2015 in review

2015 has come and gone! Rather than prattle on wistfully about the passage of time and the ephemeral nature of existence, let's focus on some of the highlights from the past year!

Antho and I were both pretty busy this year! Between our trip to Hollywood to perform at the Whiskey a Go-Go, and the subsequent backpacking across L.A, the Holi-festival of colour, Blinking Man bike ride downtown, our trip to San Francisco (01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23...), our multiple tie-dye sessions and all of our liquid light performances (01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16...) combined with my volunteering with Critical Care Comics, art gigs (01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06...), private commissions, tutoring and blogging it's been an enlightening and mostly enjoyable year full of learning, colourful creations, travel and nesting.

We moved into our adorable little townhouse around Valentine's Day and our lease is rapidly coming to an end... I had originally planned on moving to Korea (and Antho following!) for work, but due to the passing of my grandmother I've had to postpone as I attempt to get her affairs in order. I've started a GoFundMe campaign trying to raise funds to get her buried...if you can contribute anything, anything at all, I would be so grateful! It's awful knowing she's just sitting there, stuck somewhere in Florida, when her last wishes were to be buried next to the man she loved in Ohio and there's little to nothing I can do about it at this moment. That put a real damper on the end of the year for me, as I struggled with feelings of hopelessness and helplessness on top of mourning the loss of my last grandparent. Creating the campaign helped me to feel like I'm at least trying, so I've been slowly crawling out of the depths of my depression of late, but it hasn't always been easy. Antho lost his grandpa a month later which left us both rather down and out during the holidays...

As heartbreaking as it is to lose someone, it's an unfortunate consequence of getting to exist at all, isn't it? Normally I prefer to focus on all the good experiences we shared and the memories they've given us, which helps, but the lack of closure in this instance is especially difficult for me to deal with. Antho's grandpa is already having his service later this month while my grandma's is still unknown, unscheduled, despite her having departed over a month prior and it pains me. Our bodies aren't intended to last forever, especially once we've evacuated the premises... *sigh* every day that passes is another day she sits alone and lost.

Well, look at this.... After starting this post with a vow not to prattle on about life, the universe, and everything, here I am waxing philosophic. Oof. 

In the end, 2015 had a lot of good in it. There were some truly beautiful, exhilarating, eye-opening moments that I will be forever grateful for having the opportunity to participate. The year ended on a real downer note, but that doesn't mean the entire year was a bust. You have to try and take the good with the bad, right?

Hope your 2015 was a good one guys.

Much love.

XOXO Nau

Japan: おたんじょうび おめでとう； Happy Birthday, day 1

a normal shopping scene en route to Solamachi

     Birthday's are a weird thing; it's the anniversary of coming into this life, this reality we share...each candle we earn is our tally for essentially beating the odds; another year without getting hit by a bus, developing a fatal illness, tripping in front of a train, getting trampled by a rogue cow...these things happen every day (well, maybe not the cow attacks)... Another year of life is a victory, yet many people bitterly remark, "another year closer to death!"...which is true, of course. Every year is another step away from childhood and closer to being elderly, with all the problems that come along with it; but the way I see it, we could all die tomorrow; a comet could smash into the planet, obliterating life as we know it..so why dwell on the inevitability of mortality during what should otherwise be a celebration of survival?

Viva Lost Vegas

(The world famous strip)

I've spent roughly 20 years living in or around the world famous city of Las Vegas. The bright lights (the brightest city in the world as seen from Space)! Gambling! Casinos! Ridiculous summer heat! Swarms of drunken tourists screaming and falling over themselves! Indeed, I call this den of madness my home town. In fact, I was BORN here which is a somewhat unique honor. The majority of 'locals' in Vegas are from far off lands, looking for gainful employment and the American dream. In fact, there are are almost 2 MILLION people living in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, making it the 28^th most populous city in the entire United States. The 90s and early 2000s saw a boom in the population that later contributed to one of the worst housing busts of the US economic decline, with home prices dropping faster than most stripper's tops. The sad result of this is that there are brand new homes, neighborhoods and developments that have been left largely unoccupied (at least by humans). This creates a fascinating modern ghost town atmosphere that has been underutilized by Hollywood so far. For more information, check out this article; The Stunning Crash and Burn of Las Vegas by Michael Snyder.