Design Inspiration | Reflections of Change

Reflection in a mirror is fascinating to me, especially as a five-year-old “flying” around my childhood home looking into a mirror right underneath my nose.

The law of reflection states that a mirror produces specular reflection; light from a single incoming direction is reflected into a single outgoing direction. That created a surreal experience of walking (or flying in my case) on the ceiling. Nerd out on facts about reflection here.

Click to read how this childhood game of mine made it onto a company blog.

Do I still walk around with a mirror under my nose? Yes, especially when I am demonstrating and introducing the game to my nephews and nieces.

Another InstaMuse
The recent Instagram Weekend Hashtag Project became an opportunity for me to revisit my love for reflection and mirror. Unlike past Instagram posts, I also decided to venture out of my comfort zone and include people in the composition.

I have lived in a part of Midtown known as S.O.S.A. for the last four years and images of old and new buildings have been the recent subjects of another Instagram series titled #LookingUp. One of the things that make Midtown unique is the co-existence of old (or renewed) and new architecture (and very modern); both residential and commercial.

This gave birth to a concept of using the mirror to reflect a beautiful dichotomy…

Sara was standing in front of the home she is currently living in and reflecting a modern home right across the street.

A Beautiful Dichotomy
Sara (@sarabara23), a friend from Church recently moved to an older home next door to me. Having made her appearance in an earlier Instagram post, she was asked again to help with this project. Four homes were used in two posts, one of which is in the screen capture above.

While the project titled #WHPmirrormirror has ended, this series will continue as I hope to feature more residents and tell their story as they weave themselves into this tapestry of change in Midtown.

My Many "Firsts"

I reflect alot … though not necessarily very deeply. Last Thursday happened to be a good day for that since it marked the 14th year since my arrival in Oklahoma City.

The #atmydesktoday post

It started with me looking for ideas for a post in my Instagram #atmydesktoday series and upon digging through a drawer filled with granola bars, instant noodles, couscous, and oatmeal (aka my food supply drawer in the office in case I forget to bring lunch to work), I found a bag of photos brought back from Singapore last December that I have totally forgotten about.

Being all about organization, the photos were grouped by categories like “Childhood”, “Polytechnic”, “Capetown”, and “Mount Hermon”; essentially significant milestones of my life (in print) up until 2004. Prints after that are a rare find as I now keep photos in three different virtual realities.

The “OK 2000” stash got my attention with about 16 photos, which I have apparently deemed meaningful enough to avoid the trash can back in Singapore. Nine of them, as seen above, provided a good summary to my “formative” years in Oklahoma City, with many “firsts”:

1. These people are the first group of friends I got to meet when I arrived in Oklahoma City in 2000. They are from Singapore and Malaysia who helped me find my first apartment, get situated in school, and most importantly, get around the city since I did not drive then. A special shout-out to Joanne, Muru and Umma, a loving couple who introduced me to the world of international students.
2. (and 9) These people are friends from the first Church I became a member at. They became an extended family in this foreign land. Jeri is one of my closest friends then, who gets most credit for my awesome driving skills today. 
3. They are from the same Church mentioned in #2, and this picture was taken at Falls Creek. It is a yearly church camp and I remembered having my first close encounter with “celebrities” like Caedmon’s Call and Charlie Hall.
4. (6 and 7) These are people are the loving Lopers who introduced me to my first true American holiday experiences like Independence Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. More importantly, Fred and Lavada are like my surrogate parents.
5. Being in college for one semester (ie. senior year), I did not get to truly know many of friends. This group, including our professor, became close as we spent hours into the night preparing for a district level advertising competition. I will always remember my first out-of-state road trip for the competition in Amarillo Texas with this group. Matt, the professor, has continued to be a great mentor and support beyond graduation. 
6. First Christmas with the Lopers.
7. Another holiday spent with the Lopers.
8. Last but not least is my brother-from-another-mother; the blonde haired dude on my right in the picture. Cody was my roommate when he moved to Oklahoma City on a call to serve as a Young Adult Minister. Our friendship gave me the first taste of what true Christian accountability and brotherhood are like. The picture was taken in Chicago where Cody got married and subsequently moved to. 

Design Inspiration | A Tale of Two Minutes

SOURCE IMAGE: Hronek, Sheri (August 2001).

It was the night of April 19, 1995 when the news of the Oklahoma City bombing came on TV in Singapore. I did not know anything about the city then, but remembered being moved by images of people coming together to help search for survivors.

On July 3, 2000, I landed at Will Rogers World Airport, not realizing that I was about to call this city a home; the same city where 168 lives were lost and a community was redefined five years ago.

Seven months after my arrival, the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum was opened. Being fairly new to the city, it became an obvious must-visit destination.

A Tale of Two Minutes …
The outdoor Memorial was designed with several symbolism, and in particular, I was drawn to the numbers 9:01 and 9:03 on two structures framing a pool. The numbers were meaningless until I stepped into the adjoining Museum.

I was led into a room expecting to listen to an audio recording of a meeting. As it played, images of the news over five years ago flashed across my mind and I realized, this was the city that was bombed.

Since that day, every time I run around the downtown / midtown area, I would slow down to jog in and around the outdoor Memorial. I like the quiet there. Even when there are many people on the grounds of the Memorial, Oklahomans and tourists alike, there is a display of quiet reverence.

This morning, the search for inspiration for Instagram’s Weekend Hashtag Project got me out for an early morning run (and I am also in training for the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon on April 27). The goal of the weekend project was to film a creative video looking down as I walk. It was my usual midtown-to-downtown route and I found myself at the Memorial.

There was no one there and all I could hear were the flow of water and my deep breathing. I took in the familiar sight while walking between the Reflecting Pool and Field of Empty Chairs. The project’s hashtag, #WHPfromwhereiwalk took on a different meaning at that moment.

Where is home?
The faces and people of Oklahoma changed within two minutes (between 9:01 and 9:03) on that fatal day in 1995. While I only saw the aftermath of that moment through a TV screen, the last 7,363,282+ minutes spent in Oklahoma has been rich. I came to this city on my own, but several people have since walked with me through many life changing events. Many of these people I now call family. And Oklahoma City is a place I call home.

However, this is also a temporal home. Jesus spoke of preparing a place for His followers (John 14:1-7); a permanent home that promises eternal fellowship with our Savior and Creator. Running holds a deeper meaning for me and I enjoy keeping pace (at 180 beat-per-minute) with music. A video was created, but no longer for the Instagram’s project. One particular song in my playlist speaks of the hope every Christ’s followers have. Watch and listen in the video below.

https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/bt4tjCUJzVs&source=uds