Cheryl California

I take photos. I blog.

[cherylcalifornia]

KEVYN AUCOIN Beauty & The Beast In Me Trailer

I’ve always loved makeup. From seeing my mom wear it, to ridiculous splurges at the mall, it is something I still enjoy today. Kevyn Aucoin was (or is?) my makeup icon. He was magical. He was art. There was something about him that was also very much about teaching his craft and at the same time, learning with you. 

He is so desperately missed today. I think he would have loved how the makeup community has evolved. 

And he would still reign as king. 

[chibird]

Learning to love yourself is hard, but here’s a self-love hedgehog to help you out! :D <3

[cherylcalifornia]

A lot of goodness here.

[fillthemwithgold]

09.01.17 ~~ First week of january is already passed just like that. Sometimes i can’t believe how time flies so fast. I feel like i’m getting old :) Anyway, have a nice day everyone!

[cherylcalifornia]

This is gorgeous journaling! 

[cherylcalifornia]

I am a daughter of a Filipino woman who married and fell in love with a white American man. I was brought up around many cultures, but was told I was American. Lived and loved it. My dad served over 20 years for the Navy. Hung out with veterans. With all that, I woke up November 9th, 2016 scared as fuck. In this last year in my hometown, I’ve been asked how long I have lived in this country, if I was looking for a housekeeping job and more. Was it because of my brown skin? Because I’m a woman? I never had this happen. It has to stop. I’ve also experienced misogyny on many different levels. Fearful to fight it. I have to now. The fear is winning. And I’ve been losing for far too long now.

[cherylcalifornia]

I think I might start taking dance classes. I’ve always been a fan of dancing. When I was little I enjoyed the ballroom dance competition on PBS and now with the advent of YouTube, I love watching hours of choreography videos. This one by Yanis Marshall, Danielle Polanco & Aisha Francis is no exception. 

I don’t know why I haven’t taken time to learn how to dance. I like doing it, but never got a hold of the basics. Nevermind the one boyfriend who tapped or the best friend who did jazz, I would just watch them. 

I guess it’s time to really think about doing things I love. 

In the meantime, I’ll watch them.

[cherylcalifornia]

Troye Sivan is this magical musician and YouTuber. He’s wildly popular in Asia, but I don’t think he realized it until he was actually there. 

When I went to South Korea earlier this year, I heard several of his songs everywhere. It was like, KPOP (2008, 2014 eras), Maroon 5 & Troye. A lot of Troye. 

My friend and I went to a rock & roll bar in Hongdae. We drank whisky and beer until 5am. Listened to Pink Floyd, The Doors, Nirvana, Rolling Stones... and you guessed it, Troye. 

When I heard he was doing one gig in Seoul - a festival - I didn’t understand why. He could EASILY have sold out 2-4 dates in a venue at Olympic Park. 

He knows now. When thousands know your music, you have to come back. 

I fucking love the power of music.

[cherylcalifornia]

Hello.

So I have been MIA. When I moved to the Bay Area, I saw it as a chance to step away from my life in SoCal and finally go forward. How long this was going to take, I sort of expected, but I didn’t know exactly what to do. 

I had a potential dream job fall through. I didn’t work for a long time. I was terribly homesick. Here I was, in what was supposed to be a content and good time in my life and I was falling apart. 

I decided to write more for my other blog (KandyKandy) for a few months. It was tiring, but great. Eventually, it burnt me out. 

Blogging is something I have always wanted to do. I have had blogs for as long as I could remember, but trying to keep a pretty intense schedule of posts became taxing. 

Here’s the thing, I learned from every single experience. That’s why I keep going. That’s why I try not to dwell on failures. I learn. 

Next step can be anything and while I’m not at that sweet spot in life, I’m good. 

[Photo: Mirror in an alleyway near Myeongdong Station in South Korea.] 

[cherylcalifornia]

WOW! What a flashback! I worked at MySpace during this era and SO many projects I helped with are in this reel. We had such an amazing and talented team of people. 

It’s weird to look at this. It was so normal to be busy and working on profiles and design like crazy. I forget all the great and groundbreaking things we did. Some might say MySpace is dead now, but we really were just ahead of our time. It’s really cool to know we laid the groundwork for social networks and dot coms. And it’s also interesting seeing companies make the same mistakes. 

Silicon Valley is a funny place. 

[cherylcalifornia]

Homemade candies from a friend’s mother.

So this holiday season got me all turned upside down. It was my first with a family in years and it wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t great. It pretty much solidified what I have been trying to come to terms with: I need to make my own traditions. 

While this new year hasn’t started off that well, I’m working a little bit and trying to get back on my feet. I have a few ideas brewing and I feel immensely good about them. 

I just need to keep choosing happiness and not wallow in my grief. It’s been too many years of that. Too many. 

My 2016 resolutions:

Drink one soda a month. I hardly ever drink soda unless there is booze in it. Which I need to not do. I want to enjoy the sugary goodness!

Get a bicycle! I want to lose weight and be active. It’s all fine and dandy, but I hate cardio. That being said, I don’t mind bicycling. 

Be more creative. I have a lot of half projects and I want to finish them and make more. I always wanted a side biz in that, so why not?

Make more blog content. This time with blog posts, I want to add podcasts and video. I’ve been planning, now it is time to do.

Those are the jist. I have a few more goals, but I’m keeping those to myself. 

Happy 2016.

[sawdustbear]

Working through a spot of depression, which is affecting my ability to work, which is really rough for me, because I tie a lot of my identity to being Good at Working. More so than talent or skill, I’ve always valued my sheer bullheadedness and ability to work my ass off to get whatever I wanted. I’m sure part of it is cultural as well - what Asian immigrant kid hasn’t endured very lengthy lectures on “hard work is the path to success”? We don’t get rewarded for effort, unless there’s a shit ton of effort. I’m doing some work, but not a lot, and it makes me feel awful. 

And, I guess…I drew a short comic about being depressed and not doing any work, which is helping me feel better because I did something, and I’m a cartoonist, so I did work. Funny how that pans out. 

I’ll be okay, this is a very cyclical feeling, even though I don’t feel great right now. And weirdly, compartmentalizing my feelings enough to write about them always helps me process them faster. 

[cherylcalifornia]

I’m in a similar situation and it is always an interesting feeling that I’m not alone in these thoughts. 

[cherylcalifornia]

Not exactly the best photo of the supermoon because clouds covered up the blood part. It was good to research how to get a decent pic. If I learned anything from this, it is that I need a better tripod. 

[cherylcalifornia]

I’ve finally made more of an effort on my other blog. Granted, at this moment I’m late on 2 posts, but it’s a holiday and I’m always late with posts. I’ll get it in before midnight. That I guarantee. 

It feels good to push out more content. I have been meaning to add another video to my personal Youtube, but I just haven’t decided what to do yet. I’m brainstorming ideas and that pretty much fueled the desire to get KandyKandy going again. 

It’s also good to speak to friends about their blogs and ideas. I already have a few collaborations in the beginning stages and I’m very excited for that. 

The best part of everything is pushing forward. I’ve always had ideas and did my best to be creative, but never felt the need or want to make a schedule and adhere to it. 

This time feels different. It IS different. I don’t feel like I’m on repeat. And that’s awesome.

[cherylcalifornia]

This is the total as of 3:56PM PST on August 18, 2015. I cried. 

I don’t have the means to donate, but I do have the means to feel. This is another overwhelming moment that I have seen Humans of New York orchestrate. It’s at the very core of what Brandon Stanton has made his photography become. 

I’m sure there will be cynics, but there’s this thing that people fail to realize when it comes to crowdfunding, you get to choose to do it. In the end, someone may not agree with what you spend your money on, but it is your choice. This choice to help Fatima’s cause seems very much worth it. The greed at the hands of these owners (I’d rather call them something else not fit for print) is incorrigible. 

It looks like this will help greatly. I hope it does. I believe that it will. 

Forced labor is illegal in Pakistan. But due to the power, money, and influence of brick kiln owners, the law remains largely unenforced. Workers are denied education, prevented from learning about their rights, and intimidated into complacency. On a local level, police and officials are bribed to protect the interests of kiln owners.

This is where Fatima comes in. Through her organization, the Bonded Labour Liberation Front, Fatima has established Freedom Centers where workers can go for protection and legal counsel. This system of bonded labor can only exist in the darkness of ignorance. If Fatima succeeds in her goal of providing education, legal assistance, and rehabilitation to every bonded laborer in Pakistan, the system will naturally collapse.

Thank you for bringing this to light Brandon & HONY. 

[cherylcalifornia]

SHINee is one of my favorite groups ever. I love them. They just repackaged their last album ODD as MARRIED TO THE MUSIC and added 4 new songs including the brilliant title music video.

I used to do long drives up and down a few states and would always have SHINee in my playlist. It’s really a wonder that they have been together for 7 years and still consistently put out great music. Even now that I don’t do those long drives, I’ll still spend time listening to their music on shuffle. I rarely skip songs. I just press play. 

And while my Korean is still lacking, I can admire the vocals and music. To me it is akin to my love for U2. I might not know the political stuff or the emotional journeys, but I respect them and continue to listen with love. 

Check out their catalog on iTunes. 

[cherylcalifornia]

Saw a friend off to her first big flight the other day and dropped another friend in San Francisco on my way home. I’ve noticed something about the Bay Area, the trees. There’s lots of them. All different sizes. I guess in Los Angeles I was just accustomed to large ones scattered far apart and the fancy areas with tons of them. 

The Bay Area has trees everywhere it seems.

It’s a nice thing. Lots more birds I’m noticing. The sound of wind rustling the leaves. 

Time to take out the DSLR and capture more of it. It’s been almost a month. It’s time. 

[cherylcalifornia]

When it is time to go, you just go. I’m in the middle of my last week of full time living in Koreatown Los Angeles. This week hasn’t been kind though. I’m overwhelmed with some emotions from moving and dealing with some family issues. 

The saving grace? Los Angeles. I have come to an immense appreciation of living and loving here. The weather, the people and the sense of community that is always within reach. Hollywood was fun, but Koreatown became home. My home. Something I have been searching for since the passing of my mom and found almost immediately here.

I think it will always be home. While my sports allegiance is the Bay Area, my heart is here. I’ll leave a part of it and the rest will be with me in the Bay. 

And I’ll probably visit every month because this is a long distance relationship that will be maintained. 

[cherylcalifornia]

Saw U2 in San Jose, CA on May 18th & 19th. It wasn’t totally planned. I knew they were starting their tour, but suddenly a little over a week before I found myself with a possibility of going. Tucked in a visit to Grandma and went.

For these concerts I didn’t really take a lot of photos. I had a tiny point & shoot and I did Periscope the first night a bit (U2 TRIED to Meerkat a song with an audience member and failed both nights), but I wasn’t out to take amazing photos. I’ve seen U2 plenty of times to know that they’ll have a concert DVD that will blow most footage away. 

I’m chill with my 3 instagram posts and 10 photos I took randomly. 

First night was good. Second night was amazing. I’ll chalk that up to “Bad” being added last minute and already experiencing the amazing screen they have. I danced. I went from one side of the floor to the other. I even cried. 

There’s something to be said for loving a band this long. They have brought my brother and I together. They had me meet some great people over the years. 

U2 has basically been a part of my life. That’s not so bad.