The Day Ian Found Mikan In A Tree*

I hate shopping… especially for people’s birthdays because I don’t know what they want. I always wonder whether I should buy them something that I would like or I should get them something that they would like. For example, I know that my friend likes painting, which I know nothing about… so I go to the bookstore and try to find a nice artist book… but actually I have no idea what’s good or even what my friend’s taste is because their taste in painting is probably very specific… so I don’t want to waste money buying them something they probably wouldn’t care about. Then I decide that maybe I will buy them a photo book instead since I know all about photography, but, in the end, I don’t know if they even like photography… Then the clock begins ticking down because their birthday party is in less than an hour, so I run around from store to store looking at stupid shit… feeling the urge to buy something just for the sake of buying something when I know that really just defeats the purpose of giving a gift from the heart.

So one day I began painting for people’s gifts even though I couldn’t paint. It saved me from wasting money and, most importantly, my sweat and love was smeared in there somewhere...

* For Ian's birthday last year (which currently hangs on the wall above his desk).