First artwork on the wall!

I used to dream about buying a house and filling it with my artwork all over the place. Lol I also had plans to hand paint patterns on the walls and ceiling.

Alas, now that we've bought a house.. I'm too chicken to do anything more than painting the walls white! Paint is not cheap and I kept imagining my cat creating a Picasso moment (probably called something like 'Rainbow Pawprints') around the house. Another thing holding me back is the fact that this place also belongs to the boyfriend and I don't know if he's gonna like my paintings. Heck I'm not even sure if I'm going to like it!

But look at it this way - it's a clean slate. A blank canvas, a great way to start. At least this is how I consoled the artist within.

I have not worked out enough courage to get adventurous on my walls yet so for now, painting on paper/canvas then hanging it up seems like the perfect compromise :)

Frame: RIBBA 42 x 52 cm, IKEA, AUD 19.95

If I've got spare cash, I'd give Art Logic a call to get their very cool gallery quality hanging system installed in my house. Neat and strong, these babies have a high tensile strength (up to 15 kg per strand from memory) and most importantly, you know you can trust the Art Logic folks, one of the best people I have worked with :)

A Belated Birthday Card

Alison is a friend of mine (a fellow cat owner and pet lover) that went through all the trouble to get me a whole lot of things for my birthday last year - things that I've really want, but never had the heart to spend money on. I was so moved I nearly teared!

Her birthday was in early January and we weren't able to find anything suitable so we ended up purchasing a gift card. I didn't think a gift card was very thoughtful so I've decided to couple it with a handmade card. Now this decision caused another 3 weeks of delay because I procrastinated but I finally mustered enough will power to get it done. Here's the finished product:




Black kitty card is inpired by the white maneki neko figurine - a souvenir from Alison in her travels last year.

 

The front and back of card.




LOL can you see how sincerely sorry I was?!?

 

Thank you 2012!

The magic peacock of random awesomeness

I still find it hard to believe that yet another year has passed. Two weeks into the new year and I still put down '2012' when I'm writing the date half the time (like in my drawing above). Oh well, I'll get used to it.

2012 was a really challenging year for some. From speaking to friends, Facebook and some blogs I follow, quite a few couldn't wait for this testing year to end. I do hope the new year will bring them new found hope and happiness. Nothing's permanent in this world of ours, good or bad - this too shall pass. 

Overall, I think 2012 has been a pretty good year - some significant milestones and emotional highs for many. A lot of couples I know either got married or engaged. A lot of my close friends claimed they had their biggest travel adventures or have never travelled to so many places in one year before. I couldn't say the same for myself, but these are my highlights for 2012:

1. Going back to Malaysia

Twice actually, but the trip last December was really awesome. The main reason for the trip is to attend my cousin, Rose's wedding. This experience deserves a couple of blog posts on its own but in a nutshell, it's the most frustrating yet the most beautiful wedding I've ever witnessed. 

It's always a challenge to catch up with people with such a tight time-frame but I am immensely proud of my good mates. After Rose's wedding, I hopped on a 7 am bus to KL and texted them on the way there. With only a few hours of notice, my friends/cousins with full time jobs made time for me and I've got my power packed trip sorted. I love them to bits! 

Penang > KL > Damansara > Kuang > Seremban > Kuang > Damansara > Penang (in 4 days!)

Last but definitely not least, I spent some quality time with my family. I have a love-hate relationship with some of them but at the end of the day, family is... family! And I really do love them.  

2. Getting my driver's license

Got my driver's license in Malaysia a month before I came overseas, and have been too poor to afford a car and too used to having Steve to chauffeur me around... until recently. May not be a big thing to some but having the confidence to drive a car is a massive accomplishment to me. Having said that, driving in Malaysia is still far-fetched for me :P

3. Rekindled old hobbies

I'm starting to draw, paint, read books and ride my bike again. These are small things, but something inside me felt alive. I doubt it made sense to you but I really can't explain this better.. sorry! 

4. Being more stable

What kind of highlight is 'stability'?! Lol, I feel like a simpleton sometimes. For lack of better words, I wanted to say that I felt more secure about my life. My relationship with Steve is going strong and financially, I think we're both dealing with our savings very well. I'm really pleased and contented with where we are at.

Well, wasn't it a perfect year? Nah, it goes without saying that the year did encounter a few low notes. I'm beginning to dislike certain aspects of my work and workplace. A big portion of my calendar year is dedicated to work so this is a biggie! Gah, at least I think I'm well paid, so I'll suck it up and power on. Another lowlight was how I disconnected myself from some friends. It's probably beneficial to disassociate myself from friends as such, but I feel sad. (Hero complex?) I wish I could fix this. Can 2013 give me the opportunity to do so? 

Coffee

One of my favourite things is the smell of freshly brewed coffee. Instant coffee is okay - I'm not particularly against them, but there's just something magical about ground roasted beans.

Back in Penang, either my mom or aunty would make a pot of coffee every morning. I think they are still using cloth filters that looks something like this. For as long as I remember, I've always loved the smell of coffee but it took quite a few years to feel the same about its taste. It was too easy to sneak a few sips so I eventually did it... and was filled with disappointment! "How can something smell so nice yet taste so bad?" So coffee was in the same category as lip balm (blueberry) for a while.

Latte, cappuccino  mocha, long black, short black, flat white etc etc..  Two years ago, I'd think long and hard about which one I should try. I'm only used to hearing people order Kopi O or Kopi Peng! LOL. Although I still find the coffee list rather confusing, I now know what I want to have. Ooh, I could also roughly explain what affogato and macchiatto is. When I was working as a waitress, I had hoped for my boss to get a proper coffee machine in her restaurant so I could learn some cool barista skills.I doubt she gave it much thought! Oh well, someday I'll get an espresso machine with a steamwand so I can make pretty latte. Haha, someday! 

My sloppy latte art on pumpkin soup...

As a kid, the question of why the adults enjoy drinking coffee, eating vegetables and watching news on tv have always puzzled me. Now I feel all grown up :P

I guess it's a good time to end the post. The cat has just gone onto my lap.. kitty love time! :3

U say wha?

Feeling artistic all over again

I rarely pass on any given opportunity to sketch, although the quality of my sketches these days are detriorating. Having said that, when I put some effort and time into it - I'm quite amazed at what I could draw.

I drew this a few months back for our rogaining team, the Sleepy Crawlies. We're meant to be in a bug inspired sleeping bag. I think it's cute :P Most of my drawings are still in pencil. I don't really know how to use pens properly yet.

I've recently completed a 5 week acrylic painting class at the WEA. I struggled more than I expected to. Blaargh, long gone were my glorious painting days! I've only used poster paint in the past and acrylics behave quite differently. It was quite challenging to get use to the quick drying time and the fact that the paint becomes insoluble in water after it has dried. I don't have a lot of colours so I've got to mix a few colours to obtain them. This also proved harder than initially thought to be!

On the first 2 lessons, we were asked to mix colours and paint the colour wheel. The third lesson was the most interesting, as we were taught to paint a subject using different techniques. I've never painted so many bananas in my life.

On week 4, the task was painting still life. Our teacher, Rebecca, arranged some props like fruits, bottles and foliage on a table. If the class went on for another hour, I may have finished it... maybe not :P 

Our final assignment was painting anything of our choice. A friend was doing some research before her big Europe trip and uploaded a really stunning scenery (Tuscany, I think). I saved the picture on my phone and decided to use it as my reference. The finished product:

To be frank, I'm quite surprised it turned out pretty awesome (by my standards). Awesome! :)

Of Cigarettes and Smoke

I have a scar on my right hand from playing with a lit cigarette when I was a child. I grew up in house with three smokers. Well, four, if you include the uncle who frequently visits. Two of my aunts quit smoking now but back in those days, a smoke free day is rare.

When it doesn't come in big puffs of smog, smoke can sometimes be so beautiful. I enjoy the sight of its fluidity - the way it swirls and dances in the air. Dipping my stained paintbrush in stirred water gives that same effect, leaving me staring in awe and admiration.

Having said that, the smell of cigarette smoke really puts me off, especially in the morning. The whole second hand smoker thing doesn't bother me that much. Sure inhaling the smoke is bad but in an open area, the overall effect is a bit like dumping a bucket of salt into seawater. Breathing in smoke when I'm walking behind a smoker or when waiting at the bus stop annoys me. Last week, I had a conversation about this with a customer over the takeaway counter at the restaurant. She shared the same sentiment and told me that soon, people who smoke in public areas may be fined. I heard this over the radio this morning too and I really hope this new law will come to pass.

As much as I despise the smell of cigarette smoke, there's something about the smell of unlit cigarettes that I really like. Yep, I'm talking about the smell of a freshly opened pack of ciggies - the smell  of cured tabacco? Ironic?!

My roses aren't red...

...but I love them nonetheless :) We were going to pay our respects to Steve's grandma at the temple, so I thought I'd bring along some flowers from our garden.

Kuachicken

The eating of kua chi, the lack of interest in socialising and the sudden urge for art:





Reminder to self

'Everything happens for a greater reason.'

Amongst all quotes, I don't think there's any one that I hold closer to my heart than this. Stay positive and give thanks, for life is good :-)

Poison

My words are poison,

maybe I should've been mute;

and perhaps then, I'd listen again.

These tears that I cry,

I don't understand why.

It got me thinking,

would you cry them for me?

My words are poison,

yet I still speak.

Let me eat my own speech,

so as much I hurt you,

I feel my own poison too.

Hahahha I wreak of emo-ness again.

Blood Donation #3

This is the third time I've head to the blood donation centre - and the second time I came home disappointed. In my second visit, it was cold and I didn't have enough liquids so my tiny veins become somewhat microscopic and the nurses didn't want to risk it.

Fair enough.

This third time, I ensured I did some exercise and drank lotsa fluids. Fate has it that I got a trainee nurse, brand new. She got the right vein but entered it wrongly - so I bled. Lost about 30 mls of blood. The more experienced nurse told me that it's going to bruise so I came home with a free tube of bruise ointment - which I intend to use on the enormous bruise on my leg.

I shall attempt to donate in 1.5 month's time again.

Another weekend!

I love Fridays. I always look forward to Fridays and today, yet another Friday, was surprisingly more eventful. Interview with Red Cross went ok, hopefully I get to be a volunteer and get that greater sense of purpose when I wake up (instead of playing Bejewelled or Solitaire). I also had lunch with Andrea, which was very enjoyable and we walked around running each other's errands. Thank you for the mango cake, lovely! :)

And just like many other Fridays, I get to see the boyfriend! But tonight, Adrienne is gonna... meet the parents. Hmmm perhaps it's a good thing that my Cantonese is limited to the Dim Sum menu. Don't know. Sigh I'm shyyy.

"Ah, that's a very fine looking char-siu"

"Oh My har-Gao!"

Tomorrows

There's a lady who sits on a stool near a little table on Rundle Mall. She will interpret tarot cards for you, for gold coins ($1, $2). My housemate got a reading once, but I don't really remember what her comment was.

Wonder about the future? I do. And it is during extremely uncertain times like this, when I am very tempted to pay the lady to get my tarot card reading. TELL ME MAH FUTURE!

A friend quoted life to be a mysterious puzzle, and I agree. How do you solve a puzzle when you don't know what it looks like? Well, I personally like to think that this massive puzzle has little bits of clear pictures that you can piece together; and hopefully someday, we'll be amazed by the big picture and be glad that our sacrifices aren't in vain. So as a reminder to myself, focus on one thing at a time and don't be easily threatened by the shadows of uncertainty.

To fellow jobseekers and those who are still studying, my best wishes to us!

P/s: I have this urge to fix jigsaw puzzles now. Ah, I'm so easily distracted :(

Motivation

You've graduated. It seemed so huge and scary to me. And yet, it's about time. I've personally gotten sick of studying.

The roads ahead are going to be tough. When and if you're swayed by uncertainties, challenges, hardships and tears, know that I'm gonna be here for you. An old friend from home.

Chin up and smile your silly grin, it's time to conquer the world. =)

When you're in my position, jobless and with very little money, it's having friends like these that makes me feel rich again. Adrienne will reach somewhere someday. Rarrr.

Did you notice...

that the white letters on the top header spells "PANDA"? Hehe. Like many things in the world, I guess the creator(s) enjoy putting little hidden details, even Microsoft has some. For me, I'd hope for people to notice, but if they don't, I still feel happy thinking that I did something interesting. But as you can see, I can't quite contain my excitement!

In my "busy life", I hope that I never forget to appreciate my surroundings and be surprised with the amount of detail in everything... except bugs and insects. Detail overload in real life! (But them in pictures are coool)

Have a good day :)

Graduation!

This photo was edited from a friend's album. Congrats to all graduates (especially the petroleum engies because I am biased). A big thank you to everyone who made me feel proud of myself - those who took photos with me, those who wrote on my Facebook wall or made a blog entry on it! Thank you all :)

Dear Blog

It's been almost half a year since the last post, but nevertheless, I've always thought about you, my dear blog - I've got big plans for us. I wanted to use you to motivate me to learn about digital designs... but it never materialise, because I have been lazy and unmotivated. But mind you, whenever inspiration comes, I think of you and someday, however distant - you would be colourful and full of life.

P/s: I am graduating! Now this means that I'm officially out of uni and unemployed. So to be honest, I'm not excited. Only reason I'm attending this is for my family. Photos up soon, I guess.

Hello World!

Despite still having a presentation, some reports and assignments - the honours presentation is finally done. I personally could do better but the outcome was pretty okay. A few people said they liked it. I snorted and say thanks. Despite the doubt that they actually meant what they said, I did feel rather satisfied deep inside.

Due to the group assignments and presentations, I actually made some "new" friends. I had always knew they existed, but because of these group activities, we all had a chance to really get to know each other- and these people are really funny and nice. It's been a very hard but good semester. Personally, I'm just too lazy to be this hardworking, but I guess I did - I really pushed myself to the corners of my limit. (Note: We're talking about being alcohol and Facebook free here. And a lot of work)

I'm very slow, since a long time ago... I'm just very slow! Ask my school friends, they can testify. But I think I figured out why. I'm a bloody perfectionist. I think things through in too great a detail that it's unnecessary. I also tend to priorities minutely important things. This is a big flaw that I have to fix. It's a serious problem if I have to work independently - but in a team setting, I reckon it's not too bad a quality to have.

Looking back at my previous posts - I do get very emotional and it's stupid to put these up for public eyes. Guess I might be a closet attention seeker. Now that honours stuff's are out of the way, I'm officially living a normal life again. Such a huge weight off the shoulders. And I'd probably stop posting anything that wreaks the smell and taste of extreme emo-ness.

More happy days ahead I hope. It's my birthday soon but I don't feel like celebrating at all. Too much stuff is due that day and I've got short course all week. I have never asked for a particular birthday present before, except this year. I asked Stephen for a locket some time ago. Not sure if he remembered, he is after all a busy man. Sometimes, I think that the heavy curriculum of the engineering course is so, to prepare us for the tougher road ahead of being an engineer. I'm not exactly looking forward to this but, I have to admit, I am rather excited to say hello to financial independence.

After my exams, I actually feel like researching a bit on religion. I've been a slack lately and losing a lot of faith but I still want to believe. I hope I can find the answers I need to believe again. After all, it was said, "Ask and you will receive, seek and you shall find."

As of now, 2 reports, 1 presentation, 2 exam, a few more assignments and I'm done with my bachelor degree. Four years in a blink of an eye.

Why?

Why's Adrienne upset over paying $80 for a bunch of photos? I hear my housemates complain about how I showed my discontentment with the decision to take all 32 photos for $480. Listen, if you want to talk about me behind my back, do it professionally... Don't let me hear it. Why don't you just tell it to me face to face?

I am upset because it's a rip off. We're paying too much for things like that. My personal aim was just to get a few decent sized ones, and go. I'm even more upset because it was my idea that we go for the photoshoot. I've got a $121 voucher that I thought I would like to share. I had no idea that it's to pay for only my photo and the photo service. In the end, we didn't have to pay for the professional photography taking session- just the photos; and I really just like a few photos very much.

Now, the most economically viable decision was made but how are we going to divide the photos? There's an inbalance in the number of photos taken. There are more photos of certain people. There are quite a lot of photos of me and Steve. It made me think about what will happen when we have to leave each other. It made me think of what I should do with the photos.

When I'm upset, it's not like I go around muttering curses. I just get realy quiet and I don't smile. Just because I talk and laugh so often, it doesn't mean I'm not vulnerable. I am physically stressed due to lack of sleep, mentally stressed because I have so much uni work that I don't know how to do or proceed and now it's affecting my emotions.

And when I'm upset, I can't stand the sight of happy, chirpy people. They make me regret feeling miserable.

Fireflies

by Owl City

"I'd like to make myself believe, that planet Earth turns slowly"

"It's hard to say I'd rather stay awake when I'm asleep"

"Coz everything is never as it seems"

I wish the world would stop for a bit. Give me a break please. Little things are upsetting me when they shouldn't. I should be thankful rather than jealous. I should be happy and take things more lightly. I should, but I'm tired. Hmph, how come I always waste so much time? GRRRR If I can bloody pass this freakin year, at least I can have some pride in calling myself an engineer.

Blah, Adrienne, again, why so serious?