i'm not a big fan of growing old, but some friends do make it a positive thing.
and yes i always remember my own birthday but this year's came too fast, in between all my major presentations and assignments that i had scarcely the time to realise, thinking it was still far far away. but october is definitely coming. and gosh. i thought it was going to be november and that october is ending (but i was really a month too soon).
and i guess with all the 21st parties coming up... being 22 just seems sort of... lame. oh well.
but not this time.
thank you so much... xm and cheryl. you guys totally made my day.
i have never received so many self-made stuff in a day! wow. and the quality is impressive. it's something i would keep for all my life.
i really really like the scrapbook! that first time you showed me the shop, xm, i wanted very much to have a scrapbook, but i didn't think anyone would make one for me (nor do i have the time and money for it). and i was so shocked to receive it today i didn't think it was really for me... even when i looked at the cover. it just didn't make sense (plus my birthday is still days away, you really want me to be aging prematurely?!). i know you are damn proud of it. the whole class heard you gushing about the details.
oh, and it's the first present i received this year. my phone's camera doesn't really do it justice, but here it is! (i'm sure wini would totally want one too wahahhaah)




and then the second surprise from cheryl - a chocolate cake! with little hershey kisses chocolate on the top spelling a 'c'.



eventhough it was your first attempt (for this recipe, at least), it's still tastefully sinful. i immediately ate half of it. haha. and of cos it was all wrapped up prettily in a cute bear-bear box. you are such a great baker, cheryl!! impressive. wowwwwwwwwwwwwwwies.

and of cos... the song dedication of 'you're a god' sang by firdaus at frujch. and the really 'loud' birthday song. embarrassing, but thanks anyway! haha. and all the efforts you guys spent... i'm really touched!!! wow. *bursts into tears*
i love you guys!!!!!!! you have truly made my day ..^_^..

English

Can you read these right the first time?
1) The bandage was wound around the wound.

2) The farm was used to produce produce .

3) The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.

4) We must polish the Polish furniture.

5) He could lead if he would get the lead out.

6) The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.

7) Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present .

8) A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.

9) When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.

10) I did not object to the object.

11) The insurance was invalid for the invalid.

12) There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row .

13) They were too close to the door to close it.

14) The buck does funny things when the does are present.

15) A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.

16) To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.

17) The wind was too strong to wind the sail.

18) Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.

19) I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.

20) How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?


Let's face it - English is a crazy language. There is no egg in eggplant, nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple. English muffins weren't invented in England or French fries in France. Sweetmeats are candies while sweetbreads, which aren't sweet, are meat. We take English for granted. But if we explore its paradoxes, we find that quicksand can work
slowly, boxing rings are square and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.

And why is it that writers write but fingers don't fing, grocers don't groce and hammers don't ham? If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn't the plural of booth, beeth? One goose, 2 geese. So one moose, 2 meese? One index, 2 indices? Doesn't it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend? If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it?

If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat? Sometimes I think all the English speakers should be committed to an asylum for the verbally insane. In what language do people recite at a play and play at a recital? Ship by truck and send cargo by ship? Have noses that run and feet that smell?

How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites? You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out and in which, an alarm goes off by going on.

English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity of the human race, which, of course, is not a race at all. That is why, when the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible.

PS. - Why doesn't 'Buick' rhyme with 'quick'
You lovers of the English language might enjoy this . .

There is a two-letter word that perhaps has more meanings than any other two-letter word, and that is 'UP.'

It's easy to understand UP , meaning toward the sky or at the top of the list, but when we awaken in the morning, why do we wake UP? At a meeting, why does a topic come UP ? Why do we speak UP and why are the officers UP for election and why is it UP to the secretary to write UP a report ?

We call UP our friends. And we use it to brighten UP a room, polish UP the silver, we warm UP the leftovers and clean UP the kitchen. We lock UP the house and some guys fix UP the old car. At other times the little word has real special meaning. People stir UP trouble, line UP for tickets, work UP an appetite, and think UP excuses. To be dressed is one thing but to be dressed UP is special.

And this UP is confusing: A drain must be opened UP because it is stopped UP . We open UP a store in the morning but we close it UP at night.

We seem to be pretty mixed UP about UP ! To be knowledgeable about the proper uses of UP , look the word UP in the dictionary. In a desk-sized dictionary, it takes UP almost 1/4th of the page and can add UP to about thirty definitions. If you are UP to it, you might try building UP a list of the many ways UP is used. It will take UP a lot of your time, but if you don't give UP , you may wind UP with a hundred or more. When it threatens to rain, we say it is clouding UP. When the sun comes out we say i t is clearing UP.

When it rains, it wets the earth and often messes things UP.
When it doesn't rain for awhile, things dry UP.

One could go on and on, but I'll wrap it UP , for now my time is UP , so............ Time to shut UP .....!

ok... i've been asked to put up a wishlist by the last-minute shoppers so here it is:
(in order of preference)

1) PS3
2) air ticket to japan in april

you can contribute to the above funds by tagging or emailing me. click here!
wahahaha.
right, seriously (or i won't get anything at all huh)

3) ang bao (well, doesn't money make wonders?)
4) odin sphere artbook





















5) that sliding phone from sony ericsson (comes in lime green, black and obviously i want black, or white/silver if any)
s500i

6) vouchers (levis, kinokuniya)
7) book on sewing templates for tshirts, dresses, jackets, pants, skirts, etc (gives you template for you to cut your cloth accordingly, then sew them together to make that apparel)
8) valkyrie profile limited edition set (amk game shop has the one and only set). it contains the original ps1 game discs, a pocket watch, guide and figurine? (i think)
9) lenneth valkyrie figurine. there's one: here. would be nice to have a big one too. oh wow, actually i just found this and i think i'll buy this if no one is buying it for me...
10) any valkyrie profile stuff. i have the official art book from kinokuniya though. but there's a few more
11) any ff artbook (8 would be nice), but skip the advent children ff7 one cos i have it already.
12) japan electric hair curler
13) dollfie (ok, i don't think you'd know how to select but oh well...)
and since we're on the topic, here are a few good looking dollfies. i want a male one, preferably with gray eyes and looks like squall (with his SeeD uniform it'll be awesome too well actually i've his figurine so don't bother suggesting that). these stand about 1/4 of my height by the way, pretty big, life-like, and GORGEOUS. not to mention super expensive too. oh, i don't mind silver hair too. or a valkyrie female.

























14) coach wallet.
15) any branded stuff (bags, clothes, jacket, etc) - and you seriously need perspectives from me cos i don't just pick up any tshirts. HAHAH. tough luck!
16) bossini jeans with black rhinestones at the butt area
17) furry bally jacket from metro (seriously this is desperate enough i can't think of anything else ARGHHH)
18) powerpoint? video? scrapbook?

well of cos... you can ignore these fancy requests and buy whatever you like but please don't get me soft toys like BEAR-bears (huggable stuff), display items (except figurines), and anything without a practical use. it will just sit in my store room piling dust. of cos a really really long letter or a huge birthday card singing my praises would be nice. WAHAHAHAHAHHAAH.
and hey, it's really my wishlist! don't whack me.

OMG. i'm how happy!!! the maximum mark is 14 and i got 13!! WAHAHAHHA. i think it's over 20? but who cares. the bell curve is to my advantage now. MUAHAHHAHAHAHAHAH.

Toilet Inspirations

A budding poet trying his best...
Here I lie in stinky vapor,
Because some bastard stole the toilet paper,
Shall I lie, or shall I linger,
Or shall I be forced to use my finger.

Before he graduated to be a poet, he wrote this...
Here I sit
Broken hearted
Tried to shit
But only farted

Someone who had a different experience wrote,
You're lucky
You had your chance
I tried to fart,
And shat my pants!

Perhaps it's true that people find inspiration in toilets.
I came here
To shit and stink,
But all I do
Is sit and think.

There are also people who come in for a different purpose...
Some come here to sit and think,
Some come here to shit and stink,
But I come here to scratch my balls,
And read the bullshit on the walls...

Toilets walls also double as job advertisement space.......
(written high upon the wall)
If you can piss above this line,
the Singapore Fire Department wants you.

Ministry of Environment advertisement.
We aim to please!
You aim too! Please

On the inside of a toilet door:
Patrons are requested to remain seated throughout the entire performance.


And finally, this should teach some a lesson...

Sign seen at a restaurant:
The hands that clean these toilets also make your food...
Please aim properly.

BOOO. happy mid-autumn festival everyone.

bleeding eyes. pray you don't get an infection across the screen!

ok i have started on a new project... (despite all my other ongoing ones anyway).
i hope i can finish this in time for cosplay ball! yays.




denzyl's mom helped me with that black layered skirt on her old peddling sewing machine. so much for having learnt it for like 2hours. oh well.
oh then there's also the funny 'kink' layer underneath it to make the skirt poofy, which i somehow messed up and it almost destroyed my 1 day old machine. NEVER sew hole-y fabrics with a machine. did i even mention the black specks that cluttered the engines of my machine, which sort of keep falling out from my material. ughh. my new sewing machine went through a lot on its first day man.





this is the 2nd layer for the skirt, made of blue satin. i layered a white piece underneath so it would wrap properly around the skirt.





the 2 layers combined.



3layers combined! yay! but this is really only tentative. i've only put those kinda 'push' buttons on the blue and black layer. my white layer is a bit messed up although it looks nice here witha little artificial tucks and arrangement. heh heh.

Oswald

The Shadow Knight wielding a blade of darkness

A cold-blooded human warrior serving the Fairy Kingdom of Ringford, Oswald is renowned and feared as the Shadow Knight, the man who slew a great dragon. He was abandoned as a child, but was taken in by Melvin, nephew to the Fairy Queen Elfaria. He is a stoic man who lives to serve his adopted father, and cares little for the consequences of the actions he is ordered to perform. As a result of his training and skill, he places little value in his own life.



ooh love the part where he hacked odette immediately when he saw her.

uh.. i managed to scrape a wooden bow but it's too flimsy. i shall post it up anyway i think it looks good wahahah. well if your fingers can take it you might wanna make one then, frit-zo.

using hard magazine papers and masking tape, then wires to curve the ends. finally top off with corrugated strips to hold it upright... well it's not very upright but oh well!



after spray-painting a couple of layers... plus i spray painted my door silver as well... and my brother's accessories. it was paint-day! man i almost died of sniffing paint.




then attaching the strings... it makes it look so much curvier... bleah.

now, i worked a bit on my presentation for saturday and i got up around 930 and started making my chocoflakes. then i made almond agar. then i made my cosplay stuff. man i did A LOT on this sunday. has been very fruitful. oh and i managed to eat the munchy donut denzyl got at causeway's cold storage on saturday night. yum!
k let's see, i'm so proud of my big obi and ribbon!! yays! it looks so neat. but the satin ribbon overlays are getting haywired since i snip it in half for a smaller width. i bet it'll be fraying mad when i get it to wash.



i completed my so-called flouncy skirt with the trimmings too.

was a bit big and not very flouncy but flouncy enough. uhhh i did my best. don't really wanna redo!



sewed these petals on but it looks a bit distorted. oh well.



trimmed the hem so it has a wide v-shape at the bottom and is a little longer than the skirt when worn over the skirt. not very straight but guess should be alright. these stuff are so hard to measure... maybe i should learn how to use a measuring tape next time.



this is the bow which kureha wears on her hair. intend to get a white hairband and glue it on top, or use a satin ribbon instead of the hairband and sew it on, whaddya think?



did this while watching ugly better. the x-stitches are pretty obvious but it still looks quite nice. and sturdaaaaaay. need a green pearl button next!
*yawns* ewww my phone cam's colors really make it look awful, except for the choker. half-decent, as bahamut would say.

my weekend is so so so eventful.

friday was cheryl's party! french feast! omg. too bad i didn't get to take photos of the food. the only photo i have is a picture of her hourse from the backyard. the whole place was decorated akin to survival's tribal elimination place, romantic, forest-y and relaxing ambience.

had my fair share of tequila. mmm-hmmm. and i got to test ps3 on her super big sony plasma tv. (harry potter and the order of the phoenix... bluarghz) enjoyed the food and the experience overall!! oh yikes her rent was $3k per month by the way. wonder how much these category managers actually earn man... $10k?

Here's your horoscope for Friday 3 Aug:

Spiritual growth may be an aspect of your development that has been neglected, Christy-Bell. If so, consider taking steps to bring more understanding of your beliefs into your life. If you go to church, are you learning there? Have you considered exploring other faiths? Have you ever asked yourself exactly what it is you do believe? Consider doing so and listen to your honest answers. This will be the means to finding more of what you need in this area.

i can't believe i'm blogging. my data is screwed and i need to wait for a new set to come before i can start my messy work with it. and i need to touch up on my powerpoint with those new datas, get some new insights and practise my stuff. i am so stressed. been doing the same graph for hours before realising that it actually doesn't need to be changed so much. it's like going from level 1 to level 4 and back to level 2, that says the need for multiple versions of the same file.
and what is this shit on spiritual growth? no one gets help from invisible entities, so screw off. if you think some big man is gonna start showering stars from a little corner of heaven on you, you're probably better off depending on yourself.

ok! i have not been blogging for half a week! WOW! (-_-`) so do you miss my posts?? anyway i have been working on a new project, kureha from shining tears x wind.


and no, zhifu won't be doing souma, but zero!!! looking forward to the wings. hee.




i spent my entire sunday working on the sewing machine! this will be my first ever costume to be machine made... haha! hope the quality is better. when i'm done, i will probably repair all my other hand-stitched costumes... ;p i got the cloth from arab street, $2.50/m it's kinda velvety and shiny on the back, and not too soft. maybe i can use the shiny part for my PVC armour?



still haven't trimmed the hem.



did the lining the day before, and completed yesterday!



now i'm working on the skirt. but it seems straight cut however i wear it. how do i make it flouncy?!

ok, you need to click on the articles so it will become big enough to be read.
































the best ff4 rydia and rosa cosplay!



























and here is our very own local version... i believe she is the person mentioned in the article. i almost wanted to stop her when she walked in sakae sushi so that we could take a picture... ah well at least i did manage to take with her as spitfire (air gear) in orchard and delirium (sandman) on the second day. haha! oh... i also remembered that when i did rinoa on my very first cosplay, she did aerith! pretty!!! (hmm but her hair seemed too long for rosa?)

why wHy wHY WHY WHY!?
now i will NOT become a singaporean. i can't. and i won't. i am so gonna leave this place and never come back. one fine day, maybe i will.
all the stupid procedures, detailed documents, unrelentless pursue.
the one thing i'm thankful about because of this whole mess is that i managed to grab cloths of arab street for $2.50/m. (not to mention 2 consecutive half days.)
but uHHHh now i would have to go back malaysia to renew my stupid passport.
isn't this supposed to be a free world? why are there so many lines tying us back? why are there strict patrols on the borders.
please just mess things up for once, won't you?
*rambles on and on...*

i managed to spray paint my dried pauldrons in 2 layers yesterday. it turns out that the clay doesn't stick to the newspaper, which is both good and bad. so i had to attach the rim of papers around it again for the layered padding. i did a bad job - one side of the pauldron the clay was folded, but heck, don't think it's that obvious. and the surface is pretty patternized (not smooth...), plus there's cracks at the edges and a little hole in the middle. bluarghzzz... ughh. i suck at molding clay. also i missed out certain areas in my paint job. guess i have to endure my indie neighbours weird stares again...



don't let the picture fool you, you can see all those rouge thingy at the bottom. the pauldron is actually p retty flimsy. now, how can i hold it in place??

by the way, i have just fixed my time stamp. hur hur hur.

i just finished my harry potter book today. ok just so you know the dots are for those who don't want to be spoiled!!

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this is the best, best book in the series. when i read about severus snape my heart really goes out to him. i would never, never imagine him to be so brave and loyal, and thought he was a traitor all along. it really surprised me there. and the fact that he loved lily. my goh. it was a shock to me. and i was pretty sad to read the 19 years later part, and amused at how harry had named his children after his parents, and albus severus. it was a good ending, but it means there may not be a sequel if the author decides to wrap up that way. i had a hard time picturing lily as harry's daughter and kept thinking about lily, harry's mother instead. so the conjured scenes in my mind were kinda weird O_o`
and all of james potter clique died while fighting the dark lord. feels like lupin's child has the same fate as harry. maybe they would write a story about him next?
i'm glad the author moulded neville into such a strong character! i was amazed when he was describing all the daring things he did while harry was gone... and how he accomplished the feat of destroying the last horcrux. and when he drew the gryffindor sword, it was just amazing!
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i hope jk rowling would continue writing.

long live harry potter!!

oh yays! i got my harry potter book, no thanks to having to attend confluence early and subsequently avoid the maddening crowd (and potential queues, though i did have to subscribe to it with xm). through sneaking lines in between office work (it's really easier to sneak writing chunks on blogs, than a big book under my desk), i've managed to reach about chapter 29.
jk rowling is fantastic! this book is better than i can ever imagine. she just manages to churn our surprise after surprise, new magicks, personalities, secrets and stuff after 6 books. if not for the bulk i would have hid in the toilet to finish the book (d'ya reckon i can stuff it in my shirt...??).
i hope there's still life after hogwarts!

good luck at the 7days 6 nights camp, to all NTu freshies. UGH. just the thought makes me curl with apprehension. i can't even stand 1 day of camp for goodness sake...
ah well, zhifu carved his heart and soul into the emblems before he left and i thought they look pretty nice! now i have 4 of them but i'm only gonna use 2. some of the undersides are still burnt and bubbled, but it's not very obvious. ok, i'm not a sucker for detailed details such as these, i am not a perfectionist... for now at least.




i bought these paper clay and it turns out to be so much softer and usable than that stupid white clay which hardens in a minute and chips in seconds. at least i could knead this one for about half an hour or so before it hardens slightly. i guess this clay is usable only on this kind of supposedly large and flat surfaces. the surface is not smooth, but then again, i'm not a perfectionist. heh heh (ok, i'm lazy, but heck)



and finally i went to daiso to get this material which i thought might be suitable for my armour base instead of the foam (foam is so expensive). this costs only $2 and enough to make 2 armour base.


however, it is feeble and tears easily. at least it's still better than my newspaper base. haha.





go on, laugh all you want (-_-`) i know it loooks disgusting and eeky, you can't imagine how i have to put that on and strut around for my measurements (i seriously don't know how to measure with a measuring tape). (gosh, why does lenneth hav big boobs??) i've done some sketches so i know where i can roughly cut and where i can put the transparencies to toughen the exterior... just hope it works.