Me and my dog both experiencing physical unwellness recently, she got her spay surgery and I got gastroenteritis happening with a headache which dramatically decreased my efficiency of making things done. Well, life continues, and time never stops, things have to be done. Looking back to what I have done this semester, the first evidence I want to recall is my photo album.
In my album, 70% of images are my dog, 20% of the time I was with my friends, 10% other pictures(dishes, projects, references, etc.) This year, my dog got a chance to play in the snow for the first time in her life. I finished a furniture project for my undergrad. My students have been accepted to UBC and OCAD. My dog became 1 year old. I received several offers of master degree. I made dozens of vlogs through the summer. I visited the Vancouver Aquarium for the last time before it permanently closed. My friends got married in the pandemic. I got registered common law with my boyfriend. My best friend got a cat. My brain has begun to reoperate because of this program. I am very grateful for the ordinary life, I am always envious of others who have many shocking experiences, some may have several master’s degrees, some might finish their life goal, but real happiness is living in the moment and being ordinary.
Crayon Shinchan: ” Mom, ordinary people are the happiest, sickness, accident, bankruptcy, divorce, we do not know when these things will happen, if you can spend your life in an ordinary way, of course it is a gratifying thing.”
In the next stage of practice, I hope to maintain a stable mood and discover more beautiful things in ordinary life (Pablo’s photography has gave me a lot of great insights for seeing great scene).
The brain stops functioning is a terrible thing. I think that being idle for a long time will slow down the operation of the brain. The human brain is like a motherboard. If it does not operate for a long time, it will burn the motherboard once there is a demand. I have to let my brain remain operating through this lockdown situation, these courses have successfully activated my system.
The 501 visualizations clearly show where I’m at right now. I really want to discover more possibilities with the surroundings around me. Also, incorporating the traditional Chinese ideology into my design methodology. This year has a great start point for me to think about what I want to do, what I like, what I wish to achieve, so I have the opportunity to think about myself without any other restrictions. For this last action, I want to leave some space for myself in 2021 to explore other ways of knowing and explanations to respond to this.
Starting with a circle, and I want to end with a circle. Also, through this last action, I want to tell myself. Imperfections has it’s own beauty, sometimes thinking in the opposite way would provide different perspectives.
I was taking the traditional chinese ideology class during the summer, and I stopped learning this lesson when this semester starts, I would like to catch up with the class through this winter, and try to understand it in depth to support my future research.
One last comment for today (2020 Dec, 4): Every task requires an infusion of emotion and attention. A good dish cannot be achieved by worrying about a lot of other things. I wish I can hold this passion for explorations through these two years of study.
The circle symbolizes the circulatory system of nature, and circling is also a way of communication with nature, starting with the planet in the first action and ending with a golden sphere for my last action. ✨ peace out.
Several questions left for my future self:
Any consider to incorporate dog care in your design practices?
Are you changing your mind on what you have decided this semester?
Are you sure you understand what you actually want?