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adventurer, traveler, and designer at heart, jay roop is on a mission to experience the most that earth has to offer and bring others on board for the time of their lives. currently residing in seoul, korea where he runs operations for his design studio, and previously living in gothenburg, sweden and san francisco, california, he is ready to share documentation of his life and work with all those who are interested.
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beginning (end > beginning) end :||
when i first went to japan, i had no idea what i was getting myself into. on the plane ride over there came a moment when everything stopped and i realized, quite suddenly, that home was far, far away and it would be a long time before i went back. in essence, i realized that the situation i had put myself in was not one that i was prepared for, nor knew how to prepare for. i now had to face the consequence of my seemingly rash decision to study abroad 6 months prior.
what i didn’t understand at that point in time was how the next four and a half months would affect the rest of my life, and the degree to which i would have my outlook on life + the world reshaped. it would be many, many months after i had returned from studying in japan before i started to gain even an inkling of how i would be changed. so when my new friend in sweden, duck, left to return home to korea this week, it reminded me of the solitary feeling of departure and the uncertainty that the future holds for those at the end of a journey, not yet aware of the new ones yet to come.
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for me, the kind of change experienced from living abroad is one that has come from the inside out, and from the outside in. i have opened up to a new reality, a new way of viewing the world – one in which i exist as a struggling entity rather than a knowledgeable adult. thus, the power of traveling and finding yourself in new and unfamiliar territory is something that i will forever embrace as an agent of change that can be deployed at will, time and time again.
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good bye duck, you might not know it yet, but there are wonderful things to come.
the first day of school
yesterday was the first day of school, and although it started off as an awkward and solitary journey, it ended after having made a group of friends. ironically, they are from korea, japan, and thailand – no swedes yet!
new wheels!
after over 2 years of not owning any wheels at all, i finally decided that today was the day to take the plunge and buy a bicycle.
gothenburg is quite well covered with public transit (trams, busses, and ferries), but the flat land that it sits on has really gotten me excited about riding around here. part of that might come from the fact that when i studied abroad in japan some of my best memories are from riding around late at night and wandering through the town effortlessly, able to blend in with the locals and enjoy the freedom that a bicycle gives you. (in some ways, i think in my mind i am always trying to get back to the place that was ‘my japan’)
for the past couple years i have been interested in single peed / fixed-gear bikes, and as there is no time like the present, i found a used one on blocket.se (the swedish craigslist) and picked it up after viewing it later that day. and in a strange coincidence, the guy i bought the bike off of will also be teaching a class on semiotics in the programme at hdk. when i told him i was here to study in the ma design programme he said ‘jesus, i’m a teacher there!’.
unfortunately, today was a rainy day, but tomorrow should be better. i plan on riding out to cykelcity and picking up all the necessities – helmet, lock, pump, oils + lubes, patch kit, etc. – and getting out and about as much as possible in the days to come.
ex-albertson
over the past year and a half i’ve been slaving away (not really) at albertson design in san francisco. aside from getting to work on some great projects and with some exceptional clients, i found myself surrounded by a motley crew of designers/artists/writers/creatives who quickly became my close friends.
i’m very grateful for the chance to have gotten to know them, so the hardest part about leaving the studio was saying goodbye. fortunately the albertson design crew are no strangers to throwing a good party, as can be seen on flickr.
please take note of the intense twister dual at the end of the set (also pictured above)... i lost, but only because kirk pushed(!) me down during the first round. i swear i’m an excellent twister… just ask to take me on next time!
sfo to bwi (from home to home)
yesterday, after just 15 months in san francisco — a period of time in which my life once again completely changed, was settled into, and then shifted again — i flew back to my parent’s house in maryland on my way to graduate school at the university of gothenburg, school of design and crafts in sweden (via nyc).
because i have been slow on updating my blog recently, i am going to write one post a day on previous events leading up to the present in an effort to document my thoughts and activities in my last few months on the west coast.
for now i can say that i already wish i was back in san francisco, not only to see my girlfriend, but also to get away from this horrid humidity. i don’t know how i lived here for 13 years!