Stay At Home Because You Are Well Day!

Haha! So today is, believe it or not, Stay At Home Because You Are Well Day.  It's originally an American holiday, but it's slowly finding its way to Canada.  All I know is, it has already crept its way into my heart.  Luckily, I didn't have class or work, so no boss or prof hounding at my door while I spent my grand day at home.

To keep my brain fueled and my spirits high during these testing times (more exams than tests!), I've been busying myself in the kitchen again.  I grew up in a family that really embraced cuisine of different ethnicities, so, living on my own, I've made a point to continue travelling the world (even when I'm chained to my desk) through food.  I started out with Swiss rösti, Korean bibimbap, and Chinese stirfry.... more to come!

Hint: click the first photo to enter the photo viewer.

Swiss garlic butter rösti

Piping hot homefries!!!

Vegan maple chocolate tofu pudding

Korean bibimbap, with kosari, okra, gochujang, and all the works!

Chloe Golightly
...on holiday.

chloelnlam@gmail.com

Get jiggy with it

Sooo much to do, can't break 'til exams are through, just gotta stop, relax, breathe, and...

get jiggy with it ;)

To the two most ballsy women I know (a profession of love...)

Here’s to the most beautiful coupla ladies in the world, and the multitude of support, strength, joy and laughs they’ve given me:

Mario cart races, alien movies, zombies apocalypses, Clinique everything, caterpillar PJs, hashbrowns, Sergio Ramos headband, smart car trunk adventures, black nail polish, tomfoolery in the UBC pool, earring studs, raspberry frizzante, snowboarding “the Cut”, pumpkin scones, “neck comas”, food comas, Dior perfume, spicy lemonade, vegan food, AA, Templetonnn, monkeys galore, "Through the wormhole"…

You're my family away from home and no matter how far you two are and how long we've not seen each other, I know I’ll always have you.  That means the world to me.

It's been a while, so I'm super rusty, but the lurve's there!

Let's have drunken arts night again, so I can make more nonsensical postcards!

Can I have another? Even if it's not my birthday?

Chloe Golightly
...on holiday.

chloelnlam@gmail.com

Just do it

Though I love photography, and the creative opportunity it gives me to envision a piece, play around with a composition, and work with my surroundings and the instrument’s features and functions to get the best possible shot, I’m always sooooo peeved how many things are out of my control.  When someone walks into my shot... when the perfect lighting fades... when my battery dies… when my SD card is too full… when the shot turned out to be blurry...

My strongest form of artistic expression, the one I embrace the most, and the one that renders me happiest, is still that which relies completely on my own mind and hand.  I am completely in control.

So enough neglecting the pencil and paint.  Enough putting aside my art for school.  Enough procrastinating.  I’m going to finish this.  A Nike message for a Nike piece, dedicated to the iconic and legendary shoe:  Just do it.

Take a look.

Pens and highlighters. A student's art in the making.

Chloe Golightly
...on holiday.

chloelnlam@gmail.com

Hecho en México

I went to México recently at the request of an old friend who I had met four years ago in Quebec while learning French.  With my host, I basked in the unforgettable pleasure of lively company, delectable food, extraordinary sites, and meaningful experiences.  I even managed to pick up some Spanish, but as per usual with new languages, all I can recall are a few essential phrases of politesse, a few too many dirty words, and meanings to some amusing jargon like what it means to get spanked with a "chancla"!

Hint: click the first photo to enter the photo viewer.

The warm colonial home of a heart-warming family...

Buying habaneros.

The Aztec pyramid ruins.

3 different time periods.

Coyoacan.

Street meat tacos.

Des beaux arts.

The Mexican barbecue.

Chilli pepper is served on all fruits.

On the street of the artisans.

Chloe Golightly
...on holiday.

chloelnlam@gmail.com

The Haleakalā Volcano

The alarm buzzes at 3:00 a.m.  Immediately, there's an evident sense of time's ticking.  It's silent as everyone hurries to dress and pack their sacks.  You open the front door and suddenly stop, seized by the frigid cold of the dark black night.  Still no one has said a word.  The stars above pulse with immediacy.  Everybody moves briskly and assumes their positions in the car.
The loud engine starts the conversation, and again silence takes over as you head on your way.  At the gas station you stand still in the quiet cold, everyone's stare frozen at you through the window.  You're on your way again.
Drive out east for 2 hours.  Brave the roads that traverse unlit territory.  Feel the reluctant heave of the car as it begins its ascent.  Follow the winding road, left, right, left, that continues for almost an hour.  The motion stirs the excitement inside of you.  Your headlights are the only thing keeping you from falling over the dark edge.

You're at the top.
Wind, silence, cold, still, dark, then finally Light.
Every moment of the sunrise shines a new palette of colour onto the landscape.  It's breathtakingly beautiful.

Hint: click the first photo to enter the photo viewer.

They say Haleakalā is viewed as standard for silence.

Looking backwards, the sunrise is reflected behind the West Maui Mountains.

And you're incandescently happy.

Chloe Golightly
...on holiday.

chloelnlam@gmail.com