A weekend of kawaiiness!

The last weekend of my last visit to Dublin, I went over to Christinah's and Andy's new abode in Naas - a huge house, lots of room inside and out, I love the attic despite all the little (spooky) doors around it, haha. Anyway, that was on the Friday. My goddaughter, Erika, decided to do a little cosplay for her most favourite godmother, ahem, ahem! ;D Can you guess the fairytale character? It so does suit her! :D Really cute!

On Sunday, I met up with them again, along with Chris' cousin and friend. It was Chris' birthday so we went to Yamamori Sushi on the quays and then Butlers Chocolate Cafe for a bit of post-dessert.

Who's this? Why, it's Chris' and Andy's son, Aaron! He's becoming cuter everyday, and he's got the funniest little laugh and the most adorable smile - when he's not grumpy, that is, hehe. Finally, more photos from the restaurant!

[my favourite photo]

Quick update!

So last Friday, I flew to Dublin and now it's my second last day here - as the saying goes, time flies when you're having fun! ;D It was hectic, though. On the day I arrived, I went to Clonmel with Stella and Gemma for the weekend - I know, more travelling! O.o We had hair and makeup trials to do for Stella's wedding in March. The trip was fun, but I was wrecked! Back in Dublin, it was still busy, busy, busy - lots of things to do, lots of friends to see! I managed to meet up with all my friends, bar one - I really have to make it up to her, will hopefully meet her in February when I'm back in Dublin again for Stella's hen night - should be fun!!! :D Right, I think I'll stop here - sooo tired!!! I need to catch up on my beauty sleep - NOT, haha! Later! xxx

Reflections: My first post for 2008!

A bit late in the day but who cares! I was reading Meela's first 2008 post - she was listening to Brunei radio, and one thing the DJs talked about was listing 5 things you're grateful for which happened in the previous year. Meela did exactly that, and now I will follow suit. A nice way to start the new year and hope it'll make one more optimistic about the future.

The 5 things I'm grateful for in 2007 are as follows:

1. All 4 members of my immediate family were together for a significant period of time TWICE in 2007!
2. I managed to keep in regular contact with my family and friends, and also made new friends and discovered new relatives, haha.
   
3. I finally completed my Ph.D. in Chemistry (I didn't think it would ever end!) and graduated in November 2007.
4. I learnt a new language (German).
5. I visited a new country (New Zealand).
6. I started drawing again.

Okay, that's more than 5 but I just had to add the last line, hehe. Anyway, I agree that this is a good way to reflect over one's life in general. And even if you don't have many things to be grateful for in 2007, don't let that deter you - you should try to aim for better things to happen in the future instead. I always believed that perseverance is the key! :D

Illustration: Ein gutes neues Jahr!!!

I had a bit of time today, so I decided to do a quick CG illustration for the new year! Thanks to Fifah, I'm more encouraged to do CG works. So with this greeting card, I'd like to wish all my family and friends a happy new year! Lots of love and plenty of best wishes to all!

And with that, I have beaten my October posting record of 14!!! So now I'm off to play some fireworks and then enjoy a midnight celebratory meal (it's laksa, yummy!), courtesy of my mum! ;D I bid you all and the year 2007 adieu!!! [muah]

Will 2008 be a good year?

Or is the more appropriate question "Will I be good this year?", haha! Anyway, this is the usual ritual of making a list of new year's resolutions! Since I've only managed to achieve 43% of 2007's resolutions, some of the ones below may be familiar, hehe. So here goes!

1. Get a job (yes, it seems I'm still on holidays, haha!)
2. Get fit and eat healthily (target weight must be reached by next birthday in July!)
   
3. Brush up on at least one of my known languages (Malay, German, Japanese, French)
   
4. Do more coloured illustrations
5. Draw at least one manga
6. Keep my websites up-to-date and learn CSS
   
7. Keep up with current affairs and history
8. Establish a good work routine (basically, no procrastinating!)
9. Do a part-time art course
10. Save money (be thrifty!)

As you can see, this is almost half of what I listed last year. I've learnt my lesson and accepted that less is good and more achievable, hehe. Let's see how I'll do in the new year. Wish me luck! ;D

Is this for real?!

Well, I was visiting my favourite forum, and lo and behold, there was a post about free rice. So being the curious cat that I am, I decided to check it out! It's a charity website called FreeRice - there's a simple quiz where you are asked the meaning of a word (multiple choice questions, hehe) and for each answer you get right, you receive 10 grains of rice which will be distributed to those in need. Last night, I've managed to get 11000 grains, which from what I can gather from Google search, is about 1/2 pound of long-grain rice. Anyway, how is the rice paid for? Well, everytime a question is asked, there's a new ad at the bottom of the page, so the companies promoted in the ads are the ones who pay for the rice. Of course, I was still a little suspicious, so I checked it out - it was even commended on the BBC website (article)! So if anyone has a little spare time on the web now and again, please spend it on achieving some rice for charity! The link is here! :D