Auld lang syne

Heading out to Penang in about an hour.

This is the second time I'm spending New Year's away from home. Definitely not complaining. Anything beats sitting in front of the computer staring at fireworks that can only be seen if you crane your head over the treetops. Haha.

So.
2009.
It's been a good year ... dare I say one of my favourites?
I guess I could say that.
So many new things to learn, new people to meet.
Yeah I had fun and I learned stuff along the way, Alhamdulillah.

Thanks to everyone who's been a part of my 2009;
You guys made things interesting.

Here's to 2010!
:D

Avatar inspired shoes

Tried my hand at shoe painting for the very first time. :)

Base colour.

Hehe. Blue stripes. Avatar-inspired! I have that movie on the brain.
(After watching it in 3-D, watch the Making of it. It's pretty darn awesome.)

Finished pair.
Took me half a day, including time spent taking breaks and stuff. It was loads of fun.
I sprayed them to keep the paint from coming off but I'm still a little nervous about it. Gotta go buy a new can specially made for fabrics because the one I've got is for paper. Then going to put it through a wash just to be extra careful.

The laces that came with the shoes were white but I replaced them with the ones from my old NS shoes. Can't wear them anymore because the inside sole has peeled off. Those shoes lasted me a whole year! In fact, a year ago tomorrow was my very first day in camp.

Hmmm, memories.

Dreams

Dudes and dudettes!
Please fill in this survey (click here!)
It's for me and Sammie's research assignment.
Please and thank you!
:)

The other avatar not that one

Watched Avatar for the second time today but in 3-D.
It was awesome.
:)

I think I'm in love with this movie.
Nyehehehe.
Second time watching means picking up on tiny details. Loads of fun.
I want the DVD so I can watch it again. Whoo!

Make mountains

I'm feeling very comfortable.
Assignments are moving at a really slow pace but at least they're moving.

I'm doing a lot of expressing myself in my private blog.
It makes me feel better. Seriously, never felt so relaxed emotionally. Everything happens for a reason and everything you're going through, no matter how bad it is, it's just going to make you stronger. I think I'm writing like this because I just read some poems written by a person whose friend was dying from cancer. The friend is healing. She's going to live.

It makes me feel really happy, even though I don't know either of them personally.

The drawing is a mountain of cats.
I drew it on a whim.
Maybe I'll colour it.
:)

Musical interlude

Songs that have meaning for me over the past year.
In no particular order.

Breathe
Taylor Swift ft. Colbie Caillat
This is my emo song. Gosh knows how many times I turn to this song whenever I'm feeling down and depressed. It's got the highest play count on my iTunes. Don't worry, I'm not a depressing person. Haha. The part that gets me every time is 'It's 2 a.m., feeling like I've just lost a friend, hope you know it's not easy, easy for me.'

Another Heart Calls
The All-American Rejects ft. The Pierces
Song about love that can't last. Haha. I love this because it reminded me of a couple of my characters. I don't get tired listening to it. 'We lie awake but dreaming till the sun will wash the sky.'

Thunder
Boys Like Girls
'Your voice was the soundtrack of my summer.' That's all I'll say about this. :)

Fireflies
Owl City
What can I say? I fell in love with it the moment I listened to it on a certain online artist's livejournal. It is such an adorable song. It makes me happy inside. 'It's hard to say that I'd rather stay awake when I'm asleep. 'Cause everything is never as it seems.'

Hijau
Zainal Abidin
Listening to this song makes me think of sunlight pouring through windows in a warm coloured classroom. It reminds me of sleepiness and to a certain extent, the smell of juggling balls. I think of everyone calling out 'mandi laut' at the top of their voices. There's a funny sort of feeling I get on the edges of this memory that I can't quite describe. This was the song they played everyday for a month during my first month in NS.

Fearless
Taylor Swift
Oh man I love this song. It lifts me up and puts me on a high. My favourite line is 'Run your hands through your hair, absent-mindedly making me want you.' It's so casual and sweet.

The Take Over, The Break's Over
Fall Out Boy
This song has been my ringtone for the past three years. I have yet to grow tired of it. Possibly my favourite song by FOB. 'We do it in the dark with smiles on our faces. We're dropped and well concealed in secret places. We don't fight fair.'

Mona Lisa
The All-American Rejects
Floofle, you know what this means. 'You can sit beside me when the world comes down.'

I Gotta Feeling
Black Eyed Peas
Singing loudly and off-key in the car. I've done this with so many people. Totally universal.

The Saltwater Room
Owl City
I think with a bit more work on this song as a music video it will drive me around the bend. But I still love this song to bits and pieces. 'So tell me darling do you wish we'd fall in love?'

Your Song
Kate Walsh
Of all the songs listed here I think this one is the one I listen to the least. But it hits way too close to home this year ... so I think it deserves to be here. 'Haven't you heard, I'm stuck on a verse. I'm stuck on a boy who fills me with joy.'

So that's it. This has been a ... musical year for me.
These are just a few of the songs that have made the biggest impact on me.
I've never listed so many songs for my year-end post before. Usually I have just one, or three at the most. Also I'm playing on the piano a lot ... haven't learned a new song in a while but I keep playing Love Story over and over again. I love playing that song, especially the bridge. It's pretty without even trying.

So thank you for the music, 2009.
:)
Here's to 2010 bringing more great tunes.
(*cough* and more of my favourite artists coming over here to perform *cough*)

Utter failitude

OH DEAR LORD WHAT IN FLYING TOMATO-LAND IS THIS

Gossip Girl. As a manga.

Ack all my hair is standing on end this is so much fail.
I couldn't move the first minute I looked at this ... my limbs were frozen in place out of embarrassment. Check out the freakishly rainbow coloured backgrounds and the character designs. I know I can't be a good judge because I don't like manga to begin with but I have some respect for some styles which are pretty cool. THIS STYLE IS NOT.

Argh come on people you can find classier artists than this.
Bleh I can't bear to look at it but I can't tear my eyes away. It's like a car crash.

I have goosebumps.
*shiver*

Therapy

Just found the best way to take my mind off things ...
Wrote a letter to myself saying all the things that I'm too scared to say aloud and I'm too ashamed to think about. It's good to just lift myself out of myself and see everything from another person's POV, know what I mean?

I think it worked.
I feel oodles better. :)

Been spending the past few days watching season 2 of Gossip Girl.
Yeah I know I'm way behind. Pfft.
I think I'm hooked.
Why are they all so damn pretty? I could stare at their faces for hours.
Oh wait, that's exactly what I've been doing. Haha.

Heading for swimming later, Hanna's got a class and I'm driving.
Swimming is the best thinking time! Awesome.
Ta.

All I need is beside me

Went to Mid Valley yesterday to celebrate Hannah's birthday.
Happy birthday Hannah! :D

I fetched Iffah and Nad and we set off onto what we didn't know was going to be a long road trip. None of us are familiar with Mid Valley ... the last time I went there was four months ago and I was definitely not driving. So I missed the turning into the mall and we ended up driving towards Cheras. This is the part where I began to freak out - I was laughing hysterically in the driver's seat because goshdarnit I have never driven into KL in my life and the thought of being lost in some place I didn't know was daunting.

Somehow or other we ended up on the highway heading for Putrajaya of all places. A few turns later and a U-turn, we were driving past Bukit Jalil Stadium. Arghhh. Finally found a highway that looked vaguely familiar and could have cried tears of happiness when I saw Taylor's Lakeside Campus. Hahahahhaahha. I was so happy. We had made a huge roundabout. We arrived in Mid Valley an hour and a half after we left home. It's pretty funny now that I look back on it.

Mid Valley was freaking packed. Took us 45 minutes to find a parking.
I am never going back there again. Not driving there anyway.
Never again!
Unless someone else is driving. Yeah.

Birthday girl with the movie tickets for New Moon. :)
Movie was damn boring. I wanted to sleep. The only parts I felt alive was the scene with the wolves and Volturi. If the movie was about epic fighting between the wolves and Volturi I would be really really really happy. But it's not. So ah well. This made me laugh though:

Bella: I'm coming.
Edward: I don't want you to come.
Bella: I want to come!

And then at the end of the movie ...

Edward: Bella, come.
Bella: No.

Whaaaaat hahahaha.
Along with the Hindustan running through the forest scene. That was hilarious.

On the way home with Nad I took yet another wrong turning and ended up in TTDI. Hadoi.
It was a good day though. I'm exhausted but it was an amazing day and I had loads of fun. The road trips made it memorable. Days like these make me want to love everyone in the world. Hahaha.
Love love love.

Not slime

Watched this on a whim with the fam last night.
It's been busy busy busy so when there was a 9 o' clock show, we just up and rushed to OU to watch it. The cinema was packed! I was worried that it was going to be noisy, what with all the squealing toddlers but it was actually a really fun audience. Everyone laughed at all the right moments and clapped when the movie ended. Haha.

So, the movie itself. I really enjoyed it! It made me realise how long it's been since I watched a 2D movie in the cinema. It's a good experience, so catch this while it's still showing. The plotline is a twist on the original Frog Prince story, which I think everyone already knows. And as is custom with any Disney 2D movie, there are songs! There was one particular number that I really liked, about what you need and not what you want. Dunno the name.

Oh and the best part? Believable love story. Or at least better than the old style meet today, married tomorrow. Heh. It was cute lah. I hope that this means that they'll be makign more 2D movies. I feel like watching this one again.

In other news, midsem break has started!
I've only got assignments planned. Not inserting anything else so far because I want to see if I can kick my creative juices into producing something worthwhile. I still haven't started on my latest DIY frame set yet. And I want to get some writing done on AfterParty. And maybe some drawing too. Here I goooo.

Do not repeat

I just realised ...
If the same thing that happened to me in May happens again, I'll be pretty devastated.

I think I should sharpen my observation skills.
Being oblivious to things happening right before my eyes is turning out to be majority of the reasons why I go into emo-mode.

I just don't want it to happen again.
I'm far too happy about how things are right now and I don't want the dynamics ruined.

Tomorrow is the last day of college for this year.
Sure doesn't feel like it ... so many things to get done during the holidays.
Let's go and do this.

To moogie

Mowgli-googly bear darling,
How were we supposed to know that our time together would be so short?
Time together is just never quite enough.
Thank you for being there for us after Scout said goodbye.
Thank you for the healing.
I'm sorry you had to go so soon.
We miss you already, baby.

Here's to the original Party Cat (Meow-Meow).
I hope you're partying it hard in catheaven.

We love you.
:(

Thursday whirlwind

Thursday started out raining.
Came to college with two umbrellas because Sammie was stuck in the carpark without one. Heh. Walked into class and realised that I forgot to print out my IELTS style essay. Cue the panic! Frantically called Mama and she got Mira to wake up and email it to me in college. Temporary panic over. And then Ms. M says that we have to finish our research proposal on THAT DAY ITSELF and hand it in before 5. Cue another panic, since that we had already made plans to meet everyone at Pyramid. :/

So we speed-typed through everything.
Then we waited for Ms. M in the classroom but I was silly and forgot to ask her where she would be waiting so she was waiting in the office instead. Teng. Finally we handed the proposal in and raced off to the carpark to our well-deserved day of fun. x)

What can I say? It was a good time.
When I came home, I made the mistake of watching Friends bloopers on YouTube. While I was laughing, I realised just how much I was suffering from laughter overdose. My body was seriously exhausted. I had the spent the whole day running around, panicking for half of it and laughing like a maniac for like what? Four whole hours. I was conked out. I haven't slept so early in months. Haha. Talk about whirlwind.

Awww I love you guys, every single insane one of you. :)