Winter?

I just took these photos -- literally 5 minutes ago. Snow. In May. Can you believe it? And yes, I am back in California. In the snow. In May.

I took this one earlier today.

I noticed the weather in New Orleans was about 90 degrees today. How is the weather in YOUR neck of the woods?

Accessory Illustrations: Stylized & Flats

MIU MIU Autumn 2011 Stylized and Flat (referenced your blog)

H&M Ring Stylized and Flat

Nicholas Kirkwood Autumn/Winter 2011 Stylized and Flat

Dragonfly Shoes Brush & Ink Stylized

Giuseppe Zanotti Fall 2010 rendered in Adobe Illustrator

My Vogue Cover Design rendered in Adobe Illustrator

Commissioned Piece with Stylized Accessories

Fashion Quote with Stylized Accessories

Petal Pushers

And sometimes I find myself wondering how I got to this place, how if I had been any different, any less aware, I may have missed where I was supposed to be - Meagan Morrison

Good Evening My Darlings,

Finally I'm able to return to you. Thank-you so much for your patience, support, kind words of encouragement, and all the lovely tweets I've received these past few weeks. Selfishly I've been savoring every last minute of being a student. More than anything I've just turned a bit inwards, become very quiet, in order to prepare for the next move. I thought for sometime about what my next post would be and I really wanted to do something different. I knew my class drawings from the past few weeks had a certain delicate quality to them and I wanted to mirror that with a theme. The truth is I've been feeling a little fragile lately with all the changes I'm undergoing.

It suddenly made sense to title this post Petal Pushers, and to incorporate the tiny petals of Tomo's dress into the background of each piece. I related to the petals, their elegant demeanor, and yet complete vulnerability to life and time. I feel this chapter of my life coming to a close. I know these petals must fall, a new season awaits, and I will grow to be even brighter, even stronger. I really can't help but wonder about the universe, about how everything really does fall into place. I can remember sometime over the winter break exchanging thoughts with you all about fate and destiny. Too many things have happened to me since January to not believe in destiny. Most importantly I believe in myself, believe in my vision, and know the rest will follow.

I wish you well my loves and hope that Spring is greeting you with plenty of inspiration.

All my love,
Meag xx

Very Glad to Meet You

Being back home is so great. While traveling, you kind of can't wait to be back home, while at the same time, you really, really don't want your travels to end. So I usually don't go straight back home. I go and visit with friends and family before heading home to start working, errands and chores a few days later. Then I go home and the work starts. My mom says I have a whole (huge) BOX full of mail to open. Ug. I also have a To Do list about a mile long. So I put that off for a few days.

Little A

I got home on Mother's Day. Unfortunately, I didn't get to spend time with my own Mom, but I got to have brunch with one of my best friends, KJ, my Other Mother, C (KJ's Mom), and my other "cousins" and friends, as well little A, who I haven't seen in about 5 months. She is getting so big!  She is KJ's daughter and it was great to spend mother's day with three generations of my favorite ladies.

KJ, Bro and A on Shattuck Ave

Next, I had a great time with KJ and my brother. We went to Berkeley for a food extravaganza. Unfortunately, The Cheese Board Pizza shop was closed, but we went instead to the Imperial Tea Court on Shattuck Ave, which has great pulled noodles and a fun dim sum sampler. As well as an amazing selection of great tea, served in the traditional cup with the lid. My pulled noodles were actually not as good as the last time I was there, but hanging out with KJ, A and Bro was fun no matter what.

After that, my Bro and his lady and I spent the day out on the coast near Jenner, attempting to catch some fish. Unfortunately, we didn't catch anything, but we had a great day, and an uncommonly sunny one (although it was not warm) at the coast. This was my first time fishing from the shore into the ocean, and I don't think I am very good at it! My arm was super tired from the heavy weight and the long pole, and I was soaked up to the waist, since I went too close to the water to make a cast and the wave came up and hit me. I kept losing my bait. I think I spent more time reloading my bait and trying to stay out of the way of the waves than actually fishing. I actually did catch a couple things -- seaweed and someone else's fishing hook. Score.

Here are a few photos of our fishing extravaganza.

Bro and I -- ready to catch some fish!

Bro and Lady -- FISH ON!

Bro tries to (unsuccessfully) start a fire

We also saw THIS SIGN -- I mean, I am back in CA, but the signs are still not spelled right? Funny.

Oh and my brother got me a Kindle for my birthday! Yay. I am excited to start using it. Any eReader pros out there have any tips for me? I already have some classic books downloaded for free from Amazon. Any other ways to get cheap and or free books? Did you guys know you can lend books to other Kindle users now?

Do you like coming home after being gone for a while? Who is the first person you visit? Dose (haha) anyone have any off shore fishing tips for me?

V is for Very. A-Z is almost done. Only a month late.

Uncomfortable Nights

Buy this pad from REI.

So we slept in a campervan for a while, and let me tell you, they say that the best way to get to know someone is to take a long car ride with them. How about a three week long one, is that long enough? Well, yes, yes it is.

But that is not what I am going to talk about. What I was going to say is that the campervan is also a little bit cramped. I mean, if you slide the bed out, you can’t get to anything underneath (there is storage there) and if one person is putting on their shoes, the other has to step aside. It’s not all bad, but it is a little tricky to manage at times.

The other thing that is a little hard is the sleeping situation. And when I say HARD, I mean hard both literally and figuratively. The bed is not very wide, and for a person who sleeps on their stomach with their leg thrown out to the side (me) it is not enough room for that. So you have to lay pretty much straight, if on your stomach. Or you can lay on your side. However, like I said before, it is hard. The bed is made of wood with a small pad over it. So you end up laying on one side until your hip is numb and your back hurts and your hands are asleep (yes, this happens to me a lot) and then you roll over until it happens on the other side.
However, the good news is: this is NOT the most uncomfortable place I have slept in the last year.

The worst was the tent.

The good thing is, we traded it with these nice people for a used Lonely Planet Europe (about a 30 dollar value new, so maybe 15 dollars used). The bad news is, and it’s not the tent’s fault (or S&Rs!), the ground is hard and it’s cold and my sleeping bag, which is supposed to be good down to 40 degrees, isn’t.
We went through a few stages of uncomfortable tent camping.

(1) THE WORST: No padding/mattress. Rocks beneath me. Can’t curl up in my too small sleeping bag. The wind was blowing hard. It was about 33 degrees outside.

(2) RUNNER UP: Bought an air mattress. Did NOT buy an air pump. Tried to blow up mattress with lungs. Did not work. Slept on little air. Every time one person moves, the other gets rolled off the mattress.

(3) THIRD WORST: Bought an air pump. Blew up mattress. Heavy wind and rain at beach turns tent into a swimming pool. (we slept in the car that night)

(4) BEST: Blew up mattress. Bought an extra blanket. Finally got a good(ish) night’s sleep. Still worse than the campervan.

I have decided that the main problem, since normally I don’t mind camping, is the gear. You HAVE to have good gear. Buy a sleeping pad (I have one at home). Thermarest makes a good one. Spend the money to buy a GOOD sleeping bag, down to 15 degrees (F). It is worth it. Buy a WATERPROOF (3 season) tent (I also have one of these at home). I guess what you could probably add to me is: AND BRING IT WITH YOU. But carrying all that stuff around for 6 months is not always feasible. But you will be more comfortable!

So, where is the most uncomfortable place YOU have slept? Do you like camping? Have you ever slept in your car?

U is for Uncomfortable.

To My Mother

Today I was born. Okay, that's not the complete truth. Actually, I WAS born on Mother's Day. However, Mom's Day changes every year; it is the second Sunday of May, and therefore each year is different. Well this year, it is NOT my birthday. However, the day I was born WAS on Mother's Day. That year. I don't need to tell you WHICH year that was. However, here is a picture of me and my Mom. Happy Mom's Day Moogle!

In New Orleans on a Bright Day

But. This year is not the day I was born. This year Mother's Day is the day I arrive. Back home. I fly into the LA airport on the 7th at 8 pm and then fly to Sacramento and arrive at 12:20 AM. I will have arrived home. Happy Mother's Day Mom.

Note: I am writing this in advance, because once I arrive I will be tired and sore and grumpy and I will meet up with friends and not have time to get online.

Of course, now that my vacation is over, it is time to get back to work. First off: a little fun. I meet up with my friend and her family (my second parents) for Mother's Day brunch. I will be wearing my scrubby backpacker's clothing, because that is all that I own. It will probably smell a little (or a lot). But it won't matter, because these people are my family.

Next, I will go and visit with my brother, who will hopefully serve me dinner and beers as I lounge on the couch watching his Tivo (catching up with Top Chef). Then we will FINALLY go to a Giants game (I have REALLY missed the Giants) with my friend Jack from work. We used to get free tickets from our company, back in the day when we worked together (2002) and we used to always have A BLAST. It will be great to reminisce with him and watch the game, drink a few overpriced beers, have a gross (yummy!) nacho and enjoy the game.

After that, I meet up with my grandma and together we will drive up to my parents' house, which is about a 4 hour drive from San Francisco. I can't wait to go home. The area where my parents live is beautiful and it is going to just be starting summer and it is going to be great! Everything green and flowing water and blue sky. Yum.

After that, the to do list begins. Sorry, that should be The To Do List. It's THAT important. Not only is it my To Do List, which I have mentioned before, and is forever getting longer and longer, but my Dad has one for me as well, which will also be long. However, with him helping me with mine and me helping him with his, we are a force to be reckoned with.

So, getting home is a blessing. It will be great to see friends and family. But it is also a "curse". I have so much to get done (including getting a job) and so will be very busy (and maybe even a tad stressed) over the next few weeks.

To top it off, maybe you haven't heard about this, but Mr. Lovely lives Back East and I live in California. So we will each go back to our own (parent's) homes for now. But who knows what will happen later. But this is another story all together.

Another A-Z. T is for To. You can see more here.

Some Great Australian Places

Have you been to Australia? Although there are many cool things here, like Koalas, Kangaroos and The Most Deadly Snake in the World, The Black Mamba (spoken in a Steve Austin accent, as he shoves the snake in his face). BUT. They have a lot of other cool things. So. Let me talk to you about what we have done and liked...so far.

First up, and everyone should do this, is the Great Ocean Road. You drive along the coast and it IS beautiful. There are weird stone formations, blue blue water and the drive itself is (windy but) divine.

The Twelve Apostles

Next up, was some Lebanese food. I know, you thought, LEBANESE? In Australia? YES. And it's great.

Falafel, Kibby, Tzatziki, Hummus and more!

Then we went to Melbourne to meet up with some friends I had met in Argentina. And we walked around town. And we ate. And ate. AND ATE. Yum. I had heard there was great food in Melbourne but I had never experienced it. Well.... it was great!

Melbourne Grafitti

Swanston St

Yarra River

Dinner with Friends!

We also went to the Healdsville Animal Sanctuary, where we saw all the usual cuprits that I spoke about the other day: koalas, kangaroos, echidnas and emus. It was so fun! One more example:

Echidna -- bad photo

You can see a better example of an Echidna below. By the way, it is another egg laying mammal. Weird.

source

Next up: Sydney!

Then we go home...I can't believe it has come so soon. It seems like it's been so long...and I can't believe it's over so soon.

S is for Some. You can find more A-Z blogfest posts here. 

Have you ever been to Australia? What were your favorite places?  

PS. I have been here before (it was pre-blogging) and will post some other great things in a future post. Some things I won't get to this time, but I know are worth seeing!