The most magical thing happened to me the other day which made me think “how did the universe even do that?”
I was sitting on the couch writing my blog, because I had decided this was something I am going to start doing now, when all of a sudden I heard a ring from the doorbell. I go to open the door and to my surprise I’m welcomed by a little boy, age 12, who I’ve never seen before.
“Camo jacket!” he says as he’s hiding behind the door sticking his arm out. He’s wearing a long sleeved camo jacket.
“Hi! I’m here for Sophia’s birthday party!” - He was holding a birthday present.
“What?” - I’m so confused, did I hear him correctly?
“Yes! I’m looking for Sophia! I’m here for her birthday party!”
“Well I am Sophia, but I wasn’t expecting any visitors today.”
I had no idea who this sweet little boy was. We were both shocked and bewildered beyond belief when I realized I had no idea what was going on. He says the numbers of my address. “That’s your address right? And you’re Sophia? And, there’s no birthday party here?”
“Correct.”
Well. Technically there could have been a birthday party. It definitely looked like there should have been a birthday party. So that was the strangest coincidence. The house was dressed up in balloons from head to toe but I wasn't expecting any visitors. The other day we had our family over for dinner and I blew up sage and yellow grass colored balloons, stringing them with a fishing line horizontally across the ceiling. My dining room was also vividly singing with bunting flags that strung through the chandelier. Pastel pinks, baby blues and grassy green hues tinted through my windows.
“Technically, it looks like there should be a birthday party here. I kind of always have balloons blown up, but I have no idea what you are talking about.”
The boy checked his texts and realized he mixed up the numbers in the address and the house he was looking for was right across the street. That seems like the most logical explanation of what had just happened, but I took it as a synchronicity and a sign from the angels that I was on the right path.
I couldn’t believe the magical moment I had just experienced. It was straight out of a movie. The little boy ran away from my house, hopefully to tell his friends the cool thing that just had happened to him! I sent him off with some stickers and a business card. Always gotta represent the brand because who knows, what if he knows somebody who is getting married?
I closed the door and looked around my living room still in shock and in disbelief from what just happened. I was ready for a party. I’m always ready for a party because why not let yourself have fun!?
“Auntie Sonia, why do you always say the word fun?” My nieces and nephews have been recently asking me this question quite frequently.
Well fun is my favorite word. You just can't have a bad time saying it.
Balloons and bubbles are both tiny fluttery flowy magical objects from my childhood that keep the spirit alive. They make me happy, and they make any moment in life a lot more fun.
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The morning of my seventh birthday I have this vivid memory of waking up early. The sun wasn’t out yet, it was still dark. I remember sneakily walking around the living room peeking at the way my mom had set everything up in birthday decorations. To my surprise there was the most beautiful gift of all. A brand new barbie bicycle with a bouquet of balloons tied to the steering wheel. WOW. I ran back to my room grinning from cheek to cheek with excitement. I couldn't wait to wake up in the morning and see what everything looked like in the light!
When I was turning ten I spent my birthday experiencing fall in Ukraine at my grandparents house. I told them. “All I want for my birthday is one hundred balloons and a rose.” Which translates to in Russian; “все что я хочу на свой день рождения это сто надутых шаров и одну розу.”
It was love. My grandpa did his best blowing up all the balloons I could have possibly ever dreamed of. He tied them to his curtains in the guest bedroom which dualed as the living room. The window which they hung from faced the university my grandpa used to teach at. He was an engineering professor. They lived on Haharina 7 Street and their apartment was on the 3rd floor. Apartment number 9.“ Гагарина 7, квартира 9. Дедушка работает в Металлургическом институте.” - “Haharina 7. Apartment 9. Grandpa works at the Metallurgical Institute". That’s what I was supposed to say if I ever got lost.
What struck me the most about that time period was the balloons hung on those curtains for months after my birthday. My grandparents never cared to take them down. I remember skyping with them half a year later - it was spring turning summer at this point. I was already back home in Hawaii and there they were! In the corner of the screen peeked out my birthday balloons! Still hanging after all these months! I never understood how they never deflated.
From then on my birthday wishes became balloons and flowers. Although when I was turning 12 all I wanted for my birthday was one of those Shamwows I saw on an infomercial. They were marketed to be the most absorbent cleaning rag which was perfect for me because even at age 12, cleaning was a huge passion of mine.
Fast forward to my Junior and Senior year of high school where I created a film called Skate Date (Part 1 and Part 2) about all the things that would go wrong if I asked my crush out on a date! I used that film to ask my friend out to the prom. They said yes :)
The outfit I wore in the Skate Date Part 2 Music Video became an iconic look for me. The look consisted of a teal blue sweater, a patterned purple skirt I had thrifted from Kaimuki Goodwill, brown knee socks worn with roller skates. I was obsessed with Arctic Monkeys back then and “knee socks” used to be played on repeat. It was crucial I had a pair and kept up with the trends of the era.
On my nineteenth birthday was when this character I created really solidified its importance in my life. I had my mom help me take a PHHHOTO, at the time an app which created these really unique moving images. “Photo”, but with 3 H’s. PHHHOTO was what boomerang wanted to be. The PHHHOTO was of me in my skate date uniform, holding some helium balloons up towards the sky. It captured the perfect movement and pose on loop.
#19 and post.
After that I experienced my first hit of internet fame hitting 4 thousand likes on some of my posts. That was a big deal to me! I was featured on the wow page over 30 times and was known as the user “TIXTS”. The PHHHOTO era of my life was detrimental to my creative eye. The challenge was to capture an interesting image using nothing more than the app on your iphone. I had an iphone 5 at the time and would sometimes do things as crazy as taping it to the ceiling above my bathtub just so I could get a birds eye view shot of myself while there being fish in the water I had taken out of my friends pond who lived down the street only 15 minutes away. I found it difficult catching my breath when I was executing PHHHOTO ideas.
My friend Dallas Nagata White later helped me encapsulate the image I took on my 19th birthday and turned it into a beautiful illustration I now use for my business cards and stickers. I’m so grateful she helped me along my journey and shared her beautiful artistry skills with me. I turned that logo into a neon sign for my old room. I was only starting to create my dream. This was 7 years ago.
I am the girl who loves balloons. The explanation is simple; they make me happy, and they make life a lot more fun.
blog published 8.14.24
#hypnotized_by_the_light
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