Sunday, August 29, 2010

INTEGRITY is NECESSARY for SUCCESS


This is my word of the week. Build your character. I strongly believe that integrity is important in any relationship. Its directly correlated with trust and honesty. When I think of integrity, I think about this line from Lauryn Hill's "Peace of Mind" .. "I trust every part of you/ cause all that you say you do"

Its one of my biggest pet peeves to wait for someone, ESPECIALLY, when I didn't plan to meet with them.. it was all that person's planning. Basically, please don't tell me you're gonna be somewhere and not show up. I would rather you call and cancel on me than flake. I can't respect that. It's not a good feeling.

Integrity also builds your credibility. Honesty, trust, and morals are important to a person's character.

Drawing lesson

The other day I gave Tevon his first drawing lesson via Skype. It was interesting because I didn't know how this was gonna work. I ended up showing him some techniques by sharing my screen and switching back and forth with the video camera. We made it work and this was a portrait I drew of him. We're gonna hold back his first drawing for now lol

LA Street art



Friday, August 27, 2010

Surfing at Santa Monica beach :)

yeaaaaa!! :) I finally got my first surf lesson, thanks to my friend Mike


Not even gonna lie... these tiny waves had me scared lol

Mike :)


Mike said I shouldn't go back in the water because I had this cut on my ankle. The salt water opened it back up and I agreed cuz I wasn't trying to get bit by a shark.

Thursday, August 26, 2010

All I want is you- Miguel feat J. Cole

I'm bout to play this song out.


P.s. Miguel is fine

The next time I go to LA...

I better have some "TashLeake" stickers cuz I'm taggin this bench AWWWL UP lol. I know exactly where it is too... right in front of the Undefeated store in Santa Monica




Photobooth at Pinz

Surprisingly enough, me and Nayo had the best pics out of anyone who went into the booth lol. The first one was so bad we agreed to get rid of it haha

Box of Chocolates Launch Party

You look great ladies..... maaaaaan I wish I was at the party! lol I heard Michael Jordan showed up lol




April's sunset

Very nice shot April. Where was this?

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

My thoughts... Afraid to love?

(I stole ur icon Kim.. hope u don't mind lol :) I thought it was perfect for these thoughts)

Recently, I was sitting with a friend, talking about life goals and obstacles. The conversation was more so about the things he wanted to accomplish, after I showed him a few achievements from my past years. He felt super motivated and his enthusiasm really did something for me that day. I can't remember how, but the convo quickly shifted to me and my fears.

This is a sensitive subject for me because I tend to think of myself as fearless. My ambition and talents have repeatedly carried me to the things I wanted to accomplish and when I decided on something, it was done InshAllah. He effortlessly read me and said he noticed one fear... the fear to love. I immediately started my rebuttal but had nothing to say. Hmm.. I simply disagreed and left it at that.

A couple days later, during my flight to LA, I really thought about it and realized that he was right. The fear is there because I'm afraid to make a mistake and fall in love with the wrong person. I'm afraid to put myself out there and risk getting hurt. Now that it's written, it sounds so silly... but its true. And I'm not talking about acting like this just around guys I like... I'm the same way around my friends too. "Love" is hard to say and no one ever knows what I'm thinking.

And a lot of times, its easier for me to suppress my thoughts about the people I admire because it makes me feel too mushy to speak about it lol. The truth is, there's so many people that I think highly of that have never heard it. I like to let my actions speak for me. Some people (and you should know who you are) get the best treatment. Whatever you ask for... I will never turn you down. Sometimes, you don't even have to ask. I sacrifice my own time to get you what you need and never think twice about it. Its my passion to see people happy... and that's all there is to it.

But sometimes.... I feel like I've been taken advantage of and that I've done too much. This is the exact thing that makes me want to step back and go into my shell. I think this is my downfall. Its hard to show someone when their actions are bothering me. It just stays in my head til I get over it or it gets overwhelming... then I write about it.

The same friend asked me, "So what does that mean for you now [that you agreed to the fear]?". I told him I had to recognize why I had that fear and let go of it. Easier said than done right?

I've got a lot of love built up in me haha.. but the second someone takes advantage of it and I feel played, its a rap for them. I gotta fix that. I'M NOT AFRAID TO LOVE.. JUST AFRAID TO SHOW IT. I can easily show the love of an object or the love of inspiration but showing the love of individual is a journey I'm going to have to take. InshAllah.. Slowly but surely, I'll accomplish this too.

Found this on a bench in Santa Monica

This is how I feel

Cool..

I wanna make one and maybe paint the battery so it isn't so obvious.

Niketown World Basketball Festival decor

I'm gonna see if I can start gettin paid for covering Nike's artwork the way I do lol. This was at Niketown, off of 5th ave










Friday, August 20, 2010

Good question.

New habit I guess..

So lately I've noticed that I've been taking pics of the most random things and posting them. I guess I wasn't doing this before because the camera on my blackberry was messed up. Expect more because I get inspired and find art in some of the weirdest things sometimes.
On another note, every time I see this pic, it reminds me of Kanayo :) Great minds must think alike because she has the same pic as the background on her phone... and we never even spoke about this sculpture before. Kinda funny.

Hyper-Realist Sculptures

Cool..









Source

Hmm..

This actually has a lot of meaning to me, especially during Ramadan. Since you're not eating at all during the day, your energy tends to become really low... and naturally, you start to reserve it for things that matter the most. During this time, you also start to realize some of the extra things you do and have. You feel compassion for people on the streets who need and you want to give. Alhamdulillah..... In a nutshell, things become more simple and you realize that less is more.