SPCA Campaign and The Best Lecturer EVER

SPCA Campaign

Our final project was to come up with an awareness campaign. Together with 41, Tham and Elysia, we chose SPCA as the organization to do this campaign for. Our main message was the consequences of strays overpopulation. Through this campaign, we aim to encourage the people who want pets to adopt instead of buying from pet shops.

Tham was in-charged of all things visual, I deal with copy while 41 and Elysia both came up with the design for the promotional campaign props. This is one of the few group works where I felt totally relaxed. Coz I deal only with copy, once my part is done, I'll just have to pass that on to the rest. Then I could sit back and only comment on their works. Sweet~

I really like the visual style we came up for this campaign. It's clean and the impact of the images was really strong. All thanks to Mr. Tham for the great visuals!

But maybe it's due to this being the final project, and we're all pretty burnt out by now, we didn't push the possibilities of this project even further. As good as I thought our ideas were, we could have done more, have a wider reach. At one point or another, I think we're all guilty of thinking, 'This is good enough.' But apparently it's not. A good campaign goes beyond powerful visuals and ideas. There's still the strategy on how we want to reach the audience and I think this was our weakest point throughout the whole project.

Anyways, it's done. Just a few tweaks and Advertising is finished for this semester. And so is our time with Mr Ken Goh which has come to an end.

The Best Lecturer of LUCT

He is funny and impossible to please. He has many weird quirks and asks the hardest question which left most of us stumped all the time 'What is the message?'.

After all the presentation, Ken Goh went to the front of the class to give us some feed backs on how we did. It was only when he was giving us what sounded like final advices that it hit me, this was our last class with Ken Goh. We were with him for two semesters. This dude gave me a B for Advertising before. Hoping to get an A from him seemed so... far-fetched. But he is the best lecturer LUCT had to offer. He questioned our work all the time and had a lot to do with tying our ideas to the ground, making them realistic and executable. Without him, our work will only looked pretty, nice and without substance.

He said that he hoped everything we've learnt we will put into practice and not only do them because it's from the Ken Goh bible. But it's true. We only do certain things thinking 'What will Ken Goh ask?' and 'Ken Goh will not let us off that easily'. It is because of his standards that we strive to do better hoping if not to impress, then at least for approval.

You have been truly great, Sir. Thank you!!

ps: Class pictures courtesy of Ying Waey's album. More here.

Pride of a Graphic Designer

This was my proposal for Design Analysis submitted yesterday. I've thoroughly enjoyed designing the layout for this book though some said it's not necessary. But what the heck. There are like tonnes of group work this sem. I reveled in doing everything on my own here, making my own decisions without having to get the nod from every other person before doing something. I'm not complaining about group work, the groups I got this sem were awesome, but it felt freer to be on my own.

I've chosen this topic because it's a rather personal question for myself. Every emerging designers must have gone through the same thing. Before getting to make something resembling a career, we get approach by friends and relatives. When it's friends, they normally have nothing to pay me with. When it's relatives/family, they'll probably offer at the most RM50. And then I couldn't help but think, really, my work is worth this little? My work's so... for lack of a better word, worthless?

Then there's this one time when I felt like my pride's bigger than this. I didn't want to do anything for free, I want my work to be worth something. And then slowly, I began to change my mind. Really, what credibility do I have to think so highly of my own pride? I didn't have experience, no real work in my portfolio, so basically I have nothing to bring into this game called freelancing.

So now, I help out friends even if they can't afford to pay me anything. My only aim will be to do real work and put them into my port. Besides, I find the interaction with these people when we discuss the work I do for them to be a worthy experience.

However, I think I'll pass those cheap-ass logo designs on some freelancer sites. RM5-10 for one logo? Like, really? And for some people who has a business and can definitely afford to pay, they won't, claiming exposure's good enough. Screw them. Yes, I want exposure, I want experience. But I will not allow myself to be exploited.

So there. I might not have the credibility now. But I know I'm good. Some will beg to differ, but heck, I think confidence is important in improving myself. I do have my pride, it might not be worth much now, but it will be soon.

Of course, no harm in getting my head up in the clouds so long as I have my feet firmly planted on the ground.

Caryn

Caryn Tan. Born on 4 June, 12.55p.m. I've reserved a soft spot in my heart for this little precious. Three more weeks and I can go home and put her in my arms. =)

Doubt

Sometimes I doubt.

I don't know.

Are they mine or.

When was the last time I gaze into the stars?

It was by the side of a highway where the bus broke down.

It was utter darkness save the flashes of headlights zooming by.

The sky was a sea of glittering diamonds.

Had I reach up, my hand will glide upon its dark liquid silkiness, scattering the stars, that blink like fireflies.

I might doubt.

But there are no other ways.

This is the only one I know.

So I doubt.

So?

Pumped!

BIG BIG BIG PLANS FOR THE FUTURE.

Just gotta finish my proposal, advertising awareness campaign, promo video for GD and multitude journals. Then I can start.

I CAN'T WAIT!!

Quote for Thought

“Consider what you would do if you knew you would never fail, and pursue that as if your life depended on it — because it does! Only you can create a remarkable life for yourself. Only you.” DEBBIE MILLMAN

The singular most important thing for me right now will be my pursue for a career that'll make me happy for the rest of my life doing things I love and earning money to spend.

Ideal, isn't it?

Naive? Maybe to you.

I have passion and dreams. I will not let them die until I've achieved them.

Still naive? Just because you forgot your dreams doesn't mean I'll have to let go of mine.

Food for thought. Nights, peeps.

3-Movie-Marathon

It was after the exhibition presentation thing and we thought we should really indulge in something as a form of celebration (nevermind the consecutive submission dates in following weeks). Weee~ 41 and I went on a three movie marathon. We wanted to do four, but due to delay in printing Marketing creative brief, and taking a wrong turn on the way to Midvalley, we could only watch three.

So, movie reviews!

Up first, 'Letters to Juliet'. In picturesque Verona, the place where the famous Romeo and Juliet story was set, women flocked the place writing letters addressed to Juliet, spilling their hearts out. There's this group of women, known as Juliet's secretaries, that actually collect all these letters and answer them, offering advice and support. Against this backdrop, came Sophie, a New Yorker who's there on a pre-wedding honeymoon with her fiance. Since her fiance was too busy to bother spending anytime with her, Sophie was left to her own devices which ultimately led her to discover this group of people. While helping out, she discovered a letter kept hidden which was written fifty years ago by a woman. Of course, Sophie replied the letter not knowing if it's even going to reach the woman. And of course again, the letter reached the woman which prompted the old lady to Verona in search of her lost love together with her strapping grandson. It was hate at first sight between Sophie and the grandson yada yada they went in search together for the old lady's lost love all over Verona yada yada and then spark flew between Sophie and the dude... and it all ended rather predictably.

Final verdict, a really predictable storyline. But but but... I will recommend it for the expressive eyes of Amanda Seyfried (the girl in Mamma Mia), the rather cute looking grandson (he looked scrawny at first, but his looks do grow on you) and the beautiful beautiful city of Verona. I am going to put that place into my list of places to go.

Next up was 'Crossing Hennesy', a Hong Kong movie starring Jacky Cheung and Tang Wei (the girl in Lust Caution). Do not expect a straight forward contemporary love story. The relationship between the two leads grew subtlely and is criss-crossed with matters happening to people around them. It's as much a story about love as it is about family, past relationships and growing up (for a forty-one year old man). Truth be told, it was rather boring. I guess I was expecting a tear jerker like 'Echoes of the Rainbow' and was let down.

Lastly, we went for 'Shrek Forever After'. The first Shrek was pure genius. The second, fine, how bad could it be since the first one's that good. The third, pass. The only reason I watched the fourth was because it's the last one in the series, and it could be a good closure. Surprisingly, it was a really fun watch. I did not expect it to reach the heights of genius like the first, it did not, but it was a good and hilarious watch if you would just lie back and chill. I couldn't get over how stupid Shrek was for signing the deal with Rumplestiltskin though. It's just him being a complete fool to bring down so much trouble upon himself.

To end the day perfectly, I got myself two romance paperbacks from MPH. I've devoured the first one in a day and am halfway through the second one. It might seem as though I am very free but the truth is, I'm still slacking. Once the exhibition presentation was over, the fire in me simply extinguished.

Tomorrow. I'll start tomorrow. (hah... the curse of a procrastinator.)

*edit: Shiau Fong and Tingting joined for the last two movies. Tingting slept during Crossing Henessy while Shiau Fong... erm... while Shiau Fong refuse to eat the popcorn I intended to share with her. (additional edit required by Tingting =D)

SENSE

We had our mock exhibition design presentation last Friday. I've actually uploaded all these images since last week, but it sure did take me long to actually blog about it. It took us about from.. erm.. lazy to count, but the point is, many weeks to finish this project. This project has been postponed because half the class went to London. That's why it felt like it has been dragged on and on and on with no end. Halfway through this mess, I actually felt dejected and sick over doing the same thing... or rather, procrastinating over the same thing. Most of the design actually only came into fruition the last two weeks prior to presentation. I guess we did everything we could to make this a success, but there are things we could have done better.

This time around, I get to work with the usuals, 41 and Stella. Since we cannot just have three in a group, the lect gave us another two guys to make up our group. I really really like the group combination this time around. Yes, I've worked before in a group with 41 and Stella, but I'd like to think our own experiences during the internship has given each of us a maturity when it comes to our own work. I like how for the first time in a group project, we can each voice out our doubts over the design. It's a great atmosphere to work under where when a person said maybe your design is not what we have in mind, I can either defend my work and hammer sense into their heads or when they are the ones to make sense, conceit and change. With them, I sometimes have qualms and was nervous about showing them my work. As much as maybe sometimes they'll like it, there's always gonna be "...but..." It's all good and fair. This way, we grow as a group and it was an awesome feeling.

Everyone is in charged of something. 41 was the one who determined our design style for her main poster was the one that got approved. From here, she proceeded to design most of the CIS items. Stella was more involved with the packaging design and she herself got her turn in the CIS design when 41 was too weight down by work and had to have her work given out. I myself first designed the masthead and dealt with most of the copy in our work. There's nothing that turned me off more than a good design with grammatical errors. Not even comic sans. Hah! Anyhow, I got my own spin of the CIS items when Stella herself needed to focus on Flash and passed them on to me. It seemed as though no one wanted to do those blasted postcards. It's so cool, knowing everyone have their own part to play and we can rest assured that they will do it well.

I think I log heads most often with 41. She doesn't make sense sometimes and love to make the type as small as possible. Down to 6 points! She thinks I'm too stubborn (I think she thought so, she never said a thing) and love making my type too big, up to 16 points. Dank, it's a poster for goodness sake! There was this one time when we had an argument on a line extension of the masthead. She thought the line should extend directly from the N so that it shows connectivity. I thought there should be a space around the masthead and the line can extend up to a point beyond that space, so that the masthead is not touched for it's sacred. We tossed a point supporting our own stand one at a time at each other, then reiterated the point when it seemed like each other's not getting it. All this time, Stella was wandering about fanning herself due to the hot weather.

We then settled the case not by winning the argument/discussion, but by tossing a coin. The genius Stella suggested it. 41 chose tails. Heads, I won. Not that it was a satisfying win or anything. (you might be thinking, it's just a line! it's not! it's... it's.. it's... A line. not JUST.)

The presentation went very well. A few burps here and there, but I think we did good. The most satisfying part of the day was Ken Goh commenting, "It was a very good presentation." And when we went up to him as a group by the end of it all, he said, "Good job." And heck, it was a tough order getting that compliment from him. I was buoyed by his compliment for a long time. I think that was also the reason I could do four rounds of Batu Caves steps the next day. Hah!

Our masthead for the exhibition. It's an exhibition of perfume-inspired art.

These are main posters that 41 did.

The teaser poster that I am very proud of. Haha... a line. =D

Test card design that Stella did.

Ooo... lo and behold, the layout design I did in Photoshop! It's not up to par with those one can do with a 3D software, but I am damn proud of my first attempt at it. No fancy software, just a good sense of perspective, space and light. (at least i like to think so. must remain humble... be humble.... so is it good or what? =D)

That's all for this long post. There are tonnes of group work this semester. I might complain and whine and all, but I am really pleased with the work we did as a group this time. Yea~!

Denis Ng

OMG. I think I'm in love. I do fervently hope he's not gay though. Love love love his voice. It gives me goosebumps.

So Long! Farewell!

Someone silly and somewhat smart will be taking her first step into the working world come Monday (which is today!).

The fact that you're moving on into a new phase in life scares me. Time is moving so fast. You're really gonna leave life as a student and be a real adult now. All the best Hooi Fong! People might not understand nor get your decisions, but you know what? Screw them.

I know you know what you're doing. Let's just hope for the best. I only wish you'll know when to seize opportunities that arise and never let fear hold you back.

You once said this which made me really honoured to be your friend: "It's friends like you guys that made me who I am. It's because you guys believe in me, believe that I can do it, that I could." Well, along these lines la. You might not remember ever saying this, but I don't care, it's still one of the most memorable things you've said to us.

And it hasn't changed. I still believe in you. WE still do. *nudge someone skinny and nerdy to agree with me, you know who you are*

Skip along now. Have fun! I'll catch up soon. =)

Happy Me

I was riding on a high.

I was confident, eloquent, smiling and jesting.

Words just came, sounding smart and witty.

Standing up there, looking down, I felt really good.

I conquered my fear, doing better than I would have expected.

I was riding on a high, and I am still buoyed by the rush.

I haven't felt like this in a long time. Allow me a moment of self-indulgence.

Reality keep in bay, you may come back when the wave wash away.

How often do you allow yourself to feel good about, well, yourself? Don't begrudge. Just know you did good.

Charming Buble

It felt as if Christmas came wayyy too early. I'd bet this is gonna put a smile on your face, how could it not?

Good night, and good day~ =)

In 24 Hours

Five layout designs. Due in 24 hours.

One marketing creative brief and advertisement. Due in 20 hours.

I love the thrill of procrastination.

I dread loving the thrill of procrastination for it deterred me from carrying out some other plans due to a lack of time.

This image is part of my layout rendering thing in Photoshop (can't use other 3D software, don't know how to). I'm having fun tinkering.

Count down begins now. I think I'll have a nap first. =D

Mine

Mine.

The Reasons I Got Broke

Weee~ content in this post should have span several posts for these things happened through several months (from March to May, to be exact). I guess the lazy bug caught, and I just never got around to posting them. O well, let me finish in one shot tonight then!

Back in March, I think, Rui came for a visit! This was her last visit to me as a student. The next time she comes, she'll be a legit working adult! (I bet if you're reading this, Rui, your face will be scrunched up in denial) Ever since I've finished my internship, I've always wanted my friends to pay me a visit. This time around, not only do I have a car to ferry them anywhere, I also know some really good places for good food and I actually know the way there!

There was this one time I went hiking to Broga hill with some of my classmates. Once I saw the view up there, I knew this place is a keeper! That's why when Rui said she was coming, I warn her in advance to bring sneakers along, coz we'll be going hiking!

This is us. Smelly and stinky up on Broga. We even recorded a stupid video for Hooi Fong. Hah... not to be posted in public.

On her last day here, we didn't actually have any plans. This was when David buzzed and asked if I'll be interested in seeing him compete in a culinary competition. Have you ever seen one such competition live? I didn't know what to expect, surely nothing as glorious as those shown on food channels. We went to the new Taylor Lakeside campus and saw for ourselves how aspiring chefs compete against one another. We were even allowed into the kitchen so long as we don't disturb the contestants.

While David was busy with cooking (that's him in black), we were busy taking pictures of ourselves. The whole thing was pretty cool, with him winning the title of 'Potato King' in the end (the sponsor's some potato product)! It's not easy for him to be there in Taylors to pursue his dream as a chef. Therefore, for him to achieve his first success in this field, I was feeling proud and happy for him too!

We have a bunch of Georgians in KL. Whenever we're back in Penang and meet for a gathering, we'll gush all over about how long we haven't seen one another and asked enthusiastically where each other is currently situated, and the mutual answer will be KL. It's so silly how everyone's here but nobody ever really made the effort for a meet-up. So there's this one time when Kar Yee, Shan Yin and I arranged something on Facebook. We invited a whole bunch of people, but in the end, only six of us turned up. For a first time, I would say it's a good number! It's small enough for us to gossip among ourselves, and big enough for us to see people we haven't seen ever since Form Five (hi Melissa!).

This meeting was awesome for it broke the ice for us, Georgians in KL. Now we don't hesitate in calling each other out to chill. Well, I do hope there'll be more such meetings in the future. (Sunway Lagoon!!)

Remember that Lamborghini design I posted back some months ago? The result was out sometime last month. I won honorary mention! Will be cashing in my RM500 soon, but it'll be o-so-cool if I were to win the grand prize. I SO totally know what I'm gonna do with 5k! But RM500 is still good, though I think I've spent it all on stupid things (yes, you read right, I've spent all the money I've yet to receive. I'll be a champion when I actually own a credit card).

Me and my classmates who made it to the top ten. Yay BPD7~!

Thank you Kar Yee for these passes to the Cleo's Bachelor Night. It was my first time to such an event and it was great spending the night with these girls going oooo-gaga over some of those reallllyyy hot guys on stage. Yoke Mun, #2 that looked like some Korean dude with the hot British accent. Shze Li and I totally agree #44's the best looking of them all. Awesome body, gorgeous looks. Too bad he didn't win.

We managed to get a picture with the winner. We were outside, and he was just sitting there waiting for an interview. He was already on the magazine cover prior to this night, so I guess he was the favourite to win? He looked so different from the cover! The magic of photo manipulation! He still looked good near, but not as smooth and air brushed as he seemed on the cover.

Tres came down for the weekend so that we can go together to KL Design Week. I went last year with 41 to one of the design conferences, it was awesome to see some of the biggest names in the industry speaking. The conferences this time around was not as tempting coz I didn't exactly recognize the names. Maybe I should just read up more.

Anyway, since she will only be here for the weekend, that means we'll only have the whole of Saturday to ourselves. With limited time, we managed to visit Capsquare and the National Art Gallery. Capsquare was where they display student artworks and where designers go about selling their works. It was a colourful and varied display of things. However, it was most probably due to it being the first day that we were there, many of the stalls were not really ready and no one bothered to explain to us what any of the things were about. I was expecting interaction with the designers or maybe just a more friendly reception. We went away pretty disappointed. But, like I said, maybe it's due to it being first day.

We then made our way to the National Art Gallery where the Japanese designs will be exhibited. The place was a total bore and a waste of time. The illustration exhibition was basically just works printed on A4 paper, mounted on the wall with the illustrator's name stick below the artwork. There was nothing else. I might as well just get myself an IDN. At least I get to read interviews with designers and know what the whole process behind the work was. Too bad for Tres, she came all the way from Penang just to be totally flabbergasted by the poor exhibition.

But what she lost in the exhibition, we made it up in conversations and just hanging around with David. After a whole day of running around KL to see the exhibitions, we ended the day by going for Iron Man 2 in Midvalley. It was always great entertainment seeing that two poking fun at one another. We were there pretty late for midnight show, most of the shows were sold out. We waited an hour just for the uncollected reserved seats to be opened for selling. There we were, at the counter, with the time exactly on the dot and those seats were opened. Excitedly, we pointed our fingers to three really good seats, still unsold. The dude hesitated, saying he couldn't sell them until his manager nod his head. We were flustered, demanded an explanation since the reserved seats are already open. He seemed to be put in a tight spot until the manager said to all of them at the counter that they can sell the seats already. The moment our tickets were printed, we were laughing at the craziness of the situation. It was fun and silly at the same time to be so excited over buying great seats for a sold out blockbuster, midnight show summore!

It was always fun and spontaneity with these two. We reached my place at about 3a.m. We then woke up at six, picked up David from his place at about 7a.m. just to eat dimsum. It was fun for Tres and I coz after eating we get to go back and sleep. The poor guy had to go back to work all day on his feet. This was one of the best time spent with her. In a way, I guess I got to know this lil cousin sis of mine more.

Since the bunch of them were away in London, 41 and I were spending the days away as if we were still having breaks. One day, we decided to treat ourselves to good Japanese food and good movies back-to-back. We decided on Echoes of the Rainbow and Ip Man 2. I wanted to watch the former coz there's Sandra Ng and it has won many awards. However, being skeptical about award-winning shows, they all tend to be artsy and slow in pace, we decided to watch it before Ip Man 2. We were pretty sure Ip Man is gonna be the better movie thus if we were to watch Echoes of the Rainbow later, we'll be bored.

Oh my God. How wrong we were. We stayed until we were the last two in the cinema after Echoes of the Rainbow ended. The sleeves of my cardigan were wet with tears. Our eyes were too red and puffy from crying watching the show! I haven't cried so much watching a movie since Taegukgi in Form 5. The movie's really simple and nostalgic. It's not tragic or anything, just really touching and sad. Do yourself a favour and go watch this if it's still showing. It's really really good.

Ip Man 2 on the other hand was kinda disappointing. Maybe I was expecting too much? True, his kung fu moves still awe me. Even better than part one, I think. But this time around, the plot's a little too cliche. Even the villain's generic and without depth, unlike the Japanese general from part one.

Lastly, Eve's exam ended, she's now practically a graduate, so we went for a celebratory shopping spree and posh dinner. We went to Sungai Wang and Time Square to shop like lunatics. Thanks to her, I'm kinda broke for the remaining of the month. Thanks to her, I've bought some things I'm sure I'll never wear but would love just an occasion to show them off.

The dinner was also to celebrate her birthday. This girl has something against people celebrating her birthday out of obligation, so she didn't tell those people she worked with. I understand that, coz I sorta have the same perception too.

So there we were, tired and totally satisfied with our purchases, quickly made our way to Alexis in Ampang. We even dressed up prettily for the occasion too. I specifically chose there coz I wanted her to try the tiramisu, which was awesome. Plus, they have a live band performance which I thought we could enjoy while talking. In the end, the cakes were really good, but the live band was kinda too loud to warrant any proper conversations. So we made our way out barely fifteen minutes into the performance.

We ended up driving around anywhere and everywhere just talking random things in the car. This was really basically what made a good night out. Not great food, not posh restaurants, not live bands. It was a great company, quiet night outside and good music playing on the radio.

I do look forward to when Eve moves to KL sometime in June. I can already imagine the expensive things we're gonna get ourselves into. *evil laughter echoed off into the distance*

And I'm ending this incredibly long post with a picture of me and my brother. Just because we rarely have a picture together and this is one that turned out kinda nice.

My Mom

It was Mother's Day yesterday, 9 May. Coincidentally, Mom got back from Europe on the same day. That's why I went over to KLIA to meet her on her transit to Penang. I haven't seen her for about a month, and we were together there in KLIA for about three hours. It'll be another month before I'll see her again back home. By then, I'll be welcoming my new niece to the family!

What have you done yesterday to show your appreciation for your mother? A lot of people I know are shy or rather, felt awkward, in professing their appreciation and love either verbally or physically. When they were asked when was the last time they hugged their mom, they'll give me this bug-eyed look, as if the thought was never to be contemplated. I understand why they felt that way. I figured as we all grew up, hugging and kissing our own mother seemed like such an embarrassing thing to do. I guarantee that if anyone were to show these affections to their moms out of the blue, their moms' reaction will be also another bug-eyed look, saying 'What happened to you?' or 'What do you want?'. However, I can also guarantee that beneath all these outward appearance of confusion, these moms are also feeling warm and secretly happy.

My mom's the most important figure in my life. She's the source of all my material needs, giving me all the things I want if she could afford them. Of all the things my mother has given me, the one I treasure the most is her trust in me. With this trust, I am allowed to come pursue my studies in LUCT and to shape my own life away from her. She has never understood what is it that I am doing right now. She will never understand how I am going to make a living with graphic design. Despite these, she still let me.

For my batch of friends, most of them are graduating soon, in the coming month or so. So many have told me of their plans to pursue a career or a masters overseas. Some of them are free to go, without obligations and a care in the world, and some are tied down by family responsibilities no matter how much they want to fly. I am lucky enough to belong in the former group because of my mom. I believe no matter how far I want to take my dreams, I'll still have to be deeply rooted in my home. Just like a great big tree with long branches that stretch out into the skies, it'll have to have big roots that dig deep into the earth that'll give it the support and nourishment to grow. For me, my family is my root. It is only with my mom's permission and trust that I can reach far away into the skies.

Before this I've been taking it for granted that I am my own person, free to do anything and go anywhere on my own. Little did I realise I am only allowed these liberations because of my mom.

ps: I've just received this sms from my mom: "First time in my life I am late for work coz I overslept." LOL!!

pps: As much as I love my mom, I cannot stand her knowing about this blog and reading all about my thoughts. Random strangers I don't know can read about my innermost thoughts. But not my mom. Hah. Go figure.

Yesterday also marked the fifth anniversary of the saddest day in my life. I love you too, Loutao. =)

Anita Mui's Farewell Concert 2003

I have no idea why but I suddenly had this urge to look for Anita's last concert performance, where she wore a wedding dress. I've never watched this so this was my first time actually hearing what she said during this last performance. It made me think how quickly we assume how our future will be and take for granted that we have all the time in the world.

While watching this video of the duet with Jacky Cheung, tears flowed when I was following the lyrics. No idea why I'm being so sentimental. Cari pasal watch something that made myself cry.

Oooo~ and then I saw that Eason Chan was a guest at the concert too! I figured he was kinda new then? But Anita mentioned that he has a great voice which he must know how to put into good use. Given time, we will see what a great singer he will become. How right she was.

Her last song. What was it like for her fans to be there, listening to this last song, knowing, it's their idol's last song, ever?

Does the value of your work define you?

Hello, pencilstories blog readers, are you blog hopping? Are you escaping from assignments/revisions by browsing Facebook or poking your nose into the lifes people showcase on their blogs? Well, you've come to the right place!

Pleaseeeee........... help me fill in a questionnaire. Click here. Tell me, does the value of your work define you? Just less than five minutes of your time. More, if you're in the mood to share your thoughts.

Please and thank you!!!

Blitzing Bejeweled

My highest Bejeweled Blitz score ever! I even beat my bro, though his highest ever was 800k, but that's besides the point. =)

One Down, More to Go

From Standard 1Zamrud, to becoming Georgians, to you going off to KL first then Australia, coming back, then leaving again for eternally (at least it seemed like a long-term thing for me) and now, finally, graduation.

We have gone through so much mushy stuff, Adrienne, you should know better than I do. We even recalled it so many times, every time you're back, we talk about the past. Having a shared past makes us closer, or it might be something we hung on to, so that the bond between us won't just fizzle and die due to distance and separation. I have lost count of the number of times when someone said, 'Let's keep in touch.' You taught me keeping in touch relied nothing on just saying, but actually taking actions. We blogged together, we chatted on MSN together, I shared things with you when it seemed as if no one else could understand.

We even had dreams together. (And I often bragged about having a friend who's a Petroleum Engineer. Sounds so cool~) Our dreams are different now, just as how our paths separated since I-don't-remember-when. As much as people love reminding us that dreams are unrealistic and how naive our thoughts are, I believe they are only saying that because they are people who failed to pursue their dreams to the end. I still believe in dreams and passion and ambition. My wish is that you do too.

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. =)

And you look fetching in purple! Picture credits from your friend's album. I stole your pics from there. Heh.

Breakthrough

There was this CD album that we had to do in class. It was a sudden thing and we had only one week to complete the project. I think I finished mine in one night. I only thought of the concept, did the sketches and executed them all in a single night. It was only ten percent, an additional 10% to boot. No excuse for procrastination, but still! Anyhow, like before, I thoroughly enjoyed working well into the night. I love working at night, during the day I either felt like eating or sleeping.

Anyways, the title for the album that I've chosen out of the three choices given was Breakthrough. My concept's 'dawn'. A breakthrough into a brand new day with fresh hopes, fresh inspirations, yada yada.

First round in Illustrator. I have a thing for 3D beveled type. I like messing around with the different gradient that can be applied on all the surfaces and how every time it'll look really attractive and will simply pop out of the page.

Went through the whole process again when I've decided to change the colour from light transparent to dark shadowy green.

This is the back of the album. It looks pretty good to me. I thought I could jive it with the album cover I did at first, but after much thinking and messing around, I knew I couldn't do it.

So, after some thorough amendments, the cover for my album looked like the above, the stuff on the right. For the first try, I created the clouds using pictures I had by blending and masking them into each other. But when I did it for the second time, I found it a whole lot easier to just use some cloud brushes. There's better control over size and colours.

This is supposed to be a poster I printed on the back of my booklet, which is an A3 poster/booklet thing that can be folded to fit into a jewel case.

I fit all the lyrics into one side of an A3! It felt like some really cheap-skate accomplishment. But but but... I've only spent RM13 on the printing for this whole album design. Very much worth it to pluck that 10% from the lect's fingers.

ps: this is supposed to be pnc. hah. you didn't hear this from me. tralalalalala~

How I Broke the 5 Golden Rules

I read this article by CreativeNerds: The 5 Golden Rules for Increasing Productivity as a Designer. I couldn't help but find it incredibly funny and coincidental that I have broken every single one of the rules.

1. Task Management

I tried. I installed Doomi, happily entered things to do or buy, and totally forgot about those lists after. The main reason I couldn't perfectly utilize this app will be I'm too forgetful to launch it every time.

2. Staying Focused

The perfect scenario will be to only have my Photoshop and Illustrator running and me working diligently on my work. A disastrous outcome will instead come out of this perfect scenario. Working without distractions is so boring. I am not one to stay focus for a long period of time. To keep me at my desk, I'll need a movie running alongside my work. It might slow me down, but I'd rather do slow work than not do anything at all.

3. A Minimalistic Workspace

I like tidiness. It's so calming. I tried. I did. But my junk just piles without permission. I guess it happens to us all, right?

4. Close Any Unrelated Programs

Just like what I mentioned in point number three, I can't. I tried it before though, and it worked wonders. I'll only do this when my mind's too cluttered or am stuck on a design that needs my 100% concentration. Otherwise, it's Facebook, Bejeweled, Twitter, Google reader and everything else.

5. Never Delay Tasks or Deadlines

Hah! Nuff said.

Indifference

Saturday 3 April 2010. 4.08 pm.

Album design progression: 0%

Due Monday 5 April 2010. Mock and all.

Die. Go wither and die in shame. You have my blessing.