My Pencil Stories
April 2008 - June 2012
I think we've had quite a splendid run, through four years of wonderful memories. This blog marked all those frantic years as a student, those carefree years when my biggest fear was not submitting a project. But I guess, this is it. I'm putting this blog to rest, and will not be updating anymore.
Something else is in the pipeline, and if I managed to pull through the novelty of a new blog and persevered, I'll share the new blog link here. Until then, whoever you are that has kept My Pencil Stories company all these years, thank you!
May you have a good life too. Ta!
Saturday, June 09, 2012
Sunday, May 06, 2012
年少無知
First, I'd like to say how weird this new layout in blogger looks like. No, not my blog's new template, but rather in the post editor. 0_0 But then again, I must say, it looks better than before. =D
Ahem, shall steer the topic back to the original cause for this post. I wanna share a song that resonates with me.
Sometimes the further along I venture down this road I'm ambling on, I wonder if this is the right one for me. I do not have the answer to the reason for my being, but I thought to myself, so long as I'm doing something I love, enjoy doing it, have fun and am happy doing it, how wrong could it be?
The world doesn't help you in growing up, it just sits there, the way it just is; and how you steer your way around it, depends on the choices you make. It is a story told too often, of jaded people turning into empty wretched souls in an unfeeling place.
Anyways, this song, is something I desperately need to remind myself of, well, myself. Of the perils of forgetting your dreams, yourself, in the chase for... what?
陳：年少多好 貧困多好 一蚊積蓄足以快樂到廉價結他抒發我暴躁 財富得到年歲不保 捐輸不必講究有回報人世間總會有異數 只可惜生活是一聲發洩 只可惜生命是一聲抱歉怕追討
合：如果命運能選擇十字街口你我踏出的每步更瀟灑如果活著能坦白舊日所相信價值不必接受時代的糟蹋
黃：年少多好 朋友多好 一番爭執不會有被告遊戲競爭不會記入腦 年歲增長 無法修補 青春的詩總會老 時間多恐怖
合：如果命運能選擇十字街口 你我踏出的每步無用困惑如果活著能坦白舊日所相信價值今天發現還未老如果命運能演習現實中不致接納一生每步殘酷抉擇留守過去的想法我會否好像這樣生於世上無目的鞭撻
x
Ahem, shall steer the topic back to the original cause for this post. I wanna share a song that resonates with me.
Sometimes the further along I venture down this road I'm ambling on, I wonder if this is the right one for me. I do not have the answer to the reason for my being, but I thought to myself, so long as I'm doing something I love, enjoy doing it, have fun and am happy doing it, how wrong could it be?
The world doesn't help you in growing up, it just sits there, the way it just is; and how you steer your way around it, depends on the choices you make. It is a story told too often, of jaded people turning into empty wretched souls in an unfeeling place.
Anyways, this song, is something I desperately need to remind myself of, well, myself. Of the perils of forgetting your dreams, yourself, in the chase for... what?
年少無知
林：年少多好頑劣多好 不甘安於封建制度裡迷信上街真理會達到 旗幟高舉群眾聲討 不惜犧牲一切去上訴權貴的想法太俗套 只可惜生活是一堆挫折 只可惜生命是必須妥協陳：年少多好 貧困多好 一蚊積蓄足以快樂到廉價結他抒發我暴躁 財富得到年歲不保 捐輸不必講究有回報人世間總會有異數 只可惜生活是一聲發洩 只可惜生命是一聲抱歉怕追討
合：如果命運能選擇十字街口你我踏出的每步更瀟灑如果活著能坦白舊日所相信價值不必接受時代的糟蹋
黃：年少多好 朋友多好 一番爭執不會有被告遊戲競爭不會記入腦 年歲增長 無法修補 青春的詩總會老 時間多恐怖
合：如果命運能選擇十字街口 你我踏出的每步無用困惑如果活著能坦白舊日所相信價值今天發現還未老如果命運能演習現實中不致接納一生每步殘酷抉擇留守過去的想法我會否好像這樣生於世上無目的鞭撻
x
Monday, March 26, 2012
Sunday, January 15, 2012
For This Year
Resolutions are really secondary. I don't know if I will keep them, but there are fun to make. What is more important is this tradition that I do not want to break. A couple of years back I've always given myself a frame of mind to face the new year.
2010, my last year as a student, I wanted to be brilliant.
2011, my first year working fulltime, I wanted to be brave.
So in 2012, it is going to be a year of possibilities. This year, I want to make my dreams come true.
So yea, dear me a few months down the road, please don't chicken out and please don't settle. You will be tempted, but do not give in. Heck, you're 25 this year and you still have nothing to lose. So go and pull your dreams from the clouds and make it real.
2012 Resolutions
Wokay, let's recap last year's resolution:
1. Be happy. Despite all the let downs, I was happy.
2. Learn how to make things move. Hell yeah!!
3. Learn how to code (pass if I can make my own website). Fail kao kao.
4. Illustrate. In terms of work, I did a lot. But in terms of developing my existing skills to a higher level, no.
5. Read 50 books in 2011. I lost count. But am certainly didn't.
6. Start and finish my Eason Chan artbook. Didn't start at all.
7. Save money for camera, laptop and holiday. (so not gonna happen, at least not all three at the same time) No camera, no laptop, but I committed to TWO holidays, which I have yet to have the money to go on.
8. Run. Hell yeah!!!
9. Lose fat, be healthy. Came a bit late in the year, but yeah, I did this. At least I started.
10. Be happy. I am.
Come to think of it, I think I did pretty good for last year's resolution. But then again, I merely accidentally achieved most of it. It's not like I remembered these all the while and strive to achieve them. Why even make resolutions if they don't work? New years have this magical ability to make everything feel brand new, as if we could wipe all the bad things off and make a clean slate. For me, new years are about having new hope and dreams. Or rather, renewed chances to make my dreams come true.
Foolish it may be, but I kinda like resolutions, so this is my list for this year:
1. Save half my salary every month. Be frugal. Really stingy! (not possible for Jan, CNY costs a lot of ka-chink)
2. Learn HTML.
3. Go to the gym at least 3 times a week. (yup, I have an effing gym membership)
4. Draw. Draw. Draw.
5. Start a new blog on design.
6. Be more focused in work. Thus leave work at 7pm when possible. (yea rite, of course, whatever)
7. Start my pet project.
8. Be good and practice more patience with a certain someone.
9. Earn more money.
10. Be happy.
If you realise this whole list is basically all about work. I wanna make work something enjoyable again. Away from the office, I want work to be a joy again. Leave work early, and go make art.
Sunday, January 01, 2012
From Last Year
Bad memory of mine these days, I got so used to thinking I had this long list of resolution from last year. But reading back on my past post (first one in 2011), what I wrote was simply this:
Brave new environments.
Brave new people.
Brave new challenges.
Brave tough times.
It was something like a pep talk for myself as I stepped into my first real job as a multimedia designer. Thinking back, I thought this frame of mind that I set myself into was simply brilliant. I don't know if I adhered to these rules consciously or not, but it certainly got me through the year. Rui has this tendency to ask us to sum up the year in three words, I could think of only one very appropriate one: WORK.
Confucious once said, "Do what you love and you need not work a single day." I think it was Confucious. Hah. I thought that was complete bs. Or maybe rather my actions were not exactly to his words. I do not love what I'm doing, but I do love what I can do. This first year of working life got me down more times than I cared to count. I have another 30 years to go, maybe? Oh my.
I have been an awful blogger this year. So much so I didn't post a single thing for the last two months. Sorry 2011, I wasn't able to bid you a proper farewell.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Sunday, October 23, 2011
My Mom Blogs
Omg... my mom is so amazing. And her English's definitely more eloquent than mine:
Do visit her blog. Oh my, she blogs and I found out about this on Facebook! There's only just one post inside, I hope she continues to write. I know it's stupid, but doesn't it bemuse you sometimes to discover that your mom/dad is really a person, with thoughts and feelings, hopes, dreams, insecurities just like yourself. It's a humbling experience to see my mom through her writings, she's like this stranger who is thinking things that I didn't know she's thinking.
Do you get me? Will you ever think about getting to know your parents? No right? Coz it's like, they are these people who have been there your whole life, so what is there that you didn't know about them? It is here that we have underestimated them.
And nope, so not letting my mom know I blog too. It's... disturbing, okayyyy!
Worse
HAHAHAHAHA... this new blogger template is so crazy! But I like!
I like how I can now see all the stuff I've written from the beginning of time all displayed in neat squares. Looking back, there were so many memories and boy, do I think highly of myself. But wait! This is not the time for reminiscence. We shall leave that until 2012. Ohohoho~ I can't wait to summarize how this year went, what I did and didn't, and what to look forward to in 2012 (London Olympics, hello!).
I don't know why but there's this constant excitement in me that's so looking forward to the end of the year and new year! I don't have plans, really, I guess I just like looking forward to how everyone's especially jolly towards the end of the year, how warm and happy Christmas makes me feel. I went to the Gardens today and suddenly thought of how they used to play Christmas songs during the season and got happy from the thought.
There was so much negativity in my blog for the past months, or when I chose to blog about anything at all. I never cease to complain and whine about work. Well, 2011's basically that, W. O. R. K. But tonight, I'm in an especially grateful mood, pretty hard to come by, I would say. Tonight, as I sat bathed in the warm glow of my yellow/orangey cheap Tesco lamp, I wanna write. Seeing all my past posts all lumped together inspired me to blog good and proper. Oh, in case you're wondering from the lack of updates here, no, I'm not gonna drop this blog, even if no one reads it anymore, I still need a place to keep me sane. Put your hands up who's reading!!!
...
Fine. Awkward silence you suck.
Right right right, back on track! About being grateful. I was driving home one night, once again at about midnight, the road's empty, music's playing on the radio and I was talking to myself. I reiterated all the stupid that happened, prep talking to myself and suddenly a cliche lighted up, I thought, it could have been worse.
Getting ideas shot down by Boss. It could have been worse. Boss could have been an awful man and not be nice about it at all.
Getting work revised and finally changed into something that's not mine at all. It could have been worse. Boss could have been someone with no design sense and thought Arial's cool, when we all know Arial's just a Helvetica-wannabe.
Getting my confidence and self-esteem trampled on. It could have been worse. It could have been all just for spite instead of for work.
The past month left me feeling really battered and worn out. Sometimes I didn't know what I was doing here. I felt so insufficient. Opportunities were aplenty but I simply didn't have the ability to seize them.
And it could all have been worse. I could have been in a place where designers are not valued, merely machines that do design and not allowed to think. I could have been in a place so safe, so secure, that I'll never make any mistakes because there are simply no opportunities to make them, which also by default means no opportunities to succeed.
But luckily, I am here. Still here.
I am not saying this place is the perfect place for me. But it could have been worse.
I like how I can now see all the stuff I've written from the beginning of time all displayed in neat squares. Looking back, there were so many memories and boy, do I think highly of myself. But wait! This is not the time for reminiscence. We shall leave that until 2012. Ohohoho~ I can't wait to summarize how this year went, what I did and didn't, and what to look forward to in 2012 (London Olympics, hello!).
I don't know why but there's this constant excitement in me that's so looking forward to the end of the year and new year! I don't have plans, really, I guess I just like looking forward to how everyone's especially jolly towards the end of the year, how warm and happy Christmas makes me feel. I went to the Gardens today and suddenly thought of how they used to play Christmas songs during the season and got happy from the thought.
There was so much negativity in my blog for the past months, or when I chose to blog about anything at all. I never cease to complain and whine about work. Well, 2011's basically that, W. O. R. K. But tonight, I'm in an especially grateful mood, pretty hard to come by, I would say. Tonight, as I sat bathed in the warm glow of my yellow/orangey cheap Tesco lamp, I wanna write. Seeing all my past posts all lumped together inspired me to blog good and proper. Oh, in case you're wondering from the lack of updates here, no, I'm not gonna drop this blog, even if no one reads it anymore, I still need a place to keep me sane. Put your hands up who's reading!!!
...
Fine. Awkward silence you suck.
Right right right, back on track! About being grateful. I was driving home one night, once again at about midnight, the road's empty, music's playing on the radio and I was talking to myself. I reiterated all the stupid that happened, prep talking to myself and suddenly a cliche lighted up, I thought, it could have been worse.
Getting ideas shot down by Boss. It could have been worse. Boss could have been an awful man and not be nice about it at all.
Getting work revised and finally changed into something that's not mine at all. It could have been worse. Boss could have been someone with no design sense and thought Arial's cool, when we all know Arial's just a Helvetica-wannabe.
Getting my confidence and self-esteem trampled on. It could have been worse. It could have been all just for spite instead of for work.
The past month left me feeling really battered and worn out. Sometimes I didn't know what I was doing here. I felt so insufficient. Opportunities were aplenty but I simply didn't have the ability to seize them.
And it could all have been worse. I could have been in a place where designers are not valued, merely machines that do design and not allowed to think. I could have been in a place so safe, so secure, that I'll never make any mistakes because there are simply no opportunities to make them, which also by default means no opportunities to succeed.
But luckily, I am here. Still here.
I am not saying this place is the perfect place for me. But it could have been worse.
Edit 5 minutes later: The first paragraph won't make sense anymore coz I switched the template back to the old one. I just realised in the new template, it has all these +1, tweet and FB like nonsense. I'm sure there's a way to take them away but I don't have the leisure to do it now, so back to the old comfortable, PRIVATE template for me. Eheh. Oops.
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