“ 7 / 28 November 2006
“ Black ink (ballpoint and fine drawing pen)
*- Shuji and Akira are the characters played by Kame and Yamapi. From the cover of Nobuta wo Produce, the Japanese drama I watched twice recently. Both are very quick sketches, while the second pic was what I did this morning at 3am. Out of the many Yamapi photos I sketched, this is the nicest one. My sketching needs more practice! But do comment here, thanks ^^ Kon kon!

One of the happiest and fulfilling days. At my family gathering to celebrate my grandmother’s birthday last week, I concluded that without my cousins, life would be so dull. That was also the first time I saw Yong brothers’ dog. ??! It’s turning grey, just like the name. Now does it remind me of someone… haha.

I seriously seriously do not want to work at Takashimaya’s departmental store. Enough of standing and walking in circles at Bugis Seiy; they have even more rules and regulations to comply to at Taka which require so much more of me. Don’t know why I made myself do it in the first place. Vivo is fine, but no deparmental stores for me, thank you. I have a hard time adjusting to changes all the time. Why do I insist on working as a salesgirl? I can’t even think of very tangible reasons besides $$, but to make myself useful, to gain more experience, to learn to interact, to be independent, I have to. However what good has it done to me? It’s time to maybe reconsider the rationale of my actions and way of thinking. And follow my heart, not mind.

Hong Kong trip is called off, due to the insufficient funds and the worries voiced out by my parents, though mainly my dad. I even had a dream about holidaying in HK together with Grace. Next time, I hope. Sorry for disappointing you again! =(

In reality, no one can escape from having problems in the family. Things were happening like in a drama; too quickly and then too slowly. Yesterday I made my first attempt to sort and talk things out by my own means. An sms from my dad – “I am very proud of you being my daughter and I think you have grown up”. I hadn’t felt despondent; just ?? ?, trying to figure what were the right things to say, to remain justified in my actions. Never say things in a fit, because you know you never really mean it. Today, things are fine again between my parents. So glad about that.

24 November, TP Talent Quest finals. Some unforgettable performances from the top 20 finalists were #11 Rosie’s very(over) interactive performance, Pepper’s (she won first!), Changboon’s ???????, the song ‘Growing Up’ etc. Hazimah Hajar Karwen and I voted for Sean! Took photo with him afterwards. Here are some photos to show…

When I heard them singing oldies, it occured to me: what is today’s singing competition compared to this? It was the route via StarFerry (now ceased operating =( ) from the main island to Hong Kong island Leslie took to participate in the ATV Singing Contest. As he returned from his studies from England not long before it, Leslie was very westernised and picked Don Mclean’s “American Pie” as his song.

Notice the picture on the left; it’s a difference of 20 years from Leslie in 1977! This is the narration from the video: “The 7th contestant would be Cheung Kwok Wing from Hong Kong, who is 20 this year (it was on 16 May 1977, and his 21st birthday falls on 12 Sept that year) and a student.”

“American Pie was what brought Leslie up the music stage. It not only won him awards, but a contract as well, hence he was able to begin the singing career he loved. In 1978, Leslie made his debut in the album ‘I Like Dreamin’ and in 1979 the album ‘Lovers’ Arrow ???’. Since then, albums that he had released amounts up to over 50, thus winning over the public’s support and acclamation. ”

Leslie’s singing melts my heart so.

“ 13-17 November 2006
“ Macromedia Freehand MX
“ Reference photos from all over the internet
*- The last assignment for Typography class. I remember saying that I never wanted to do brochures again after the ones I did in secondary 2/3, but too bad it’s a designer’s job all the same. Those graphics in this brochure are drawn line by line on Freehand. Looks like hard work… and yes it is hard work, I spent more time illustrating than assembling them together for the final layout. It’s meant to be folded twice, like a Z.Woo, I love the front page <3

There are so many ways of creating a brochure; from the number of folds, the size, theme, colour schemes, typography, layout and style, unlimited ideas can be derived. For this assignment, the aim is to design one targeting tourists and presenting to them Singapore as a “Global City for the Arts”.

From the process of brainstorming, research and development of layouts, I was able to generate an array of ideas in an organised manner. I also made some reference to different types of leaflets, finally deciding on the style of my brochure.

Honestly I did not have ample time to personally take pictures; hence I looked up on the internet photos of places in Singapore related to the Arts as well as symbolic objects. From there, I traced and illustrated them digitally and worked on my brochure design entirely on Freehand MX. With the use of Georgia and Gill Sans Light, my brochure was given a classy and neat outlook. In order for it not to be overloaded with unnecessary details, I endeavoured to be as careful as possible with the choice of colours — maroon, grey, pale yellow and brownish-yellow — and also graphics.

Overall, after much effort, I am satisfied with the final design of my brochure. Typography class has also added to my understanding of the importance of type in design, thereafter, I was able to use it effectively.

i’m so busy with my job because currently i’m being stationed at bugis junction seiyu for 4 days in a row temporarily; i don’t seem to have time for anything at all
or money.

which makes me wonder why do i work so hard when all that i’ve earned plus my savings (= none at all) can hardly cover an air ticket from cathay pacific to hong kong if grace and i decide take off on 28 november and return on 12 december.

this is the suckiest thing on earth, that is not having enough cash to be able to take a break and go for a holiday and when the $1k i wished so much for didn’t come this way and hence i realised its importance. i’m so stuck, i’ve nothing to sell (NO, no one shall touch my art pieces or leslie collection, because it is absolutely pointless and too precious to exchange them for miserable cash) in time. i want to visit hong kong during christmas season, very badly. christmas is my favourite season! just like leslie!

damn, my soles and legs are hurting badly because of the shoes i’ve worn to work today. all that standing and walking in circles in a departmental store makes me it so uninteresting and tiring. i’m in charge of men’s clothes, imagine that. how very very dull. this is not too bad though, because at vivo, tonnes of couples actually stroll into our shop and it’s making me very envious. rah. don’t laugh at me =(

my wish is to visit hong kong with a digital slr in hand and photography skills honed to a more acceptable level. and it should be during christmas season. i still very much want to fly there right now, but the limitations are endless… how??

“ 6-10 / 14 November 2006
“ Macromedia Freehand MX, Photoshop CS
“ My own stocks for the font poster
*- The last second major assignment for Typography class, to create a personal font based on our character. I wrote a whole chunk of rationale which turned out to be really irrelevant, but all I can describe how this font relates to me is that there is action in every letter and number. My actions speak louder than words, if you know me well enough. You can find little objects like the tall magician hat (inspired by movie The Prestige), cat-like creatures, fishes and heart shapes. It took me a few days to brainstorm for ideas, pen them on paper, narrow down to 3 concepts and finally decide on this stickman one. As for the poster, it is to sort of promote this new font. Stick(man) > sticky > stickiness. These are being entered into the Crowbars Award (for design), I think.