tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41059175146006985802024-03-14T22:03:15.068+08:00Do you know the cupcake girl?Karen Leonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07273312266680418876noreply@blogger.comBlogger157125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4105917514600698580.post-79406896235462437772015-05-31T15:05:00.000+08:002015-05-31T15:05:39.915+08:00I learn how to anyam<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Weaving thatched roofing<br /></td></tr>
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This was one of those things that just well, happened. The moment I stood on Malaysian soil again I had this overflowing restlessness within me to do something, anything. I guess that's just one of the many traits of an unschooler, being in a dormant state of not continuously learning makes me rather fidgety and it also makes me say yes to any activity that happens to stumble upon my path.</div>
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And one of them was following Fai, that's the 11 year old brother of mine, to his bushcraft classes conducted weekly in Gombak by the <i>orang asli</i>. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The finished woven thatched roofing made out of <i>bertam</i> leaves</td></tr>
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We did our fair share of starting fires with the bow drill technique, cooking hill rice wrapped in large leaves and stuffed into bamboo stalk filled with water over the fire we had just made, learning how to swing a machete or <i>parang</i> properly, identifying edible ferns and mushrooms or that specific leaf to wrap around a wound to stop it from bleeding excessively or the correct trees and listening (Or at least straining to do so with the embarrassingly minimal knowledge I have.) to the <i>orang asli</i> ramble on about the history this particular village had with the British that had brought tribes from all over Malaysia together or how much the rain forest means to them and how they want everyone to hopefully experience the beauty of it before it ebbs away.</div>
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But I was absolutely hooked on weaving the thatched roofs out of <i>bertam</i> leaves, I guess I just have a tendency to be that little teeny bit more interested in anything that falls into the arts & craft category even if it's not very artistic at all since it's just remembering the steps to that same repetitive pattern over and over again. </div>
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At the following bushcraft session I was passed a <i>bertam </i>leaf to weave as an evaluation test if I could proceed to learn slightly more advanced weaving techniques with the <i>orangasli</i> mothers and the week after I found myself sitting on the front porch of the weaver's house with a bundle of dried <i>mengkuang</i> leaves.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Overly excited Karen learning basic <i>anyaman</i></td></tr>
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And that's how weaving traditional <i>Semai</i> craft made it's way into my weekly routine. I'd leave home at nine in the morning to head to Gombak and have the best <i>roti canai </i>and <i>limau ais</i> ever for breakfast at the <i>kedai</i> next door then head down the steep mismatched steps to the weaver's house to immerse myself in a day of non-stop back breaking weaving. I really am amazed at how these women can spend hours bending over the mat they're weaving without any discomfort whatsoever, the wooden wall of her porch is undeniably my best friend after the first two hours. Now I'm just slightly concerned about the physical state I'll be in within the next twenty years or so.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The weaver's daughter in the background</td></tr>
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Weaving would be such a dull activity (No, it wouldn't) if it weren't for the weaver's daughter who finds this Chinese <i>Kakak </i>who's learning how to weave with her Mom incredibly fascinating. During the first session she'd run her fingers through my hair and comment on how <i>panjang</i> it is and when I replied with a 'no, I'm not married' to her '<i>Kakak sudah kahwin?</i>' question she made the most hilarious game over sound after staring at me with huge confused 5 year old eyes. Then she mumbled something about how it might be a little too late for me to scout for a <i>suami</i> now and trailed off with a tsk tsk <i>kesianye</i>.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tucking the ends in using a porcupine's quill</td></tr>
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Starting off was definitely a challenge since it was a lot more complicated than weaving with large <i>bertam</i> leaves and it took a good few hours before I could see the pattern in anything, it looked like nothing more than a mess of intertwined <i>mengkuang</i> leaves and the mid section was all I could do during the first lesson since the starting, corners and ends formed a never ending stream of question marks in my head.</div>
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Luckily I had a wonderfully patient teacher that didn't mind demonstrating techniques multiple times and after another lesson or two I could make bookmarks, bracelets, mats and small bags! </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cutting thorns off a fresh <i>mengkuang</i> leaf</td></tr>
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Last week instead of a full day of weaving I had the opportunity to learn how to prepare the <i>mengkuang</i> leaves that were growing right behind the weaver's house for weaving and I had it in mind that it was a tedious process but as I went through it step by step it had made me realize that the bundle of <i>mengkuang</i> leaves that were already prepared for me at the start of every lesson probably took a day to make, and that's excluding soaking it over night or dyeing.</div>
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<b>How to prepare mengkuang leaves for weaving:</b></div>
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1. Harvest leaves from the shrubs and remove all </div>
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thorns from the sides and middle part of the leaf with </div>
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a sharp knife</div>
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2. Remove moisture from the leaf by gently pulling it </div>
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through a small fire, you'll see the leaf turn into a darker</div>
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<span style="text-align: center;"> 3. Soften the leaf the moment it's off the fire by running it </span></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;"> between your thumb and index finger, might result in</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;"> 4. Remove the central vein of the leaf and cut into thinner </span></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;"> 5. Bundle the leaves together and soak it overnight.<br /><br /> 6. Air dry leaves and soak it once again in batik dye </span></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;"> overnight. Unfortunately natural dyes aren't used.</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;"> 7. Air dry leaves till fully dry. </span></div>
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It's been immensely fascinating learning one of the dying traditional crafts of Malaysia and to be able to spend time with such humble yet generous people. Thank you for guiding me on this journey and opening my eyes to the unseen beauty of the lands, people and culture of Malaysia.</div>
Karen Leonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07273312266680418876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4105917514600698580.post-26577760689927321992015-05-16T22:04:00.001+08:002015-05-16T22:04:18.625+08:006 Everyday Ecuadorian things through the eyes of a Malaysian<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo credits: happinessplunge.com</td></tr>
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<br />One of the main reasons why I adore travelling is simply that particular moment when I step out of the airport knowing that there's going to be a whole new undiscovered chunk of land waiting for me to explore, to meet it's people, to listen to it's stories and to experience such an incredibly different way of life. <div>
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As an exchange student living in Quito, Ecuador for eight months through a youth exchange program, I was given the opportunity to do just that. Now that I've experienced what it was like to immerse myself entirely in a foreign country (I lived with two Ecuadorian host families and attended a small local school.), travelling just isn't simply visiting the overly crowded tourist attractions anymore because sitting under an overly large rainbow coloured umbrella and chattering away with three elderly indigenous women that sell home-grown potatoes at morning market in a small town for a living is just that much more inspiring. What could possibly beat heading home later that day with heart warming stories of how satisfied they are with their simple yet meaningful lives, a few new Quechua words to add to the list and a bag of their best produced they insisted you take home without charge.</div>
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During the beginning of my exchange I kept an ever growing list of things that were a little different from what I was used to back home in Malaysia in a small flimsy notebook, and being in a completely new country almost everything that was around me seemed to have made it's way onto that list but over time they had gotten so normal that I rarely took note of it anymore. Just earlier this week I had to create a thirty minute long (It ended up lasting for a little over an hour.) presentation about my exchange experience in Ecuador which reminded me about that notebook I have buried between stacks of souvenirs that I still hadn't unpacked despite being home for a month. </div>
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Leafing through that notebook left me in fits of laughter as I recalled how bewildered I was when I had first seen or experienced those things, so I thought it would be a fairly good idea to share these amongst fellow Malaysians that may or may not be thinking of visiting the small equatorial country, Ecuador.</div>
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1. Being Malaysian I absolutely love my food, I mean what's there not to like? We cook up the most mouthwatering dishes around which we devour around the clock, you know the usual <i>thosai</i>, <i>maggi goreng </i>and <i>teh tarik</i> for breakfast, <i>kway teow th'ng </i>for brunch, the storm mother goose cooked up for lunch, <i>nasi goreng kampung</i> for tea, another home cooked meal for dinner and <i>roti canai </i>for supper and the feeling of utter satisfaction afterwards is nothing less than perfection. Okay maybe not all Malaysians are greedy enough to consume six meals a day and that's just me, oh what a glutton I am. </div>
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On the other hand you pretty much stick to the three main meals per day principal in Ecuador and it was pretty shocking observing how my host parents and siblings head out the door after a slice of toast with mozzarella cheese and a small cup of coffee or warm milk. The heaviest meal of the day is lunch and we usually start off with soup, then rice, stewed beans, steak and salad and followed by some sort of dessert. And dinner is almost always a bowl of soup that usually has diced cheese, stir fried corn kernels and popcorn added to it or sometimes nothing at all, it really felt as though they were on some meticulous diet. </div>
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Unfortunately I never grew used to it and during most weekends when I didn't have to be up at 6 am for school I'd spend a few extra minutes in the kitchen making myself a hearty bowl of <i>mun yee mee</i>, fruits from the basket in the kitchen would vanish in no time since I was snacking constantly and I usually had to prepare something extra for dinner.</div>
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Cheese was so readily available in the kitchen, I spent the first two months binging on cheese like there was no tomorrow since cheese in Malaysia is worth it's weight in gold (No, not really but still.) and too much of a good thing obviously had a negative effect, on the third month I didn't even want to look at that pale yellow diary block and lots of odd stares were received when I requested to have my sandwich without cheese and definitely no chunks of melted cheese in my soup, please.</div>
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Also the salt shaker had a permanent spot on the dining table, the rule of thumb probably is "No matter how salty the dish is, it clearly needs more salt.". </div>
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Overall, Ecuadorian food isn't as wacky as you'd envision it to be. I did try <i>cuy</i> (Roasted guinea pig) once though and it's delicious.</div>
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2. This is the view I had of the Tungurahua volcano when I was visiting the busy town of Ambato which is famous for it's delicious freshly baked bread, and the local produce of fruit and flowers. This is kind of your typical everyday landscape in the Ecuadorian highlands, at every direction you turn your head to there's just another mountain or volcano which I found fascinating when I drove back to my first host family's house for the first time from the airport. On most clear days I had the perfect view of the snow topped Cotopaxi volcano from my bedroom window.</div>
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According to the locals I've spoken to, hopefully they're of a reliable source, they claim constructing buildings over a certain height is prohibited by the government simply because it might interfere with the view both locals and tourists would have of the rolling mountains and numerous volcanoes. </div>
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The view of the night lights of Quito and the sun setting over the mountains was and still is one of those things that has never failed to take my breath away. It's one of those moments where your mind is focused on nothing else but it's beauty and you just walk a little slower, feeling your hair dance to the rhythm of the gentle evening breeze and appreciating the fact that you're <b>actually</b> in Ecuador.</div>
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3. Yep, these are the 10-15 ft walls that surrounded the house I lived in for a couple of months with my wonderful second host family and yes, that's an electrical fence on top of those walls that has got a built in alarm system. There were also security cameras on every wall, recording every nook and cranny of the house. I had read about the high walls that surrounded a large majority of the houses in Ecuador but seeing them standing right before me was something else. </div>
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During my exchange I took buses around town daily and walked alone countless times, and those walls were a constant reminder of just how the danger of living in a South American country is pretty darn real and that I should be downright thankful that all I had lost was my wallet (Containing my entire monthly allowance!) during a long jam packed bus ride to the north of Quito.</div>
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<br />4. Women's jeans in Ecuador have no back pockets! Unless of course you shop for a pair in a posh store at <i>Quicentro. </i></div>
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And most don't have front pockets as well now that I think of it, just fake front pockets if you're lucky. I did a good amount of my necessary clothes shopping on the bustling streets of Quito like any low to average income local since it was more affordable as they were probably manufactured locally (Or imported directly from a Chinese factory.) and when in Rome do as the Romans do, so before long I'd like to think I dressed similarly to your average Ecuadorian female. Think a decent amount of make up, sweater or a jacket over a dressy top, ahem pocketless jeans and leather boots. And maybe a scarf.</div>
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One of the little things that I've been missing about living Quito is it's perfect cool, dry weather as it entitles you with the freedom to dress up in layers (Something I have always longed to do because you'll end up with outfits that look more put together, in my opinion at least.) and brush a little more make up on your face since it doesn't slide off your face in 0.5 seconds like it does with the sticky, humid Malaysian climate.</div>
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If only I could adorn myself with my Ecuadorian leather jacket again but that's just not happening, like that phase I went through when I was fourteen and wanted to be a bohemian style fashion blogger and then snapping back to reality realizing I can't afford to buy all the pieces to create the outfits I had so perfectly envisioned. What an upsetting day that was. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo credits: weegs.wordpress.com</td></tr>
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<br />5. I'll never forget how astonished I was when I was driving around the valley, I lived in Valle de Los Chillos, sometime during my first week of exchange with my host mom and we pulled over by the traffic lights and suddenly there was just a stampede of energetic backpackers juggling swords and twirling ribbons hoping to earn a little more to be able to continue their adventures, weary indigenous women with babies strapped to their backs selling everything from hammocks to newspapers to avocados and little kids equipped with a bucket of soapy water and a squeegee yelling at the top of their lungs if anyone would like their cleaned. I never would have thought stopping by traffic lights could be quite so entertaining, and this happens at almost all traffic lights, it's just not something that you'd be able to miss.</div>
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Bus rides are much more fun too with the occasional duo armed with their guitars and melodic voices or that old lady that carries a basket filled with individually packed <i>chifles</i>, <i>chulpi</i>, <i>mani</i> and other goodies but my favourite bus rides have to be those long distance ones where the bus passes through the tiniest villages and the busiest cities and at every stop vendors would board the bus with that specific food or snack that they're known for. It's like taking a foodie trip around the town without even having to leave your seat. </div>
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And now I'm craving some creamy <i>helados de salcedo</i>. Mmm. Just a little note, Salcedo is quaint town located in the Cotopaxi province (They're called provinces instead of states in Ecuador.) that's famous for it's creamy, fruity handmade ice cream and whenever I travelled around the highlands I'd always look forward to that stop for obvious reasons.</div>
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6. Milk and yoghurt are sold in plastic bags instead of cartons and bottles which was definitely something I had never seen before, the closest thing we have to those here in Malaysia are probably shampoo or soap refills and they even have these special jugs that contain these bags so all you've got to do is snip off a corner and voila! Pretty clever huh.<br />
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Oh Ecuador, it's been interesting getting to know you.</div>
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<b>Un abrazo!</b></div>
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Karen Leonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07273312266680418876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4105917514600698580.post-16979295237569030622015-05-15T22:46:00.002+08:002015-05-15T22:46:28.057+08:0010 Things you'd experience as an exchange student in Ecuador<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Here's to Momma goose who has been continuously not so subtly prodding me to start blogging again, I love you.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hola ol' blank blog composing page and to everyone who's reading this, I'M HOME! I'm just going to start off where I had abandoned the whole blogging scene almost a year ago when I wrote about my <a href="http://karencuppycake.blogspot.com/2014/07/the-pre-exchange.html">pre-exchange</a> nerves, which all seem so foreign now since I've been back in Malaysia for a little over a month now and instead of dealing with pre-exchange nerves I'm now struck with post-exchange syndrome. That's definitely a proper medical term.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's as though you're experiencing a second exchange, life with your real family (During my exchange it was near impossible to refer to my family as simply "my family" when you've got at least two host families. After time even your subconscious labels them "real family", "host family #1" and "host family #2". So yeah, that's stuck now) seems almost foreign and daily routines aren't normal anymore but slightly odd. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And left your average white <strike>15 ft high fortress</strike> picket fence family with three kids and a dog to return to my slightly unsettled (We now spend half our week residing in our apartment in the highlands and the other half at our beach house), weird and proud family who unschools their six kids. I can assure you that it was an extremely drastic change.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's fascinating how living in a routine of complete normality, by normality I mean living with a normal family and actually sitting down in a classroom with teachers that drones on and on with a painfully monotonous voice (Okay, I'll have to admit that I thoroughly enjoyed chemistry.) from 8 am - 2 pm from Monday to Friday with a class of eighteen Ecuadorian teens that blast <i>reggaeton</i> through portable speakers box during recess, just living the average Ecuadorian teenager's life. Okay, schooled in Ecuador vs being unschooled post needs to be written. As I was saying it does fascinate me how those meagre eight months away from home made me capable of viewing the life I have here from a more or less complete outsider's point of view. I left Malaysia last year as a sixteen year old unschooler who was driven by caking and art and came home as a seventeen year old Ecuadorian schoolgirl who wanted to book another plane ticket the moment she step foot in the Malaysian airport because there are just so many places see and new people to meet. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yes, it was a complete waste of luggage space to bring my caking toolbox and art supplies along since finding ingredients to make gum paste was impossible and art is a pretty solitary activity recreational activity which wasn't my highest priority since I was in a new country with a completely foreign language to hopefully become fluent in, locals to befriend, places to be astonished by and wacky cultures to absorb. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The last month of mine was spent painstakingly trying to merge these two sides of the same person together, despite the Father's advice about leaving who I was back in Ecuador behind and being my somewhat pre-exchange self again. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'd like to think that I've gotten my old habits back and made room for a few new ones, I feel that my happy music would remain <i>reggaeton</i> for the foreseeable future, El perdon by Nicky Jam <i>por siempre. </i>It's been hilarious attempting to switch from Spanish back to Malay and Chinese, I have come to believe that the section of my brain that controls the second language I speak has become undeniably faulty. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>So here's a pretty list of incidences:</i></span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>I bumped into a middle aged Malay woman when I stepped into the lift of the KLIA airport and said "Perdon, estas bien?"</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>My Dad dropped me off to buy a loaf of bread and after handing the cashier a RM5 bill he said "Adakah dua puluh lima sen?" (Do you have twenty five cents?) and I replied with "No, yo no tengo vienticinco centavos, solo tengo diez." (No, I don't have twenty five cents, I only have ten.). His face of utter confusion was hilarious.</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Those countless times when I had realized mid word that I'm using the wrong language "Hol- err hi!" or "Graci- no wait, terima kasih!".</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Since I've forgotten a large chunk of my Malay vocabulary, and it wasn't even that impressive before, I now insert Spanish words in place of the Malay words I had forgotten and speak extremely fast hoping no one would catch it. I might just have a foreign accent or something ya know. How did I ever think this was a good idea.</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Then there was the day right after I had gotten back home and went to the local mamak stall for breakfast and ordered "Una agua sejuk y maggi goreng". </i></span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Anyway I'm a caking fanatic once again, my nights are spent leafing through my slightly dusty collection of baking and cake decorating books, during my exchange I had taken an immense liking towards tiramisu and cheesecakes (I used to dislike them with a passion.) and earlier this week I stumbled across a recipe for the perfectly delectable baked cheesecake. Score. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Also Cake Challenge Malaysia 2015 is coming up, and the excitement is slowly rising because how could I possibly not be ecstatic about investing long hours cooped up in my cake room and creating the most extravagant wedding cake these hands are capable of? And I've finally gotten myself an account on pinterest, on the first night I was literally up till 4am scrolling through magnificently inspiring baroque art pieces that could be turned into sugar goodies. I'm feeling very much like middle aged woman who has just gotten introduced to the magical powers of the internet.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> My wanderlust prayers were answered too, I was accepted into this ahem, "exclusive" (They probably just wanted to make us all feel special and loved. Hoorah.) sustainability camp in Langkawi I'll be flying off sometime next week and since it was more affordable to fly a day before and a few days after, I'm readying myself for more solo adventures. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Okay, I'll save the current adventures for another time and it's truly amazing to be back home but without further adieu, here's my response to the ten things I had envisioned to experience during my exchange. </span></div>
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<i>1. Sometimes your host family's house doesn't have an address and getting yourself home can be tricky.</i></div>
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Unfortunately I didn't have the opportunity to visit a nameless street, both my host families had a nice green signboard nailed on the wall of the first house on the street though I did happen to be in numerous cabs who's drivers had no idea whatsoever where the house was so I definitely learnt how to direct them to my host family's place quick.</div>
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<i>2. You wouldn't understand a single word uttered in class no matter how many years you've been studying the Spanish language. </i></div>
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When I arrived in Ecuador I had only been familiar with the language for about two months and I was confident that I'd be able to converse with the people around me, I mean I did pass every level in the DuoLingo app, I didn't go through all that memorizing for nothing right? </div>
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The moment I landed in Ecuador that confidence I had prior to my exchange vanished completely, I could understand every other word and being able to tell my host sister's boyfriend "<i>yo tengo tres hermanos menores, yo soy la mayor." </i>was such a massive accomplishment that I went to bed that night with a grin plastered on my face. And it was pretty much the same situation once school started a week after, needless to say there was a lot of dozing off and writing endless diary entries during the first two months.</div>
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<i>3. There's going to be a language camp in a 5 star resort in Mompiche, where you're apparently going to speak more English than Spanish. Also Germans make up half the exchange students and the Taiwanese are the only Asian exchange students, not that it matters.</i></div>
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There were a total of exactly five asians, including myself in Ecuador (The other Taiwanese exchange student lived by the coast and the language camp was separated into two groups, those that live in the highlands and those by the coast.) and there were around maybe.. Fifty Germans, at every meet up there was a definite 100% chance that you'll be hearing the German language. </div>
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Language camp was an incredible experience in a stunning resort with a free flow of food, it was the first time that I had ever met such a huge bunch of exchange students and I don't believe much Spanish was learnt at all despite the three Spanish classes we had scheduled daily. </div>
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<i>4. Concerts are realllly affordable. </i></div>
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Well, we had James Blunt in Quito in March and KISS shortly afterwards but I'm not fans of either of them in any way and $50 is just way too much for an exchange student with a monthly allowance of $80 so concerts are definitely out of the question.</div>
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<i>5. Ecuadoreans throw parties <b>every</b> weekend.</i></div>
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Oh this one is as true as it gets, if you like partying South America is the place for you. A house isn't a house unless it's equip with 4 ft tall floorstanding speakers that blast <i>reggaeton</i> so loud even your heart dances <i>perreo </i>and lots and lots of <i>zhumir</i>. And that photo above was taken in an open air party bus during Halloween where I cross dressed, what a beautiful first Halloween experience. </div>
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<i>6. You're probably going to be a Latino dance expert by the end of your exchange. </i></div>
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No, not really. I'm still as awkward of a dancer as I always was, I enjoy dancing, always have but the sight of me dancing probably looks like a disorientated giraffe flailing it's limbs all over the place. </div>
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I did however attend zumba classes twice a week and it was the absolute best.</div>
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<i>7. Football is a thing. Duh.</i></div>
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<i>8. Anything that isn't manufactured or grown locally is priced sky high. (Side note: I may return draped in llama wool, topped a woven straw hat and requesting for cuy.)</i></div>
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Clothes in general was unreasonably expensive due to the taxes the government places on imported apparel, alpaca wool sweaters and straw hats weren't any cheaper since they are kept at tourist price. But who needs new tshirts anyway when you can wear the same six tshirts under that new Ecuadorian leather jacket you had bought for only $25? </div>
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Oh and fret not if you want to shop on a budget, there are some pretty <i>chevere</i> thrift stores in Quito.</div>
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<i>9. Don't expect high speed wifi and the connection has got some major mood swings.</i></div>
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I guess this is one of the perks of living in the capital where it's slightly more developed, so the connection you've got to the internet is great, just as long as you're at the specific spot right above the stairs, sitting on the chequered couch.</div>
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<i>10. Sometimes there's no hot water to shower with.</i></div>
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See that tank of gas right there? That's what's supplying you with hot water and somehow electrical heaters aren't all that popular in Ecuador so every time you step into the shower knowing that it's been some time since the tank has last been refilled there's always that feeling of dread that you'd be in the midst of getting the suds out and poof, you're left with freezing cold water while showering on a chilly night. Again.</div>
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<b><i>Besos!</i></b></div>
Karen Leonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07273312266680418876noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4105917514600698580.post-29906586791031194372014-07-21T13:36:00.001+08:002014-07-21T16:17:46.605+08:00The pre-exchange II<div><br></div>The past few days have been a whirlwind of bittersweet feelings, feelings I never thought I'd experience, especially since I've always wanted to go on an exchange but there's definitely something about saying goodbye to the life that you've lived for all those years in routine and comfort. <div><br></div><div>On Thursday I attended my last Chinese ink painting and watercolor class at the MIA extra mural studies center, it's a beautiful old bungalow occupied by the some very passionate teachers and hobby artists and it's located right smack in the hustle and bustle of KL which proved to be very soul satisfying since I could spend my lunch breaks getting lost in freshly printed books in Kinokunia as it was a mere five minute walk away. I enrolled myself in their courses only because I had time to kill as I was just a few months away from departing for my exchange and I couldn't work on any long term projects, so the courses that they offered seemed like the perfect way to spend the remaining months I had. </div><div><br></div><div>Over the last four months I had grown to love being in a classroom like environment again, what made me love it even more was the fact that the students were of all ages, each class conceived of less than ten people on most days and the teachers would tutor every student personally, which meant that there were advance students that have been attending their courses for years and were working on massive projects and there would always be a new face around but everyone in the classroom bonded on one common ground, art, and those two hours were sometimes the most uplifting of my week. Ideas would be thrown around, thoughts on the latest artists or exhibitions would fill the air, intense discussions on where to get the most affordable art supplies were initiated. </div><div><br></div><div>There truly isn't anything like being in an environment where you truly belong, where the way you look, the clothes on your back and the place that you're from doesn't matter. All that matters is your love for art, how spiffy you happen to be with your art medium or maybe you just know where to get a high quality horse hair paintbrush for RM2. It's a place where you indeed, feel beautiful as is. </div><div><br></div><div>And I'm going to miss walking through those doors every Thursday but to me, being an exchange student means possessing the ability to once again discover places in which you belong, just halfway around the world. </div><div><br></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Now that I've got a whole lot more free time on my hands I've gone full throttle on catching up with craft, reading and more or less everything that I haven't had the time to immerse myself in with my prioritized activities but since they've been called off, well, it's time to indulge.</span></div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhElN6-bE9w7fSbrZURhBey6EZ5cVQ0emFHmYbskq0Nltr3CgtdTXcfkCbTrarE4Aep6H2Xi_z2S0FNw_asmpiV-SHC9z9iFdGcKih13zQ1O8Mfl_-VPQmH1kR13jZItb6Mlf6Np6XQUMk/s640/blogger-image-819120868.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhElN6-bE9w7fSbrZURhBey6EZ5cVQ0emFHmYbskq0Nltr3CgtdTXcfkCbTrarE4Aep6H2Xi_z2S0FNw_asmpiV-SHC9z9iFdGcKih13zQ1O8Mfl_-VPQmH1kR13jZItb6Mlf6Np6XQUMk/s640/blogger-image-819120868.jpg"></a><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"> </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The most recent obsession (My obsessions have got a very high turnover.) of mine has been t-shirt painting, it's something I had dabbled in before but unfortunately didn't take much interest in since I found it tiresome because it took too long to paint a simple outline and it was just plain frustrating not being able to achieve a clean cut line, my strokes always turned out a little fuzzy. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I only decided to work it out since I've really been into bands and obviously craved for their merchandise, only to discover that I couldn't afford it, so I resolved to painting the merchandise myself. Since then I've painted every single one of my plain tops in my wardrobe and I'm not entirely sure if I should be proud of myself for improving the overall state of my clothing or disappointed because I haven't been able to control my urge to splash paint over everything.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">It's funny how everything I get into always does fall back to art, it's almost like I revolve around it.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">On the final note, I can't help feeling a little ill prepared about my departure or maybe this is just the slightly overwhelmed bit of my mind speaking as it usually does when what used to be far from reach nears to the point where you suddenly snap back into reality and realize that it's no longer a far fetched dream.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><br></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>31 DAYS.</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><br></div>Karen Leonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07273312266680418876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4105917514600698580.post-18809977208641797522014-07-14T15:41:00.000+08:002014-07-14T15:41:20.929+08:00The pre-exchangeJust a few days back I never would have thought that I would revert back to blogging since I had my mind set on starting up the long procrastinated youtube channel, I had been meaning to start vlogging for years but once I had the courage to actually start filming the first video I realized that there's a lot more to it than having an interesting video that's filmed in a decently lit setup, there was editing, background music (Yes, I'm a perfectionist like that) and having to wait hours for it to upload.<br />
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Long story short, after having gone through the entire process I've decided that it probably wasn't worth all that effort and I wouldn't want to spend hours facing a screen during my exchange year in Ecuador because I'm not going to want to regret not soaking up enough South American vibes and living in the present. Yes, this is me telling myself that it is okay to not document my exchange too much and as much as I now despise blogging, as I've witnessed just how much more intense and personal stories seem to sound through a video format, how it captures emotions perfectly, I'll endure this slightly backward path.<br />
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Well, being someone with incredibly low self-esteem, I am relieved that I wouldn't have to experience anxious fits when I upload a video but I can't help feeling overwhelming guilty about not being able to bring myself to hop over such a small yet terrifying hurdle. The overly circulated quote "What if I fall? oh, but my darling, what if you fly?" seems oddly relevant just about now.<br />
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The past few months have been a blur of scurrying around in a decapidated chicken like manner to prepare the necessities that are required for me to bring over and since Rotary has never sent a Malaysian exchange student over to Ecuador there was a lot of uncertainty and none of those in change of the youth exchange sector really understood what procedures to take. </div>
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So there was a lot of assumptions and frustration being scattered around mainly due to the legal matters like apply for the certification of good conduct for the incoming exchange student's host families and the extremely tedious process of applying for my one year visa, not to mention that we weren't told prior to confirming that I had to have an "open return date" flight ticket which happens to cost an exorbitant sum of dosh, needless to say, my Dad wasn't the happiest of fellows. </div>
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Then there was purchasing gifts for my host families, frantically shopping for warm clothing since the average temperature in Quito is ten degrees Celsius and my wardrobe conceives mainly of loose fitting tank tops and shorts, hunting for a durable suitcase that didn't have zips since becoming an accidental drug trafficker was a major concern and this isn't even a quarter of the "to get" list.</div>
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Not wanting to step into the exchange program without any knowledge about what may happen, I've been doing a fair share if research and by research I really do mean going borderline insane trying to locate as many blogs of rotex (Ex-rotary youth exchange students) that had Ecuador as their host country. At least I'm now the slightest bit more content and in a less fidgety state having known what I may experience especially during the first few months to an estimated average on how many pins I would need to exchange with the other exchange students when I meet them at conferences or events. Yes, the picture above are of the 220 pins that I painstakingly made over a few quiet nights and who knew it was quite this difficult to source for tiny Malaysian flags.</div>
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<i>10 Things that may most likely to happen/be true if you're ever going on a Rotary exchange to Ecuador, *according to rotex blogs:</i></div>
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<i>1. Sometimes your host family's house doesn't have an address and getting yourself home can be tricky.</i></div>
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<i>2. You wouldn't understand a single word uttered in class no matter how many years you've been studying the Spanish language. </i></div>
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<i>3. There's going to be a language camp in a 5 star resort in Mompiche, where you're apparently going to speak more English than Spanish. Also Germans make up half of the population of exchange students and the Taiwanese are the only Asian exchange students, not that it matters.</i></div>
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<i>4. Concerts are realllly affordable. </i></div>
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<i>5. Ecuadoreans throw parties <b>every</b> weekend.</i></div>
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<i>6. You're probably going to be a Latin dance expert by the end of your exchange. </i></div>
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<i>7. Football is a thing. Duh.</i></div>
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<i>8. Anything that isn't manufactured or grown locally is priced sky high. (Side note: I may return draped in llama wool, topped a woven straw hat and requesting for cuy.)</i></div>
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<i>9. Don't expect high speed wifi and the connection has got some major mood swings.</i></div>
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<i>10. Sometimes there's no hot water to shower with.</i></div>
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<i>*I can't wait to do a more in depth post on this once I've actually experienced or myth busted everything on the list.</i></div>
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What I've been enjoying most throughout the entire preparation stage has been taking up the language of my host country, Spanish. It was advised that I take formal Spanish lessons but I had come across a free app called Duolingo a few months back when I was interested in picking up German and I found it a lot easier to follow and grasp as compared to expensive language learning software like Rosetta Stone. </div>
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It actually made language learning addictive, I would be going through a few lessons whenever I had free time and one of my favorite concepts about it is being able to "duel" other Duolingo users that are at your level, basically it's revision but a whole lot more fun since there's a challenge given. I don't usually rave about things, let alone apps this way but you could say that this is my latest obsession and having completed the entire Spanish course was just plain devastating, it was almost like Augustus Waters at the end of the Imperial affliction and not believing that it had ended. </div>
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Also you never realize how much of the world around you is in a certain language until you learn it, it feels as though a dark veil has uncovered over the way I see the world, okay that may be a little exaggerated but at least I now understand the subtitles in that movie I not so legally downloaded, the occasional Spanish quote on weheartit and being able to properly understand the countless Spanish art and cake decorating blogs makes you feel nothing less than triumphant.</div>
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<b>38 DAYS.</b></div>
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Karen Leonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07273312266680418876noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4105917514600698580.post-68484907042227775962014-05-10T00:57:00.000+08:002014-05-10T01:00:41.626+08:00Close your eyes and hold out your hands<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Closing my eyes and holding out my hands, I think that describes just exactly what my approach to life has been over the past few months and yes, it does in a way sound excruciatingly naive but I'm starting to see how it works. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">If I had let fear overcome my desire to delve into any possible opportunity I probably wouldn't even have giving a second thought about trying out for the Cake Challenge Malaysia competition, which was exactly what I did for the past few years when I had heard about the competition since it very clearly stated in the fine print that the finalists had to complete the last tier of their entry live and I just didn't feel as though I possessed adequate experience to compete under a limited time frame but this year I decided to close my eyes and hold out my hands to accept what life brings me. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">After I had got chosen as one of the few finalists I constantly felt as though as my competition entry wasn't good enough and that I would never be able to exceed what I had accomplished at the 2011 ICCA wedding cake competition, by what I had accomplished I really do mean the techniques I was able to invent and the entire composition of the cake. That feeling that settles at the bottom of your heart that puts you into a state where you could never become anything more was unnerving and it was set in concrete throughout the preparation stage as I felt that I was constantly referring back to the techniques I had executed on that piece and then having to force yourself to improve on it because you couldn't bring yourself to copy off a thirteen year old, even if that thirteen year old was yourself. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Yes, you're probably wondering why would I would actually chose to regress in a way instead of getting inspiration from other artists or objects around me to actually progress. During the first few days of preparation I did the necessary bit of research to keep myself up to date with the latest winning competition cakes, which really only proved to be useful in mentally pointing out where my fellow competitors had extracted their ideas and techniques from as whenever I tried to apply those techniques onto my cake it would have an 80% chance of winding up in the trash because I would step away from my cake, tilt my head to the left and right and come to a conclusion that it really didn't come from me but that celebrity cake artist instead. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Like everything else, I realized all I needed to remember is to keep a decent balance between the two to avoid any further inner conflict. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Though it wasn't the first time, I've been receiving telltale signs that I wasn't as passionate about cake decorating as I had been before for instance I honestly did not have a halfway acceptable theme aside from it being royal and dripping in primary colors because it seemed like a slightly challenging color combination to work with or a name for my cake, two things which I found as important as the cake itself and which I would take pride in sharing how I had come up with it and what had inspired me but no, this time it felt as though my thoughts had vacated my mind. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Oddly as time passed I was slowly filling that vacant space in my mind with a clear picture on what I wanted my finished creation to look like, though I had never done any proper research on those few topics I knew it was going to be a fusion of stained glass and oriental royalty. I shall assume that my creative gears are merely taking a little longer to shift into place and even more time to start whirring. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I do feel that this cake slightly reflects my current state of mind, from the way the tiers seem almost identical to my scattered thoughts and ideas and the striking colors resemble the way I've been looking at life from a different perspective and it gives the most mundane moments and objects a new, more vivid form. To me the cake competitions I've entered throughout the past four years has never been purely for the golden trophy or the way people spend time admiring your entry or that surge of adrenaline and raw excitement you get when you get interviewed, all along I really do think that during the period of time I spend working on my entry is when I get a true sense of self, getting in touch with my inner most thoughts and basically it's a two week journey of rediscovering who you are all over again which is something I realized I need to go through annually in order to keep myself sane. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Also the live competition was the direct opposite of the Masterchef scenario I had in mind, with cake being thrown around and contestants running riot. I was never too good with time management or estimating the amount of time I would need to complete a project and I had actually finished my cake an hour before we had to officially lay our piping bags to rest, which was surprising. I should time myself when I work next time. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I had feared live competitions all along for nothing, now I really am glad I decided to close my eyes and hold out my hands because what gets placed in your hands can be magical. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">On the side note, I do hope that I'd be able to start blogging again for good since Ecuador is a mere three months away and I do want to keep a little travel log on my adventures anyway. And reading through my older posts gives me cringe attacks but they do seem like a brilliant memoir of the past. </span>Karen Leonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07273312266680418876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4105917514600698580.post-27632929035941194462013-10-08T16:30:00.003+08:002014-07-08T12:05:33.778+08:00I'm on the pursuit for adventureGoodness knows made bought me here again after abandoning my blog after all this time. Maybe it is because I wanted to check if I am still capable of writing more than one worded photo captions on face book, or maybe it's because for the past weekend or so I have been feeling very motivated and slightly inspired in the art and literature department.<br />
Anyways, I suppose this shall be a quick update about what's been been revolving around the cuppy headed world, besides the fact that I have been obsessing over indie rock fashion and DIY bohemian inspired feathery headbands, seriously though I can spend hours scrolling through pictures of weird indie /bohemian inspired fashion and hipster type quotes in german that I find somewhat amusing, what has become of me. Or maybe this post shall just be a short reminder that I still exist and have yet to be completely taken over by feathered accessories.<br />
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Apart from tearing apart old t-shirts and converting them into colorful headbands, which have convinced my family that I might join an indian tribe sometime in the near future or perhaps at least start practicing rain dances around the house, I have been drawing a whole lot more as compared to the past few months and I have completely given up using my once favorite Stabilo 0.4 ink pens for willow charcoal sticks and 2b pencils. I don't recall what made me switch art mediums but I guess it was partly due to boredom and the fact that I wasn't really good with ink and I wanted to try something new altogether.<br />
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Honestly, I haven't actually studied or observed artists using pencils and charcoal because I am such a lazy creature and also it literally takes an hour to load a youtube video with the extremely slow Port Dickson wifi speed I am blessed with, so I guess I can proudly say that I picked up whatever pencil and charcoal skills through a whole lot of trail and error and not to mention the amount of wasted paper! Also, until I immersed myself into creating art with these relatively new art mediums (Or at least that's what they are to me since I never would have given it a second thought before.) I never would have realized how important an eraser was, especially to create highlights. And erase mistakes, doh. The next step I'd be taking would probably be to use color pencils and hopefully be able to invest in a nice creamy set of color pencils that would hopefully work better than the cheapo ones I find scattered across my brother's desk. Then again, it could just be me not having enough skill to be able to blend the colors properly, go figure.<br />
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Ah, I remember now. It was because I was slowly getting sucked into the world of realistic human portraits, with a tinge of surrealism and ink pens limited shading and whatnots since I was, and still am pretty much useless at controlling ink. At the same random pencil using artists decided to appear all around, so I decided to give it a shot. I don't think I would ever go back to drawing with ink pens or start doodling henna inspired art again, or maybe I would one day since I once sworn that I wouldn't never step back into the cake decorating industry but I did and I probably created more birthday and wedding cakes for the past two months than I have throughout the past few years. Sometimes I do wish I weren't so fickle about the decisions I make. <br />
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A couple of days back I got the last of the Rotary youth exchange forms filled up and I was told that I would be departing for a year in Ecuador on the 22nd of August next year, that was probably the moment when everything started feeling scary and at the same time excitingly real! Since I have got a little less than a year till my departure to the land of spitting llamas and ancient galapagos tortoises, you could say that I have prepared a list of some of the things I wanted to experience in Malaysia or just things I am looking forward to, since I wouldn't be around for an entire year and at the same time prepare myself for a journey to a faraway land. To start off I decided to pick up Spanish, I had no idea it was such an easy and enjoyable language to learn!<br />
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The decision to go to Ecuador instead of Germany was pretty sudden. Sudden as in I said yes over a two minute phone call in the middle of a hectic marketing game played during MYC13, I was bought over the moment I heard that the exchange students would be able to visit the Amazon rainforest, Galapagos islands, Machu Pichu and some other places I did not catch on that brief phone conversation! Besides almost all the previous exchange students went to either somewhere in the European region or Japan, so it would be nice to be one of those that venture outside the box!<br />
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Carrot Guppy Head's to do list of shenanigans before Ecuador:<br />
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<li>RYLA13. I actually got chosen as one of the facilitators this year! So I suppose writing that insanely lengthy e-mail to them about my "abilities" was worth it, though I was fan-girling about how much I loved RYLA12 and the experiences I had for at least three quarters of it! I can't wait to see what's in store for me this year since I've stepped up the ladder, hm.</li>
<li>OUTWARD BOUND. I swear, I attend every single camp I lay my eyes on but this particular camp sounds like heaven on earth for outdoor loving, adventure junkies!</li>
<li>VOLUNTEERING at Zoo Negara and the Ma Daerah turtle sanctuary. It's amazing being in an environment where you are surrounded by people that have the similar love for wildlife conservation and nature, being able to observe how things are managed and operated behind the scenes and constantly learning to fuel what you are passionate in. </li>
<li>MT. KINABALU. Training for it, pushing my limits and conquering a mountain sounds thrilling!</li>
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For the past two months or so, change (Such as how I am able to do a proper bridge without sounding like a dying pterodactyl and being able to tie a top knot that doesn't come loose in two seconds.) and fascinating discoveries were ever present, you could say I am feeling very much happier and wholesome now than I have been for the longest period time.<br />
It could be due to the fact that the future doesn't seem so blurred and foggy anymore and maybe it is because I finally accept who I am without the need to feel embarrassed when people start bashing my dreams.<br />
And it feels amazing.Karen Leonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07273312266680418876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4105917514600698580.post-86013741703735136452013-07-28T16:42:00.000+08:002013-07-28T16:44:08.719+08:00A weekend of music and danceI must admit, it's pretty strange typing away on a laptop again as I have grown accustomed to the whole pen on paper, old fashioned way of writing thing ever since I decided I wanted to be out of the house more and blogging on a tiny phone isn't exactly easy as the keypad is tiny and I keep stumbling over my own fingers, so I decided to start writing in one of my long abandoned diaries again.<br />
It was slightly difficult at first since it's been sometime since I've actually written my thoughts down on paper and by the time I was halfway through jotting down whatever I was thinking, the thought would have evaporated away and you are left staring at some blank paper, maybe it's because I write very slowly or something. I should probably teach myself how to write in cursive one day.<br />
Also you get to pen down every last detail without having to worrying about how your entry might insult someone or how you would be judged by the way you write, so hooray for secret diaries! <br />
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Okay, it wasn't exactly a weekend of music and dance since it started on Thursday and I only got home on Monday and it was filled with more than just music and dancing, I seriously need to work on my blog titling skills.<br />
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<u style="font-style: italic;">Thursday</u><br />
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I woke up to the very annoying bleeping sound of my phone's alarm at seven or so in the morning, I wanted to give my morning zombie self some time to put on make up, actually comb my hair into place and put on a little black dress I D-I-Y refashioned from one of those hand-me-down ankle length auntie dresses I had rotting in my closet which I so happened to only work on it at like, two in the morning or something since I had to pack and stuff. I had a casting and it so happened that I needed a tight, short, dark coloured dress (That I didn't have, so D-I-Y-ing was the alternative to sitting down and crying I suppose.) at the Amber Chia academy for a company that booked runway models.<br />
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The casting was over pretty quick, all I did was talk a little bit about myself, get my height measured against one of the two ladies that were doing the casting, do some pretend-you-are-on-a-runway strutting and they actually said my very panicky refashioned dress was pretty and asked where I bought it from!<br />
I'll should probably add "learn how to sew clothes properly" to my things I need to learn how to do before I get old list.<br />
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After some drool worthy wan tan mee in Petaling street and getting a new pair of red sneakers at Mid Valley, Dad dropped me off at AWL's. I don't really remember what happened afterwards except maybe walking over to CLIC to have some bihun, fried, vegetarian bak kut teh and fried seaweed with bits of sesame seed in it (Which I later dumped into my bak kut teh soup since it tasted really weird on it's own for some reason that I have no explanation to.) for lunch and then re-reading the city of glass by Cassandra Clare.<br />
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At five or so in the evening we made our way to the urban groove dance studio where the workshops for project hip hope (A charity fund raising project for the house of love, an orphanage and the house of joy, a home for the elderly.) were held and signed up for their graffiti workshops since I've recently been obsessed with trying new forms of art out and graffiti is something completely different to what I am used to!<br />
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Once I got "project hip hope" stamped in red ink on the back of my palm I was whisked off to a secret church, it shall be called the secret church since I have no idea what the church is called and I probably wouldn't have noticed it there since they camouflaged it so well!<br />
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A couple of minutes after climbing up a few flights of stairs, settling down on a plastic chair in this very squashy room filled with Australian fellows freestyle rapping to their adventures they had so far in Malaysia and hip hop dancers that I recognized from the urban groove studio, began the first project hip hope workshop! It began rather awkwardly I must add, since literally everyone knew each other and spoke in hip hop language, which at first was like an entirely new language filled with weird hand gestures but I am proud to say that by the end of the three days I spent at the graffiti workshop I had pretty much understood the whole hip hop language and sign language thing they had going on. And a girl named Carisa, who happens to look almost exactly like my fat blue hippo but perhaps with a hip hop twist said she liked my very random stack of bracelets, yay me.<br />
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I must admit the workshop ended almost right after it started or at least it felt that way, hmm. We covered a a brief bit of hip hop history, how it started and who made it famous and all, it's too bad I don't remember much of it since I probably have this life long disease called goldfish memory.<br />
Then we did even more theory on the different graffiti techniques, mainly letter writing/spray painting techniques since we were focusing on getting our tag, basically your graffiti signature, done by the end of the first workshop.<br />
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After what seemed like eternity, nah actually I found the theory bit pretty interesting since I had never actually dabbled in graffiti before. When it was time to create our tags I had an "artist block", my mind went blank and I had no idea how to create a somewhat "badass" tag for myself or how to sort of draw it out on paper! Even when I did pull some ideas together and started doodling on my A3 sized paper with multi colored markers it just didn't seem to flow as well as I thought it would and I got the feeling that maybe graffiti is just something I will never be naturally good at.</div>
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Once the workshop ended I headed back to the urban groove dance studio, got dragged to a vegetarian restaurant by Awl for dinner and of all things they had there I ordered vegetarian fish head noodles! It tasted very much like eel sushi, I am still undecided if I like or hate it, hmm. Oh since Am, Sam and Arian decided to take the evening workshops we hung around the restaurant sipping on Chinese tea and orange juice, since I might have burnt my tongue while stuffing noodles down my throat. Then Jet and his family decided to join us since they had just finished their dinner somewhere in taipan as well, we yakked about things I don't remember of anymore till the owner of the restaurant decided that they wanted to to kick us out since it was getting late.</div>
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The next day was filled with egg sandwich making and packing into ziplock bags,more reading and writing a dozen pages or so in my diary, I guess this is what I get for procrastinating, zero memory of anything that has happened only rough bits and pieces. </div>
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<i><u>Friday</u></i><br />
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Today at the workshop we started on characters, the whole theory then practical concept again but I enjoyed myself a whole lot more since Sam wasn't taking the workshop with me so I pretty much didn't have an excuse to hang around her and not talk to anyone else! I was there a little early for the workshop that for some reason was held in the urban groove studio instead of the church, so after walking around the reception area for a bit, I plopped down on the couch and talked to this random girl that looked equally as bored next to me and by the time the workshop started we pretty much knew everything from each other's weird life stories to what we kinds of videos we watch on youtube to what we thought of random countries around the world!</div>
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As for the practical part of today's characters in graffiti style workshop we had to draw the person sitting next to you as a character and the person sitting next to me was Jane, a friend of Sam's that I had met at the first workshop but didn't really get to talk to much and the photo above is her drawing of me as a graffiti styled character and the piece of paper next to it is my failed attempt at graffiti from the workshop the day before! </div>
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I don't look anything like that though you might have gotten the shorts and big feet right, but thank you for making me feel really beautiful!<br />
We switched our drawings at the end of the workshop so I unfortunately can't upload a picture of the drawing I did of Jane but maybe it's a good thing since mine turned out pretty bad but not as rotten as the tags I did the day before, thankfully.</div>
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Am and Sam weren't at the studio yet since their vocal workshop started a little late so I sneaked into the room where the hip hop dancers were rehearsing for the project hip hope concert on Sunday and you could say I was pretty blown away, staring at them dancing with eyes popping out of their sockets and my jaw trailing of the floor! There is just something about the choreography and music that just makes you blink for a second and then mouth a silent "wow" because you forgot to breath for that few minutes they were dancing and its a little hard to say anything when you've got no air left in your lungs.</div>
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I spent the next twenty minutes or so watching them dance the same routine again and again till Am and Sam arrived and dragged me off to subway across a very congested road for dinner, by then the dancers were probably very creeped out by my overall existence in the studio.</div>
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We watched the silver linings play book when we got home, it was amazing (Yay, Jennifer Lawrence!) enough to keep me awake watching it till two or three in the morning.</div>
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<i><u>Saturday</u></i><br />
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Day three of the project hip hope graffiti workshop! The workshop that I just couldn't wait to attend since we were told that we got to do graffiti with actual spray paint!</div>
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Evening came soon enough and after a quick round if registering and re-stamping in the urban groove dance studio I rushed down to the alley behind the row of shophouses with Sam because that's where today's workshop was held. </div>
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I was greeted by three huge wooden boards and a cardboard box filled with primary and secondary spray paint colors, I was bursting with excitement!</div>
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After Matthew mystery, he is this mind blowingly "cool" priest that conducted the graffiti workshop, does freestyle rapping, dances hip hop and tells nerve wrecking stories of his early graffiti days in Sydney and how he very nearly got killed by a train in the subway and caught by cops a couple of times. Anyways after he demonstrated one of his signature characters it was our turn to finally try out graffiti on the huge wooden canvases.</div>
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Sadly, I discovered that graffiti isn't as easy as it looks and made a complete mess on my side of the board, how very disappointing indeed but it was fun literally getting myself coated in spray paint since I picked the bottom part of the board and there were people working on their piece above me!</div>
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Note to self: Always pick the top when it involves paint and other humans.</div>
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<i><u>Sunday</u></i><br />
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After another lazy morning filled with more egg sandwich making and diary writing at Awl's we made our way to the Paradox cafe where Am had created an open mic event, to be honest I really didn't expect much from it, maybe some newbie singers/songwriters that would give such terrible performances that you would rather listen to a blender blend concrete. You could say I didn't have very high expectations about the event or/and that I am a terrible excuse for a human being.</div>
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It was strange how the moment Am welcomed all that arrived and started it of with her two original songs "clues" and "dandelion days", I actually found myself enjoying the songs, tapping out the beat with my shoes and singing along, all while I was stuffing my face with a huge bowl of noodles.</div>
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I still have Am's "dandelion days" stuck in my head and I believe a week or so has passed already.</div>
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I even met a fellow RYLArian there, Krystal, I do regret not speaking to her much during last year's RYLA, hmfp. She's in a duo called Big & Small, they were the featured artists for today's open mic and I don't think I have enjoyed a performance as much as Big & Small's! It was just so filled with strength, happiness and energy that you can't help it but dance! Unfortunately I still hadn't finished my enormous bowl of noodles so I kind of just shuffled my bum around the chair I sat on, boo.</div>
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Also, I don't think I have ever spent so much time in a toilet before, it was just so filled with hilariously interesting stuff pasted on the walls and there was a piece of artwork painted on the door to the toilet and the particular style it had was extremely familiar! After staring at it for a minute or two I realized it was by Iam May, one of my favorite local artists! </div>
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The moment the last performer stepped off the stage we packed up and zoomed off to The icon, where the project hip hope concert is held.</div>
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We arrived a little late so the concert had already started and there were three middle aged men rapping in Cantonese, I was pretty confused but things started going uphill when they exited the stage because then the stage was just taken over by all the dance crews and music that was so loud the floor vibrates and your heart starts beating a little funny! I unexpectedly started having a really good time and joined the huge crowd of people that were waving their arms about, dancing (halfway through the night the people in the mosh pit made a circle, the dj started mixing and there was an amazing dance battle!) and jumping in the mosh pit!</div>
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So yeah, that was my very eye opening weekend of being immersed in the world of music and hip hop culture.</div>
Karen Leonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07273312266680418876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4105917514600698580.post-50433694216576006502013-06-06T20:00:00.000+08:002013-06-06T20:00:04.907+08:00Because the neighbor is renovating and I can't hear the tv.Okay, the past month or so kind of just wooshed by and I seem to have gotten a memory wipe or something because everything I've done seems extremely vague and blurry but at the same time it was probably the most interesting month this year since I was rarely ever at home.<br />
And I oddly don't exactly miss the whole comfy home environment as much as I thought I would have.<br />
Hoorah, a nomad's life it shall be for me.<br />
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What's also strange is that everything I have wished for seems to be coming true and that's an amazing feeling.<br />
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Yes, I actually prayed to be out of the house and on my own in a way, my family is absolutely fabulous and I get stuffed with amazing food everyday but sometimes change and adventure is needed and that I felt excruciatingly frustrated about not knowing what I wanted during most of the year kind of helped too.<br />
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I think I just made everything sound overly dramatic.<br />
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Anyways, I will start my post off at the end of May, my Dad received two seats to an introduction to NLP, which stands for Neuro linguistic programming if you didn't know but most of everyone I've talked to seems to have heard about it one way or another and I was pretty surprised I suppose.<br />
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I had an impression that we could hack into people's minds but fortunately for those around me it wasn't anything like what I had in mind.<br />
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The two day seminar was held in on of the lecture theaters in the Taylor's Lakeside Campus and I expected a huge lecture hall that could accommodate over a hundred participants, like those you see in movies but it really was this normal class room with bright yellow walls and was filled with middle aged students that had either grey hair or were balding.<br />
I should probably lower my expectations by a whole lot.<br />
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We were also late and there was traffic that morning, like most mornings so my Dad parked across the highway at a patrol station and we actually walked across a highway so very early in the morning.<br />
You could say it was a very interesting experience to have when you are half asleep, I felt very much like a refugee that morning.<br />
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The overall two day "training" was pretty interesting and I am surprised I do quite a lot of the techniques already, it was basically reminding myself how to use it.<br />
We were also given a pen and paper test to basically find out your personality and we were taught how to communicate better with different individuals, it was very much like learning a whole new language and the whole using certain words thing doesn't really work on me (Or maybe my Dad just doesn't know how to play with his words very well.) but it surprisingly worked on my Dad and he still doesn't know I used "his personality language" on him to persuade him to go shopping with me.<br />
So maybe I'll use it after all.<br />
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The biggest reason why I enjoyed I really enjoyed the overpriced course was because I got to spend more time with my Dad and I also learnt why I usually end up in tears when we "talk", it's because we are are on the extreme sides on the personality chart.<br />
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He is an I.D which means he is someone who enjoys plans, structure and straight forward stuff and I as a kinesthetic on the other hand, doesn't really like step-by-step plans, I would very much prefer that you gave me a deadline and I would find a way to get it done by then, hopefully.<br />
I am also completely fine with fuzzy details and apparently I feel a little bit too much and my Dad doesn't exactly understand what this feelings are.<br />
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I guess now I understand why he says the things he says and overall accept his occasional grumpiness a lot better, as well as learn a little more about my wonky self but I honestly wouldn't pay RM 1,400 for that seminar because I am such a cheapo.<br />
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The next day I drove, wait my Mom drove over to our old place in PJ and kidnapped Swathy over to PD to stuff our faces with Mommy's popcorn, re-watch every single episode of Mind Your Language again, roll in sea mud, dig for <i>lalas</i>, cycle to our favorite <i>warung </i>to have <i>nasi goreng kampung tambah ikan bilis </i>and <i>syrap limau ais</i> and then <i>tapau-ing </i>curry puffs to munch at the very beautiful and breezy fisherman's jetty and throw a random Honda car factory plant tour in the middle of it somewhere.<br />
I also got stopped by a really creepy <i>kampung</i> boy that claimed I looked like his favorite k-pop singer and insisted to take picture of me and to have tea with him. I don't think I have cycled away from anyone quite as fast before.<br />
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Packing was horrific since I only started the midnight before camp and I was tossing clothes all over my already insanely messy room trying to find dark colored t-shirt and long pants, not my favorite choice of clothing I must admit.<br />
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Hm, camp. I honestly haven't a clue where to start even though Teen Dhamma Camp 13 is all I have been thinking about since it ended and this time I actually had very low expectations (Seriously, how fun can a DHAMMA camp be, right?) but guess what?<br />
IT WAS AMAZING.<br />
.. And I have been listening (And dancing to the hoedown, of course.) to the TDC theme song, It's time - Imagine Dragons on repeat for the entire day and woah, it's a rush of beautiful bittersweet camp memories.<br />
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I just realized I enjoyed TDC more than last year's RYLA, maybe it's because I am a little more confident this time round and I don't have a fear of speaking in general.<br />
And therefore you get to meet more people and have more fun, woopie!<br />
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When we (Bloo, Nadia, Jet and Sam) reached SJBA very early in the morning, we were led to this hall that was filled with teenagers sitting cross legged and walking to an empty spot to settle down was stressful since everyone in the room was staring and I very badly wanted to dissolve into water at that very moment and hopefully seep into the floor tiles or something.<br />
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After a very awkward puja and massage-the-person-in-front-of-you session we had to split into groups of eight and we pretty much stuck together thinking everything was fine as we played some warm-up-to-the-random-people-around-you-type-of-games but oh, after thinking I was safe with the people I arrived with we had to run around the hall asking the facilitators if we were in their group or not and it turns out all five of us were scattered in different groups.<br />
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Seeing the people that I was going to be in a team with was.. I don't know how to describe what I was feeling at that moment but "Oh my god, I am going to be stuck with this boy with nice braces (THIS IS SHAYYYNEEE! *Rings chong*), a rather grumpy and annoying look boy, a rather shy smiley girl and three other tiny people for the next four days" was terrifying.<br />
And somehow I got elected to be the leader of the <i>Wave </i>team, like are you people serious.<br />
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So what do you do when you put eight random teenagers together?<br />
You make them come up with a group cheer.<br />
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<i>"Wavey, wavy</i><br />
<i>We are the waves</i><br />
<i>We are STRONG</i><br />
<i>Prepare for a tsu-na-mi"</i><br />
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After a terribly awkward cheer creating session we boarded two school buses and headed over to the place where we would be held captive in for the next four days, Bodhi Park, Shah Alam.<br />
It has a huge concrete lotus on the roof so it was pretty hard not to miss.<br />
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Right after our vegetarian lunch, I actually quite enjoy vegetarian food but don't tell anyone that.<br />
And after unloading our luggage into our double decker zinc cabins (I slept underneath and it was nerve wrecking since the girls on the the upper layer were dancing or something and the wooden deck didn't look or sound very stable but I lived.), we started off our first activity together as a team, it was called the Apple station and we basically had to run around the temple compound finding stations where we would perform Apple app themed games against another team.<br />
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The Candy crush station was the most memorable because we had to stick our face in a basin of flour and fish out candy with out mouth in result to people regurgitating nice round blobs of dough out and having flour in your nose isn't the best feeling ever.<br />
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And there was the 4 Pic 1 Word station where two teams were shown the same picture and we had to guess the word without the brackets to guide you but my insanely awesome team found a way to cheat, the Where's My Water station where we had to look around the cabin area for cups of water and put it into a little spray bottle, spray a dangling cloth and try to get the water to drip into a cup, the Instagram station where one member of the team (A glittery tattoo to whoever guesses it right.) had to paint an Instagrammed picture of a facilitator, the Hardest game ever station where we had to solve crossword puzzles, sudoku and riddles, the Fruit Ninja station where we had to mash a banana with the skin intact and a Draw My Thing station where you had to um, obviously draw your "thing". *Eye twitch*<br />
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There was sort of a "moral" to each game that is somehow linked to the whole "Dhamma"/"Buddhist camp" thing but I sadly don't remember any of it.<br />
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I think we also created our mail boxes with pieces of paper and Sharpies that afternoon, pretty similar to the ones that were at RYLA but mail boxes are amazing!<br />
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Later that evening we had <i>Mahapuja</i>, it conceived of a very short an enjoyable meditation session which I happened to be slipping in and out of consciousness in and then we lined up in a U shape and passed down flowers, candles and a cup of water. I don't even know why I enjoyed it so much, really.<br />
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After a breakfast of dry noodles we began the amazing race which to me was a continuation of yesterday's Apple Station but instead of Apple app themed games we blew tissue, bounced marbles on paper, used chopsticks in a wheelbarrow position, solved some riddle, blew some ping-pong balls into a cup while lying on a lovely sandy and cement-y floor, did some hoedowns and did this marble-tissue roll thing that was very frustrating I must say.<br />
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And this time you weren't given a clear map on where the next station is going to be, we had to wonder out of the temple and into a housing estate in the scorching tropical afternoon sun and if you found a marble somewhere along the way you could U-turn another team to do one of the previous stations, unfortunately my team got the U-turn card and boy, it was not fun and I felt like the worst team leader ever because I was probably sulking my face off.<br />
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THEN WE HAD A TELEMATCH! I HAVEN'T BEEN IN ONE SINCE SOME EARLY PRIMARY SCHOOLING STAGE OF MY LIFE.<br />
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I swear, the meal times were the best because everyone would run off to their group of friends, eat, die of laughter, empty their mail boxes and read fan mail and play with Nadia's hair.<br />
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Sleep came very easily to me that night but I was soon woken up by the sound of one of the facilitator's voice saying to go to the mph (Multi purpose hall) NOW, so I dashed to the toilet with my contact lenses and tried to put them on and I accidentally swiped them into the sink.<br />
Mark my words, never try to put contacts on when you aren't functioning very well. Especially not in the middle of the night.<br />
I never realized how insecure I was without my contact lenses. FIVE MORE DAYS OR SO TILL I GET HOME TO MY STASH OF CONTACT LENSES.<br />
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Anyways, we were woken up to solve a murder and it was hilarious since everyone was so blur and we had to solve riddles and duck walk in order to get the suspects and witnesses statements which we then pieced together to figure out who it was.<br />
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Also throw in some zombiefied facilitators walking around the temple compound and lots of screaming girls, thinking about the night before the next morning seemed as though it was a really weird dream.<br />
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There's so much to write about that my fingers hurt just by thinking about it but I'll try to go on, ack.<br />
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Our last night at camp was as usual the most amazing, it conceived with a lot of rolling on spiky grass, stuffing our faces with REAL sausages and cuttlefish balls, loud music, singing, jumpy high-5s and amazing friends!<br />
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If only I could relive TDC 13 once again.<br />
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-Karen Cuppy Cake<br />
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<br />Karen Leonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07273312266680418876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4105917514600698580.post-36460499072421158322013-05-15T14:50:00.003+08:002013-05-15T14:52:08.188+08:00Bits and blobs<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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So, apparently people still read my blog (Yes, I am surprised!) even though I abandoned it for half a year and I got a request to share the five minute sketch I made of the cakes I submitted for the Mother's day themed cake competition.</div>
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Um yeah, it isn't much really and it does actually look as if it was sketched in five minutes and I don't even want to talk about the ball of fluff AKA pink flowers, which didn't even turn out pink! I should probably work on my cake drawing skills!<br />
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If you've noticed I did tweak the cakes a little here and there, okay tweaked them A LOT!<br />
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I redesigned a couple of tiers from 28 (That's the cake with gumpaste flowers and basket weave.), removed on of the pink flower tiers because I was a little too lazy to make another and I redesigned the roundish flower arrangement topper into an elongated arrangement and again it was because I was a little too lazy to make more flowers!<br />
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As for 27 (The little stout prize winning cake with piped details) I did toggle with the designs a little, they were all suppose to be done in a very henna inspired way, I left the styrofoams as is, I planned on slicing them in half to make shorter tiers but I don't have a styrofoam cutter and it does get pretty messy and I also changed the overall shape of my cake a little because I wasn't able to get the sizes I needed, bleh.<br />
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My sketches aren't ever set in stone and I make changes when ever I can to get things done faster and easier because I am a really, really lazy person!<br />
I always write down the techniques that kind of go together so at just glance I would be able to know what I have to work with and trust me it makes life a lot simpler!<br />
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If you saw my little "What-to-bring" list on the to right corner.. Well, I had completely forgotten about the fact that I had to bring my Wilton course certificates till after I loaded the cakes into the car on the morning of the competition!<br />
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Yep, so I ran around the house like a headless chicken trying to find the pale yellow file which I kept all my certificates in and.. To this day it remains mysteriously hidden, coordinates unknown.<br />
I don't even know why it was stated that you would have to bring your certificates along when you don't even have to show it to them or anything, well I didn't have to do so at least.<br />
Maybe I've got a special VIP pass typa thing,yippee!<br />
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I guess that is about all I can say about the whole sketching/planning affair and I bet you are now very disappointed at the fact that I am actually this extremely lazy and careless person that makes terrible sketches of cakes and that I don't even know why I make sketches when I don't follow half of it!</div>
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Yesterday was probably one of the most productive days I have had in awhile!</div>
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I actually spring cleaned my cake room and for the record, I haven't done it in a very, very long time! </div>
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Eh, I'm guessing cleaning isn't exactly one of my strongest points.</div>
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My mini caking library was dusted, drawers were emptied and scrubbed, a truck load of cutters and plungers were washed and categorized and my tools were placed into my upgraded purple toolbox on wheels! </div>
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Speaking of my new Wilton rolling tool caddy, I am frankly quite disappointed because the drawers just slide out if you tilt it to the front and just how am I supposed to travel the world and teach with this thing exactly, there should have been a little clasp to hold the drawers in place but I guess drawers falling out isn't as bad as the clasp of my handheld toolbox breaking and my tools and piping tips being scattered EVERYWHERE.</div>
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I guess it works fine otherwise (Yes, it just stores tools like any other tool box around.) and you get to show off what a huge, purple, wheelie toolbox you have!</div>
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Back to the topic of spring cleaning, right after I was done I simply just stood back and stared at the more or less squeaky clean room and.. Started yanking all my tools out from my toolbox to recreate some flowers I found in the garden in gumpaste.<br />
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Um yeah, the caking room is once again, in a horrendous mess!</div>
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Oh and here's a nice short story.</div>
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We, as in my brothers, mother goose and her fluffy little gosling decided to go swimming in the sea once the sun was down, there was a really beautiful rainbow that stretched across the lagoon and we were playing a game of swim-tag..<br />
Soon it got really dark and I felt something soft and jelly like brush against the back of my palm and a millisecond later I felt the most excruciating pain ever, imagine someone spilling acid on you then roasting your hand over a bonfire.</div>
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Mmyeh, I got stung by a jellyfish last night, huh.<br />
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-Karen Cuppy Cake</div>
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Karen Leonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07273312266680418876noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4105917514600698580.post-63475698500575671382013-05-13T22:46:00.001+08:002013-05-13T22:46:47.558+08:00Happiness is pastel pink<div style="text-align: center;">
It's been some time. Okay, a lot of time since the last time I've blogged and it makes me wonder why I am typing away on this pretty much abandoned blog that happens to be drowning in a truck load of weird comments.</div>
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I guess it is partly because I somehow really need to get stuff out of my head and that I don't enjoy being on Facebook as much anymore because I feel out of place and unwanted, if that is even possible.</div>
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So yeah, I guess this is my not so secret hideout that I crawl into whenever I feel small, tiny and out of place and type loads of short drafts out.</div>
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And I am also coated in flour and breadcrumbs, but that doesn't really matter.</div>
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I also have no idea why I joined another ICCA cake competition when they don't really seem to get me anywhere and this year I have to only use Wilton method techniques, trust me they aren't very impressive but I am pretty glad I decided to give cake decorating a second chance because I don't think I enjoy doing anything more and nothing else seems to delight me as much as when I am working on a cake.</div>
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I have decided that I should probably get started on writing a "Malaysian inspired piping/stringwork and flowers in gumpaste" book which I have been procrastinating for a couple of years already.</div>
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Oh right, what gave me the jump start was this successful-people-speaking-for-the-middle aged-but-still-unsuccessful seminar at the Mines which I happen to randomly stumble upon going, well it's a pretty long story.</div>
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The speaker for the day was some oldish but coolish guy that wrote "Publish your book and grow rich" and he was an amazing speaker, well as compared to this old, well dressed guy that could be Nigel Thornberry's twin brother who spoke about property liens and buying property in the US.</div>
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Yeah, so he was such an amazing speaker that he convinced me to actually go ahead with the whole writing and publishing a book idea and I am also going for his three day writing boot camp in June, yippee!</div>
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I was also dressed in pink from hair tips to tank top to neon pink skinnies to toenails, with uncombed hair, jingly bangles and dirty flipflops, I stuck out like a sore thorn amongst the sea of grumpy middle aged people dressed in black suits and had perfectly styled hair and shiny shoes, so I guess I had gotten a fair share of glares but there were some really nice people that I discussed book plans with and had no clue what "Sugar artistry" was.</div>
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I actually enjoy attending seminars now, huh.</div>
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Okay, back to the present. </div>
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I entered two entries in this year's cake competition since I could only use Wilton method techniques and the techniques are extremely simple. No, I am not bragging or anything, they are actually meant for total beginners. Like myself when I was eleven.</div>
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My planning started two weeks before the competition, I basically flipped through my Wilton 1-4 course books to have an overview of the techniques I could use and started sketching.<br />
I gave myself a day to complete it but I ended up finishing in under five minutes and spent the rest of the day reading The mortal instruments.<br />
Which is pretty hilarious since the judges were like "OH MY GOD YOU REALLY SPENT LOADS OF TIME PLANNING AND THINKING HOW TO KNOCK US OVER WITH OVER WILTON-NESS" and I was just dying of laughter inside.<br />
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Since I had two entries this year I decided to have a gumpaste technique cake and the other a piped technique cake.</div>
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There honestly isn't much to say about the cake itself since it had to be in the Mother's day category and I wasn't allowed to incorporate any other techniques in!</div>
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All I did was read and then regurgitate, effortless.</div>
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For the base of cake 28 I was much inspired by Ron Ben-Israel, I have always loved him since day 1 and I've always wanted to have a whole tier just filled with flowers!</div>
No matter how simple and un-dusted the flowers are they would still look good if you put loads of them together.<br />
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I did two tiers of piped basket weave for this cake because I just thought baskets go really well with floral arrangements, the whole Mother's day theme and.. They are really simple, pretty and they fill up space very well!</div>
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This tier is probably everyone's favorite, maybe because it's a little different and everything is white.</div>
Inspiration from my latest Keith Kee bridal couture fashion show popped into my head whilst I was sketching this cake out and I just decided to incorporate a little bit of a lace inspired look to it and I think it turned out very well and it made hideous plunger flowers look extremely detailed and interesting.<br />
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And as for the cake topper all I did was bunch all my leftover flowers together and stick it on top.<br />
Now wasn't that easy but I did have a little bit of trouble since it stormed for days with no end in Port Dickson so my gumpaste flowers drooped and I had to redo them twice or so and that wasn't exactly fun.<br />
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Moving on to cake 27! (I really should have named them, now they sound like prisoners.)</div>
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Holding a piping bag to me is as natural as how you would hold cutlery for example so I completed this in two pretty lazy days, I even had time to dig the world's biggest hole according to Fai, Han and Ean at the beach and go swimming afterwards.</div>
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I incorporated little fabric like touches to this cake as well because they added that little feminine touch to the cake and that it tends to cover up any ugly patches you have on your cake really well!</div>
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I didn't really change the color scheme here much and left everything in the colors you would find them in your Wilton course books.</div>
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Oh right, speaking of colors I fell in love with the copper gel paste from Americolor which I received in a goodie bag from the 2011 cake competiton, I hadn't used it till now and boy, is it beautiful!</div>
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Literally all the tiers had a little copper mixed into the fondant covering and the trimmings and borders were light and darker tones of copper.<br />
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I had an absolutely wondrous time creating my two entries in my little cake room with the weird music I listen to blaring from my headphones as I kind of did this dancing-singing-air guitar solo-head banging-squeezing icing with a wide grin spread from ear to ear thing throughout the week. I honestly hadn't felt so alive in a while.</div>
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As I was scrolling through the pictures that my Mom and the very blur ones that my Dad took I found a picture of Alan and Rosalind commenting on my cake while I was dying of laughter inside. </div>
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Well, apparently a little laughter managed to escape.</div>
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I should really work on my poker face.</div>
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Anyways, the comments I had gotten on my cakes were mainly compliments such as how the pastel color scheme suited the Mother's day theme very well, how extremely Wilton my entries were as some of the other cakes had bits of other techniques on it and how much they loved the flowers, piping and all that jazz but they did comment on how they didn't really like all that wires on the bottom tier of 28 and that my bead border of 27 should have been finer.</div>
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Later that day I was tagged in a picture of my cake and it happened to have a little "Highly commendable" sign next to it and I was distraught!<br />I thought that either one of my entries would have gotten at least placing this time but I guess I was wrong and the next morning I didn't even feel like going back to the event but I am pretty glad I did because the placings weren't out yet. Silly me, I nearly had a heart attack and I guess all that made me realize what a sore loser I am.</div>
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I stumbled upon a picture of Alan Dunn and I during his flower course that was held after the cake competition in 2011 while looking for a file that I may not even have downloaded and um, I seemed to have grown younger looking. What.</div>
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There wasn't much going on throughout the day unfortunately, so I managed to walk around a little, read at the Time bookstore and catch up with old WMI (Wilton Method Instructor) buddies, course mates and Nina!<br />I've probably blogged about her before but oh well, I love her truck loads!<br />She was one of my favorite people when I was going through my Wilton courses next to all my amazing course mates!</div>
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I fondly recall one day when I arrived a little early for class and Nina was sitting behind the register with six naked cupcakes and she called out to me to help her ice them because she said she couldn't and with just a glance I told her the icing was a little too stiff so I added a little bit of water in and we iced them together, happily yakking away.</div>
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I was also invited by the owner of Amore E Bake to teach at her place in Seremban so my next project would be planning out my classes and there's also my book!</div>
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It seems as though things are finally falling in place, funny how life is this really weird roller coaster ride of ups and downs.</div>
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Karen Cuppy Cake is back, baybeh.</div>
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Oh yes, and I won first place, gave a speech and didn't cry this time.</div>
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Karen Leonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07273312266680418876noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4105917514600698580.post-62905253586507240672013-01-09T14:45:00.002+08:002013-01-09T17:01:29.963+08:00Speaking of which.So, I've just gotten home from my first speech and I feel a massive sense of self satisfaction, my head is pretty much exploding with random thoughts, so many that I can't register most of them so they are pretty much useless, heh.<br />
I had also just realized my supposedly cake decorating blog has morphed into a personal, diary like blog about my whatever is in my head, really.<br />
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It pretty much feels like today or to be more accurate, tonight is the start of the new year because I actually feel as though something has <i>"magically" </i>changed in me, that feeling that I had always thought would happen when a new year begins or a birthday passes.<br />
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Basically, today I had to give a speech and presentation about my experience in RYLA to my sponsoring Rotary club as a report like thing and I have been dreading it from the moment I was told I had to do it since I had a rather traumatizing experience of speech giving when I was twelve and I had to go on stage and thank people who had help made the the winning possible, just because I had won second place in some teen cake decorating competition with a rather dull <i>"go green" </i>theme.<br />
My entire body was shivering in fright as I was gripping a little too firmly onto a sheet of paper that had a few names and a few sentences of what I wanted to say written on it, I thought my knees were going to give way. I could barely form words without tripping over them and to make matters worst I was speaking in a shopping mall so there was a huge crowd around me with the camera flashes going off. I ended the <i>"speech" </i>with a tear-streaked face and a <i>"thank you" </i>was forced out through sobs as I walked down the stage and started bawling even more.<br />
I guess you could say that was my first <i>"speech" </i>but I wouldn't exactly consider it one since I didn't exactly speak. <strike>I wanted to be swallowed up by the stage so very badly.</strike><br />
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For about two years, public speaking has been one of my biggest fears, <i>ever</i>. And I have been trying oh-so-very-hard to rid of it since I think it's a pretty important life skill to have and I really didn't want to end up being twenty and still not be able to speak to a large audience on stage but I just tend to procrastinate a lot when it comes to things I highly dislike because I am just not a very courageous face-your-biggest-fear type of person.<br />
But that took a drastic change during RYLA.<br />
RYLA stands for <i>"Rotary Youth Leadership Award"</i> but has absolutely nothing to do with awards and please don't ask me why it is there, it's pretty much a youth leadership camp which I happened to be more or less forced or highly persuaded into going to by my Dad since he is a Rotarian and his club had a lack of 17-30 year olds to sponsor so he roped in his -<i>coughcough- </i>daughter and a few of her poor favoritest female humans. Gosh, that came out sounding terrible. Oh well.<br />
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Anyways, RYLA was probably one of my biggest highlights of 2012 I think, as it was an overall dull year because of <i>"things"</i>, I can't believe I was so reluctant to leave the comforts of my home and wifi for some leadership camp in the middle of Raub, on some Benum Hill that was meant for <i>"youth" </i>17-30 and on top of that it was probably filled with the need to speak on stage and there was something on the itenary that was called <i>"talent night"</i> which worries me quite a bit but at least they had a total of six meals per day which did surprise me. <i>*Sarcastic smile</i><br />
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Aside from all that meeting rather inspiring people, uber interesting gossip sessions during meal times with the ace gang, visiting an old folks home which happened to be a terrible excuse for a <i>"home"</i> as it wasn't in the slightest bit homely or comfortable,<i>"partaying"</i> till three or four in the morning, impromptu catwalking, inspiring talks and extremely boring ones that quite literally put me to bed, <i>"jungle tracking" </i>more like walking up a muddy dirt road with a slight mist of rain falling to refresh you but surprisingly there were quite a few rather unfit youth that found it challenging and day filled with kayaking, flying foxing and high rope walking.<br />
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Yeah, that pretty much describes an amazing four day camp way too briefly, I am too lazy to elaborate anyways but something pretty much changed me during camp and it sparked during one of the first <i>"talk"</i> sessions we had to attend and it was basically about discovering yourself and the leader within you or somewhere along those lines.<br />
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We had to take this little test during the session that was run by Leaderonomics and it just defines if you were either an introvert or an extrovert and there were four other categories after that.<br />
I had already known I was an introvert long before camp and what my strengths and weaknesses were so I didn't find the session all too interesting but there was something our speaker said that created that little spark inside of me and it was something around <i>"It doesn't matter if you fell under being an introvert or an extrovert, a good leader has both qualities in them"</i>.<br />
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So that got me thinking about a <i>"quality" </i>that fell under the extrovert category which I very clearly have yet to level up and obtained, speaking on stage.<br />
Well, since extroverts are more or less known as better speakers and introverts are better listeners, it's kind of true I guess and this coming from an introvert.<br />
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Since I was in a leadership camp which emphasizes on leadership skills and personal growth in youth, I decided to set a goal for myself to achieve in four meagre days and it obviously is to overcome my <b>ginormous</b> fear of speaking on stage.<br />
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Fast forward a couple of days, talent night was approaching, I was running out of time to fulfill the goal I had set for myself and my team, the Ravens were planning to perform a sketch that night which we all agreed on since you could incorporate singing, dancing and acting into it and I guess the more you incorporate into a performance, the more interesting it gets!<br />
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The basic rather wonky story line with loads of laughs thrown in was about three young siblings, two sisters and a brother. The little brother gets lost one day while wandering into the woods looking for a missing ball and a <i>Pontianak</i> magically appears right in front of him saying that she is hungry and she wants him as her next meal but the little brother asks her to wait as he orders pizza for her since he claims it tastes better than he does but she didn't end up enjoying it so she tied the boy up and started preparing to cook him. Meanwhile the sisters started to realize their brother went missing so they started looking for him and they had found him with a <b>very</b> hungry and angry looking <i>Pontianak</i>.<br />
They ended up calling a <i>Bomoh</i> <strike>ahahaha this is hilarious</strike> over to help rescue their brother and after loads of fighting the <i>Bomoh</i> had finally figured out the <i>Pontianak's</i> weakness and summoned a <i>"hot guy"</i> and eventually made <i>"peace"</i> with the <i>Pontianak</i> and everyone lived happily ever after.<br />
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So, the moral of the story is <strike><i>Pontianaks</i> want to be loved and to live happily ever after too</strike> that um, you should probably make peace with people or something like that.<br />
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I was the Pontianak character and I probably would have taken up a role that involved very little stage appearance but I had brought my special effects makeup kit along with me <strike>since I was supposed to go for Comic Fiesta the day after camp with the beloved Bloohippo but me being a terrible giraffe didn't</strike> and it would be easiest to apply <i>Pontianak</i> like makeup on myself and I just decided to well, shoot for the moon or stars or black hole since it was already the day at camp and I had yet to do anything that had put me out of my comfort zone and again, there was that goal.<br />
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When it was our turn to perform I started getting <b>really</b> nervous but surprisingly it started to fade away as fast as it came when I stepped on stage and started <i>"acting"</i>.<br />
The crowd was really supportive and I actually had fun on stage even though we didn't really stick to the script!<br />
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I had gotten over my fears of speaking on stage and at the same time learn to enjoy it, something I had never thought I would achieve and the Ravens bagged the first place!<br />
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Back to the present, I had a speech to make and a slideshow of RYLA pictures to present with two other RYLArians that were sponsored.<br />
Dad helped me out with the basic formula of what I needed to say which I was extremely thankful for, <i>Introduction to the topic - What has affected, benefited you and comments - Slide show presentation and speaking a bit more about RYLA. </i><br />
<i><br /></i>And he had also made me feel rather inferior by saying that a fellow Rotarian sent him an email on some <i>"girl"</i> wrote an <b>amazing</b> report about RYLA and asked if I could do better. <strike>I may or may not be dead if the girl or the Rotarian that sent the Father the email finds this blog.</strike><br />
The report was <i>meh </i>but I was glad since the Rotarians expected <i>"meh" </i>but I am still pretty upset over the fact that the Father thinks I have such poor report writing skills and is so amazed over the fact that the report has pictures in them. Like whaaat, I am just occasionally too lazy to add pictures to my posts because it uses up my finger strength and also am too lazy to grammar check my blog posts <b>and</b> I also love adding retarded whale grunts in because whales be fabuloso creatures, so I guess you have every reason to think I have poor report writing skills, heh. <i>*Tosses table and walks away in a diva like manner</i><br />
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Very soon <strike>boy, a day flies by quick when you are engrossed in an amazing book</strike>, I was standing at the podium introducing myself and speaking a little about RYLA which I kind of disappointed myself with since I had to rely on the paper a little too much cause I couldn't remember the facts but as soon as it came to speaking about what had benefited/affected you, the notes were ditched and I had an absolutely thrilling time speaking <strike>and controlling the ears of successful, old people, ohoho the power surges through my veins and it feels goood</strike>!<br />
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It's strange because something I had once feared so much is now something I am in love with, I had gotten so much praise and applaud when I was done.<br />
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Rotarians saying it was inspiring and that they couldn't believe I wasn't an experienced public speaker and that was actually someone who had feared the mic and stage before RYLA and they had absolutely no idea that RYLA had <i>"helped"</i> so many youth! And I was also questioned if I was actually an introvert which was pretty hilarious because I am a 100% introvert that occasionally enjoys speaking to people and occasionally becomes a <i>"fun"</i> person because <i>"fun"</i> like <i>"partaying"</i> till three in the morning with RYLArians is something that should not be missed.<br />
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RYLA really should be something compulsory to all youth, like a coming of age like thing because, it really is a life changing camp but it also matters how much you want to be there and how much you want to change.<br />
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So, now it feels as though I've entered a new chapter of my life opening myself up to new possibilities like acting or MCing since I enjoy both immensely now even though I am not particularly good in either yet but I might be, one day. </div>
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Like I said in the beginning, it's that feeling you always thought would be there when it's a new year or you've passed another birthday, that magical feeling inside of you which makes you this new, fresh person hybrid.<br />
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And I might take up dance one of these days as I feel fairly potato-like.<br />
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-Karen<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">And no, I shan't grammar check or add any pictures in this post.</span></div>
Karen Leonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07273312266680418876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4105917514600698580.post-48880309209880336402012-12-11T01:36:00.000+08:002012-12-11T01:40:34.162+08:00Oh nien, I did.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Okay, I think I should blog since three pretty significant things have happened in just a month and therefore it's a pretty darn good excuse to start blogging again.</div>
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First off, I am now hooked on drawing eyes, thanks to the wondrous <i>Bloohippo</i> for that pretty unexpected jump start and it has slowly involved into this face + lace/flower art much inspired by an amazing artist on Deviant Art, <i>Pixie Cold</i>. I may or may not have mentioned her before in one of my previous posts which may still be drifting around in a dark an mysterious abyss called my draft bin so, heh.</div>
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I honestly hadn't picked up a pencil to sketch in a while and I am pretty glad I was doodling again since I thought I was never going to draw again because I was so bored with drawing fantasy flowers and I couldn't seem to be able to think of anything else to draw at that time.</div>
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One of the reasons why I enjoy this new-ish genre of art <i>(Anything I haven't done is considered new, okay but I have always oggled this particular genre of art from a distance, I am just extremely happy I am able to actually create it since it is so beautiful, well to me it is.)</i> is because I get to draw lace and I love drawing lace cause I am just never able to get stuck, it just keeps flowing and <i>flowing..</i> And eyes, more like irises, they always seems interesting to draw since you can toggle around with it so much, I guess that's why I don't enjoy drawing realistic whatsits because everything is more or less set in stone. At least that is what it seems from an amateur artist's point of view.</div>
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Then again, what I enjoy doodling would most probably evolve through time.</div>
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So yeah, I am glad my artsy self is back and kicking! And my Sharpies and color pens wouldn't dry up and die an unreasonable death! Not to forget my sketchbook too.</div>
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Oh and I had also <i>"Refound" </i>my only surviving Copic marker in whatsitcalled pink which I bought four years ago during my Manga craze point in my life and it's flierking magical, I can't believe how badly I misused and -<i>Coughcough- </i>mistreated <i>(I thought it was a flesh tone, only afterwards I discovered it was more like diseased skin toned and I just had no idea how to use it, therefore making a mess out of everything and getting very upset.)</i> it before. Now it's probably my most prized art possession next to my silver Sharpie and just in case you are a nice person and you somehow love me, I suggest you get my some Copic markers to express your undying love to me for Christmas. </div>
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Or a kneadable eraser. Just make sure it's German because I am a brainwashed person and all.</div>
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Um, in return I'll draw an eye for you or somefink. Mmm yeh.</div>
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Okay, next off! <i>-Drumroll-</i></div>
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I have blue-turquoise-purple-pink hair now!</div>
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<i>Side note: I like weird yellow shirts, add that to the Christmas list if you please.</i></div>
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I had wanted ombre, wait wait DIP DYE <i>(Hair women nearly killed me for mixing both up but ombre with dip dyeing but ombre sounds so much awesomer to say, bah them French words.) </i>hair for a while now and once again the rebirth of the idea was jump started by the Fabulous BlooHippo, goodness knows what I would do without her. </div>
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I wanted only blue but apparently they only had very little of the blue dye left so I decided to go a little insane and say yes to all the <i>"weird" </i>colors they had in stock, expect green because I don't enjoy mossy hair.<br />
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Before arriving at <i><a href="http://www.facebook.com/HairNowBeautyCentre?fref=ts">Hair Now Beauty Salon</a> </i>@ Taman Segar, BlooHippo and I actually went shopping at Ikano, The Curve and Ikea <i>(Because the road was too clogged with vehicals to go anywhere else, apparently.)</i>, we just ran about those three places for a few hours like people who have never been into a shopping mall and who live in trees, in villages on the outskirts of a third world country. Shopping, like normal <i>"Bestfriends"</i> would on a typical weekend and it was pretty amazing since we hadn't really done it before.. I think, then again I never remember anything. I shall blame it on the fact that we literally live a thousand kilometers away from each other.<br />
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And I found a party shop selling special effects stuff that I have been looking for and at half the price of what I found at Sungai Wang once and things are usually cheaper there, what a strange world I live in.</div>
So I officially own a bottle, more like tiny tub but never you mind, of latex and blood capsules! <i>-Awkward penguin jig dance-</i><br />
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S'too bad they sell overpriced Nerds there at like, rm7 so it shan't be in my most-of-favoritest shop list and I am severely disappointed by the fact that Cold Storage doesn't have pink and purple Nerds in stock anymore, I mean.. <b>That was the only reason why I went into that overpriced supermarket in the first place, people.</b></div>
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This is a fairly awkward smile but it would have to do, to much of my disgust.</div>
Anyways, this was after bleaching my hair twice and the bleach smelt <b>AWFUL</b>, it was suffocating and intoxicating like and it was probably the worst part of the whole first-time-dyeing-hair experience, the second place would go to..<b> </b><i>(Lucky blondes, not needing to go through this stage in order to have awesome unicorn hair.)</i><br />
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Not being able to move your head, who knew it was so tough.</div>
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But I guess the outcome was pretty amazing!</div>
And I am pretty glad I had done a bit of research, found a salon that does weird dyeing through the salon's owner's daughter's blog <i>(Yes, I am fabulous.)</i> and everything ended fabulously, thanks for putting up with 3 hours in a dreary salon with moi, BlooHippo and.. I have officially got my dream hair! <i>-Flips hair and fails-</i><br />
One to-do striked off the bucket list! <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The haul, ohoho.</td></tr>
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Yep, its that time of the year again! The day I have been awaiting since the <i>Big Bad Wolf</i> sale ended last year!</div>
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Waking up at like, 5am was pretty tough since we slept pretty late the previous night, watching half an episode of <i>Code goose</i>, um <i>Code geese</i>, eh <i>Code Gease </i>and pampering our faces with ill fitting <i>(Who on earth has such a weirdly structured face?!)</i>, weirdly scented rm10 for 4 masks from SaSa, which by the way makes no difference in your skin's texture what sort ever and changing our profile pictures into pictures of us posing with random Christmassy stuff <i>(Everyone should have a profile picture with mall Christmas decorations at this time of the year, its the law humans.)</i> we found around some ancient place called <i>Leisure Mall</i>. </div>
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I have failed at this sleeping early thing.</div>
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I guess leaving Port Dickson at 6am-ish was worth it since there wasn't a queue to enter the book sale, which I not so fondly recall doing a few years back.</div>
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My eyes were literally only a quarter way open and I had to use a lot of strength to keep it that way, it was a painful process but the blinding artificial light and rows of books slowly awoke moi.</div>
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The hall was slightly larger than I recall it during the rather lame and disappointing <i>Book Excess</i> sale, my sleepiness made it tough to find my way to the fiction side of the hall.</div>
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The moment I reached, I think everything went rather berserk, stuffing almost everything into my box.. Placing it at the book-waiting-before-buying place, forgetting about everything and everyone else and only concentrating on finding the titles you wanted but as I was on my way to get yet another empty box, I was stopped by a women, with a mic that clearly stated <i>NTV7</i> in her right hand and a rather tiny Malay man with an over sized camera.</div>
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Um, yeah. I got interviewed at like 7am or something. </div>
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I do not recall what questions she asked or what I replied with, but I remember one thing that confused me, do you look at the interviewer or the camera? </div>
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I recall looking at both, I hope I was cut out and not broadcasted on national tv as I would have looked zombie like and speaking gibberish, maybe randomly squealing. </div>
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Overall, the sale was alright this year but I wished they had brought in more titles that were published this year. Sob, I guess I would have to buy them at full price. <i>-Cries in the corner-</i><br />
And I have already read half of my haul since the internet was cut off for around three days, so I was forced into reading them at top speed instead of savoring them to kind of make myself forget that I am internet deprived, like some sort of temporary drug. What have I done.<br />
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I didn't even get to complete my <i>Alex Rider</i> or <i>Vampire Kisses</i> <i>(They didn't even have a single one of those there, tsk tsk.)</i> collection but I guess completing the <i>Hush Hush</i> series makes up for it, it was in hard cover too! Woep!</div>
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-Krakenese</div>
Karen Leonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07273312266680418876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4105917514600698580.post-21578359681991114872012-10-29T23:00:00.001+08:002012-10-29T23:00:22.213+08:00-Insert random title here-Okay, donut dough (I had this strange craving for fried dough and sugar granules this morning, at least it beats the muachee craving I had and which took half a day or so to make a batch of that sticky peanutie goodness, omnoms.) is currently being bashed around in the bread machine and I don't exactly have that urge to "study" in me at the moment therefore, I shall bring myself to blog.<br />
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October has been a fairly crazy month as compared to most unproductive months this year doing close to zilch or at least that's what I remember. I still can't believe we've reached the end of it already, seriously hasn't it just began?!<br />
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This month I decided I wanted to get the IGCSE/Olevel paper done with because I needed it to enter an art college Which I have had my eye on for quite some time and I am pretty glad I decided to do so since well, I forgot how much I have missed so called "studying".<br />
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Yes, I am actually kinda-ish going to study for OLevels in a year and I honestly haven't actually studied since I started unschooling.<br />
Mmm, yeh. I may have lied to a few not so random people about "Doing school books at home and learning on the internet" but I had the strangest feeling you would have preferred that as an answer as compared to "I do whatever I want to everyday and I spend half of it online".<br />
Tis' indeed funny how I can still read and write, yohoho.<br />
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One of my first steps was to head to a tiny shoplot in a rather squishy part of PJ which getting a parking bay was like winning the lotto, called "University bookstore Malaysia" to get hold of a couple of workbooks, it was difficult picking the ones I wanted since there were literally a few hundred different publishers and I had yet to set the subjects I wanted to take in concrete! I was basically walking about wide eyed in book wonderland!<br />
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Anyways, I ended up with three books from "CGP" that fitted the budget and well, the format was just a whole lot more interesting as compared to the random drab one at the other corner.<br />
We even went back for the second time (I have this terrible tendency of completing books rather quickly) round to get some text books and this rather interesting modern history book by Cambridge.<br />
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Speaking about history, I have been spending an awful load of time at the "forbidden red spot section" (It's just called that cause you can't bring any of it's loveliness home, no matter how much you beg the librarians. Sob, what a cruel red spotted world this is.) in the library cause the books there are just SO much more interesting, especially the history ones ( ...And the mad science ones, psychology, art, food, ecology, language, geograp- Okay, I need to stop.) since I can now decode most of the WW2 posters and writings on artifacts from Germany and those around it that have German as one of their main languages. I am kinda glad I decided to pick German up as it plays a huge part in my history obsession, tralala.<br />
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It's amazing how that entire section is free of any humans beings, especially those loud, pesky people. Heh, I am mean.<br />
So I just get lost in amazing books there and you just seem to forget about everything else, it's just the book(s) and your wondering mind. Mmm.<br />
I honestly had forgotten how much I loved non-fiction.<br />
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Anyways, last month I started my blog post with random gibberish German/English sentences which I have no idea why I had even posted and I had gotten a crazy amount of blog views from Deutscheland, I wanted to die. No, really.<br />
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Not long after that embarrassing week I found this pretty amazing online community where you can blog anonymously (Or un-anonymously if you want to, but I like being invisible. Worp.) and random kind humans who happen to be fluent in the language you are blogging in would help correct your writing o' rubbishness!<br />
I more or less blog there every odd day now and I am pretty pleased that my writing isn't 80% gibberish anymore. Dear krakens, it has improved not so dramatically!<br />
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Here's a fantastic way to "cheat": Type your sentence out in Google and if it is a valid sentence, it should appear on some random German blog or website and if it doesn't, back to the drawing board to re-form that sentence of yours!<br />
Bah, Still can't figure out how to construct long sentences properly yet or understand without subtitles but I can read a whole lot. I do not understand myself, chee. <br />
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I've been listening to loads of German/Austrian/Swiss music recently and it appeases me that I understand 90% (And German tv but I understand less of that. Side note: German comedy has absolutely no humor in it and therefore, is very funny.) of most songs and I actually sniffed over a song I had never thought was any good but it was so beautiful all along, sob. Then again, I probably have an overdose of feels in me so I sniff and sob just over every petty thing.<br />
<br />
Anyways, there was a Halloween fashion show at Tropicana City Mall yesterday, it turned out to be pretty darn amazing since the stage "choreography" was freestyle and you had to do this slow creepy walk and randomly stare at people, I think I am fantastic at all that. Oho, the self flattery.<br />
<br />
Funny how I used to get the jitterbugs before walking, now I enjoy the attention and camera flashes a whole lot more than I used to!<br />
<br />
I didn't exactly enjoy the hair styling part since the stylists were literally going insane! The one on the left was spraying moose on and crimping my hair with well, crimping irons and the other was holding a can of hair spray and started tugging and back combing like crazy! .. I-i-it was quite painful to be honest, both physically and mentally since I was wondering how I was going to get my hair back to its -coughcough- "former glory" with all that crimping and hairspray. Hairspray and backcombing alone is bad enough already, humans!<br /><br />Side note: I managed to get my hair back to normal after running my fingers through it for about an hour. And no, it was no fun.<br />
<br />
Aside from the hair it was an overwhelmingly fun day, going in and out of the toilets and scaring random citizens walking pass but I am hungry so I shall leave you now, and hopefully blog sooner than a month.<br /><br />So here, have are some pictures I got tagged in:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrthYFiVYtJfwXJS4KlWwhT4P3D6HRQmT6-eOtg6MqMQHgHRThrjjztSJhq0U3-IRqnrqCeYckP7e13nzYTVjeQyR63BVHUCYdhSUQEMfgPO3R-TCwX2DD4oZWk4GSfV1NY9yByFbBfqs/s1600/599334_4757262012260_2095134683_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrthYFiVYtJfwXJS4KlWwhT4P3D6HRQmT6-eOtg6MqMQHgHRThrjjztSJhq0U3-IRqnrqCeYckP7e13nzYTVjeQyR63BVHUCYdhSUQEMfgPO3R-TCwX2DD4oZWk4GSfV1NY9yByFbBfqs/s320/599334_4757262012260_2095134683_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My ghastly model buddies.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8Yvz2-5wwZE6fYERESOuCuOxKAg1UFsZqlTQsoJn2Ag-_EGfNYBLFiITnzbBLpGN08ALTD7EO2fVeBEbg5c2eGg4R9oHaHsnw80HzNZe5aAdN2u9e4joKIO8BemUpyd8AqakZGt3fhIw/s1600/409063_492169814137372_646622329_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8Yvz2-5wwZE6fYERESOuCuOxKAg1UFsZqlTQsoJn2Ag-_EGfNYBLFiITnzbBLpGN08ALTD7EO2fVeBEbg5c2eGg4R9oHaHsnw80HzNZe5aAdN2u9e4joKIO8BemUpyd8AqakZGt3fhIw/s320/409063_492169814137372_646622329_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Maleficent/Cruella de vil AKA Me with Jaslyn, my makeup artist for the day.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8B5IWbYO15KkOfWEtXYjptS7bmtGCzke71LWnaxVd433xL0NT4m9zw9OG_0hwJdxo9f7zj92qPg7Ynng7B7W6CXWb1XhwyIvcb9wRsZWoqcBTzlCpRtmnfwufoHMe7O2gorLFSjxK0aE/s1600/550654_513905658622579_832822250_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8B5IWbYO15KkOfWEtXYjptS7bmtGCzke71LWnaxVd433xL0NT4m9zw9OG_0hwJdxo9f7zj92qPg7Ynng7B7W6CXWb1XhwyIvcb9wRsZWoqcBTzlCpRtmnfwufoHMe7O2gorLFSjxK0aE/s320/550654_513905658622579_832822250_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Since it was "freestyled" I decided to go ahead a give the backdrop a bit of a scratch, s'tu bad there weren't any of me on the runway giving the audience my glare, boo. </td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUwA_RDYPSv_z9U95CAYYlWLSJzSosuc3MUb5L_1Dmr8kRyJO7S7riNbr0BMOKFghugzJxQG63UbpFRFLamK-hL3TP4lCpYyWx0vwpaBDCeD-V88M7d7vNBqG4eRWf6cUHyKu6aDxWnHs/s1600/397303_167022066768953_470266846_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUwA_RDYPSv_z9U95CAYYlWLSJzSosuc3MUb5L_1Dmr8kRyJO7S7riNbr0BMOKFghugzJxQG63UbpFRFLamK-hL3TP4lCpYyWx0vwpaBDCeD-V88M7d7vNBqG4eRWf6cUHyKu6aDxWnHs/s320/397303_167022066768953_470266846_n.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And here's a random "First runway dress" picture, which looks fairly awkward. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Bear hugs,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
-Karen</div>
Karen Leonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07273312266680418876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4105917514600698580.post-26616414469841974572012-09-28T18:10:00.003+08:002012-09-28T18:16:36.204+08:00Just another thursday<strike>You may need to skip the next 6 paragraphs or so as they reek so badly of over Karen randomness/silliness.</strike><br />
<br />
<strike>Eyeliner and lash glue out of my eyes, check.</strike><br />
<strike>Handful of bobby pins and half a ton of hairspray out of my hair, check.</strike><br />
<strike><br /></strike>
<strike>Since my haare is damp and I mag nicht baking my head with a hair dryer, I shall blog (I would probably be asleep till abend tomorrow and that's another reason why I should blog at this ungodly hour. Om.) till it dries, even though my eyes feel heavy from carrying those false eyelashes for most of the day.</strike><br />
<strike>Obwohl, it could be because es ist ein uhr einundfunfzig.</strike><br />
<strike>Do excuse random Deutsche (Also changed my FB language to Deutsche, it's quite awesome deciphering the words. You may want to try it one day. Actually deciphering isn't needed as I am such a fantastisch human being. Oh gott what I am typing.) moments, it's to prevent me from falling asleep on the laptop.</strike><br />
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<strike>Okay, let's proceed.</strike><br />
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<strike>Ugh, Ich hasse mornings wenn I have a "special event" (E.g Kuchen competition schnuff. I highly doubt that German but it's a cute wort and du hast my permission to use it.) on as I always get this squishy butterfly feeling in my stomach, no matter how many times I tell myself that there is nothing to be anxious about and all those "butterflies" that builds up inside of you prevents you from essen breakfast properly, somehow.</strike><br />
<strike><br /></strike>
<strike>So I basically did one page of German and a spoon of that fruhstuck schnuff, it worked.</strike><br />
<strike>Mm. You are probably wondering whats up with all this german schnuff (Hah. That word is fantabulous.), so ich soll clarify I am not exactly going insane aber I just randomly wanted to pick up a nue language und more or less take the Olevel paper for it next jahr.</strike><br />
<strike><br /></strike>
<strike>And you should know that reading (I could read some random e-book about two random sisters after a day.) in German is so veil easier than writing. Oder, trying to understand sie spricht German cause literally all you hear is "djedjaknmnoromadjdfh? uwiermxdffhjhghrgaec." because they speak so blutig schnell. Ack, Meinen kopf.</strike><br />
<strike><br /></strike>
<strike>That was rather random, I think I'll continue in English. Heh.</strike><br />
<strike>Side note: Schweinfleisch is a wondrously, barbaric word to say. FLEESSHHH. Lamfleischee, schinnnken, fisssche. Ah, I am hilarious. .. And maybe just a tad hungry. Woooosh. ICH HABE HUNGER, PERSONEN.</strike><br />
<br />
I should be banned from blogging when I'm tired as I have a well known tendency to type as though as I have gone insane, somewhat.<br />
Mffp, it 2pm and I've just woken up. Boy, does it feels good to be lazy.<br />
<br />
..................<br />
<br />
After a somewhat longer than usual drive down to KL, I had finally arrived in Zebra Square and just so you know, its specially catered to events where you more or less book the entire "Square" and there are absolutely no shops or eateries within, only a fashion academy and vast empty spaces.<br />
<br />
The moment I set foot in the SCCA fashion academy I was shown my *cough* lovely green and yellow mermaid chiffon dress with beads sewn in everywhere, it basically looked like your typical "Baju kurong".<br />
Then I was led into the "Fitting room" by my designer and around ten other models with theirs to basically try the dresses out to see if it was in need of any last minute altering.<br />
<br />
Till the day itself I had no idea it was a competition/graduation and just after six months of fashion designing "School"! Which I may be enrolling in soon since they are offering scholarships for fashion designing, artistic makeup and body painting! ..Hair dressing too but I am not exactly fond of cutting hair, heh.<br />
<br />
It was basically a dress designing competition with two categories, traditional and modern "Lady Gaga" kind of dresses which were made from snake skin with a corset back to shiny blue vinyl dress, complete with metal belts and cut-outs!<br />
<br />
My dress was obviously from the "traditional" category! Fsstph.<br />
At least my dress was pajama comfy and I had a really smiley, bubbly designer!<br />
<br />
You could say it was rather awkward meeting the "Senior" models, more or less because most of them were a frigin head taller than me and I felt like some sort of a scrawny midget (I am actually a really petite person who got pulled a little lengthwise a bit but the rest are actually "Big boned" and well, are GINORMOUS FEMALES. Seriously, what do those people eat.) that didn't speak Chinese.<br />
Yeah, I guess that could somewhat describe how I was feeling yesterday and maybe I now know how others feel when I tower over them.<br />
<br />
Thankfully not long after the meet and greet, I met another human that didn't speak Chinese, had awesome pink ombre hair, was around my age and it was also her first runway.<br />
THANK YOU, VAMPIRE LORDS FOR SAVING MY SOUL.<br />
<br />
Just so you know, yesterday was an INSANELY long day as I probably sat around doing practically nothing for about six or seven hours. Who knew just sitting around was so draining.<br />
I think you get paid to wait, not walk.<br />
<br />
Before lunch we taught the choreography and did a little "trial round" on the stage.<br />
I was the last model out and well, being the last one out makes me rather jittery somehow but being in the middle would have made me feel a whole lot more secure. I have a strange brain.<br />
<br />
The moment I stepped out felt really good, even though my heart was pounding so much I thought it may have exploded but the music and vibrations were so loud that it dimmed the sound of my heart beating!<br />
Overall it was an alright practice around even though I was a little more than nervous about remembering the choreography!<br />
<br />
After a few jillion hours of awkward trying to speak to people (EVERYONE had a iPhone, there were also those with around three phones and two tablets. So, me being someone with a phone that only calls and sends texts- Eh, basically I just wanted the ground to swallow me up whole. Side note: I should have brought around 10 books to read.), came the hair and makeup which well.. Isn't as interesting as it used to be when I first started since it was only your basic smokey eye and hair bun! .. And I happen to dislike hair buns quite a lot as it probably makes me look thirty, or forty.. If I'm extremely "Lucky" on that day.<br />
<br />
So with my makeup on and in my dress, I looked like some Malay "Makcik" on her way to a wedding, or something of that sort.<br />
<br />
It's either that or a bush, a nice skinny green, shiny bush.<br />
<br />
About a decade more of waiting.. Oh yes, extremely glamorous waiting.<br />
At least dinner (FREE REFILL OF SCRUMPTIOUS, CRUNCHY POPPADOMS WHILE STOCKS LAST. Not to mention the beef rendang wasn't all that bad too.) was provided this time, I forgot to bring my wallet but I managed to rake a few bucks out from random pockets in my bag to get chicken rice for lunch and that's why everyone needs a messy bag, just in case of heart stopping (I thought I was going to starve and die. Sobs. Not to mention the fact that I was running out of water and I couldn't possibly beg a model for lunch, being the shy person I am.) incidents like so!<br />
<br />
At least now I VERY well know exactly what to bring to future fashion shows and what to expect!<br />
Learning everything the hard way is amazing. Not. But at least all the information gets drilled very deeply into your skull.<br />
And I should probably learn how to speak Malay and Chinese fluently like a normal Malaysian lass.<br />
<br />
Then came the impromptu photo shoot after the makeup artists applied a new coat of nude lipstick, you could say I had quite a bit of fun during the rather short period of twenty minutes doing some wonky couture poses in my baju kurong!<br />
Mmm, photo shoots are rather enjoyable.<br />
<br />
Another century of waiting, roughly translated to around three hours. <br />
Oho, the very glamorous life of a model.<br />
<br />
Speaking about the glamorous model life, most of everyone around me seem to be chain smokers and have had some plastic done "Somewhere" or are planning to.<br />
When all along I thought models were supposed to be "Healthy people" and I had no idea plastic surgery scene was so big here.<br />
<br />
It kind of scares me how if I continue modeling, would I be coaxed into doing so and so in the near future?<br />
<br />
Anyways, the three hour wait was torturous, the added false lashes and heavy eye makeup made my eyes want to close even more! To be honest, I had just wanted the day to get over and done with.<br />
<br />
Fighting the urge of dozing off was tough, luckily the clock struck nine and we were told to make our way backstage, passing a group of paparazzi snapping photos of the famous guests and designers.<br />
<br />
Right after the group of "Orang asli" dancers that were wearing an "I heart PM" and a grass skirt, accompanied with a pair of grass maracas (?), it was finally our turn to walk and my palms were sweaty mess, as I turned around an shared another huge nervous smile with my designer before making my way to the stairs.<br />
<br />
The moment I walked out, cameras were flashing like crazy, spotlights were shining and the mist machines were doing what they do best, MISTING.<br />
It all happened relatively quick and not long after we were called out to the stage again, hand in hand with our designers to know the results.<br />
<br />
My dress didn't take place sadly.<br />
<br />
The ministers were called on stage to present the three winners their humongous fake cheque and a bouquet of pink roses, more smiles and camera flashes.<br />
We slowly made our way back stage, one model and her designer at a time. <br />
<br />
I slipped off my dress, put my cozy coral colored skinnies and tank top back on, gave my young designer one last squeeze, a huge grin and a "You did very well and thank you for the dress" (I have no idea how I said that in Malay last night.), with that I was off to have some Hokkien/loh mee supper with the crazy bunch of humans I live with :)<br />
<br />
Well, all I can say is Thursday just wasn't just like any other ordinary Thursday.<br />
<br />
-Karen<br />
<br />
Side note: Pictures when the camera man decides to post them. Meanwhile, just picture the "makcik" thing.Karen Leonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07273312266680418876noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4105917514600698580.post-21466916141777324882012-09-16T14:38:00.002+08:002012-09-16T14:38:39.013+08:00Specks of glitterOkay, this better not end up as one of my poor abandoned drafts (If it does, I shall cry since there are probably 7 drafts. Or so.) as I have been rather fickle on what to post (Actually it's because I have been doing a once over of my posts before actually posting them and I tend to jot rather.. Weird things about myself down and I just can't bring myself to post it so heh. Just so you know, the previous draft was filled with me making retarded whale noises and rambling on how I enjoy looking at blood and how much I want to prob a cadaver and human brains.) and well, reasons of suches.<br />
<br />What a waste of a tres magnique title as this is such a random post, but at least it's better than the rest.. Or at least I think so.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZxD-8JPwJEu1Nwdz43zsk4wYFQLtpa2qe6KLLgbXTPBZeONGhujeF5BoNUZret6OJ9b2eLLkH-cKVyT1ybreFif72iiW2vQ1CumaSz6vN8HLBe40kzOjMjaqkN6w7kbFiqgXxvutOZtU/s1600/DPP_0557.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZxD-8JPwJEu1Nwdz43zsk4wYFQLtpa2qe6KLLgbXTPBZeONGhujeF5BoNUZret6OJ9b2eLLkH-cKVyT1ybreFif72iiW2vQ1CumaSz6vN8HLBe40kzOjMjaqkN6w7kbFiqgXxvutOZtU/s320/DPP_0557.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here's a random picture of horseshoe crab roe kerabu from yesterday's lunch.<br /></td></tr>
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The fact that my blog looks so terribly old fashioned (I wonder if I should keep the "Do you know the cupcake girl?" title as I don't exactly have "feels" for cupcakes anymore.) is indeed saddening, I should probably beautify it in the near future. Just not now cause my fingers feel like whales.<br /><br />Anyhoos, I have been spending an awful load of time on this wondrous place by the name of DeviantArt or De vain egg tart (One should visit that inspiring place in the near future as it is basically art wonderland filled with drop dead talented people!) and I came across something new, at least to me!<br />It's basically eye art using bits of anything the artist finds around, puts it together with some makeup and more shiny stuff, most are digitally modified to look AMAZING.<br /><br />On the side note I have been rather obsessed with ogling artistic makeup, photography stuff (Some really amazing self portraits and editing skills which I would probably never obtain and all of it's awesomeness by a Spanish 16 year old who also happens to be a very successful makeup artist/photographer/model! She is my current role model like human. I sometimes wonder if I would ever reach that amount of awesomeness when I'm 16..) and hot teenage *cough* European *cough* artists. And this is why you shouldn't let your teenage daughter have excess to the internet.<br />
<br />Ah, De vain egg tart (Omnomnom, egg tarts.) is indeed a magical place overflowing with surprises.<br /><br />My deviant is: krakenese (I have always loved how elegant kraken like creatures look with their tentacles just waving around in the ocean..) so do drop by even though you may probably have seen most of my work that is up!<br />And the joys of your work getting placed in an album, favorited or commented on simply gets you giddy!<br /><br />*Triangle ting* BAAIIILLAAAMOOOSS! Let the frikin-dikin rhythm take you over, baaailamooooss! ... You wait little girl, on an empty stage for fate to turn the light oonn. Your life little girl, is an empty page, that men would want to write on.. Tooooo wriiitee oonnn! You are sixteen going on seventeen, baby its time to thiinkk! Better beware be canny and careful, baby you're on the briiinnkkk! Totally un-<br />Eh, I apologize for the short break, now back to business. (Dear krakens.. What have I been listening to and I believe I have been getting a little too distracted. om.)<br />
<br />I have been pretty much exploring the realms of makeup for the past few months, all along I had thought makeup was just well, the usual eyeliner, blush and lipstick and I had just only discovered how you could express yourself so much through makeup and how interesting it really was.<br />
<br />
I guess you could say I have been fluttering around, trying out horror and macabre one day and edgy abstract or special effects or just plain gorgeous and artistic the next!<br /><br />I decided to try out my first "artsy eye" yesterday and you could say I have mixed feeling about it since I kinda hated the fact that my camera couldn't capture certain micro details (Such as the length of the lashes and specks of gold on it.<br /><br />
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Trust me, each little bit plays a bit part since the area you are working with is so small!) cause I don't have the zoom lenses and it just wouldn't focus well in different angles, ugh.<br />I should probably rummage through the photography section in the library again!<br />Nevertheless, at least I have a camera to work with!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhljfcYsv501hk11Wk4z4Tq1tjikOBok_CZlszgF51cl8TMi_ZBxztmDwzCMQ1ak9FIm56T92mZPb7DYoDWClRiWsUL8iuCijysg-ii3_qU81z-TqUMaw6zWanAadiC1HVxFOXyY2IQIdA/s1600/DPP_0561.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhljfcYsv501hk11Wk4z4Tq1tjikOBok_CZlszgF51cl8TMi_ZBxztmDwzCMQ1ak9FIm56T92mZPb7DYoDWClRiWsUL8iuCijysg-ii3_qU81z-TqUMaw6zWanAadiC1HVxFOXyY2IQIdA/s320/DPP_0561.JPG" width="253" /></a><br /></div>
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I was meant to do a Poison Ivy "face" (I love how I can be anyone or anything with makeup, it's somewhat fun creating different faces for yourself.) yesterday as it was requested by a random fabulous human being but my fingers didn't obey my <strike>otak-otak</strike> brain, I meant brain (I apologize but sometimes all I think about is food, really. And just so you know I am in love with Muar otak-otak, that heavenly substance is well.. Heavenly!) and it decided to do a cross between mardi gras (The beauty and colors of the masks and Venetian clothing! I think I should add "Ballroom dancing in a complete mardi gras costume in this gigantic palace like place that's filled with sparkly chandeliers and a huge banquet table with oodles of food and even complete with a whole roasted pig with an apple in it's mouth." to my bucket list. Even through I would probably trip and fall in the custard pudding while dancing due to clumsiness, meh. Then again, one can dream.) and some form of ancient goddess. </div>
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Bow before me, peasants. *Evil hag cackle*</div>
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<br />Another thing! I didn't have any green (Unless you count that disgusting decade old, leaf green eyeshadow from my Grandmother's palette. *Shivers*) pigments so I did a bit of thinking , made my way to the cake studio and pulled out.. My moss and olive green dusting colors!<br /><br />The colors were very pigmented and creamy and my eyes feel perfectly fine so I believe I have found a substitute for the time being, whoop.<br />Side note: Red and a tinge of brown gel food coloring makes the best fake blood ever, though the stains last for about five days so I wouldn't recommend you using that stuff on your face.</div>
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<br />So, this has been a rather awkward post (I remember being more professional when I was 12, I guess you do not get much wiser as you grow older.) and I doubt you would enjoy it but my stomach screams for food and I must leave, at once.<br /><br />Hasta la vista humans, and I would probably be back soon. Woop.<br /><br />-The kraken ma'am.<br />
<br />Karen Leonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07273312266680418876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4105917514600698580.post-46036030980318951682012-07-03T00:43:00.001+08:002012-07-03T00:43:18.103+08:00A day of being fussed aboutOkay, so here I am blogging on an iPhone (And it is strange quite fun minus the fact that I type slower than a fingerless person on this particular electronic device.) since I am on a one hour journey home and I think today was an exceptionally fun day! Well at least to me! .. I just realize you can't put them spacing line in with this stupid device, either that I am too blind to see the button like thing I am apparently supposed to touch. I guess you would just have to endure a very squashed blog post. I apologize deeply, my minions. Oh right! Today I had to wake up at an ungodly hour, you may know it as '7am'. Since I had to reach Jaya one (That's where the academy I attend I'd located and no, you may not have the permission to hunt me down.) at 10am for the 'makeup exam'. Eh, I will tell you in a bit why I have those flying commas around the words: makeup exam! I reached the academy at fourty-five pass nine and met some other students in the lift and apparently they were makeup students and I was like 'I didn't know we were going to take the same exam!' but the doors strangely weren't open yet so we decided to hang around down stairs. Not long after I spotted one of my modeling mates and I couldn't spot her box of makeup so I asked her where it was and she was like 'We have to bring our own makeup?! B-but I thought we were just the models?!'.<br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">Oh my god! I have discovered how to create spaces! So all you have to do is press the magical 'return' button, isn't this amazing?! </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"> Anyways, I forehead slapped myself for being such a blur person and thinking I was the one taking a makeup exam when I was actually there just to be made up by the makeup students and guess what?! It was a BRIDAL makeup (Today's was wearable day makeup.) exam!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">For two hours, or so all I did was open and close my eyes, look up and down and tilt my head at different angles! I felt like a err, robotic doll! It was extremely fun being fussed all over (Except the part when my feet started getting pins and needles from sitting down a little too long..) and hearing your makeup artist go 'Wow! Your eyes are do big!', 'Oh wow! Your eyelashes are so long! I don't think I need to put falsies on!', 'Mmmm, we don't have to contour your nose because you have such a thin, high nose.. Like Korean celebrity like that!', etc! </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS5ZvXMkdbmxDRH2larQfaNLjO9HYuB2xWOo01KAkoJJVJ92aK3r2oEXOPIqMqrtEXISsTHtEBqXm9frCD_H8o47sYy2Jlb67zHKULnA_rBP51MoE6BxBtg9NA_QD6uRveyIRyPKZXg6g/s1600/554053_446457158708638_1760778702_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS5ZvXMkdbmxDRH2larQfaNLjO9HYuB2xWOo01KAkoJJVJ92aK3r2oEXOPIqMqrtEXISsTHtEBqXm9frCD_H8o47sYy2Jlb67zHKULnA_rBP51MoE6BxBtg9NA_QD6uRveyIRyPKZXg6g/s320/554053_446457158708638_1760778702_n.jpg" width="238" /></a><span style="background-color: white;">I'd have to say I loved the makeup she did for me! No, it has nothing to do with the sea of compliments!<br /><br />After all the comments were given (Apparently my blush was too heavy or something and I was also told my right cheek was slimmer than my left cheek! I never realized that! Got fussed around by Ben and Jil, my favorite catwalk teacher and the other is the head of makeup. Jil was all 'You got it easy! Look your model already has big eyes and a nice nose!" and Ben just turned my head around in all directions and said some random fluff I can't exactly remember, meh.) we had to change into a white tube (Because we had to put on a WEDDING DRESS later on for the final photo!) then start on the hair!<br /><br />Mmm, I don't have much to say about the hair as I was blinded by hairspray (The smell of hairspray always reminds me of my Grandma's favorite very old fashioned hair salon and I had to call her hairdresser :'Auntie Poh-poh'!) and bobby pins being tossed all over!<br /><br />Once that was done it was time to put on this hideous (*Coughcough* It had a really awkwardly size bow on your waist line and old fashioned lace everywhere!) white wedding gown to take a picture of the complete bridal hair and makeup!<br /><br />Not long after, the veil (I find it quite hard to blog when there is a picture of me with with a veil on.. And she's staring at me.. *Shivers*), pearl hair band and pinned on flowers were off and I roughly had about.. Five hours till my Advance catwalk course briefing!<br /><br />Those five hours were spent eating, catwalking in the studio, lazing around, peeking at the next batch of makeup students do their stuff and eating again! Oh, and admiring the makeup student's huge pretty box of makeup stuff!<br />I placed all of my makeup (I strangely have quite alot..) into my old cake decorating tool box! I washed and dried it out at midnight thinking I had a makeup exam on!<br /><br /> The briefing was fun, I got to swish around in a can-can dress and we basically learnt how to handle mermaid, A-line and can-can dresses!<br /><br />Oh right, I really enjoyed one of the questions being asked by Ben during the briefing "Lets say you have some real fancy head gear and a toga like dress with a huge flower and patterns on one sleeve. Which way do you pose your head? Where the flower is or the bare shoulder?" (Before this we were told that you should always pose to the side with the pattern to show it off.)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">I replied with "The bare shoulder, otherwise it would have been too overwhelming.", expecting a negative reaction but instead I received something like "Correct! And that's why you have a potential to become a top model and with your beautiful frame! Tsk!".<br /><br />Funny how cake decorating knowledge helps with being a smart arse and picking up makeup super quickly and actually being considered "beautiful" (All my life I have always thought of myself as this very eh, awkward and un-beautiful person.. What a strange world this is.) by people who work with so many models day in, day out.<br /><br /> Oh chee, look at the time. I have to be awake at some ungodly hour again tomorrow and I haven't even gotten my bridal makeup off yet, boo.<br /><br />-Karen </span>Karen Leonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07273312266680418876noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4105917514600698580.post-62182130873150265322012-07-01T18:03:00.001+08:002012-07-01T18:11:29.957+08:00Modeling- Why I started and some random talk.Oh cheese and whiskers, I haven't blogged in ages but I have this strange sudden urge to since I well.. Have quite a lot to rant and share-ish, if i don't do so my head would explode and that isn't the most attractive thing one could do.<br />
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Hmm.. Let's start sometime in March. *Starts time travel machine*<br />
I was suppose to start the City & Guilds pastry course but I was only told it was cancelled on the day I arrived for the course and before all that we (As in the 2 parents and 4 other siblings I live with!) practically moved most of our house into a tiny apartment in Damansara (We live an hour and a half away from where the course was supposed to be held and I had to be there pretty early so it was easier to move down.), ready to stay there for 3 months.<br />
<br />
So after that I was given the option of taking the Wilton Instructor's course to kind of make up for it and obviously I said yes.<br />
<br />
So after the five day course and one sit-in class (You have to observe before being able to teach.).. I was told I COULDN'T teach because I was <u>TOO YOUNG</u> and could only teach these project classes, which I really didn't want to and I could have done so even before taking the Wilton course.<br />
<br />
Oh yes, may I add.. I absolutely hate being told I <u>CAN'T</u> do things because of my age, so being told I couldn't do things because I was too young (It's quite stupid really, what has age got to do with anything? You don't see child actors being told they are too young to act, child models being told they are too young to model.), once too many times really got onto my nerves and one day I just exploded all of the broken promises (I just think I shouldn't add too much into this blog.) and frustration (The frustration of not committing to any classes and things of that sort just to make space for the pastry course and it turns out it's cancelled and you are left with this very blank imaginary calender and not having anything planned really isn't my thing and the fact that all those people that were supposed to be there to "guide" me were just "saying" so and they really didn't want me to get anywhere in life.) out.<br />
<br />
Maybe all of that was just a sign that I wasn't doing what I was supposed to do anymore..<br />
<br />
After all, I think my passion for cake decorating has died down quite rapidly since the end of last year and I was slowing moving into doing art instead and watching fashion and makeup videos during my free time, and I happened to have a lot of it since the beginning of this year.<br />
<br />
Being in that "dormant" state made me feel very bad and for the first time in a rather long time (I was in this exact same spend-the-entire-day-online dormant state before I discovered my passion for cake decorating.. I find it quite funny, really. How you have to be chin deep in boredom before finding what you are passionate in and you were actually finding your passion when all along you thought all you did was sit in front of your laptop for 12 hours!).<br />
<br />
I had those nights where I would cry myself to sleep because I was such a pathetic idle person.<br />
It's strange really, it just suddenly occurred to me that I just couldn't do <u>NOTHING</u>.<br />
I like to think of that as one of the good parts of me!<br />
<br />
So not long after the verbal explosion I had with my parents I started connecting the dots and just thinking about what people have always said after they have met me (If you were wondering, it is usually : "Wow! You are so tall, you should be a model!" Well, if you are tall but with a lousy catwalk you probably won't be too successful but I guess it helps.. Oh, what am I rambling about?), put it all together (Including the fact that my all time favorite shows to watch on TV were America's next top model, The Janice Dickinson Modeling agency and project runway! I still absolutely love them but too bad we don't have cable TV, sob. Oh well, but there's always good ol' youtube!) and decided..<br />
<br />
I wanted to start modeling.<br />
<br />
So after doing some research and blahs, Mommy stumbled across the Amber Chia Academy website and apparently they had modeling courses so we decided to drop by one of the academies.<br />
I signed up for the course without thinking too much about it, really.<br />
Sometimes you just shouldn't think too much before trying something new out, at least that is what I think and it is always fun to expose yourself to different things in life, obviously the younger the better!<br />
<br />
Ah, the first day seemed like ages ago already!<br />
It was just basically receiving a pair of white 5" heels and being briefed about the course!<br />
Oh, and also being told "What is thisss?!" *Points at my blank, un-made up face!*<br />
<br />
The course came with a few makeup classes which you could attend anytime but I signed up right away so I wouldn't have to go blank faced into class again!<br />
<br />
I absolutely <u>LOVE</u> the makeup studio! The walls are lined with mirrors that are framed with light bulbs and you look instantly better in them! It's almost magical!<br />
<br />
Makeup was something fairly new to me since I have never exactly put makeup on before.. Unless you count the endless times my grandma would put a bit of blush and lipstick on me (I remember that one time when i was waiting for my Grandma to get out of the shower to tie my hair and I guess I was pretty bored and there was a tiny empty plastic bucket next to me, so I turned it upside down and pretended it was a guard from the Buckingham Palace's hat thing and guess what?! I couldn't get it off! Thank goodness my Dad could! .. I don't think I have ever put a bucket on my head since!) while I sucked on a chew able vitamin before going shopping or maybe to a wedding when I was six before Mommy said something like "No makeup on till you are sixteen!".<br />
<br />
She broke her own rule, and I still find it amusing!<br />
<br />
Getting on with it.. The first makeup class was roughly basic day makeup, Pinky (She's a makeup artist and also my instructor!) did half of my face and I had to do the exact same thing on the other half!<br />
Which was pretty tough because my eyes watered when I had to tight line them (My eyeliner smudged so many times because of my tears and I had to redo it all over again!), I didn't even know how to use an eyelash curler!<br />
<br />
I ended up with an overly white face because I didn't mix the dark and light foundation properly and put too much light one is, <u>VERY</u> old auntie drawn on looking eyebrows (<u>I LOOKED LIKE MY GRANDMOTHER</u>.) and <u>VERY</u> messy eyeliner (I think I looked like some goth that was crying the entire day..)!<br />
<br />
I pretty much failed the next make up class too! It was night makeup so we did a smokey eye (I looked like someone punched me in the eye.. Or a panda if you have good imagination. ) and I had to put false eyelashes on!<br />
I really disliked the false lashes because I couldn't exactly glue them on properly, I think I put on too much glue because it smeared all over my eyelid and my instructor was like "What am I going to do with this girl?!". And I couldn't really blink properly because of my glasses! ..So I basically had to stare for the rest of the day!<br />
<br />
Hm, more makeup stories later.. Now for the catwalk classes!<br />
The first two or so classes were learning the basics of walking, which in my opinion didn't help much because afterwards I couldn't really join it all into a walk and it looked REALLY awkward!<br />
<br />
First you had to lift your leg up to a 90 degree angle, straighten it (I felt as though this was the only important part of the basics because the first part REALLY screwed up my walk!) then step and the back leg has to be on tippy-toes!<br />
<br />
So for the third class or so we learnt to incorporated hip movement into my already very weird walk and I have this eh, you may call it a problem I suppose.. I don't have very flexible hips! (One of the reasons why i wasn't all that good at horseback riding, I am a strangely stiff person. Sob, it's sad.)<br />
<br />
I don't exactly remember it all that well but I kinda moved my waist instead of my hips and it made my walk even more awkward (I had this strange way of lifting up my leg, all thanks to the basics! + I couldn't step straight, so I was walking with my knees bent! Apparently I naturally walk like that and that's why it was so hard to correct! + The waist moving thing, just ugh!) and one my catwalk instructors just screamed "What's wrong with youu?!!".<br />
<br />
Being the touchy person I am, I broke down in the car crying and started mentally bashing myself (I think I am mentally unstable or something.. Meh.) on how I wasted so much money on the course and well, stuff.<br />
<br />
But strangely the next day I was complimented on how much my makeup skills (She didn't forget to drill the ESPECIALLY THE EYELINER part in! I can line my eyes super quick and without tears now!) have improved and my catwalk instructor went "Wow! Your walk had improved!".<br />
<br />
.. Who says crying doesn't help with things?<br />
And well, visualizing straight legs and watching makeup tutorials till an ungodly hour kinda helped too!<br />
<br />
From then on I absolutely LOVED the course!<br />
<br />
I got taught fashion show buns and hair, different turns to do on the runway and even got complimented my catwalk had "style" (I can officially control my hips now! So I exaggerated the hip swinging because I thought it added more "oomph" into my walk and apparently my catwalk instructors like it! I REALLY didn't expect that!) to it!<br />
<br />
My feet are like cut up things because of my 5" strappy heels that you have to wear for training, 3 plasters on each foot (And the fact that every time you shower it feels like you are pouring acid on your feet.. Not my idea of fun!)! When you love doing what you do sometimes little things like these don't really bother you! Or your ankles, thighs, calves, shoulders and lower back hurting like crazy..<br />
<br />
Wooo! Makeup exam tomorrow and the day after, and apparently some photo taking! And finally learning how to catwalk in gowns! 12 whole hours of training! Can't wait!<br />
<br />
(I just realized I go for "class" daily from crazy time to crazy time!)<br />
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Lots of love to everyone who reads this!<br />
-KarenKaren Leonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07273312266680418876noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4105917514600698580.post-49125575047154904562012-02-23T16:58:00.000+08:002012-02-23T16:58:56.969+08:00Le ramblings of such and suchesYeah, I know.. It's been sometime since I've last blogged! Life has been somewhat busy I suppose, well I have this crazy family (Correction, crazy MOMMY.) who enjoys planning for way too many field trips and outside-the-house-days and it kinda drains your energy and at the same time makes you value your at-home-time a whole lot more and since the boys and crazy Mommy are at the pool, I shall use this "Apartment alone" (Yes, we have been staying in an apartment for about.. 4ish or so days now, I can't remember cause time seems to be rather draggy here in this very small space! Ah well, at least I can get online!) time to blog.<br />
<br />
<br />
Oh right, before I forget I might as well tell you what we are doing living in this tiny apartment that's located somewhere in Damansara..<br />
I signed up for the 3 month City and Guilds patisserie diploma and the start of that three month course/diploma/thang starts on March 1st (Just a day before my fourteenth birthday!) and have I told you how much I love attending courses/diplomas/thangs?!<br />
I mean.. It's always nice being surrounded by people who share your passion and being the youngest in class!<br />
And by being the youngest you are usually-ish in the spot light and who doesn't enjoy getting attention, eh?<br />
Oh yarh, that's basically why we moved down to this tiny apartment and I can hardly wait for March 1st to come! Even though I'm a teeny bit nervous on starting this super long course..<br />
I think I read something about a uniform being included.. I hope a toque (I learnt what that white fluffy hat was called from Ratatouille! That show is AMAZING! My favorite line is probably Anton Ego's "Not everyone can become a great artist, but a great artist can come from ANYWHERE.") is included cause I've ALWAYS wanted to wear on and one of those white chef-y uniforms with them big, black and bold buttons and whipping up patisseries everyday for 3 whole months!<br />
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<br />
ANYWHOO.. Let's start this post of with some cakes!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXLw3jaektQCk_YaBTmdXrP34y6onVkSA67D_tZ-Gpg6Lf41kVOE-5nZv3iy0OTkppOuWH_w53jWbdSPxbOfEQxplyLPDKyhy_M2YwI27v2LGFt1pnzzLFN6nhLKfU1X9ohJFc81pQoM0/s1600/DPP_0180.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXLw3jaektQCk_YaBTmdXrP34y6onVkSA67D_tZ-Gpg6Lf41kVOE-5nZv3iy0OTkppOuWH_w53jWbdSPxbOfEQxplyLPDKyhy_M2YwI27v2LGFt1pnzzLFN6nhLKfU1X9ohJFc81pQoM0/s320/DPP_0180.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I am pretty proud of this cake, well not exactly the cake since it's just a regular butter cake (The birthday boy's favorite!) that's wrapped in a layer of butter cream and grey fondant.. So let me rephrase that, I am pretty proud of the CAKE TOPPER/figurine/sugar thang since this is my very first mythical creature and it turned out WAAAAAAAAAY better than I expected it to look!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Oh righty and it's my first time using a 'Wire armature" (A metal skeleton in other words.) for my sugar figurines and definitely sticking to them! How on earth could I not have thought about using them before?! I mean they are SO easy to make and they support the figurine SO well! Mr Infernal (Apparently my brother is quite alright at naming stuff to and I wonder how on earth he knew what an "Infernal" is.. Eh, strange person.) is still sitting in my cakery with all limbs and stuff intact, well the ants are slowly eating it's toes up but it is overall still in good condition! Usually gum paste stuff in my cakery that's left without a dehumidifier (A dehumidifier is a caker-who-lives-in-a-very-humid-part-of-the-world's bestfriend!) would turn into a pile of sludge overnight, it's a wonder how he is still standing on his own four feet.. Maybe I have to thank luster dust a bit too, hmm.. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Oh, speaking of luster dust.. I CAN'T BELIEVE I FINALLY USE THEM AFTER LIKE.. 3 YEARS! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Long story short-</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">One day after reading some Alan Dunn book, 11 year old KCC decided to go get some PETAL dust to dust her rather ugly so-called "Gumpaste flowers" and she went to the only cake decorating supply shop she knew and it was called "Cake Connection" ANNND too bad cause they only had LUSTER dust left AAANNNDD she bought the luster dust dust cause she thought it would work only too bad cause the LUSTER dust was quite glittery and she ended up with glittery leafs and flowers.. THE END.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">So yeah, I had absolutely NO use for them.. Until NOW! *Insert evil maniac laughter here* </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">But before I splashed the "Holly green" luster dust on something told me to use a "Base color" and that base color (Speaking of color.. I asked the birthday boy what color he wanted his dragon to be and he said "Blue and red".. Or something like that, I only recall it as a horrid color combination! So since he has a horrible taste of colors I decided to make it MY favorite color, turquoise! I think I am a horrible sister.) was SK's "Hydrangea", one of my favorite dusting colors next to this deep, dark purple color which sounds a bit like "Aborigine"only it isn't and I can't believe I actually forgot what it is called! And a light pink called Tangerine, only I think CK labeled that dust wrong cause aren't tangerines orange? </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The most tiresome part of this particular figurine (My inspiration for Mr Infernal was from EVERYWHERE! I literally pieced together all my favorite parts of dragons I found on the web into one and he turn out looking quite handsome! Not Frankenstein-ish in anyway!) was probably the skin.. Each scale on that monster's body is HAND-POKED! ..With a Wilton 1L piping tip cause I was WAAY too lazy to actually cut out scales! Thank goodness I didn't do that or the cake would NEVER be done on time! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The reason why Mr Infernal (I think I have got to stop calling it that..) has "Battle wounds" are because the birthday boy wanted him to be like you know those, errh.. Victorious hero from battle thingmajig, umm.. I think I'm ain't a very good explainer but basically Mr-Ahh I mean INFERNAL just won the battle!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">One of the things I was MOST worried (Actually I was kinda worried about EVERYTHING since I have never made a dragon head to well, any part of a dragon before!) about was probably the claws and the muscles (I know them muscles are pretty minimal! I'll try to make my next dragon buffer! Hahaha!), only somehow they turned out the easiest to be made and I REALLY enjoyed making the feet! I make TERRIBLE human hands and feet but good dragon ones.. I think it's because the human hand and feet making was TAUGHT to me, I usually do better when I invent the whole thing and not to mention it's funner and free!</div><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Zed Dabaliewee (She's one of my best pals!) came over to our Port Dickson place for the very first time on Fai's birthday and we made this poster together on the day after the party and now it's up on my cakery's wall! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Okay, MOVING ON!</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBv7hlzAqAiMxVqvHdjtTfEqgkFd4L3tlIwEqxPUiJcRE1q63qKZ35eYuaBLI4tigKgsCDfmiU4TMVUdg1fPKEw2PgmdgXsyVVQ6magXmtIvWnIJm-qc7dqGbqkRh1L1iIwgjh4tttrkg/s1600/DPP_0196.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBv7hlzAqAiMxVqvHdjtTfEqgkFd4L3tlIwEqxPUiJcRE1q63qKZ35eYuaBLI4tigKgsCDfmiU4TMVUdg1fPKEw2PgmdgXsyVVQ6magXmtIvWnIJm-qc7dqGbqkRh1L1iIwgjh4tttrkg/s320/DPP_0196.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Equally as proud of my garbage truck! It's my very first pair of gumpaste "Wheels"!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">It was rather exciting, getting an order for a gumpaste garbage truck topper (Unfortunately it wasn't a cake!)! Well, aren't all "Firsts" exciting?!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Never made SO many templates for a project before and never appreciated my craft knife this much too!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Again, it was interesting.. Exploring new techniques!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Since it was a garbage truck I decided to go ahead and paint garbage juice all over it and it made Mommy and Papa scream but I think a garbage truck with sludge all over lets the truck have a little more "Character" and after all, it's a garbage (Speaking about garbage.. I think I need to make better garbage bags next time round! These look a little like wontons.. Omnomnom!) truck and I doubt you have seen a squeaky clean one!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Making the maggots (Yes, that's what those mysterious white spots that are on the garbage are!) were fun since I had actual maggots to look at!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The day before making the maggots, Papa and I were plucking some weird fruit thing from our garden because he wanted to try to make wine out of them and MOST of them were crawling with maggots! I think these turn into fruit flies..</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">And I kept them in a container like I usually do when I find snails/slugs/maggots/other creepy crawlies in the fruits and vegetables! Oh lookie here! I actually found an old post of my no-need-to-look-after-muchie-pets: <a href="http://karencuppycake.blogspot.com/2010/08/arys.html">My arys</a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhINg1KmaWkmc70BdXir8RRzPlkBI9eAug_P2QMHm55ZVS2FkgtA_Ten_O2epMgE46bf0iEz9Rkxnchd4XZzGxe-TNPV1nd6UhcRaAgwtfcWNI5gL3OqCTO1yxf698nUCrg0-mI4AieNVE/s1600/DPP_0190.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhINg1KmaWkmc70BdXir8RRzPlkBI9eAug_P2QMHm55ZVS2FkgtA_Ten_O2epMgE46bf0iEz9Rkxnchd4XZzGxe-TNPV1nd6UhcRaAgwtfcWNI5gL3OqCTO1yxf698nUCrg0-mI4AieNVE/s320/DPP_0190.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">So.. Sometime a month back or so, I suddenly fell in love with YouTube again! And this time.. With fashion and beauty videos! Yeah, that's my current secret, I mean not-so-secret-anymore obsession (Speaking about obsessions.. I am officially a scarf freak! No thanks to those "Forgot-how-many ways to wear a scarf video"!) !</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I don' know why but I think playing with fashion is fun and I DO feel like I want to go into the fashion industry, it sounds fun!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">And along the way I also found some jewelry making and re-vamping/re-using old stuff videos, I guess you could say I was pretty inspired by them and decided to try some stuff out by turning that old t-shirt to an off shoulder half top AND making bows..</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Only I don't recall watching a bow making video but one day I just sat down making cloth bows and soon moved to ribbon pinwheel bows! </div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGt-3whqPlYfoDR0T3SjKzbsnTlyoG4ojinJcNg-j4jIjcqALwFaIZl5d-ZwjwOzuTMAyZLZtYt2BaQDuOZz874t69FJMolXh1gT3RY2rUbH_YwZW2JvrAYHX6w3X4KosQRpbCMw4ttaA/s1600/DPP_0192.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGt-3whqPlYfoDR0T3SjKzbsnTlyoG4ojinJcNg-j4jIjcqALwFaIZl5d-ZwjwOzuTMAyZLZtYt2BaQDuOZz874t69FJMolXh1gT3RY2rUbH_YwZW2JvrAYHX6w3X4KosQRpbCMw4ttaA/s320/DPP_0192.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">As the days passed all my plain hair clips and hairbands has bows stuck on them and soon ran out of stuff to stick them on!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">So one evening while we were out we went to a "Pasar Malam" and I stumbled across half a dozen hair starf-y shops and went on a buying frenzy! Who knew it was so fun buying plain hair accessories?! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Making your own accessories is a pretty fun way to pass time I suppose! And not to mention you can wear what you made out!</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivIrrjtpDYS_2e-Z9QOeXx7vg0_kERgb0subyNopYXNLcubHQfbAMcRqSPW29tQNZsE-ozJUlcj2AwyZtovC60sOhuJ84X2pU1D-46Fl2-sOZ3AqvL70uVaInMf9_qyr1Q55YdVekr-PI/s1600/DPP_0194.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivIrrjtpDYS_2e-Z9QOeXx7vg0_kERgb0subyNopYXNLcubHQfbAMcRqSPW29tQNZsE-ozJUlcj2AwyZtovC60sOhuJ84X2pU1D-46Fl2-sOZ3AqvL70uVaInMf9_qyr1Q55YdVekr-PI/s320/DPP_0194.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Above: My re-vamped ballet flats!</i></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><i>Below:<u> </u>More bows accessories! The white cloth is from a long pant lining!</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL5X6E1FUQfar6ohRAsBMBbPUHQejQtsU9C2bbsAe3GJv9Iv5LjgdcL0P7OP5L-N7_0VR-cViw-i0_Idke0AopB9DHCS0MbZbflpoSPJ4l6Pb0J_Kqa-YEV9PxNSCEe7ZzlSKIA31NAj8/s1600/DPP_0286.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL5X6E1FUQfar6ohRAsBMBbPUHQejQtsU9C2bbsAe3GJv9Iv5LjgdcL0P7OP5L-N7_0VR-cViw-i0_Idke0AopB9DHCS0MbZbflpoSPJ4l6Pb0J_Kqa-YEV9PxNSCEe7ZzlSKIA31NAj8/s320/DPP_0286.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRrTkHX_mqxOjD46L57-cY9h6JEl7xdI4UkVOS1HlQpENWzeQ-6DDl7Jys1OqcATpTsqkqnQzO5A07BQHSTvpuG2uSYuJrlNd6cPUoXobEgmXzaPdPkxpkpH2po8JOYFpQYN_1vO6QLBU/s1600/DPP_0285.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRrTkHX_mqxOjD46L57-cY9h6JEl7xdI4UkVOS1HlQpENWzeQ-6DDl7Jys1OqcATpTsqkqnQzO5A07BQHSTvpuG2uSYuJrlNd6cPUoXobEgmXzaPdPkxpkpH2po8JOYFpQYN_1vO6QLBU/s320/DPP_0285.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Above: Made this today after watching a "How to make a bohemian wrap bracelet" (I LOVE bohemian stuff! I mean, I have ALWAYS loved them since they are so "Island/vacation-ish"!) about a week back, only I made it without that troublesome threading!</i></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">-Karen Cuppy Cake</div>Karen Leonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07273312266680418876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4105917514600698580.post-91688343000778006922012-01-14T14:30:00.000+08:002012-01-14T14:30:52.508+08:00Hairpee shoes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh75i6aY-kEFFTgXvcVf-iQ1HX2EZ2WmJ0gdVhWlUNNmQg9-v7puMJujawTMQGu6GmH3kKT2dwB31b_NeBEB2QuUSGmENS5M2JsETet3Uzcj5O0pmi8kSxuPd0auKvfaQuxGuYVd0Ccoto/s1600/DPP_0070.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh75i6aY-kEFFTgXvcVf-iQ1HX2EZ2WmJ0gdVhWlUNNmQg9-v7puMJujawTMQGu6GmH3kKT2dwB31b_NeBEB2QuUSGmENS5M2JsETet3Uzcj5O0pmi8kSxuPd0auKvfaQuxGuYVd0Ccoto/s320/DPP_0070.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Mwahahaha! Before I say anything else I MUST say that, I am SO super happy right now!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">That's kinda why they are called my "Happy shoes" (You get instantly happy when you put them on, may only work if you are the owner of thy "Happy shoes", unfortunately.).</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I started prancing around the house like a fluffy rainbow unicorn once I was FINALLY (I took 3 lazy days, maybe around 4-5 hours per day to complete them! Huff-puff!) done and Mommy called them "Happy shoes" so that name got a bit stuck and after all they ARE my "Happy shoes"! *Insert humongous smiley face here and by here I mean right HERE* </div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiufJvo5vCWgmNV8-SRqym51l88sHOv5cp5EqJeqI3PgxmOC3oBNx7wV4w97vdk-gkTtXy3Ulh9ZiNfWpx4t2yujGQVRUbUdzaDMR86CFtdTdQtkrt1SoTd_es94DcteMKFNsrwGDgm2YM/s1600/DPP_0066.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiufJvo5vCWgmNV8-SRqym51l88sHOv5cp5EqJeqI3PgxmOC3oBNx7wV4w97vdk-gkTtXy3Ulh9ZiNfWpx4t2yujGQVRUbUdzaDMR86CFtdTdQtkrt1SoTd_es94DcteMKFNsrwGDgm2YM/s320/DPP_0066.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">So, long story not-as-short-as-I-thought-it-would-be-short..</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">One fine afternoon in Klebang, Ipoh we decided to have some Indian banana leaf rice.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">While waiting for the "Other" (Sorry, I don't enjoy using too many names in my blog posts.) people to arrive we found this oldish antique shop, the oldish toys caught Parpar's eyes so we decided to take a look inside and guess what?!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">We ended up going on a crazy shopping spree! And most of the things (Correction, EVERYTHING.) we covered in dust! We bought anything from pink flower umbrellas to err.. Ultra-man figurines. I told you it was crazy..</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I bought a HUGE red-ish (Not to be mistaken for radish.) wood "Congkak" (I have ALWAYS wanted a congkak set, I just love feeling the marbles in my hand and the sound when you drop the marbles into the wooden holes! Me and Fai spent the entire night playing Congkak once we got back home!) set complete with dusty marbles, a pair of cloth cutting scissors (I have a thang for cutting up old clothes and it ain't easy with kitchen scissors I might add.), this round wooden thing that is used to stretch your cloth so it's easier to sew (Sewing WITHOUT that thing isn't all that fun.) and.. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">A pair of white school (I am wearing school shooooooooeees! ..For the first time in 6 years! Yes, indeed! This is something to brag about!) high-tops.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I never planned on buying shoes, let alone WHITE (I have a tendency of getting white stuff grey/black in no time at all because I have clumsy feet that enjoy kicking stuff or just plain stumbling over themselves..) school shoes..</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">So it kind of went like this-</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Parpar: "Heey! I used to wear these kinda shoes to school last time and they lasted me a good 3 years! What happened to your army (They were my absolute favorite pair of shoes!) ones?"</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Me: "I outgrew them."</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Parpar: "Alright, Little miss big feet.. Want another pair?"</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Me: *Evil-ideas-on-what-to-do-to-them-once-I-get-home-brewing-in-head* "Sure!" *Insert evil grin here, make sure it looks evil.*</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">And THAT'S how I ended up with a pair of school shoes.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcac9V-V3r_ugHsSUAnBkvJmd-X9JcmXryU1wfu-9wWKg3I1zySQg211Vc4gWqWpv1QagFlkVDK66kkZ7FD4sI_TBXXtC1h2oRqYy_L6_Vnu19vGT736oRge1_Wv5irAdVFl1CiiwLWrI/s1600/DPP_0065.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcac9V-V3r_ugHsSUAnBkvJmd-X9JcmXryU1wfu-9wWKg3I1zySQg211Vc4gWqWpv1QagFlkVDK66kkZ7FD4sI_TBXXtC1h2oRqYy_L6_Vnu19vGT736oRge1_Wv5irAdVFl1CiiwLWrI/s320/DPP_0065.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">So the moment I got home (Since the trip home was pretty long it gave me PLENTY of time to daydream about IDEAS, only too bad once I got home somehow they were all erased from my head! Drat, shouldn't have dozed off!) I pulled out my crafting tool box (May I add that it can't seem to close since half of the space is already taken up by felt in any color you can think of?) and started digging for materials I could use for my little "Project".</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I ended up with black fabric paint (I used this for my <a href="http://karencuppycake.blogspot.com/2011/02/masquerade-masks.html">Masquerade mask</a> only I have no idea why..) and Sharpies!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I bought them Sharpies to enter a competition only the "Entry" never got "Entered", poo. </div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcYQCULNy3HETaakO4V2L9Icjg0rdBJE-BpuWLwdq9t2jmZHBsUNYMwRtn3v5FNUpE32Fl3RCFvceW1xsiS_pxXB71414Em3EsTa0dgkgj4_ptdGIeymHlClcXEffPqJJjZmJ9cCJ__TU/s1600/DPP_0069.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcYQCULNy3HETaakO4V2L9Icjg0rdBJE-BpuWLwdq9t2jmZHBsUNYMwRtn3v5FNUpE32Fl3RCFvceW1xsiS_pxXB71414Em3EsTa0dgkgj4_ptdGIeymHlClcXEffPqJJjZmJ9cCJ__TU/s320/DPP_0069.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">So, since my mind was totally blank (I TRIED doing some research and found some good ones but I didn't use any ideas I found for this project, I am a terrible copycat.. There's something in me that says that every artwork of mine must be ORIGINAL, nothing less. That's kinda why I hate stencils and everything of mine is drawn/painted/molded freehand.) I started off by thinking what I enjoyed drawing and they were basically swirls, curvy lines (I can NEVER, EVER draw a straight line and I absolutely hate using a ruler for my art.. I feel somewhat guilty after using it.) and circles! </div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2egwOVa63gd4S3YQV7wygQm2vO8zlaSTAeJZbOboGgDKJ1H6aBfz4wwG1M_BanBcbN1jZlYlmQqHhLxMhphb0m6WK6w9EWTkGWlia3iKg0ISvy90cV68oei84AmsyyZf_TbM9glqUsyY/s1600/DPP_0059.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2egwOVa63gd4S3YQV7wygQm2vO8zlaSTAeJZbOboGgDKJ1H6aBfz4wwG1M_BanBcbN1jZlYlmQqHhLxMhphb0m6WK6w9EWTkGWlia3iKg0ISvy90cV68oei84AmsyyZf_TbM9glqUsyY/s320/DPP_0059.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;">I started of with that little strip at the back first since it was err.. Small and easy to fill up. </div><div style="text-align: center;">The first thought that popped into my head once I drew my first purdle, I mean purple line was "Oh em geez! Shoooowtt! It SPREADS! *Eyes bulging out of their sockets and starts stomping feet*" so once I finished with all the so called "Rainbows" (Since they are missing a few colors.. I NEED more Sharpies, Humans!) I used the black fabric paint (I diluted it in a little water since I found it rather thick and hard to paint.) to outline (I used just one #1 brush from all the painting and outlining in this project. My trusty #1 Squire's Kitchen brush that could never be qualified to enter a kitchen EVER again!) random parts of the rainbow and VOILA! It's neat and tidy! </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Not long after I thought it was kinda boring to just have ONE pattern/design (What's the difference, eh?) throughout that little strip and since I liked circles, I painted.. Bubbles! Mommy calls them rocks though..</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzQIribAPdt9iv-B99ChsrAHuJeExzamB4XRQHdWoNTSfzmt4U1NPoODuMYQj7g3yFD7a90UDkDxXD1pFNThyphenhyphents_g1BBrVkaedJnnWKdxeMDGmTU9hi1RK2Jc8mncC-zEV41u49I42jkY/s1600/DPP_0060.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzQIribAPdt9iv-B99ChsrAHuJeExzamB4XRQHdWoNTSfzmt4U1NPoODuMYQj7g3yFD7a90UDkDxXD1pFNThyphenhyphents_g1BBrVkaedJnnWKdxeMDGmTU9hi1RK2Jc8mncC-zEV41u49I42jkY/s320/DPP_0060.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Then I discovered this two long little strips running down the shoe and decided to highlight one of them lime green and the other purple to make stuff less dull since I hate dull and purple and green just POPS AND it reminds me of a purple monster that has green slime and sliver so.. Yeah!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">And after that I asked myself (Since this was MY new pair of shoes, I ask myself kinda a lot of questions on what makes ME happy!) what my favorite Sharpie color was and it was the blue and turquoise-ish color.. So blue/turquoise + swirls and curvy lines = WAVES and the OCEAN. Yeah, I know.. I am a mathematics whiz! So that kinda settled it for THAT side of the shoe and at first I didn't exactly think of drawing/painting (Whatever you feel like calling it.. I think "Dranting" should work, yeah?) the "inner" side but it looked incomplete and since the colorful-ish waves kinda followed the "Rainbows" on the little strip I decided to do some simple Dranting on the inner part so it kinda completes the whole look and makes it come together! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwpfxFBcp1DC5n54NOM3hyphenhyphenbVQBGDxNjQYb2-TN6QaPtvIiQwGrFRdNQLKMxyWj4cRVjV2In3MPe0qZCjfDq-LPWPkp88IJS0BC9njLX-KSIUbIYft_YLy9sISc1hUgt6EBiRuxSTDrWjA/s1600/DPP_0067.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwpfxFBcp1DC5n54NOM3hyphenhyphenbVQBGDxNjQYb2-TN6QaPtvIiQwGrFRdNQLKMxyWj4cRVjV2In3MPe0qZCjfDq-LPWPkp88IJS0BC9njLX-KSIUbIYft_YLy9sISc1hUgt6EBiRuxSTDrWjA/s320/DPP_0067.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">So for the OTHER shoe I had a tough time deciding if I should copy the EXACT design or do a whole new look!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Copying the exact design would make me die of boredom so that got tossed into the bin and a whole new look will make be rather weird, at least to me so I decided to go for something in between!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The same-ish concept but a different scenery and since I had the "Above water", the next shoe was "Under water" and the only underwater animal I knew that was naturally "Swirly" was a Kraken, no not octopus.. It sounds WAY cooler this way!</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoMPFpmEjXK_il6hsaVYnXxvgaZOluCJk4bK2Sbk_rVmdr3s7MVYWPdhPGrJ3YgwxH65bXCZ2u5SckOATCZ8fUSENlWX1_1iXcGG-mjgrgtQE8AyhLw7AEPGqZXevvBIIU1SLbgmhrbBc/s1600/DPP_0068.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoMPFpmEjXK_il6hsaVYnXxvgaZOluCJk4bK2Sbk_rVmdr3s7MVYWPdhPGrJ3YgwxH65bXCZ2u5SckOATCZ8fUSENlWX1_1iXcGG-mjgrgtQE8AyhLw7AEPGqZXevvBIIU1SLbgmhrbBc/s320/DPP_0068.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Once all the Drantings were complete the white shoe laces (Seriously?! White shoes and laces?! Poor school people.) looked a bit.. Boring.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Sooo, the next day I went for a crazy shoe lace hunt in Seremban and just before I gave up, I found a Converse outlet and my, my there were SOOOOO many colors to choose from!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I couldn't decide between green and purple so I bought both! (Converse shoe laces on a non Converse shoe, hmm..)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">And across it was this shop that sold laces too! For HALF the price and there were even more to choose from, so I ended up getting another two from there!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The minute I got home I started lacing my shoes the "Normal" way only to find out that the laces were too short! Urghk!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">So I ended up lacing them shoes.. MY way.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWT8lacRO2Y-jnWgw1fkefCXcqfcqNkptD-jF6gPE79mg1OWgf473Fve2j1zXMraPGPHFW3bhmJs72E-xQemAj_aC6kRN4HTRHCMbkvSQlUk7CJ98wpErypshZFA92pyCw2qMPGQPnZJc/s1600/DPP_0061.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWT8lacRO2Y-jnWgw1fkefCXcqfcqNkptD-jF6gPE79mg1OWgf473Fve2j1zXMraPGPHFW3bhmJs72E-xQemAj_aC6kRN4HTRHCMbkvSQlUk7CJ98wpErypshZFA92pyCw2qMPGQPnZJc/s320/DPP_0061.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">-Karen Kraken Kake</div>Karen Leonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07273312266680418876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4105917514600698580.post-69696962097294772192012-01-02T16:20:00.000+08:002012-01-02T16:20:58.502+08:00Woven anklet<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-A7ENsVv0hJQ/TwFc6Xe7qKI/AAAAAAAABRc/dLaOhlL5nME/s1600/DPP_0049.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-A7ENsVv0hJQ/TwFc6Xe7qKI/AAAAAAAABRc/dLaOhlL5nME/s320/DPP_0049.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I kinda forgot what made me want to look up "Friendship bracelet tutorials" this morning but I just did, for an unknown reason.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">That's extremely strange because.. I REAALLY don't know why I looked it up and ended up on YouTube since the picture tutorials were pretty hard to follow and I soon realized how easy making these were and how much they resembled my favorite "Orang-asli craft" (I absolutely love any "Native" craft, especially jewelry they are somehow a lot more interesting than the usual ones!) ones!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--_ZOoDfyCiQ/TwFet3bxTJI/AAAAAAAABRs/sOKwabEGGgk/s1600/DPP_0051.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--_ZOoDfyCiQ/TwFet3bxTJI/AAAAAAAABRs/sOKwabEGGgk/s320/DPP_0051.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">All you need is some "Cross stitch string" and the super ability to tie knots!</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GPlskXnczwg/TwFdvZfaI8I/AAAAAAAABRk/HZFwM6JLVVo/s1600/DPP_0050.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GPlskXnczwg/TwFdvZfaI8I/AAAAAAAABRk/HZFwM6JLVVo/s320/DPP_0050.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I spent about half an hour to forty-five minutes to complete my anklet (It was supposed to be a FRIENDSHIP bracelet but I ended up making an anklet for MYSELF, huh.. Funny how things end up!), my first few rows were VERY jumbled up (This is the somewhat second attempt I guess, I couldn't even tie that loop knot thing-ma-jig on the first one! Thank goodness I could untie it!), not sure how they got sorted but.. They did, strangely!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I thought I had lost a good meter (Of EACH color! I didn't believe the tutorial at first but I am pretty glad I did because the length was just nice after all that "weaving"!) of cross stitch thread!</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YXL35ZyWPI0/TwFfjqiXNPI/AAAAAAAABR0/KVb5I6FE3rY/s1600/DPP_0052.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YXL35ZyWPI0/TwFfjqiXNPI/AAAAAAAABR0/KVb5I6FE3rY/s320/DPP_0052.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Alright, enough of the chitchat..</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Time to make MOOOOORRREEEE!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Hmm, filling up my limbs (Neck included, I think!) with cross stitch thread is going to be SUPERB!</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fMBubEQoHLc/TwFgpCr9B8I/AAAAAAAABR8/Yf-a_jckK6Q/s1600/DPP_0053.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fMBubEQoHLc/TwFgpCr9B8I/AAAAAAAABR8/Yf-a_jckK6Q/s320/DPP_0053.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">-Karen Cuppy Cake</div>Karen Leonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07273312266680418876noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4105917514600698580.post-22159587402924803712011-12-28T16:46:00.000+08:002011-12-28T16:46:06.491+08:00Bloom<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Xrwk_qn0JfA/TvrQ03BxGvI/AAAAAAAABRA/4q5M8LKYRBM/s1600/DPP_0042.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Xrwk_qn0JfA/TvrQ03BxGvI/AAAAAAAABRA/4q5M8LKYRBM/s320/DPP_0042.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I have been working on this for some time already, actually ever since the day I got the sketch book (Yes, this is my very first drawing/sketch/thang I drew in it.) from Kisa!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">It has pretty much been an on and off thing, when I feel like drawing I add a couple of flowers abit at a time so yeah.. This is probably the longest I took to complete a drawing/sketch/wachamecalit!</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NsFTL1dWobg/TvrQHrqtQyI/AAAAAAAABQ4/oBRYd9hNpxg/s1600/DPP_0041.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NsFTL1dWobg/TvrQHrqtQyI/AAAAAAAABQ4/oBRYd9hNpxg/s320/DPP_0041.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I suppose I am pretty proud of it, I don't think I have drawn this many flowers before..</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The flowers are mostly hybrids (There's something about me unable to draw flowers EXACTLY-PATHETICALLY.. And besides, you use more creative juice this way!), created in my mind (Ooh, mind.. What a mysterious word..)..</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">To name a few there are daisy hybrids, peony not so hybrid (It is somewhat like the one I made in Alan Dunn's flower course.), spider lily not so hybrid as well, some sort of berry hybrid, babies's breath not so hybrid, cosmos not so hybrid, rose hybrid (I am quite proud of this one, for the first time ever it does not look like some kind of cabbage..), poppy hybrid and a ginger flower hybrid.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I kinda forced myself to not go OUTSIDE for inspiration, so it was kinda like a test to see how many flowers are stuck in my head and obviously.. Not many! I think I need to spend more time smelling roses, eh?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I have no idea why but I love drawing daisies (And cosmos!), I love flowers with numerous (Ooh, big word. I don't even recall what it means but I just felt like using it, so yeah.. Plop it right there.) petals!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">It was my first time drawing (And in a LOOONG time, without my inky pens since I forgot to lug them to the <a href="http://karencuppycake.blogspot.com/2011/12/comic-fiesta.html">Comic Fiesta</a>!) the other flowers/berries (I officially love drawing berries, they create a some what nice touch!) and excluding leaves.. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Excuse the fact that some flowers are drawn in a lighter shade than others, I kinda lost the first pencil I was drawing with..</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WP_taWo9VuQ/TvrR0OGzQPI/AAAAAAAABRQ/IM-_CArGNSY/s1600/DPP_0044.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WP_taWo9VuQ/TvrR0OGzQPI/AAAAAAAABRQ/IM-_CArGNSY/s320/DPP_0044.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">-Karen Cuppy Cake</div>Karen Leonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07273312266680418876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4105917514600698580.post-89781790044141386982011-12-26T15:23:00.000+08:002011-12-26T15:23:08.868+08:00Comic FiestaLast week was pretty interesting, well to me at least.<br />
A lot of impromptu stuff, like sleeping over in two female human's houses and going to... Three shopping malls, huh.<br />
<br />
So ANYHOO, it started on Thursday when we went down to KL.<br />
Oh right, just before we left the house I found a toad in my favorite pair of silver fluff ball ballet flats the "hard way", as in I put my foot into the shoe and felt err... Something, something.. Lumpy, cold, rough and it MOVED! Strange, I thought toads were wettish but it wasn't.. Well, thanks for not wetting my shoe Mr/Ms toad and also thanks for not wanting to budge when I went frantically throwing my shoe on the floor.. Hmm, I wonder if you are still in there.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFpX9wkm_s-1yFHDeBSJ8kmBGhvitOIm-oTcAtfpPRpPDJ7_yiTvPqpF472NWICZbHDK1kUFh6PvWFvXmSunuxIiaBI6oi-e6BolPWJnRHoBjSa-Z-yOcMyARGJAdaGmbxcXMnURpDeUU/s1600/DPP_0038.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFpX9wkm_s-1yFHDeBSJ8kmBGhvitOIm-oTcAtfpPRpPDJ7_yiTvPqpF472NWICZbHDK1kUFh6PvWFvXmSunuxIiaBI6oi-e6BolPWJnRHoBjSa-Z-yOcMyARGJAdaGmbxcXMnURpDeUU/s320/DPP_0038.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Naw, doesn't that little toad look pweety?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Was texting Bloo (My best friends are my entertainment during car journeys, send some random message to four of them and one of them is bound to reply right?) in the car and she is somehow spontaneously going to babysit Kisa (Just in case you were a wondering.. Yes, it's my job giving people weird nicknames!) since she was home alone and since I was so close by I decided to join the babysitting club.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> It was the first time all three of us have met. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Well, I guess that's one of the draw backs from not going to school.. You don't meet your best friends everyday (Unless you consider a skype group video call "Meeting up".) and the chances when you meet one of them the other isn't there.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">After some girly hugging, screaming and Christmas present exchanging.. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I have never gotten such awesome presents before for Christmas, well.. Usually family members give you things you don't really like and in my case they usually give me extremely boring books or well, I guess you get it! I still wonder what's the point of giving someone a present just for the sake of GIVING.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Kisa got me this FABULOUS sketch book (Just when I needed a new one too, perfect timing!) that had a giraffe on it and it actually had "Giraffe" printed on it in a humongous black glossy font!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Being the weird person I am, I started going a little too happy!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The sketch book was my favorite type, brown paper bag colored (I love covers that are draw-able! I started doodling with Bloo's sharpies as soon as I got my hands on them to brighten the cover up!) cover, plain white pages (I have a THANG about drawing on those "exam papers", the lines are rather annoying.. And the fact that are called "exam papers".), metal ring binded and a very personalized cover (Something about being UN-vertically challenged and my favorite animal has always been a giraffe!)!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">And Bloo got me a.. Momiji doll! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The name.. Um.. arh.. Aaa... Has some special meaning to me and I plan to be very secretive about the meaning so HAH.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">And a hand written letter (That had more puffy stickers than words! Eeek.)! How on earth could she have remembered I loved receiving those?! I doubt I have mentioned that I liked them in a LOOONG LOOOOOOOOONG time.. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">And please don't be too surprised when I say those were the best presents I have ever gotten in my entire life (Excluding Mommy-Papa presents, of course. It's illegal to compare those to others.) not just because they were given to me by two people who can make me die of laughter from a single word but the fact that they were very.. Meaningful, I suppose..</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The rest of the evening went by rather quickly.. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Eating chocolate chip cookies, listening some-language-that-isn't-English rock (I am somehow attracted to listening to anything that isn't English, maybe after this it would be Egyptian rap!), Bloo annoying me by putting on kapoop (Yes, I got rid of the bug.), meeting Alfred the duck, Kisa playing the piano, Bloo TRYING to play the piano, Bloo's crazy exercise class, Desperate house daughters meeting over pizza, yes, I cam up with that!, making Kisa chock on coke, it rhymes!, meeting Kisa's sisters, dancing with Kisa and well, other suches. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The next day Bloo and I went shopping for her "Cosplay outfit", costume in simpler forms I guess!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">We ended up at a tiny place in Sri hartamas, a couple of blocks away from ICCA and little did I know that little shop was JAM PACKED with people!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">It was crazy, let me tell you that!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The manager and the store assistant going nuts looking for costumes, the customers waiting impatiently and surfing through the many catalogs, the air conditioning was on low so it was rather suffocating and I.. Had a splitting headache for the first time in a rather long time, it was rather torturous I might say, I thought my eyeballs were about to fall off at one point!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">It was pretty fun trying out the costumes, especially the gothic and frilly corset long dressy ones even though they were all humongous on me!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">It's funny how they only have them in one size..</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Bloo settled with a super cute bloo, I mean BLUE "Japanese school girl" outfit and extremely high white platform boots! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Spent the rest of the afternoon till evening sleeping, the only thing I remember was how lovely it was to hit the bed after I staggered out of the car and pulled out my boots and waking up to see Bloo staring at me as though I was dead and had suddenly woken up! Hmm, that sounded creepier than I remembered it, oh well. I felt much better though, with the headache gone and the scorching hot afternoon sun gone as well! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Bloo's Mom's (Mai gawdt, there are loads of "'s"!) friend, Jane took us for a "Girls night out" in 1U not long after I awoke from my slumber!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Had simple noodles for dinner than off I went shopping with Bloo, for the first time ever in our three or so year long friendship!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">That's kinda what happens when you live like.. Maybe, 500 kilometers or so, maybe further away from your pals.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Our first stop was strangely Daiso (Since we couldn't find a decently priced hair stuff shop!) to get Bloo some fluffy hair scrunchies to complete her outfit (And some ribbons to tie around our wrists and neck but we soon found out they had adhesive at the back so we returned them! Bloo was having a look at the ribbons while walking about and she suddenly went "KAREN! There's glue at the back!", oh whoopsies.), some pinky nail polish (To make stuff even cuter.) and then some random walking around and taking pictures with the lovely Christmas deco!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EftnQ0DZ-uo/TvgVOM_9hEI/AAAAAAAABPY/XORgUMWhXJ8/s1600/400599_347577238591109_100000165076333_1657954_1968022183_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EftnQ0DZ-uo/TvgVOM_9hEI/AAAAAAAABPY/XORgUMWhXJ8/s320/400599_347577238591109_100000165076333_1657954_1968022183_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Above: </i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>We just realized we could share clothes so we walked around 1U in each other's pajamas! </i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I spent the rest of the night painting my finger nails "Barbie doll" (I don't believe it is actually called that though..) pink and Bloo spent HER night splattering her fingers with baby bloo, I mean BLUE and pink, it was a fabulous piece of modern art I might say.. And yakking and telling more grandmother stories.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/-3WiZg-XUr0?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Not all that weirdly, Bloo's alarm (That video up there.) didn't work the next morning or maybe it just wasn't irritating enough.. I guess I take THAT back, the alarm is VERRRYYY irritating..</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">CF (Comic Fiesta) only started at 9am but.. Oh dear here we go again, Bloo's Mom's friend wanted to take us out for breakfast at Levain (An old bungalow that was turned into a bakery/cafe thing.) and we had to be there SUPER early to avoid the crowd, like 8AM type of early.. Not too easy for two people who are rather used to waking up at noon.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Breakfast was rather.. filling, super filling I mean EXPLODING!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Had a set that conceived of scrabbled eggs, bacon, salad, sausages, ham, toast and butter and after that some chocolate cake to stuff you up even more!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Zm4yXGScGBI/Tvga0SUm8NI/AAAAAAAABPs/nufNZJgxiQ4/s1600/384103_347585331923633_100000165076333_1658016_1811575217_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Zm4yXGScGBI/Tvga0SUm8NI/AAAAAAAABPs/nufNZJgxiQ4/s320/384103_347585331923633_100000165076333_1658016_1811575217_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Above:</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Bloo, I mean BLUE people outside Levain. Bloo in her cosplay outfit! (I did a bit of hair tying in the car on the way to CF!)</i></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HwbAOBP4Pt0/Tvga6FzkfVI/AAAAAAAABQM/Ph2itBLxYlQ/s1600/401447_347606961921470_100000165076333_1658096_501159022_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HwbAOBP4Pt0/Tvga6FzkfVI/AAAAAAAABQM/Ph2itBLxYlQ/s320/401447_347606961921470_100000165076333_1658096_501159022_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">YAY! Comic Fiesta at last! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The first thing that greeted us once we entered the convention centre (It was held @ KLCC) was the CROOOWWDD!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I think this was the very first time I have seen SO many people jam packed into an area!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Met up with Zed Dabaliewee at the ticketing hall. Yes, there was an entire hall just to get tickets and the whole hall was packed with people looking for their friends and cosplayers putting their finishing touches on! </div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1KD65L16EaY/Tvga8HIYsbI/AAAAAAAABQU/XyTeJ-lVxC0/s1600/401512_323970667621353_151234334894988_1257941_1724757194_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="216" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1KD65L16EaY/Tvga8HIYsbI/AAAAAAAABQU/XyTeJ-lVxC0/s320/401512_323970667621353_151234334894988_1257941_1724757194_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">We each received a "Survival kit" (Or so it is named!) and it contains some mints (They strangely tasted very good despite the fact that it had brown dots on them..), a bar of chocolate, hand sanitizer and some.. Malay magazines! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Just as we thought the queuing for the tickets was bad, we had to queue from the OUTSIDE (As in from the park!) to get into the hall and by the time we got in we were all hot, sticky and sweaty! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">And.. So was everyone else so it was quite, stinky! We were all squashed inside the hall so it wasn't a very pleasant experience I might say.. </div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EBLhNOSiPJE/TvgaxGmXecI/AAAAAAAABPk/GNtbKXywCnw/s1600/378702_236207983116963_100001832882046_566787_771811899_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EBLhNOSiPJE/TvgaxGmXecI/AAAAAAAABPk/GNtbKXywCnw/s320/378702_236207983116963_100001832882046_566787_771811899_n.jpg" width="227" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9J7S97hUo4s/Tvga9cZnr9I/AAAAAAAABQc/pGLNGLb-5jc/s1600/403914_10150442620072637_649367636_8613534_878493270_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9J7S97hUo4s/Tvga9cZnr9I/AAAAAAAABQc/pGLNGLb-5jc/s320/403914_10150442620072637_649367636_8613534_878493270_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Met Kisa and her sisters at their booth and decided to drag Kisa away to walk about a little!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I think there were about a hundred booths there but it was a pity that most of them sold the same things!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Badges, mugs, posters (I didn't find posters of any manga/anime I knew, sob.), very cute cloth hats (Too bad they were about RM50 each..), key chains, hmm... Well, stuff like that!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I think the cosplayers were the most interesting "thing" there (Next to the live bands that sang in Japanese!), it seems like they pose for a living because they do it SO well and the details on their costumes!</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8rlL5fbpB5A/Tvga1rDQrkI/AAAAAAAABP0/uM8oi8S6HjU/s1600/388500_111019205684465_100003291588007_51408_1194821334_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8rlL5fbpB5A/Tvga1rDQrkI/AAAAAAAABP0/uM8oi8S6HjU/s320/388500_111019205684465_100003291588007_51408_1194821334_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rmPdBJON6vQ/Tvga3i18k-I/AAAAAAAABP8/6p-qtOJ6CPY/s1600/396947_323971727621247_151234334894988_1257961_1549497940_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="216" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rmPdBJON6vQ/Tvga3i18k-I/AAAAAAAABP8/6p-qtOJ6CPY/s320/396947_323971727621247_151234334894988_1257961_1549497940_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aGYsun9lngU/Tvga_wnMl9I/AAAAAAAABQs/NLVx-vIj2LQ/s1600/407768_111046665681719_100003291588007_51612_625955609_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aGYsun9lngU/Tvga_wnMl9I/AAAAAAAABQs/NLVx-vIj2LQ/s320/407768_111046665681719_100003291588007_51612_625955609_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Maybe I will pass next year..</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">-Karen Comic Cake</div>Karen Leonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07273312266680418876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4105917514600698580.post-33908033582421957892011-12-13T19:57:00.001+08:002011-12-13T19:59:47.108+08:00How to: Edible paint<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Oh hey! Another tutorial, didn't see this one coming! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Yesterday I was simply browsing (Quite aimlessly I must say, in search for something interesting and surprisingly found that "something interesting"!) through one of the homeschooling group on FaceBook that I had joined and there was just this one post that caught my eye "Homemade cornstarch paint" it said.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">(This was where the link directed to: <a href="http://thecheesethief.blogspot.com/2011/11/homemade-cornstarch-paint.html">Homemade cornstarch paint</a>. I officially absolutely love this blog!)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">So yeah, I kinda tried making my own paint today!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Usually I never start on these kinda projects, kinda like the time when I wanted to try out Alan Dunn's Cold porcelain but never actually did it for some unknown reason.. But the instructions were SO simple and the list of ingredients was SO short that I simply had to!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">And since the ingredients were only water and cornstarch that would make it edible, right? (Can't wait to try my edible paint on a cake!)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">If you haven't viewed her blog yet this is basically what you need to make your own paint-</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">1 Cup of water</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">1 Tablespoon of Corn starch</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">A tiny saucepan/pot to cook your paint in, hmm.. That sounds somewhat funny!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Food coloring</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil5bBZ_QSE3gZ9mkKwpPB4JoNB_1r6n_cTKrlJxNrgp9fQG-w0c260iOo6Yq5od_01lGyJYHqSgGKDJnYlHm_90lpKktcBSaE6pYHwCdBW5OxiojUaxMV1jgBGgvlh-8c32O3YLe8wF4k/s1600/DPP_0028.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil5bBZ_QSE3gZ9mkKwpPB4JoNB_1r6n_cTKrlJxNrgp9fQG-w0c260iOo6Yq5od_01lGyJYHqSgGKDJnYlHm_90lpKktcBSaE6pYHwCdBW5OxiojUaxMV1jgBGgvlh-8c32O3YLe8wF4k/s320/DPP_0028.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">1st stop (Step, stop.. Same thing right? Just a different alphabet in the middle and a completely different meaning! .. But at least it rhymes!):</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Fill ye cuppa with H2O (I guess you could use boiled, then cooled water if you are going to paint on a cake or just plain tap water if you aren't going to eat it!) to thy brim.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Pour ye liquid into ye miniature pot.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKEuY3FfFDk0xsLJA_C8nfCzSyBowliyDJ2OI9PZUGDq8_UQX-leP-sp61txv8NsZq5EerKso2yVXo72r3VnOoQcxfZ5d4jlmJaqBn1TNr2Ev6NvGPpEo9HzKFq3zT0gxioJSAPQoWAmM/s1600/DPP_0029.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKEuY3FfFDk0xsLJA_C8nfCzSyBowliyDJ2OI9PZUGDq8_UQX-leP-sp61txv8NsZq5EerKso2yVXo72r3VnOoQcxfZ5d4jlmJaqBn1TNr2Ev6NvGPpEo9HzKFq3zT0gxioJSAPQoWAmM/s320/DPP_0029.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">2nd Stomp:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Plonk in a tablespoon of corn starch and mix all the lumps out or you are going to be in BIIIIGGG trouble.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I had to make this twice because I actually FAILED on my first try!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I didn't mix the corn flour in and once it boiled my "paint" had little jelly like lumps in them! </div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU0Ci3fV2nnVMn_H_nIdcPNoOmRQm0HUl1WxnjuOv80GQeZdYqZJcPv9CePppBytvFWwLUkyNkTBn0aBnu9kdHQg6l3Jhib0vEPVb8fn9LySXmpVAyhdEyhyphenhyphenhnMLENNY_0he4bi3TGPDM/s1600/DPP_0030.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU0Ci3fV2nnVMn_H_nIdcPNoOmRQm0HUl1WxnjuOv80GQeZdYqZJcPv9CePppBytvFWwLUkyNkTBn0aBnu9kdHQg6l3Jhib0vEPVb8fn9LySXmpVAyhdEyhyphenhyphenhnMLENNY_0he4bi3TGPDM/s320/DPP_0030.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">3rd Storm:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Plop the pot onto the stove, put thy fire on medium and stir like no tomorrow so the corn flour, starch err... Same thing! Doesn't settle and form the very un-wonderful lumps!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Stir, stir, your neighbor may think your mad but CONTINUE, stir, stir, your neighbor may officially think you're possessed but CONTINUE, stir, stir!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Hmm, don't you think that would make one wonderful song? </div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif8v-SNi39UtBQEXeTKasl0FDs70Ir-eWxXC-3qcagS-g_ZJHtPNJ3qicHmCbz3CgR0zPnEFBF8e3rmaFTOlD8R96zy0u-sWXREg-wt7ph6AuC5_YC1kt5HPvUQfsawOVU6Sr-agLg0o0/s1600/DPP_0031.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif8v-SNi39UtBQEXeTKasl0FDs70Ir-eWxXC-3qcagS-g_ZJHtPNJ3qicHmCbz3CgR0zPnEFBF8e3rmaFTOlD8R96zy0u-sWXREg-wt7ph6AuC5_YC1kt5HPvUQfsawOVU6Sr-agLg0o0/s320/DPP_0031.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">4th Store:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">If your neighbor hasn't taken you to the nut house, you may continue stirring till some scary bubbles start forming!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The scary bubbles is a sign that the paint shows when it's well, PAINT.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghJvjPwNKZLKrkRUhhScHZHKg0wT9ZWkOw5d3Wym_gEr_2D6iqVIP-_8x6UTG1_Imo9LQwKMvMhSPEKBC6QtaEpmBKESj1BtlCPji_fuNnekuflgzbFAoP8-Y-dK2eJOoqisznsuh5XXM/s1600/DPP_0032.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghJvjPwNKZLKrkRUhhScHZHKg0wT9ZWkOw5d3Wym_gEr_2D6iqVIP-_8x6UTG1_Imo9LQwKMvMhSPEKBC6QtaEpmBKESj1BtlCPji_fuNnekuflgzbFAoP8-Y-dK2eJOoqisznsuh5XXM/s320/DPP_0032.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">5th Star:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Put the fire off and the scary bubbles will go away, if you don't they would probably over flow and you would have to mop up the whole kitchen and trust me, the "paint" is quite sticky and icky.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">You should end up with a thicker liquid from what you started with.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Congratulations, you have made P-A-I-N-T!</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7AUl85JCdC0AmHf2P4IdDFtazBZxL-MCdqRD49N5KOadPyhwZlGLSClUUDYbOOTR8uMzj8ubbfTUHuE5BJ7Q1UWvr7FftC3jV4jrUcPtOua3xzgWpCCK0fHyVijikR1nqZtruGFAzaOo/s1600/DPP_0033.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7AUl85JCdC0AmHf2P4IdDFtazBZxL-MCdqRD49N5KOadPyhwZlGLSClUUDYbOOTR8uMzj8ubbfTUHuE5BJ7Q1UWvr7FftC3jV4jrUcPtOua3xzgWpCCK0fHyVijikR1nqZtruGFAzaOo/s320/DPP_0033.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Now, whip up, I mean OUT some food coloring!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I just kinda realized I don't own "liquid food coloring"!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">So if you don't own liquid food coloring you may want to whip out some tooth picks as well to kinda transfer the gel food coloring from the container to the paint.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5zX8R5xj_DhzJF37VTPmEwl8XDrHyEs741TZ6T0fLww6oE5ENDCdOiUIEgD1tZDJuQjnikBkp4_fPhMzuvJpYrMW01ymEvWSefejppBGU_vOnpDSGJ1DhpAa7eEj0jzBmvW7LmOvWBxw/s1600/DPP_0034.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5zX8R5xj_DhzJF37VTPmEwl8XDrHyEs741TZ6T0fLww6oE5ENDCdOiUIEgD1tZDJuQjnikBkp4_fPhMzuvJpYrMW01ymEvWSefejppBGU_vOnpDSGJ1DhpAa7eEj0jzBmvW7LmOvWBxw/s320/DPP_0034.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">And.. I kinda just realized I don't own a paint pallete so I used my gem chocolate/candy melts/gum paste/royal icing instead! </div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji6AvnGEQXXmpaVCNykeA0Gi9qugwVpvv1eZT3v70leVcNldyTHXV9_TPgmzEJRxHlzAJYUil2RgTssCEpx0n8u460e04B-CYOqaFG8vybEL9MG44FybqPoThR-QTUoaUN8u-GinCc0Qk/s1600/DPP_0036.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji6AvnGEQXXmpaVCNykeA0Gi9qugwVpvv1eZT3v70leVcNldyTHXV9_TPgmzEJRxHlzAJYUil2RgTssCEpx0n8u460e04B-CYOqaFG8vybEL9MG44FybqPoThR-QTUoaUN8u-GinCc0Qk/s320/DPP_0036.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">And.. I don't own proper "paint brushes", all of mine are kinda.. Used for dusting gum paste flowers!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Oh gosh, this is hilarious..</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">So sob, sob, I had to sacrifice a couple of paint brushes for my edible paint "test drive"!</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7CzK2DsgUD46JS23iZf7dOLJow9bnRPX54It53_WFwHxd0TBalNm9dRMQqn0_2n-CF5HIKkNiLdPItHyY6AVsi9DmKjYZ2wpd-4AxJjNVRQHE-gMK4LhmdLNTHNtUFpxSpomevEOHzbY/s1600/DPP_0035.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7CzK2DsgUD46JS23iZf7dOLJow9bnRPX54It53_WFwHxd0TBalNm9dRMQqn0_2n-CF5HIKkNiLdPItHyY6AVsi9DmKjYZ2wpd-4AxJjNVRQHE-gMK4LhmdLNTHNtUFpxSpomevEOHzbY/s320/DPP_0035.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The results from my five minute test drive!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Err... Not exactly my favorite "paint", I would 100% still buy my favorite acrylic paint for art projects and as for cakes.. I guess I am stuck with my SK edible paint or food coloring!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">It was a bit too.. Transparent and jelly like, I would rather paint with food coloring, somehow but I guess if you aren't painting details it's completely fine! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">In other words.. Just make a whole tub full for little kids to splatter about! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5u6X6Tjow4-s27j3wSjowd46hSJvnIQOHAAuG1hC4h9rf6AQNCqFx-YRr8BM9WFHZ0fYj7SMLZxrBTLC6n8tdYuy_OsDLRLpv1Uk69w9Jldhf0xxggiXUCNPkTp6OKjoMpMFSSEBoeF4/s1600/DPP_0037.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5u6X6Tjow4-s27j3wSjowd46hSJvnIQOHAAuG1hC4h9rf6AQNCqFx-YRr8BM9WFHZ0fYj7SMLZxrBTLC6n8tdYuy_OsDLRLpv1Uk69w9Jldhf0xxggiXUCNPkTp6OKjoMpMFSSEBoeF4/s320/DPP_0037.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Had LOADS, about say.. 1/2 Cup or so of leftover paint!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Chucked it into the fridge, I wonder how long it would last? Will keep you updated!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">-Karen Kookingpaint Kake</div>Karen Leonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07273312266680418876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4105917514600698580.post-76215955807329789302011-12-07T13:35:00.000+08:002011-12-07T13:35:40.780+08:00Beheaders<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKEuoIy-To2vn9zXYeQBMtIxXvuqlKs80E2nImahPAtb7UCeGTtia9D07dQ3CSQeHA2TFxX4jI1yvI40rdDaoiBQluOfJsr7aEe9HD-31oXg5pUsIbzj4T3x2wx6vjqqwNH22jIrlo_SA/s1600/DPP_0025.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKEuoIy-To2vn9zXYeQBMtIxXvuqlKs80E2nImahPAtb7UCeGTtia9D07dQ3CSQeHA2TFxX4jI1yvI40rdDaoiBQluOfJsr7aEe9HD-31oXg5pUsIbzj4T3x2wx6vjqqwNH22jIrlo_SA/s320/DPP_0025.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I just realized since our move to Port Dickson I have been leaning (Tower of pizza! Yuuumm.. Aish, this random hunger moments are horrible!) toward the "Arts and craft" side more rather than being well, The "Cupcake girl".. Oh well, the name's quite stuck and I don't mind, it would be pretty strange to be "Karen Arts & Craft" anyways!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Oh right, I recently dug up a dusty pack of "Air drying clay" or "Cold porcelain" that was lying around somewhere and decided to turn them into Christmas charms!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This was my little pet project since mid November, I would occasionally make one and forget about it (Or am just too busy with other stuff, like sticking my nose into a book or camping.. And more camping.) for sometime then start again, that sort of thang.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">They are roughly about as tall as an average piping tip (Just finished re-watching Smurfs and somehow the "Three apples high" thang just got to me!), I don't exactly bother measuring them but they all end up being the same size for some reason, HAH! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I have absolutely no idea why I wanted to "behead" them, the idea just came around and.. It got stuck! I guess it makes them more unique in it's own kinda creepy way but I don't mind anyhow.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This project was pretty much inspired by a (Also air dried clay/Cold porcelain.) charm bracelet I received from my Aunt when I was about.. 10 or so, I LOVED it lots but I kept losing the charms (I remember having an angel, mermaid and a.. Chili, that had a face.. I can't seem to remember the rest one way or another..) for some reason.. I would take it out from the bracelet and put it on a key chain, then my necklace.. And the list goes on and on until I lose it that is!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">So yeah, the charms on that bracelet look (Except the "beheading" part!) pretty much like the ones I made, only I think I secretly like (Speaking of like, my favorites are the reindeer and snowman! Am not exactly a fan of favoritism but they are just SO cute! Goggled/goldfished eye face*) mine more!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Anyhoo,</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: large;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cc0000;">M</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">E</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cc0000;">R</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">R</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cc0000;">Y </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">E</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cc0000;">A</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">R</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cc0000;">L</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">Y </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cc0000;">C</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">H</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cc0000;">R</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">I</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cc0000;">S</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">T</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cc0000;">M</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">A</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cc0000;">S</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d;">!</span></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #38761d; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: large;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">-Kristmas Kuppy Kake</div>Karen Leonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07273312266680418876noreply@blogger.com0