resolutions, anyone?

2 days till 2011.
I don't have a single resolution yet. I can't think of any this time.
I'm not much of a planner, so I guess I will do things all in due time.
...
In the spirit of Christmas, I dug through all my old books to find and read A Wallflower Christmas again.
Its my favorite holiday book :)
Christmas this year is a pretty event, complete with unexpected presents and awesome souvenirs from Korea (Shyung actually remembered I wanted a snowglobe and brought back 2 boxes of strawberries and Yung was awesome enough to buy me BB posters and allow me to steal one of the (oversized) hoodie he bought for himself).
Anyway, Singapore had some really awesome Christmas trees.
I wish I could have seen it all. As it is, I fell sick on Christmas day and everyone was forced to go home early (My uncles and aunt were secretly relieved though).
And so, I spent Christmas watching korean dramas on my lappy (Tae Kyung-oppa!)
Thankfully, I had visited Kinokuniya on Friday, where my bestest (yet!) Christmas present came in the form of my aunt telling me to "Go get whatever you want, and meet me here (at the entrance)."
At that moment, I did feel like a little kid at a candy store.
I ran straight to the Art section and got myself Yoshitaka Amano artbooks (Mateki; The Magic Flute, The Tale of Genji and Fairies) as well as National Geographic's Essential Visual History of the World to add to my collection.
I will pay back half of that though. I had to get all the Yoshitaka Amano artbooks at a go only because I can't find them in Malaysia, and they were the last copies in Kino (or so I was told).
Borders here used to have Amano's Coffin; The Art of Vampire Hunter D, but I haven't seen it since.
I hope its still around.

Ah, speaking of that, I promised Yung I won't buy books for the next 10 months. We're planning a trip to Korea next autumn. I guess that counts as a resolution. I'm going to leave myself a loophole though, because anyone who knows me will know that I can't possibly keep that promise. Maybe, one book a month?
Hard chance though, considering Yung will have total control of my atm card soon.
...
Random photos from Singapore.

Is this Orchard Central? I have no idea. The building looks good though.

You can adopt these bears! Unfortunately, only after New Year's, I think.

Awesome Edward Scissorhands motion globe, with my favorite (snow) scene of the movie ($222.01)

My Christmas loot!

there's a difference between child-like and childish

I fixed me a Gakkenflex camera! :D
Its actually smaller than a Blackbird Fly, I think.
I wanted to do this baby up before I leave for Singapore so I can bring it along with me :)
The fixing part was really fun, took about an hour or so (including eating breakfast), and now I know how everything is put together.
The best part was when I finally fixed in the viewfinder lens and it was a slightly silly 'holy crap! it does work!' moment for me. I can't stop showing off to my family members.
I don't have the film yet, so I can't test it. Going to CF tomorrow, so hopefully I can buy some in Times Square.
I'm so nervous, I hope all the parts are working correctly especially the shutter. I have read in online forums that some have tightened it too much and the shutter won't close properly, or screwed it too loose and the shutter doesn't open as it should.
I do wish I had discovered 大人の科学 earlier, as they have the Stereo Pinhole camera about 6 issues ago. I would love to fix one of that. Think I'm going to go get me another one of these DIY kits soon.

Having an 'Endless Rain' phase again. I. WANT. TO. SEE. X. JAPAN.
I've seen the more recent X-Japan lives, and Toshi can't sing like he used to.
Please don't disband before I get the chance to see you :( It'll be the biggest regret of my life, sharing the same number 1 spot with missing Tim Burton's exhibition.


Its a dream, I'm in love with you,
Hold me tightly in your arms.. (The word 'madoromi' here means slumber or doze which probably links to the mention of being in a dream, but nobody translates that :S )

Endless rain fall on my heart,
on my heart's scar.
Let me forget all of the hate, all the sadness

I awake from my dream,
I can't find my way without you...

*awesome, emo guitar solo by Hide T.T*

The dream is over,
Even if I repeat voiceless words,
The gray wall is too high,
Depicting the emotions of the passed days in a dream
Until I can forget your love..

Yoshiki is my God.

the night before your life changes

This is the plant I bought from my lecturer for 50 cents early this year. I'm not kidding.
"These are Japanese roses", somebody told me.
Very pretty, apparently they only bloom in the morning (because thats the only time I ever see the flowers).
They wither after a while.
And no, they're not blue. Its one of my photoshop experiments.

....
That night, everyone was over at your place, eating, talking and laughing with each other.
They are going through your photo album, and commenting on how pretty you look
in that white wedding dress,
"The groom looks good here too", they say.
And you smiled in response to their compliments.
But it was a smile tinged with nervousness that you try to hide, because you weren't sure how your life would be after tomorrow.

Cousin's wedding tomorrow night. I still think its weird. Maybe because she's only 2 years older than me.
I wonder how it feels for her tonight, knowing that by the time tomorrow is over, her life would be tied to another.

maybe some of us just aren't good in anything

My first Christmas present is of course, from myself. Its a really cute musical jewelry box and the snowman in the center spins :D Now I have something in my room to remind me of Christmas. Lately, I've been fooling around with Photoshop alot, trying to create different image effects for my old photos, since they are just lying around useless in my EHD anyway. May have accidentally figured out how to create a slight brown tinge in my photos for the 'old' effect. Trying not to read online tutorials cause I think it'll be fun to experiment, rather than reading instructions.

Yesterday, I picked up Shadow of the Wind again, and I realised I have forgotten the beginning of the story! I'm making it a personal goal to finish this book by the end of December.

Made a friend at A&L's wedding dinner, and we went for lunch today. Personally, I have no problems meeting new people, and since he's A's friend and not a complete stranger, I figured it would be okay. Lyd seems slightly suspicious, and I told her something along the lines of how we shouldn't create something out of nothing. Its nothing wrong, making new friends. And she says just in case, I should tone down my er.. personality, so as not to give the wrong signs. That always seems to be the case, she says. But I wonder, how does one "tone themselves down"? I am the way I am. I'm silly, I make weird remarks, I laugh, I joke. (I'm sure there isn't), but in the event that anyone think there's something more, that really is out of my control. Maybe I just don't see why I should repress myself, or change the way I speak/act just for another person who may or may not matter to me.
I would be a hypocrite if I said I hated fake people, and then I turn around and be fake too.
I'm always going to be this way, and how everyone reads it is really none of my problem.
Either you hang around, or you don't.
Sometimes, I just wish people won't always try to expect something of me. Whatever it is you want, I can't find it, and I can't give it to you. If you think its painful for you, then it is so for me too. You are hoping for something you won't get, and I'm expected to give out something I don't have. Both sides of the coin are the same, if you ask me.

i lied and you believed

I wish Decembers look just like that here. Pretty lights! Amelia and Leo's wedding in a while. I got a new dress (black, unfortunately.. the only other option is pink and we all know I'd die before I pick that.. There's only ONE specific shade of pink I like) and my hair curled just for the occasion. Thats the thing about doing design I think. Colors won't be the same again. Like, green will never be just green again. There's pale green, jade green, grass green, lime green.. You get the picture.

Aarinfantasy is finally up again. Thank you! I was getting deprived there. No new drama cds to listen to. Except I killed my headphones of about 3 weeks old. Just by tripping over it. The suckiest things happen to me sometimes.

Think I have about 2 hours to try and fix my new camera together before getting ready for dinner. In case my Kanji reading really sucks, I also managed to find a guy who translated the instructions online. Yay! Dad said no to me spray-painting some parts of the (camera) cover to look just like the Blackbird Fly, because I may spoil it, he says. Damn. What's the fun in that?

2 weddings and a holiday

I absolutely cannot wait for Christmas holidays.
That seems to be the only thing that gets me by.
Its not that I don't like work (the pay's good), but I'd enjoy it more if the environment is slightly noisier. I've never been a fan of quiet places, and the office studio is exactly that.
It makes me want to sleep.
The only thing that keeps me company is MSN and BL drama cds but ever since Aarinfantasy is down for maintenance, I haven't been downloading any new ones. Listening to the old drama cds though, I discover something new everytime. After I'm done looking for meanings to the Jappy words I don't understand, I listen to it again, and suddenly everything makes more sense. Ever since our last Jappy class 3 weeks ago, there hasn't been any news of the next class. Which I'm secretly grateful for, because now it would seem we cannot afford to continue the lessons.

The japanese magazine I've been longing for is on sale! Pretty glad I didn't get it 3 months ago, because I haven't started working then. Its called 大人の科学, translates as 'Adult Science' magazine (my mom said 'Adult Education magazine' really loudly in Kino that had everyone within a meter radius staring at me curiously, most likely wondering what kind of adult education she's talking about) that comes with a DIY kit of a particular topic of that issue, for readers to fix so they can really see how the thing works. In this issue, its about lomo photography and the magazine comes with TLR (Twin Lens Reflex) Camera kit, similar to that of the Blackbird Fly. Only wayy cheaper. The camera does work, but of course, I'd have to fix it first and buy the film for it. I just hope 3 years of Jappy lessons can help me read (and understand) the instructions manual.

I've been told that there might be a change of scenery for us soon. So, I guess things aren't going to get better anytime soon. Again, I ask, why us? At least I'm going to be working for the next 5 months.
I also finally got my semester results. Everything is looking good (no more C's, thank you!) but that little space for my Design result is empty. Why?!? Should I be worried? Considering that's the most important subject.

Blackbird Fly

That's pretty much how the camera is going to look like. And the pink looks really good. Wonder if I can spray paint some of the parts before I fix 'em together?

higher than anything i've seen

Its ironic that when we were young and full of energy,
we had to be trapped at home, for the simple reason that we were not old enough to venture out on our own.
There was always too many hours in a day,
and we wait impatiently for everyday to be over, so that we can grow up and begin living.
Or so we thought.

Now we're older, but not necessarily free.
Trapped by a pair of chains, called reality and responsibility,
and all the dreams we had, had to remain buried,
because there is never enough time for everything.
We find the days have grown shorter,
when it was long before,
and we find ourselves desperately wishing we could go back.