Joseph Reyes

August 14

Took a hiatus from making art. Can you say you took a hiatus when you’ve been unable to do art because work has swallowed you whole? Well, that is exactly what happened. Because of work, I haven’t had much time to make art, nor do I have the energy to make art because I haven’t been sleeping regularly. Unfortunately, I think that’s going to be my situation for a while, since my work schedule isn’t about to change anytime soon. And when people say “artwork,” I think people forget the part of it actually being work. There is a need… a compulsion for me to make art, but that doesn’t make it any easier. It is still in many ways work, which makes it difficult to produce these days due to my extremely busy schedule.

Still, I’m going to try to produce more art. It’s just been amazingly difficult to find time to sit down and get to an art-making frame of mind. Either my mind is too busy with work, or I’m too burnt out and have to sleep. I miss making art regularly. I miss hearing from people and talking about art, too.

I also recently learned that this year, a guy I used to teach has committed suicide. One of the things I don’t like about this country is the culture of running people to the ground and driving them to suicide. Living in Korea is stressful, the culture is very competitive, and there seeking mental help is often seen as a sign of weakness. Not only that, with people, including high profile celebrities and politicians, committing suicide, it has become one of the options that people consider when faced with daunting life circumstances. It’s still a shock to me that he committed suicide. He seemed to be a well-adjusted and humorous guy. He has a family, seems to be quite involved with his kid’s life, and doesn’t seem to be the type to take extreme measures such as suicide, not that I would know the type exactly. I was originally tasked to coach him with his English to improve his presentations and such. The sessions eventually evolved into just talking about English for a bit and just shooting the breeze for the rest of the time. Again, I didn’t notice anything was amiss during this time.

Life is fragile and fleeting. Be kind to those people around you. And if you ever feel hopeless or start having suicidal ideations, talk to to someone, anyone. Heck, go on Reddit and talk to strangers if it helps. Just do something and don’t let hopelessness consume you. This all might sound rich coming from someone who is not really all there mentally at times, but yeah, death is too big a price for whatever is making your life miserable.

Not everything has been dire in the past few days however. I went to Vietnam. It’s become one of my favorite places to go to in the summer. The beaches are decent, the prices are cheap, the food is healthier than what I’m used to, the streets are safe, and the people are super friendly. I used to have a problem with the airports, especially since they’re one of the few places where I could feel the presence and quite frankly, inefficiencies of communist rule, but this time they’re modernized their airport and going through customs and immigration was a breeze.

God-willing, if I could afford to, I would retire in Vietnam. I’d be one of those old expats I see in Vietnam just lounging around in bars and swimming at the beach. That, minus the harassing of local bar servers. Anyway, it would be a dream to spend my retirement years in Vietnam, cause there’s no way I could afford to retire in Seoul. Living in Seoul, I’ll have to work til I’m dead.

May 22

Came back from Canada. I miss you, Canada. I love you. The whole country has moved on without me and I feel like alienated a couple of times, but most of the time, it still feels like home. I still want my ashes to rest there at the end of everything.

It was good to see family and my good friend Jordan, but I have a feeling it’ll be a long while before I find myself in Winnipeg again, or for me and my family to be together as a whole family again. Everyone’s just settled in their own corner of the planet, far from each other. My sisters raised good children. It was good to see them, my niece in particular, for the first time.

I really wish my family and I lived closer. It was good waking up to family, having talks with my dad, etc. Travelling to Winnipeg isn’t cheap, but each day was worth it just to have a precious day with family. People don’t realize how lucky they are to have family accessible to them.

December 19

I didn’t participate in any shows at all this year. I believe it’s a mixture of lack of opportunities, a lack of cohesive theme in my works, and basically being too busy with life. Next year in January however, I will be participating in a group show featuring some of my older works which fill the page. I will be posting more details on my socials once the date gets nearer but I’m excited to be involved with something artwise for once and not just making art on my lonesome.

Speaking of lonesome, I started BlueSky and it looks more promising than Twitter. I’m already on Threads, but Threads is mainly for people who hate one billionaire: Elon Musk. BlueSky is for those who hate two billionaires: Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg. Anyway, the growth on BlueSky is slow and steady. It’ll be interesting to see where it goes.

November 6

Back in 2016, people didn’t know how bad he would be. This time in 2024, people know exactly who he is. He promised to be a dictator on day 1. He took away abortion rights from women. He gave the biggest tax cuts to the richest people in the US. He tried to stay in power by unleashing his followers to the US Capitol. He was impeached, convicted of financial crimes, accused of sexual assault, convicted of sexual assault, and confirmed to be close friends with Jeffrey Epstein. He is no friend to Ukraine and he is no friend to Palestine either. We all know this. And yet he won.

My sister is celebrating this election. A Trump supporter, she celebrated the Republican win of the three branches of government. I know she’s a good person. I know she only wants the best for herself and for her family. But she’s not the only good person in this picture.

Immigrants are good people. Illegal or not, they are looking for their own American dream. They still see America as the shining city on a hill. They are not rapists, nor are they in the country to steal American jobs. The last time I checked, picking oranges was never an American job. They have families of their own, and in some cases, they trudged through hell in order to make it to America’s border in order to escape violence that’s not only coming to them, but to their sons and daughters- their small children. They are good people, too.

The people of Puerto Rico and the Latino community are good people. Puerto Rico is not a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean. It’s a beautiful place filled with kind, resourceful, and hardworking people.

Trans people and the rest of the LGBTQ community are good people. They deserve protection and the freedom to pursue their identity. Most families have a member who belongs in the LGBTQ community. They might be your brother or your sister, of they could be your third cousin. But they are people that need to be happy just as much as any other person. They are not out there trying to warp the mind of children. They are just minding their own business. They just want to live normal lives just like the rest of us.

Women who want or need an abortion, be they victims of rape or incest, or maybe they’re just not ready to have children- they are also good people. They just want to have control of their own bodies, make their own choices, and not have another person or the government make their health decisions for them. The women who need an abortion, they are also good people. They just want to live.

The people of Ukraine are good people. They are a brave and resilient people. They don’t deserve what is being done to them by Russia. They need all the help they can get to win against an oppressive outsider that aims to steal their country. The country deserves to be exist, and its people deserve to be helped and protected.

Same goes to the people in Gaza and the West Bank. Contrary to some people’s belief, not all of them are terrorists. They are people just like everyone in the region. They weep for the death of their families and the loss of their homes, just like any normal person would. They are good people placed in difficult circumstances. They deserve to live normal lives. They deserve to live.

But these are just some of the good people who won’t see Trump winning as good news. Of course not all voters are immigrants, trans people, or women who need abortion. But I hoped that people in America would at least vote, not solely for their own personal interests, but also for the sake of others. This time, despite knowing how much Trump destroys institutions and manhandles crises, more Americans decided to vote based on their own interests, prejudices, and grievances. Instead of moving forward, they failed to look backwards. They quickly forgot how bad the Trump administration was.

It’s going to be a long four years not just for America but for the world. It’s going to be a long lifetime for many young Americans as well, living with the extremely conservative right wing Supreme Court that’s guaranteed to be appointed under Trump’s second term. Trump and his administration will enrich the already rich. They will take away so much from the American people. Extremism will only get worse from here on out. It will be a long and painful journey that will be felt universally. God help us all.

August 5

I fell in love with Hoi An. I love Canada and I want my ashes to be spread in the Red River, but I now know where I want to go and get old once my story in South Korea is over. Sure, Old Town is very touristy, but the live music scene is a vibe. The people are friendly. The streets are safe. The beach is gorgeous. The food is delicious and affordable. Various fruit are available everywhere. And I believe my pension would be able to afford it. Heck, if I was lucky enough, I could even get myself a remote working situation. I could live comfortably, away from the never-ending hustle and bustle of the big city.

This is all of course if I ever retire. And chances are, I would probably never retire. I just don’t think it’s in the cards for my generation. But still, it’s nice to dream, and nice to put a place to that dream. I’ve been to Hoi An three times now, and the last time was so good, the place felt so familiar and comfortable, yet still exotic and exciting. Even the smell of the air is comforting to me… it smells like my childhood.
…

It’s been forever since I posted here. The whole weekly thing is defunct as I’ve gotten busier; too busy for art, and too busy for writing. I still make art as long as I get ideas in the chamber, but yeah, things have been slower, not so much for lack of inspiration, but for lack of time.

And BTW, if you’re reading this from Hoi An or Danang and if you need an artist for whatever reason. Message me, please. I’m itching to go back just for any reason.