Doodles
If you know me at all, you probably know that I’m a pretty avid Pixar fan. Not just avid, mind you, perhaps close to fanatic. And not just over Pixar…but Disney.
My love for Disney started as soon as I was able to form memories. Part of me thinks that it’s because the happiest hazy memories of my childhood were when my dad took our family to Disneyworld and Disneyland. Although I couldn’t understand the greater picture of what was going on, I feel that deep down I know I was somewhere special.
When I dig down deep into the recesses of my memory, I still remember that time I had the stomach flu and I was absolutely miserable. At the time we were living in Austin, since my dad finally decided to move our family closer to his work. We lived in a two story house where the carpeted stairs lead to the white front door. There was a kitchen in the back of the first floor where I made my dad a birthday cake with dinosaur sprinkles. We had a little television and the same tan couches with the black and red streaked bamboo print.
I was sulking in misery on the couch after my mom had given my medicine (which, I unfortunately must admit, was not taken by mouth but through another more painful means). It had been days since I had been able to eat anything, and the only thing I was allowed - or able - to stomach was Sprite with the bubbles thoroughly mixed out.
Although at the age of five sugar water might seem like the perfect meal all the time, it does get old.
My dad strolled in through the front door, briefcase in hand. He sauntered over to the couch and planted a rough kiss on my head.
“I have a present for you,” he said to me.
“What is it?” I asked, my interest mildly piqued. After all, nothing attracts more attention than the key word: gift.
“Here, I’ll let you see,” he replied. He took out a video cassette and popped it into the VCR. (For those of you who don’t know what a VCR is, you can stop reading now). Suddenly the screen came alive with music and colors, and I was captivated for the next hour or so with Cinderella.
Family portrait back in the day
In short, I love Disney because it was a part of a memorable childhood. And of course, when Pixar came along, my love grew and embraced the films from the award-winning studio.
Earlier tonight I was settling in after a run and a rather late dinner when I decided to watch the recorded documentary on the DVR about Pixar’s history. After watching it, it reignited something in me.
Friends had always joked that I was a ten-year-old at heart, and it’s true — to a point. Like John Lasseter, the man behind the studio and many of the brilliant films, he also had a major love for Disney. He even worked at Disneyland, and at one point manned one of the Jungle Cruises.
It made me realize that I didn’t merely love cartoons or animation BECAUSE they are cartoons or animation…I loved films from Pixar, Disney, and Ghibli (which, of course, is an affiliate of Disney) because of the beautiful stories.
Without the wonderful story that somehow puts my heart on a roller coaster, it just wouldn’t be the same.
From the day that man first began to share ideas - and form culture - storytelling had been a treasured art. We try to tell stories in everything we do. Heck, it’s even possible to tell a story with not only a picture, but 140 characters over Twitter. It’s the reason I love authors like Roald Dahl, who are able to spin stories and create memorable characters like Willy Wonka and Matilda.
Although a part of me hopes that I have the talent and wisdom to recognize the right opportunity to skyrocket to success - as well as the luck to actually have the opportunity presented to me - one thing I really hope is to be what all of those artists, animators, creators and storytellers continue to be: inspired. I hope I can learn to be curious again, to tell compelling stories.
In the meantime, although I might not make it as an animation whiz, at least I can still continue to have fun with what I got.
I was sitting at my computer hammering out a blog post when I realized that I was just rambling about nothing. I thought about writing a long blog about my weekend and how much fun I had, but it ended up boring me. And it’s a bad sign when you bore yourself, don’t you think?
Anyway, I apologize for the shoddy pictures - I haven’t had the chance to upload my crisp clean images from the past few weeks of adventures in food fun. More updates to come. But for now, here are some pictures from my iPhone over this past weekend that make me happy.
My friend Melody’s Pineapple Upside Down cake….SO ridiculously good….
Topped off with homemade whipped cream. I had no idea that whipped cream could be made at home so easily with just whipping cream, sugar, and vanilla. This discovery is going to be very bad for my health…
Rediscovered crayons at Armadillo Willy’s during dinner….
…and my inner five-year-old. Rainbow Monstaaaarrrr raaar!
Sadly, the third frame really hit home for me.
You know, I’m not quite sure what it is about me, but everytime I read an article about a really young person who is incredibly successful, intelligent, and/or rich … it makes me cringe a bit inside. Not because I have anything against them (well, ok, just a little bit) but because it brings to light the fact that I don’t have a terrible amount of accomplishments under my belt quite yet.
Okay, going to college and graduating was great. Working is great. Friends and family are great. But I haven’t really CREATED, or written anything of substance (read: marketable and publishable). Instead, I end up spending a good portion of my free time reading, eating, watching television or doing something else that isn’t impacting the world in any sort of significant or positive way.
So I decided something. I’ve always been a dabbler in doodling - so why not do it again? Henceforth, I’ll start trying my hardest to create doodles and drawings that make me feel good, and hopefully bring a smile to someone’s face.
Or, you know - I’m just going to draw random stuff and whatever I want. Because it’s kind of my blaggity blag.
I hope you few and far between visitors enjoy my future post-it drawings.
Admittedly, I’m a nerd. I’ve always had a bit of an addiction to anime, manga, and cute things that usually originate from Japan (but have no purpose other than to be cute and waste my money). One thing that I was VERY addicted to (much like many of my friends and acquaintances) was the anime Naruto.
So how did I beat this debilitating tendency to binge on episodes and forsake the continuity of my circadian rhythm?
In a nutshell, the anime got a little boring and I never took the time to read the manga. So my addiction stopped.
Until now.
Thanks to a friend who introduced me to www.onemanga.com, and, to make things worse, downloading the newest Naruto Shippuden episodes…I find myself trying very hard to fight back the little seed of addiction that was planted inside me years ago.
This does not bode well for my sleep habits and social life.
