1.5.2009

hmm...the past 2 weeks have been a bit of a blur.  since most of the decorating on the first floor has been completed, my parents decided to host not one, not two, but THREE holiday parties: one for my mother's friends, one for her business partners, and one for my father's employees.  and guess who was left to in charge of most of the preparations?  yours truly, of course.  don't get me wrong, i LOVE to host.  and because my parents are both slight workaholics, i was happy to help out.  i guess i just underestimated how much work it would be.

anyway, i must apologize to those i have neglected these last couple of weeks, including this blog.  as promised, here are the scans of both my yves saint laurent and my celebrity day-to-evening dress collections.  the scans came out a little dark, and i tried my best to get them back to how the originals were.

YVES SAINT LAURENT FALL/WINTER SUIT & COAT COLLECTION, inspired by french pirates:

a bit difficult to see the lapel details on this one

originally, i wanted to render this one with a glen plaid pattern but i ran out of time on the project

my personal favorite of the bunch

brown leather-backed toggle coat in red double cashmere with embroidered trim

DAY-TO-EVENING DRESS COLLECTION, for natalie portman:

my least favorite of the bunch--satin and lamé 3 panel dress

my favorite of the bunch--shantung and wool knit dress with tucks on sleeves

double wool crepe dress with flare effect in double charmeuse

a bit difficult to see the silver in the netting on this one--black and silver netting over black satin 

you may recognize this as one of the losing candidates for my term garment in another class.  i felt this one fit quite well with miss portman's style so i used it here--navy wool crepe dress with deep cowl back

let me know what you guys think.  i'll leave you with my spring schedule and the music video to what has been the most popular song in korea for the past 4 months.  i seemingly heard it playing in the background almost everywhere i went in new york this past semester.  i particularly like the 1960s motown feel to the video...

SPRING 2009:

nobody - wonder girls:

but they can never take away our FREEDOM...

i finished my first semester of fashion school last thursday and i've been sleeping a lot since.  at one point i didn't sleep for almost 48 hours last week.  it was fun.  if i were to summarize my semester in FOUR words, i would say this:

i learned a lot.

...about fashion design, about the fashion industry, about myself and what i want for my life, and about how all that fits into what God wants for my life.

fashion design is HARD but REWARDING.  you'll often spend many hours working on a single garment until you get the fabric to do exactly what you want.  it's both fun but extremely frustrating. there are so many things to consider when designing and constructing even one garment, not to mention a whole collection. designers are thinkers.  even the most talented ones have to give their collections a lot of thought--it doesn't just come to you. i hope it becomes easier the more you do it though because i don't like the amount of time i currently have to devote to it.

like anything else, success in the fashion industry depends more on HARD WORK than TALENT, which is why i have a problem with celebrity designers: they have no talent and they don't work hard. a travesty, really.  generally, most people in the industry aren't as snobby as hollywood likes to portray them (i.e. zoolander and the devil wears prada).  although meryl streep's character in the devil wears prada is based on the real-life editor-in-chief of vogue, anna wintour, who they say is indeed as crazy as the film depicts.  i find that people like her however, are the minority. though some of the most famous designers may look crazy because of the way they dress (i.e. karl lagerfeld), i hear that they're actually rather nice people.  i guess that means i need to be nicer.

i want to eventually have my own CLOTHING LINE that is managed using Godly business practices.  i want a FAMILY.  i think being a Godly PARENT is potentially one of the most noble things humanity can aspire to.  i want to live and work in LONDON.  i think these are some of my more realistic goals.

i also want to be knighted by the queen of england, but that one's a little iffy.  wouldn't it be cool though if everyone had to address me as SIR FRED?  haha.

ultimately however, nothing is of more importance than the things of the Kingdom.  as humans, our values and the self restraint to live by these values is what sets us apart from the animals.  as Christians, biblical values are what makes us salt and light in our dark world.  in times of economic downturn, in times of war, in times of uncertainty, God is the only constant we have.  i just pray that i may be given the grace to live at all times like one who has been saved.

i'll try to post photos/scans of some of my work soon.

without self restraint, we are but animals; without God we are but dust.

crunch time...

i'm back!  or perhaps more accurately, my internet's back after being out for about a week, which you would think would be good for my productivity, but it wasn't.  in fact, i got almost nothing done this break.  i don't know how i'm going to get all my projects done in time, other than not sleeping for the next 3 weeks.  here's my to-do list:

things i have to make:

1. evening garment

2. suit jacket

3. 2 blouses and 2 skirts

things i have to design (illustrate):

1. 5-piece celebrity day-to-evening dress collection (my chosen celebrity is, of course, natalie portman)

2. a small collection for my computerized design class, which i haven't gotten the details of the assignment yet

thus, updates to this blog may become short and sparse over the next few weeks.  i'll leave you with these 2 great videos before i head to the studio...

a rather sexy arrangement of stand by me:

and highlights from one of my favorite fashion shows in the past 2 years (embedding was disabled on this one, so you'll have to actually click on the link):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFeVhYJ28j0

the fastest...

year of my life...sigh...

you need something to sell...

now this could be anything.  it could be a thingamajig.  or a whosi-whatsi.  or...a "whatchamacallit." now, you need to sell those in order to have a "payday."  and if you sell enough of them, you will make "100 grand."  satisfied? [holds up a snickers bar]

hello!  it feels like it's been so long.  school is really picking up now with our term garments and such and this past weekend was probably the busiest of the semester so far but i love it.  other than the evening dress that i'm making, i'm really excited about this project i'm doing on yves saint laurent, the premise of which is that i've been hired by a top fashion house as creative director and my first task as such is a small fall suit and coat collection (3 suits, 1 coat).  we were given a choice of designer from a short list of about 12 top designers who established their names before 1960, including saint laurent, dior, balenciaga, givenchy, chanel, courreges, james galanos, charles james, bonnie cashin, adrian, claire mccardell, norman norell, and pierre cardin.  these were essentially the best of the best back then and even now some of them are still revered for their contributions to fashion.  anyway, the project is progressing quite nicely and i look forward to posting scans of the collection when i'm done.

i hate outlining my sketches in black pen so you can see the lines when i put marker over them.  it's so nerve-racking that hold my breath when i do it.  i sometimes wonder what if...i got so into it...that i passed out...wouldn't that be the funniest thing you've ever heard?

i'm also close to choosing a church: either redeemer or a small church called trinity grace.  i problem is that i like both very much.  although i like prefer the worship style at trinity grace, the sermons at both churches have been relevant and engaging. trinity grace's congregation is on average much younger, which i'm not sure yet if that's a good thing for me or not.  hmm...a difficult but good dilemma to have i suppose.  i could theoretically go to both, since trinity grace meets at 7 in the evening, which still feels strange to me actually...

on a more sober note, i was reminded this week of the terrible consequences of sacrificing your family for your career.  not that i ever intended to do that.  but good intentions don't always welcome the best outcomes, which concerns me.

i'll leave you with a peek at what i do on a day-to-day basis:

psalm 40:16

but may all who seek you

    rejoice and be glad in you;

may those who love your salvation

             always say,

    "the LORD be exalted!"

and the winner is...

dress no. 4!

oh and barack obama too...

thanks for voting!  but let's not start the celebrations just yet...

rock the vote...

time to exercise your civic duty, kids...and vote for my term garment design, inspired by the work of madeleine vionnet.  out of the 12 sketches i made, here are my 5 favorites:

1.

2.

3. i wanted to make this one but my instructor said it would be too difficult.  there's a deep cowl in the back, which you can see a bit here...

4. my instructor wants me to make this one...

5.

of course, i may not even listen to your votes...but do it anyway, okay?  okay.

love it!

i'm a bit incredulous that kobe actually made this commercial.  he seems like he'd be too cool for it.

still figuring it out...

so many things to do this week it's kind of alarming...so glad it's almost over.  1 skirt and 12 sketches left tonight...hopefully not all night...

:-(

how very depressing...

christian dior, you wasted your life

on aroma and clothes, fabric and dyes

christian dior, you wasted your life

on grandeur and style and making the poor rich smile

you could have run wild on the backstreets of lyon or marseille

reckless and legless and stoned

impregnating women or kissing mad street boys from napoli

who couldn't even write their name

christian dior

you wasted your life

sensually stroking the weaves of a sleeve

christian dior - morrissey

ouch...

where art thou, hedi slimane?

men's fashion just isn't exciting without you.  kanye was right: they don't make 'em like this anymore...

oh baby...

i have acquired adobe photoshop cs3...time to do some damage...

in other important news, my duke alumni forwarding address is not working for some as yet unknown reason so don't send anything to that address.  please use my gmail or FIT e-mail instead.

also, i need a masseuse...

i will offer up my life...

in spirit and truth

pouring out the oil of love as my worship to You

in surrender i must give my every part

Lord, receive the sacrifice of a broken heart

what a day.

followed a friend to church this morning and got lost in brooklyn searching for it.  it was my first time outside of manhattan. finally, we ask this fine young chap, who looks up the address on his iphone and guess what he says...

"that's in manhattan."

so by the time we get back to manhattan, the service is already over.  fortunately, chinatown was nearby, so we proceeded to commiserate over dim sum.  i came to the conclusion today that the bubble tea in manhattan falls ingloriously short of the bubble tea in houston.  how depressing.

anyway.

to make up for my morning adventure, i went to an evening church service that i've been meaning to go to anyway.  in short, i think it worked out for the better.  i was quite touched by both the teaching and the worship to the point where i must admit, i shed a few tears.  it reminded me how lost our world is and how dark and lonely a place like new york city can be without the love of Christ.  truth be told, it also intensified my feelings of nostalgia for the community i had at duke and in intervasity that i've been feeling for the past few weeks.  perhaps contrary to popular belief, i DO get lonely.  fashion design can be a rather lonely profession.  i was probably the most lonely last weekend during duke's fall break when i felt like i really needed a fall break myself.  am i going to get married, some have asked?  i hope so. but the reason i don't just jump into relationships is simply because i want things done right.  i believe that the process is ultimately more important than the result.

"trust in the Lord with all your heart

     and lean not on your own understanding;

in all your ways acknowledge him,

     and he will make your paths straight."

proverbs 3:5-6

DISCLAIMER:

this does not however, mean i am good at doing things right :-/

in other news, i visited 3 fashion labels yesterday--theory, elie tahari, and bcbg max azria--to do a market research project. basically, we had to profile each label in regards to seasonal color story and target customer while covertly sketching and noting the price and fabrication of what we thought was the centerpiece jacket of the collection.  i must say it was a pleasant experience.  brands like these are "safe" because students won't be tempted to buy anything since they usually can't afford it!

speaking of centerpieces, isn't this one of the most beautiful dresses you've ever seen:

christian dior fall 2008 couture by john galliano--the overall look of the model is simply gorgeous.

i officially regret not going to homecoming.  nuts...

close your eyes and imagine...

feel the magic

vegas on acid

seen through yves saint-laurent glasses

there's something magical about new york when the temperature drops.  it got me thinking about christmas today and the possibility of spending it in new york in the future.  i suppose it's not quite as magical when you're alone :-/

eureka!

i just had somewhat of an epiphany...

i have 4

mosquito bites on my FACE.

psalm 43:5

why are you downcast, o my soul?

     why so disturbed within me?

put your hope in God,

     for i will yet praise him,

     my Savior and my God

not the same...

what a strange week.  we had yesterday off for yom kippur, which i suppose is nice but really it's just a free day to work on projects that may be due the day after.  it also really messes with your sense of which day of the week it is.  i would much rather prefer a fall break...like...right now.

i suppose i've had a lot of things on my mind lately, and how i feel about a design career seems to fluctuate everyday.  although i do enjoy what i'm doing here, i've been thinking whether or not design is what i'll actually be doing in a few years.  for one thing, it's definitely a different lifestyle from the normal 9-5 workday, which i suppose is something i've always wanted to avoid, primarily because i thought it was boring.  lately however, i suppose i've been reevaluating my priorities not necessarily on purpose, but i think life simply forces you to do that at various times, you know what i mean?  anyway, i think i want...

...more time for other things.

because of course, there are more important things than making clothes.  maybe that makes me more boring.  maybe it's unavoidable.  i actually don't really care.

as a guy in our modern world, i also feel the pressure to get a job and have a 5-year plan, for better or for worse.  getting a job is not that bad, as i'd like to become completely financially independent from my parents, but having a 5-year plan is a little ridiculous.  who knows what anyone will be doing in 5 years--it can all change in a heartbeat.  why bother making a plan?  :-)  of course, i'm being facetious.  plans can be useful; you just shouldn't put all your faith in them.  who knows?  after this year, i may just quit school and get a job.  i'd like to stay in new york and in the fashion industry though (if not in design).  perhaps by the end of the year i'll have made some connections that will turn into employment muahahaha.

something else that always seems to be in the back of my mind is the idea of a noble life--or a life that matters to more people than yourself--like that of william wilburforce, for instance.  films like amazing grace never cease to move me.  i think we all want to matter to someone else or to several other people, and the way we seek to satisfy this desire manifests in many forms: romance, philanthropy, popularity, etc.  or perhaps all i really want is a state funeral with soldiers, bagpies, drums, and rifles. but in all seriousness, anything other than the truth of the Gospels will eventually fade.  the desire to live a life that matters is natural, but we do not necessarily need to satisfy it by being a faithful spouse or a champion of social justice--in Christ alone (which just happens to be my favorite hymn) are we justified.  i find myself looking forward to sundays the most, primarily because of church.  although i haven't found a spiritual home here yet, i have a feeling i'm close.  i must admit however, i do miss the summit.

i suppose i've been feeling a little homesick lately.  they say that home is where the heart is.  the problem is that part of my heart is in texas, another part is here in new york, and yet another part is at duke.  so i suppose i'm actually feeling a bit homeless...like zach braff in garden state, which i surprisingly haven't watched in over a year now and which i won't be watching anytime soon since my dvd's in texas.  i do however, wish that finding some alone time here were easier.  there's just so many people everywhere in manhattan.

it hurts...

to breathe lately...you think i should see a doctor?

can't stop...

i love this video--it's so wacky:

although i never was a fan of erwin wurm's work...

woo...i need to sleep...

what is going on...

there's a hoedown going on outside on the street in front of the school.  although i do love the simplicity of life that country music lyrics often portray.

new york city...

is like one big playground.

the eye of the beholder...

the fashion industry is quite smaller than most people may think. in many ways, it resembles a small town where everyone knows everyone else.  designers often maintain connections to various fabric dealers and fashion schools like FIT, reselling or donating unused fabric and other materials.  in return, schools like FIT lets designers use their libraries and archives, and FIT has one of the most, if not the most, extensive fashion museums and archives in the world.  top designers like john galliano will send a lowly assistant a couple times a year to do research within the museum's archives.  in conclusion, i should spend more time in the archives.

today in draping class, i realized that i tend to gravitate towards designing asymmetrical garments in more elegant fabrics, which is good to know while i'm in the process of working out my design aesthetic.  in draping however, you need only to produce HALF a garment just to get your idea across.  but for my asymmetrical designs, i obviously need to produce both halves to get my idea across, which means i use much more fabric...and money :-(

can't sleep...

again.

i really want to play some soccer.  and sing in falsetto...but my suitemates are sleeping...

observations...

there's a guy in my building who looks just like jude law.  quite the looker, i must say.  and i wish the subway didn't smell like urine...

just a little insomnia...

a ton of thoughts running through my head...good thing rosh hoshanah is 2 days long!

have you ever tried...

brushing your teeth with your less dominant hand?  it's a whole new world...

have you ever wondered...

why many of the biggest fashion designers are gay?

i think perhaps it's because most straight men don't realize that women dress more for other women than other men.

anyway, back to the studio...

some come over, just be patient and don't worry...

i think it's about time to call baloney on the notion that i won't have a life this year.  or at least this semester.  then again, this may simply be an illusion caused by the fact that i'm not taking life drawing like the other kids in my program since i took figure drawing at duke.  that fashion would consume me was a major concern of mine going into my program.  of course, i made the decision beforehand that pursuing fashion would be worth my time and energy, because nobody would pursue a career if they thought it wasn't worth it (doctors, for instance).  now, it's week 5 and classes are fully underway and after doing the work and talking to and reading about people in the industry, i'm convinced that you can be a great designer and still have a normal life outside of work.  and if i ever have my own design studio, i think the background music will  be comprised largely of opera pieces.

i admit however, that i have been slacking in other areas of my life outside my classes but have made a renewed commitment to stop sucking.  part of this commitment includes taking a sabbath every week like i did at duke (more or less), either on saturday or sunday--i haven't quite decided yet.  another part includes upping the quality of my communications.  if you're lucky, you might even receive a handwritten letter from me once and a while :-)

yesterday, i popped into the on-campus christian fellowship for the first time.  before coming here, i thought i would get away from the college fellowship lifestyle and get involved with a church, but i thought i should visit this fellowship at least once.  i was pleasantly surprised.  i think the christian community on campus is larger than i had initially thought, and like the student body, there's a good number of people my age and even older. even so, i still think i'll get involved with a church instead, but i might hang out with some of the older members of the fellowship occasionally.  one of the things i like about it though is the fact that the club's faculty advisor/sponsor actually participates in the meetings, something that duke intervaristy's peter feaver never did and which i always thought was a bit odd.

if i were to describe today in one word, it would be clumsy.  i cut my NOSE while shaving, which of course began bleeding profusely and tripped on the STAIRS, almost breaking my wrist. let me tell you, a bandage over only one side of your nose results in a rather awkward look.  and my hand is still throbbing as i'm typing this.  this reminds me however, that i'm trying to get into the habit of shaving everyday.  i think it's an important...discipline.

i was looking in the mirror the other day (of course), and i'm convinced that i've become better looking since graduating.

watch bill...

i know i posted this before but i feel like bill deserves his own post.  watch and laugh:

feet cold, ears hot...

i've noticed 2 rather interesting things about the population here in new york city: 1) a surprising number of people are culturally ignorant and perhaps can even be described as hostile, and 2) there's a large surplus of koreans here.  i was eating some asian food of some type on a few occasions when the response of a nearby observer would be that of disgust.  i don't think this would have ever been the case at duke.  it's rather surprising for such a cosmopolitan city.  i suppose that even here it's still possible to live in a bubble.  as for the koreans, there's so many of them here!  my classes are 40% korean.  this of course, can only mean trouble hahaha.

i was mostly playing catch-up this week because of my illness last week.  needless to say, i'm SO glad the week's over.  i had to design a 15-piece activewear collection this week.  i do NOT do activewear.  polyester, nylon, and spandex are not the most inspiring fabrics.  i also spent 3 hours in mood fabrics which is not nearly as well stocked as project runway leads you to believe.

fashion design is an exercise in masochism...

i went back to work in the studio today and managed to prick myself on pins several times and slice my finger open on the sewing machine.  i fear for the continued softness of my famously soft hands.

my final schedule and a few other things...

i was finally able to drop life drawing last week so here's my final schedule:

i love having wednesday afternoons off--it was sort of necessary in my opinion.

i haven't felt too busy/stressed lately but apparently my body disagrees as i am currently sick with joint aches, fatigue, and a fever.  last night was especially uncomfortable.  in fact, i had to skip classes today to go to a doctor, who simply wrote me a prescription for some drugs and sent me home.  i am feeling better now however.  although i'm still not entirely sure what this mysterious illness is.  the nice thing about being sick is that you can get people to do things for you that they normally wouldn't do...like buying you grapefruit juice and dinner.  tonight i'm eating korean soft tofu soup with seafood.  no worries though--i should be back on my feet in no time only to be faced with a mountain of work.  let's see...i need to:

1) make a skirt with a yoke, tier, and bubble

2) design 2 bustiers

3) practice sewing an invisible zipper

4) draft 3 different skirt patterns and actually make one of them

5) plus the assignments i missed today...whatever those are

should be fun!

anyway.

i feel like i lose track of time while in school and sometimes i have to think what day it is.  not sure if that means i'm enjoying it here or that i'm too busy.  probably should figure that out.  the good news is that i got As on all 3 of my first draping projects! and with things like this, you only get better with time.  i love it. i also met john varvatos.  needless to say it was awesome and he seems like a really down-to-earth guy.  too bad he only makes menswear.

i miss duke's unlimited free printing...and all you guys that aren't here with me.  i guess it's worse when you're sick.

this song seems appropriate at this time:

life is very strange...

my first week of class was rather anti-climactic but still exciting. i like all of my professors except my professor for life drawing which i'm still in the process of dropping--the administration is so slow here.  my other professors all seem more than competent and enthusiastic, something i couldn't say for all my duke professors.  the classes aren't as over my head as i thought they would be.  in fact, i've found that i'm one of the most advanced students in my program (who would have thought!)

apparently, my classes are comprised exclusively of other students from my program, which means that i have class with the same people EVERYDAY.  and because i'm the only guy in my program, i'm the only guy in ALL my classes.  it's a rather strange experience, let me tell you.  perhaps they arrange it this way for the purposes of communal commiseration of our lack of social lives.

anyway.

today, when my draping professor was inspecting my work, we had the following exchange:

professor renzulli: is this your first time draping?

me: yes

professor: what was your previous degree in?

me: political science

professor: and you've always been interested in fashion?

me: yes

professor: well, you made the right choice.  this is good work.

me (secretly): HECK YES.

me: oh, thank you.

tomorrow, i'm going shopping at the following stores:

loemann's

levi's

steven alan

new and almost new

uniqlo

muji

j. crew

bloomingdale's

urban outfitters

century 21

h&m

outlet 7

wish me luck!

and here we go...

my first class at FIT starts at 2:10...and i'm kind of antsy.

i wish i had an ACES graphic schedule.

i love new york...

hmm...where should i begin?  the people here aren't as rude as i had expected them to be, but the city is a lot dirtier and smellier when compared to other similarly sized cities in the world.  if london, a city that's just as big and even older, can keep its streets and sidewalks clean why can't new york?  it's also rather disturbing to be walking and suddenly feel drops of water fall on your face, even though it's usually just from the a/c units on the buildings above.  but that's about the extent of my complaints about new york.

my school is located in chelsea, which is right next to midtown, the center of manhattan--AMAZING location.  it occupies 2 adjacent city blocks: one for the actual school and one for the dorms, which of course is really convenient, especially in the winter when it's FREEZING outside.  i am so not looking forward to the winter.

this year at least, i'm living in the dorms.  my room is actually a suite with a kitchen, bathroom, and 2 bedrooms shared amongst 4 people.  i canceled my meal plan yesterday because i felt that after 4 years with one at duke, i should start cooking for myself as to prepare for the real world.  besides, i like to cook.  really though, i'd only be cooking my dinners, since both breakfast and lunch should be quick and easy: cereal and milk for breakfast and lunch at one of the many small and inexpensive restaurants that litter the surrounding neighborhood.  for groceries, there's a whole foods 2 blocks away and and a less expensive store called gristedes one block away.

my roommate's name is tristan.  he's a sophomore majoring in photography and is currently on crutches for a broken foot.  he just sits in bed and watches tv all day, although i suspect this will change once he's off the crutches in october.  manoj and john live in the other room.  manoj is half indian and half hawaiian and graduated from uconn in may with a degree in economics.  he's majoring in menswear so he can one day continue his family's menswear business.  john would be a senior at shenandoah university (which is near rockbridge!) finishing his musical theater degree this year, but he decided he didn't want to do that and transfered here to major in fashion merchandising and management, which is probably the most popular major here. fortunately, we all get along pretty well.

earlier in the week, i went to my mandatory program meeting. my program consists of people like me who've had previous college experience and have taken enough liberal arts credits to not have to take them here, thereby shaving off 1 year from what is normally a 4 year program.  they only admit about 50 people per year to this program, and this year there's only 47 of us, 46 of which are girls.  overall, the school's student body is 85% female--a favorable ratio i suppose...if i had a social life, which we were openly told we would not.  i can't wait for classes to start.  but it does feel weird not going back to duke, and i am going to miss the open campus and walking to the bc everyday to buy a pack of white reese's--and of course the people.

i'll leave you with this HILARIOUS video:

correction...

my address actually is:

Andrew Li

Fashion Institute of Technology

Alumni Hall 2H1

210 West 27th Street

New York, NY 10001

update coming soon...

the fruit of our labors...

here are the pictures of my parents' new house that i promised. these only include the rooms that are finished or near finished.

the entrance hallway...

...with a beautiful handmade islamic prayer rug from afghanistan (yes, it's upside down in this photo)...

...and a console, mirror and tea candles by the coat closet:

the adjacent dining room--i actually despise the setup on the left but my parents insisted...

...and we're still looking for something to put on the right side of the side board and i hope to convince my parents to lower the painting 1 or 2 inches, replace the candel holder with something else because i think it's ugly and out of place and replace the square vases with fatter square vases (both paintings in this room are real):

the family room--we're still waiting for the window treatments for the 4 windows on the left (there's actually 2 more windows of the same size above them)...

...and here's a closer look at the beautiful chairs we found:

the kitchen and breakfast area...

...and we're also still waiting for the window treatments for the 4 windows here and that bench was not there when my parents bought the house--we had it custom built:

whew...blogger really needs a better way to format pictures.  let me know what you guys think of the house so far!

in retrospect...

although i wasn't able to bartend because i was going to leave in 2 months and i wasn't able to apprentice under chloe dao because i wasn't able to get another portfolio together in time because i ran out of copies of the one i used to apply to FIT, spilled tea on my originals (just my luck) and deleted the scans from my computer, foolishly thinking i wouldn't need those anymore--a prime example of my tendency to throw away things (don't worry, this doesn't apply to my friendships...generally...haha i kid), my summer was rather pleasant.  i became occupied with helping my parents decorate the house and we're STILL NOT FINISHED.  goodness, my family is so picky.  nevertheless, i'll post pictures soon of our progress.  i made it out to the lawndale art center today.  they generally exhibit local artists and there were a few interesting pieces but overall nothing terribly exciting.

daniel and michael might come to houston next week.  it'll be a jolly good time but i need to get some more riesling before they arrive...

last, but hopefully not least, if you're interested in sending my lonesome self some love through the post, here's my FIT address for the next year:

FIT residence halls c/o andrew li

230 west 27th st.

new york, ny 10001

ciao!

just some recurrent thoughts...

Lord, I'm tired, so tired from walking

and Lord I'm so alone

I know the dark is creeping in

creeping up to swallow me

i think i'll stop

rest here a while

and this is all that i can say right now

and this is all that i can give

i didn't notice You were standing here

i didn't know that that was You holding me

i didn't notice You were crying too

i didn't know that that was You washing my feet

all i can say - david crowder

Jesus wept.

john 11:35

come ye sinners, poor and needy

weak and wounded, sick and sore

Jesus ready, stands to save you

full of pity, love and power

i will arise and go to Jesus

He will embrace me in His arms

and in the arms of my dear Savior

oh there are ten thousand charms

come ye weary, heavy-laden

lost and ruined by the Fall

if you tarry till you're better

you will never come at all

come ye sinners - joseph hart, 1759

love

it'll push you around

it'll make you a poor man

change your picture of heaven

love - justin mcroberts (one of the best song about the nature of love that i've ever heard--it'll change your life!)

these songs/verses always get to me so i'll let my words be few and let them speak for themselves.  i'm always asking myself what the right thing to do is and usually it overcomes whatever desires or prejudices i have...but sometimes...doing the right thing just plain sucks...

...life sure can wear us down sometimes...

farewell, my social life...

and now i present to you my fall schedule:

that's 6 classes and 16.5 credit hours!

now, i didn't choose to take this many classes.  i have to do this in order to graduate in 3 years.  since i already have a liberal arts degree, i don't have to take any liberal arts classes at FIT, which shaves off 1 year from a traditionally 4-year program.  the trade off however, is that i have to take 6 classes per semester during my first year.  since i took figure drawing at duke however, i'm going to try and see if i can drop FA 105 - LIFE DRAWING.  that would bring down the number of credit hours i'll be taking to 15, which i suppose is approximately equivalent to taking 5 classes at duke...except that these classes are more time-consuming.

in other news, i finally made it out to the contemporary arts museum today.  it was a good bit smaller than i had anticipated, consisting of only one large open space and a basement where the gift shop was.  being so small, they only exhibit the works of 1 artist at a time.  this time, it was sam taylor-wood.  a woman, not a man.  not sure how i feel about her work, interesting as it was:

1. large portraits of famous celebrities crying, including hayden christensen, tim roth, ed harris, lawrence fishburne, forest whitaker, benicio del toro, and daniel craig

2. an hour and 7 minute video of david beckham sleeping (it said so in the description--i did not stand there and watch the whole thing thank you very much)

3. a video of a cellist playing a piece without the actual cello--essentially going through the motions accompanied by a recording of the piece he was "playing"

4. a naked woman and a dead, decomposing swan

5. a video of a man and woman arguing that ends with the woman kneeing the man between the legs

6. and several pictures like this one:

i wonder how this was done.  probably not something i should try at home...

alone here with my doubt...

where do i even begin?

i leave for new york in less than 2 weeks now and i suppose my mood has started to fluctuate between excitement and anxiety more frequently than before.  much of this post will echo what i wrote in a previous one but time has since helped me to flush out my thoughts more deeply.  i think the impetus for this post was the sudden (and delayed) realization of the transition i'm about to make and its full implications.  funny how these things always tend to do that.

this is it.  this is my chance to do something extraordinary.  it's still hard to believe.  but how will i define success in this industry?  it's a question that i still haven't answered fully. because i believe that Jesus Christ died so that i may truly live, i believe that it is imperative that my definition of success be influenced by this fact.  but what will that look like in this industry?  i don't know.  and i think that realistically it's a little naive to say at this point that i'm going do everything fair and good.  i'd certainly like to but to put it simply i place no confidence in the flesh.  what will i do when the day comes when i have to make a lucrative but morally ambiguous decision?  will i make the right one?  i simply don't know.  one thing i've learned about myself this summer that has been encouraging in this regard but is also a double-edged sword is that i don't like compromising.  this includes my ideals, my vision, etc.  at the same time of course, this causes problems in other areas, especially when dealing with people.  but let's be serious, guys. it's my way or the highway ;-)

one of my longest and firmest held beliefs is that christianity is not an excuse for mediocrity--a phenomenon i've seen more instances of than i would like.  and naturally, i think one should set their goals high.  does that mean fame and fortune in my case?  it would be nice :-)  but i don't think these are legitimate goals.  a life lived for the sake fame and fortune would be rather meaningless i think.  i just want to make clothes that people can wear.  fame and fortune are simply the side effects.  i suppose that perhaps what i'm saying is that one shouldn't toil simply for the associated rewards.  yes, i think that is what i'm saying.  i realize however, that this too may be a little naive.  but i believe that God calls us to excellence in all things and since when was difficulty an excuse not to do something?

do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  then you will be able to test and approve of what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.

romans 12:2

we can take heart however, in knowing that nothing that will ever trouble us will compare to the despair and loneliness that Jesus experienced at gethsemane, where his repeated prayers were met with silence from God and abandonment from his closest friends.  God, knowing what had to be done, had already begun to turn His face away and Jesus, after an eternity of oneness with God, had his first taste of what it felt like to be forsaken by the Father.  i mean, he was sweating blood!  for the life of me, i don't seem to recall the last time i did that.  Jesus experienced complete separation from God so that we would never have to.

"never will I leave you; never will i forsake you."  so we say with confidence, "the Lord is my helper, i will not be afraid.  what can man do to me?"

hebrews 13:5-6

crowd control tactic no. 24...

went to a "water garden" today to look for a large rock that could be used for a fountain in the backyard and saw this sign in front of the cashier:

UNATTENDED CHILDREN WILL BE GIVEN AN EXPRESSO AND A FREE PUPPY.

last night...

i had 3 glasses of wine at dinner and later slept like a baby.  it was wonderful.

no such luck tonight...

...so i've been on youtube:

in transit...

finally received a housing assignment today which is a relief because i still haven't found an apartment!  of course, i eventually want to get my own apartment and get away from that college feel but while i'm adjusting to my first year in a new city and a new school, i suppose a dorm is an acceptable alternative. all this time spent thinking about housing in new york however, has caused me to begin feeling rather transient recently.  i suppose that's just the nature of this american life starting from the time you graduate from high school until the time you get your first job and your own place.  then one day, you wake up next to someone in bed and you think to yourself, "WHERE THE HELL AM I?"  now i'm starting to sound like zach braff...moving right along now...

i went to barnes & noble the other day hoping to finally pick up a copy of fever pitch by nick hornby.  i thought i owed it to myself to read it, since it is about my favorite sports team, arsenal. however...they didn't have it in stock!  i was rather upset.

dance tonight...

i love this song and video.  it's so simple, yet so fun.  plus, the video's got natalie portman.  and i like how the mailman invites himself in and asks for a cup of tea after he delivers the mandolin:

brilliant!

why so serious?

i leave for new york in less than 3 weeks!  and i realize that the next 3 years will be very different from the past 4.  this is it for me.  this is my time to prove myself.  yes, it's scary--i've said that before--but i'm looking forward to it.  in contrast to what i feel now, my outlook at duke was very different.  i suppose i would describe it as "casual."  i was more focused on other things than my classes, which on one hand is good but on the other hand you generally go to a university like duke to be a student first.  of course, i don't regret how i set my priorities at duke.  but now, things are different.  time to get serious.

currently listening to ray lamontagne.

and here...we...GO...

just watched the dark knight.  it was good--a fast 2.5 hours--and intense!  but it was also quite dark, and ultimately, i left depressed.  heath ledger truly disappears into his role with frightening results.  posthumous oscar nomination indeed.  the plot and character development for the joker were brilliant, as well.  on the other hand, i felt that christian bale overdid the batman voice.  it just sounded to me like he was forcing it too much, more so than in the previous film.  and that batpod...nice new toy i suppose, but it sure is ugly.  speaking of new toys...

the macbook air:

unfortunately, it's my father's, with whom negotiations to trade with me proved futile.

nuts.

if i were a television character...

i suppose i would be monk:

he's so delightfully OCD.  but i've been thinking...OCD should be reordered to be CDO so that the letters are in alphabetical order...like they should be.

creativity is overrated...

"creativity is the art of hiding your source."

--coco chanel

"the mediocre artist borrows, the great artist steals."

--pablo picasso

well, coco chanel and pablo picasso certainly were great artists, although i don't consider fashion an art as it's something that is ultimately discarded.  obviously, these quotes are a bit of overstatement, but they get the point across.  genuine innovation is not easy.  nobody alive today invented sleeves, for instance. we all have 2 arms, we need 2 sleeves.  as far as i'm concerned, i design with both form and function in mind.  we'll see what happens from there.

also, i am learning arabic...or how to write it, at least.  it's such a beautiful script...except not when i write it...not yet.  something many of you may not know about me is that i love islamic art.  in one of my art classes back in high school, i had a muslim classmate from whom i learned that muslims are not allowed to draw humans in any form because they believe that only God can create humans.  as a result, islamic art developed using primarily geometric shapes and patterns.  many of these are very beautiful and intricate, and i've been experimenting with incorporating some of these elements into some of my designs.  i hope homeland security doesn't get the wrong idea, as i have been on some arabic websites as of late.  please don't arrest me.

ONE MONTH UNTIL NEW YORK!

man, they don't make 'em like this anymore...

my summer has slowed down now and is the reason for my now weekly posts.  i apologize. landscaping has finally begun on the house.  we have BIG plans for both the front and back yards. and since i sadly have no job or other obligations this summer, i've been tasked with overseeing the work and making sure the workers do their job properly, which i suppose is an unfortunately necessary but terribly boring precaution, primarily because i can't leave the house.  to pass the time more enjoyably, i've been reading several books--some good, some regrettable.  perhaps i'll post my thoughts on some of the good ones later.  in an interesting side note, i apparently look like i'm 12 according one of the workers.

anyway.

to make matters worse, i even won't have a car for the next few weeks because my mother got into a accident the other day. thankfully, it was a minor one, but while her car is being fixed, she's driving my father's car and he's driving my car.  sigh...i was planning on getting a haircut and making it out to the contemporary arts museum some time this week, too.

even though the damage to the body appears minor, the fact is that the engine fan that sits directly behind the grill was damaged enough to cause it to stop working.  the result of which was that while my father was driving it to the shop, it overheated, causing me to have to pick him up.  while we were waiting for the tow truck to arrive, i walked into a curious home accessories store nearby called modern worth, and  i must say i was pleasantly surprised.  my favorite item was probably these bar soaps from portugal.  now you may be thinking, what's so special about soap?  as a germaphobe and self-proclaimed connoisseur of hygienic products,  a lot of things.

for one, these bars are more than twice as large as your standard dove or ivory springs bar. bigger soap, bigger cleaning power; it's a fact--everybody knows.  ever try to take a proper shower when your bar soap's become smaller than the size of your thumb?  exactly!  recipe for disaster, let me tell you.  these soaps are advertised to last at least 3 times as long as your ordinary bar, and they're milled seven times so they won't crack or split, which is very important for a soap bar.

also, the soaps come in 16 fragrances and are packaged in these rather ornamental wrapping papers that, for the more creatively inclined, could be put towards other uses.  you can check them out for yourself here.  apparently, they made it onto oprah's list of favorite things. truthfully, i never thought much about oprah.  i suppose most people would say she has good taste.

i have good taste, too.

independence day...

my family spent at least 8 hours a day this past three day weekend decorating the house--or rather, shopping for things to decorate the house with.  it was more tiring that i would have anticipated.  yet, not a single room is complete.  finding the right furniture and accessories takes time!  especially for a family with such specific tastes as mine.  as hard as it may be to believe, my parents are just as picky as i am.  some of you have asked for some pictures of the house.  i'll post them when we're finished!

in other news, it's interesting how gas prices influence behavior these days.  i used to jump in my car and go wherever i wanted to.  now, i find myself planning my errands more carefully so as to use the least amount of gas possible.  crazy?  nowadays, not so much.  how the times have changed.  i'm SO glad i won't need a car in new york.  speaking of new york, FIT has given me $6,500.00 in financial aid (out-of-state tuition is $5,121.00) but no housing yet.  i called residential life today and was told that even though i applied late, they were "very confident" they could accommodate me by the end of july. end of july?!  perhaps it's time to start looking for apartments...and planes tickets, too.  i register for classes on august 11.  oh, dear...

oh, one more thing: don't send any more e-mails to my duke account.  you can check my facebook profile for my current addresses.

my mom's new ride...

a new jaguar xf.

believe me, i was just as shocked as you probably are right now. unfortunately, it won't arrive until october.

it's been a while...

since my last post.  i'm currently waiting to receive my registration package from FIT and for them to 1) give me housing and 2) give me financial aid.  housing is kind of frustrating because i need to be on campus by august 16, which is not that far off, and if i don't get campus housing i need to find an apartment.  financial aid is a little more optimistic.  since i already have a bachelor's degree and am going to be a full-time student again, i technically qualify as a graduate student, which entitles me to more financial aid even though i'm not technically in a graduate program.  i hope.

i need words...

as wide as sky

i need a language large as

this longing inside

i need a voice

bigger than mine

i need a song to sing You

that i've yet to find

i need You...

now that my summer has slowed down, i've had some time to process everything that's happened in the past...say 15 months...and honestly, i'm not sure i can describe it.  perhaps it would be best to keep it simple.  this will probably be the least eloquent post ever.

about 15 months ago, i committed myself to pursuing fashion as a career.  15 months later, i've sent in my tuition deposit to the best fashion school in the country.  seriously...HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?!

15 months ago, as i had minimal experience in all 3 fields of fashion sketching, sewing, and textiles that were needed to produce a competitive portfolio.  by january, i had sent in a portfolio that which included fashion sketches and photos of complete garments i had sewn myself, all with fabric swatches that indicated the type of fabric i used or intended to use with each garment or sketch. by june, i had received my acceptance letter from FIT.  the whole time, i was both elated and scared to death.  i'm still both elated and scared to death, because honestly, the hard part has just begun.

simply put, I AM SCARED OF FAILURE.  sometimes, i'm more scared than elated.  i thought i had never wanted anything else in my life more strongly than this.  and God made me wait longer than usual for the answer to my prayers--while most people received their decision letters in april, mine didn't arrive until june.  and in the past 4 or so months, God reminded me that there are infinitely more important things in life than this.  and i have no hesitation in proclaiming that He is right.

on the whole, the past 15 months probably qualify as the most wonderful period of my life so far, not just because of this, but also because of the relationships i have been so privileged to have been a part of.  the Lord is good.

Lord Jesus, thank you for being too wonderful for words.

free day!

today was my first complete free day since the summer started, as i had finished all my errands and whatnot yesterday.  what did i do with myself today, then?  why, i went to the museum of fine arts!  perfect timing too because admission is free on thursdays! the exhibition i was primarily interested in is called "designed by architects," which presented things like mantle clocks, flatware, tea and coffee service items that were designed by some of the leading architects of the late nineteenth to mid-twentieth centuries.  one of the my favorite pieces was this beautiful silver mantle clock by charles robert ashbee, who was a prime participant in england's arts and crafts movement:

then in the afternoon, i watched portugal play germany in the quarterfinals of euro 2008.  the game ended 2-3 to the germans, who now progress to the semis--a great game for the neutrals, although cristiano ronaldo didn't score.