good-bye shreveport

this is my last day in shreveport, louisiana. i'll be leaving early in the morning. a lot of my out-of-town co-workers weren't very fond of this town. i'll admit that i don't think i want to grow roots here, but it's not that awful.

okay. the foul stench that permeates the air on some mornings is pretty hard to bear. a downtown full of casinos is kind of sad. fields are turning into parking lots by the minute, typical characteristic of any growing cities nowadays.

but there are some bright spots. the newest hotel being built, the hilton, is going to be the first major hotel in the city that doesn't have a casino. also, i've recently discovered the robinson film center that is in the works to expand. dallas and fort worth is only 3 hours away, a manageable day trip, for my art museum cravings. there's my staple breakfast joint, straun's, as well, breakfast being my favorite meal of the day.

i don't think i'll miss this place necessarily, but i'm not bolting out of here. i am eager to visit my mom and then head back to new york. i wonder how i'll readjust to new york, being so compacted and never silent. i really enjoyed hearing birds in the mornings and crickets at night here. also, i'll really miss straun's. i have yet to find a favorite breakfast place in new york. i guess i'll have to work on that when i get back.

fort worth

i made a trip to fort worth on saturday. most of the day was spent at the kimball art museum and the modern art museum, the two buildings being right across the street from one another. the kimball had an exhibit of portraits over the course of the 20th century. what caught my attention the most was the relationship between money and expression. a good portion of the portraits consisted of the artists' patrons or their families. it's the irony of artists who we generally think of as poor, the poor starving artist, but they have ties to the wealthy. in fact, their lifelihood and the sustaining power of their works are dependent upon the upper class. something to think about.

at the modern art museum, i saw an exhibit called "pretty baby," artworks the dealt with childhood. i didn't realize that yoshitomo nara's work would be part of the exhibit although it was an obvious inclusion. i have only seen one of his works in person: a fiberglass sculpture of a black dog at lacma. at this exhibit, i saw several of nara's paintings, one sculpture piece, and 2 drawings. i was excited to see a piece that was relatively new: the thinker, a little girl with chestnut brown hair and short bangs, wearing an orangey shirt with splotches across the collar, her eyes closed with 5 eyelashes on each eye lid. she was so cute. an artist that i wasn't familiar with whose work jumped out at me was makiko kudo. her paintings also focus on girls but just on the brink of adolescence. one memorable piece consists of two girls in their school uniforms, painted in magenta pink, lying in a green field, sharing their contemplations about life, surrounded by penguins. kudo's works are at once surreal in their situations and concrete in their emotions.

the ron mueck exhibit that i saw in brooklyn has made its way to fort worth. it was so much nicer to see it in fort worth; i didn't have to elbow through throngs of patrons to catch a 2-second glimpse of his work. his sculptures are amazing. they are so lifelike except for their size - either too big or too small - and they're frozen in a moment that entices you to not only look at them but to actually watch them, as if in anticipation that they're going to do something.

overall, the museums were small, and their permanent collections were not exactly outstanding. the architecture, however, was pretty impressive. both had wall fountains that calmed the surrounds and gave off a sense of coolness in the texan heat. the restaurant at the modern art museum has a great view of a manmade pond that hugs the glass section of the building. the interior, however, was not as well designed. i was confused as to how i was supposed to go through the exhibits. some spaces seemed to have been created to display pieces because there was just space. some of the displays didn't even have anything to do with exhibit that occupied that section of the floor.

after the museums, i drove around the town, through downtown and the stockyards. i stopped in dallas at oishii, a sushi/vietnamese restaurant, for dinner before making my way back to shreveport. it was a fulfilling day of good art and good food.

missing birds

this nytimes article about birds disappearing almost made me cry. it makes me sad every time i learn something that affirms what i told my math teacher in the 8th grade: the purpose of human beings is to destroy the planet.

just because we're finding ways to live a sustainable life doesn't mean that we aren't continuing to hurt the biodiversity that exists on this planet. yes, for one species to survive, other species must be injured or even killed. everything we eat comes from a living thing, animal or plant. but even when buildings are designed to use dramatically less electricity and built with "eco-friendly" materials, we can't forget that we're still taking over another species living space. the planet is only so big, ocean and land, and we're taking over more and more of it.

hong kong plowed hills flat and dumped the earth into the ocean to create more land, a practice called land reclamation. residential skyscrapers are built on these pieces of land. i doubt that hong kong is the only place that creates land in this manner. not only did we destroy a piece of land that was inhabited by other living creatures, but we also took over a piece of the ocean. maybe i'm being too dramatic in saying that it's a tiny baby step in our take-over of the ocean.

also, new houses built in this country are getting bigger and bigger. all those hollywood stars who bought priuses in the rush to the newest fad--to be environmentally conscious--live in giant houses that take over a huge plot of land and use an immense amount of materials for its infrastructure. oh, and the furniture. i wonder if the same prius drivers also own furniture made from exotic materials ripped from the rain forests.

yes, doing one thing is a start, but it's more of a matter of adjusting your entire lifestyle to cause the least amount of damage to the rest of the species on this planet. we need it for our own survival. what will we eat if we kill off and force out the rest of the living organisms?

creepy guys

i'm the only person left on my end of the office, and anyone who enters and exits the suite has to walk past me. a guy came in today, dressed in a t-shirt and shorts. i said hello, and instead of introducing himself as one should when entering someone else's space, he took a look at me and said, "you're cute." no "hello." just "you're cute."

after a couple of questions, i found out that he merely wanted to know what information he could use as a reference to look for a new job. i work in an industry where pretty much everyone freelances so you're always looking for the next gig. the parent company dissolves the subsidiary companies which we work for once the project is completed, probably for liability reasons. what he wanted to know was totally legitimate, especially for someone who has never worked in this field. i was just surprised by the first thing that came out of his mouth.

i don't think he meant to be creepy, but i wonder if he realized how creepy he came across. i wonder if i'm only reacting this way because i've been living in pretty urban places. would a southern country girl have also taken his comment as creepy or just as a compliment? also, are guys really that dense that they don't know they might seem creepy in situations such as this? after all, today's incident took place in an office. at the very least, what he said was not professional. good luck to him getting his next job.

drag show

last night, i went to my first drag show. it was fun but a little disappointing. i expected it to be more talent-based. the show we went to featured each of the drag queen lip-syncing to a song, some contemporary, some classic. some of the audience, mostly drunk, went to the stage to tip each drag queen; it cheapened the show. i'd much prefer a place where they would charge an entry fee and the drag queens actually sang. one of the drag queens stood out as an exceptional lip-syncer. not only did she stick to her performance when she accepted tips and mouthed 'thank you' to each of the tippers (there were some who kind of let their performance lag when they took tips), she had the best make-up and costumes.

nonetheless, i was impressed with all the dancing that was attempted on 4-inch heels. needless to say, i was shamed that as an actual woman, i wouldn't even be able to walk in a straight line wearing the shoes they wore.

so the next drag show i attend must have real singing in addition to the dancing on super-high heels.

summer is back on!

maybe not the whole season, but as of now, i have a week of it. i had a flight to fly back to new york tomorrow at seven AM. at around two o'clock this afternoon, i got a call that the ct gig has been pushed. my start date wouldn't be until july 9. so i'm staying in shreveport to properly finish my current job, as originally planned. at the end of the month, i'll fly to visit my mom in north carolina. i'll be able to spend that whole first week of july with her.

if only this had been the original plan, it would have worked out perfectly and much less stress rearranging travel. i'm exhausted from re-pulling everything back to its original shape. thank goodness i have the beach to look forward to.

missing summer

having taken on another job immediately following this one, summer will escape me. i'm leaving shreveport, lousiana this weekend and heading up to stratford, connecticut for the next gig. before the ct job came about, i had planned to visit my mom in north carolina for the first week of july. she has the entire week off from work, and it would've been nice to be able to take her to our beloved hammock beach in swansboro for a day. the rest of the week would consist of doing not very much, the way a vacation should be.

now, i'll be working through the summer. as the temperature is creeping higher and higher every year, though, maybe i'm lucky to have missed the hottest season of the year. if the trend sticks, i'll be able to hit the beach when the job ends in september. the water will still be warm. it might be even not as riping hot. gotta take those jobs when i can though. work now, play later.

caffeine 2

the rain stopped. i ran out to a non-starbucks nearby and got a shot of expresso. my brain stopped aching within 10 minutes. i wonder if the caffeine coursed through my body that quickly or if it's all in my mind. but does it really matter if it's physical or psychological? the effect - agony to be followed by relief - is the same. maybe it's both. the ease in which i fall into an addiction is why i don't smoke or do drugs - a caffeine addiction is much more affordable. i'm also grateful that i'm allergic to alcohol.

caffeine

it's storming this afternoon. i haven't left the apartment yet. i had forgotten about coffee and don't have an ounce of caffeine in any form here. i don't care for sodas and i don't drink tea often enough to justify purchasing some for a merely 2-3 month stay. a slight headache is taking hold of me. but i'm going to stay strong and wait until the rain subsides. or maybe i should just brave the storm.

pirates

i saw pirates of the caribbean: at world's end over the weekend. not as fun as the second pirates and definitely not as fun as the first. the pacing was a little dragged out. i almost fell asleep twice, although i was pretty exhausted walking into it. even so, it didn't exactly keep me awake.

problems were too easily resolved, but in its simplicity, it was still trying to be complicated. the writers seemed to have had more fun sticking in supposedly witty lines than giving the story a sense of fullness.

i was surprised to see chow yun-fat when he appeared onscreen. i had no idea he was a part of it. to me, it would be like seeing al pacino appear in kung-fu hustle 2. his character, captain sao feng, had very little depth. there was no explanation regarding his history with jack sparrow. the way his character dealt with women was repulsive, but i guess that's just what being a pirate is all about? if he's only supposed to play the character as a disgusting, selfish, piggish pirate, then his performance was great. it's just that out of all the captains in the congregation introduced in the story, his character played the largest role. i wished there was more to him. why bother having this character take on a role as big as it did if there's no depth to him? chow yun-fat's acting skills were so wasted in this movie. but sadly, if he wants to break into hollywood, he has to take these roles in dumb blockbusters for exposure.

also, i'm not sure about the history of singapore, but hong kong, where they're building the newest disney theme park, actually was a haven for pirates before the british gained sovereignty over the island. i wonder why captain sao feng's base was set in singapore as opposed to hong kong. chow yun fat is from hong kong as well. besides, wouldn't it be a plug for the theme park if they set that part of the story in hong kong instead of singapore? that confused me. at least they kept to cantonese as the sole dialect of chinese that surfaces in the movie.

as for the 4th installment, i won't be eager to see it.

creation museum. really.

i just read this article in the new york times about a creation museum that's about to open in petersburg, ky. i'm still in disbelief that it exists. that $27 million was spent on presenting ideas as facts even though there's no evidence to support them, ideas that are based merely on a text that commands blind faith. i don't hold scientific theories as truth. they're still just theories. i do try to keep an open mind that scientists have been wrong. i accept changes to these theories. but i need evidence, not blind faith, as the basis of believe about the past.

in a strange way, though, i am intrigued. they have worked dinosaurs onto noah's ark. you have to admit there's a lot of creative thinking going on to make everything seem to fit. but i don't think it's right to charge $19.95 admission price for an adult; it's an admission price, not a suggested admission price. for a christian-based institution, you'd think they'd be more charitable to the public. even the met is based on a suggested admission. what would jesus think about that?

new orleans

this weekend in new orleans was a great experience. it's such a distinctive and colorful city. i love the french colonial architecture with the intricate wrought iron works and the balconies that mask the fronts of buildings. it was unfortunate that i was only able to spend 24 hours there, minus the 10 hours of sleep and waiting on the rest of the party i was meeting.

we stayed at a hotel in the french quarters, which i would never do again. the french quarters is definitely a great part of town to visit. there are a lot of tourist amenities such as walking tours, horse carriages, and t-shirt stores. in a way, it's definitely set up as a tourist trap. the street artists, performers, and fortune tellers give the area more distinction, however. the part i didn't like about the area was the oversaturation of bars. at night, bourbon street is closed off as a pedestrian-only street. it's a party, which is what the city is known for. i'm not much of a partier, though, so walking around for about 1/2 hour was enough for me. i would rather stay in an area where enough foot traffic still occur but not drunken foot vomit-propelling traffic.

the group i met with were avoiding cajun and creole food for dinner, much to my disappointment. we ended up making reservations at an italian restaurant, ristorante carmelo. when we arrived, we were directed to wait at the bar while our table was being set up. the bartender was a grumpy old man who insisted that a mojito did not include lime. the girl who ordered it wanted to try the drink for the first time. i had to assure her that it tastes much better when it's made properly. already irritated, we were led to our table. we asked for balcony/outdoors seating, which we got. it was just in a dark corner of the balcony where we couldn't read the menu and could barely make out each others' faces around the table. we would've gladly waited for a table where we could see. also, we were so packed into the corner that we had to pass the drinks down the table because the waiter couldn't reach those at the far end. thankfully, the wait staff was much friendlier and more helpful than the bartender. also, the food was decent. it wasn't great italian, but it was fine. the bruschetta was definitely odd though. normally, the tomatoes and basil are chopped to make eating the dish easy. at this restaurant, the cherry tomatoes are cut in half and placed flat-side down on the garlic bread with a sprig of basil on top. yes, a sprig. like a garnish when it's supposed to be integral to the dish. also, one of the girls who ordered pizza had sprigs of rosemary tossed on with the rest of the toppings. when you can easily spend $70 per person, i expect the herbs to have gone through some sort of care and preparation. the rest of the entrees were fine. i just ordered the fettecine bolognese because i didn't want to spend much at a place that didn't seem to want to please our party. is this what restaurants do when you order mixed drinks instead of wine? i'd consider recommending the restaurant for take out but definitely not dine in.

sunday morning involved waiting for the girls to pack and check out. the plan was to stuff all their luggages in my car, park it somewhere, and drop them off at another hotel where they had booked reservations for a conference. after finally checking out and reparking the car, we search for breakfast. when we saw the line at cafe du monde, we crossed the street and grabbed real breakfast instead. afterwards, we looked for the trolley cars that run into the garden district. the cars, however, were not running their full course post-katrina. we headed back into the french quarters and grabbed some beignets, something my sister made me promise to have during this visit. it's basically a funnel cake shaped like a square donut. funnel cakes are something i always look forward to so the beignet was still satisfying.

after dropping off the party at their second hotel, i headed for the garden district. i didn't see much however. i don't think i went far enough into it. i stumbled upon the contemporary art center though and spent a very quiet 40 minutes there, admiring the black and white prints and other pieces on display by local high schoolers. there was also an exhibit by carlos estevez and another cuba artist whose name i can't recall. i loved estevez's drawings of these mechanical puppets that have dots where their joints would be, and the dots are connected in an intricate manner that eventually lead up to the unknown puppeteer off the canvas. each puppet has a red dot on their heads with a line that leads directly up to the puppeteer. he's also working on a project of casting bottles with a rolled up piece of drawing and writing into the ocean. i hope the next time i go to the beach, i'd find one of them.

overall, it was a good trip. i wish i had more time in the city and definitely more time with the one friend i drove 5 hours each way to see. she accompanied me on saturday afternoon to walk around the french quarters while the rest of the group took naps at the hotel. we were both determined to enjoy the city, not the hotel, while we were there. the best part of the walk was sneaking into the omni hotel, up to the 7th floor where they have a rooftop pool, a small bar, and a tiny observation deck. not that we cared for the pool or the bar but we loved the view. it was breathtaking to see the rooftops of all the buildings, new and old, in the quarters. i took the most pictures on this trip that afternoon. probably because i was happiest.

mother's day

i love my mom's philosophy that every day is your birthday, every day is mother's day. it's her way of letting herself and us off the hook in looking for a present in time, but it's also to say that being kind and thoughtful on one specific day is meaningless if you're unkind and unthoughtful the rest of the year.

so i phoned her today, just like on any other weekend. i wished her a happy mother's day, but we didn't dwell on it. the conversation steered right into the usual territories of what's happening with her job, house, things that she's read, basically her life. that's my mom. she keeps it real.

i've still got it

while still living in california, i used to go to "keeping time", a clock and watch store at the glendale galleria. the gentleman who fixes clocks and watches took a liking to me because i speak cantonese. he always gave me a discount for the service. it's like a reward for keeping my first language. mom was right for making us speak cantonese at home with her.

now that i've moved, i have to find a new place to change the battery. i figured a nice jewelry store at the mall should suffice. it's a nice watch so places like wal-mart and target won't touch it, probably because of liability. i expected to spend about $12-$15, which is pretty normal at fancy jewelry stores.

upon entering the mall, i walked up to the first one i saw. all the sales attendants were helping other people. after waiting about 3 minutes, i looked around the mall and spotted another jewelry store. i walked over and asked if they change watch batteries. the guy who helped me kindly took my watch and set to work. i waited patiently, looking at their stock. they carried nice pieces, but thankfully, nothing appealed to me. after about 10 minutes, the guy came back with my watch and said, "normally, i'm supposed to charge you for this, but don't worry about it." i gave him a confused look to which he responded, "get outta here," with a grin. i thanked him and left the mall. i love my watch.

abortions in china

there's an article in the new york times regarding the high abortion rate in china. the trend is fevered by the chinese one-child policy, a drift away from traditions as china has opened itself to the rest of the world, economically and culturally, and a general lack of sex education.

what's frightening is that while i believe a lot of american pro-choice advocates do not see abortion as a form of contraception (more of an issue of rights), in china, abortions are seen as just that. it's apparently not uncommon for women to have had more than one abortion; some have had as many as six. i wonder if these women realize that every time you go through an abortion, you decrease your chances of being able to conceive and maintain a pregnancy. it is not a naturally occurring procedure; therefore, it can prove detrimental to your health. obviously, if you don't want to have children ever, then knowing this will not deter you from future abortions. it could prove devastating, however, if you do want to bear children some where down the line.

i guess i've been taking it for granted that choosing abortion is a heavy decision for a woman. the idea of destroying what has potential to be your child is frightening. but i still believe that with the proper education, women should have the right to choose. and i think this is what is needed in china to stop these women from harming their bodies any further.

also, it's not just education for the women. men need to be educated just as much. some of these women claim that it's their lovers who do not want to use other forms of contraceptive. this attitude also contributes to the rise of AIDS infections and very likely other forms of STDs in china. if the chinese government has the power to impose such restrictions as a one-child policy, in addition to multiple forms of brutality upon its people, it certainly has the power to educate them. what are you going to reign over if your people destroy each other?

wrist watch

i think the battery in my watch is dying. the second hand ticks a little slow. it's actually a little past eleven o'clock, but the hands on the watch shows eighteen minutes till eleven. i know that all it needs is a new battery, but the idea of this watch dying is upsetting. i bought this watch over a decade ago with the money i saved from working at my uncle's restaurant. the sun and moon style was popular at the time, and i wanted one. i was in the eight grade at the time so it was a sensitive time in one's life, especially the need to feel normal and accepted. but i would look at this watch every day and knew i had to really like it for itself as well.

i looked at the watches at roses and wal-mart and didn't like any of them. then, i moved my way up to sears and jcpenny, but still, none of them appealed to me. there was just something about those sun and moon watches that didn't hit me right. maybe the way the sun and moon looked. the way the whole face of the watch looked. the font of the numbers. the hands being too plain or too decorative. it was my hard earned money, not money my mommy or daddy gave me. sure, it was just a watch, but this was going to be a gift to myself, my first nice gift to myself. i think i would've waited forever until i found one that felt right.

then, at belk, i saw it. i loved that it has a little hole that showed the date. the cutout for the sun and the moon was just the right size. the needles were simple but not flimsy looking. the numbers were in roman numerals, something i didn't even consider i would like. there is a slight sense of depth to it, with a large cutout just inside of the ring of numbers to reveal a different textured material that, then, had a cutout for the sun and the moon to pass through. i've always prefered analog watches over digital watches. analog watches translate time into space. the hands have that much more space to pass before a certain time. and the sun and moon remind me that the day is passing, not just the hours, minutes, seconds. there was just something so pleasant and right about it. it cost $55 plus tax at the time. back then, especially for an eighth grader, that's quite a bit of money. but i was fortunate enough to have the money at the time. everything about it, the watch itself, the circumstance, was just right. so i bought it.

i look at watches every now and then when i shop, but i can't imagine not wearing this watch while it still works. i've changed the straps a handful of times. the glass is scratched. the frame has lost much of its color. yet i wear it every day, for every occasion. it might not match anything else i'm wearing, but it matches me and reminds me of who i am.

roomba

i bought a roomba recently, the robotic vacuum cleaner. i've been thinking about getting one for my mom because she's getting old. the apartment i'm staying in shreveport is carpeted, to my dismay, although i had little room for options since i was confined to finding a place that offered a 3-month lease. i was going back and forth about buying a vacuum cleaner. it's just so wasteful since i only need it for a short period. i could ask around the office to see if i could borrow from someone, but it's a difficult task if you're kind of antisocial. (while waiting for people to see a comedy show, i saw a couple of coworkers. instead of saying hi, i immediately pulled my cell phone up to my face and thanked my friend for picking up the phone. my dear, dear friend stayed on the phone with me until the people i was meeting showed up.)

i began a small hunt for a cheap, small vacuum cleaner, and while wandering around best buy, i saw a roomba. a friend of mine, who's into the latest gadgets, raved about her roomba. it had already occurred to me that it's a perfect for my mom, if it's not difficult to use. so i checked out the irobot website and ordered the simplest version with only one button that says "clean". i figured my mom can handle that. if its performance is satisfactory during my stay in this carpeted place, then my mom can have it when i leave.

i've used it twice, and i now understand why my friend was so crazy about it. it's so cute, like some little creature who does a chore for you instead of tearing into your food supply and shitting all over the place. when you start it up, it does a little tune, "do do do do". it then proceeds to roam around the room, bumping into walls and furniture as it sucks up dirt and whatever else carpet hides. (i hate carpet because i feel like it hides the dirt and whatever gross stuff settles on the floor.) i became engrossed, watching it as it moves around seemingly randomly. it's like watching a baby stumble about, learning its way in the world. but its bumping around is how it learns the shape of the room and will know to go over the entire space at least once, doing a thorough cleaning. amazing what good technology can do. i still hate carpet though. (the roomba apparently also works on hard floors too...)

kung fu hustle

i rewatched kung fu hustle recently and was reminded of how great it is. it doesn't try to be sentimental. it manages to make physical comedy smart, something that has been lacking in hollywood comedies. all the characters are to some degrees caricatures. it's intriguing that the two female characters have opposite traits that has to do with their voices: the landlady's superpower is the volume of her voice; the lollipop girl is mute. i'm no longer smart enough to pinpoint the significance of this juxtaposition, but i know it adds to the story. somehow. if i were still in college, i could totally whip out a 20-page analysis of this movie.

besides the immense subtext that you can draw from this movie, what allows me to enjoy it so much is the element of surprise. with most movies nowadays, i can see the joke before it happens. but kung fu hustle is so unpredictable. who would've thought sing would use the knives in his shoulders as side rear view mirrors until he actually used them as such? the movie managed to be all over the place (a dance sequence, a live-action road runner sequence, martial arts, physical comedy, play on words, sexuality but not sex) but never lost its center, which very much adheres to the idea of kung fu and chi.

i've watched stephen chow since i was a kid, when he hosted a hong kong children's program, "430 space shuttle" (along with tony leung, another favorite actor; stephen and tony were in a sketch of good guy vs. bad guy - tony played the good guy and stephen played the bad guy). stephen went through a phase of crass comedy which had turned me off from his work for a while. now with kung fu hustle, he's definitely redefined himself as a comic genius.

roaches

i've been having roach problems at my shreveport apartment. instead of asking management to come for the third time to spray the place, i've broken down and bought roach motels. their previous efforts did not prove themselves to be effective. with the roach motels, i now come home to find not live roaches that i have to chase hesitantly with one flip-flop in hand and risk getting roach juice on the kitchen counter but dead roaches i just have to sweep up and dump in the trash. is it hypocritical to kill roaches but be anti-guns? i feel like the roach motels are kind of like guns in that they make killing much more convenient and cleaner. to kill someone without a gun, you probably have to bludgeon or stab them. without the roach motel, i have to kill the nasty roaches by the same method - squish them with a flip-flop or a wad of paper towels. roaches are just so gross though. if i am being hypocritical, just keep in mind that i am only human.

p.s. in a previous entry, i made the point that it's the people, not the guns, who are the problem. i am, however, anti-guns, someone who will never own one even for self-protection. seriously, i'd end up hurting myself before the attacker.

dallas revisited

this dallas trip was devoted to the museum of art in the downtown area. i must say, i was quite impressed with the matisse exhibit that the museum of art held in conjunction with the nasher sculpture museum/garden. i arrived just before noon and didn't leave the premises until 3:30p. starting from the portion at the museum of art, you were able to get a sense of matisse's mental and creative process as you were kind of guided through the exhibit, and it was really eye-opening to see his how he related painting to sculpting and vice versa. to him, the two mediums express his ideas in different ways; the limits of one method can be overcome by the other, obviously because one is 2-dimensional and the other is 3-dimensional. they are still intertwined, however. the way this exhibit is set up, you are able to see how matisse was able to take the creativity that came forth while sculpting and bring it into his paintings, qualities which take his paintings to another level.

after seeing the portion at the art museum, i crossed the street to the sculpture garden. there continued presentations of matisse's serial works such as "the backs", "madeleine", and busts of "jeanette". these series show matisse exploring abstraction as the figures progress becoming more abstract and more streamline in form. there was also a large display of "jazz", his book of paper cut outs. the method is so simple, something that kids do in elementary art classes. yet, his paper cut outs are vibrant in color and contain stimulating shapes and configurations. i'd have to say they're my favorite, combining a sense of innocence with exuberant creativity.

other works that interested me in the sculpture garden included jonathan borofsky's "walking to the sky", george segal's "rush hour", and naum gabo's "constructed head #2".

afterwards, as i was leaving the museum, i saw signs for the farmers market. it is a place i must revisit - i didn't arrive until the afternoon, and it seemed that most of the farmers had already left. there were a few stalls still in operation, and i managed to snag some snap peas, sweet cherry tomatoes, and limes. on one hand, it's so difficult to buy produce by the bucketful when you live by yourself. on the other hand, it prevented me from buying everything.

other destinations failed (a cd store i found online had actually closed forever, and a reebok listing turned out not to be a storefront but their business office), but it was still a good day. the thing that bugs me the most about dallas is the same thing that i don't like about la or probably any new big city: it takes at least 1/2 hour to drive to anywhere. i have to plan my trip before heading out the door or else i'll just spend the whole day driving. i was so exhausted by the time i returned to shreveport. thank goodness sundays are for sleeping in.