Knock Your Socks

Taiwan best trip: Sounds of Taiwan

2009-06-21T12:35:00.003+10:00

Before I completely ditch this blog for my new Tumblr blog. I've entered a comp and need your views, ratings, comments and share it around. Why? Well, help a fellow blogger who desperately needs a holiday! :)
Direct link: http://tiny.cc/watchvideo

Tumblr test run

2009-05-02T12:47:00.006+10:00

I'm a sucker for anything that remotely fits into the web 2.0 sphere. Thus, it's no surprise that I've jumped on the Tumblr bandwagon.

I first saw Tumblr on my iPhone whilst I was searching for a Blogger app. I casually rolled my eyes thinking it wouldn't really take off. But after my geeky peeps urged me to take a second look, Tumblr's slickness and its simplicity, made me jump on the bandwagon.

So what is Tumblr? Well, in a nutshell it's another blogging tool with a community feel to it. Its focus is on making it easier to post on the go and takes the frustration out of attaching multimedia to your post. It's not as complicated as the current blogging tools such as Blogger and Wordpress and allows more flexibility than Twitter.

I'll be giving it a test run the next two weeks to see how it goes.

Find me here: yiie.tumblr.com

Agedashi tofu - traditional Japanese recipe

2009-04-28T11:42:00.003+10:00

[Will edit later, but here's a recipe I got off someone]

1. Get some tofu. Make sure its "silky" tofu (tastes better)

2. Place the tofu on a plate and let it sit for a couple of hours to let some of the moisture evaporate off (if you have the time - if you dont put a plate on top of the tofu to kind of squeeze the excess moisture out- but be careful , the tofu is delicate and breaks easy)

3. Cut the tofu into bite size pieces and sprinkle potato starch over the pieces - you need to cover all sides of the tofu. If you dont like potato starch you can use something else like rice flour or wheat flour but the texture of the potato starch is the best (its sticky).

4. Put canola oil (do not use any other kind of oil) in a pan/pot and heat it up till its around 180 degrees. If you cant tell from looking at the oil how hot it is then i recommend this little trick - get a small bit of tofu and drop it in the oil - if it sinks to the bottom and then immediately floats back to the surface you are cooking at the right temp. Once you are at the right temp then add tofu pieces (enough to fill up your pan/pot... prob 4 or 5 pieces)

5. Occasionally turn the tofu pieces

6. When you touch the batter covering the tofu, if it feels a bit crispy and it doesnt change colour then its done... scoop the piece out.

7. Place pieces on some paper to absorb the oil. transfer to a bowl

8. Pour tempura stock over the tofu - get tempura stock from an Asian supermarket. Garnish with bonito flakes and a bit of finely chopped ginger and spring onions.

Deviantart vs Flickr - artist wannabe

2009-04-23T15:53:00.002+10:00

Recently I've come out of the photography closet and sharing some of my photos to the public. I love the online support available, especially Deviantart and Flickr. So which one is better for a budding photographer in the making?

I have subscription accounts to both and each one has its ups and downs.

Flickr

Pros:
- Dedicated to photography
- Can join different groups until your heart's content. Can't find the obscure group you want? It's easy to create your own!
- Easy to organise your photos into groups and sets.
- Easy to use and can upload multi photos at a time.

Cons:
- More amateurs and family photos.
- Artist profile page is pretty bland.

Deviantart

Pros
- Definitely more of an artist community feel to it. From pure amateur beginners to top notch professionals.
- Able to sell your art as prints and misc novelty items.
- Every artist has his/her own profile page where it can be customised.
- Not just limited to photography.

Cons
- Need to upload images one at a time.
- Can't organise photos into different folders.
- Can be a bit overwhelming as it's not as straight forward.

I'm a pro now...says Flickr

2009-04-15T20:10:00.002+10:00

Parting with some mini dosh, I've FINALLY upgraded to the Flickr Pro account. *rejoices as no one else is*

flickr.com/yiie

Read and weep for those still with "standard" Flickr accounts.

Etiquette of traveling...with a buddy

2009-03-24T20:54:00.006+11:00

When traveling by yourself, you have the freedom to do whatever you want, whenever you want and however you want it. You can eat Maccas every day for the duration of your 30-day trip and no one would complain or suggest otherwise.

However, when you're traveling with someone else for a long period of time, your mannerisms will be scrutinised and every little annoyance would be magnified. Your dirty wet towel on top of my dry clean towel for the third time? Oh, there will some submissive aggressive comments thrown over dinner.

No need to think like an immaculate 5th Avenue school girl, but a little bit of etiquette and politeness would take you far in your trip and back again. Here's what I've learnt the funny, hard and nasty way:

1. Mentally make a note when your buddy shouts you to something and try to repay him/her back in the next instance. When I score a free Starbucks' tea, I make sure my buddy's next drink is on me.

2. Splitting the bill? Forget the loose change and round it off to the nearest dollar. If the exchange rate is in your favour, just round it off to the second lowest note of that currency. You're on a holiday and no one wants to sit around counting small change after a meal.

3. Be clear on your budget and don't become all bi-polar about it. If you're on a budget-tight trip, no one wants to see you flashing cash on novelty items. However, if hedonistic splurging is the game, don't let others down by bringing enough cash for only street food.

4. After stepping into a hotel, it's a simple courtesy to ask your buddy about bedding configurations and what his/her preference is. Even if you are gunning for that extra large ensuite.

5. Share your food and the world would share it back with you. But always let the person who bought it have the first and last bite.

6. What's said in the hotel room at 2am when I was drowsy and rambling... stays in that hotel room.

7. Be charitable to the people you meet on your trip. Tip the local restaurant owner, shout someone a good meal for his/her generosity and just acknowledge someone's effort.

8. It's ok to split up and be independent. It's great when you and your buddy develop a close bond, but there's no reason why the two of you have to be stuck together like siamese twins. Doing something different would mean the convo later wouldn't have you going, "duh, I was also there."

9. "Are you really sure you're ok?" is a forbidden question. You've asked once, your buddy's fine... smile and move on.

10. Confronting your buddy on embarrassing things is better done when phrased as a joke.

So... your thoughts?

Where is...?

2009-03-22T15:01:00.002+11:00

After a along and tedious discussion of where Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic is, here's the correct answer, thanks to Wikipedia.

Peurto Rico:

Dominican Republic:

Old blog. Same thoughts.

2009-03-17T18:50:00.004+11:00

I was googling something absurd and ironically the first link was actually this old blog I had on MSN Space, which I thought I'd deleted but obviously it's still alive in the world wide web.

Logging in, I realised that I still get about 50 hits a week on that blog. Not bad for something that hasn't been updated for 15 months and had entries dated back to July 2005.

After reading some cringe-worthy entries, I've decided to delete it to the public and keep it for my own viewing at times when I need to laugh at my own naivety.

Reading through about 30 different old posts, I've realised some things remain the same:

- My love for food
- Performance reviews are a waste of time
- Sheedy rocks, although he has retired
- Dad's still going through his never-ending mid-life crisis
- Hello Kitty names still crack me up (think this one needs a trackback)
- I still have many secret geeky moments friends don't know about
- Existentialism is the way to go and 'calumnious' is an awesome word
- Sorry Emma (again), but Adriana Lima is hotter than Megan Fox

And some stuff just didn't hold up:

- Bombers being in the AFL final
- My addiction to Cheerios (do they still even sell those things in supermarkets?)
- Hama beads. All 100,000 of them are still in my room, somewhere
- Yahoo Fantasy NBA - I didn't get anywhere on both occasions
- I don't sleep on problems anymore, I got for a midnight jog instead
- Love

I wonder if I'd look back at this blog in a few year's time and laugh. Probably will. Actually, I'm laughing at it now.

iPhone games review

2009-03-08T21:10:00.004+11:00

Haven't done an iPhone app review for a long time. Decided to just focus on games this time around as that's what I've downloading the past month - thought it would make the 14 hour plane rides go by faster. Have a few to review, so will keep it short and straight to the point.

Monopoly (rating 3.5/5)
Great graphics and as a Monopoly fan, it was fun. But often I just can't be stuffed playing it. I play games on the iPhone to pass time, not to be engaged in something that might take 30 mins.

SimCity (rating 3.5/5)
I was initially impressed with the features and how it was actually SimCity and not some dodge mini-game of it. After playing it for a few days, I realise navigation was a pain and got frustrated at the unexpected freezes and just the lag of dragging out a road.

Sally's Salon (rating 4/5)
I love those time management games so I enjoyed this game where you're Sally and you try to run a hairdressing salon. The only game I've experienced that hasn't crashed in the middle of an intense moment.

Hells Kitchen (rating 5/5)
This is probably the best time management game on the iPhone right now. I find myself being hooked on trying to complete all levels in one sitting.

Chicktionary (rating 3/5)
Try to make as many words as you can from the letters given. Fun at the start, but as with all word games, it gets a bit boring and frustrating after 10 minutes.

Scoops (rating 4/5)
When I first played Scoops, I thought it was stupid and didn't touch it for months. I opened it up again whilst waiting at an airport lounge and got hooked instantly. It's an easy concept - stack the scoops of ice cream up whilst avoiding veggies. The downside is that when I exit the game, it doesn't save where I've left off.

Tower (rating 3/5)
Another stack-em-up game. Somehow I like it when it's quick and simple like Scoops. Still don't quite get the bigger picture of this game.

Ocarina and Smule (ratings 1/5)
I know these two apps aren't quite 'games', but just don't get them. A lot of people rave on about them, but I frankly don't see what all the fuss is about. With Ocarina, you blow into the mic and create flute-like sounds. Smule - think of Photoswap but with crappy written messages. Boring and a waste of money.

Rolando (rating 3/5)
Reminds me a bit like the game Lemmings. I played it for 10 minutes before my brain shut off in trying to learn the different game moves. Will give it more of a chance next time I'm waiting for transport.

Little Shop (rating 2/5)
You try to hunt down objects from a given image. Probably more exciting for kids than for a 20-something year old like me.

NER*D and Grandmaster Flash Melbourne concert

2009-03-07T20:07:00.008+11:00

The second half of the concert was great. Grandmaster Flash got people smiling. NERD's performance was good - energetic, engaged the crowd, got people dancing and played a mixture of their new songs (Everyone nose) and their classic old songs (She wants to move). But the first half of the concert was a joke and sucked.

The line-up went something like this:

7pm - DJ Flagrant
7:45pm - DJ Flagrant is still spinning his tunes. Sure, he's a great DJ, but I didn't pay $100 to see a DJ.
8pm - Melbourne rapper Phrase comes on.
8:10pm - Started to think I would much prefer DJ Flagrant than Phrase. Rap and bogan tunes just don't mix.
9pm - Grandmaster Flash comes on... awesome. The crowd finally comes alive.
10pm - NERD comes on and the girls go wild over Pharrell.
11pm - Concert ends.

So I complained about the Kanye concert being dragged out for too long, but an hour of performance by the main act is just... Well, makes you feel jibbed that's for sure.

This concert definitely didn't draw a lot of people. Maybe they were at the Coldplay concert just 50m away? Initially the venue looked empty and sad as there were more people hanging outside grabbing a drink or smoke. Fortunately, the seats and the floor got filled up just in time for Grandmaster Flash.

Grandmaster Flash didn't do much in terms of singing, but he did a great job in mixing the songs that finally got people dancing and interested in what's happening on the stage. He loved seeing hands waving in the air and frequently demanded it. He also loved constantly asking the crowd if they were ready to "do hip hop".

NERD finally came on at a time when the crowd was getting really restless and cheered for anyone that came on stage and looked remotely like Pharrell.

As usual, their performance was energetic. Although it was noted that it wasn't as good as their previous concerts. I wasn't sure about their tactic of pulling people up on stage from the crowd. Having a bunch of fans dancing fanatically on stage without coordination was quite distracting. Amusing at times where a female fan would almost head lock Pharrell into a hug. At one point, I did see him subtly push someone away with a bit of force.

Overall, enjoyed the concert but hated the long build up to the good bits.

Click to enlarge photos to full size, or you can find and view them from my Flickr account.

Notes on Las Vegas

2009-03-07T19:06:00.004+11:00

1. My least expected holiday snaps - posing in front of fountains and statues... LOTS of them.

2. Seeing Vegas before NYC makes Times Square look rather mundane.

3. Yes, you can take photos in the casinos.

4. Yes, you can drink alcohol on the public streets. Tried and tested in front of a cop.

5. A good dealer in Blackjack is vital. Preferrably one that tells you whether to hit it or not after she/he has seen the cards.

6. Airports have pokies (slot machines as the Americans like to call it). So you can start gambling the minute you touch down, to the time when your last boarding call is made.

7. If you can't afford the porn in vending machines, just stick out your hand on the main strip and someone will freely hand you out a smutty booty call card. Just do it for the heck of it or curiosity will get the best of you.

8. Bored of Vegas showgirls? Try a Burlesque show instead. The performers are hotter.

9. MGM Grand is the happening place at 3am.

10. Ride the monorail, just so you can roll your eyes at the lame jokes.

11. Beware of people wanting to take a photo with you. Most of them are scammers or just scums.

12. What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas before trickling to LA.

What most guys don't get

2009-02-28T23:44:00.003+11:00

Most guys don't get why I have M&Ms scented LipSmacker. Whilst girls coo over it, guys just give me this blank stare of almost disgust when I put it on.

I've had at least three guys who have blatantly asked why on earth I would want to smear chocolate scented lip balm on my lips. On the bus, I've noticed the males do the whole sniff and look puzzled process. Whilst the females sniff and look pleasantly surprised.

So there you have it, M&Ms scented LipSmacker, another thing to add to the ever growing list of what guys don't get but girls do.

(Not to be a hypocrite, but most recently I've stopped using it as the constant smell of rich chocolate is rather nauseating. Instead, I'm eating the actual M&Ms.)

Notes on Shanghai

2009-02-10T22:10:00.003+11:00

1. Pokkys are dirt cheap here. I hope they were authentic.

2. People don't dance in clubs. They either play that damn dice drinking game, pose around or sway side to side.

3. Mixing Chivas with green tea is just atrocious.

4. You bargain with store owner, he/she gives you the good, then he/she abuses the hell out of you. That's when you know you've really scored a deal.

5. You don't bargain with the store owner, you buy lots of the same goods. The store owner still abuses you for buying too much and that he/she doesn't have change for a $100. Hm.. this one still puzzles me.

6. There were pretty girls, cute girls, but no hot ones. Shame.

7. Spelling my name out in Shanghai was harder than in Melbourne. Someone wrote my name as "Ms. Icecream". Oh what the?

8. Bringing your passport out every time I wanted to use the internet cafe was a pain! Thank god for the iPhone and wifi hotspots.

9. Crashing someone's party is easier than you think.

10. Although most people in their twenties would've spent the last 10 years learning English in schools, they still can't comprehend the phrase "Hi, do you speak English?".

11. I love it how in a few blocks you can experience a variety of cultures and surroundings. From French buildings, to back-street eateries, humble locals and then the Western blings.

12. If that local hairdresser is opened past midnight... it's not a hairdresser. Fortunately, I didn't learn it the hard way.

13. Couches are sometimes more softer and comfortable to sleep on than beds.

14. Shanxi road is still the place to shop and Fuxing park is still where it's happening past midnight.

15. They have a Sephora here! Although the selection of brands is quite lame.

16. 'New' music here is about 12 months out of date.

17. Tip: Map out the good toilets before you go out.

18. Yahoo web page either loads really slowly or doesn't load at all. If you need to check your Yahoo email. Type mail.yahoo.com instead.

Notes on Hong Kong

2009-02-03T19:14:00.002+11:00

1. The mango desserts here are off the hook. I know they've been frozen, defrosted, then frozen and defrosted again... But they're so good!

2. I thought Causeway Bay was the happening place, until I came across Kowloon. The streets off Nathan road were a shopping haven.

3. Beware of false advertising. 24 hour wifi is only true if you activate the card at 00:00am. HK$198 to dye your hair really means HK$400. The list goes on but this is not a nag post so I'll leave it at that.

4. Hotness levels of girls and guys were a disappointment. Putting on mascara and a bit of eye-shadow is an over-statement. Unlike Taipei where an hour beauty routine still wasn't sufficient.

5. The only street food I encountered wasn't even food. It was toy that looked, felt and smelt like a bread bun.

6. Jogging in a small park where people do tai chi means the park patroller will give you the slow-it-down-there look. My outdoor jogging only lasted for one morning before I used the gym facilities at Eaton Hotel. Fitness level up by 0.5%. Horray!

7. Every small shop had a picture of the owner with someone famous. That back alley noodle place with plastic stools? Yup, Nicholas Tse has been there.

8. If I had a dollar for every time I saw Fook's jewellery or Sasa, I'd actually be able to afford my own franchise.

9. No graffiti culture here. Just mosaic art in absurd, dark corners.

10. No one cares that you're a foreigner. No slack is cut for being slow at finding coins, slow at communicating and slow in moving because you don't know where you are.

11. Central may look like the happening place on Sundays or public holidays... But on a closer inspection made me realise that the sea of people were housekeepers who hung out in groups.

12. I didn't truly appreciate the tall buildings until I went to The Peak. The view was stunning and captured the Hong Kong cityscape quite nicely.

Notes on Taipei

2009-01-30T01:08:00.002+11:00

1. Ironically, Taipei only sank in when I left for HK. Maybe because I was sick when I arrived in Taipei and everything really was just a blur to me.

2. The street food definitely lived up to its hype. The cheapness made it even better. If I wasn't eating, I was drinking bubble cup.

3. Hot chicks to hot guys ratio would be 30:1.

4. Girls aimed to look like Jolin, guys tried to look like Jay Chou. I've never seen so many peeps wear hip hop influenced clothing. After a while, everyone sort of looked the same.

5. Most people can dance, which made my grandpa moves and my two step very mundane and out-of-date.

6. People break dance at memorials, subways, pavements, parks... Well, pretty much anywhere where authorities won't tell you off.

7. Carrying $1000 notes made me feel rich and poor at the same time.

8. You can't really bargain much at markets... or maybe I just failed miserably.

9. Two words - fake eyelashes.

10. No 80s rock music here, just 24/7 RnB songs blasting from shops.

16 things

2009-01-17T14:08:00.003+11:00

Ok Makka, this one's for you. I don't usually do these things. But hey, there's a first time for everything.

"Rules: Once you’ve been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 16 random things, facts, habits or goals about you. At the end choose 16 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, its because I want to know more about you."

16 things you might or might not know about me:

1. I hate carrots, but hearing someone munching on one brings about this strange craving for them.

2. I have incomplete collections of stamps, coins, Odd Bodz and Disney swap cards.

3. The only feature on a camera I care about is the macro setting.

4. I have drawings of semi-naked women behind my bedroom door (artistic of course), along with postcards from around the world.

5. My CD collection is mostly music from the 60s, 80s and early 90s. Forget the 70s.

6. I like jogging when it's completely dark and lip syncing to songs with obscure lyrics. For example "Little Yellow Spider" - Devendra Banhart.

7. I've kept a journal since 1997.

8. I'm a closet hypocondriac.

9. A song by Smashing Pumpkins can sum up my mood at any given moment. Right now, it's Cupid de Locke. The song For Martha would be played at my eulogy (knock on wood for now).

10. I love packing but hate unpacking.

11. I get high on stationery.

12. Traveling is the number killer of my savings account.

13. My fair share of pets - turtle, sparrow, lady bugs, ant farm, butcher boys (slaters) and an injured seagull.

14. I have a double jointed thumb and elbows.

15. I love the smell of diluted chlorine and would chrome to it at swimming pools (not in a devo way).

16. As a girl, I'd like to think I'm a bag and shoe person... but I'm really not. I'd choose gadgets over them any day.

New year, new post

2009-01-01T15:06:00.004+11:00

Like everyone else who's flinging the comment, "I can't believe it's 2009 already", I'm also puzzled to where 2008 has went. My mood right now could only be explained by the tune of Maple Leaf Rag by Scott Joplin: quirky, whimsical, optimistic and jaunty.

Also like everyone else, I just wanted to post something today for the sake that it's 1st Jan 2009. My highlights for yesterday? Plenty:

- Chilling out at Peninsula Hot Springs. Sure, the grotto was nothing like the one at Playboy mansion, but it was nice and much, much cleaner.

- Getting changed at Clayton in full view of oncoming traffic. I was in my swimwear, but guess it would've looked like public indecency from afar.

- Drawing a crowd with our lightsaber performance at Fed Square. Makes Kanye's Glow in the Dark concert look like kids play.

- Seeing myself on the big screen at Fed Square and coming to terms that I might just be a tad vain.

- Yelling out "Happy new year" to anyone who approached me, although it was only 10pm.

- Referring to old men in hats as Benjamin Buttons.

In preparation for more nuisance tonight (something to do with Uno and booze), I've had three rashes of bacon and a light jog in the rain.

My 2009 resolutions? None. Just bring it on - the good, the bad and the very ugly.

RJDJ iPhone app review

2008-12-15T19:00:00.003+11:00

When I heard RJDJ is like a mind-altering drug through your ears, I knew that $3.99 was a small price to pay to give it a shot.

My final verdict? Definitely trippy and amusing at the same time.

I'm not going to go through the technical jargon of RJDJ, because you can read about it here. But I will highlight the shenanigans I've had with it so far:

1. Walking through the city with RJDJ on made me feel like I was starring in my own movie (if the tune to your life includes more drum/bass and echoes).

2. I've never been more enthusiastic to use the keyboard at work.

3. Tapping anything has become more productive as I'm actually making music from it (from tables and pens to glasses and my peanut butter jar).

4. RJDJ urges me to click my fingers or make subtle vocal sounds without looking too suspicious in public.

5. Everyday chores such as washing the dishes have never been more exciting to listen to.

According to the developers, there will be more 'scenes' to come shortly. Currently my favourite scenes (out of the six) are:

Loopinger: Makes anything you do seem cynical, dark and deviant.
Gridwalker: My bus ride is now something out of those comedy indie films with an indifferent romance twist to it.

Get it now before you forget it! Beats the Uno app any day.

[Image courtesy of RJDJ]

My love of Samsonite

2008-12-14T13:09:00.004+11:00

My life isn't made up of big milestones, but rather small goals that don't make sense at the time, but somehow contribute to the bigger picture in the long run. For example like my incomprehensible and odd goal to own a piece of Samsonite luggage.

Why? I don't really know. Ever since reading about it in some travel blog back in 2001, I became obsessed with the brand. It's almost like someone becoming attached to a Mac book without knowing the full implications and specs of it (ok, that someone also happens to me, but more about that next time).

Today, I finally achieved this Samsonite goal of mine with the purchase of its 64cm black suitcase. I have faith that it would outlast the rough luggage handlers and my own recklessness. Will be putting it to test in Jan 2009 at six different airport stop-overs.

Case closed for this goal? Nope, next on my Samsonite list is the Dura-lite hardcase carry-on in silver:

[Image courtesy of Amazon.com]

Kanye West and NAS Melbourne concert

2008-12-08T16:27:00.013+11:00

I found the Kanye/NAS concert somewhat disappointing on Kanye's part.

Kanye's over-use of the auto-tune distracted me from his old hits where the synthesizer wasn't used and he didn't sound like a robotic Cher. The dramatic back lights and use of the smoke machine frequently made it hard to see Kanye. I had floor seats and most of the time I just saw a silhouette of what appears to be Kanye. At one point, I didn't even know where he was and had to look at the big screen to figure out that he was tucked at the back, camouflaged under intense red glowing lights. Another time I was staring at who I thought was Kanye, but turned out to be a back up singer with a similar figure, same shades and clothes on.

I really should've seen this coming as the concert was called 'Glow in the Dark', meaning at times I had to strain my eyes to work out what was happening. And just when my pupils have properly dilated and adjusted, there would be a series of epileptic-inducing bright lights flashing before my eyes.

As much as I like Kanye's songs, he's not much of a performer for the crowd on stage. Paying-out the coin-tosser was all fun for the first two minutes, not ten. And there's really no better way to make people zone out than by dragging out a song for 20 minutes whilst playing a video-loop of two naked girls in body paint.

Oh, and don't even get me started on the anti-climax ending. You had people scratching their heads in disbelief or hanging around thinking there would be some kind of encore. There were no 'thanks for coming' speeches by Kanye and I certainly left feeling kind of empty.

NAS on the other hand was awesome. None of this auto-tune business, it was straight rapping into the mic. His band was energetic, especially the guitarist who head banged his way through the whole performance. It was just a shame that most of the people in the audience were teeny-boppers who didn't know who NAS was, or appreciated his lyrical rap:

Some kid: "NAS? Who's NAS? He from NASA?"
Some other kid: "Oh, I like hip hop, but this I don't like."

*sigh*

I was also looking forward to seeing some collaboration between NAS and Kanye, like Jay Z and Memphis Bleek with their Roc tha Block concert back in '06. Disappointed that NAS and Kanye didn't perform their song 'Still Dreaming' together.

Overall, I enjoyed the night and it could've been MUCH worse (think 50 cent or Snoop Dogg's concerts).

My rating for this concert? 7/10...

Kanye West - pretty much had his sunnies on the whole time

Kanye West

Ah great, here comes the smoke machine...

Spot Kanye West. You may need to squint.

Silhouette effect (again): Could've been anyone really.

This part blinded me.

So did this part. But a great photo opportunity nevertheless.
So much for MOPT's rule of no camera/video devices.

Love lock down went on for ages with this lesbian
body paint video loop in the background.

NAS! Now he rocked for the whole performance!

Comparing people to people

2008-12-06T21:59:00.005+11:00

I admit - I do stereotype, generalise and slot people into categories within the first ten minutes I meet them. I also compare them to people who I refer to as 'pillars'. The pillars are people who I know already and have such a strong personality that you can easily slot others into that 'type'.

Here are my top five people pillars:

1. The person who talks up everything. He/she can make licking envelopes sound like some orgasmic experience. Also happens to be some-what of a dilettante.

2. The push-over, who is mostly tired, sick or depressed when you meet him/her.

3. The carefree person who can laugh at him/herself and leaves you in stitches with his/her anecdotes.

4. The super brainiac. The only time you give up in being articulate and just play the funny card to avoid being intellectually ashamed.

5. The tough on the outside, but so many problems on the inside type.

How not to use Twitter

2008-11-05T20:07:00.008+11:00

Twitter is a micro blogging tool that people use to vent their mundane tasks, thoughts and ideas. It's great and I use it very often since getting my iPhone (the application Twinkle also helps).

My bunch of followers are going strong but not many of them entice me to follower them back. No, I'm not a harsh critic, but here are my top ten reasons why there's no spark between me and your tweets:

1. You only tweet about the great moments of your life
I'll follow you for - three weeks

It's true, everyone's more attracted to other people's misfortunes. If you constantly tweet about your lovely hair, that awesome new tech gadget you purchased or how adorable your pets/kids are, I probably won't be as interested. Give me something that will make my humdrum life seem much better. Did you fall down the stairs? Got yelled out by your boss? Spilt jam all over your chest? Then tweet it.

2. Your tweets are just links to your blog/website
I'll follow you for - three days

I'm all for self-advertising - Have I told you about the great perfume website Bottled up Emotions?
But when all your tweets begin with "Hey, check out my updated ________" or "Woot, you'd love this article I've just written", that's when you've crossed the line of being a clever marketer, to a cheesy salesperson. If I wanted to get updates on your blog/website, I would've RSSed it.

3. Constant one-liners of your mental blanks
I'll follow you for - two weeks

I really do enjoy reading the boring, everyday stuff you get up to, but I don't need to be reminded of your frequent mental blanks. I'm talking about the over use of ellipses, sounds you make in your head and comments that sound more like questions. For example "Hmmm... ummm... so.... lunch already...", "Waiting for the bus... maybe I should get the train..." or "Sooooo.... anyone else bored...."

4. Public sleazy comments aren't turning anyone on
I'll follow you for - up until the time you make the sleazy comment

This one's pretty straight forward. If you have to ask, then you're probably doing it and you just need to stop.

5. Your forget Twitter is a public space
I'll follow you for - one week

Some things are best left private. Only you need to know what you did in the bathroom, your smooth bedroom moves and what you puked up the night before. Just a bit of class to your tweets won't hurt.

6. Your 20 replies a minute are, well, boring
I'll follow you for - two weeks

Replying to something mundane with another mundane comment only makes other people tune out. Ask yourself this, are your hundreds of @replies contributing or just distracting? Here's an example:

Yiiee says "Oh great, found a hair in my burger at Maccas"
XXX says "@Yiiee I also hate it when my burger's cold"

Replying by stating the obvious or simply to deter some attention to yourself just won't cut it.

7. You rarely update
I'll follow you for - two days

Before I follow you, I'll go through your previous tweets. If you're only making a comment once a week about the weather or how your weekend was, then maybe Twitter isn't for you. Try a real blog instead.

8. You rant about your previous rants
I'll follow you for - two weeks

When you rant on and on about processed soup, you know it's time to stop and move on to another topic. Although I do prefer rants to how wonderful your life is, try to keep them under controlled.

9. You've confused Twitter with Flickr
I'll follow you for - one week

I'm a sucker for opening images on Twitter and I've been very disappointed to find pics of people's feet, ceilings, close up shots of unidentified objects and just motion blurs. I'm surprised at the amount of people on Twitter who just constantly post up lame photos that have nothing to do with their posts. If you're eating something yummy, take a photo of the food, not the glass of water.

10. I don't understand your net speak
I'll follow you for - two days

Maybe I'm not with it, but I really have problems reading posts like "u pPL maKIn' mi lauF ROFL. <[o_O]> " Stick with the good ol' spelling and grammar and keep the emoticons to basic smiley and frowny faces.

If you're interested, you can follow me at Twitter - twitter.com/yiiee

Dads and mid-life crisis

2008-10-27T21:55:00.002+11:00

I use to think the concept of a mid-life crisis was all a myth, hyped up by Hollywood movies and those late night tv ads that seem to go on forever. And mid-life crisis seem to always occur with men.

Is it really true that when a man hits that sweet old age, he tries to prove his existence through bourgeois spending on useless shiny things?

After countless testimonials and observations of my own dad, the answer is a big fat yes.

My dad started with TVs. Bigger, flatter, lighter, higher def, quality sound, picture within picture within picture... He added a BlueRay system with surround sound, only to realise BlueRay DVDs are still very limited and do not extend to Chinese titles.

Once he had conquered the TV outweighing the resident ratio, he moved on to golf. The equipment he has in the back yard and office, you'd think he's Greg Norman.

Then he tried to be all "with it" as if he worked for Google and knew ALL the trends. I have to say, some his trends are pretty 1998:

- downloading music and listening to tunes on his "powerful" 1G no-name MP3 player
- reads online newspapers and thinks millions of other people don't know about theage.com.au
- attaching photos to emails
- chatting with his other hip friends overseas via MSN (last time I checked, he had five friends, and that's including my 18 year old cousin)

Kudos dad.

I just really hope this phase fades away quickly, like the time he collected fine china, wines and even spoons.

Christmas already?

2008-10-22T14:35:00.002+11:00

Christmas cards and decorations are already out in many stores. So I guess it's never too early to start a Christmas shopping list.

What I find difficult is getting the cheap stocking stuffers for people you don't really know, but feel obligated to give a present to. SO, I'm putting together a Christmas gift idea special - cheap gifts for under $20. If you have any suggestions, post them in the comments section. Remember, the keyword is 'simple'. If you have in mind a gizmo which you can't even operate, then forget it. But if you have a nifty, mundane but useful item, post away! The cheaper, the better.

Image of rampage

2008-10-14T11:55:00.004+11:00

Hmm... Is it the eyes or the teeth that make this guy freakish looking?
As seen on this Age online article.

10 iPhone free app reviews

2008-10-14T09:57:00.009+11:00

After late nights of searching through hundreds of useless apps, here are my reviews on the good and the great apps. Best thing is, they're all free. Be sure to also check out iPhone free apps wrap top 10

1. Trapster
Using the GPS feature, it will let you know any surrounding police cars, speed and red-light cameras. The only down-side is that it requires the help of others to submit those information. Nevertheless, good concept that has a growing member presence in Australia.

2. Threads
If you love the t-shirt website, then you'd love this application. Browse through the artwork of selected tshirt and have the ability to purchase the design or set it as your background. Just wish new designs are released every day, rather than every Monday (US time, so Tuesday morning Australian time).

3. Fitnio
Calculates the distance and speed of your jog or bike ride. Also lets you know the calories you've burnt off. The information can also be accessed on their website with a free login account. Now I just need to know how to strap the chunky iPhone on myself when I go for a jog.

4. SnapTell
Similar concept as Shazam and Midomi. SnapTell allows you to search through Amazon.com for books, CDs and DVDs by snapping a photo of the cover. Great if you're in the store and wish to search for reviews. Downside is that it's quite slow, especially running on the 3G network.

5. Webcam
Nothing dirty, just live streaming of a few scenic and traffic cameras across the globe. My favourite has to be Times Square, NYC - seeing the hustle bustle of the streets and people going in and coming out of TGI. Another one would be Eiffel Tower (select the 'huge' one). Does get a bit boring and slow to load at times.

6. WritingPad
This is an old one, but a great one. Write without lifting your finger. A bit awkward at the start, but once you're use to it, it's faster than tapping the keys on screen. Note: you would definitely need to be good at touch typing to get the most out of this app. Currently works on sending out emails, not SMS.

7. AquaForest (free for a limited time only)
Hard to explain this one. If you like mini-games that might keep you amused for a week, then this is the application to download. You get to use different 'elements' to solve various mini scenarios or simply to play around with the elements and see what you can come up with. I created this big blob with bits of sticks stuck to it using this goo, before torching it with fire. Amused yet?

8. Space Monkey (free for a limited time only)
A game with good graphics and sound. Haven't played it much but I can see how you can get hooked. Grab various items with with your feet and hands to get points.

9. Showtimes
Definitely for the movie-goers. Handy to have when you wish to find a near-by movie theatre, or what's showing where. I wouldn't rely on the reviews as they're very generous. 5 stars for Tropic Thunder? Pffft. The latest release of Showtimes is integrated with Rotton Tomatoes, but can't seem to get that working (or it's super, super slow).

10. SB2 Lite
Bouncing ball and a paddle. A classic arcade favourite.

Not happy with ANZ merchant service

2008-10-07T18:26:00.004+11:00

After signing up to ANZ's merchant service this year, I thought I had a great deal.

1. No cancellation fee
2. No monthly minimum service fee

Nine months on and that warm fuzzy feeling has been punched and deflated. I'm now mad as.

In May, they introduced a cancellation fee of $250, nearly four times greater than the fee I paid to sign up to the service.

Kept my cool until now.

Recently, they've introduced a minimum monthly service fee of $29. Apparently I was suppose to have received a letter in July that explained this change, which became effective last month.

The question now is whether to ride this out or to pay the lump sum and just back out...

And it gets worse

2008-10-06T18:30:00.003+11:00

Last week I mentioned how crap the Talent2 system is.

Well, I looked into it this week and now my annual personal leave has dropped from an all-time high of 1.041 days to 0 days.

Talent2, you are officially useless.

Ziggs: Online vanity 2.0

2008-10-01T10:11:00.004+10:00

Ziggs is originally designed for you to create an online brand of yourself. You can network with fellow Ziggs members and upload your fancy resume and exaggerated achievements. I had a quick read of Ziggs' blog and the words used are kind of cheesy. Think of it as the Tony Robbins of online social networking - "owning your name online gives your brand more power"... righteo.

As much as Ziggs projects itself as an online tool for stamping out the traditional means of finding a job, I think there are a lot of people out there using it for the vanity factor.

Forget googling your name and seeing what mundane posts appear, Ziggs allows you to take a sneak peak at who's been googling you. Now the average person can determine his/her online popularity (or lack of) once and for all. Great for the Davids, Johns and Sarahs, but not so great if your name's misspelled after some mythical beast.

You can track who's been googling you and even create alerts. Potential employer digging up dirt on you? Creepy ex stalking you online? Want to see if that crush of yours is also madly googling you too? Yup, that all can be done through Ziggs.

NOTE: Ziggs with an 's', because zigg.com belongs to a bald man named Matt Behrens. Now, there's nothing socially networking cool about that.

Looks like I won't be taking sickies

2008-09-29T19:23:00.003+10:00

That's a screenshot of a self-serve leave program at work. The above shows that I would only be able to take 1 day of sick leave in a year, as oppose to 10 days.

I've brought this up with HR, along with the fact that I can't even submit my leave. It's been 7 emails and 6 weeks and nothing seem to have changed.

If this is a tactic to stop newbies from taking sickies, then kudos.

This GREAT program is brought to you buy Talent2.

iPhone free apps wrap top 10

2008-09-28T14:02:00.009+10:00

Here are my selections for new iPhone free apps I've downloaded. Tested for coolness, boredom buster factor, usefulness and functionality.

1. Klick
Probably the best Flickr integrated app I've used. I had Exposure before, which lacked options such as the obvious uploading photos function. 10 seconds on Klick made me delete Exposure straight after.

2. Metro
Finally, something Melbourne orientated. If you catch the train, then this is a must. I, however, get the bus, so its usefulness is some-what depleted.

3. Scavenge
I really liked PhotoSwap, so it's obvious that I would like this app. It allows you to submit photos under different categories. You can vote for photos by clicking on a thumbs up or thumbs down icon. You can also submit new categories, but it takes a while for Administrators to approve them. Just to name a few current categories- body art; graffiti, penguins, money, your favourite food.. etc.

4. Style.com
If you like fashion, then this is a must download. For the boys out there, if you're not into fashion but enjoy looking at models, then you might like to also give this one a go.

5. Fuzzle
One of those connect five of the same coloured balls type game. Pretty good for a free game as it doesn't just limit to one level.

6. Gyminee (website)
This isn't an application, but rather a website which is iPhone friendly. Gyminee keeps track of what you eat throughout the day and calculates your daily intake such as calories, protein, fat etc. All the other similar iPhone apps to this are around $8-$13. TIP - create an icon of this on your iPhone desktop.

7. Scramboni
Scramble words and compete with other online players. Note: there are 20 rounds in a 'game', so you might need to set aside 15-20 minutes to complete a full game.

Yet to try out:
8. AirSharing (was free, now $8.99)
I got this because a month back it WAS free. I'm too lazy to sync it up with my computer...

9. MProfs
Gives you mini articles on Marketing. Haven't utilised it as much as I have enough reading from my RSS feeds (using NetNewsWire).

10. Jamd
Gossips and dirty tabloid news. Again, have enough reading to get through so haven't given this app a fair go yet.

Twitter - follow me

2008-09-28T13:09:00.003+10:00

I didn't care much for Twitter. Micro-blogging? Pfft.

That was until I got the iPhone and I was hooked on updating meaningless, minute and insignificant thoughts, tasks and events. If you're interested in those updates, follow me here.

I wish more people I know jumped on the Twitter bandwagon. It's huge everywhere else except for Australia.

iPhone 2.1 update agony

2008-09-16T22:13:00.003+10:00

Another iPhone post, but this time, it's on the agony and mental hardship of updating my iPhone.

Since the new release of 2.1, it's taken me close to 3 hours and counting to update my iPhone. Upgrading iTunes took 30 minutes, downloading 2.1 update took about 90 minutes and actually installing it is taking me.. well, you do the math.

The first three attempts were a failure with a lame-o error message keep popping up.

My fourth attempt, a bit better... although it's been over 25 minutes and my iPhone is nowhere near even 50% backed up. Well, no error message in sight so that's a good thing.

As I sit here and complain in agony, I'm sure millions of others are doing the same.

It's gonna be a looooooooooooong night. :/

Not to bore you with Spore, but...

2008-09-09T13:18:00.004+10:00

When I heard that the creators of The Sims were releasing a game called Spore, I knew I had to get my hands on it.

To my surprise, they have released a Spore version on iPhone, available to download for AU$12.99. I'm VERY tempted to download it, although the cons currently outweighing the pros:

1. I don't have time to play it.
2. I'm down to my last $30 until payday next Monday.
3. Maybe I should wait for Sim City or The Sims to come out on iPhone.

I'll have to think about that one during my next four hours of induction training.

August top keyword search

2008-09-09T10:17:00.001+10:00

The best keyword search that landed on my blog in August was:

"ugly people become bitter"

Something for you to ponder on....

On the topics of snacks...

2008-09-06T21:00:00.003+10:00

The name intrigued me and scared me off at the same time. What constitutes a naughty bean curd?

Cartoon snacks that look like Tobz

2008-09-06T20:52:00.002+10:00

iPhone PhotoSwap application - thumbs UP

2008-09-01T18:50:00.004+10:00

iPhone apps don't usually knock me off my chair... not even the popular Shazam. But PhotoSwap on the other hand has provided me with non-stop entertainment from bus stop to destination.

What is PhotoSwap? In a nutshell, you take a pic and it gets sent to someone totally random and then you receive a pic from someone equally as random. You can be anonymous, or give away a one-liner about yourself... to having your location pin-pointed. You can also reply to the photo and that's when the fun begins.

Amongst the boring photos of feet, curtains, blurred colours and blanket covers, you do get the good ones that urge you to reply with a better pic, or you might try to get a convo started with just pictures.

The best "convo" I've had was with someone in Japan and the theme was food. I would take a photo of boring Extra mint gum, and receive back some cool nectarine flavoured Pokky-like snack.

The bad points would be that you can't save the pics you take and/or receive. And there's no way of contacting the person on the other end with a message (I guess that could be seen as a positive thing...)

I wonder how long this novelty would last for before I get bored again?

Kaspersky.. what the...

2008-08-26T18:31:00.003+10:00

I've set my Kaspersky security level to medium and now it blocks virtually anything and everything. Sure, it does a good job from blocking "dangerous" sites and the usual adult content (even in search engines). But blocking Wikipedia? I think that's going too far.

Ralph Lauren Olympic USA uniform rocks

2008-08-16T11:55:00.008+10:00

The controversial "big" pony logo aside, I give my thumbs up for USA's Beijing Olympic uniform designed by Ralph Lauren. It was a classic, chic look that made the roughest looking athletes look some-what professional and stylish. Comments were thrown about the USA team looking like stiff snobs. Well, I don't think there would've been as much swooning over the shot of Kobe Bryant if he wore his usual trackies.

USA Basketball Team

Kobe Bryant

USA Olympians

(Photos courtesy of Ralph Lauren press releases)

Speaking of trackies, I wasn't too impressed of what Australia came up with. Designed by the less well known brand, Sportscraft. The uniform was stripped of our proud colours - green and gold. The spray paint effect of metallic silver and blue was a bit tacky. The whole outfit was like an homage to John Howard's jogging days but with an astronaut twist.

Australian Olympians

The female Australian Olympians

John Howard's jogging uniform. Just as "stylish"

(Photos courtesy of SMH online)

Good grief

2008-08-07T20:22:00.003+10:00

Emma and I got stressed shopping at David Jones yesterday. Picture this.

Two girls, 15 minutes to closing time, trying to pick out an item we don't need to the value of at least $19.95. Then trying to pick out a sample pack which included the things we wanted (coral pink nail polish and Toni & Guy conditioner... not shampoo, but conditioner).

Long story short, we left empty ended, stressed and depressed.

Good grief indeed.

Ippei and P. Diddy

2008-08-04T18:42:00.002+10:00

My good friend Ippei reminds of P. Diddy (if he was Japanese). NO ONE belives me, and hopefully this near photo resemblance will make you skeptics go, "Ohhh, I see where you're coming from".

Yay? Nay?

Transition what?

2008-08-04T13:15:00.002+10:00

I'm leaving my current role to pursue something a block away. Hopefully this new role doesn't require me to squander the firm's money on $2.20 per click via AFR online. Nor do I ever want to hear the words "media reporting".

This is my last week and what a perfect week it will be. Managers are in some ego building conference up in Sydney until Thursday and I'm here fighting fatigue with a bag of Suga lollies. Sweet indeed.

However, it has dawned on me that I should work on a transition document. You know, for the fellow predecessor (if there ever would be one). I can do it two ways:

1. List what I do and provide limited, minimum information; or
2. Pour my heart out into a document with lots of screen shots.

I'm still tossing between the two options. It pretty much comes down to how much I liked working for the company (6/10), multiplied by how much respect I have for the current managers (2/10), multiplied again by 100 to get the percentage.

12% chance I'll be pouring my heart out? Sounds just about right to me.

Keep me in check- UPDATE

2008-08-03T14:00:00.002+10:00

Exciting news. I've just been accepted for the Materials Designer role at Rural China Education Foundation (RCEF). Whahoo! :D

I'm probably more over-whelmed in hearing this news than getting actual employment, haha.

Keep me in check

2008-07-29T20:20:00.004+10:00

I'm usually quiet about my goals for fear of not achieving them and feeling like a public failure. However, I'm going to let this goal be out in the open so you, and you, and also you, can keep me in check. Well, here goes-

My goal is to build a school for rural children in China and run it.

I've had this goal for ages and after speaking to Darren who gave me the "just do it" line, somehow that sparked me to do some research, which is a start I guess.

After some Googling, I have a few options. I know that by donating $250,000 RMB is enough to build a school. But I want to conribute more. I want to run and manage the school. No, I'm not doing it for the golden plaque with my name on it, for all I know you could call it "Knock Your Socks School". I don't have that amount of cash just sitting under my bed, so I'm starting small.

I came across this site- Rural China Education Foundation (RCEF). Which has stood out to me more than any other charities so far. I've applied for the Promotions Materials Designer role which is something I'm ace at and would also help me learn the ropes of what goes on internally in a not-for-profit organisation. Fingers cross that I'll get it!

What's next? Well, thinking about setting up a sub-fund within the next 3-5 years. Initial start up isn't huge and would allow me to gain exposure on fund raising and be more involved with a charity.

And my 10 year goal? Have enough money and experience to open that mighty fine Knock Your Socks School. :)

Image courtesy of RCEF.

Hands up

2008-07-28T18:23:00.001+10:00

Looks like "hands" were popular stock photo choices for blogs in The Age today.

Naturally Misleading

2008-07-25T16:31:00.007+10:00

Don't mean to rant, but I hate it when "natural" products claim they don't use chemicals when they actually do. Or make a substance oh-so-bad, when it's actually not.

Take Genki products for example. At the end of their brochure, they state:

"Free from harsh chemicals that can potentially irritate the skin; such as... propylene glycol..."

Well, propylene glycol might sound like a nasty name but it's quite harmless. How harmless? It's sometimes used in ice creams. It's a natural compound and a lot of people confuse it with dipropylene glycol, which is found in the toxic anti-freezing agent. Eat that, and you'd die of poisoning... which is why it's not used in ice creams. :p Thus, there's all this crazy talk about how propylene glycol is SO bad for you because of uneducated guesses.

Back to the Genki statement: "Free from harsh chemicals". WELL, if Genki considers propylene glycol to be "harsh", then there's a reason why they've somehow left out the ingredient polysorbate 20 from their chemicals list. Say what?

Genki has a product line called bath oil. Catch line: "This luxurious bath oil will disperse in the water without leaving a greasy residue on the bath. " No natural ingredient's going to do that and that's where polysorbate 20 comes in, which helps to disperse oil in water and not leave that slippery, greasy residue.

Ok. Done ranting. Back to work.

Psychoanalysis- take a guess

2008-07-23T22:34:00.002+10:00

What do you see in this pic?
A bear? Student and blackboard? Space travel?
Freud would probably say two objects fornicating.
I would like to say it's a pic of an imbecile.

Why I won't be seeing Love Guru

2008-07-11T20:31:00.005+10:00

Besides the point that the plot is awfully bad and there's really no character development. Here's another reason...

Mike Myers in the Love Guru reminds of the Japanese cult leader Shoko Asahara. The whole beard, hair, eyebrows and also the element of wacky religion. Anyone else notice this?

If you can't market the main character without it looking like some terrorist... then it's definitely a movie not worth seeing.

Feel free to correct me wrong.

Where stationeries go to die

2008-07-09T15:24:00.001+10:00

I currently love the shelf tucked away in the back corner at most Officeworks stores. No one ever adventures there because the lights seem to be half lit and it’s obvious that the visual merchandiser just neglected the corner. However, when I see fluoro price tags and a whole heap of what looks like stationeries, I’m there.

In my latest trip, I picked up a perfectly fine Filofax compendium for $2. This made a great addition to my three other compendiums still waiting to be used… which I will… one day.

If you look around my room, you will literally see an organised mess of stationeries. Storage boxes with smaller boxes inside them. Folders within folders within folders. Five different cutting tools that essentially do the same thing… cut. Well, you get the point.

If the shelf at Officeworks is where stationeries go to die, then my room is a shrine for them all.

Bags are not passengers

2008-07-06T13:58:00.003+10:00

Leave bags on your lap or under your seat when you're traveling on public transport. Can't? Consider carrying less things, getting a smaller bag, or drive instead.

A job by any other name...

2008-07-02T16:05:00.002+10:00

As much as you love a job, I reckon there's an expiry date of when that passion just fizzles out. That expiry date is calculated by x factors, such as the people you work with, the number of mundane tasks consuming your responsibilities and the useless exercise of performance reviews.

For those not in the know, I'm back on the job market. The job market is a lot similar to the "I'm single and available" market. Similarities:

1. potential boyfriend = potential employer
2. flirting = selling yourself on your resume
3. dates = interviews
4. waiting by the phone = waiting by the phone

It's a journey of heart aches, anticipations, tears and joys. Whoopee-doo. :)

Vote for my tshirt

2008-06-15T20:43:00.002+10:00

If seeing an underdog win a competition brings a big smile to your face, then you need to vote for me at the Madeit Blog.

Click for my design "Bottled up Emotions" on the poll at the right hand side and click vote. It would only take you 10 seconds and I will be really, REALLY grateful. :)

A brief background about my tshirt can be found on the site or here. It was my first time sewing and the tshirt turned out pretty nifty (according to me anyway...)

Ok... go vote now.

Sneak preview of new products

2008-06-12T22:54:00.004+10:00

I've never been this busy since starting my business. I'm rolling out a new range of products, and incorporating a different concept than to what I have currently. Instead of getting customers to purchase a "pack", I'm allowing them the option to only just order one bottle.

Aromatherapy: Brain Juice

Aromatherapy: Some Good Lovin
Perfume
Perfume

It's late, I'm sick and I've just cut myself with a stencil knife.

Nope, those factors didn't stop me from doing last minute preparations with this store I'm seeing tomorrow. Wish me luck! :)

HP hand ads amuse me

2008-06-10T21:06:00.006+10:00

It all started with me seeing the Vera Wang HP ad on tv for the first time. The track motion effect fueled me to find more of HP's ads on YouTube. And before you know it, I'm hooked!

Vera Wang

Jay Z

Pharrell

Jerry Seinfeld

I love Melbourne, despite the kooky weather

2008-06-09T20:02:00.002+10:00

As much as I hate the four seasons in a day type weather, I can't get enough of Melbourne. From the dark alley ways, to the twinkling city lights.

That's Melbourne Australia, for those from Florida or Canada.

pics by me this time :)

MadeIt Tshirt Comp

2008-05-31T23:05:00.004+10:00

Here's the tshirt I submitted for the MadeIt competition. It had to be something that started with the letter 'M', so I chose 'mannequin', a nifty thing to have if you're a clothes designer.

My inspiration comes from my love of Japanese fabrics and also Western vintage items. The outcome is a juxtaposition piece that seems to fit nicely together.

I sourced a Japanese fabric that had bright colours so it can stand out against the black tshirt colour. The fabric has a grainy cloth texture and beautiful hand printed images. I looked into the finer details for the Western side, stitching on a vintage button and lace. I made sure the embellishments had a tint of gold to make the yellow colours on the fabrics really stand out.

It was my first time working with textiles as my specialty really lies with fragrances and aromatherapy. Nevertheless, I had heaps of fun doing it!

See through or satin?

2008-05-29T10:58:00.003+10:00

Talking about boxes here. Deciding between see through pillow boxes or satin white for my business.

Gosh, I'm making it sound like the hardest decision of my life.

If I only had the initial capital investment and a lot of guts, I'd be so aiming to be the next Aesop (but not so black, white and brown and a lot more affordable). I'm staring at a pic of Aesop's warehouse and amazed how they can make brown square boxes look so enticing (no sarcasm here). Starting to think maybe I should revive my danty brown square boxes hidden under a 1kg roll of bubble wrap.

Note to newbies starting a business- Test packaging needs initially in very low quantities. Get away from those wholesale warehouses. Instead of buying a huge box of shredded paper, try Office Works instead.

Image courtesy of James Town Container

Little Crab Designs

2008-05-26T10:41:00.003+10:00

My love for stationery continues as I stumble on Little Crab Designs, which features cute notepads, gift tags, labels and business cards that can be fully customised. All handmade and designed.

I love the Blossom Luxe Gift tags. Set of 10 for only $3! And the colourful circular labels are irresistable.

When did old people become so bitter?

2008-05-22T16:40:00.000+10:00

2 hours ago, an elderly man whacked me across the chest as I approached an ATM. No, it didn't hurt and probably was more freaky than dangerous.

It's not the first time I had one those Attack-of-the-80-year-old-man/woman. In fact, 50% of old people I meet aged over 70 have something against someone a quarter of their own age... or something intangible like the weather and how things are so expensive these days.

I just hope in 50 years' time, I won't become "one of those" eldery retirees.

Ironic or moronic?

2008-05-12T22:16:00.003+10:00

A pet peeve of mine is seeing someone with a good SLR camera and taking horrible photos with it. Unfocused, graining, blurry, white balance totally off, too much flash, not enough flash. You name it, that person would've taken it.

I'm not against the amateur photographers who are still finding their feet. Heck, I've taken lots of bad photos with just my digital camera. I'm just against the type of person who buys the SLR camera out of a whim for the notion of feeling like a better photographer, without having any sort of learning curve. The type who is clueless with Photoshop and would only use one type of shutter speed.

I'm just venting probably because I want to get a SLR camera.... :(

Care Package from Truth.Be.Told

2008-05-07T19:08:00.004+10:00

Received an awesome care package from Jess at Truth.Be.Told through MadeIt. Love the handmade cards and stationeries she makes! Will also upload her stuff as a news item at Bottled up Emotions. Click the images below to ENLARGE (they look better enlarged... trust me... go on...)

Surfers Century, Dim wits (Pt 2)

2008-05-07T18:59:00.002+10:00

You saw my ramble on Surfers Century in my previous post, so I won't explode into verbal abuse again.

WELL. Post Office finally gave up on the collection fee and happily returned my camera USB cable.

Victory for me?

No.

Turned out the people at Surfers Century sent me the wrong USB cable. It's like they just randomly picked out a cable from their lost items box. Might as well have sent me something useful like a block of wood.

Good one again Surfers Century. When will you EVER learn?

Ugly expensive things

2008-05-05T18:29:00.006+10:00

Went to Lincraft the other week and found these hideous belt buckles. What's outrageous is the price. $79.99 for a piece of ugly ceramic? I don't think so.

This has to be more pathetic than David Jones selling a small tub of Greek salad for $15.

Rather tame

2008-04-17T19:26:00.005+10:00

I once thought my illustrations of Yoshitomo Nara's "Scary Children" collection was disturbing to have in my room. That's until my friend Diana sent me a pic of the vintage doll she has in her room. Detachable body parts? She wins hands down.

Makes my pics look rather tame and cute (no need to bag my drawing skills, they were done in year 9... Although I probably haven't improved).

Oh, it's one of those learning curves

2008-04-14T18:51:00.005+10:00

I had a customer who asked lots of questions, which I was happy to help out with. The emails went back and forth for three weeks before the customer finally placed an order.

Two weeks later, payment hasn't been received and my emails are left unanswered.

As much as I would like to punch the crap out of someone, I'm taking this as a learning curve.

Somehow, it doesn't make me that feel much better :(

Addicted to Haigh's Strawberry Block

2008-04-06T16:17:00.002+10:00

Creamy white chocolate with good chucks of real strawberry.

It's overtly sweet and unhealthy... but so, so good.

Friend Emma introduced me to this a while back and I tend to have a binge session with it at least once every two months.

Surfers Century, what a joke.

2008-03-31T19:20:00.009+11:00

In a nutshell - Stayed at Surfers Century 7 weeks ago. Lost my camera USB cable. Called up, they wanted a "cost on delivery" arrangement. That basically means I need to foot the cost, instead of them paying a feeble $1.

5 weeks later, the damn cable still hasn't arrived. I decided to purchase it on Ebay instead. $7 including delivery, top notch deal.

6 weeks later, this postage slip arrives in my mail box. Oh, it's that cable they were going to send me yonkers ago. To frustrate me even further, they have someone else's name down in the "To" field. Which, by principal, I won't even be able to pick it up from the post office.

And the icing on the cake? I would have to pay $10 - $75 when I go pick it up. Pfft.. yeah right.

To the owners running Surfers Century, don't you know anything about customer service? Not only are the photos on your website misleading and your service during my stay pitiful, but I'm also starting to think you're doing a dodgy on Trip Advisor. Unless it was only me who got the bad end of the deal.

Just my two cents. Below are some photo comparisons for those skeptical. Click on pic to enlarge.

I said no to Nigerians

2008-03-24T20:42:00.002+11:00

A dodgy Nigerian tried to make a fraudulent purchase on my website. $450 worth of purchase to address "askjdfkljls street, Oxford"? I don't think so.

After a quick refund to the credit card and a minor panic attack, I've heightened the security to my website even further by banning access to all Nigeria and Ghana IP addresses.

Now, banned IPs will see this note upon hitting enter. HA.

Me: 3
Dodgy Nigerians: 0

Sew what?

2008-03-18T19:06:00.005+11:00

I made my monthly trip to Made in Japan store in the city and as always, I nagged the store owner to hold the Japanese gift wrapping class.

Along with buying more Japanese handmade paper to add to my ever growing collection, I purchased a traditional Japanese hand printed cloth. It was too cute to resist!

After coming home with the cloth, I was stumped on what exactly to do with it. For the past few nights, I've been cutting out the characters and figuring if I can sew them onto a hobo t-shirt or some slack pants. I've even contemplated on making cards with them.

*sigh*

Well, if anyone's interested or has a better idea, message me.

Danger level... Null, really.

2008-03-14T14:45:00.004+11:00

I found an unwrapped lolly in a packet of wrapped lollies.

I'm contemplating whether if it's safe to eat it or not. It's been two hours and I'm still contemplating. I'm thinking of giving it to Toby but thought that might be tight. Meh, boys will eat anything.

This is what happens when you don't have much work to do on a Friday arvo.

I read now

2008-03-05T14:10:00.001+11:00

I stopped reading novels about the same time when Encarta disappeared and buying CD singles was no longer popular. I was in year 8 that time and discovered the joy of reading trash mags instead. My vocab deteriorated and phrases such as "you know..." and "yeah, but like" became more frequent in my conversations.

Nothing persuaded me to get back into reading. Not even Harry Potter, Da Vinci Code or Oprah's recommended book list.

To cut a long meaningless story short, I've hopped on the reading bandwagon once again thanks to the book Freakonomics and The New Yorker online.

I'm currently reading Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely. Although I'm not even half way through the first chapter, I'm loving it already! Although it's found in the psychology section of most book stores, don't let that intimidate you. It's actually very easy to read, funny and REALLY interesting. I would know as I hate books with tiny fonts and complicated scholarly words.

Corporate Plans are waste of time

2008-02-21T22:49:00.003+11:00

The so called two day Marketing Planning event has made me waste away 16 hours. As oh-so-Boston-Consulting jargons flew around the room, I rolled my eyes. There has never been so much bullshit being thrown around the room since Marketing 101 class discussions by fresh out of high school juniors.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for planning and drawing up silly diagrams to demonstrate a fuzzy idea only inside my head. In fact, I'm probably obsessed with organising as I have diaries within diaries (I'll talk about that another time). But when it comes to corporate strategy plans without any tangible objectives or clarifications of HOW to move forward, any idiot can tell you that it's a stupid exercise that provides false hope and a safety net that will never exist.

For example, one of the objectives is that Marketing should generate more content for the media to gain a better share of media mentions in the market. Well, duh! Again, any idiot can point that out without having 30 years of experience in the industry. What the Manager left out is the 'how' and 'when' and 'who' bits. How can you keep anyone accountable with a generic text book answer?

What really made me scream in my head is when we did the SWOT analysis and the Manager had confusion over "weaknesses" and "threats" and kept interchanging the two. It makes you wonder what 30 years of experience really accumulates to.

Anyways, enough bitching from me. Can't believe I blogged about work and drew a pic to go with it.

Tooth extraction... Might as well punch me for 3 hours

2008-02-01T20:26:00.000+11:00

I had two teeth removed today as the first step in this preventive treatment which I call "not letting my jaw stuff up and cause migraines 20 years from now".

Getting the teeth removed was painless. 20 minutes and $340 later, I'm out on the streets with two gauze balls stuffed in my mouth and the anesthetics made me look like I've been hit with the shingles. Well, at least my hair looked alright.

4 hours and 30 minutes later, I'm sitting here still starving, thirsty and in pain. I've ran out of the gauze swabs so I'm now onto teabags, as suggested by various sources on the internet. I look ridiculous as ever and being hungry only makes me salivate which causes the occasional but very embarrassing dribbling.

I'm not sure what I can eat. Nothing hot, nothing too cold, nothing hard, nothing that involves chewing. Great, that leaves me with room temperature water.

The fact that the extractions were on both sides of my mouth, I'm damned to eat anything in the next 48 hours or possibly the whole week.

Well, fasting for a week never killed anyone... I hope.

Non-work things at work

2008-01-23T16:42:00.000+11:00

Browsing: http://www.lifehacker.com.au/ for interesting articles and http://www.wotif.com/ for accommodation at Gold Coast.

Eating: Skittles Showtime in absurd flavours such as popcorn and jam donut.

Reading: CAE course guide for Jan-Mar 2008.

Talking about: tennis, my common cold, Heath Ledger's tragic death and a day spa aimed for kids in LA.

You call that a computer upgrade?

2008-01-23T16:15:00.000+11:00

Just last weekend our firm "upgraded" the computer system.

I'm not sure why they called it an upgrade as now browsing the internet is twice as slow and images just take forever to show up.

If they think by slowing the servers down means detering slackers like me from surfing the net, oh how wrong they are. Now it takes me twice as long to procrastinate and to satisfy my urge of browsing the net for the sake of browsing.

On the good side of the IT department, I finally got the newer and slicker computer mouse I requested two months ago. Finally our firm catches on with the infrared sensors and moves away from the roller-balls.

New computer mouse. Pic courtesy of gizmologia.com.

2008 Olympic doesn't amuse me

2008-01-16T17:20:00.000+11:00

I like the Olympics and enjoy the international buzz surrounding sporting events I would otherwise never watch.

I like China and enjoy traveling there once every few years. I think it's a country with a rich culture and some of the best food I've ever had.

However, when you combine the two together, that's when I have a slight problem. When a country needs to improve its human rights and environmental issues almost over night and at the same time erecting these extravagant buildings, problems are bound to multiply than to be resolved.

A big issue I have is how citizens can be forced to evacuate from their homes at any time for any reason. Well, the reason is usually for the cigar smoking gents to make more money off expensive apartments or commercial floor space.

This forced evacuation has definitely taken flight in the last decade where we've seen a development and economic boom in China. Ten historical suburban houses can make way for a 50 storey luxury apartment and out in the sticks, a rice paddy can be turned into an exclusive golf course.

I guess this topic really hits a soft spot for me. Recently I learnt that my childhood home is also now some mega apartment building and the corner street that use to be my kindergarten, is now a Marc Jacobs flagship store.

To shed some insight on this issue, I found this mini doco quite interesting. Parts 2 and 3 can be found on YouTube, search "China's Olympic Lies".

I guess the Bei Jing Olympic can truly be enjoyed by the same Chinese residents who enjoy a glass of red wine, cooking with olive oil and finds golf therapeutic.

Best cake in Melbourne?

2008-01-13T14:07:00.002+11:00

I was walking to Cafe Vue and decided to walk through Little Collins street and came across this boutique looking chocolate and cake store called Le Petit Gateaux. For the French-challenged, it translates to The Little Cake. Or a more literal translation, Little Cake for Big Price.

Initially I was taken away by the exquisite decorations of the cakes. Somehow a chocolate cake pimped up with a gold leaf, curled chocolate shavings and sprinkles of hazelnut looks a lot more appetising than the ones you find at Safeway supermarket.

Out of a whim, I got the Cherrysimmo (something like that). It's a layered sponge cake type with cherry jam, lychee sponge cream, rose jam, pistachio and decorated with a rose petal and edible silver paper. The sliver of cake costed $6.50, which I guess 50% of it went into packaging and service (the guy who served me kept calling me 'mam' which made me feel a bit uncomfortable and very old).

So how did it taste? Well, it was divine! Everything just fuse so well together and the sponge would just melt in your mouth. The whole divine experience only lasted five bites which made me wish I had another $6.50 to spend.

Overall, I would definitely go back when I have money to splurge and will try out their chocolates. For now, I'll stick with the everyday cakes at Michel's Bakery.

Why I'm Here

2008-01-13T02:38:00.000+11:00

I had a blog using Msn Space titled Yi's Stuff of Stuff. In the end, the dodgy formatting and the limited photo options led me to join up with Blogger. I miss the Msn Spaces emoticon options but can do without the millisecond lag that comes with typing up a new post.

Hopefully without the frustration, I'd be able to blog more often. :) -old school emoticons will have to do.

html is not fun

2008-01-11T15:23:00.001+11:00

I'll post something decent up when I have all this template shenanigans sorted out.

[Watch this space]