heckled or harassed in public yourself. Why? If you can't stand the heat, GET OUT OF THE KITCHEN. If you're uncomfortable with someone telling you that you are wrong, despicable, inappropriate, rude, or a generally derogatory person, then you don't get to expect to be left alone when you make a woman - ANY woman - feel uncomfortable just for walking down the street. 

I am fully aware that as soon as I walked away, those guys probably started mocking me (I mean, who in their right mind under 50 uses "despicable" in conversation lol! It's a good one, but a bit old-fashioned. At least it didn't devolve into petty name calling ... there could have been a few choice and not-exactly-family-friendly monikers I could have thrown at him.), but you know what, I'd rather be mocked for saying the truth than be silent and therefore silently give consent to feel less than respected as a human being. 

Respect is, in my opinion, the most basic human right. Personally, it comes before love, and shelter, and food, and warmth, mostly because it is something that can be given regardless of one's status in society. Yes, I'm aware that some people's automatic response will be that is an idea, and therefore not going to be actually useful to people who have actual physical needs like the ones I've listed, but if you think about it, if everyone truly had respect for each and every human life, everyone would be doing much more to make sure that all those needs were met. Just sayin'.

Anyways, off my soap box and back to respect. Those people in the world who considers cat calls and wolf whistles to be an appropriate way to compliment girls are missing the intrinsic fact that sometimes, those same girls may not be comfortable with hearing those things said about them. "If they don't like it, why don't they SAY anything about it then?" Well, for the exact reason that I ended up having a ridiculous conversation with some dude too stoned out of his mind to be able to say anything constructive without insulting me or putting me down. 

If a girl stands up for herself on the street and says she doesn't want to be referred to as such, she is told to calm down because the words were a compliment. She is told to stop being such a bitch and that she should be grateful that someone thinks she is "some hot thang" to be ogled at. She is told to shut up and complicity agree to become an object, not a person.

She is no longer respected as a human being. 

Cue my discussion on chivalry.

Another sect of feminism I've found has started chaffing against the idea of chivalry ... The old-fashioned, antiquated idea that men should go out of their way to open doors, pull out seats, pay for dinner, etc. This attack on chivalry hasn't sat with me as well as I think the strongly feminist side of me wishes it would. I keep trying to tell myself "I AM WOMAN. I AM STRONG. I CAN PAY MY OWN WAY, AND I DON'T NEED A MAN TO BABY ME BECAUSE I AM WOMAN!!!!" But the old-fashioned way I was raised tells me that chivalry isn't dead. Or if it is, it's something I should be mourning wholly. 

So, I think I've found a way, after my experience today, to meld the two. No, chivalry isn't dead, but no, I don't need you to baby me either. Men, what I need from you is your RESPECT. From what I understand, chivalry was based on the idea that women in the medieval times were pure, breakable creatures, who needed everything taken are of and done for them (ahhh my fingers burned just typing that!) While, obviously, girls aren't like that today, it seems that, in an ideal medieval world, the consequences of incorrect thinking (girls are weak) stems from a very correct idea: girls are to be respected. 

If your idea of respecting me means that you don't hold the door open for me, I'm not going to have any problem with that. I can do that myself. But if your idea of respecting me is hollering across the street that "You're a hot bitch, look at that ass!", then we are going to have a problem. 

Why? Because I'm no longer being respected. And I'm not okay with being considered an object, and with someone else trying to take me down a level and force me to be something subhuman. Feminism is based on the somehow radical idea that women are people too. In modern times, in a progressive America, this is supposed to mean that our rights need to be the same as men's, which some feminists have translated to voting rights, equal pay, etc., which are all great things but also all stem from the concept of having basic respect for women. That's why I believe feminism and chivalry go hand in hand. Both of them encourage the idea that women are important and deserve respect, just like every other person in the world.

Words and ideas evolve over time (think of any slang word you've ever heard. I guarantee it didn't start out meaning what it does now). Maybe it's time that the idea of chivalry started evolving too. It's not no longer making a woman feel small or powerless; maybe it should now be about making sure a woman feels empowered and safe in her own space and in public. She, like any human being, deserves your utmost respect, especially in places where she is being observed because her response will influence the responses of people around her to similar situations they may find themselves in. 

They say words can never hurt you, but your words also have power, people. Regardless of who you are and who you're saying things to, words have the power to instill fear, self-doubt, and immeasurable pain. Make sure what you're saying is affirming and respectful.

--Tiffany

P.S. if you really want to give a girl a compliment on the street, honestly, just say to the girl, sincerely, "I think you're very pretty. Have a nice day." and walk off (that's the important part ... Don't linger or it'll go from a nice compliment to creepy.) She'll probably be weirded out, but I promise that type of encounter will stick with her in a much more positive manner than "Babe Alert! Babe Alert!" ever will. If she wants to stop you and say "Thank you", that's her perogative. Just because you gave her a compliment doesn't mean she owes you anything in return.

P.P.S. here are some fun links to some witty responses to inappropriate cat-calling, feminism, etc.:
- The Hollaback Movement, which I heard about from this hilarious video that got shared around Facebook a little while back
- this one's more about the idea of rape culture, but he makes some good points about where it all starts from.
- this one's works to define feminism in her own terms, and touches on the first part of what I dedicated this blog post to talking about

The Part About Cowboy Boots

"The twenty-something confusion before the suit and tie
Strangers become mistakes but those mistakes made you feel alive
Hindsight is vibrant, reality: rarely it
Memory's a collage pasted to the glue that barely sticks."
- "Cowboy Boots", Macklemore

Ramble time! Last night was ... interesting, but there's something monumentally important about capturing my thoughts right now. That's what this silly thing is for, right?

Elise talked me into buying a ticket to the Macklemore concert at Staples Center in December, so I decided to jump on the bandwagon and buy his latest album.

Best $12 I've spent on iTunes in a LONG time.

It's a great album ... completely real and raw, with a healthy dosage of self-awareness and social consciousness. Love it. Macklemore sure knows his way around a rhyme. I can't honestly say I have a favorite song on the album because, even though it's all in the hip-hop genre, every song is completely different. In that sense, and in pretty much every other sense, the album is impressive. But one song that really hit me right at home is "Cowboy Boots". It's a really fascinating mixture of sound, mixing rap and a bit of folky/country stuff. Basically it's really cool. Go listen!

It's a song about home, and it's a song about growing up. It's a song about hindsight, and it's a song about moments. Moments ... the things you remember, the things you regret, the things you leave behind. And the things that get left behind with you.

Last night was kind of a rough one. Can you tell? I'm writing this at 10:30 on a Saturday morning after going out. But it's not because I'm hung over or because I've made choices that I regret. It's because of all the things that have stuck with me over the years. It's all those moments that I can't run away from, that are always just around the corner everyday even when I have nothing troubling on my mind. It's the memory of failing, falling so far that the top of the well just looks like a pinprick of light too far to try for.

But when those thoughts rear their ugly heads, I just remember it's also the memory of leaving, of walking away, climbing out, and fighting with every last piece of whatever I've got left.

It was a rough night, but I woke up laughing with my best friend. As much as I'd wished things had been different last night, I can honestly say I woke up with a clear conscience, knowing I did what was right and that I have nothing more to apologize for.

"I'd be a goddamn liar to say at times I didn't miss it
So deuces, I turn my back as I walk into the distance."
- "Cowboy Boots, Macklemore

--Tiffany

The Part About My Half Birthday

Man! After my steady stream of posts, I kinda lost steam I guess. Now it's been like two weeks! Shoot. Not gonna lie, it's been a crazy couple of weeks. In short, I've been pretty much been swept off my feet by three things, three great things: 1. New job! Actually kind of in animation, which is, like, REALLY exciting. 2. started classes at Gnomon! Woot! Pre-Viz, pre-viz, pre-viz, yeah, yeah, yeah!!! and 3. well, boys, boys, boys. going out and doing things apparently takes a lot of time out of the day. I do forget that. Anyways, don't have much going on, but I figured I should put up the pictures for the past two weeks, so here goes!

October 15, 2013. Our calendar. And E's reflection in it! She wrote "End of the world! (economy)" on the 17th, in reference to the debt ceiling, but obviously that didn't come to pass. But I was laughing so hard I had to take a picture of it.

October 16, 2013. Invited Caitl over for some tequila-honey, cayenne pepper-curry steak, and then we hung out for a bit. Ladies' night in :)

October 17, 2013. Went to LMU to do a bit of homework before alumni CLC. Was storyboarding and watching Doctor Who, when I looked up and saw the sunset light between the beams in Uhall. Such a pretty sight ^_^

October 18, 2013. LENS FLARE. Channeling my inner J.J. Abrams, what can I say? There's just something about the color juxtaposition!

October 19, 2013. Went to a Disney crew party with E. We were eating by the romantic candlelight. Lovely :P

October 20, 2013. Went hiking for my friend Keyon's birthday! Happy birthday, my friend! How does it feel to be a full-on adult and actually be able to rent a car without extra insurance in California!

October 21, 2013. Batting cages at the mini golf course near my apartment. GREAT stress reliever. And much cheaper than getting therapy for miscellaneous issues, bashing things is :)

October 22, 2013. Well, I actually forgot to take a picture on the 22nd, so I took this one on the morning of the 23rd before I headed out. Again, it's all about the colors, and I kinda crack up when I look at my bedroom in the gray morning light because, as colorful as I love having my room to be, my bed's all sorts of neutral colors in the morning light, except for my bright orange Buizel. Wish I'd thought to position him better, but oh well, it's still a mildly funny picture.

October 23, 2013. Waiting for Elise outside of Disney, getting fancy with the time functions on my camera.

October 24, 2013. Looking out.

October 25, 2013. the coffee table at Gnomon in the student lounge. Big fan of the glass cover on the table that, I guess, students have stuffed pennies under over the years. :)

October 26, 2013. Dress shopping with E, real early in the morning for the dress she is going to wear to the Frozen wrap party!

October 27, 2013. 'Ello E! Day 1 of my mini series. haha not really, but kinda. Somehow actually took pictures of E every day ... she's the most exciting part of my life, for sure.

October 28, 2013. E, day 2!

October 29, 2013. Happy half-birthday to me! So I took a picture of the better half of my roommate pair. lol.

But yeah, that's just about all that's been going on in my life, really. I said this last time, and maybe it'll actually be true this time (again, I think I said this last time), but with any luck, I'll put some more pictures up by the end of the week, and I'll actually keep this blog up to date just a bit. :)

--Tiffany

The Part About "Keeping Up Appearances"

... so that I can give everyone a break from the drama of my last couple posts.

and so I could be punny. Because there's things about photos, and appearances, and ... yeah, punny.

Uhhhh I'll pretend that went as well in real life as it went in my head.

ANYWAYS. Photos!

October 7, 2013. uhhhh ... this is what Downton does to its fandom on a regular basis. I don't know what it is about British TV, but everything makes you want to cry and cry and cry and never come out of a cave so YOU CAN KEEP ON CRYING FOREVER.

October 8, 2013. My lovely linen closet. See, it's exciting, 'cause I've never had one before and I'd just realized it so I took a picture of it and ... uhhhh yeah, I didn't know what else to take a picture of that day. #truth

October 9, 2013. FIRST RAIN OF THE SEASON! It came down pretty hard for about 10 minutes. #soundsaboutright

October 10, 2013. Artsy of the roomie. In da mirror!

October 11, 2013. First day of class at Gnomon! Got there way flippin' early and just hung out in the student lounge and wrote my follow-up blog. It was a good time! Love the vibe there.

October 12, 2013. Seafood festival in Santa Barbara! YUM!!! Sittin' on the dock, munchin' down on crab, and generally having a great time :)

October 13, 2013. Gryphon 45th Anniversary Brunch. All the current Gryphons!

October 14, 2013. Hrm. Never thought I'd be back to this again, but OH LOOK! more storyboards. (doin' homework for my pre-vis class ... always start with the storyboards. HELLOOOOO JAY! 30 shots in one week ... HAH that's funny that that used to be hard.

So yeah, I'm doin' my best to keep this thing up and actually put pictures up at reasonable intervals so as not to overwhelm myself.

Here's to hoping that I get another one of these in before the end of the week :)

--Tiffany