Sleepless Art

It was difficult for me to sleep lately, due to the bothersome cough that accompanied my aching throat. And during the wee hours in the morning when I can't sleep, I reach for my sketch pad to while the time away until my eyelids finally surrender.

I call this line my Sleepless Art; faces of women drawn from mere imagination on sleepless mornings. I love to draw faces just as much as I love to photograph them up close.

Soon I'll be putting them up for sale. I like the thought of people giving them a place in their homes, rather than keeping them all together in my lonely sketch pad. :)

Related Posts:

Who Am I?: Just a Little Piece of Me
My Art, Revisited
A Couple's Birthday Gift

Who Am I?: Just A Little Piece of Me

My self portrait?

My name is KCee.

'K' stands for Karen - meaning 'pure', 'C' for Claire - which stands for 'bright or brilliant', and 'ee' stands for nothing but additional letters to complete my nickname.

I am a Filipina with an English name, and a Japanese lineage from my mother side which explains the small eyes that disappear when I smile. :)

Moshi moshi! Nanika atta?

A Writer and Artist at Heart

It was in school where I first realized that I wanted to write, and it was destiny that led me to be a part of our university paper in college.

I was a new student then, when I came across the editorial exam schedule in one of the bulletin boards in school. It was the last day, and the exam was about to start in 30 minutes. Without much thinking and preparation, I took a shot at it.

A few days after, I was surprised to see my name on top of the list. I aced the exam; but since only graduating seniors were allowed to take the Editor-in-Chief position, I became Literary Editor instead. Nevertheless, I was happy. No. I was ecstatic! I was given the Managing Editor position thereafter, when they figured a way to give me a title equivalent to Editor-in-Chief, without making a technical violation.

Despite the student leader status, I kept a low profile. As a member of The College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP), we had regular scheduled meetings with then Vice President Estrada; none of which, I attended, as I always let one of my staff fill in for me.

As a student, I was never the kind who burned the midnight oil just to get an A in school; neither did I try so hard to impress my teachers just so I could get a grade that would look perfect in my report card. It's normal for me not to conform sometimes, especially if I find it boring, predictable and everybody wants to do it.

I loathed every form of Math subject and loved the ones that challenged my mind to think beyond the multiple choice type of questions that needed fixed answers, straight from the book.

All I wanted from school was to learn. That was my priority.

Intelligence is inherent; it's not something that you gain from memorizing books or hearing lectures in school. It is also a fact that there are many intelligent people who are illiterate. That's why I've always believed that school achievement (which can be manipulated) should not be the sole yardstick of a person's intelligence nor should it be considered the 'be all and end all' of going to school.

I love reading all kinds of books; I believe this fueled my passion for writing my own stories. I remember writing short stories and drawing my own comics pages when I was younger, to share with my classmates in school.

I currently write short romance novels in my spare time, while I do reports, studies and system analysis during my full time day job.

On the side, I'm also a freelance graphic artist. I do traditional drawing and painting, but ever since I got amused with digital graphic design, I tried to learn and earn from it at the same time.

You can check out some of my work here.

A Stagemom

I'm a proud mother to a smart and talented 7 year old who I lovingly refer to as the Little Lady in my posts. Ah, I love my daughter to bits, it's so hard not to show! :) In my future articles, I will write in detail the reason why I call myself as such.

The Optimist

An incurable positive thinker, I'm forever an optimist. I find beauty in the worst situations. It’s a gift; but it’s also a state of mind, so it can be done.

One of the philosophies that I'm glad I learned early in life, is not to worry over something I have no control over. So I just lift my cares and burdens up and let God do the rest.

If you really want to make the most out of living, you should never let worries consume you, or you will miss out on life itself.

Life, after all, is whatever we make it.

The Rest of Me

A typical Taurean, I'm stubborn and strong-willed. I'm not thrilled with structure; I feel it curtails my freedom.

I'm a bit of a rebel; I think that explains the fact that I was once enticed with student activism and idealism. Although I don't talk as much as I write, I can reason my way out through any kind of argument; that's why until now, my Dad still thinks I should become a lawyer. :)

I still hope to meet someone who is strong and patient enough to tame the bull in me and put a little structure in my life. I guess the search for my ever after makes me a hopeful romantic, huh?

Generally, I don't care about what other people think of me. I'm flattered that they lose sleep thinking about me and who I am. :) As long as I live according to my values and journey the path I think God wants me to take, then I'm on the right track.

I'm thoughtful, patient and persevering; but sometimes, to a fault. I forgive easily and don't keep a record of wrongs for too long, but I don't necessarily forget.

I like feel-good movies, music and singing, watching the sunset and nature's wonders, warm hugs and conversations over Starbucks Frapuccino, black coffee, tea or flavored herbal infusion. Sometimes, I'd rather stay home in the company of a good book than go out with friends.

A self-declared kitchen diva, I love to cook and bake. They say I make glorious pasta dishes; but you have to taste it to believe it! :) I generally love pies and pastries, pasta, chili peppers and spicy food, tamarind, dimsum, Japanese food, grilled food, Krispy Kreme donuts, fruit shakes, strawberry lemonade and pizza.

What else can I say? I have a humongous appetite that keeps me on the curvaceous-voluptuous side. Te-hee!

I seldom wear flats. I'm into wearing beautiful high-heeled shoes, willing to sacrifice comfort for beauty (only in footwear!), and love virtually anything in red and fuchsia.

Oops, have I said too much here? Any violent reactions? I just thought it's about time to have an 'About Me' page. ^^,

If you wish to subscribe to my feeds via email or reader, just enter your email in the field below or hit the pink button.

Enter your email address:

I'd love to hear your thoughts! Please leave a comment or if you wish to reach me for any reason at all, please feel free to drop me a line or two here and I'll try to get back to you the soonest! :)

Happy Birthday to Me!

How time really flies! I guess it is no surprise as to who is going to blow the cake and pig out on ice cream later, huh? :)

So here I am again, basking in the magnificence of being another year older. I made a mental note that I am going to blog about this day, hence this post.

Birthdays have always been special to me. My mom loves to throw parties, that is why as kids, my sister and I were lucky to celebrate our birthday parties every single year. We always look forward to our special day because of the excitement of those yearly celebrations.

Creating Memories

I have fond memories of my childhood birthdays. My dad and I always go to Joni’s Cubao (the only source of delicious cakes that time) to buy my cake with a princess figurine on top, while mom cooks her specialty dishes at home.

Apart from the fun parties I had, I also remember my sister and I fell on a side street canal on my 10^th birthday. She was driving our bike then and I was the unlucky passenger. We went home all grimy and smelly a few hours before my party! On my 11^th birthday on the other hand, my mom cut my hair super short ala-Demi Moore (like in the movie ‘Ghost’). Oh, I can still recall hating that haircut for almost a year!

Moving forward, when I turned eighteen, I did not have a grand debutante party because a very close uncle that time was diagnosed with lung cancer. I did not feel it was appropriate to party in that situation. He died a week after my birthday. To date, I still consider it the saddest birthday I ever had.

Although it was not really a big deal for me not being able to celebrate my 18^th birthday donning a beautiful gown and dancing the waltz with a handsome escort like most girls did, my mom, in an effort to somehow make up for that, threw small parties at home every year.

Now that I have child of my own, I appreciate more the effort that my parents put into creating each and every happy experience, the best way they can.

I realize the value of building happy childhood memories, as it gave me a sense of importance, security, and a feeling of being loved and cared for which I carried all the way to adulthood.

I believe it is an investment that spans a lifetime of benefits.

A Time to be Grateful

Today is another great opportunity to remember the things that I am grateful for. Another day to reflect on how I am blessed beyond what I deserve, how I am surrounded with so much love, and how lucky I am to recognize what God is immensely bestowing upon me.

While writing this, I am crying, laughing and singing. All this reminiscing is making me twice emotional today. It is even raining! Oh, maybe because of the singing, you might say. But nah. It always rains every May 10^th of every year. I think it is God’s way of telling me that He remembered my birthday, and a way of blessing this day as well. Rain is also associated with a downpour of blessings, so I therefore claim this bountiful shower into my life with open arms and an open heart.

Happy ? Birthday!

They say you are only as old as how you feel, while others associate age with looks. With the flourishing beauty industry, it is not all about numbers anymore. For them, face value is what matters the most.

I have not done any cosmetic surgery or enhancement and I hope I would not need to in the next few years, at least. Oh well, I wish I never have to, ever.

But of course, when gravity takes its toll, at some point there will definitely be sagging. And when our body takes its natural course, there will be graying, aching, and memory gap – the whole aging degenerating thing. Right now, I can say I am doing a little effort to delay the process by taking supplements, keeping my sun exposure to a minimum, moisturizing, and keeping a positive outlook all the time.

So how old am I again?

Before I answer that, who’s up for some melt-in-the-mouth-makes-you-forget lasagna? :D

P.S. Maybe I can throw in 500 ECs to the one who can guess my exact age. What do you think?