...ironically, I drew this on a cloudy day spent inside an air-conditioned room because for me, summer hasn't officially started yet. haha. one can dream.
I know this video is a few years old but I just found it and it's amazing!
Coldplay's Strawberry Swing video was all hand-drawn and animated by a group of motiongrapherscalled Shynola. I can't imagine how many hours/days/months it took to create the entire video but I think it's incredible. Watch it.
I'm going to see GUNGOR tonight @ The Vine. SO EXCITED.
I love this rendition HERE of "The Earth is Yours" where they just sit on a log in the middle of a forest, make music with branches, and randomly have a jam session. haha.
And HERE is a more "acoustic" version of their song "Dry Bones" featuring Kevin Olusula from Pentatonix.
Man. If onlyI could play the cello and beatbox. amazing.
Lately, I've been listening to the musical group GUNGOR, a husband + wife collaboration with a unique eclectic style that I can't really define with any particular genre. They're super inspiring and definitely live up to their Grammy-nominated status.
Probably their most well-known song, and one of my favourites, is Beautiful Things.
They've also got a blog with some pretty interesting topics - like this post HERE for instance, about art and perspective in life. Go read it. I think it's very well-written and insightful.
Anyway, what's exciting is that they're actually coming to Hong Kong this month!!! So I think I'll get to see them in concert! SO. EXCITED.
Click HERE for an awesome live version of Beautiful Things.
When I start sharing random things on my blog, I usually talk about my weird quirky adventures or show you all photos of creepy things I've seen in public. But today I wanted to share a little something different so if you're a highly committed blog reader, got time on your hands or just bored enough to give my rambling prose some pity... read on, dear friend.
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This week at work has truly been a blessing. It wasn't that it was different from any other week. In fact, there was nothing extraordinarily new about the work environment at all. I would say that it was more of an inner feeling that bubbled up inside of me like a plump little pimple ready to pop (that's a really awkward and disgusting description and I have no idea how I thought of that and am still willing to publish it in this post). Some of you know that my job is pretty stressful considering it's my first year teaching + it's my first full-time job + I'm in a foreign country for a year + it's my first year living alone... so it's pretty crazy that I've survived this far. My coworker told me recently that when he first met me last September, he thought I was really young, energetic... and that I'd only last until December. haha! Well by the grace of God and His strength, it's Term 4/5 of the school year and I'm still here (maybe a little less young and energetic, but still kicking!) haha.
Sometimes at work I feel like A MILLION POTATOES are thrown at me all at once (and these are rock-solid raw potatoes I'm talking about, not the buttery greased-up ones I love to consume). I suppose the potatoes are a metaphor for all the tasks and responsibilities at work but really there is no reason why I chose to mention potatoes other than the fact that I'm really hungry right now which greatly inhibits my ability to make any sense.
Well anyway, I wanted to share an experience I had at work the other day... It was actually after work and my friend and I were singing and playing guitar near the rooftop while gazing out at the amazing mountain view that surrounds our school. I suddenly thought how crazy it was that here I was in Hong Kong, in a very interesting/unique workplace where I could actually do weird things like sit on the stairs and sing at the top of my lungs with my coworkers (I mean how many workplaces can you actually do that in?!... and how many coworkers can you actually do that with?!)... Few things make me happier than being in nature singing praises with a guitar, and in that moment I remember thinking how silly it was to worry everyday when simple moments like these could fill me with so much joy. And even though I sometimes feel beat over the head with a giant potato sack full of daily stresses and burdens, I have nothing to fear because I rest in the comfort of what God promises... I was reminded of that verse that talks about birds (because ya know, I like birds!):
"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?...
...Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."
Matthew 6: 25-27, 34
Immediately after that, two black and white birds appeared seemingly from nowhere and flew across the vast expanse of sky in front of my eyes. I think this was one of those times where I couldn't stop smiling to myself because I felt so joyful, and I had one of those creepy permanent grins stuck so hard on my face that my cheeks started hurting. haha. It was a good moment. Creepy, but good.
*side note: these pictures were taken last year by my talented photographer friend, Michelle, when I made this little felt bird pin in class and she set it up for a mini photoshoot. Visit her wedding photograph website here!
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Last thing I wanted to share is this song from a one-girl + one-boy band I found called All Sons and Daughters. I'm really liking their sound and in some songs they use banjos! Anyone with a BANJO is an immediate hero in my books!
