Happy Friday!! Boy, was I ready for this day. We have the weekend completely open, and I'll inevitably fill it with trips to the dog park, an attempt to making a floating shelf, cooking experimentation, and splatters of paint. What are
your plans for the weekend?
This illustration + story is dear to this heart of mine, and I was so excited to work with a talented guy named
Russell Kabir for merchandising of his music. If you already follow me on
Twitter, you got to see a little
sneak peek of the progress of this illustration. Without a doubt, R Kabir has easily joined the list of one of the most fascinating people I know.
Enjoy!
The first time I met him was during the set up of our dear
friends’ wedding comprised of the groom, my husband’s American best friend from
childhood alongside his Chinese bride-to-be who grew up in Hong Kong, now a
dear friend of mine. You can imagine how excited I was for this wedding, being
that my own family is a multicultural fuse of America mixed with a dash of the
Philippines.
The bride, quite fashionable and talkative, had an amazing
amount of friends, as one might imagine. A large number of her bridesmaids flew
all the way from across the ocean to be part of this cherished event. This is
the point where Russell Kabir comes into the scene.
How would a bilingual boy from Oklahoma, versed in the
American and Japanese culture and language fit into this story? Well, sometimes
things fall into a complicated heap of explanations, but to put it quite short,
he was a good friend of one of the bride’s similarly fashionable bridesmaids, also
from the city of Hong Kong.
Let’s get back to the point. Seeing that the females bunched
together like a tight bouquet pink roses, we decided it might be best if
Russell joined the much less feminine crew of boys at the tiny brick townhouse
situated in the small cluster of homes on Teakwood Street.
“Do you need a ride?” I asked Russell, whipping around in
his direction. He acknowledged, enthusiastic and without any ounce of
awkwardness, despite knowing no one other than the beautiful bridesmaid in the
crowd.
The few minutes it took to drive the sun-drenched roads from
the church setup to our tiny home, I excitedly realized that Russell is one of
those gems…the type of person that is naturally at ease, humorous, and
intelligent. He tells stories in the most hilarious recollections possible,
refers to me as “madame, m’dear, and the greatest among greats,” soaks up his
surroundings, and relishes in the countless opportunities life has to offer.
“You’ll be like, BEST friends,” I squawked, referring to the
everlasting friendship I could picture between my husband and R Kabir unfolding
in my wandering mind.
Who would know that almost two years later, Russell would
indeed stay in touch, despite the fact that he moved across the world to Japan
to teach, sing, and persevere while we nestled in the Texas heat to learn and
grow as well.
I’m excited to see what becomes of Russell in the
unpredictable future. Will he leave his mark in this busy world? Ah, you see,
but he already has.
