Helene Kwong

I really enjoy my life here in Denver.

I want one of these mugs.

Despite others telling me I shouldn’t attend a conference (“mini” one, at that) the night before finals, I went to the Coworking Space Ship, run by Deskmag and Deskwanted. Thankfully, the Denver stop was at Creative Density, a coworking space in town that I’ve been a loyal member to since the beginning of the year. I’ve begun to call a few of the other members my “CD fam” because I love spending time with them!!

Anyway, #CoWoSpaceShip was amazing. I love learning about new, emerging trends in the business world. Craig, the owner of Creative Density, was so animated and passionate about the industry (wouldn’t exactly call ‘coworking’ an industry…a sector?). Loved to meet the other cowork space owners from Denver & Boulder, too.

And of course, I was live-tweeting, which I have been doing for the DU Marketing Association on-campus just out of my own obsession with Twitter. Having the iPad has made me more enthusiastic about tweeting live from events. I just love sharing information. During my live-tweeting, I was discovered by a Brazilian coworking space, Pto de Contato. My my, the world is small!

The whole #CoWoSpaceShip night went “overtime” a bit as we continued asking questions to the local panelists and hearing insights from Carsten of Deskmag. I never knew that the coworking movement began in Europe, albeit it wasn’t coined “coworking” until 2005 in our very own City by the Bay (San Francisco). I never got a chance to visit a coworking space in San Francisco when I resided there, but perhaps next time I go visit.

I am happy that I attended the free event because I always enjoy learning new things. It was well worth the night off from studying. Besides, I think I did decently on my finals today. What’s done is done, right?

Kitty looking out the window.

This weekend has been tough to get through, all because of two incidents that occurred yesterday:

• A young man outside of an eatery came up to me and asked me, “Will you please buy me a drink? If you do, ‘me love you long time.’”. I was right by campus and just strolling to Starbucks when this happened. The comment brought up childhood trauma over when other kids would make fun of me for being Asian. I cannot believe that people still say stuff like this in the present day. I was shaken up by the comment and felt that, no matter how hard I try, that injustice will still follow me throughout my life. How can you judge me by the way I look? I thought we’d all worked past this already. I am American. I can only be what I can be.
• Last night, I was making soap in my kitchen when I received a knock from the apartment advisor. He showed me a note that somebody in the building had left him, saying that my cat was a bother. So he asked me to “Please get rid of it by next week”. I closed the door and the tears of anger came forth: what has Kitty Softpaws done to deserve this? What have I done to deserve this? Kitty is solely an indoor cat and is a mere 4-5lbs. She doesn’t make THAT much noise. And…well, really, who could have done this to me? I know nobody in the apartment building aside from a few first-floor residents. Is this a malicious act against me?

These thoughts continue to swirl through my mind today as I wonder what wrong I have done to have this happen to me. It all wouldn’t bother me, but it’s a week before finals and I’m already stressed out from schoolwork/company planning. Why now?

I question humanity when things like this happen. I know there will always be evil in the world, there will always be low points in life; yet, why this? Why now? The racist comment was enough to set me off yesterday, but then the notice that I’d have to “rid” of Kitty.

Do people believe that pets are easy to just “get rid of”? Throw them away, like they’re a worn-out clothing item? Do people believe that denying happiness to an individual is acceptable? I tell you, I have Kitty Softpaws to keep me company and keep me sane. Last quarter was rough for me to stay all alone in the apartment: a lot of emotional roller coasters and overanalyzed thoughts. Don’t I deserve this spot of happiness in my life?

I know we can never see things from “the other side”, as hard as we may. But I feel that we can all benefit if we just take a step back from the situations we face and see things more objectively. Insulting someone on their ethnicity is not right: would you want someone to call you a racist name in return? Why do you think it’s ok to hurt another individual because they appear “different” from you?

Too much on my mind. I know this too shall pass, but right now it’s hard to move forward without a trace of anger.

I had a nightmare last night.

I was reading a thick book and experiencing all the contents of the book in real-time. At one point, I looked out the window and saw a plume of dark grey smoke. It permeated through the air and, although I was safe inside the building, I started to hear people screaming outside.

Everyone was turning into zombies, or simply just undead.

Those of us who were inside, we tried to save ourselves, but one by one dropped and became a zombie.

Many years later, the epidemic dissipated and I found myself at the same age I had been when the zombies began to appear.

I found my family home and saw that my family was safe and also looked the same in age.

We were happy to have each other, but we heard that there were still some zombies roaming in the wild.

Then, I woke up.

Get your copy of "Quantum Physics and the Art of Departure"!

I have not been shy about how much I love Craig Lancaster’s writing. His two novels, 600 Hours of Edward and The Summer Son, simply blew me away. And now, Quantum Physics and the Art of Departure, Craig’s first collection of short stories, goes right up there with his novels.

At first I wasn’t sure if I’d enjoy the short stories, since the first one, “Somebody Has to Lose”, moved along slowly. Once I got past a certain point in that story, though, everything began to fly.

The stories in Quantum Physics are all about very human lives set mostly in Montana. I feel the book proved to the outside world how people in Montana are pretty much the same as anyone else. We all experience the same problems in life, no matter where we may live in this country, in this world.

I really enjoyed how unfiltered Craig was in his writing: if you want to read a flowery, family-friendly book,  look elsewhere. Every story includes an element we all wouldn’t openly admit in public : affairs, experimentation, sexual abuse, etc. These are touchy topics, but it is refreshing to have these written about in such a matter-of-fact way.

My favorite stories out of the collection: “This is Butte. You Have Ten Minutes.”, “Cruelty to Animals”, and “The Paper Weight”. All ten are wonderful to read though. Don’t miss it!

Check out Craig’s author page on Amazon for information about his books: Craig Lancaster

Sweet on Yelp! Elite Event

Sitting here, post-painting. I’ve been doing this workshop by Connie Hozvicka called BIG. I just painted a not-so-distant memory and it has scared me. I need to take a moment to reflect.

I seem to go back-and-forth with good and “bad” time management. This whole month of February, I have been so caught up in everything that my time schedule has slid backwards. And so went the good habits of sleeping by 11pm, waking by 6am, having allotted times for homework, business planning, writing, painting, etc. … My “me” time has gone away.

Many times in the past month I have wondered if I really need this degree. I sit in my classes, unable to see why I came back to school. But then a moment of rationality/reason comes to me as I remind myself, “Don’t you want that foundation?”

I have lofty goals for myself. And I cannot be scared away just because of stress or time management skills slipping away.

Hell, I didn’t survive that car accident only to give up on my dreams.

Headhunters is quite the thriller.

TODAY ONLY: Get Headhunters for your Kindle FREE!

There’s a monster at the end of the book, and Charlie Cole sure knows how to work that magic. This is my first time to read any works by Cole, but I already feel that he is an expert writer. I feel honored to write him a review since, in the short amount of time we have known each other (via Twitter), we are becoming quick colleagues.

Goodies from friends (L-R): Craig Lancaster's short stories, Rita Chu's plushies & Alejandra O'Leary's album

What a refreshing voice to listen to; Alejandra O’ Leary is a Michigan-based artist with musical influences from the Beatles. I’m sure there are other artists that influence her style, but, as I listen to her album, “Broken Mirror Baby”, I get the Beatles vibe.

  In the past day, I’ve heard and read about two celebrities’ deaths due to drug overdoes/depression/et. al.: Whitney Houston and Leslie Carter (sister of Nick and Aaron Carter). So far, no cause of death has been released regarding Houston, but spectators on social media have already assumed it was due to drug overdose. Carter was addicted to her prescription drugs to treat her anxiety and depression.

And again, society perpetuates the assumption: depressed/mentally ill = drug overdose/crazy/etc.

Houston deserved it. She was a druggie. Why are you sad/surprised she died?

It stings to read these words from those who will never understand the pain of a loved one falling into the trap of drugs to cure emotional pain.

Would you say this same thing to your sister who is battling a drug problem? Your own child? Your best friend?

Over time, especially since my own diagnosis two years ago, I have noticed how society continues to make depression/mental illness such a stigma. It is “wrong” to seek help for my depression. Because I am depressed, I am crazy. Because I had a public meltdown in San Francisco, I am deemed crazy. I had to go to an inpatient facility for a week after that. While there, though, I realized so many of the other patients were battling the same disease: depression. And yet, we were all perfectly normal, human, as well. We just needed a little more help and support.

Once, I had a colleague say to our other colleague, “Good thing you didn’t stay with your ex-boyfriend [because he is suicidal]. You don’t want to end up with a crazy person!” I sat there, feeling the sting of the statement and wanting to lash out in defense.

Do you believe that those who admit publicly that they are depressed that they are crazy? Do you feel they should keep it to themselves?

I have no shame in explaining my situation to those who care to listen. I know I am a stronger person for the help I have sought and the medication I take. I am healing, but I also still have moments of unrest.

It is a shame how our world works, to where stars like Houston, Carter, and even Amy Winehouse are ridiculed during their lives and after they pass away. Yes, drug use is terrible. But, can we not pull away that layer and realize that underneath, there are sad souls wanting help from others?

It is time for us to re-examine ourselves and our thoughts. Not everyone out there using drugs/abusing alcohol/etc. is “crazy”. Ask them what their story is. You may be surprised that their story is just like yours, only a little darker.

Lovestruck?

As you can tell from my picture, Cast of Characters really rocked my boat.

It only took me two years to finally finish it….

Yeah, you wonder why it took so long. Well, a lot of things happened since I requested for this book in 2010…to the point where I had to stop reading for a period of time. Too many headaches, and not related to the book.

But I’m so glad I came back to the book, because it really resonates with me: society believes in Biblical characters being perfect, or that’s how the Bible has become known for.

So many of the characters are flawed, just how we are. Nobody is perfect. And Lucado sets out the many examples from the Bible to shine the light on this truth. Do we need a full book to tell us that we aren’t perfect? Well, the Bible has that all written out. And Lucado condensed it down into understandable, present-day situations.

I highly recommend this book for those who need a quick reminder of our imperfections through the showcase of major Biblical characters. You won’t regret it!

Homemade cake by Sarah

It’s been two years since waking up in the ICU, wondering why my head throbbed and why I was there in the first place. It’s been two years since that accident, the bills, the trauma; the memories continues to fade and be replaced with new, better memories.

In the past few weeks, I’ve shed away the final layers of that period of time. I’ve had friends tell me that I’m a phoenix: always arising from the ashes, becoming anew every time. This time around, I feel it is much truer than before; only now do I feel I have the wings to soar.

I’ve been here in Denver for six months now; most everyone who greets me with “Happy Birthday” today doesn’t know about what happened to me two years ago, how I almost lost my life. I’ve tucked that box away, taken my roots up from the City by the Bay, and have planted myself in the Mile-High City.

Every day I am here, I feel more and more at home. This is my calling; this is where I belong.

And this is where I shall celebrate many more birthdays to come.