life is very strange...

my first week of class was rather anti-climactic but still exciting. i like all of my professors except my professor for life drawing which i'm still in the process of dropping--the administration is so slow here.  my other professors all seem more than competent and enthusiastic, something i couldn't say for all my duke professors.  the classes aren't as over my head as i thought they would be.  in fact, i've found that i'm one of the most advanced students in my program (who would have thought!)

apparently, my classes are comprised exclusively of other students from my program, which means that i have class with the same people EVERYDAY.  and because i'm the only guy in my program, i'm the only guy in ALL my classes.  it's a rather strange experience, let me tell you.  perhaps they arrange it this way for the purposes of communal commiseration of our lack of social lives.

anyway.

today, when my draping professor was inspecting my work, we had the following exchange:

professor renzulli: is this your first time draping?

me: yes

professor: what was your previous degree in?

me: political science

professor: and you've always been interested in fashion?

me: yes

professor: well, you made the right choice.  this is good work.

me (secretly): HECK YES.

me: oh, thank you.

tomorrow, i'm going shopping at the following stores:

loemann's

levi's

steven alan

new and almost new

uniqlo

muji

j. crew

bloomingdale's

urban outfitters

century 21

h&m

outlet 7

wish me luck!

and here we go...

my first class at FIT starts at 2:10...and i'm kind of antsy.

i wish i had an ACES graphic schedule.

i love new york...

hmm...where should i begin?  the people here aren't as rude as i had expected them to be, but the city is a lot dirtier and smellier when compared to other similarly sized cities in the world.  if london, a city that's just as big and even older, can keep its streets and sidewalks clean why can't new york?  it's also rather disturbing to be walking and suddenly feel drops of water fall on your face, even though it's usually just from the a/c units on the buildings above.  but that's about the extent of my complaints about new york.

my school is located in chelsea, which is right next to midtown, the center of manhattan--AMAZING location.  it occupies 2 adjacent city blocks: one for the actual school and one for the dorms, which of course is really convenient, especially in the winter when it's FREEZING outside.  i am so not looking forward to the winter.

this year at least, i'm living in the dorms.  my room is actually a suite with a kitchen, bathroom, and 2 bedrooms shared amongst 4 people.  i canceled my meal plan yesterday because i felt that after 4 years with one at duke, i should start cooking for myself as to prepare for the real world.  besides, i like to cook.  really though, i'd only be cooking my dinners, since both breakfast and lunch should be quick and easy: cereal and milk for breakfast and lunch at one of the many small and inexpensive restaurants that litter the surrounding neighborhood.  for groceries, there's a whole foods 2 blocks away and and a less expensive store called gristedes one block away.

my roommate's name is tristan.  he's a sophomore majoring in photography and is currently on crutches for a broken foot.  he just sits in bed and watches tv all day, although i suspect this will change once he's off the crutches in october.  manoj and john live in the other room.  manoj is half indian and half hawaiian and graduated from uconn in may with a degree in economics.  he's majoring in menswear so he can one day continue his family's menswear business.  john would be a senior at shenandoah university (which is near rockbridge!) finishing his musical theater degree this year, but he decided he didn't want to do that and transfered here to major in fashion merchandising and management, which is probably the most popular major here. fortunately, we all get along pretty well.

earlier in the week, i went to my mandatory program meeting. my program consists of people like me who've had previous college experience and have taken enough liberal arts credits to not have to take them here, thereby shaving off 1 year from what is normally a 4 year program.  they only admit about 50 people per year to this program, and this year there's only 47 of us, 46 of which are girls.  overall, the school's student body is 85% female--a favorable ratio i suppose...if i had a social life, which we were openly told we would not.  i can't wait for classes to start.  but it does feel weird not going back to duke, and i am going to miss the open campus and walking to the bc everyday to buy a pack of white reese's--and of course the people.

i'll leave you with this HILARIOUS video:

correction...

my address actually is:

Andrew Li

Fashion Institute of Technology

Alumni Hall 2H1

210 West 27th Street

New York, NY 10001

update coming soon...

the fruit of our labors...

here are the pictures of my parents' new house that i promised. these only include the rooms that are finished or near finished.

the entrance hallway...

...with a beautiful handmade islamic prayer rug from afghanistan (yes, it's upside down in this photo)...

...and a console, mirror and tea candles by the coat closet:

the adjacent dining room--i actually despise the setup on the left but my parents insisted...

...and we're still looking for something to put on the right side of the side board and i hope to convince my parents to lower the painting 1 or 2 inches, replace the candel holder with something else because i think it's ugly and out of place and replace the square vases with fatter square vases (both paintings in this room are real):

the family room--we're still waiting for the window treatments for the 4 windows on the left (there's actually 2 more windows of the same size above them)...

...and here's a closer look at the beautiful chairs we found:

the kitchen and breakfast area...

...and we're also still waiting for the window treatments for the 4 windows here and that bench was not there when my parents bought the house--we had it custom built:

whew...blogger really needs a better way to format pictures.  let me know what you guys think of the house so far!

in retrospect...

although i wasn't able to bartend because i was going to leave in 2 months and i wasn't able to apprentice under chloe dao because i wasn't able to get another portfolio together in time because i ran out of copies of the one i used to apply to FIT, spilled tea on my originals (just my luck) and deleted the scans from my computer, foolishly thinking i wouldn't need those anymore--a prime example of my tendency to throw away things (don't worry, this doesn't apply to my friendships...generally...haha i kid), my summer was rather pleasant.  i became occupied with helping my parents decorate the house and we're STILL NOT FINISHED.  goodness, my family is so picky.  nevertheless, i'll post pictures soon of our progress.  i made it out to the lawndale art center today.  they generally exhibit local artists and there were a few interesting pieces but overall nothing terribly exciting.

daniel and michael might come to houston next week.  it'll be a jolly good time but i need to get some more riesling before they arrive...

last, but hopefully not least, if you're interested in sending my lonesome self some love through the post, here's my FIT address for the next year:

FIT residence halls c/o andrew li

230 west 27th st.

new york, ny 10001

ciao!

just some recurrent thoughts...

Lord, I'm tired, so tired from walking

and Lord I'm so alone

I know the dark is creeping in

creeping up to swallow me

i think i'll stop

rest here a while

and this is all that i can say right now

and this is all that i can give

i didn't notice You were standing here

i didn't know that that was You holding me

i didn't notice You were crying too

i didn't know that that was You washing my feet

all i can say - david crowder

Jesus wept.

john 11:35

come ye sinners, poor and needy

weak and wounded, sick and sore

Jesus ready, stands to save you

full of pity, love and power

i will arise and go to Jesus

He will embrace me in His arms

and in the arms of my dear Savior

oh there are ten thousand charms

come ye weary, heavy-laden

lost and ruined by the Fall

if you tarry till you're better

you will never come at all

come ye sinners - joseph hart, 1759

love

it'll push you around

it'll make you a poor man

change your picture of heaven

love - justin mcroberts (one of the best song about the nature of love that i've ever heard--it'll change your life!)

these songs/verses always get to me so i'll let my words be few and let them speak for themselves.  i'm always asking myself what the right thing to do is and usually it overcomes whatever desires or prejudices i have...but sometimes...doing the right thing just plain sucks...

...life sure can wear us down sometimes...

farewell, my social life...

and now i present to you my fall schedule:

that's 6 classes and 16.5 credit hours!

now, i didn't choose to take this many classes.  i have to do this in order to graduate in 3 years.  since i already have a liberal arts degree, i don't have to take any liberal arts classes at FIT, which shaves off 1 year from a traditionally 4-year program.  the trade off however, is that i have to take 6 classes per semester during my first year.  since i took figure drawing at duke however, i'm going to try and see if i can drop FA 105 - LIFE DRAWING.  that would bring down the number of credit hours i'll be taking to 15, which i suppose is approximately equivalent to taking 5 classes at duke...except that these classes are more time-consuming.

in other news, i finally made it out to the contemporary arts museum today.  it was a good bit smaller than i had anticipated, consisting of only one large open space and a basement where the gift shop was.  being so small, they only exhibit the works of 1 artist at a time.  this time, it was sam taylor-wood.  a woman, not a man.  not sure how i feel about her work, interesting as it was:

1. large portraits of famous celebrities crying, including hayden christensen, tim roth, ed harris, lawrence fishburne, forest whitaker, benicio del toro, and daniel craig

2. an hour and 7 minute video of david beckham sleeping (it said so in the description--i did not stand there and watch the whole thing thank you very much)

3. a video of a cellist playing a piece without the actual cello--essentially going through the motions accompanied by a recording of the piece he was "playing"

4. a naked woman and a dead, decomposing swan

5. a video of a man and woman arguing that ends with the woman kneeing the man between the legs

6. and several pictures like this one:

i wonder how this was done.  probably not something i should try at home...

alone here with my doubt...

where do i even begin?

i leave for new york in less than 2 weeks now and i suppose my mood has started to fluctuate between excitement and anxiety more frequently than before.  much of this post will echo what i wrote in a previous one but time has since helped me to flush out my thoughts more deeply.  i think the impetus for this post was the sudden (and delayed) realization of the transition i'm about to make and its full implications.  funny how these things always tend to do that.

this is it.  this is my chance to do something extraordinary.  it's still hard to believe.  but how will i define success in this industry?  it's a question that i still haven't answered fully. because i believe that Jesus Christ died so that i may truly live, i believe that it is imperative that my definition of success be influenced by this fact.  but what will that look like in this industry?  i don't know.  and i think that realistically it's a little naive to say at this point that i'm going do everything fair and good.  i'd certainly like to but to put it simply i place no confidence in the flesh.  what will i do when the day comes when i have to make a lucrative but morally ambiguous decision?  will i make the right one?  i simply don't know.  one thing i've learned about myself this summer that has been encouraging in this regard but is also a double-edged sword is that i don't like compromising.  this includes my ideals, my vision, etc.  at the same time of course, this causes problems in other areas, especially when dealing with people.  but let's be serious, guys. it's my way or the highway ;-)

one of my longest and firmest held beliefs is that christianity is not an excuse for mediocrity--a phenomenon i've seen more instances of than i would like.  and naturally, i think one should set their goals high.  does that mean fame and fortune in my case?  it would be nice :-)  but i don't think these are legitimate goals.  a life lived for the sake fame and fortune would be rather meaningless i think.  i just want to make clothes that people can wear.  fame and fortune are simply the side effects.  i suppose that perhaps what i'm saying is that one shouldn't toil simply for the associated rewards.  yes, i think that is what i'm saying.  i realize however, that this too may be a little naive.  but i believe that God calls us to excellence in all things and since when was difficulty an excuse not to do something?

do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  then you will be able to test and approve of what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.

romans 12:2

we can take heart however, in knowing that nothing that will ever trouble us will compare to the despair and loneliness that Jesus experienced at gethsemane, where his repeated prayers were met with silence from God and abandonment from his closest friends.  God, knowing what had to be done, had already begun to turn His face away and Jesus, after an eternity of oneness with God, had his first taste of what it felt like to be forsaken by the Father.  i mean, he was sweating blood!  for the life of me, i don't seem to recall the last time i did that.  Jesus experienced complete separation from God so that we would never have to.

"never will I leave you; never will i forsake you."  so we say with confidence, "the Lord is my helper, i will not be afraid.  what can man do to me?"

hebrews 13:5-6

crowd control tactic no. 24...

went to a "water garden" today to look for a large rock that could be used for a fountain in the backyard and saw this sign in front of the cashier:

UNATTENDED CHILDREN WILL BE GIVEN AN EXPRESSO AND A FREE PUPPY.

last night...

i had 3 glasses of wine at dinner and later slept like a baby.  it was wonderful.

no such luck tonight...

...so i've been on youtube: