The Senakams | Corgi + 3

Fall Day

Fall is not my favorite season.

Even though I enjoy the way everything looks golden under the low-slung sun, and making crunchy noises when you walk on piles of fallen leaves, and slurping down piping hot butternut squash soup, fall is inevitably tinged with a bit of sadness...

...Coz fall means winter is right around the corner, which of course means you'll be shrouded under a bleak, gray sky for months. Yuck.

With the only thing to look forward to during winter being X'mas, I secretly wish that right after I open all my X'mas presents, I'll wake up and find myself on a beautiful spring day in April. I should have been a polar bear.

Thanks goodness this winter we've got Bryson, who gives us a reason to wake up every morning- especially since he learned barking incessantly (and hoarsely) will get us out of bed and feed him his breakfast at his will. Although, I'm fairly sure he wouldn't mind gorging himself on a feast then going into hibernation with us for a few months.

Big Bryson Smile- better than Prozac for those icky winter blues

Check out Bryson's Fall Day album any time for a dose of anti-depressant.

In store now- Paper Elixir holiday cards!

The Paper Elixir holiday greeting line have officially hit the shelves at Make My Day on Nov 23, 2007! Woo hoo!

Again, I have to thank Rita, friend and owner of Make My Day, not only for agreeing to carry my cards, but also designing such a wonderful display for them, right at the front of her store. She even put some in the windows (sorry the pictures didn't turn out too good so you won't see them here- you'll have to go check out the store yourself). For all the work she put in, I just hope she would actually sell at least a couple of them before they hit the dollar bin on boxing day.

Honestly though, I'm pretty happy with the 2 lines produced for the season. First, there's the "Metallics" line, which features a mix of richly-colored Stardream metallic paper and vellum, depicting falling snowflakes in graphic multi-layered designs- the 3-dimensional layering is pretty cool, but of course you can't see that in the pictures, so, again, you'll have to visit the store to check out the real thing yourself. :)

The other line is dubbed the "Natural Elements" line, made of interesting suede and cork paper. These papers cost like an arm and a leg, but they have such a warm and tactile texture to them- they invite you to touch them- that when I saw them at Flax, I knew I had to own them all *sigh*.

And to top it off, my dear friends (after spending a festive but chaotic Thanksgiving together just the night before), got up bright and early and dragged their husbands and pooches to celebrate the launch of my cards with me.

There's no better feeling in the world to have people you love around you to celebrate the birth of your child- or greeting card line for that matter, same thing.

Check out our Flickr album for more pix of of the cards and the big day.

Paper Elixir

Ah, Paper Elixir.

No idea what it is? I don't blame you. It's a company I started a few years ago when I started selling my hand made greeting cards at art fairs (like this one, the Millbrae Art and Wine Festival in 2002).

It was a huge deal for me. Ever since I was a kid, I've always thought that I'm all left brain and have no artistic talents whatsoever. The last art class I took was probably when I was in 6th grade, where I had to beg my mom to make me something so I wouldn't fail.

So when I discovered by chance a few years ago that the creative part of my brain was alive and well, and I've got this inexplicable affinity (addiction) to paper, which inspires me to create beautiful things that people would actually pay money to buy (what a novel concept), it was like a long-dormant light bulb suddenly went on inside me. I was full of passion and dreams to pursue a life in the arts. I thought I was done being a ho-hum pharmacist.

Let's just say that I'm glad I didn't quit my day job. Reality was I had no idea how to run a business, I didn't know where to go from there, and most of all, I didn't realize it would be so hard to take criticism for my work that I thought represented who I was.

In time, difficulties accumulated, my "real life" took over, and Paper Elixir sadly devolved in neglect. I still remember the day I had to turn in my resale license since I wasn't doing business anymore, I was in tears.

But as Forrest Gump would say, life is like a box of chocolate- you never know what you're gonna get...

Just as Paper Elixir is fading away as a long-forgotten dream, my friend Rita (Picasso's mommy) glanced over at my craft table one day and said, "Wow, you made all these cards? I'd be interested to see what you can make for my store."

What?! Selling Paper Elixir cards in a real store? (Rita owns a beautiful boutique home store in Oakland called Make My Day) It would be beyond my wildest dream! And it couldn't have been a better match- her store exudes warmth and beauty in their choices of furnishings and accessories made out of rich woods and exotic natural elements, all with a hand made quality to them. Plus, Bryson loves hanging out there so he can play with Picasso, or mess with his toys and eat all his treats when he's not around.

And from this initial discussion and tons of support and encouragement (mucho gracias to Rita and Brian), born the first Paper Elixir Holiday Line, now commercially available exclusively at Make My Day! Yippee!

It is a very small collection, just to try out the market, plus I've been so overwhelmed with my day job I hardly had time to make these cards (and for that, I have to thank my husband for burning the midnight oil with me being my trusty paper-cutter-and-folder).

But it represents a brand new beginning that has rekindled a very small flame in a long-lost passion. I can't deny, there's still fear, and there's still uncertainty. Honestly, I still don't know where I'll take Paper Elixir yet (or rather, where it'll take me), but for now, I'm just full of excitement and anticipation as I deliver my first batch of cards to Make My Day. They'll hit shelves the day after Thanksgiving. Wish me luck.

Happy Thanksgiving

The trees have long changed color, the day's gotten shorter, but somehow, it still feels too soon to be Thanksgiving already.

But now that I realize today is indeed Thanksgiving, it is only appropriate to look back and count our blessings this past year- we got Bryson, we saw Europe for the first time, my sister has a healthy baby, we got Bryson, we got Bryson... and despite of all my complaints about being overwhelmed and tired lately, it actually has been a great year.

So, gobble, gobble, Happy Thanksgiving!

Why eat corn flakes on a hot day?

I've been super swamped since I came back from Orlando, but there's this one conundrum that's been driving me crazy every time I walk out of my own door. I need to solicit your help here.

So here's the story...

I live in live-work loft building. There are many artists, photographers, crafts-people in my building, and my next door neighbor happens to be a gallery owner, who runs his gallery right here at home. His art work spills over to the hallway all the way past my unit (where the door mat is in this picture), which means every day I walk out of my door, I sort of walk into my own art gallery. Which is pretty neat, except that sometimes after a piece really grows on me, it gets sold and I feel all sad and empty.

This was the case a few weeks ago when the piece right smack dab in front of our unit got sold, and we had to stare at this blank void for a week before a new piece got put in its place.

When the piece arrived, I thought, OK, it's a vintage poster of a man selling Kellogg's cereal, it's very yellow, but it's aesthetically pleasing enough, and so I didn't think too much of it.

Until one day, I was propping the door open to wait for Jacques, and I had the first opportunity to really read what's on the poster, which is where the conundrum begins...

You'll see in the bigger picture below that there's a thermostat on the left side, which reads around 85, which together with the fact that this man is wiping his forehead probably means it's a hot day out there (gotta love these visual messaging in vintage posters). And the text says "NOW's the time for Kellogg's Corn Flakes".

Huh? Why is it a good time to eat cornflakes when it's 85 degrees outside? It got me thinking for days (and some sleepless nights)... We had some theories, but...

Wait. I think I got it! (See, writing a blog makes you think harder than you normally have to, and thus smarter, dare I say) I guess back in the 50's or whenever this poster was made, before the advent of instant breakfast (aka cereal), your only option is to labor in the kitchen and cook your omelette and pancakes and what not. What a revolutionary idea Kelloggs represented then, that on a hot day, everyone can get away from the stove, and not have to cook and still enjoy a delicious breakfast. Even a man wearing a tie can manage that!

That sounds like a good theory, right? Tell me I'm on the right track so I won't be tossing and turning in bed tonight.

We are the Champions, My Friend...

Thanks to all of your unending support, Bryson and Picasso took home the trophy as the MyCorgi.com Halloween costume contest winner!

Bryson's acceptance speech: "Um hmm.... testing, testing... Oh, eh... yes, I'd like to thank the MyCorgi academy for nominating us as one of the 5 finalists, and thank you to all the supporters out there who voted for us. Also, um, I'd like to thank my daddy and my mommy, for always keeping a treat in your pocket for me, and Auntie Rita for making us this super-duper awesome costume..."

"... and last but definitely not least, I have to thank the most important reason I won this award... he taught me how to play (back when I was too shy as the new kid on the block), fought with me for the last bit of dinner at every opportunity, clued me in to urban living etiquette like chasing kitties and barking at postmen, and for doubling (or tripling) our charm factor so we get extra treats and attention wherever we go together... and that is my buddy, my brother, Picasso! I love you, man... *overwhelmed with emotions* THANK YOU!!!"

The Day the Sh*t Hits the Fan

The big project I've been up-to-my-eyeballs in will be officially over tomorrow. The new tools will be rolled out, and I'll get the kudos for all the great work I've put in. Happy ending...

NOT.

Bright and early this morning, I got a phone call from my colleague in Michigan, who started with some polite small talk but I knew you don't call someone at that hour to conduct polite small talk. The real reason for his call revealed itself soon enough...

"So, you heard about the lay-off's yet? I just heard an hour ago..."

"What lay off, I thought our department isn't affected..."

"I already heard of 2 folks getting sacked, and I heard from my manager that your manager's making the 'phone calls' soon..."

And sure enough, as soon as I hung up, I was greeted by the special ring tone I assigned for my boss on my cell phone. I picked up with a lump in my throat.

As it turned out, I'm safe, along with most everyone on the team. But I did learn that a few of my colleagues who have been with the company forever and have been solid performers got the sack for reasons unknown (one guy thinks it's because he's the oldest one in the group, an unnerving thought). In fact, I just spoke with one of my newly laid-off colleagues yesterday about embarking on a joint project. Oh well, I guess that's one less project to worry about.

It also turns out that there'll be a major re-organization in our department, I'll lose my boss (she's being promoted to headquarters in NJ), and there'll be significant musical-chair movement around the country. I'm sure we'll hear more about the full extent of the casualty by tomorrow after the initial chaos subsides. And I had to work against this gloomy mood and try to rally the team to finish the project and get psyched for tomorrow's roll out. Needless to say, I wasn't met with a lot of enthusiasm.

So, today will be remembered as the Day the Sh*t Hits the Fan.

Vote for Pedro

Not that we feel the need to sweep all costume competitions in the country, not at all (uh hmm).

But I would be remiss if I didn't tell you that Bryson and Picasso made it as one of 5 finalists to the MyCorgi.com Halloween Costume Contest! Check out our competition, some are quite cute and original.

As Napolean Dynamite would tell you, Vote for Pedro Bryson & Picasso!

The Amigos Make Headline News in Dixon, CA!

OK, it wasn't exactly headline news (I have a tendency to exaggerate if you haven't noticed yet), but Bryson and Picasso were indeed mentioned in ths Sacramento Bee article this past weekend as the "mariachi musicians" who attended the Dixon Corgi Faire! (Check it out, how cool is that?).

We were totally psyched as we took the hour-long drive to Dixon, a small town close to Sacramento, on that bright and sunny morning this past weekend, as this was our first time attending this annual fair that we've heard so much about.

When we arrived, we found the place buzzing with at least 100 corgis and their people, we were in total corgi cuteness overload! And right at the entrance, you can have a picture of your corgi taken with "the Queen". How appropriate!

And as we soon learned, the idea of this "fair" is quite simple- there's one big ring in the middle of this exhibit hall where all the exciting "contests" happened, surrounded by rows of spectators and a few booths from vendors and breeders.

The contests go from the fairly standard, e.g. Cutest Costumes, to the fairly outrageous, "Your Dog Can Eat WHAT?!", where corgis were offered things like raw jicama among other atrocities. The winnning dog actually ate jicama (and possibly asked for seconds). Corgis, go figure.

When the costume contest came around, we put the boys in their "famous" 2 Amigos outfit that Rita so talently sewed from scratch. They were super duper cute!! But so was their very stiff competition- a little schoolbus, a little pony, a pirate (Grrrr), etc etc... 

And guess what... they narrowly beat out their competition and snagged the title!! Woo hoo! We didn't have a ribbon to show you (and what's up with giving ribbons for herding instincts and not for Cutest Costumes?! Err...). Anyway, bragging right is probably all we need :D

And just to prove that being cute isn't their only forte, they also participated in the Limbo Contest. You guess right, exactlylike the human version, where they have to go under a bar without tipping it over. As you can imagine, the smallest corgis (aka puppies) won hands down, while both Bryson and Picasso gave it their best.

But by the 3rd round, Bryson all of a sudden decided it'll be more fun to jump over than to go under... People bursted with cheers and laughter, and I swear I've never seen him look so proud... Just leave it to Bryson the creative attention-seeker!

All in all, we had fun meeting other corgis, their people, and participating in the various games. Bryson and Picasso got gobs of attention, we won the much-coveted costume contest, everyone went home happy :)

Yes, we had fun! Just glad that we didn't have to eat jicama.

For more photos of the day, see our Flickr album.

Crude Awakening

So I'm finally home after a weeklong gruelling trip to Orlando. Thought I'd come home to find nothing but peace, but I'm in for a "crude" awakening- a cargo ship has hit one of the towers of the Bay Bridge and spilled tens of thousands of gallons of oil smack dab into the heart of the San Francisco Bay.

This is hard enough to watch on TV, but when you see it with your own eyes, it just makes your brain hurt... it is mind-boggling how one human mistake can cause such vast devastation to our environment and our livelihood. Even though San Francisco is an urban area, there are numerous bird refuges in the area, which are being threatened (if not already oil-soaked) while we speak. Most if not all of the beach parks in the area that you've seen on our blog has been closed due to contamination, and every life in the Bay- be it people or bird or fish or dog- in ways you can or can't imagine are being affected (e.g. crabbing season is delayed and a triathlon is cancelled).

This is Point Isabel, the dog park we frequent with Bryson, partially closed due to the oil slick around the shore. Usually dogs frolick off-leash in this park, the day we visited most dogs are put back on leash by their owners, not wanting their dogs to dive into the oil-slicked Bay.

The dark patch you see along the horizon and in the picture with Bryson below is the oil spill, spreading every minute to every corner of the Bay (Bryson is thankfully quite oblivious to all these). In the other picture below, you can see the yellow boom set out to prevent the oil from drifting further into the marshland at Point Isabel, where many water fowls call home. It's not too successful though as you can see oil slick on both sides of the boom... It literally makes your stomach flip when you look over to the birds nesting in the water just yards away.

On a lighter note, there was a little something I was happy to find awaiting me at home:

Hee hee, our new Corgimobile license plate holder. Now, that's a proper ride for Bryson.

Boys' Weekend Out

Just got these pictures from home from the boys (Hubby and Bryson). Awwwwwww.....

Looks like they had fun spending a boys-only weekend at Carmel and Big Sur while I'm gone.

Miss you guys soooo much.

Long Flights, Short Reads

One more day and I'll be out of this seemingly-endless convention in Orlando (Yippee!!!)

To make these business trips more tolerable, I always bring a book with me to kill time. The Book-of-Choice would be something light-hearted, easy to read, preferably nothing too emotional (nothing's more embarrassing than your fellow flight passenger offering you a Kleenex from the bottom of their purse when you wipe your nose noisily on your sleeves).

So, with that in mind, I picked up this book, Frangipani, before I left home. I've never heard of it nor the author (native Tahitian, Celestine Vaite), but it seems to fit the bill- according to the book jacket, it's about island life in Tahiti told in the perspective of one funny, charming woman. It definitely sounds dreamy and light-hearted, and it doesn't hurt that it has a beautiful cover (OK, that's silly, but I can't resist pretty things).

And what really sold me was the fact that a review compared this book to my beloved "No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency" Series by Alexander McCall Smith. This warm, funny, and witty series about a woman detective (Mma Ramotswe)'s life in Botswana sweeps you off your feet and transport you to a simpler and more wholesome life far, far away in Africa. I've read all 8 books (almost as diligently as I devoured the Harry Potter series). All I can say is I've never been to Botswana, but reading these books makes me wish I live there.

But, as you know, things rarely happen as planned. Armed with a copy of Frangipani in my briefcase, I headed to the airport thinking I'm going to sink into Tahitian paradise on my 6-hour flight. Then, as I walked past the bookstore on the way to the gate, the pair of puppy eyes on this book's cover grabbed me and wouldn't let me leave without it (what can I say, I'm a sucker for anything doggie). Walking in Circles Before Lying Down turns out be a surprisingly good read despite of the fact that it was an impulse buy.

If you're a dog lover, how could you not be intrigued by the idea that one day, all of a sudden, you can perfectly understand your dog and you guys can chat like the best friends you always know you are? Throw in a dysfunctional family, colorful LA-type characters and a few complicated relationships and you have a perfect book for a long flight in economy class. I finished this book standing at the Orlando airport baggage claim. (Caution: there is one unexpected tear-jerking moment in the book- have Kleenex handy)

Love to hear what you think about these books if you get a chance to read them. Or better yet, throw in your own recommendation for the economy-class-blues remedy.

Orlando- Where the Magic Lived (and Died)

Hello from Orlando! Yes, amidst a beautiful fall weekend in San Francisco (and Jacques' birthday on Saturday), I've flown here to the humid oven that is Orlando, FL to cover a convention.

I can't imagine that it wasn't that long ago when Orlando used to mean this to me:

 
(Photos courtesy to various sources on the internet, i.e. I forgot where I got them from)

Squeezing to get a front seat on Main Street to watch the parade under a sky lit up by firework, sticking out a finger "E.T.-Phone-Home style" flying over a plastic full moon on the nostalgic E.T. ride, visiting "Future World" in Epcot Center where you watch "families in the 21st century" eat spaghetti with state-of-the-art nuclear-powered sporks. Those were the days when coming to Orlando meant having a silly good time.

Well, coming to Orlando has taken on a different meaning since I've begun my career in the pharmaceutical industry. Orlando, home of one of the largest convention centers in the country, hosts a variety of medical conventions throughout the year. My job would be to attend one of these conventions to cover the latest and greatest in my therapeutic area.

In this case, I'm attending the ginormous American Heart Association Annual Scientific Session. Cutting-edge science in cardiology is being reported left and right for 4 full days, and it's attended by almost 30,000 physicians and researchers and pharmaceutical folks from all around the world. It was quite an eye-opening experience when you're here for the first time. This is my 4th year here.

My day pretty much consists of getting up, going to the convention center, attending breakfast meetings, lunch meetings, dinner meetings, after-dinner meetings, heading back to the hotel, do some more work on the computer, take an Ambien, go to sleep.

OK, once in a while, my coworkers and I do fun stuff like sneaking out to the nearby outlet mall and engage in some retail therapy in between meetings. But we don't do that often enough.

So, here's an updated picture of what Orlando means to me these days:

 
(Photos courtesy to my Sony Ericsson Walkman W580i cell phone)
Left: Walking until your feet become one bloody blistery mess in the 40+ acres (yes, I said ACRES) of convention space
Right: Catching up on e-mails and reading reviews about the day's studies reported on sites like www.theheart.org till my eyelids fail to operate

I'm ready to go home.