no chairs allowed

2012-02-13T18:08:00.005+08:00

They make me happy

"Outstanding tents" by fieldcandy
Leaf cable tie by lufdesign
Cloud concept by lissy elle
Swedish architecture by snygg
Wood decoration by Tivolivat

This sums up the mood of the day:

Senior manager: "I'm so tired."
Me: (snigger) "I'd like to say 'go home early', but I know better."

To be fair, I do go home on time most days.

2012-02-13T13:27:00.004+08:00

Today's Images

I'm feeling the colour on this one. Brighten the Corners.

And David Hockney puts it perfectly:

2012-02-12T19:01:00.006+08:00

Today's Image

A nice little map to suit the subject.

Now that Valentine's Day is just around the corner, I thought I'd name my favourite "dating and relationships" sites.

For sound advice put eloquently, you can't go wrong with A New Mode.

Hooking Up Smart is a blog that I've been reading over the weekend. I'm pretty interested in the good guy/bad boy posts and the psychology involved.

Any more good ones? Leave them under comments.

2012-02-11T19:21:00.016+08:00

Uptown Park, Houston

Ashton dropped me off here for a walk on my first Friday (Fridays are half days in the office). Very pretty place.

Check out that grumpy lion vase, the place was full of them. (Was it grumpy because the bird was about to poop on it? Who can tell.)

Something I really like about Houston: huge glass-covered buildings that reflect the sky.

Introducing the Fall/Winter Collection (apparently it was Winter in Houston, but I must say, Summer in New Zealand was far harsher).

After a while I got bored (the place was fairly empty as you can tell), so I got myself a Crave cupcake and chatted with the staff:

They were very happy to recommend me a red velvet cupcake and take a photo of me. I also got a few shots of their shop.

I must say their cupcake was FABULOUS. I really loved the icing. It was nothing like the cakes I bake at home.

Ashton picked me up after an hour or so and this is what we saw from the car:

Was a nice though rather too quiet day.

2012-02-11T18:35:00.013+08:00

Today's Images

Aerial shots of dried-up rivers in Baja California, Mexico, via National Geographic. By Adriana Franco.

Came back from Houston and ran head-on into another vessel christening, our department's biggest yet. Jean and I had to coordinate our events company, RSVP list, dinner and speeches, the whole nine yards. I even blew up at my manager once. Am pretty glad he said "You need to manage conflict and stress better," not "Here's a box. You know what to do."

(That line's our department joke, by the way. The other is "Have faith". The last time our Managing Director changed the annual report design an hour before it was supposed to go for production, that's what he said, clapping my manager's shoulder in a reassuring way. Alex nearly disintegrated on the spot.)

At the same time I'm trying to plan my birthday, and must admit the thought of getting older + having no one around on Valentine's Day + stress over the christening has been making me feel frayed around the edges. The only thing that can make me feel better is having my sister around, because she's two years older. Oh, and the fact that Erica is making me a cake :) That makes me smile.

So what's gonna happen this birthday, which is in five days? I have no idea. I thought of getting a stripper and a hotel room, but none of my friends seem very keen on it. I also looked at two rooftop venues for a party, but they didn't work out. This may be my most uneventful birthday yet...

[Edit] DD just called. I greeted him in French with "Bonne Nuit", and he gently informed me that in Hokkien, it sounds like "You have no nuts". "French is a very dangerous language", he concluded. :)

2012-02-04T12:52:00.005+08:00

Some things I've imported home from my travels:

From Japan: The practice of asking tourists, who are taking photos of each other, if they would like me to take a photo of them. (They are usually overjoyed.)

From Melbourne: The search for good brunch and coffee places... and friendly strangers to talk to. (Friendly strangers are a rare breed in Singapore.)

From Houston: The making of fruit smoothies, good salads, and small talk with customer service staff. (I'm still trying to recreate Jamba Juice.)

For lunch today I tried to remake one of favourite salads from Ruggles Green: the Curry Chicken Salad (with curry chicken substituted away). I used rocket leaves, cheese, figs, cashews, almonds, raisins, mandarin oranges, olive oil and sesame dressing. I'm amazed at how my sister intuited that I've a new love for salads -- she bought me the rocket leaves and dressing without me saying a thing. My mother matched this Western salad with a large ngoh hiang that my aunt made from scratch, and I cooked Japanese soba to provide some carbohydrates, so all in all it was a very fusion lunch. :) We loved it.

2012-01-30T16:30:00.010+08:00

So I'm back from Houston and breathing in the warmer air. Speaking of "when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it" (I've always wanted to get away from home), I've been offered an excellent opportunity: to live in Houston for three to six months with an apartment, plane ticket, and higher pay. I'm seriously considering this, partly because I should be able to take leave to visit Canada and New York.

In other news, Jean and I have been ribbing this guy we met named Shakespeare -- yes, I kid you not, Shakespeare -- and he's Indian. We greet him with "Shakespeare! How shall I compare thee to a Summer's day?" and other jokes.

I'm gonna get him to sign my Complete Works.

2012-01-25T06:12:00.012+08:00

Reading The Alchemist is a bit like being underwater, watching sand and dust and bubbles settle. At the end of it knowledge goes through you like a stone through clear water.

"People need not fear the unknown if they are capable of achieving what they need and want. We are afraid of losing what we have, whether it's our life or our possessions and property. But this fear evaporates when we understand that our life stories and the history of the world were written by the same Hand."

This Houston trip has been good for me. It took me away from home, which represents both negative and positive attachments, so I can see what it will be like to live without them. I am still not entirely sure which path to take. But I have to get away from home. It is the first thing I must do.

P.S.: Last night I found absolute joy in just one mouthful of crème brûlée. The dessert itself was nothing special. But it concentrated all my senses in the present and I felt, at that moment, that life was indeed good.

I also received an invitation from my ex-professor to see her latest exhibition. She is a true inspiration in both life and work.

2012-01-23T11:47:00.004+08:00

Today's Images

by Jude Landry.

His work made my heart beat a little faster. I'm not kidding.

2012-01-23T11:33:00.011+08:00

Just got back from my first Chinese New Year spent away from home. Karen took me out for dinner with her family. We went to a very authentic Chinese restaurant in Sugarland, and -- I've always wanted to say this -- where are all the candymen?

Spent the first part of the day walking around City Centre. Like Federation Square in Melbourne, this is one of my favourite places; I feel uplifted here. Also spent about two hours reading The Alchemist in a cafe... bliss. My Personal Legend definitely includes more moments like these.

P.S. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho is like Finding Your Own North Star by Martha Beck... a truly inspiring kick-in-the-butt book.

"When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it." I know this for a fact. I buried it temporarily, but it is still there.

2012-01-22T10:03:00.003+08:00

1789 Ca ira mon amour - Rod Janois

I especially like watching the men in uniform dance.

This is the translation.

2012-01-22T08:15:00.014+08:00

Had a very relaxing Saturday. Ruggles Green is my favourite restaurant here, I love everything on their menu (had curry chicken salad and bread pudding this afternoon). The place has a large al fresco area facing a green where kids and their families come to play, so it's nice to sit there with a book. I also love Ooh La La Desserts Boutique... how on earth did they make their Cupcake of the Month? Just a nondescript brown cupcake with a few berries and icing sugar on top, but inside -- yummy, chewy, light, and a texture that resembled cotton candy. It was unlike any cupcake I have ever eaten.

[Edit] Went back for another the next day and apparently it's an angel food cupcake. Super. The staff there are great to chat with too!

Plus I got picked up as I was crossing the parking lot this morning. Some guy stopped to ask for directions (he's black but speaks Chinese), said he saw me walking with a smile on my face so he really wanted to talk to me, said I was smart when I figured that his name comes from the Latin for "fidelity", and insisted on exchanging email addresses because he would love to take me out for coffee. That was certainly unexpected.

2012-01-21T07:31:00.011+08:00

So we've hit the weekend again. I haven't been recording much over the past week; work has been intense. My manager here makes me feel great, I'm so much more of a hands-on, brains-on, appreciated designer in Houston. Yesterday she gave me a stern look and said, "You are not going home. Ever."

Houston isn't my ideal city, but it's a start. Perhaps I should ask for a transfer?

Random note: Jamba Juice. Best. Blend. Ever. I had their Orange Dream today, and I am so sad they're not in Singapore.

2012-01-19T03:47:00.005+08:00

You may or may not know that there is a blackout protest on several sites across the internet today. I have yet to hear anyone here mention it (I heard it from my Singaporean friends via Facebook) but I've signed the petition. Yay for a U.S. address while here.

Pages like The Oatmeal, Wikipedia and Google have written about it beautifully. Go do something.

2012-01-19T03:33:00.002+08:00

Something I stumbled upon (and was glad to read) today:

Whatever happened to Mr. Liz Gilbert?

Newser – How does it feel to be one of the world’s most famous ex-husbands, watching your wife (as portrayed on screen by Julia Roberts!) rocket to fame, fortune, and Oprah’s book club with the success of her book all about your divorce? In the case of Eat, Pray, Love author Elizabeth Gilbert’s ex, Michael Cooper, it apparently feels just fine. Friends say he is doing well, and that he’s remarried (to a Canadian diplomat, no less) with two sons and a law career at Georgetown.

When approached by the Daily Beast, Cooper “didn’t launch into a tirade about the throngs that were cheering for the woman who temporarily destroyed his life,” writes Danielle Friedman (he returned her call but declined to comment). He showed the same “reticence, or perhaps classiness” when his own book deal fell through: He wanted to talk about human rights work; the publisher wanted him to take it in a racier direction, which Cooper found “tasteless,” a source says. Perhaps Gilbert’s own dedication from her first book sums it up best: “To Michael Cooper—for playing it cool.”

Even as I enjoyed Eat, Pray, Love I had this thought: where is Elizabeth Gilbert's husband and how is he enjoying his ex-wife's divorce-story-turned-bestseller? Glad he's taking the high road.

2012-01-18T03:33:00.019+08:00

Today's Image

I just dropped by to say... ARCHITECTURE PORN!!!

via lace & tea.

Pretty boring day at work. Am looking forward to posting photos of Houston tonight, but not looking forward to a very late conference call with the Singapore office (one of the downsides to working here).

Funny remarks from friendly Urban Outfitters guy last night and shuttle service driver this morning -- "You're very fluent!" and "They speak English in Singapore?"

Yes, oh yes we do.

2012-01-17T12:36:00.005+08:00

Axis of Awesome - How to Write a Love Song

These guys are hilarious. Also...

What a whacky engagement shoot, I love it!

And another funny song...

2012-01-16T10:15:00.013+08:00

So today Ashton took me to her hometown, the island of Galveston. Highlights: walking along the Strand (the historic district), running into a re-enactment of the Civil War (complete with men in historic army uniforms shooting blanks and playing dead!), and having my photo taken in Galveston's Old Time Photos.

(Photo to come later) Check that out, I'm a Chinese Victorian.

It was a lot of fun dressing up! The place was run by a mother and son who were really nice, and I loved their quiet little dog Bo. The son was the photographer and he was FULL of knowledge on old time portraiture. Tidbits from this guy included: Victorians could not show elbows or armpits in their portraits, that was considered vulgar. If women were tan it showed that they had been out in the sun going to other men's homes so they had to have LILY WHITE skin at all times. He showed me a Victorian fainting couch and told me that the exertion of constant fanning (which Victorian women did thanks to the corsets) actually made them faint more easily.

I chose to dress like I was from the Victorian/Civil War period, but he had lots of other costumes from other periods too. I loved the detail on the sleeves of men's shirts.

Btw Galveston is the host of the annual Dickens on the Strand, which looks like a lot of fun (now why don't we have that here?). Ashton's friend Brandon told me that if you dress up you can get drinks for free.

Ashton also took me to NASA that day, but we blanched at the sight of the US$30 ticket and went to the gift shop for free. I bought three vacuum-packed ice creams for friends, a cheap thrill. Ahh, the food of the astronauts.

So that marked my second weekend in Houston! Something new every day.

2012-01-15T09:30:00.005+08:00

It's Saturday! Went to the Museum of Fine Arts Houston with Karen, her husband and two other colleagues. I saw the King Tut exhibition and had yummy Greek food at a popular eatery. Loved the exhibition -- lots of artifacts including the King's chair (lots of symbols explained in detail), the King's bed, quotes from Howard Carter, video clips from National Geographic regarding the find, and a replica of the mummy. However I feel a little...? I don't know what the word is... because they really stripped the mummy bare: removed the gold sandals from his feet, the finger and toe protectors from his digits, unwrapped his body and tested his DNA, etc. And this was after his priests went to the trouble of encasing the King in three death masks and four inscribed gold containers so that no one could disturb the body.

Must say I feel extremely blessed to be able to catch this exhibition because I missed it while I was in Melbourne and it FOLLOWED ME TO HOUSTON. I mean, what were the odds.

Which is maybe why I said yes when I ran into a black girl in City Centre who wanted to bless me. She said she was filled with joy at the beautiful day, and the sunset, and the wonder of God's creation, and she wanted to say a prayer for someone. So first I checked her pupils to see if she was high (DD chuckled later, "Oh, ye of little faith,"), felt pretty sure she had no weapon, and agreed to let her say a prayer for me. And I'm actually glad I did. It made her so happy. A nice thing for her to do really.

2012-01-14T11:32:00.011+08:00

It's Friday once again, and I am blogging while thinking over what just happened. I was on my way home -- I mean to my hotel -- from Memorial City mall when I met a Mexican man on the city shuttle. Now this shuttle is mostly empty, so I was excited to have someone to talk to. (It's interesting the way he pronounced "Mexico" and "Mexicans", it is totally different from the way we do.) And it turns out this man has a daughter who is about my age and a graphic designer!

He spoke of how difficult it is to find a job as a designer in Mexico and of things coming into place when you believe they will happen. I took his name card because his daughter is considering a move to Houston and my office is looking for a designer. What were the chances?

Anyway, back to my day. Fridays are half days at the office so Ashton took me to the factory outlet stores where you can get branded stuff for cheap -- Kate Spade, Coach, Aldo and Banana Republic are a few of such brands. We had lunch at a Texmex place where the food was REALLY good. I had refried beans for the first time which went extremely well with rice, and there was chicken wrapped in something, recommended by the waiter who was eager to show me some typical Texmex cuisine (I have to cheat and refer to the photo I took of the menu because I can't remember the name of the dish to save my life). Ashton and the waiter even spent a bit of time teaching me basic Spanish phrases, which I enjoyed... though all I can remember now is "¿Cómo estás (How are you)".

Real Mexican food is supposed to be less oily, without so many sauces. Mexican man on the shuttle vouched for that!

And now to my observations about being in a new place. The latest is that I'm settling in. Again it's the little things: I have my clothes lying around messed up just the way I want them. At the supermarket, I got juice and bananas and contemplated cereal vs. cinnamon rolls for breakfast. I also bought a mug a few days back so I'll now have my own mug in the office. And I've started using the hotel gym. It's about routine and objects that are familiar.

But I do come across occasional strangeness. Was hunting for deodorant in the supermarket today and got weirded out by the fact that they are all... solid deodorants. You turn a knob at the bottom and push them out like candy. What?

2012-01-13T04:19:00.008+08:00

The latest update today is it's very possible I may be extending my stay by a week. Jeanne wants me around -- she's constantly giving good feedback and introducing me to people with enthusiasm -- and I feel useful here. So that's three weeks total in Houston which I am getting happier about.

Just got back from lunch at one of Houston's oldest steakhouses, The Palm. Very posh place, valet parking, more than one fork, etc. Looked like the kind of place the 1% go to dine, though the food wasn't too expensive. Was there with Jeanne to meet our printer Lisa and discuss brochure/paper treatment options, and it was useful for us professionally because we got really good ideas for this thing we are planning to run! Lunch was humongous too -- as I walked back into the office with Jeanne she said to Ashton, "Ling just had the largest hamburger ever made." (I have half that burger packed away for tonight's dinner.)

One good thing about Houston: everyone drives here, so people go out to meet people and things connect from there. It makes me feel more involved in my project.

And one funny thing: there's a guy in this office who looks like he's of the breed that spells Trouble. A bit like W. Tall, flirty, probably a drinker and social climber. He stood behind me in the cafeteria yesterday and said to me, "So, can I court you or not?" True story.

2012-01-11T03:47:00.011+08:00

It's so cold today that everyone's talking about it. Just got meself a chocolate cream pie from the cafeteria -- couldn't resist -- apparently curiosity makes the cat fat! Am in a good mood now with my roast chicken and salad lunch (today, while ordering, I learned what dark meat is). Been here a week and I can feel myself falling into familiarity and routine. I've pretty much smiled at everyone working within a 5-metre radius, and Jeanne has done a good job grabbing whoever she speaks to and bringing him/her to me for introductions. Karen also took me out last night and I had my first Texan steak with truffle fries.

I sat next to the self-playing piano in the lobby after lunch, watching the trees sway away outside. I've always liked such pianos. Filmed a lovely video clip and as I left the receptionist asked if he could finally turn off the piano. It'll be night soon, and I'll be walking around City Centre before Skypeing with DD. It's a good day.

2012-01-10T10:55:00.002+08:00

My Name is Khan

I watched this on the plane from New Zealand. A definite must-see.

2012-01-09T03:01:00.010+08:00

It's Sunday! (Keeping in mind that this is Houston time) Tried to get myself to the Museum District this morning using public transportation and sheer luck; turns out I was out of both. A little background: no one -- get this, NO ONE -- takes public transport in Houston. I actually Googled "How to get around Houston without a car" and one of the answers was "May God have mercy on your soul". (Later when I told Ashton this, she laughed and said "That sounds about right.")

But back to my ill-fated excursion. I asked hotel staff if their free shuttle service could get me to the bus stop, and as the receptionist conveyed my wishes to the driver I heard him say incredulously, "BUS? You mean like a bus, bus?" (His name is Carlos, he is very friendly, and he hasn't taken a bus in eighteen years.) Carlos drove me to the bus stop, but after waiting 45 minutes and checking the schedule I realised that bus doesn't run on Sundays. So I ended up shopping at Memorial City mall -- it's getting very warm here, anyway, so I had to get summer clothing -- and having brunch at The Cheesecake Factory.

More things that are different in this new place... one of them is finding change. I can understand dollars and cents and piece them together, but what on earth is a dime? What does a nickel look like? And while I'm on this, why do people call my bag a purse? And why do salesgirls in shops walk around asking "How are you, is everything ok", like waitresses? (I was so taken aback, it took me a while to dig up an answer and by then her smile had faded perceptibly.) Ashton also speaks in farenheit and miles, I always have to interrupt her for a conversion.

And just one thing that perplexes me. People everywhere greet me with "Hi how are you doing?" It really doesn't make sense to ask me a question just as you're walking right past. I barely have enough time to answer. Why not just stick to hi? And while we're at it, do you really want an honest pour-out when you ask me that question? No, you don't. So why bother?

Anyway, just a few more things to add to my list of things that make this new place different. I ended the day with a long nap and Skype with DD. May the next weekend be better...

2012-01-07T21:55:00.008+08:00

I am now blogging in the buff after washing my clothes in the hotel bathtub. Things are looking up, the needle has swung from "unfamiliar" to "have been introduced here and there, can make jokes with a few people, and have actually explored two places". This familiarity didn't stop me from making stupid mistakes like disabling Karen's iPhone and wearing fleece when it was 78 degrees out (temperatures are in Farenheit here), and I still don't have weekend plans, but life's ok.

Went to Memorial City mall the night before last. I really like the carousel, which you can see from the outside:

It is a HUGE shopping mall.

This is where I got my first candy apple :)

(I would visit this mall several times during my stay in Houston... mostly to get things from Charlotte Russe, Forever 21 and Sears.)

2012-01-05T03:29:00.011+08:00

This blog post is brought to you from HOUSTON.

Well! I landed the right way up (or not) at 2pm Houston time yesterday, and felt really pampered for a while -- got picked up by a chauffeur and upgraded to a suite at Sheraton Hotel for free, where I watched Twilight and got considerably annoyed with that girl. Then the jet lag hit.

Have been tired/lonely/shivering for no reason/hot one minute and cold the next since I landed. According to this site, "NASA estimates that you'll need one day for every one-hour time zone crossed to get back to your normal rhythm and energy levels". Whee-ha, because my flight lasted 24 hours and I'm dealing with a 14 hour time difference.

Mi'er was right, it's the little things that get to you when you're in an unfamiliar place. Things like not knowing how to operate the coffee machine, looking for a stirrer when it's right in front, circling the floor for five minutes in search of the toilet, tipping WAY too much for room service, and being disoriented because the passenger seat is on the other side. Even unfamiliar smells in the office make me feel, subconsciously, that I'm not where I'm supposed to be. Note to self, maybe this can lead to a new project about place.

Going back to work now and will blog more in my hotel. Let's see if I get the energy to take the shuttle to the mall today or tomorrow night.

2011-12-12T13:44:00.002+08:00

Today's Images

Can't resist posting. This fills me with such LONGING.

via honestlywtf.

2011-12-09T16:01:00.002+08:00

Watched part of this movie with Denise last night. It was great fun til the ending where it tumbled into cliché and deux ex machina, but still, good jokes!

Best line in the movie:

"What was that?"
"French kiss."
"Really? Because the French always surrender, that was decidedly German!"

2011-12-08T12:49:00.007+08:00

Got back from Melbourne a week ago (and was plunged headlong into work...)
Going to New Zealand from mid-Dec for a family vacation
Heading to Houston for a few weeks from early January on business

Looks like this blog won't see any action til end January! Happy New Year :)

2011-12-05T14:39:00.008+08:00

So... I've been MIA for a while owing to my Melbourne trip and work commitments. Here's one of my favourite photos from Hosier Lane in Melbourne, which is INSANE, INSANELY BEAUTIFUL with all its colour and energy.

Highlights of the trip: having hundreds of fairy penguins march past just inches from my feet; St Kilda Arts and Crafts Market; buskers; Hosier Lane graffiti (as above); chats with random strangers; great brunches and burgers, fresh fruit and veg; Great Ocean Road with our guide's homemade biscuits, and a traveling exhibition featuring the rockstars of German art history.

Will be blogging The Best Of each day soon -- so many photos to run through! Bliss.

2011-11-24T10:41:00.005+08:00

Today's Images

Jean and I were at Coffee Club Express with our manager and a writer yesterday. Out of boredom Jean grabbed a sugar packet and wrote "not salt".

I laughed and grabbed a packet too (possibly not my wisest career move to date). Between us we soon had ALL the sugar packets on our table covered! The waitress who cleared our table saw what we were doing and tried hard not to laugh.

My favourites are "sugar not salt", "white sugar not brown" and "do not feed sugar to cats".

We put all the sugar packets back for the next customer. I hope they brighten someone's day!

2011-11-23T10:05:00.007+08:00

Today's Image

Still in a wedding mood. I really like these pictures of Don and Emily's wedding via the goodness; the bride is one of the prettiest I've ever seen and there is so much joy all round. I love this part: "On the inside of Emily’s ring [Don] had a ruby placed, which he said was a little piece of his heart." Lots of great photos, click on the link.

Also my friend Erica has a blog Designer in the Pantry, which includes Heston Blumenthal's own chocolate chip recipe. Go give it a try :D

2011-11-22T18:08:00.008+08:00

Today's Images

I loved the movie Up (the opening sequence made me cry), so I was really excited to see a anniversary shoot at a replica of the Up house!

Gosh it really looks like the movie.

They even had a picnic... just like in the movie :)

The colours are amazing and the couple is sweet (the bride made her yellow dress herself, out of some curtains).

When/if I get married, I want such warm, happy colours in my wedding shoot too!

via the goodness and rock n roll bride.

2011-11-21T08:25:00.005+08:00

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Red velvet cupcakes! :) They turned out ok. I don't like this recipe as much as the Nigella Lawson one (should have added red food colouring into that recipe instead) but at least I got some pretty pictures and the experience. Jun was happy.

More photos from the wedding when I get them!

2011-11-18T09:45:00.015+08:00

Today's Image

Karen Walker via honestlywtf.

“Find the light, but don’t be afraid of shadows.”
~Amber Oman

Photography advice that I think can also be applied to life.

Looking forward to a busy weekend. Jun and Mark's wedding (I will be jie mei and makeup artist) and Jun's birthday, coming right up! Am gonna re-make the red velvet cupcakes with strict adherence to recipe instructions this time. Silver balls and sugar hearts standing by for decoration. :)

2011-11-17T13:30:00.001+08:00

I don't recall our ex-professor Astrid saying this, but apparently she did.

"I hope they use their creativity to not simply make money but more importantly change lives, preserve cultures and communicate the poetics of life."

I love that saying.

Credit to the one who remembered: Serene Lim

2011-11-17T09:40:00.007+08:00

Today's Images

Two of my favourites from the India Song series by Karen Norr.

So the fish are out of the kettle and the cat is out of the bag. We met Max and Robin last night for board games and Jean told me Max is somewhat keen on me. Apparently Max told Keith who told Karin who told Jean who whispered it to me when I was seated beside Max. Robin has also started messaging me now that Jean is ignoring him, and I am ignoring Robin with all my might. (Latest update: he has started messaging Karin's cousin.)

Real life games notwithstanding, we had fun playing Saboteur and Sequence together (I had a identity crisis with Saboteur, I drew the "miner" card but just wanted to BE a "saboteur" :) I did switch back after a while though). Do you ever have that feeling? That you don't want to be what the game designated you to be?

Anyway, am pleased to announce that I'm starting a new blog (or adding a page to this one) where I share more of my personal artwork. Time to flex those flabby art muscles! More on that later, stay tuned.

2011-11-16T09:41:00.005+08:00

Today's Images

Very good stuff today.

Adding colour to dining rooms by Bright Bazaar. That antler chandelier (such a great idea!) leads me to...

Painted antlers by Cassandra Smith.

Aerochrome photographs of the Congo by Richard Mosse.

If you love the tablecloth in the first picture, as I do, Sweet Paul Magazine has a great section on dying your own cloth. (Sweet Paul is a gem.)

2011-11-16T09:22:00.007+08:00

This morning I woke up to a really sweet poem by DD :D

One year ago today
My heart swayed when you said okay
For others, it might be no big deal
For me, it feels unreal
You, with looks that could kill
And personality that fits the bill
And me, who knows nothing about the rules of the game
Even my delivery is lame
Since then, we haven't been together
Thinking that it is for the better
I still don't know when
But, I hope someday we can get together again
Well, if things get too surreal
We'll still have that 40-years-old deal
(Never knew I can be this cheesy
But for you, I'll even add in macaroni)

Hearts and kisses :3

2011-11-15T10:35:00.001+08:00

Today's Image

by Oleg Gordienko.

2011-11-14T19:29:00.004+08:00

For reasons that I won't reveal right now, this seems like timely reading. It's pretty long, so I'm shortening it in places.

Clarity is key.

The first step is to know exactly what you want. In a Tae Kwon Do studio where I used to train, there's a huge sign on the wall that says, "Your goal is to become a black belt." This helps remind each student why s/he is going through such difficult training. When you work for yourself, it's easy to spend a whole day at your desk and accomplish nothing of value. This almost always happens when you aren't really clear about what it is you're trying to do. In the moments when you regain your awareness, ask yourself, "What exactly is it that I'm trying to accomplish here?" You must know your destination with as much clarity as possible. Make your goals specific, and put them in writing. Your goals must be so clear that it would be possible for a stranger to look at your situation objectively and give you an absolute "yes" or "no" response as to whether you've accomplished each goal or not. If you cannot define your destination precisely, how will you know when you've arrived?

The key period I've found useful for defining and working on specific goals is ninety days, or the length of one season. In that period of time, you can make dramatic and measurable changes if you set crystal clear goals. Take a moment to stop and write down a snapshot description of how you want your life to be ninety days from now. What will your monthly income be? How much will you weigh? Who will your friends be? Where will you be in your career? What will your relationship be like? What will your web site look like? Be specific. Absolute clarity will give you the edge that will keep you on course.

Just as an airplane on autopilot must make constant corrections to stay on course, you must periodically retarget your goals. Reconnect with your clear, written goals by re-reading them every morning. Post them on your walls, especially your financial goals. Years ago (during the mid-90s), I went around my apartment putting up signs in every room that said "$5,000 / month." That was my monthly business income goal at the time. Because I knew exactly what I wanted, I achieved that goal within a few weeks. I continued setting specific income goals, even amidst occasional setbacks, and I found this process very effective. It wasn't just that it helped me focus on what I wanted -- perhaps even more important is that it made it easy for me to disregard those things that weren't on the path to my goal. For example, if you set a goal to earn $10,000/month, this can help you stop doing those things that will only earn you $5000/month.

If you aren't yet at the point of clarity, then make that your first goal. It's a big waste of time to go through life being unclear about what you want. Most people wallow way too long in the state of "I don't know what to do." They wait for some external force to provide them with clarity, never realizing that clarity is self-created. The universe is waiting on you, not the other way around, and it's going to keep waiting until you finally make up your mind. Waiting for clarity is like being a sculptor staring at a piece of marble, waiting for the statue within to cast off the unneeded pieces. Do not wait for clarity to spontaneously materialize -- grab a chisel and get busy!

Be flexible.

There's a key difference between knowing your destination and knowing the path you will take to get there. A typical commercial airplane is off course 90% of the time, yet it almost always arrives at its destination because it knows exactly where it's going and makes constant corrections along the way. You cannot know the exact path to your goal in advance. I believe that the real purpose of planning is simply so that you remain convinced that a possible path exists. We've all heard the statistic that 80% of new businesses fail in their first five years, but a far more interesting statistic is that nearly all of the businesses that succeeded did not do so in the original way they had intended. If you look at successful businesses that started with business plans, you will commonly find that their original plans failed miserably and that they only succeeded by trying something else. It is said that no business plan survives contact with the marketplace. I like to generalize this to say that no plan survives contact with the real world.

Renowned author and business consultant Stephen Covey often uses the expression, "integrity in the moment of choice." What that means is that you should not follow your plans blindly without conscious awareness of your goals. For instance, let's say you're following your plans nicely -- so far so good -- and then an unforeseen opportunity arises. Do you stick to your original plan, thereby missing the opportunity, or do you stop and go after the opportunity, thereby throwing yourself off schedule? This is where you have to stop and reconnect with your goals to decide which is the better course. No plan should be followed blindly. As soon as you gain new knowledge that could invalidate the plan, you must exercise integrity in the moment of choice. Sometimes you can reach your goals faster by taking advantage of shortcuts that arise unexpectedly. Other times you should stick to your original plans and avoid minor distractions that would take you further from your goals. Be tight on your goals but flexible on your plans.

Use single handling.

Instead of using some elaborate organizing system, I stuck with a very basic pen and paper to-do list. My only organizing tool was a notepad where I wrote down all my assignments and their deadlines. I didn't worry about doing any advance scheduling or prioritizing. I would simply scan the list to select the most pressing item which fit the time I had available. Then I'd complete it, and cross it off the list.

If I had a 10-hour term paper to write, I would do the whole thing at once instead of breaking it into smaller tasks. I'd usually do large projects on weekends. I'd go to the library in the morning, do the necessary research, and then go back to my dorm room and continue working until the final text was rolling off my printer. If I needed to take a break, I would take a break. It didn't matter how big the project was supposed to be or how many weeks the professor allowed for it. Once I began an assignment, I would stay with it until it was 100% complete and ready to be turned in.

This simple practice saved me a significant amount of time. First, it allowed me to concentrate deeply on each assignment and to work very efficiently while I worked. A lot of time is lost in task switching because you have to re-load the context for each new task. Single handling minimizes time lost in task switching. In fact, when possible I would batch up my assignments within a certain subject area and then do them all at once before switching subjects. So I'd do all my math homework in a row until it was all done. Then I'd do all my programming assignments. Then I'd do my general education homework. In this manner I would put my brain into math-mode, programming-mode, writing-mode, or art-mode and remain in that single mode for as long as possible. Secondly, I believe this habit helped me remain relaxed and unstressed because my mind wasn't cluttered with so many to-do items. It was always just one thing at a time. I could forget about anything that was outside the current context.

Failure is your friend.

Most people seem to have an innate fear of failure, but failure is really your best friend. People who succeed also fail a great deal because they make a lot of attempts. The great baseball player Babe Ruth held the homerun record and the strikeout record at the same time. Those who have the most successes also have the most failures. There is nothing wrong or shameful in failing. The only regret lies in never making the attempt. So don't be afraid to experiment in your attempts to increase productivity. Sometimes the quickest way to find out if something will work is to jump right in and do it. You can always make adjustments along the way. It's the ready-fire-aim approach, and surprisingly, it works a lot better than the more common ready-aim-fire approach. The reason is that after you've "fired" once, you have some actual data with which to adjust your aim. Too many people get bogged down in planning and thinking and never get to the point of action. How many potentially great ideas have you passed up because you got stuck in the state of analysis paralysis (i.e. ready-aim-aim-aim-aim-aim...)?

Understand that failure is not the opposite of success. Failure is an essential part of success. Once you succeed, no one will remember your failures anyway. Microsoft wasn't Bill Gates' and Paul Allen's first business venture. Who remembers that their original Traf-o-Data business was a flop? The actor Jim Carey was booed off many a stage while a young comedian. We have electric light bulbs because Thomas Edison refused to give up even after 10,000 failed experiments. If the word "failure" is anathema to you, then reframe it: You either succeed, or you have a learning experience.

...My advice to anyone starting a new business is to begin pumping out products or devising services and don't worry much about whether they'll be hits. They probably won't be. But you'll learn a lot more by doing than you ever will by thinking.

Do it now!

W. Clement Stone, who built an insurance empire worth hundreds of millions dollars, would make all his employees recite the phrase, "Do it now!" again and again at the start of each workday. Whenever you feel the tendency towards laziness taking over and you remember something you should be doing, stop and say out loud, "Do it now! Do it now! Do it now!" I often set this text as my screen saver. There is a tremendous cost in putting things off because you will mentally revisit them again and again, which can add up to an enormous amount of wasted time. Thinking and planning are important, but action is far more important. You don't get paid for your thoughts and plans -- you only get paid for your results. When in doubt, act boldly, as if it were impossible to fail. In essence, it is.

It is absolutely imperative that you develop the habit of making decisions as soon as possible. I use a 60-second rule for almost every decision I have to make, no matter how big or important. Once I have all the data to make a decision, I start a timer and give myself only 60 seconds to make a firm decision. I'll even flip a coin if I have to. When I was in college, I couldn't afford to waste time thinking about assignments or worrying about when to do them. I simply picked one and went to work on it. And today when I need to decide which article to write next, I just pick a topic and begin writing. I believe this is why I never experience writer's block. Writer's block means you're stuck in the state of thinking about what to write instead of actually writing. I don't waste time thinking about writing because I'm too busy writing. This is probably why I've been able to write hundreds of original articles very easily. Every article I write spawns ideas for at least two more, so my ideas list only increases over time. I cannot imagine ever running out of original content.

Too often people delay making decisions when there is no advantage to be found in that delay. Usually delaying a decision will only have negative consequences, so even if you're faced with ambiguity, just bite the bullet and make a decision. If it turns out to be the wrong one, you'll know it soon enough. Many people probably spend more than 60 seconds just deciding what they'll eat for dinner. If I can't decide what to eat, I just grab an apple or a couple bananas and start eating, and sometimes I'm full of fruit before I figure out what I really would like to eat. So my brain knows that if it wants something other than fruit, it had better decide quickly. If you can speed up the pace of making decisions, you can spend the rest of your time on action.

One study showed that the best managers in the world tend to have an extremely high tolerance for ambiguity. In other words, they are able to act boldly on partial and/or conflicting data. Many industries today have accelerated to such a rapid pace that by the time you have perfect data with which to make any decision, the opportunity is probably long gone. Where you have no data to fall back on, rely on your own personal experience and intuition. If a decision can be made right away, make the decision as soon as it comes up. If you can't make a decision right away, set aside a time where you will consider the options and make the decision. Pour the bulk of your time into action, not deciding. The state of indecision is a major time waster. Don't spend more than 60 seconds in that state if you can avoid it. Make a firm, immediate decision, and move from uncertainty to certainty to action. Let the world tell you when you're wrong, and you'll soon build enough experience to make accurate, intelligent decisions.

Triage ruthlessly.

Get rid of everything that wastes your time. Use the trash can liberally. Apply the rule, "When in doubt, throw it out." Cancel useless magazine subscriptions. If you have a magazine that is more than two months old and you still haven't read it, throw it away; it's probably not worth reading. Realize that nothing is free if it costs you time. Before you sign up for any new free service or subscription, ask how much it will cost you in terms of time. Every activity has an opportunity cost. Ask, "Is this activity worth what I am sacrificing for it?"

In college I was downright brutal when it came to triage. I once told a professor that I decided not to do one of his assigned computer science projects because I felt it wasn't a good use of my time. The project required about 10-20 hours of tedious gruntwork that wasn't going to teach me anything I didn't already know. Also, this project was only worth 10% of my grade in that class, and since I was previously acing the class anyway, the only real negative consequence would be that I'd end up with an A- in the course instead of an A. I told the professor I felt that was a fair trade-off and that I would accept the A-. I didn't try to negotiate with him for special treatment. So my official grade in the class was an A-, but I personally gave myself an A+ for putting those 10-20 hours to much better use.

Ask yourself this question: "Would I have ever gotten started with this project, relationship, career, etc. if I had to do it all over again, knowing what I now know?" If your answer is no, then get out as soon as possible. This is called zero-based thinking. I know a lot of people that have a limiting belief that says, "Always finish what you start." They spend years climbing ladders only to realize when they reach the top that the ladder was leaning against the wrong building. Remember that failure is your friend. So if a certain decision you've made in the past is no longer producing results that serve you, then be ruthless and dump it, so you can move onto something better.

Identify and recover wasted time.

Instead of watching a one-hour TV show, tape it and watch it in 45 minutes by fast-forwarding through the commercials. Don't spend a half hour typing a lengthy email when you could accomplish the same thing with a 10-minute phone call. Batch your errands together and do them all at once.

Trying to cut out time-wasting habits is a common starting point for people who desire to become more efficient, but I think this is a mistake. Optimizing your personal habits should only come later. Clarity of purpose must come first. If you don't have clarity, then your attempts to install more efficient habits and to break inefficient habits will only fizzle. You won't have a strong enough reason to put your time to good use, so it will be easy to quit when things get tough. You need a big, attractive goal to stay motivated. The reason to shave 15 minutes off a task is that you're overflowing with motivation to put that 15 minutes to better use.

Apply the 80-20 rule.

Also known as the Pareto Principle, the 80-20 rule states that 20% of a task's effort accounts for 80% of the value of that task. This also means that 80% of a task only yields 20% of the value of that task. In college I was ruthless in my application of this principle. Some weeks I ditched as many as 40% of my classes because sitting through a lecture was often not the most effective way for me to learn. And I already noted that I would simply refuse to do an assignment if I determined it was not worth my time. There was one math class that I only showed up to twice because I could learn from the text book much more quickly than from the lectures. I only showed up for the midterm and final. I would pop my head in at the beginning of each class to drop off my homework and then again at the end of each class to write down the next assignment. I actually got the highest grade in that class, but the teacher probably had no idea who I was. The other students were playing by the rules, not realizing they were free to make their own rules. Find out what parts of your life belong in the crucial 20%, and focus your efforts there. Be absolutely ruthless in refusing to spend time where it simply cannot give you optimal results. Invest your time where it has the potential to pay off big.

Guard thy time.

To work effectively you need uninterrupted blocks of time in which you can complete meaningful work. When you know for certain that you won't be interrupted, your productivity is much, much higher. When you sit down to work on a particularly intense task, dedicate blocks of time to the task during which you will not do anything else. I've found that a minimum of 90 minutes is ideal for a single block.

The state of flow, where you are totally absorbed in a task and lose all sense of time, takes about 15 minutes to enter. Every time you get interrupted, it can take you another 15 minutes to get back to that state. Once you enter the state of flow, guard it with your life. That is the state in which you will go through enormous amounts of work and experience total connection with the task. When I'm in this state, I have no sense of past or future. I simply feel like I'm one with my work.

Work all the time you work.

During one of these sacred time blocks, do nothing but the activity that's right in front of you. Don't check email or online forums or do web surfing. If you have this temptation, then unplug your Internet connection while you work. Turn off your phone, or simply refuse to answer it. Go to the bathroom before you start, and make sure you won't get hungry for a while. Don't get out of your chair at all. Don't talk to anyone during this time.

Decide what it is you should be doing, and then do nothing but that. If you happen to manage others, periodically ask them what their #1 task is, and make sure they're doing nothing but that. If you see someone answering email, then it should be the most important thing for that person to be doing at that particular time. If not, then relatively speaking, that person is just wasting time.

If you need a break, then take a real break and do nothing else. Don't semi-work during a break if you feel you need rest and restoration. Checking email or web surfing is not a break. When you take a break, close your eyes and do some deep breathing, listen to relaxing music and zone out for a while, take a 20-minute nap, or eat some fresh fruit. Rest until you feel capable of doing productive work again. When you need rest, rest. When you should be working, work. Work with either 100% concentration, or don't work at all. It's perfectly fine to take as much down time as you want. Just don't allow your down time to creep into your work time.

Multitask.

The amount of new knowledge in certain fields is increasing so rapidly that everything you know about your line of work is probably becoming obsolete. The only solution is to keep absorbing new knowledge as rapidly as possible. Many of the skills I use in my business today didn't even exist five years ago. The best way I know to keep up is to multitask whenever possible by reading and listening to audio programs.

Listen to educational audio programs whenever you can. When you drive your car, always be listening to an audio program. One of the best ways to save time is to learn directly from people who already have the skills you want to master. Audio programs often contain more practical material than what you would learn by taking classes at a university. Whereas people with degrees in marketing or business have been taught by college professors, you can learn about these subjects from millionaires and billionaires who've learned what works in the real world. ...You can probably find numerous opportunities for multitasking. Whenever you do something physical, such as driving, cooking, shopping, or walking, keep your mind going by listening to audio tapes or reading.

The idea of multitasking may seem to contradict the previous piece of advice to work all the time you work. But whereas the previous tip refers to high intensity work where you must concentrate all your mental resources in order to do the best job you can, this tip addresses low intensity work where you have plenty of capacity to do other things at the same time, like standing in line, cooking dinner, flying on a plane, or walking from point A to point B. Multitasking shouldn't be used where it will significantly degrade your performance on a crucial task, but it should be intelligently used to take advantage of excess capacity. Take real breaks when you need them, but don't waste time in a state of partial effort. It's more efficient to cycle between working flat out and then resting completely.

Multitasking allows you to take your productivity to a new level. You might think it would be draining, but many people find it has the opposite effect. For me it was tremendously energizing to be getting so much done. The harder you work, the greater your capacity for work, and the more restorative your rest will be.

Experiment.

Everyone is different, so what works for you may well be different than what works for everyone else. You may work best in the morning or late at night. Take advantage of your own strengths, and find ways to compensate for your weaknesses. Experiment with listening to music while you work. I use the free WinAMP player, which can stream commercial-free radio directly to my computer all day long with a variety of channels to choose from. I find that classical and new age music, especially Mozart, is terrific for web development work. But for most routine tasks, listening to fast-paced techno/trance music helps me work a lot faster. I don't exactly know why, but I'm twice as productive when listening to really fast music as compared to listening to no music.

...Whenever you come up with a wacky new idea for increasing your productivity, test it and see what effect it has. Don't dismiss any idea unless you've actually tried it. Partial successes are more common than complete failures, so each new experiment will help you refine your time management practices. Even the ongoing practice of conducting experiments will help condition you to be more productive.

Cultivate your enthusiasm.

The word "enthusiasm" comes from the Greek entheos, which means literally, "the god within." I really like that definition. I doubt it's possible to master the art of time management if you aren't gushingly enthusiastic about what you're going to do with your time. Go after what really inspires you. Don't chase money. Chase your passion. If you aren't enthusiastic about your work, then you're wasting your life. Switch to something else. Consider a new career altogether. Don't beat yourself up if your current career has become stale. Remember that failure is your friend. Listen to that god within you, and switch to something that excites you once again. The worst waste of time is doing something that doesn't make you happy. Your work should serve your life, not the other way around.

If you're like most people, you can get yourself motivated every once in a while, but then you get caught up and sink back down to a lower level of productivity, and you find it hard to continue with a project. How easy is it to start a new project when your motivation level is high? And how difficult is it to continue once your enthusiasm fades? Since most people are negative to one degree or another, you'll naturally lose your positive charge over time unless you actively cultivate your enthusiasm as a resource. I don't believe in pushing myself to do something I really don't want to do. If I'm not motivated, then getting myself to sit down and work productively is nearly impossible, and the work is almost painful. When you're highly motivated though, work feels like play.

If your enthusiasm level is high, you can work so much more productively and even enjoy the normally tedious parts of your work. I've always found that whenever I want to take my business to a new level, I must take my thoughts to a new level first. When your thinking changes, then your actions will change, and your results will follow. Unless you're a naturally hyper person, your enthusiasm is going to need daily reinforcement. I recommend either listening to motivational tapes or reading inspiring books or articles for at least fifteen minutes every day. Whenever I've stopped doing this, I've found that self-doubt always returns, and my productivity drops off. It's truly amazing how constantly feeding your mind with positive material can maintain your enthusiasm indefinitely. And if you multitask, you can get this benefit without investing any extra time into it.

Eat and exercise for optimal energy.

During the summer before my last semester in college (1993), I became a lacto-ovo vegetarian, and I noticed a decent boost in my energy and especially in my ability to concentrate. Four years later (1997) I became a complete vegan (no animal products at all), and this yielded an even bigger boost. For details on why I made this change, see the article Why Vegan?

What you eat can have a profound effect on your productivity. Animal products take significantly more time and energy to digest than plant foods, and when your body must divert extra energy to digestion, it means you have less energy available for productive mental work. Effectively your work will seem harder while you're digesting meals containing animal products, and you'll be more inclined to succumb to distractions. So if you find yourself having a hard time focusing on mentally intense work after lunch, your diet may very well be the culprit. Even Benjamin Franklin credited eating lightly at lunch time as being a significant factor in his productivity. While his colleagues were sluggish and sleepy in the afternoon, he could continue to work productively the rest of the day.

Regular exercise is also necessary to maintain high energy and mental clarity. In college I would go running for 30 minutes first thing every morning before breakfast. And of course I'd be listening to motivational and educational tapes at the same time. This daily renewal kept me in good physical condition and helped me maintain my ideal weight.

Maintain balance.

I don't think it's easy to sustain long-term productivity, health, and happiness if your life is totally unbalanced. To excel in one area, you can't let other areas lag behind and pull you down. While in college I made an effort to take off a full day each week to have a personal life. I exercised, went to parties, attended club meetings, played computer games and pool, and even had time to vacation in Las Vegas during my final semester. The high turnover rates at the end of "death march" projects are caused by a lack of balance. To focus exclusively on your primary work at the expense of every other area of your life will only hurt you in the long run. Maintain balance by paying attention to every area of your life. As you grow in your career, be sure that your personal life grows as well.

I believe the main goal of time management is to give you the power to make your life as juicy as you want it to be. By getting clear about what you want and then developing a collection of habits that allow you to efficiently achieve your goals, you'll enjoy a much richer, more fulfilling life than you would otherwise. When I look back on my college days from more than a decade in the future, I feel a sense of gratitude for the whole experience. I set an enormous stretch goal and grew tremendously as a person in the pursuit of that goal. It was one of the best times of my life.

If you wish to become more productive, then do so with the intention of improving the totality of your life from top to bottom. The reason to master time management is to take your good life and transform it into an exceptional one. Time management is not about self-sacrifice, self-denial, and doing more of what you dislike. It's about embracing more of what you already love.

2011-11-14T11:29:00.004+08:00

I didn't intend to blog more than once this morning, but Miranda July makes me smile.

I even love the password you have to enter to get into her site. (For the record mine was "sickle".)

Her writing tickles me:

"Ok Londoners, I will be making my way towards you, flying with my own giant flapping arms. I may land heavily, descent has never been my strength. Once there I will lay on a towel on my hotel room floor for at least ten minutes, as advised by my acupuncturist. And then the party will begin..."

So does her book website.

2011-11-14T10:13:00.010+08:00

Today's Images

The sister has taken a shine to verrines, so we're gonna try a tropical fruit version this weekend. Don't they look pretty! I hope ours turn out just as good. Images from foodgawker.com.

In other news, the speed dater has started telling me about the other women in his life. Apparently he met a Shanghai girl who just graduated from London and took her, in one night, to all his favourite places. "She's gorgeous!" he tells me. Now I don't want this guy, but such a comment makes me feel less like a woman, more like a dopey cow. After all it's pretty obvious I didn't make it to his shortlist.

Steering clear! Self-empowerment! Happy thoughts! Moving on!

2011-11-13T19:43:00.002+08:00

To Remember

"It takes no great art to use and influence the human brain in such a way that it eventually loses the capacity to arouse or let in a feeling like deep personal concern. The basic approach is quite simple: all that has to be done is to ensure that nothing else is really important to a person besides living the most comfortable life possible. For this to work, the person must be prevented from developing close bonds with other people, with him home, with nature, and with everything that surrounds him. He must not put down any fixed roots and he must not notice the fact that with his clipped wings he can no longer fly. He must be kept in a perpetual state of continual excitement with trivial matters, be flooded with useless information and confronted with so many expert opinions that he can no longer distinguish important from unimportant or true from false.

To prevent him from reflecting seriously, it is advisable to keep him rushing about frantically until he loses the ability to sit still for more than five minutes at a time, to say anything meaningful, or even to think about what he is going to do next. You can also overstimulate his brain with lurid and exciting images, loud and shrill noises, and continual sensory input until his ability to perceive has been completely blunted. And if you keep him in a continual state of agitation with fresh reports of catastrophes and images of brutal violence and inhuman crimes, at some point, his ability to feel will also die."

Gerald Heuther, from The Compassionate Brain: How Empathy Creates Intelligence

2011-11-13T10:57:00.007+08:00

Henri Cartier-Bresson

The simultaneous recognition, in a fraction of a second, of the significance of an event as well as the precise organization of forms which gives that event its proper expression... . In photography, the smallest thing can be a great subject. The little human detail can become a leitmotif.

—Henri Cartier-Bresson

In 1952, Cartier-Bresson published his book Images à la sauvette, whose English edition was titled The Decisive Moment. It included a portfolio of 126 of his photos from the East and the West. The book's cover was drawn by Henri Matisse. For his 4,500-word philosophical preface, Cartier-Bresson took his keynote text from the 17th century Cardinal de Retz: "Il n'y a rien dans ce monde qui n'ait un moment decisif" ("There is nothing in this world that does not have a decisive moment").

Quoted from Wikipedia.

2011-11-11T14:31:00.027+08:00

Today's Images

by Myeongbeom Kim.

Ho ho ho! Things have taken an unexpected turn! It's a good thing I didn't point Robin out in the pictures, because he is now gunning -- full speed ahead, fires blazing -- for Jean.

The whole thing is really cute to watch. He has been privately messaging Jean, despite the fact that the rest of us have a group chat going on. A sample of their conversation:

Robin: Hungry... want to munch on someone
(Alex and I were in the taxi with Jean when she received this. We all went O.O)
Jean: Karin is pretty fleshy
Robin: I like bone
Jean: Max has pretty big bones
Robin: I like skinny bone haha
Jean: Got leftover chicken bones from lunch you want
Robin: You look like chicken bone to me :x

Gosh this guy's flirting skills need some work.

We got back and showed Karin the thread, to which she said, "Anyway I don't think Robin is at your 'level'. He's not suitable for you." Jean replied, "I know. Just look at the way he texts. Incorrect spelling and grammatical mistakes all the way." And I said "Jean! I thought I was the only one who hated that!" We high-fived and concluded that we have the same first gate when it comes to screening out dates.

P.S.: Happy 11/11/11!

2011-11-10T09:54:00.006+08:00

Ipoh, Malaysia: Day 2 part 2

After lunch WL, Jean, Max, Robin, Ryan, Connie and I talked about going out for a movie, but we didn't have a car. So we went back to our homestay place to play Monopoly Dealer.

Jean, WL and I had the master bedroom, which is the room up there with the large window. We could see cloudy mountains from where we lived.

Us sisters bought back famous Ipoh white coffee while the brothers bought half a roast duck, so things were very cosy :)

Bottle-shaped ice (Max valiantly fought to get the bottle peeled off for us, leaving only the ice)

Monopoly Dealer was hilarious. We played about three rounds, and I was really close to winning the third one so they all tried to stop me.

Me: (Sly Deal) "I want your card!"
Robin: "Just say no!"
Me: (throws down Forced Deal) "Fine! Forced Deal!"
Robin: "Just say no!" (damn, he had two of those cards)
(Everyone else started congratulating Robin, wiping sweat, saying "Phew she almost won")
Me: (Debt Collector) "Alright alright. Give me $500."
WL: "Ling is back with a vengeance..."

I bankrupted everyone to feed my stockpile of cash but a dark horse stole the game away.

It was fun! We're looking forward to doing that again. The brothers have organized a games night next Wednesday, keeping their promise to stay in touch :)

2011-11-09T19:45:00.017+08:00

Ipoh, Malaysia: Day 2 part 1 (Karin's wedding)

All photos by Soon Hoe and Alex, but I did some editing.

Us sisters (me, WL, SP, Jean and Karin's three cousins) were pitted against the 兄弟 ("brothers") including Max, Robin and Kelvin. According to tradition, the games -- a series of tasks for the groom and his brothers to perform before being allowed to enter -- are supposed to begin when the groom and his brothers pull up at the bride's house in their car. However the brothers' car got there before OUR car did (us being imports from Singapore, both brothers and sisters had to rely on Karin's friends to drive us -- and it so happened that the brothers got there first).

The end result was that the brothers got to go INTO the house, eat some rice balls, drink some tea, and shake their legs before we arrived. Then they got out of the house so that we could bar them from entering. This NEVER happens at weddings!

Us 姐妹 yelled "加油加油加油!" before beginning, just to scare the guys a bit :)

Keith's first task: to run up and down the street yelling about how happy he was that day because he was about to marry his 宝宝 (treasure). Easy!

The next part -- they had to change into sexy Chinese belly bands. Haha. (I heard the Malay brother exclaim, "How to wear this thing!!") Not so easy.

Keith was super sporting, he actually took off his shirt while we chanted "Strip! Strip! Strip!"

Next, the red packets. We had to squeeze enough money out of Keith before letting them in (they gave us a measly 10 RMB note, we threw it back at them, they gave a 50 RMB note, and so on. We only let them in after getting 100 RMB). Later I found that the brothers were SUPER EXPERIENCED and SUPER PREPARED! They had a whole series of red packets in increments of 50 RMB, and the last few were padded with newspaper to make them seem thicker. NEWSPAPER.

Next: the front of the house, where they all had to eat buns stuffed with wasabi. :D

After having his "refreshments", the groom had to go to the backyard, identify Karin's bra (I contributed some of mine to that clothesline), wear that with Karin's heels, and do a dance while we sang.

After that Keith had to plead with Karin's mother to let them marry (mother had been told to say No), he had to sing all three versions of the cheesy private song that he sang to wake Karin up every morning, and he had to surrender more red packets.

This was one of the funniest parts -- the brothers exclaimed "It's too hard! They're asking too much! Let's go have tea!" and pretended to drag Keith away. He clung on the walls yelling "No! I have to marry my 宝宝! Don't take me away from my 宝宝!!" It was super funny.

...all this, so that he could eventually kiss the bride.

Later when Karin threw the bouquet, I caught it. (Actually the thing SMACKED me on the side of the head.)

We continued to have fun with the brothers -- this is us coming back from Keith's house back to Karin's (the couple has to go to both houses) -- and our car was slow, so the brothers locked us out!

To be continued...

For an explanation of the traditional wedding games, this is a good resource. This too. I tried looking for the origins of the tradition -- as far as I know they don't have it in China, I've only heard of this in Singapore and Malaysia -- but I drew a blank.

Personally I think the tradition serves three practical purposes: to bring activity and laughter to the ceremony; to show that the bride is cherished by the family who will not give her away easily; and to remind the groom to treasure what he fights for.

2011-11-07T13:29:00.021+08:00

Ipoh, Malaysia: Day 1

As usual, all photos © Ling 2011 :)

Ipoh was wonderful. We (Ryan, Ryan's girlfriend Connie, SP, Eva, Jean, Jean's friend Wanling) had lots of fun together with Keith's "brothers", Max, Kelvin and Robin. We took an 8 hour coach from Singapore to Ipoh with the groom (who is Singaporean), where we were greeted by the very frazzled bride and taken for a dim sum breakfast.

Ah, the dim sum in Ipoh. Price: awesome, taste: good, variety: excellent -- I saw all kinds of dim sum I've never seen in my life (there were 4 types of siew mai and one of them was GREEN). The waitstaff kept coming to us with trays groaning under the weight of food, asking "Would you like this? Would you like that?" Oh yes we would, we would indeedy. I'd never seen such delighted looking staff, one of the waiters would not stop grinning every time he approached our table.

Here's Karin's niece Cecilia eating some sweet and sour meat :) She is the most hyperactive little girl I have EVER seen. Cute and a huge handful.

After breakfast we set off for the "city tour" Karin and Keith had arranged for us in a hired van. Cecilia came with us. Managing her was perhaps the most effective icebreaker ever; we have a video of her roaring like a tiger and cackling like a sadist while trying to scratch Robin.

Our first stop: Keli Castle. One of the film locations for Anna and the King.

Bird's nest!

We wandered around each floor taking photos, until Ryan's yell to us from the roof made us do a double take -- and then OF COURSE we all had to go on the roof. (I took the photo and Photoshopped myself in.)

SP, Eva and I forming the letters "LOL". We should have done some jump shots!

Next stop: a cave temple (there are several cave temples in Ipoh)

Then off to lunch on Ipoh delights. Ipoh hor fun was SUPER SMOOTH, chicken was tender and flavourful, bean sprouts were crunchy and the sauce was super. Wow.

We went to get Ipoh's famous tidbits next, I was very pleased to find ding ding candy (retro candy!!)

Then off to Jusco, cos one of the guys needed pants for the wedding tomorrow. We left Cecilia with Ryan and Connie (parents-in-training, we said), because Cecilia had taken a shine to Connie and would not let go of her hand. To quote Ryan, he "got tired in 15 minutes". They dumped her in a shopping trolley and pushed her around, she got hold of Ryan's neck and they had no choice but to lift her up again, and so the battle continued :D Her hyperenergy lasted til the end of the day, I saw her at dinner roaring at a stray cat who ignored her.

But back to Jusco. Wanling, Jean and I were so bored over the last hour that I suggested we try jump shots, à la yowayowacamera:

This is us being blown by the wind!

Levitating!

Flying up to snatch fruit!

We snuck around but got chased out of the supermarket. Bright side: as tourists, we'll never see them again.

While waiting for the rest we introduced Max to the jump shot idea. He was totally tickled and volunteered to take the shots while we pretended to fight for a taxi (FYI, the driver was nearby staring at us):

Hahaha. I laugh every time I go through these shots. We had tons of fun directing and acting.

Back to Karin's place after that for a buffet dinner. Wanling, SP, Jean and I were introduced to the rest of Karin's 姐妹 to discuss the next day's customary "let's bully the groom and his brothers!" games.

More on that (and day 2) when I get photos from Karin!

2011-11-04T13:48:00.007+08:00

Today's Image

via design crush.

Off to Ipoh for Karin's wedding over the weekend (gonna bring my DSLR there). Also got the first response to my freelance photographer ad :) Not sure if my rate is acceptable to them -- did my research but I'm new to this -- so time will tell.

Am very fond of this blog my colleague introduced me. Behold the sleep talkin' man. This man talks in his sleep and his wife records everything. Not just the words -- sound clips. My favourite:

"Who's a cutie? Who's a cutie cutie cutie cutie cutie... You are! You've got your coat on, I've got the lead. Time to take the sea cucumber for a walkie. Come on, cucumber! Walkie!"

2011-11-04T10:51:00.001+08:00

I Believe I can Fly ( flight of the frenchies). Trailer from sebastien montaz-rosset on Vimeo.

Scary. Thrilling. Made my hands sweat.

Reminds me of Man on Wire.

2011-11-03T14:52:00.011+08:00

After two days of organizing and editing, my first portfolio site is up.

Making this website was a (slightly depressing, but needed) wake-up call as to what I value most in my portfolio. I can only upload 35 images with this web account (no complaints, carbonmade is a gem), and you'll see that most of my corporate work didn't make the cut. In fact the only corporate piece in there is a un-corporatish card design. My photography section pleases me, sure, but it is all natural -- nothing directed, few made with a great deal of thought, nothing with force of personality.

Critiquing my site harshly is probably not a good way to introduce it on my blog! But at least these thoughts give me direction. I need to do more.

[Edit] I am now looking at my friend Abby's lifestream. Inspiring as always. She quoted my favourite line from Rumi, "Let the beauty we love be what we do", and something else that helps me at this time:

“It may be that when we no longer know what to do, we have come to our real work and when we no longer know which way to go, we have begun our real journey. The mind that is not baffled is not employed. The impeded stream is the one that sings.”
- Wendell Berry

Although I wonder... why is it the impeded stream that sings? Is it not the unimpeded stream?

2011-11-03T14:42:00.006+08:00

Today's Image

by keri smith.

Quoted from keri's blog:

What is often missing in modern culture is this depth of connection. When you see a culture dividing into simplistic polarities — which is all of our politics nowadays and most of our religion — what’s going on is a loss of soul. People who are in touch with their soul know what they’re supposed to be doing in the world and what their way of contributing to life is, in the same way that people know what music they love and what food they enjoy — not just life-sustaining food, but food that has flavor, that makes you feel nourished, even inspired.

The U.S. has become mired in spiritual materialism. People are substituting material accomplishments or possessions for the thing the soul loves, such as music and meaningful speech. The soul even loves suffering when the suffering produces realization. In a mass effort to find superficial comforts and avoid suffering, the whole culture has lost soul.

Everyone needs some help learning who they already are. That’s the root of genuine education and the task of real culture.

-Michael Meade

2011-11-02T10:47:00.002+08:00

Today's Images

Michal Batory's posters. I've been a fan of his since uni.

2011-11-02T09:11:00.010+08:00

Goodbye Fish

Feeling quite attached to my Fishy now that I've volunteered it to a colleague's granddaughter.

Goodbye Fish! I'll miss you and your bright colours. And I hope they are gentle with you when they break you open for sweets. :s

2011-11-01T10:19:00.005+08:00

Today's Image

Action photography by Jake Ashcraft. This is a great resource for several different types of photography.

I was sitting in the bus this morning when I realized I'd forgotten what avec means; I know I've seen it at the end of French films before the credits scroll. A quick check on Google (hooray for mobile Internet) gave me the phrase avec toi.

Avec toi, meaning with you. It sounds beautiful.

[Edit] Say hi to DD's Levi.

2011-10-31T10:33:00.016+08:00

Cranberry Crumb Bars

Recently my sister and brother-in-law came home for a visit bearing cranberries that were too sour to eat. "We don't know what to do with them," they said, so what was my answer? Bake them, of course!

I've made cranberry, banana and white chocolate cupcakes before, but that recipe called for dried cranberries. These fresh juicy ones were great to work with, just look at those colours!

Sadly, the berries WERE a little too sour (they tasted even more sour after I'd baked them... I'm not sure if it is my imagination), so the dessert is a very tart one. I was quite disappointed but a shower of icing sugar on top seemed to help. The feedback so far has not been bad -- but next time I'll make apple crumble instead, at least they caramelize.

I photographed these in my own backyard; the nice grey background above is my neighbour's concrete wall. No DSLR this time but my S90 performed very well.

You can get several cranberry bar recipes here.

2011-10-28T14:25:00.010+08:00

Cycling For Everyone from Dutch Cycling Embassy on Vimeo.

Gosh, I wish I could cycle to work every day. Gonna bookmark this video and see if I can take a Dutch Cycling Holiday in the future.

[Edit] Checking out foldable bikes now, so that perhaps I can cycle from home to the MRT and MRT to work? Gotta check if the roads are reasonable though, and foldable bikes do seem very ex. Not to mention that I really love the feeling of sailing by on a non-foldable bike, not a foldable one... hmm.

[Edit] I am pretty tempted by this.

[Edit] After all that research, SMRT informs me that I am not allowed to bring foldable bikes onto trains until 9:30 a.m., which would make me late for work all the time. How very disappointing.

2011-10-28T12:01:00.006+08:00

Today's Images

Typography Sketchbooks via grain edit.

Delicately pretty mixed media by Luci Everett.

and DIY mini pinatas by Oh Happy Day *salivates*

2011-10-27T23:33:00.007+08:00

Seems like tonight is a night of making-up, though not of kissing, because previously I cut two men out of my life for hurting me and tonight I started talking to them again (one of them messaged me right after I messaged the other).

Me: fyi your unofficial name is "that big waste of time"
Me: not that I mean to be mean
Him: well... i prefer to be less big
Me: you're very welcome to be small
Him: ouch thanks

I would be lying if I said everything was forgiven and forgotten, but at least I don't care so much any more.

2011-10-27T21:36:00.001+08:00

Role play in French class last night.

Classmate: "Madame, madame... je suis perdu, aidez moi, s'il vous plaît?"
Me: "Non."

Fastest role play ever, but of course I had to do it for real after that. I'm getting quite fond of French. Haven't had the opportunity to talk to any of my classmates though...

In other news, red velvet cupcakes didn't happen -- the supermarket had no red food colouring -- so I bought yellow instead.

...which you can't see.

Lots of things went wrong -- the yellow colour didn't bake well, the cakes wouldn't rise, the icing was way too sweet, and the recipe for the cupcakes wasn't as good as the Nigella Lawson one I did two years back. I'm determined to re-make that recipe with red food colouring AND icing AND silver balls for decoration. That would be perfect for Christmas.

Here's to second tries!

2011-10-26T10:49:00.006+08:00

K&K

Recently I went out with Karin, her fiance Keith and their friend-cum-photographer for a shoot around the Tanjong Pagar area. They are a lovely couple and very natural in front of the camera. :)

(Note: the photos are mine and so are the angles, but I did not choose the location or direct the shoot.)

2011-10-25T11:50:00.010+08:00

Today's Image

ambrosia's ghost cupcakes are super cute (and perfect for Halloween)! Tomorrow's a holiday and a good time for baking, but I'm not a fan of fondant. Am going to try her recipe for red velvet cupcakes instead, wish me luck.

October's almost over and I have to catch up with my monthly to-do list (an idea contributed by Shu):
- One new recipe
- One good date
- Three art pieces
- Two new places
- Sketch in a public place
- Write introduction to new sketchbook
- Zumba

November's to-do list:
- One new recipe
- One good date
- Three art pieces (perhaps one in Melbourne, since I will be there end November?)
- Lose 3kg
- Learn to shuffle
- Learn French and join meetup groups where they all converse in French

So here we go...

P.S. Also check out these DIY animal candles.

2011-10-24T14:48:00.016+08:00

Ubin Getaway

The island and the resort were lovely. We cycled, kayaked, had a fish spa, witnessed a loud monkey face-off, saw a wild boar charge across the road, and watched a mother dog and her puppies have a National Geographic moment. (The puppies suckled on their mother in front of Reception).

It was a very good weekend trip. I love my DSLR.

2011-10-21T11:53:00.007+08:00

Today's Images

Hello Ruby by Famous When Dead.

Going to my sis's house today for fondue and a board games party. Feel really tired though. Hard copies of the company newsletter arrived today; I'd just finished wrapping them up when I realised I'd lost London. That's right, London's ten newsletter copies are floating around in God Knows Where, and I can't be arsed to open every single package so I readjusted my distribution.

Looking forward to the Pulau Ubin getaway with Shu and her friends this weekend. We'll be cycling and checking out Celestial Resort; let's see if that's as heavenly as it sounds.

2011-10-20T11:05:00.006+08:00

Today's Images

Embroidered X-rays by Matthew Cox via honestlywtf.

French class last night was a bright spot in an otherwise dull day. We learned to order food at a cafe, so all of us had to pair up and converse as waiters/customers before the rest of the class.

My partner was the customer; she ordered one green salad for a table of ten people and asked to pay right after I took her order. We laughed til we nearly cried. Très amusant.

2011-10-19T09:11:00.008+08:00

Today's Images

Great stuff from Wanelo.

So I found myself without a plan yesterday evening and messaged a few friends for ideas. One guy said, "I'm going to a party tonight if you want to join me" and I said "Great!"

My colleagues were skeptical.

Them: "So where's this party?"
Me: "I don't know."
Them: "Who's hosting it?"
Me: "I don't know."
Them: "What sort of people will be there?"
Me: "I don't know."
Them: "Who're you going with?"
Me: "A friend of a friend whom I've known for half an hour."

*pause*

Me: "Call the police if I don't come to work tomorrow."

It turned out to be an expat meetup which was quite nice -- I met people from Estonia, Myanmar, Paris, India, Malaysia, Switzerland, Hongkong. We formed groups, played icebreaker games, had tapas. They were mostly older working professionals who'd just moved to Singapore and wanted to network. Conversation ranged from where to find the best chicken rice (Hainanese man from Malaysia could vouch for that), to the fine quality of dim sum in Hongkong (Hongkong lady who came to start her own IT business described it to me). Nothing very earthshaking, but it was nice.

Along the way I met an Indian man who's married with a 3-year-old daughter and twins on the way, and him being married, I thought he was "safe" and great to talk to (he gave me a lift home) until he asked me for a date.

That really ruined my day. I'm still disgusted.

[Edit] So I get hit on by men who are attached, I DON'T get hit on by the speed dater (he clearly prefers to whatsapp my fingers off), and today I get this strange email from a guy in my meetup group whom I've NEVER seen:

I came across you when i was searching for a friend.Your beauty certainly have gotten me so hypnotized and I couldn't look further,You have got pretty looks probably
that got me attracted to you. this is my email...

Weird unsolicited emails are clearly the last straw. Why are these strange men in my life?

2011-10-19T09:10:00.000+08:00

Obama's Elf

LOL.

2011-10-19T09:07:00.001+08:00

The Future is Here

Panoramic ball camera.

2011-10-18T09:52:00.002+08:00

Today's Images

Ecriture Infinie (Infinite Writing). How wonderful to be part of something so much bigger than yourself.

DIY Dolce & Gabbana earrings by honestlywtf.

Feeling good after a visit to my former professor last night. We watched The Hangover, coaxed his cat onto my lap, and talked about relationships. He showed me his old sketchbooks and looked at my eye under a forensic microscope (yes, it's still in my head).

It's so enjoyable to have someone witty to talk to.

Plus he has a rather flattering view of my inability to get a boyfriend. Says I'm too bright. That really doesn't help, but it's nice to be highly regarded by someone whom you esteem.

2011-10-18T09:42:00.001+08:00

Today, check out this suminagashi (Japanese marbling) tutorial. There are so many things I want to learn.

2011-10-17T14:36:00.006+08:00

Today's Images

Pantone Christmas ornaments. Totally designer geek; it HAD to happen at some point. ^_^

Also, how would you like your coffee -- in 464C, 1545C, or 1395C?

They would go wonderfully with these Pantone chip cookies!

P.S. I have this.

2011-10-16T23:38:00.004+08:00

Weezer - Pork and Beans

Great weekend music!

Yes Man

The Hangover

Great weekend movies! Bradley Cooper is smoking hot (sadly, first impressions stick and he's branded in my head as an asshole thanks to He's Just Not that into You).

2011-10-13T10:14:00.003+08:00

Today's Images

Carven Spring 2012 collection via miss moss. I like the colours and the framing device.

Woke up feeling MUCH better today -- honey & cheese toast from Tom and Tom's certainly helped. Also had my first French class last night, comment tu t'appelles?

2011-10-12T09:44:00.007+08:00

Today's Images

by miss moss via honestlywtf. Beautiful, wish I'd thought of this.

Am chronically grumpy but on the up side, I bought a calligraphy set and have started a new sketchbook. One of my latest work projects is interesting (am creating a mockup of a new ship-shaped thumb drive, and figuring how to simplify our vessel's many complicated parts).

Here're 15 animated short films to make your Wednesday.

2011-10-11T13:25:00.007+08:00

Today's Image

Quote: "Taika means ‘magic’ in Finnish, and Klaus Haapaniemi wants his illustrations to inspire your own imagination and storytelling. Combined with other essential design objects of the Iittala collection, Taika gives a magic touch to everyday life."

Saw this in a Scandinavian design shop recently.

Been in a very bad mood lately and very busy at work. (You know things are bad when the sound of laughter irritates you.)

2011-10-10T16:59:00.002+08:00

Today's Images

Lovin' this Edgar Allan Poe cake by sprinklebakes.

2011-10-07T14:50:00.007+08:00

THIS BOOK WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE

...or at least send you to jail.

I finally got my hands on THIS BOOK WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE! Jean and I giggled over the book for the most part of the morning, and we decided to do this:

We went round incorporating VORTEX into ALL our sentences for a good two to three hours, including during the course of a meeting:

"What is the DR site? It is not in the vortex."
"I suppose the Governor of the Vortex will speak of it himself."

This is an excerpt from my notebook during the meeting:

Me: I would like to blog about the VORTEX perspective of this day. Give me a few choice sentences wherein you speak of the VORTEX, the greatness of the VORTEX, the VORTEX that lives in your heart and runs through your VORTEX-shaped veins.

Jean: Isn't the VORTEX induced blurb above enough? Seems to have adequate VORTEX representation already. But indeed if I may claim to be the VORTEX God I need to radiate the wild ferocity of VORTEX power. Behold, my VORTEX minion, I will dispense my VORTEX greatness in regular doses throughout the day. Try not to get sucked in. VORTEX out!

It kept us in stitches. We even spent the first part of lunch explaining to our manager about the VORTEX octopus, with its VORTEX shaped arms, which when put together is about the length of the VORTEX itself, which tends towards infinity.

Don't you just love it when a friend gets crazy creative with you? :D

More TBWCYL goodness:

"THIS BOOK WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE" from Annie Jacobson on Vimeo.

We're thinking of trying SING EVERYTHING TODAY after Jean gets back from Houston! (She's leaving this weekend)

2011-10-06T15:37:00.004+08:00

Today's Image

Wall decal by blik.

On with the things-that-make-me-happy theme! I am now looking at this:

Ice Cream Workshop cum Buffet

Highlights:
a. Learn about the different kinds of ice cream
b. Learn to make ice cream at home using easily available equipment
c. Learn the pros and cons of different home ice cream machines if you want to invest in one
d. Hands on session where everyone gets to make their own ice cream!
e. Ice cream buffet - all-you-can-eat ice creams, waffles, hot and cold beverages.
f. 10% discount for take-away pints for participants after the workshop

Each workshop is 2 hours in duration, which includes the ice cream buffet.

I'm gonna sign up for this :) Any takers? Sounds like the most enjoyable workshop ever!

First Zumba class tonight, am a little nervous since I'm going alone :p

2011-10-05T11:51:00.005+08:00

Today's Images

from 365Q.

Contemplating horse riding and kite flying at night -- two more activities that fill me with joy.

The former is certainly expensive though, about $500 for two lessons. I'm thinking of signing up for the trial 30 minute lesson at $85, or doing volunteer work at Riding for the Disabled.

2011-10-04T23:23:00.004+08:00

Just signed up for a Zumba class! Soon I'll be shaking my shimmy... like this!

Whoop-de-whoo!

2011-10-04T16:38:00.006+08:00

Today's Image

I am enamored by the Yunmu bicycle, which looks so pretty next to the sun and the sea.

I live in a hilly area, so owning a bicycle is impractical for now. One day I hope to live near the sea along a flat stretch where I can cycle. :)

2011-10-02T19:46:00.003+08:00

Things to Remember

Quote from How I Met Your Mother. I do not know the original designer who made this a graphic. If you do, tell me.

Ira Glass hit that on the head. She really did.

I started a new sketchbook and bought new design books from Basheer today. Coupled with Darling's Eggs from The Plain, I now feel a little better about my bad week.

2011-09-30T14:59:00.000+08:00

Today's Image

from the Bizarro blog.

2011-09-30T09:58:00.000+08:00

AfSD™(ADVOCATE FOR SAVING DOGS™)

You can't keep your pet? Really?
by A Shelter Director

I think our society needs a huge "Wake-up" call. As a shelter manager, I am going to share a little insight with you all... a view from the inside if you will. First off, all of you people who have ever surrendered a pet to a shelter or humane society should be made to work in the "back" of an animal shelter for just one day. Maybe if you saw the life drain from a few sad, lost, confused eyes, you would stop flagging the ads on craigslist and help these animals find homes. That puppy you just bought will most likely end up in my shelter when it's not a cute little puppy anymore. Just so you know there's a 90% chance that dog will never walk out of the shelter it’s dumped at? Purebred or not! About 25% of all of the dogs that are "owner surrenders" or "strays", that come into a shelter are purebred dogs.

The most common excuses: "We are moving and we can't take our dog (or cat)." Really? Where are you moving too that doesn't allow pets? Or they say "The dog got bigger than we thought it would". How big did you think a German Shepherd would get? "We don't have time for her". Really? I work a 10-12 hour day and still have time for my 6 dogs! "She's tearing up our yard". How about making her a part of your family? They always tell me "We just don't want to have to stress about finding a place for her we know she'll get adopted, she's a good dog".

Odds are your pet won't get adopted & how stressful do you think being in a shelter is? Well, let me tell you, your pet has 72 hours to find a new family from the moment you drop it off. Sometimes a little longer if the shelter isn't full and your dog manages to stay completely healthy. If it sniffles, it dies. Your pet will be confined to a small run/kennel in a room with other barking or crying animals. It will have to relieve itself where it eats and sleeps. It will be depressed and it will cry constantly for the family that abandoned it. If your pet is lucky, I will have enough volunteers in that day to take him/her for a walk. If I don't, your pet won't get any attention besides having a bowl of food slid under the kennel door and the waste sprayed out of its pen with a high-powered hose. If your dog is big, black or any of the "Bully" breeds (pit bull, rottie, mastiff, etc) it was pretty much dead when you walked it through the front door. Those dogs just don't get adopted. It doesn't matter how 'sweet' or 'well behaved' they are.

If your dog doesn't get adopted within its 72 hours and the shelter is full, it will be destroyed. If the shelter isn't full and your dog is good enough, and of a desirable enough breed it may get a stay of execution, but not for long . Most dogs get very kennel protective after about a week and are destroyed for showing aggression. Even the sweetest dogs will turn in this environment. If your pet makes it over all of those hurdles chances are it will get kennel cough or an upper respiratory infection and will be destroyed because the shelter gets paid a fee to euthanize each animal and making money is better than spending money to take this animal to the vet.

Here's a little euthanasia 101 for those of you that have never witnessed a perfectly healthy, scared animal being "put-down". First, your pet will be taken from its kennel on a leash. They always look like they think they are going for a walk happy, wagging their tails. Until they get to "The Room", every one of them freaks out and puts on the brakes when we get to the door. It must smell like death or they can feel the sad souls that are left in there, it's strange, but it happens with every one of them. Your dog or cat will be restrained, held down by 1 or 2 shelter workers depending on the size and how freaked out they are. Then a shelter worker who we call a euthanasia tech (not a vet) find a vein in the front leg and inject a lethal dose of the "pink stuff". Hopefully your pet doesn't panic from being restrained and jerk. I've seen the needles tear out of a leg and been covered with the resulting blood and been deafened by the yelps and screams. They all don't just "go to sleep", sometimes they spasm for a while, gasp for air and defecate on themselves. You see shelters are trying to make money to pay employee pay checks and don’t forget the board of directors needs to be paid too, so we don’t spend our funds to tranquilize the animal before injecting them with the lethal drug, we just put the burning lethal drug in the vein and let them suffer until dead. If it were not a “making money issue” and we had to have a licensed vet do this procedure, the animal would be sedated or tranquilized and then euthanized, but to do this procedure correctly would cost more money so we do not follow what is right for the animal, we just follow what is the fastest way we can make a dollar. Shelters do not have to have a vet perform their euthanasia’s so even if it takes our employee 50 pokes with a needle and 3 hours to get the vein that is what we do. Making money is the issue here not loosing money.

Then it all ends, your pets corpse will be stacked like firewood in a large freezer in the back with all of the other animals that were killed waiting to be picked up like garbage. What happens next? Cremated? Taken to the dump? Rendered into pet food? Or used for the schools to dissect and experiment on? You'll never know and it probably won't even cross your mind. It was just an animal and you can always buy another one, right!

I hope that those of you who still have a beating heart and have read this are bawling your eyes out and can't get the pictures out of your head, I deal with this everyday. I hate my job, I hate that it exists & I hate that it will always be there unless you people make some changes and start educating the public. Do research, do your homework, and know exactly what you are getting into before getting a pet. These shelters and humane societies exist because people just do not care about animals anymore. Animals were not intended to be disposable but somehow that is what they are these days. Animal shelters are an easy way out when you get tired of your dog (or cat), and breeders are the ones blamed for this. Animal shelters and rescue organizations are making a hefty profit by keeping this misconception going.

Between 9 and 11 MILLION animals die every year in shelters and only you can stop it. I just hope I maybe changed one persons mind about taking their dog to a shelter, a humane society, or buying a dog. For those of you that care -- please repost this to at least one other craiglist in another city/state. Let's see if we can get this all around the US and have an impact.

What a way to spend your last few minutes of life and so many die just this way.

DO NOT BREED OR BUY while dogs are dying in the millions like this.

2011-09-29T18:39:00.002+08:00

Today's Images

Street art by Oakoak.

2011-09-28T18:30:00.005+08:00

Today's Image

Fruit bowl by emmo home.

Good stuff.

Feeling feverish and achy today, while watching office politics unfold.

2011-09-27T09:06:00.005+08:00

Today's Image

A cosy reading corner (credit unknown, but I found it here). Keeping this in mind for my future apartment!

In other news, I took the Personality Cafe Enneagram test last night.

Read more »

2011-09-26T21:38:00.009+08:00

Today's Images

by Thoughtful Photography.

Had a very good weekend. Checked out the 24h TCC with a glass of lychee creme brulee coffee while reading a book (it was a sidewalk cafe and felt like France), cycled and couldn't stop smiling at the sight of so much beauty (leaves turning gold and brown, rows of pink flowers, people fishing at the sea), ate ice cream while sitting in the grass, watching puppies play with waves...

Also, on with the movie marathon! I am now watching Julie and Julia, a feel-good film with lots of cooking and very supportive husbands.

Took myself out to Jerry's Bar and Grill before that to have salad and the buffalo wings I love. I had a good time, but now I suddenly feel quite down about the lack of romance in my life.

2011-09-24T11:08:00.007+08:00

A Lost and Found Box of Human Sensation

Caught a good film yesterday with Shu, before heading off to our group date at BluJaz Cafe (very funky decor; I used to hang around that area taking photos in my school days. Amongst other things, they have a fountain full of naked barbie dolls).

The film was about a boy who lost his father to cancer, and I must say it really did feel like that. The monologue was just right, slow, low and matter-of-fact, while the graphics provided the dark humor. One of the scenes showed a doctor prancing around a daisy, picking its flower petals singing, "It is cancer... it isn't cancer... it is cancer... it isn't cancer". Shu and I especially loved the part where the boy *spoiler* falls in love, and the monologue goes "Of course she's got spirit, and she's (this), and she's (that), and of course she's got (more lovely qualities), and she's (this), and she's (that)... and of course... she's got a boyfriend." (Boy falls headfirst into snow)

It was only a 14 minute short, but I liked it better than the other film we watched, "A Cat in Paris".

Une vie de Chat

This was a good film (and I loved the cat!!) but the illustration style wasn't as polished. Also it had a small loophole at the end. Very entertaining feel-good film though, I recommend this one as well :)

2011-09-22T11:56:00.004+08:00

Haven't been posting lately due to another vessel christening that landed on my lap. More time to prepare + a less helpful shipyard canceled each other out perfectly, and I was strung out all the way til the end of the event. Heavy rain that day also prompted me to joke to Jean: "The guests are gonna say 'Is this a christening or a baptism? It's so wet'." ^_^

Anyway, I'm glad Friday is near, and I've the house to myself this week which is perfectly lovely. Borrowed films and a lot of cheesy romance fiction (you know the type, with heaving bosoms and insanely high-def six-packs on the covers, plus lots of good sex scenes) to entertain myself for a while, and I'm looking at doing a staycation at a backpacker's hostel with Shu. Good times.

2011-09-18T12:22:00.004+08:00

Before Sunrise (1995)

Favourite quotes:

Celine: I always feel this pressure of being a strong and independent icon of womanhood, and without making it look my whole life is revolving around some guy. But loving someone, and being loved means so much to me. We always make fun of it and stuff. But isn't everything we do in life a way to be loved a little more?

Celine: I believe if there's any kind of God it wouldn't be in any of us, not you or me but just this little space in between. If there's any kind of magic in this world it must be in the attempt of understanding someone sharing something. I know, it's almost impossible to succeed but who cares really? The answer must be in the attempt.

Jesse: You know what drives me crazy? It's all these people talking about how great technology is, and how it saves all this time. But, what good is saved time, if nobody uses it? If it just turns into more busy work. You never hear somebody say, "With the time I've saved by using my word processor, I'm gonna go to a Zen monastery and hang out". I mean, you never hear that.

Jesse: I mean, just once, I'd love to see, some little old lady save up all her money, to go to the fortune teller, and she'd get there, all excited about hearing her future, and the woman would say, "Um-humm. Tomorrow, and all your remaining days will be exactly like today. A tedious collection of hours. And you will have no new passions, and no new thoughts and no new travels, and when you die, you'll be completely forgotten."

2011-09-15T10:56:00.008+08:00

Lantern Festival

Went with Karin and her fiance to the Lantern Festival exhibition at Chinese Garden yesterday (seeing that I was crashing a couple outing, I guess I was the biggest lantern of all).

Funny how the place seemed a lot larger and more crowded when I was little. I remember sitting on my father's shoulders there.

First we saw one of my favourites, characters from Journey to the West:

Then Fu Lu Shou, three old men who personify Fortune (Fu), Prosperity (Lu), and Longevity (Shou). My favourite was Shou:

Next came the animals of the Chinese zodiac.

Meow... (that's a tiger)

I was very happy to see the Magpie Bridge:

This is a close-up of the Cowherd in the story. The Lantern Festival is also known as the Chinese Valentine's Day because of this story.

This is the Weaver Girl.

Happy Lantern Festival!

2011-09-14T13:39:00.003+08:00

Today's Images

via the Angry Birds Facebook page.

This is a little (3 days) late, but Happy Mooncake Festival!

I was home with my mom that day when we heard the sound of a neighbour hitting metal pans. My mother laughed and said that that was because the moon wasn't out yet, and the ancient Chinese belief is that the Sky Dog (directly translated from "Tian Gou") had eaten the moon. The metal din was supposed to drive this beast away.

It's a cute saying. We don't hear these things very much any more.

2011-09-12T11:15:00.006+08:00

Today's Images

I want to start a war... a post-it war...

via My Modern Met and The Guardian.

Reminds me of this:

2011-09-09T10:35:00.007+08:00

Happy Friday!

Spent most of yesterday working on this series (based on David Niven's quote). The babies are finally ready!

These will be available for download after I set up my website :)

Gonna send them to colleagues next Monday. Hope this brightens up their day!

2011-09-08T10:15:00.006+08:00

Today's Images

'm very fond of Daily Drop Cap curated by Jessica Hische, the same artist who brought us the Should I Work For Free? flowchart and Don't Fear The Internet.

The drop cap "I" in this post is by Linzie Hunter, W is by Alejandro Paul, and the alphabet Z is by Keetra Dean Dixon.

2011-09-07T10:47:00.000+08:00

"High Wheel was a video project by Maider Lopez where he digitally removed the main structure of a ferris wheel, making the passenger cars float weightlessly in the air." via honestlywtf.

High Wheel by Maider Lopez from maider lopez on Vimeo.

2011-09-06T09:43:00.005+08:00

Today's Images

Things organized neatly...

by the very interesting Swiss artist, Ursus Wehrli.

2011-09-05T22:12:00.001+08:00

Have this playing in my head today. One of my favourites, by Christina Rossetti (it hasn't appeared in my head for a long time).

Google tells me its title came from Proverbs 14:10; "The heart knoweth his own bitterness; and a stranger doth not intermeddle with his joy." (King James Bible)