Surprises and Presents! Pt. II

So maybe 2 or 3 weeks ago, I was lying in bed thinking of what I could do that would be an amazing Christmas present for my girlfriend. I mean, i'd already got her material gifts long before the holiday rush came, but i needed the sentimental part. (Men, note that just buying things wont always work in the long run. Shoot for the sensitive stuff, HA.)

Distance was also starting to take a bit of a toll on our relationship, so I needed something that would prove that everything would be worth it. Long distance relationships aren't always impossible, it's just as strong as the effort put into it. Anyway, i planned a surprise weekend trip for my girlfriend because i hadn't seen her in months! Let me tell you though, it's not as easy to plan everything as it is to tell yourself, "Let's do this." So i picked a date and booked a flight all while keeping it under wraps while talking with the girlfriend everyday. Hard to hide, or hold a conversation when she asks "what have you been doing?" All the time.

Now came the hard part. I actually messaged her mom through facebook, aware of how mildly addicted she was to it, telling her about my surprise and she was actually excited for it! She offered to pick me up from SFO (San Fransisco Airport) so i didn't have to go through the troubles of transportation, AND offered me housing. Amazing right?! On top of that, i had to ask her to keep everything quiet from the girlfriend, and she did great!

When Friday came, i left for the airport (Jamila thinking i was heading for some early morning Farmer's Market or something) and made sure everything was going perfectly; texted her mom for details while keeping it totally discreet texting Jamila. When i landed, her mom told her that she had to pick up a package from the airport before leaving for downtown San Francisco for some shopping. A really big package. Here's what happened:


After all that excitement..or what i THOUGHT calmed down...


Afterwards, we went around downtown SF, Yerba Buena, Union Square, and everywhere else lovely with her fam. Long story short: a lot of walking, first time ice skating, being hungry constantly, and beautiful christmas lights. Fun and simple! Thenn, we went back to the house, watched...an interesting movie, slept over and had an amaaazzinnggg night with the Jamster. Woke up the next morning and got fed some Jollibee (naturally. No racial.) and then went to the beautiful palace of fine arts. If you guys get lucky, the Cutie will update her side of the story with all the pictures! :)

In other words. I love you babes! Hope you liked your gifts, Merry Christmas!

Surprises and Presents!

Hey everyone, Richard here! Just wanted to say sorry about not having a post up for the last weekend, we were a bit busier than usual...

We will be posting up details on a later day but here's a little teaser!

This last weekend, I planned a trip to San Francisco to surprise my wonderful girlfriend for Christmas and it was a success! A huge one.



Thisss is the Macy's at Union Square beautifully lit at night, with the beaautiful girl :)



When we find the time to, we'll try to tell the whole story if you guys want...But for now, enjoy your Holidays everyone! Thanks for the support with this little "e-Cafe" and spreading it around. We'll keep doing it as long as you guys are lovin' it :)

Meet Your Newest Lullaby Singer

So, if you took Norah Jones, some Priscilla Ahn, a hint of Ingrid Michaelson maybe...and throw it all together with Lisa Hannigan...this probably what you'd get. Residing somewhere in Canada (Sorry D, forgot where exactly!), her music comes straight from her soul. I don't know anyone else who can compose so many lyrical masterpieces in such a short amount of time. With her soft, soothing voice and heartfelt words, you can't deny this girl's talent; and only at the age of 17! [Why is is that Canada holds so much talent...should be illegal.] Anyhow, recommended times to tune in are: Right before you go to bed.

Ladies, gentlemen, children and pets, Daniela Andrade!

One of my favorite covers and songs, "Don't Know Why."


"Heart of Life" w/ one of her amazing friends Paolo [You guys know i'm a sucker for some Mayer.]

An original piece entitled "Shells"


"Lover."


Check out all of her stuff @
http://youtube.com/DanielaSings
&her friend Paulo!
http://youtube.com/pauloandjuli

Goodnight!

Ran Hwang;

The pictures below are from a collection titled "Dreaming of Joy" by Korean artist, Ran Hwang. Be careful however; at first eyes will see it as mere splattered paint on a wall..but if seen close enough, the true craft will show. Because these immense wall installations are composed completely with simple pins and buttons, it makes it extremely time consuming and repetitive manual work. For Hwang, this is a form of meditative practice that helps him find inner peace. He explains that..

"..pins are used to hold buttons onto the surface to form a silhouetted image, or to disintegrate such image. No adhesive is used so that the buttons are free to stay and move, which implies the genetic human tendency to be irresolute. I use buttons, because they are common and ordinary, like the existence of human beings... By hammering thousands of pins onto a wall, I discover significance of existence... my work is a form of performance that leads to finding oneself."

Basically, some pins are hammered in deeper to create different shades and depths, and others more loosely which are intended to fall, creating that dissolving illusion. An amazing artist. Don't forget to pop your eyes back in and pick your jaw off the floor, enjoy!

Note: The cages seen are a part of the complete piece, not only for security purposes. Cool huh?

pieces from his "Dreaming of Joy" installation;

For other works of Ran Hwang [not just pins and buttons] visit his site at http://www.ranhwang.com/ (: