Joy To The World

It's my birthday!

Merry Christmas everybody! I sincerely hope all of you are able to celebrate with your loved ones today. Even if you are not, I wish that you and your dearest will be healthy and happy so you can celebrate next Christmas together :).

It's a nice cool day today, and I'm truly glad I can be with my family members for Christmas. I've been in campus for too long this year. But, hey, I got a 3.83 for the semester so that's a great present too ;). 

My wish may not have came true again this year, neither am I sure if I want to renew my hopes for the next 365 days. But I will remain contented with what I have now, and live in the gift of the present while it lasts. 

Happy Happy Christmas and New Year everybody! And yay to the 400th post of this 'ere blog!

A Comfy, Cosy Christmas

1. Lambswool sweater , Uniqlo
2. Chrome nail polish, Stargazer
3. Joy To The World, Pink Martini | North, Matchbox Twenty
4. Pewter glitter shoes,  Payless
5. Turquoise sparkle ankle socks, American Apparel

Hello everybody! Sorry for the mini hiatus. The month is passing by so quickly it's almost annoying, lol. I have been far too busy these past two weeks, trying to get everything perfect for the mid-semester submission fever. It's almost half-over, well the worst is over, anyway, so I have a bit of a breather right now. After sleeping at regular hours for months, it's a bit of a shock to start pulling late nights again. My face has gotten spotty and I've drunk far too much caffeine in the past weeks :P.

Anyway, the weather on average these days have just been magical. When you're not going out, of course. With all the cool wind and rain, it feels like everyday is stay-in-and-snuggle day :D. End of years are always so cool and nice, but then when Christmas comes the sun will pop out of its hiding place and scream "HERE I AM!!! :DDD".

The Christmas of my imagination is nice and cool, though. Perfect for cosy sweaters and blankets! And I somehow always imagine velvet to be one of the most wonderfully festive fabrics. And lots  of glitter to make up for no snow! Of course, chilling in won't be complete with good music. Right now I'm overly attached to Matchbox Twenty's new North album. Their songs just fit perfectly with the gray rain around me. It's so strange, since not two years ago I barely stepped out of the circle of rock music I jammed around myself :P. I'm mellowing, I'm telling you. Soon I will be pottering around in an oversized black sweater and velvet skirt with nineteen cats at my heels.

Oh, by the way, my dear friends made it to the next round in the Canon Legria competition! So if you voted and you're reading this, thank you so much for your help! Let's hope they win the regionals and do Malaysia proud :D.

Next update coming just round the corner. TGIF everybody ^_^.

Morosity

It's that time when the beast within me takes a peek out into the open world.

Suddenly, I remember the poem from Tim Burton's collection of poems that I got for Christmas a few years back.

"There was once a morose melon head,

who sat there all day,

and wished he were dead.

But you should be careful,

about the things that you wish,

because the last thing he heard, 

was a deafening squish."

Melonhead by Tim Burton, via artikulation

I remember the Christmas after it (or was it the same Christmas?), I got a set of Tim Burton's characters.   My favourite character is The Boy With Nails In His Eyes. And Oysterboy, because of the shape of his oyster head. 

It's a perfectly apt present, because there was a feeling of Christmas all about the book. In a slightly depressing, morbid way, but Christmas nontheless. Somehow I feel seasonal when I read that book.

The Boy With Nails In His Eyes

"The boy with nails in his eyes, 

put up his aluminum tree.

It looked pretty strange,

because he couldn't really see."

Tim Burton seems to enjoy Christmas a lot. How many of his works revolve around this end-year holiday? I think a stockingful would be quite a safe bet. The size of said stocking is up to your interpretation =P. His ideas of Christmas are hardly conventional, though. It's somehow always portrayed as sad and lonesome. As if he's trying to remind us that not all of us have warm love and gifts during Christmas. As if he's opening the door, letting the cold winds swirl around the cozy fireplace, frosting the hot chocolate. Somehow, the truth I interpret from his works make me like his seasonal-themed works. In ways it is a sort of comfort. 

I think the cold nights these days remind me of Christmas, hence random mid-year-Christmas posts. Not that it seems to have any relation to the actual day. Cause I can bet with you when Christmas comes it's going to be so effing sunny it's almost as if Santa threw all the presents into the sun as extra fuel. Probably with occasional rain, but mostly sun. Yeah, mostly sun.  

Go read some Tim Burton poetry! You'll enjoy them, Christmas, Halloween, sun or rain. 

Silver Bell

Let's all face it now, folks. I'm about as consistent as a yoyo dangling on a rotten branch in the middle of a tornado. One moment I can be flinging three posts (daily) out into the wide open, the next moment you'd have thought I died, but then somehow a meagre excuse of a post pops out to remind you that I'm not. It's life, it has its ups and downs, and it's most probably not going to change unless I get paid for it. Because, seriously. Who reads all this anyway except myself? =P.

Anyway, it may be the middle of the year, but I went ahead and watched the Polar Express. Haha. Good storyline, but I feel as if there were a tad too many high-speed, out-of-control-whizzing scenes. Got a bit boring after awhile. And the dialogue was a bit unnatural, and bursting into a sudden song at completely random intervals is not really a good idea when the movie isn't even a musical-like production like most Disney movies. Most of the time I'm just thinking 'dafuq are they singing for?'

The idea is good though. That the musical jingle of the sleigh bells can only be heard by the true believers. I thought everyone could, but I guess you must be part of Santa Claus'...cause in order to hear it (that was an epic fail attempt at a pun, sorry). Moving on. I think people who genuinely embrace the spirit of Christmas, and believe in all its good cheer and tidings would be able to hear it. Do you think you could be one of the blessed few? One of the seasonal souls that can hear the gentle tinkle of Santa's sleigh?

Glogster

I don't think I could. If I could it'd be drowned by the sound of my own heart breaking.

Jingle Jingle Jingle

Hello everybody, it's the beginning of a new week! And I realized I never did share any Christmas photos  here. Not that I took that many photos. But here's a little selection:

Pretty shiny fairy lights!

I don't have any photos of myself, mainly because the few ones I took weren't exactly flattering. I can share with you a photo of my cousin with my stocking, though.

And one of my dad with his Christmas present wrapper:

 And one more of my sister with a bunny on her head.

Whee! Maybe you can see some photos of me this Christmas, fate willing. Have a happy Monday!

Christmas related ramble :D

Hello everybody, how has the weekend been? Mine has been quiet but quite full of assignments. I had a whole Saturday by myself so I had the music on loud and I just lost myself in the realms of assignments, working from afternoon till bedtime. I'm happy with the fruits of my labours, though I still have a long way to go before completion for some. I'm right on schedule, so that is something =D.

The weather now is nice and grey. One deep sniff tells me that rain is hovering close by. It's one of those cool days when the sky is cloudless and colourless. It makes me think of the nothingness in The Neverending Story. Skies like these are as close to what I can imagine what the Nothing would be. It "feels as if one has turned blind/ because the eye cannot stand to look at absolutely nothing".

It also reminds me of Christmas, for some odd reason. Lol. Oh dear, sweet Christmas day. I don't think I can ever get out of this love-hate relationship with you, ever. 

It just occurred to me to read back all my December posts, and I realized, much to my disappointment, that none of them were very lighthearted or joyful. Not to say that I did not have a good time on the day itself, of course. I did, to a certain extent. But somehow I seem to rant more about Christmas than I do burbling and getting all excited about it.

Probably the nicest Christmases was when I was a lot younger, when Christmas actually felt real. It feels to me that Christmases of the more recent sort are about hopes and disappointments and frustration. And I'm not talking about presents. 

It's still a beautiful time of the year, though. The very best, if I could say so. But maybe it's only so much more beautiful because it is gold gilt and cinnamon-spiced in my mind's eye. It's not quite as seasonal as that in my reality. 

Why, though? Why is it that I get all emo when I should be celebrating the time my life began? I used to think it was because my birthday served as a reminder that I had to return to school for a new term. I'd always always thought that once I left high school my life would be perfect and I could celebrate my birthday in peace. Not that I did not expect university, but I'm enjoying uni life, so what is there to hold me back? 

Maybe it's because my birthday is too close to the end of the year, and I don't like to be reminded of times ending. Maybe I need to remind myself more often that 'beginnings are good times', as Dodie Smith wrote.

It's too early in the year to have a Christmas related post, haha. It's the day of gray I'm having. It'll pass.

On the bright side, inspiration has finally bit me in the bum! I now have a fairly good idea of what I want to have for my blog header =D. Now all I need is to find time to make something out of my rough sketches and this blog will be looking pretty in no time.

I wonder how this year's Christmas will be. I shall resolve to enjoy this one if I can. After all, if we can celebrate Christmas this year it means the end of the world has been avoided =D. Enjoy the rest of the weekend, everybody. 

Merry Christmas

To you, and you, and you.

Almost time to get out there and meet and mingle. Nothing much a-doing in the morning and afternoon. Presents, pictures, lunch and afternoon snoozle. If it wasn't for the presents it'd have been pretty much like any other day. Not that I minded. In fact, it's a lot easier on myself and everyone to have a perfectly relaxed day and not come up with fuss and parties and bigass celebrations and whatnot.

I'll take piccies of me pressies for loading eventually. And wow whee, when will I ever begin to do this blog makeover I've been talking about since forever eh?

The day is drawing nearer to a close, and soon it'll be the 26th and my sister's birthday and another year before the next season of giving and receiving.

This is probably the coldest Christmas I've ever had. Cold and very wet indeed. Kept raining on and on the whole day, on and off. Sometimes little drizzles; little droplets, sometimes bitter showers that threatened to never stop.

I hope it won't rain next Christmas. I hope it wouldn't ever have to rain again.

Christmas Eve

Merry Christmas to youuuu~

Have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year everybody! Here's hoping you'll be surrounded with your loved ones and everything that is dear to you all this holiday season. And may the year 2012 be awesome for everyone, whether it is the last year for all of us or not.

I'm in the mood for rock all of a sudden. I realized that I started the year really hardcore, and then it slowly mellowed out to oldies and slow rhythms and stuff. It's good to know I still appreciate the goodness of J-Rock and whatnot. Red by Gazette is an amazing song for me (and named after my favourite colour too =P), but I still think D'espairsray is the best JRock band I've listened to yet. Why must the good ones all disband? Why oh why.

2011. How has it been? Looking back, it felt like an awfully long year. So so many new experiences, so many things accomplished, and yet even more are still undone. Most nights I'm lying in my bed trying to recall all the things I did this year, everything that happened. I'll try piecing them a bit better and prepare a nice long post about it as a 2011 wrap up. Pinky promise.

For now, it's Christmas Eve, and it's so cold it feels as if it could snow. No sun, cloudy, a hint of drizzle here and there. I went out to the garden in the morning with DeeDee to take a couple of shots of the raindrops hanging on the passionfruit vines and the large leaves.


I can't remember the last time I went out into the garden during a shower. It's still my favourite kind of weather though. When it's cool and the world outside is full of raindrops and grey, and the inside is warm with yellow lamps and soft pillows and fluffy slippers. Plus the lighting is just right for nice photography, in my opinion. The only problem would be avoiding raindrops from plopping on the camera and your head.

Just that right about now things are a bit too cold and empty to be comfortable. Or maybe it's just me.

About an hour more to go. Merry Christmas everybody.

Christmas

Less than a week away. Gift-shopping, hm..70% done? Wrapping=0%. Lol. Christmas cards and whatnot=0%. At least the Christmas tree is up and about today. My family reached a unanimous agreement that the tree has growing capabilities and has turned into a giant after being incarcerated in the storeroom for so long. Moral of the lesson= put Christmas tree up every year.

What can I say about Christmas? Lots of invitations, lots of celebrations, lots of places to hop around to for plenty of feasting and merrymaking. So many people to see, so many things to gush about, so many things to do. I honestly have no idea how the day's schedule would be like. All I know is it's going to be packed tighter than Santa's sleigh and before you know it it'll be midnight and end of Christmas hello Boxing Day.

Let's not dwell on sad sorry thoughts. It's all meant very well, and it's suppose to be a day of great joy and good tidings. Maybe not my idea of great joy and good tidings but it's the idea of many supposedly lovely people who love the day as much as I did. Maybe I'm just too selfish on a day when giving is better than receiving. I should just suck it up and have fun with it the best I can. Yeah. That's what I should do.

Feeling Scroogey

And it's that time of the year, folks.
One more blessed month to one of the most celebrated holidays of the year. It's time for the preparations! The Christmas present shopping that is.With what funds I've no idea. Maybe I should just rob
a Christmas charity box
my parents save up like crazy and/or get a job. So many things to do, so little time.
I wonder how this year's holiday season will be like. I wonder how Christmas will be like. But, as Cassandra said in I Capture A Castle, 'when things mean a great deal to you, exciting anticipation just isn't safe.'

I can't believe I quoted that out of my head. I have lost count completely how many times I've read that book ever since I got it in 2008. 20, 40, 100 times? All I know is that I seem to be able to recall lengthy passages from it in my head. I can actually read the book in my mind when the physical book is not with me. Scary shyt, lol.

I haven't made any Christmas-related wishes this year, and I know I won't be able to see a branch from the Christmas tree this year (lé sigh). But it'd be nice to see some ginger biscuits, peppermint tea and jazzy Christmas carols somewhere along the way.

Maybe I don't even actually want to wish. Because I know how much my heart will break when the wish doesn't come true.