Austin Trip | July 2024 (first friend group trip!)

Dec. 24 - Jan. 3 | MD Vlog

Jubilee Clinic Ribbon-Cutting | Dallas, TX

Dai Hoi Nghia Hiep 2022 | Jul. 28–Jul. 31

SEGD Conference | Portland, OR

i'm tired of thoughts without actions and actions without thoughts.

i want purposefulness and intentionality. 

maybe i'm just tired of breaking down your walls
hoping that you'd be behind them with open arms

maybe i just want to walk through an open door
& feel like i am home

2021 recap

JANUARY

• bought a set of reusable/resealable plastic bags, downloaded a touchbar pet, & got a succulent.
• planned a whole curriculum for the Nghia Si division (13–15 year olds) in my youth group & coordinated an instagram story series to share what their youth leaders have been up to.
• binge-watched Bridgerton, & the anime Horimiya.
• watched the movie Go Back to China (starring Anna Akana), the Short history of the Long Road (starring Sabrina Carpenter), & Soul.
• created a set of holographic stickers & a set of dessert themed cat stickers for MEO Cat Cafe.
• created a WordPress website for my portfolio site & worked on my first data visualization, interpretive signage, & wayfinding projects.
• worked on a UH donor project (designing a gift for UH Advancement to give to donors of the Here, We Go campaign), & designed a set of notecards/postcards for UH College of Education.
• was shown in the UH BAMSA Student art show (virtual) and the EmpowHER exhibit at the Printing Museum.
• gave a virtual artist talk about my Vote poster in the EmpowHER exhibit & did a virtual reading of my pages in the Museum of In-Between Spaces (an anthology that UHGD2021 wrote & designed) with Brazos Bookstore.

FEBRUARY

• worked on some freelance projects with my friend David, including some logos & tattoo designs.
• went on our (UHGD21) senior bay trip to Carothers Coastal Gardens, Armand Bayou, etc. & took a ferry for the first time.
• had to watch mass virtually due to COVID-19.
• watched To All the Boys: Always and Forever.
• dyed my hair a lighter brown.
• played in Texas snow & then later on froze a bit during the freeze, when the electric grid was down.
• worked with the Director of the UH School of Art and Associate Professor of Photography and Digital Media to create mock-ups of a public art project.
• was offered an internship opportunity at Kirksey Architecture.

MARCH

• left my UH Marketing internship. The Art Director told me "you're the best intern we've had since I've been here."
• worked on coding the UHGD21 site promoting my class's senior show.
• received my first offer letter for an internship with Kirksey.
• watched Love Alarm & Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir.
• got my headshots taken for the first time ever by a classmate, for my portfolio site.
• had my friends Sam & Paloma over my house for the first time.
• had a hand in planning the UHGD21 senior show, along with the rest of my classmates.
• got a compliment from a tough professor. she said i was making "perfect progress," & saved my work to show to the Junior class for when they work on their app project.
• started my internship at Kirksey.

APRIL

• got my first dose of COVID-19 vaccine.
• tried Buff Burgers for the first time.
• ordered my first ever business cards.
• started going to art markets in front of Kinokuniya bookstore, bc my friends were vendors. met an artist that i had long admired on instagram.
• designed some things for a restaurant called Hughie's due to a recommendation from someone else.
• received an offer letter from Kirksey to be a full-time employee when i graduate.
• went through the chaos that is printing design work for our senior show.

MAY

• got my second dose of COVID-19 vaccine.
• attempted to dye my hair w a holographic/shimmer-y purple color, on top of my lighter brown hair. it kind of just turned it into a more red-tinted brown vs. the more yellow-brown i had before.
• ate at TKK, Gyu Kaku, & Saltgrass for the first time.
• had my first ever interview for a full-time position with Neiter Creative (i wanted to try to interview at other places rather than just sticking with my offer from Kirksey, just in case).
• had our UHGD21 senior show, which was a big night since it was a culmination of all of the projects that we had designed in the last 2 years of the graphic design program.
• graduated summa cum laude, majoring in graphic design & minoring in art history.
• celebrated the senior show & graduating with my classmates at Axelrad.
• opened up my first credit card (not under my parents).
• left my UH College of Education internship.
• went to the Museum of Fine Arts Houston with my friend Lena (i hadn't gone to the MFAH in a long time).
• slowly started taking the freeway more often (i was always scared of driving on the freeway before).
• got my first Kate Spade bag & Michael Kors wallet, as graduation gifts.
• started working full-time at Kirksey.
• attended a Scenic Houston event at the Botanical Gardens with my team leader at Kirksey, where for the first time ever, someone gave me their business card.
• started doing freelance for a company after someone from there reached out to me.
• became slightly obsessed with Corpse Husband.

JUNE

• attended the Kirksey 50 (company party celebrating 50 years).
• got job benefits & a 401k since i started full-time.
• switched to a new internet provider & started having to pay for my internet (adulting, ugh).
• had a little field trip to Graphtetc where i got to see a signage shop.
• had a little field trip to Skyline Art where i got my second business card from someone.
• tried Gus' Fried Chicken & El Tiempo Cantina for the first time.
• got a sit-stand desk at work.
• watched HSMTMTS.
• went to Paloma's garden themed birthday party.
• was introduced to SEGD (Society for Experiential Graphic Designs).

JULY

• cut my hair short after years of growing it out long.
• designed a logo & brand kit for a starting-up non-profit called the Understanding Initiative. 
• got a crack in my windshield for the first time ever & had to buy a little window crack/resin kit so it wouldn't crack even more.
• watched Nevertheless & Never Have I Ever.

AUGUST

• went to Seismique as a team outing at work.
• went to my first baby shower for my neighbor.
• went to my first housewarming party for Loc.
• watched Kissing Booth 3 & Maid-sama.
• went to the AIA Sandcastle event where Kirksey participated in the competition, & where i got my first ever sunburn on the top of my head.
• ate at Tiger Den & Buzz N Bites for the first time.
• got my first call for jury duty but it eventually was cancelled.

SEPTEMBER

• bought a gym membership & started going to the gym once a week.
• watched Only Murders in the Building.
• listened to the Dear Hank & John podcast.
• started having youth group in person again so i had start being the division leader (nganh truong) in person now.
• worked remotely at Kirksey for the first time.
• presented in a parent meeting for youth group.
• helped my sister practice driving.
• ate at Warehouse 72 for the first time.

OCTOBER

• went to Luce Coffee Roasters for the first time.
• attended an event called Rocktoberfest, got to see a band called Bag of Donuts.
• booked tickets to go to California for a family wedding.
• watched Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha.
• painted/decorated a pumpkin with my team at work, for the company pumpkin decorating contest.
• taught in DT/DP camp (team leadership camp) for youth group.
• decorated my car to hand out candy for the church's Trunk or Treat event.

NOVEMBER

• went to the LANY concert with Alana Springsteen & Keshi as opening acts.
• watched Shadowhunters & Start-Up.
• planned the nganh NS retreat/activities for our youth group's Lock-In/Feast Day Retreat.
• went to Heritage Plaza to take pictures & record as well as be on site for a Kirksey project,
• attended the Lock-In event & got to bond with my kiddos.
• had brunch with Ana & Daniel, high school friends that i had not seen in a while.
• tried to learn about investing & bought my first stock even tho i am still clueless.
• volunteered at hoi cho for the Fish Pong booth (i usually do face painting but we didn't do that this year) & was in charge of keeping track of volunteer hours.
• attended my friend Lena's wedding, the first one that i went to w someone other than my family.
• went to Happy Lemon, which had just opened, & tried a new kind of drink (a dragonfruit w lychee juice & salted cheese).
• went to the Lauren Daigle concert (which had kept getting rescheduled due to COVID-19).

DECEMBER

• went through an emotional rollercoaster in my personal life.
• attended the Kirksey company holiday party at River Oaks Country Club.
• went to the dentist for a cleaning & wisdom tooth removal w my own dental insurance.
• tried Krisp Korean Fried Chicken.
• got out of an escape room with my team at work, for our holiday outing.
• did Christmas shopping & spend quite a bit of money.
• got my COVID-19 booster shot.
• watched Emily in Paris S2.
• spent Christmas w Loc at Majestic Oaks & played white elephant.
• lost at 2 different cup drinking games & had to take shots.
• drove Loc's truck which was my first time driving a truck on the road.
• got an apple watch (after debating about one for so long) for Christmas.
• dyed my hair burgundy which ended up making my hair just darker/almost black again w a red/burgundy if the light is right.
• worried about my Cali plans bc some of my family in MD (who were supposed to go to Cali also) tested positive for COVID-19.
• went to California on New Year's eve & essentially traveled back in time due to the time difference.

you lit the match & we burned up in flames

i still smell you in the smoke & mirrors
i still hear you in the echoes
i still love you in the shadows

it was a valiant effort

oh no, not wasted
every second with you
sweet than anything i've ever tasted
i hope we don't leave a bitterness in your mouth
i'll always cherish the time before it went sour

May 16–May 22 | Week Vlog.

May 9–May 15 | Week Vlog.

HTX Snow Day | 2.15.21

2020 recap

it's been a wildly long year & i can't say i'm sad to see it end. when i started this recap, i didn't even remember the beginning of this year—everything i had done before COVID-19 blew up seemed like a distant memory. but nonetheless, i did do some things this year. some firsts, some little, some big. so here we go.

January

-started off the year in Maryland, went to the cemetery to visit my ong ngoai

-even tho i don't really like KBBQ, a bunch of us went to eat it for my cousin's birthday

-visited Calvert where i used to live & got to eat at La Tolteca, my friend's family's restaurant

-got a haircut (probably the last time i got my haircut/trimmed)

-flew home & ran into Johnny Dang & his family (his kids are my TNTT kiddos) at the airport

-had to figure out the letterpress machine w some classmates so we could letter press our projects

-sent some emails out to some internships i heard about to see if they were still looking for an intern

-first TNTT sinh hoat of the new year (little did i know that we wouldn't get to sinh hoat for most of the year due to COVID-19)

-got a late Christmas present from one of my TNTT kiddos (which was so sweet & unexpected)

-had a day where i did both of my internship interviews since both of the ones i heard back from were internships at UH

-bought a pair of rain boots bc it rained very hard that day i had my interviews & every time it rains while i'm downtown, i get soaked

-started JR II (my second semester of the graphic design block program)

-tried veggie patties to see if i liked them enough (i just bought a box of frozen ones somewhere)

-did some freelance & started designing on retainer for Moffitt Oaks

-had to learn aftereffects for my motion graphics course (which was very hard for me to pick up & it was rough on my laptop bc the program requires so much)

-did a collaboration w UH architecture students for an environmental installation kind of project (my group had started fabrication but then it got postponed due to COVID-19)

-started my internship (oh yeah, i got one of the internships!) at UH Marketing, Creative Services

-bought my first ever pepper spray (after some encounters at the metro rail in the previous year)

-first time trying street tacos from a food truck (w my friends sam & paloma, love them)

-did some couple illustrations/drawings for "love" books for valentine's day commissions

-went to velvet taco for the first time

February

-started a catering job (which was connected to where i had been working before, Dirty Fingers)

-went to first watch for the first time & i was excited bc they had compostable to-go boxes at the time

-made little design-themed valentine days for my classmates in block

-supervised dance practices for TNTT (all i really had to do was show up though, the kiddos kinda knew what they were doing better than i did)

-my sister & i bought lauren daigle concert tickets (which would be her first concert & my first big concert but this also got postponed due to COVID-19)

-the art director at UH Marketing, Creative Services said "you're the best intern we've had as far as i'm concerned" to me (AHHH!)

-went to 88 boiling for the first time

March

-voted in the primary w my friends (we waited the longest line, took like 3 hrs, i swear)

-tried jimmy john's for the first time (i was hungry after the long line to vote)

-painted a huge fabric banner for TNTT doan camp (even though i didn't go)

-went to a free disney art show (one of the main artists was also there doing a little painting. it was pretty cool & i ended up buying 2 prints from dominic glover & he signed them)

-went to blackbear diner for the first time (i don't remember what i got but it was something w berries & it was super good)

-TNTT had a t-shirt contest to design a doan t-shirt so i submitted (haven't heard anything about that bc of COVID-19 though)

April

-had to figure out how to file for unemployment for my mother (let me tell you, it was hard to understand & i hope i never have to deal w that again)

-downloaded tik tok bc i was just THAT bored during quarantine

-my sister & i did several quarantine backyard picnics

-for TNTT, we started doing virtual lesson videos for the kiddos & for nganh nghia, we did a little The Office inspired theme song

-not only did we have to plan & record the videos but for my nganh, i edited the videos & for the doan, i edited little things & uploaded each nganh's video every saturday

-for motion graphics, i had to storyboard & animate a fictional narrative. i chose Stargirl (the book)

-i helped my sister design a resume (& i re-did mine too bc why not)

May

-we did trivia questions for TNTT at one point so throughout the days, we had to keep posting new questions on TNTT socials

-i started doing some rubber block carving/printing

-my mom found a white hair on my head (my first ever white hair)

-i did some cut paper art, some parts using my cricut, some parts by hand but all parts put together by hand

-had to start live streaming masses because it wasn't safe to go to mass in person

-i developed a new obsession w the brown sugar milk drink at Kim's

-i finally gave in to the hype & watched Avatar: the Last Airbender

-my dad gave me a succulent & i had to do a lot of research on how to care for one & learned about propagating (i swear i can't take care of plants & it was dying at first but somehow i managed to keep it alive & now it's the end of the year & it's still good!)

-started attending webinars for catholicism, design, sex education, etc. just to keep myself learning

-i did that tik tok trend where i made a google form to send to all of the guy i've thought were cute

-TNTT had office elections coming up & i was asked if i was interested in being nganh truong/treasurer/secretary (i didn't feel confident that i would be great at these but i was told that i would be which really made me happy)

-learned how to make stickers & bought the materials to do so

-took senior photos for my sister & her friends at Cy-Hope

June

-the Black Lives Matter movement got bigger & i was all over the place re-posting important things & signing petitions & trying to keep up w everything that was happening in the U.S.

-went to a chiropractor for the first time & got acupuncture & my neck/back cracked (much needed)

-helped my friend write her personal statement to get into nursing school

-helped my dad fix a leaking toilet (i didn't just sit there or anything, i actually actively helped & figured a lot of the stuff out)

-helped my sister figure out her classes & sign up for them, for her first semester of college

-did some digital commissions, kept working on stickers, & sold a painting here & there

-was voted as the new nganh truong for nghia si

-had my first COVID-19 test

-my dad had heard a cat sound coming from our driveway but we didn't see one anywhere. we found out it was stuck under my mom's car somehow so we helped get it out (it was in the spare tire under her car??)

-started making labels/menu signs for catering

-was offered a summer position for a graphic design assistant at the UH College of Education (one of the first internships that i applied to but did not get at the time but i guess i was one of the top choices so when another spot opened, they came back to me to see if i was still available)

-another trend that i had seen, my sister & i took a day to make recycled paper (though i didn't have a deckle & used a silkscreen instead which doesn't work exactly the same way)

July

-started as a graphic design assistant at the College of Education (i stilled worked at UH Marketing, i just had 2 part-time jobs now)

-sold my first sticker

-turned 23

-started making spotify glass pieces w my friend

-got a mini purple polaroid (i had bought film for my wide polaroid but the film was not wide so now i had all this mini film & so my friend bought me a mini polaroid so i could use it)

-hand painted a onesie as a commission

-had a few TNTT BTV meetings to learn my responsibilities as a nganh truong & to prepare for when we got to sinh hoat again

August

-worked on a logo for Moffitt Oaks (not sure if it will be used but i still did it)

-i had worked on something for my internship & one day, my sister got a copy of The Cougar magazine in the mail & as we looked through it, i was like wait this page looks familiar. it was the thing i had worked on, in print, in The Cougar. i got pretty excited

-planned the curriculum for NS for whenever we get back to TNTT

-i made several notebooks out of old notebooks (took the extra blank pages at the end of old school notebooks & bound those blank pages together into new notebooks)

-started SR I (the second year of block, the first semester of senior year)

September

-started a project on exhibit design & was bombarded w a lot of new information & research

-created a women's vote poster for class that we had to submit to AIGA's Get Out The Vote: Empowering the Women's Vote campaign (this year was the centennial of women's voting rights)

-attended a UH webinar called "The F Word" which was about feminism. there was a giveaway at the end & i won so i got to go pick up my prize

-the photographer at my internship needed a student to take photos of & since i'm the intern & a student, i ended up doing it & the photos were for the UH fall magazine so i was on the cover. i also got to help design a spread in the magazine

-spent a day doing my work outside in the backyard so i could get out of the house & get fresh air

-had to learn how to use sketchup, a 3D rendering program

-had to learn how to use wordpress, for my portfolio site

October

-bought myself some $4 sunflowers at kroger bc they make me happy

-my professor brought in Kendra Greene (author) to talk to us virtually since we were doing a project based off of one of her books

-designed a TNTT mask for the doan so that we could make some masks for the kiddos

-went to my first drive-in to watch hocus pocus, then the new mutants

-did early voting

-my sister & i dyed our hair w a blue & purple dye (without bleach, just wanted a little color/tint but it didn't show up much at all)

-the seniors & juniors in block held a virtual event called Cube for students that wanted to know more about the graphic design program at UH

-worked w someone that needed a designer for their product, Sparq water

-won an adobe max mask when i registered to attend the virtual adobe max event

-tried beard papa's for the first time

-tried the toasted yolk for the first time

-painted mini pumpkins for halloween

November

-had to design a personal identity for myself as a designer & re-do my resume for design-related jobs

-my class had designed voting posters & my professor got us a virtual exhibit w the Printing Museum! so all of our posters are on there in the exhibit "Empowher: Celebrating Women's Right to Vote" (https://printingmuseum.org/exhibition/empowher/)

-had another photoshoot for Marketing (though i'm not sure those photos will be used but it was still fun)

-was promoted to cap II HT (level 2 youth leader) & nganh truong for NS

-designed 2 christmas sticker sets bc my cousins wanted some christmas stickers

-got a new cricut blade, 12x24in mat, & a new carving tool so i can my projects more easily

-worked on a new portfolio site, w my personal branding & design work

-volunteered w TNTT for the church's hoi cho (even though this year we were just selling food instead of the whole festival that we usually do, bc of COVID-19)

December

-had a virtual portfolio review (at the end of every semester in block) w the seniors & the juniors

-got my 2 left wisdom teeth out finally

-had a COVID-19 scare so got tested again & luckily tested negative

-went on a few walks, which isn't much but it is for me bc i don't really do physical activity lmao (& it was kind of a nice break for my brain)

-had some holiday orders of the spotify pieces that i had put off until the semester was over so those were made & shipped out in time for the christmas

-got my ears pierced (second lobe piercing on both ears)

-designed a christmas card for TNTT & contacted a printer to get them done which is the first time i really ever contacted a printer before

-got w the HT to put together little christmas bags/gifts for the kiddos & distributed them

-got lash extensions for fun since my sister was getting them (i'm not a lash person & after a while, i got tired of them bc some started coming off & it was just uneven & i ended up trying to get them off)

-was sad bc i liked my home printer but it started messing up so we had to switch to a different printer (not important but it was to me since i really liked the one we had)

-it had been forever since i had new books to read bc i didn't buy any (to save money) & the libraries were closed. i finally bought a book which was a new one to a series that i liked so i was really excited about that

-finally gave away some of my stuffed animals bc even though i love them, i know kids would probably have a better use for them than i did (it was kind of a bittersweet moment bc i don't wanna grow up but at the same time, i needed space in my room lmao)

-had holiday meetings w both of my internships which was fun & i got little gifts from both of my bosses which was so sweet & unexpected

-drove my sister around to deliver her christmas presents for her friends

-my brother came home & we went to see christmas lights on christmas eve

-christmas happened & i didn't get to go to MD this year like i normally would but i got some nice presents & my friends & family liked the presents i got for them

-my dad had me spray paint some ugly hub caps of a car (while it's not like it takes any talent, i gotta say i made them look a lot nicer)

-changed the name of my art facebook page & instagram to be consistent w my portfolio site that i've been working on

-got into 2 virtual art exhibitions

-took some artist photos to submit for one of the exhibitions (i'm not photographer but the photos look kind of nice)

-i made it through this crazy year

she's so stunted that she coils at any touch

she’s wound up so tight that she could snap at any second

 thank you for looking at me so lovingly & loving me so tenderly.

there are so many different types of lovers out there—
the ones who hit like a bolt of lightning,
the ones whose whispers of "i love you" still sound,
the ones who make your stomach flutter until you feel like throwing up,
the ones who make your heart race so fast you feel like you might die,
the ones who burn you w just a touch,
the ones who drown you in their never-ending love,
the ones who scratch at your skin like they're trying to tear you apart,
the ones who wait patiently for you to come home—
i just want to be the one

i confessed i never make eye contact
so you told me to look into your eyes;
you said eyes can tell you how someone really feels.
i looked into yours & you asked me what i saw;
i thought i saw love & want—
maybe that’s just want i wanted to see.

i told you that i didn’t know,
i was too afraid to tell you the truth.
i was too afraid to say love bc what if i was wrong?
it wouldn’t have revealed your feelings, it would have revealed mine.

Black Lives Matter

so much is happening in the U.S. right now & it's absolutely heartbreaking. every injustice, every death, every video, every missing person, every hurting family—it makes me so sad, so frustrated, so furious. i am not a super outspoken person; i am quiet, a peace-maker, someone who tries to live in love & kindness, and i don't believe in anger or violence. however, i DO have opinions, i do have a stance, & i do feel angry. i'm not gonna pretend i'm the most "woke" & educated person on all social injustices but i'm not blind to racism, privilege, stupidity, corruption, etc. so i cannot stay silent. 

black lives matter. white privilege exists. we should be allies. black people need justice. all lives matter is not a thing. blue lives matter is not a thing. yes everyone's life matters. but y'all don't seem to think black lives do. that's why BLM exists. yes cops are people too. but no one's skin color is blue. they're not friggin' smurfs. they chose their profession. black people don't choose the color of their skin. yes there are good cops. but cops are still killing black people & getting away with it. they're escalating protests, hurting innocent & peaceful people, & using excessive force. their "non-lethal" crowd-control tactics are killing, are hurting, ARE lethal.

i have honestly been so overwhelmed by everything that has been happening. i go into a spiral on twitter looking at all the posts, all the news, all the videos, and all the comments to try to discern what's fake news, who's really instigating, if the police are justified in their actions (& so far i have not seen an instance in which they were). my heart breaks every time.

i don't have the words that can explain how i'm feeling, how black people feel, how everyone is feeling. i've seen & shared so many posts in the last few days so i gathered some in hopes that other people's words & posts are most eloquent than mine

On the protests/BLM/racism

On race being a "political opinion"

On "ALL LIVES MATTER"

On the sudden amount of racism

On our "leadership"

On privilege

On religion

On calling protestors "anti-military"

On civilian and police relations

sometimes my brain and my heart don't know how to talk
& my smile doesn't know how to reach my eyes
& my hands don't know how to hang on to the things
that are most important to me

sometimes my heart beats too fast in the quiet
& my brain thinks too much in the darkness
& i'm paralyzed by all the words i tell myself
when it all gets really bad