Painting is the Secret Cure - 4

Time goes by really fast! It doesn't feel like I last painted more than a month ago. I've been feeling the urge of painting for a while but couldn't make time for it last weekend. I had a lot to do this morning too but decided to spare couple of hours to paint. It was gorgeous outside yesterday with low temperature and lower than usual humidity. All I wanted to do was walk outside and listen to music or read book. Of course I was at work and didn't have the flexibility to just be out all day, but painting that mood made up for that (little bit). I found this quote from Blaise Pascal the other day -

"The heart has its reasons of which reason knows nothing."

I decided to use this as the title because it just felt appropriate for this painting. However, I made a mistake when giving the finishing touch - got the date wrong. Also, this marks the ending of my favorite sap green color, almost ruined a brush trying to dig into the tube (-_-). Other than that I'm pretty happy with it :)

Going back to yesterday's weather, I ended up walking a LOT in the afternoon. I walked for almost two hours! Not all of it was pleasant as I had my heavy backpack and then grocery bags to walk with. But there was one particular moment I found very special. While walking by a busy street with construction site on my left, I looked to my right and saw this serene little green land. At first I thought it must be someone's backyard (may be it was) but there was no house too close and no person there. Little hesitantly I walked in and amazingly all the noise from the busy street was masked there. I could hear the birds chirping and insects buzzing. It was shaded by huge green trees and sunlight peeping through them was lighting up the green grasses. I'm not sure if others may find this little too poetic but standing there I felt that life is probably about collecting these simple yet beautiful moments. Life might be chaotic most of the time with our harsh realities but we just need to look for those little simple things that make it worth living.

That's the spot!

Cali Trips - LA and Santa Cruz

Could I start this post by saying how much I love Saturdays? If I could cwtch Saturday I totally would! So glad it's finally weekend. Falling sick last weekend made the week feel really long but I'm feeling a lot better now. While staying in bed last weekend, I went through thousands of my old photos from all three phones I ever possessed! I usually try to write a post after I visit any cool new place but realized I never did any for my trips to Los Angeles and Santa Cruz. Both of those trips were back on back, and right after I moved to my new apartment. So, it was pretty hectic and after I got back I got busy with unpacking and then again travel... Anyway, even though I was in a time crunch, I got to enjoy some of the charming beauty of California during those trips, so thought I'd post the photos.

I went to LA in March for the Code4Lib Conference 2017. I presented a talk and taught a half-day workshop with my colleagues. Also, I'm grateful to be recognized as one of the Code4Lib Diversity Scholars. We had few meet-ups arranged for the scholars and their mentors, so all in all it was quite busy. The conference center was located at UCLA campus, so I had the chance to walk around little bit. Honestly speaking, I wasn't impressed by LA as much when I traveled from the airport to UCLA. Everyone drives in LA, so traffic is pretty bad most of the times. However, I LOVED the campus. I really like big campuses with historic buildings. It reminded me of UIUC campus in many ways. Also, Cali had one of the unusually big rainfalls this year, so it was very green, apparently that's not how it looks at that time of the year. Luckily the weather was great the week we visited and I absolutely loved how crisp and fresh the air feels there. We had lunches outdoors under the sun every day, which was really lovely! (I know I'm overusing "love" but that's how it felt)

En route to LA, looking over San Fransisco

Lovely afternoon at UCLA 

Lunch time!

Gorgeous library!!

On the last day of the conference I made a quick trip to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). Anyone who knows me should know that art museum is the first place I visit wherever I go. The museum was pleasant, they've pretty good collection. I went around the city little more but had to be back on time for my flight. 

LACMA entrance

Was pretty amazed by that water drop detail in that painting

 Oh, forgot to mention that we went out for a group dinner in downtown. LA culture and downtown area seemed very different than the other places I visited before in USA but it was interesting. Got to see a pretty sunset too (which is always a plus)!

Umm..?

Dreamy sunset

Immediately after I got back from LA, I had to go to Santa Cruz for an interview. That was a very stressful trip. Not because of the interview but because by water bottle decided to spill water while we were taking off and my MacBook happily drank it and died within half hour (my usual travel horrors -_-). That's whole another story but the only thing I want to mention here is that Santa Cruz is very beautiful. The beach was about 20mins walk from the hotel I was staying in, so I made a quick trip after I got back from the interview. It was really peaceful and de-stressing to be able to walk on the beach. I saw many unique plants on my way back too. I'm not moving to California but I'd love to visit again, especially San Fransisco and San Diego area.

Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk

Pretty plant!

UCSC Library

I've to get back to my weekend activities and more travel planning now but hope to be back with new post soon!