Double Act

From the rocky beginnings of time... when lightning bickered with ground, the waves argued with solid stone. Tempers and glasses and boxes flew left, right and centre. It was a warzone!

But now the opposing forces have declared peace, the elements sighed and fell into the arms of the other. And today marks the second year of peace and fruitfulness! :D

 I was just rereading old conversations, and looking at old photos, and maaan have we changed XD. It's almost as if we went through a second growth spurt! Blossoming from awkward teenagers into lovely young man and woman. Certainly a tad abusive and vulgar, but lovely all the same :D. I mean, seriously, can't you tell how much we've aged over the course of just two years? We turned from this:

Into this!

Well, okay. You get my drift. XD.

Anyway, a happy happy two year anniversary to Esmond! \ ^O^ /. The days have been perceptibly brighter and optimistic after I met you! My blog may have remained luridly red if we never got together! Our forces united, we shall rock the very foundations of the Earth! We were born to do great things, and ever greater things together! 8DD

On a side note: Crash-learning a new program is certainly not the way to go, especially when there are many things to be done. Worse still is at the height of it all, I de-stress by acting out affected scenes from the now popular Kiyomi/ Gwiyoumi in a futile attempt to act cute. I shall at least appropriate scene 2 for the day's festivities.

Cauliflower the broccoli says hai!

And now, we SLEEP! 8D

(This is a scheduled post, it was completed at 4am. Thank you for your time!)

Sneak Preview!

Today (or yesterday...since it's been today for half an hour already), I made a new friend:

He is a useful friend, but probably a very formidable enemy. I'm surprised I never got one of these precision knives earlier in my 'artsy-designy' life. It isn't very cheap, though. But it's nice and heavy, and it feels reliable. And being new, the blade is gloriously sharp, so that I actually cut what needed cutting quickly and effortlessly. 

Here's a sneak preview of what I was cutting, more of it very very soon!

Two more blog posts till I celebrate the 400th post on this 'ere blog! Come around for the party, everybody! I shall unveil something pretty awesome then :D. It's the 25th right now, which marks exactly one month to Christmas and my birthday! So many things to do, so little time ><. 

Hope I'll be feeling better than I do now this time next month. Till then, have a happy happy Sunday!

Revenge is Everything

 Dishonored

To all who have not played this game, fear not, there are no spoilers in here. Just generalities you will probably find elsewhere.

Anyway, I don't quite agree on the whole 'Revenge is Everything' motto of the game, but as I progressed through the game I thought, hell, with a life like this anyone would go rambo on revenge. Lol. And, yes. I've played Dishonored! I really only played it because I wanted to see if my tortured, overly-exploited slave of a laptop could withstand the game. It could have probably been a lot prettier, but I'm not a fussy gamer. I've completed games on full-speed lag. What I saw on my screen for Dishonored was considered pretty darn good. Of course, veterans and purists would scream 'hoshit you're killing the game what are you doing stahp look at it staaahp', but if you don't like it, go max out your settings on your badass machines while I totter happily away at mine. Not that there was any lag, but, you get what I mean.

pcgamer

So, Dishonored is basically a game where you play as Corvo Attano, man with greasy hair that you don't really see through most of the game because you're far too busy being him. You've just been framed for murdering the Empress and kidnapping the heir of a rat-plagued, corrupt-filled city, the world is against you, and you are armed with some swanky weapons and mystical powers given to you by some random floating man that just wants to watch the world burn. 

And, as casually as I'd summarized the whole game, it was good gameplay. I've only ever played Skyrim for five minutes. But in that five minutes I hacked at a few guards and ate things and collected things that were not mine. The awesome news is that I could do all that in Dishonored as well, with the even bigger plus that I could go all stealth and climb shyt, like in Assassin's Creed. And I could see through walls, which was like Splinter Cell. If ever you had a wish that you could have the best of all the games mentioned above and you haven't played Dishonored, well, hallelujah :D.

 Dishonored

It was a gloriously dark game, with so much things to do, so many people to kill, and (apparently) so many different paths to choose from. I believe I took the 'Revenge is Everything' motto a twee bit too seriously, because I chose the darkest of everything, and even opted for a 'if it ain't still, I kill' mindset. The result was dark lashing rain and gloomy skies and everything else to make the already emo game a whole lot rattier (pun wholely intended). I shall play the game again, and when I do I will probably do something more Buddha-zen. Lol.

The game was mostly dark, eerie, and, if you have a tendency to maneuver awkwardly like I do (and waltz into rooms without checking them out beforehand), you're probably going to have minor heart attacks every once in awhile. The atmosphere certainly has a way of drawing you into the whole world, and when you leave it you still have an unsettled, haunting feeling about you. Or maybe it's just me and I'm too darn emotional.  

I am not ashamed to say that I played the game on Easy mode. Because there is a first for everything and Dishonored is actually the first first-person game I've ever completed and enjoyed. The hours spent playing Minecraft has done wonders to my nausea-tolerance and motion-sickness! :D. 

Overall. the game was awesome, I enjoyed it, and I'm glad I wasn't *too* distracted with it (despite me playing it during the peak of my busy-ness). And it certainly answered my question: my exploited house-elf of a laptop will not entirely fuck up the game so that I will take revenge on all the world.

Assassin's Creed 3, I'm coming for thee. 

Live By The Creed

It's almost the middle of November, and I'm lost in the clouds. Self Motivation sat with me and worked so hard to stay by me whenever I needed him. He kept me working late nights, he woke me up before my alarm rang every morning. He kept me bright and cheery day after day. When I was down, he kindly invited his sibling Inspiration over and we three had so much fun I always felt better afterwards.

He kept at me all through the semester, but now I believe he has flown out of the window. 

Self Motivation is probably the only thing that keeps me alive, lol. Besides a few others, like Purpose Driven and Hope and Sleep (wait, how did he get into the picture), but Self Motivation is certainly the most important figure. Though right now quite a lot of it has been used up and I'm not quite sure how to replenish him.

On a plus side, Assassin's Creed 3 is coming out for PC in 5 days. Amongst other things. Like my final Advertising presentation and the final day for submitting some ideas and the second day of another busy busy week. It's almost as if all these activities are swarming about in red coats and tricornes and muskets and I'm the lone hooded fella armed to the teeth.

gamerswwag

I'll go a-swinging and a-swishing...

gamerswwag

And the cannons will explode at my dramatic finish.

We all have a creed we live by. Maybe not a Bible-full of rules and regulations; a simple phrase or saying could probably suffice to help some of us along our way. But I'm sure we all have some belief that sticks to us, something that makes us move on whether we know it or not. What's yours? I think one of mine would be best explained in a simple, neat sentence:

"Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time"

the receiving end

It's Friday tomorrow and another weekend to be productive! Have a good one everybody :D.

Flight of Fancy

Hello everybody! It's the weekend for me again, and what's more, I have the whole of next week off! Really nothing much to that though, because the whole week shall be spent finishing assignments, overcoming frustrations and trying frugally to live on the last bits of food I have until Tuesday comes. But anyway, yes! A holiday! :D.

Something fun for everyone to do when they're feeling a bit down during the assignments-overload. I discovered this beautiful site called Fancy when I was looking for useful apps for my phone. Fancy is a website very like Pinterest, whereby you can browse tonloads of pretty and inspiring things. It's wonderful how there is just so many pretty things to find here!

The Fancy

What really sets Fancy apart is that it's not just a pool for pretty ideas and pictures. Almost all the items come with prices, or links to places that you can purchase them. And I think this is just fantastic because a lot of the time the most annoying thing about finding something beautiful online is the question "Omg, where can I get one? Where can I buy something like that?" With Fancy, you can even check the price out of the item before you even think about "hey...I should get that". 

Of course, most of everything is in USD, but it's still a simple, no-fuss website with a gorgeous array of delectables. And sometimes it's just nice to go window shopping and not buy anything =). 

There are hundreds and hundreds of things to look at, with more coming in every day. Here are some of the few I really fell in love with!

This is a USB Turntable. LOVE IT!! It reminds me of Simon's birthday gift to Cassandra in I Capture The Castle. I feel like crying with joy just at the sight of it. The colour is lovely, and it looks so beautifully made. To own something as beautiful as this! I even love the pretty bunch of flowers in the mason jar beside it! ^O^.

This wall of suitcase-shelves is such a quirky centrepiece! I especially love the turquoise one. It seems such a shame that all these pretty suitcases are being cut and mounted to a wall, but hey, it's pretty- AND functional! 

 Look at the gorgeous turquoise tiles! I'm falling in love over and over again. Maybe it's just a bit too much; I would probably prefer either a dark wood wall or table. Even so, this is just fantastical.

And look at this! Such a neat way to have some green on your desk when it's too cluttered for potted ferns of a vase of flowers. There's a tutorial here that shows you how to prepare your lightbulb to house little green thingies. I'd love a group of five or more hanging in a sunny corner of my patio. Ah!

That's all for tonight folks! You can sign up to Fancy for free, so why not whip yourself an account and start fancyin' things! You could share your favourites here too if you like =). Till next time!

Braidy Bunch

Hello Saturday! It's been pretty dull all day today. It's been dull for ages now, since I've been just holing up in front of the computer for countless weekends now. Can't even remember when I last went down into the city for window shopping. There is that one other reason I want to get down to the city centre, but that's a reason I shall further digress into in another post.

I got so bored I braided my hair over and over all day today. I started in the morning, trying to learn how to do a basic braid (which I managed after trying for half an hour). I continued practicing with little  sections, then one big fat one at the back that didn't quite turn out so well. It's so funny how just early this year I was deliriously happy over having no-fuss, relaxed hair. So easy to maintain! No faffing about with hair irons and pins and hair dryers. But now that my hair's growing out and returning to its wavy locks, the one thing I want to do right now is get the straight bottom to be wavy too so I don't look like a retard. I'm really trying to refrain myself from just attacking the bottom with a pair of scissors.

Though I think it grows a lot faster than most people's, I guess my hair is not quite long enough for the fanstastical hairstyles I see all over the net, even the simple ones. Have to keep waiting but it just feels slower now that I'm watching it and wishing it to grow faster. And what with it being thick, coarse and frizzy, taming my hair is one of my daily strifes. 

Because I don't want to leave this post as a wall of text, and because I don't want to go a-googling for a picture of a pointless potato, here is a picture of my two messy braids. Aren't I adorable? =P.

Happy Saturday night, everybody!

A Walk In The Park

Teehee. A very apt post title, I must say. Let's take a walk in the park! The park of memories. The park of nostalgia, of rock.

Rock? Yes. I said rock. I meant Linkin Park, actually.

red demon

It's not everyday one can remember how one comes about knowing something, be it a book, or music, or a movie. But somehow I remember quite well how I got to know Linkin Park. Back then I was a kid besotted with Westlife, and the closest thing I knew about rock was...Michael Learns To Rock. Which is not a very rock-ish thing, lol. Shaddap, I was young, I didn't know any better. And even then I thought real rock was noisy and scary (yeah, I was young =P). 

webkinzinsider

When Papercut first came out on tv, my sister and I used to quickly change channels everytime the MV came out, lol. Cause we knew it was going to be all noisy and freaky XD. And I remember after that the MV for Crawling came out and one fine day we decided to "hey, let's not change channels and sit through this." We sat through it, alright. I think we enjoyed it a bit, cause after that we started watching the One Step Closer MV, and later we even started watching Papercut. And then suddenly my sister got the Hybrid Theory album and we started listening to Linkin Park, like it or not. Lol.

red demon

I think Linkin Park made rock music accessible to n00bs who have the impression that all rock music involve dark, undecipherable screamo lyrics and crazy electric guitar and drum shyt, with being satanic thrown in to boot. Of course, there are so many different sub-genres of rock, but Linkin Park's music give new ears something wonderful. You listen to them, like them, then feel compelled to look for more awesome rock music. At least, it did for me. Haha.

Hybrid Theory has a special little place in my heart, the way Westlife's first album does XD. One of those albums I can listen to and sing along without realizing I actually memorized most of the lyrics. 

brokensuicide

They've gone so far with their music. And one of their best albums, for me, would be Minutes To Midnight. It's a different take on their original style, but what captured me was the lyrics. I never took much notice of the words when I first listened to the album. But then sudden unforseen circumstances occurred, and when they did I surprised myself by crying when I listened to songs like Shadow of The Day, and Valentine's Day. Perhaps the lyrics weren't even meant the way I interpreted them to be, but somehow I felt I could relate to them, that the words meant a lot more to me than they had in the past.

Anyway, their new album, Living Things, is very nice indeed! And most Medal of Honour fans are hyped up as anything for their upcoming MV for Castle of Glass. I even know some people who took great pains in doing a special photoshoot and making a short clip in style of it. Check it out! 

TGIF everyone! Have a rockin' weekend :D.

Hiatus in Huts

It's the middle of September, and I'm busy how most students will be when they've been thrown a whole felony of assignments all due at around the same time and demanding the same amount attention for each.

I'm not even sure if felony is an appropriate word to use here, though my subconscious tells me it is a very wrong word to use. However because I felt like it on the spur of the moment, and because I've already typed it and am not bothered to go back and change it to something else, I shall leave it as it is.

Please excuse me momentarily as I go about tending to the businesses of reality. Will be back soon.

Here is a fairly bad photo of a mother cat and her kittens to distract you while I'm away. The cats are not mine. Their fur is unbelievably soft though. Imagine yourself giving them imaginary pats.

Now no more mention of Christmas until the day actually arrives. Wait, how did that even come into the picture? Never mind, just don't bring that topic up again. 

*ArnoldSchwarzeevoice* I'll be back.

Multiply the Division

jmusicmaxcaz

Happy September everybody! Up above is the picture I have made a mental note of to work on for my next marker illustration assignment (and probably regret it later =P). And do you know where it came from? No hints. Here's the answer.

the Gazette's latest album: DIVISION.

Okay, I'm going to be honest that I didn't quite like their previous album, TOXIC. I can't even remember most songs, except of course RED (yes, Gazette have this tendency to overdo the caps lock a bit). But I've just procured DIVISION, and listening to it now, I think I'm walking down the nostalgic, lovey-dovey JRock road yet again \^O^/.

The first track just made me think, a la Gazette with caps lock on: D'ESPAIRSRAY. Maybe it's because of the dance-rock vibe of D'espa's Love Is Dead. But it rocked me in a very good way. Still progressing through the album, and may I proudly announce, I did not press the next button, the way I did in their previous album :D.

Their album+tour theme is pretty darn kewl too. All modern and abstract. Their recent single/album covers remind me of couture fashion spreads. With an odd, Japanesque twist to it.

One thing that still gets me, though. Seriously, no one should ever sing in a language they can't pronounce coherently. English on Japanese tongue is already alien on a usual basis, throw in screamo-random-phrases-fast-paced-action and you're bound to get something that rivals Skrillex's dubstep.

Anyway, Skrillex bashing aside, well done Gazette! Thank you for reminding me of the happiness JRock brings to the world. Unlike *some* other singers/artistes I wouldn't really like to mention aloud (*coughhackcoughgacktcoughhackcough*)

Busy busy weeks ahead! Stay cool and don't forget to divide your time wisely, so you may multiply your efficiency and fun times :D.

Longitude

Longitude

Just a random thingy I did the other week. I was bored and in the mood to draw something. It's weird, though. Back then I got all hyped up drawing and drawing without a care in the world. Whatever I wanted I just doodled down however I fancied. I didn't give a toss about things like composition and complimentary colours and linear weights and what-have-yous.

Of course, looking at it now there's good and bads to just drawing however you want. Of course you want to make it visually appealing, get the message across, evoke feelings and emotions from whoever is viewing it. For that to happen you need to follow some basic rules. 

But then I remember when I was doodling and messing about with my markers and paper and pencils, I was happy. Very happy indeed. Of course there were certain little hiccups here and there, but I felt a genuine sense of accomplishment when I'd completed some drowned-in-colour thing. It was kinda like me, my ideas, paper and music. Nothing in between, nothing that can create some sort of distraction.

Right now when I look back at my old works, I can find fault in every single one of them. Of course, every creator will do so. But at the same time, I can't seem to find that blind, mindless drive to just doodle down everything and anything. I'll start to think about all the rules, and how to break them or bend them in different ways. Not like that's a bad thing, but of course you can see for yourself just how unproductive I've been since I started uni. 

My theory is this: back when I was completely oblivious to the foundations of design and art, I was like some wild monkey with a pencil. I threw everything down without putting much thought into it. Could you say my artwork then was and is shallow? Most probably. Because there isn't a rationale or a reason for it. It exists because I wanted to create it. That's all. But now, with the metaphorical chains of knowledge, I know better than to just go gadding about. I suppose, with more hard work and effort I won't call the knowledge chains, and instead call them steps and ladders to creating more beautiful and meaningful artwork.

It's like the transition of child to adult. When the world was so innocent, and when you reach that certain age, you just look at the old things so, so differently.

Excuse me for the big big wall of text. That's enough rambles for one night I suppose.

No Shyt, Sherlock.

Disclaimer: I don't dislike KPop, neither to I have any animosity towards Shinee. Thank you for your understanding.

And, no, I don't plan on making this a KPop blog. I just like to rant, and when I rant, there are very little topics that I don't stray to. 

Anyway, out of curiousity (wow!) I decided to watch Shinee's Sherlock MV and then I realized one of the many things I've realized about Shinee (sorry, did that confuse you?) : a lot of times I can't ever catch the tune of their songs. Except for the more popular ones like. Lucifer. And that Ring-a-ling one. And Hello. But seriously everything else just mushes together and I can't make anything out of it. 

And then! It just amazes me! How entertainers nowadays just take inspiration from almost anything! Okay so that has been the case from when the Earth was still in its diapers and God was pregnant (ignore that, please), but still! The desire to be different is continuously evolving, and somehow these KPop bands are completely innovative when it comes to their methods of entertainment. Like this:

dailykpopnews

 Like, wow! They hipsterfied Sherlock Holmes! What would Sir Arthur Conan Doyle have to say about this I wonder? I look at this with mixed feelings, honestly. I think it's, in a way, awesome that they can help spread awareness so kids will broaden their literary horizons and maybe feel compelled to pick up a copy of The Hound of The Baskervilles, instead of Twilight. On the other hand, I feel as if their take on the whole British-mystery thing is awfully shallow. But maybe it's just me. At least they're not wearing houndstooth and deerstalker hats, eh? =P Don't get me wrong. I think the oversized black frames and Doc Martens look very nice. Much better than the starry shorts that, I swear to God, popped out of nowhere just for the lulz.

koreansound

Yes, you heard me. Starry shorts. With the Doc Martens. Holy good God.

I like how Taemin looks just fabulously colourful and pretty. But then I am reminded he is a he and suddenly I feel all wrong in the stomach. 

I don't know why, but I get all discriminative when people go about saying 'oh I like so-and-so' because  they've watched the movie or their idols made a song inspired by the book. But then they don't read the book. In fact, they are familiar with the name but are probably clueless to who or what Sherlock Holmes is. For all they know he's another KPop artiste that flips his conditioned locks and swings his narrow hips to a crowd of adoring fangirls. You see how discriminative I am. But, really. How many people have read the books. Huh? Huh? Go read them if you haven't. At least get a concrete idea of what is behind the Hollywood blockbusters...and under Taemin's black top hat.

Oh, and Taemin is not actually the only guy I can name from Shinee. I know that there is Jonghyun, Key, Minho, but unfortunately that other guy is lost to me. It could've been worse. When I first got to know about the boys I couldn't tell them apart even if you paid me a kimchi load of gold. And that was a very shallow thing to say.

I'm sorry for the nonsensical KPop rant. I shall return to more normal topics in the next post. Thank you for your time. 

Candy Twitters

I'm going to save up my monies to expand my collection of markers. And no, too much is never enough. Besides, how can anyone resist such pretty names? ^O^. I'm imagining a seaside fair and little girls with pink ribbons in their hair, cheeks sticky with cotton candy wisps.

Because I was too bored, and because I can't seem to stop thinking about the pretty colours, I grabbed the colours off the Copic site, and played about with them. And this came out!

 I made it into my desktop wallpaper, and since I'm at it, hey, why not you fellas have a share of them birdies :D. I also put a paper texture as an experiment and I got a pretty nice hipster effect. Which do you like?

 Feel free to use it however you like, though re-blog/tweet/etc+credits would be most appreciated ;). Throw it onto your desktop! Update your cover photo! Or even print little squares of it and stick them all over your room! :D

Copic is always coming up with gorgeous colours, and maybe they wouldn't be so attractive if it weren't for the names that come with each new shade! I'd be so much happier if I didn't have to cry every time I take a marker or two to the check-out XD.

Anyway, it's the weekend everybody! I should be doing lots of other things, and I will. All in good time. Haha. Cheerio~!

Wheelie Wonders

I just saw something that reminded me about Gabriel Iglesias, and nothing could stop me from going 'WATERMELON WEDNESDAY!!' in my head XD. But all these 'Ws' lead me to another fantastical wobbly, wheely machine :D. 

I can't remember when was the last time I rode on a bicycle. Do you? And now with all the harmful fuel emissions and global warming, it seems good sense enough to turn to eco-friendly modes of transport. Living in Malaysia though, cycling seems near impossible. The traffic, roads, and scary people will put the thoughts of wheelies cycling far off anyone's mind. It'd be very nice if we all lived in fair weathered places that had designated cyclist lanes so we can ting-a-ling to a greener future =).

1. madsen cycles  |  2. viva bicycles

I did go a-googling for nice rides, and these two caught my eye almost instantly. Look at how pretty they are!! The Madsen bike comes with a passenger-cum-cargo bucket. It's probably going to be heavy if you load it up, but hey, how can you not fall in love with something so pretty? :D Besides the minty blue and pastel yellow, this bike comes in black, pink, and pink-with-black-bucket. Not cheap though, on-site this bike is going for 1,750$ O___O. The Viva looks just as gorgeous, though the price be unknown =P. Love the leather saddle!! ^O^. It seems to me a thing of a beauty. I'd like to see a classic woven basket on it, or maybe even a little lamp and funky bell. Talk about cycling in style! :D. Speaking of which, what would you accessorize your bike with (say you had one)? I came across these   awhile back, and heck even if I had no bicycle I would still buy them! :D

poketo

Sweet, hand painted bells! Comes in watermelon, orange, or ice cream flavours ;). I can imagine them smiling up at me as I pedal away...or just sitting on my desk and ringing every now and then. Lol.

Anyway, yes it's the middle of the week! And I've got things to do but as you can see I'm not doing them and instead am happily typing away here XD. Time to get serious then! Have a watermelon everyone, cause it's WEDNESDAY! 8D

poketo

Sanctuary

Ever since I was little (yes, it's one of those nostalgic reminiscent posts =P), I'd always dreamed of having a house with my very own library. It doesn't have to be big, with high ceilings and shelves all the way up, till you need a ladder to reach the books. I'm short and accident-prone enough, thank you very much. The last thing I need is to rip a muscle straining to grab at the book just out of my reach and/or being buried under an avalanche of hardbacks. Which brings me to the other thing. My dream reading space would probably be even less valuable than the garage. There won't be priceless, first editions of everything. Leather bound tomes, papers edged with gold. I don't think the books I read even come like that. Haha. No, I think my library would be a motley of paperbacks: bright green Penguin classics, perhaps one or two hardbacks (I can see my hardback copy of Murakami's 1Q84 sitting on the shelf already), and plenty of children's books. Pop-ups, rhymes, and an entire collection of translated Jimmy Liao books. And definitely not forgetting Jacqueline Wilson, for the times when I just want to take a break from all the metaphorical grown up books and want something light and easy to read. 

It could be a room, or maybe just one section of a room that I can dedicate entirely to reading. Of course, there'll have to be ample space for my constantly growing collection, with magazines and comics besides. I always imagine a nice, large window with a cushioned seat. And plenty of pillows and a cuddly blanket! And the lights will be adjustable, so I can have them bright or dim whenever I fancy. There has to be lots of indirect light as well. I would love little table lamps that give off soft, yellow light. 

Or, how about a cosy spot in the attic? Right under the slanting ceilings, where the morning sun comes through the windows just so?

simplystoked

simplystoked

I particularly liked the idea of a little storage space under the seat for current reads! That way you could always keep track of which books you're currently sinking your teeth into. Also there has to be a lovely view outside to refresh the tired eyes :).

I came across this, and really, how do you not fall in love with something like this?

mamamekko

It is actually a closet converted into a reading corner for children. I love the painted wooden planks and the cloud pillows! Can't say much about the lamp, because I've grown up with those curly rimmed shades and I have to say, there are very few things more beautiful that the delicate glass frills of that lampshade. I don't know about you, but I sure would love to have a grown up's version of this! A place where you can shut yourself away from all the bustle and noise of the world. When you just don't want to listen to anything or anyone except the sound of the pages turning and the adventures reeling in your mind's eye.

And take a look at this! How gorgeous is this? The flowered curtain, and the comfy stuffed sofa pushed right up at the windowsill. All the days of doing nothing but reading and sipping at coffee! And there's nothing quite as cosy as wooden flooring. It just seems like a warm smile or a gentle hand. 

qc girl's nook

I'm sure everyone has their own idea of a perfect chill spot. And every one needs one. Because we can't all be part of a large group forever. I think it's human nature to want to break away once in awhile, break away from the raucous voices and troublesome 'lifely' woes like clogged sinks and dirty floors. Perhaps some of us just want to break away and stay out of the conversation for longer, but that's cool too. To each his own, right? 

It's funny, how I used to think myself as part of the lively crew, going out and doing things. But when I think back I know that that is nothing but a lie =P. I'm a stay-at-home person, full stop. Most of my childhood memories are reading books, making up adventures for my stuffed animals, and then later writing those adventures down into sentences and paragraphs, until I have stories. How many hours, no, I don't think I can quite measure it by hours. If I had to, I would measure those times by the number of batteries I went through, haha. Before the iPods, children, I had a Sony discman player that ran on AA's. Later on I got a Creative Rhombus MP3 that worked on AAA's. I think I bought enough batteries in my entire child-teenhood to power my house for five months, no kidding. Hahaha. But yes, I remember long afternoons and nights, when I was just plugged into whatever music that was making me go then, either writing away at my book or journalling or drawing. Oh my goodness, good times man. Good, good times.

And one day, I'm going to be able to enjoy those times again! When I get my own house and covert a corner of it to my own little sanctuary. How will yours look like? What will your little haven have? It'd be nice to know :).

I think this blog post is a twee bit too long XD. Hope you enjoyed it anyways. Happy Toosday night 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. 

The Dark Knight Rises

I ain't gonna give out any spoilers, but I assure you, it is one heck of an awesome movie. No fan of Batman should miss this one. It was maybe a twee bit lengthy, and our dear caped crusader got very little screen time compared to the other movies before, but hey. I'm already giving more away than I wish to.

I saw Batman! He was sitting a few aisles up centre. In the darkness of the cinema I could see the silhouette of the pointy ears of his mask. Haha. I took a photo with him outside the cinema, and he was prolly only a forehead taller than I am, boots and all. Not much of a suit, but it did liven things up a little.

Anyway, go forth and watch The Dark Knight Rises everybody! I assure you, it will be worth every batty penny :D

whogottherole

Yummy Munchles.

Hello everybody~! This post is about food, so if you're feeling full, I suggest you to wait until you're feeling peckish before you read on :D.

Anyway, what do you guys usually eat at Makanlah? Seriously, my food choices are pretty much limited to Chinese of Malay rice (4 bucks), with the occasional sandwich or oblong (or, as Esmond would put it, obscenely long! Which is a weird ass lie to tell since the oblong does not look obscene neither is it long...I digress). But since today was special, we decided to try something we never had!

Shamiel and I had Indian food! 9rm a plate, but dayum there was just so much food! You could pretty much take everything on the menu, or all of one if you wanted. How awesome is that? And the guy at the counter was plopping spoonful after spoonful of rice on my plate, to the point of me having to go 'STOOOOP YOU PUT SOME BACK RIGHT NOW! O^O'. After he returned some rice back to the mothership, I settled on butter chicken, tandoori, fresh salad, and a spoonful of curry. Omg. How delicious was it, you ask? It was, amazingly delicious. Okay, so it isn't as spicy as I'd have liked it to be, but it was very flavourful. And the tandoori! Homg! So tender and succulent! I can't believe that Makanlah serves up food this good, lol. Of course, it isn't cheap, but so worth it. And a treat once in awhile is okay, no? =)

Here is what Esmond had, from the Kazakh corner. We saw someone walking past with a plateful of dumplings and we were 'O^O where did THAT come from???'

He ended up getting two for himself, amongst other things XD.

Can you believe this. 10 bucks for a plate brimming with good food. And the customer before us was like 'why won't you throw in another of that? It's too little!'. Are you insane, girl? This plate on its own can keep me alive for a whole day O_O;;. Anyway, Esmond's meal consisted of deliciously soft mashed potato, two dumplings, potatoes and chicken, something that looked like an oversized beef meatball, some salad/slaw, and a hunk of bread. Holy smoly. I'm going to have a whole plateful to myself when the new semester starts, I promise myself. Lol. 

Anyway, I'm going to continue my food fest by visiting all my favourite pig out spots in Melaka soon enough, so prepare to see me waddling up to you all fat and puffy =P. Nah, I kid. I shall work hard this holiday! I shall go for morning jogs and do some other form of exercise, somewhere somehow! 8D. Work with me, my fellow brethren. Let us all shed some pounds so that we will feel less guilty when we pile them back on 8D.

Time for shuteyes. Goodnight everybody! Have a happy Toosday!

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!

Lovely Breezes From The Past...

Lol, okay so I was reading my old posts and I couldn't help but recall my tendencies to fangirl over pixelated fictional characters. Such is the bittersweet of my childhood =P. So now I just want to...recall...my past loves. Haha.

WELL...my love for fictionally good looking men came about the dawn of the television and when I first got into the whole anime thing. That was a long long time ago, kids. Long before any of you probably heard about Japan, haha. Anyway, I started watching Saiyuki and I was like 'ohmaigawd who's that adorable green guy with the happy smile? XD' That was when I started going gaga over...Cho Hakkai. Minekura-sama certainly made the pig character of the original Journey to The West very attractive. Hakkai's calm, serene demeanor is Buddha-like, seeing as he has such annoying quest-mates, haha. And the whole 'truth behind the smile' thing. It's so cliché now that I look back to it, but it sounded so cool when I was a kid, lol. And Hakkai shoots chi balls! And cooks! And has a pet dragon that turns into a jeep! What's there not to like? 

 Then I started playing games like KOF and I met the one and only.

Yagami Iori. With his sexy maniacal laugh, swishy red hair and pretty purple flames. Ahhh.

I used to play KOF all the time just to play him and hear him laugh and shout lengthy phrases while he claws at his opponents, lol. 

Yagami Iori likes kitties and so should you!

Then later later when I slowly explored the world of pretty pixels I played DMC4 and Nero's glowing blue claw took my fancy. Lol. I wouldn't really say I fangirled over him, but I just thought his attitude was badass. So was his sword. And his glowing hand. Haha.

But then, of course. The only one dood then I went *fangirl fangirl squealsquealsqueal* about is...

...this guy.

Oh Gackt-sama. Why. Why oh why. 

I don't wanna blog anymore, lol. I just found out I'm reaching my quota limit and it hasn't even been half a month. You see what happens when I get too bored. I get online and waste my broadband quota and still remain bored. YOU SEE HOW DISASTROUS IT IS KEEPING A JOANNE IN UNPRODUCTIVE SPACES FOR TOO LONG. Now I'm going to be bored AND pissed off over my slow bband. Wtf. Moral of the story: sun your Joanne as much as possible to prevent wastage of resources. Amitābha.

Goodnight now everybody. Happy Sunday tomorrow!