How to Easter

Happy Easter everyone!  I just had a wickedly good lunch and dessert. I'm now giving up sugar for a month.

This is what I have been working on for the past couple weeks.

And just like that; Welcome to April.

How to meet Edris - "The warehouse gym"

I would be really hyped to type this out if I was still into the gym scene. But here it goes anyways:

I've been dedicating an hour or more of my day to my yoga practice every morning in JLT. Yesterday, I grabbed some coconut water after practice and strolled over to check out some paint supplies in a warehouse/industrial part of town (Al Quoz). That's when I met Edris.

Edris saw me eyeing out the new shiny black exterior of a warehouse with the words "The warehouse gym". Intrigued and curious, I did what you are not supposed to do as a single woman in an industrial area .... stroll in with wide eyes. I knew my bf would be like "wtf", but I was already in too deep when I was instagramming the interior graffiti art. Sorry boo.

Back to Edris; He is the owner of the warehouse gym on Umm Sequim road and he gave me a full tour of the still raw facilities. The concept is to have the industrial feel, the raw energy, the salty sweat, in a couture environment. Let me make that clearer - Everything is designer. The tiles, the equipment, the mirrors, the showers, the art, the concepts. Everything.

The layout is excellent - 2 huge studio spaces overlooking a massive floor of gym. The floor contains a space for cardio, olympic weight training, standard weight machines, a full crossfit fit out, free training space and an MMA style cage. What more do you need right?

Actually, wait, I don't need any of that. I have a mat, running shoes and the will power of 3 nuns. I can't believe I used to be into lifting and high intensity training. BUT if that's your thing - check out this space. Edris has passion and I have his number if you want it.

They open in May-ish.

How to make a change.

The Change Initiative.

I've been seeing this building/billboards/ads/cards around for a while. I know exactly what it is promoting - a sustainable lifestyle. Recycled, homegrown, local suppliers, organic, rah rah rah, bla bla bla.

Finally trolled in there today. Simply put; it's a "sustainable" ikea. A hippie's ikea. No.. actually, IKEA would never sell a 21,000AED couch. So, its like a rich person's pathetic excuse to be eco-friendly. ugh. I don't know. It's so...Hippie Gone Wrong. BUT I guess it's a decent start for Dubai. Possibly the most eco-unfriendly city.

The only thing I thoroughly enjoyed in there was the art. It was pretty raw.

How to be "beautiful people"

It came out of nowhere; a studio in Bastakiya with the heart and soul of a thousand angels. You can read all the info at their website, www.mawaheb-dubai.com

I met a guy from Texas there. He said "your like, really pretty" and gave me a hug. He continued to tell me how much he hated the heat of Dubai and the hygienic values of Indian people. He thought I was african. lol.

I have more heartwarming stories from all the students but I need to go back for more. Wemmy and Gulshan are so welcoming and their cause is something that I can honestly say is beautiful.

Some art spotted through the day

How to YOLO

You only live once. So, when your friend offers to make you some fun art, you say okay and pose! Thanks L xo

How to be inspired.

I used to draw, paint, sing, play the piano and love all things artsy fartsy. I say "used to" because it's actually been over a year and a half since I've felt like this. Inspired.

Can't really pinpoint what it is. Is it the lack of a dead soul-less corporate environment (unemployment)? Or maybe it's the yoga helping me find some soul? Or maybe just meeting some inspirational and driven people. Whatever it is - I'm ready to become a slave to the canvas again. I was flipping through my old sketchbooks last night and I want nothing more than to start on a brand new sketchbook and create. Funny how life reflects art and vice versa.

I'll be using this space to share my creativity with you guys as well. xo

PS. I love drawing people and I'm mostly inspired by music and anatomy in general. I love portraiture and nudes. So if you guys have any suggestions or pics I should cover, drop me a comment :) mwahs.xo

How to be anonymous.

If anyone does it best, it's this guy. All around town there are random quotes that make you think "wtf" or "oh that's cool" or "effing hipsters".. Whatever your views on graffiti - this guy is making a name for himself in Dubai.

and..I REALLY WANT TO FIND HIM!!! Does anyone know who he/she is?

here's a tumblr filled with more images: Anonymous; Notice how all his graffiti have a signature? Its a triangle.

How to be RICH.

20 billion dollars worth of gold, diamonds, silver and any other shiney thing imaginable.

No, that's not my personal net worth - This is the latest most craziest archeological find in South India. Six secret vaults in a Hindu temple in South India is STACKED with chests of treasures dating as early as the 8th century AD.

Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple

My FIRST question was: "how the hell did the Indian buggars not loot the place clean?"
Answer: 
1) Nobody really knew about it
2) The one guy who did find out in the 1930s; tried to get his hands on it but landed in a cobra infested vault and decided it wasn't worth it (LOL - I'm sure his reaction involved a "ah HELL nah, fuck this shit!").
3) The priests and the royal family guarded it with their lives

Now, five out of 6 vaults have been opened and they keep finding the COOLEST stuff. "Bags of diamonds, an 18-foot (5.5 meter) gold necklace, statues of Hindu gods and 19 kilograms (42 pounds) of precious coins" They say opening the vaults might be a bad omen (death by cobras?), but honestly, if I could get my hands on just ONE chest, or even HALF a chest, I would definitely take on the task. Obviously, I would immediately outsource the task to an Indiana Jones, Lara Croft or Jack Sparrow. And I'm sure my greedy friends would pitch in.

Wham bham, thank you ma'am. Job Done. PEACE OUT.

That's kind of what the Brits did to India while they were there for over 400 years. Greedily outsourced the dirty jobs and stored the treasures back in England. Today (August 15th), India marks 64 years of independence from the British. I just wanna say - HAHAH; you forgot 20 billion suckers.

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!


Sources:
http://news.oneindia.in/2011/07/15/travancore-scion-puts-fear-of-god-on-supreme-court-aid0113.html
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-07-08/indian-supreme-court-halts-opening-at-cobra-guarded-vault-of-hindu-temple.html
http://www.sreepadmanabhaswamytemple.com/history-of-sree-padmanabhaswamy-temple-thiruvananthapuram-kerala.html