Blossomed from there.

These are long overdue, I realise, but better late than never!

This was the birthday card designed for my aunt's friend, with the theme of sakura flowers. There are five messages written inside, like an international card! I hope she'll like it when she gets it.

The idea started with the lovely surface of the tree bark I wanted to achieve. The circular cut-outs were really hard to do. Anyway, the layout blossomed from there. Forgive the pun.

You might be thinking - Can this girl count? There's only four there. Yes, despite my break-up with Maths, I am fully aware of the inconsistent number. I added a German one later on upon request.

And here's the card for Evena! In all honesty, it was hard deciding how I wanted it to be since she has the flair of an aspiring artist. After squeezing as much creative juice as I could, the "wood bark effect" still lingered in my mind.

To the birthday girl (although technically it's way past that), I wish you all the best once again and may your dreams soar higher and higher. I find the quote true to what you do.

In fact, it applies to all the artists inside us. Have a good day.

Next stop: Road Side.

Life is a highway, and we are driving over the speed limit whether we notice it or not. It should be an offence, but no one cares. I'm trying to hit the brakes, but it's impossible to come to a stop.

That's how I feel right now.

Just last week, I have been through a Popiah party, a final paper, an outing after that, shopping with my mum, karaoke and surprise celebration with my college friends, a prom and an hour long ride on the LRT to a birthday party. Things can be fun when your schedule is full.

All of a sudden, there are white blanks on my calendar. In an instant, everything is starting anew. Some people have already gone on to the next chapter of their lives. They have places to go to, new experiences to gain, new syllabus to swallow.

Now what is this? In the next few weeks, a childhood best friend and four cousins will be returning back from abroad, when I can still recall their farewells or their last visit as if it were a month ago.

I'm not ready to think about how fast everything will seem pretty soon. For now, I'll be lazing about at home, helping out where I can and filling up my calender again to get my mind off the rat race.

Now someone just suggested a reunion. Hmm...

"Life is a highway,
and I wanna ride on it all night long..."
~Life is a Highway, by Rascal Flatts~

Aced A-Levels.

Right. Three days before the ball, I sat down after returning from my final day of exam and realised that I wasn't prepared for it. To be fair, others had less than that, so I'm not complaining. That Thursday, we walked into a Vegas-themed ballroom at the Renaissance Hotel (thank goodness no one came too late considering the rain) to live the night in case we don't meet up anytime soon.





The food for the night! They tasted alright although I had no idea what the second dish actually was.









Jennifer brought her scrapbook along, which featured our random days in college, along with witty little comments at the side. This is to forever remind her of the time she got Pei Pei choking, jumped on and off the table, and so on. Sigh... those funny times.

Overall I thought the performances were okay, if only we could get a better view of it. And the highlight was possibly Harith Iskandar's hilarious stand-up comedy, which dwelved upon what makes us so typically Malaysian.

Now here are some of the many photos of that day - which I would say so myself, "How very Malaysian of us!"

I would have liked it if everyone were in here, but none of the guys wanted to be the lone ranger. That's too bad.

Conclusion from this? We've played the aces for A-Levels!!

I Got a Feeling

Well, just when I thought there'll be no more eventful days until the A-Levels ball next month, I got a pleasant surprise. Jennifer told me she wanted to buy accessories, so she convinced me to go to Midvalley. When I asked her who would be joining us, she said, "Just Pei Pei."

Nothing was the matter until certain oddities happened. In the car, Pei Pei asked us the same question. I had a feeling Jennifer was making some hand gestures in the back seat, and on top of that, the calls kept coming in.

Karaoke was on our list of things to do. When we opened the door of our room, familiar voices sang the birthday song. On the table was a cake for Pei Pei and I. She was just as shocked as I was; while she knew the plans all along, she didn't know that it was a double celebration!

I'm a little tired now, so I'll go on another day.

I just have to say a really big thanks to all you guys - for making today wonderful. Really beautiful day.

June Peaks.

Peak One: Birthday

My 19th birthday had been celebrated with a huge dinner and cake, with the biggest thanks to my Ama and 'Ah Yee'. Next year, it would be very different, I suppose.

And I think to myself: There are many things I wish we can just hold onto...

Second Peak: Popiah Party!!

Parties call for lots of food, and here's a table laden with gorgeous food! There were the ingredients to make popiahs: popiah wrapping, vegetables, eggs, Chinese sausages, sweet sauce and chilli sauce, then there were plates of jellies, tarts and fruits.

I enjoy making popiahs. It's pretty simple if I said just stack them on the wrapping and roll it up. My aunts and uncles (who have requested anonymity) claim that it takes 'skill' to roll them up without the fragile outer layer dessimiting to pieces. I find it fun when it does, though. I hope we'll have another Popiah Party one day.

And I miss the past.
Third Peak: Exams - and over it!

We've been having exams for a month, and now our finals are over! Days spent in the library and at the desk; nights struck with anxiety; guilt trips that come from the slightest pleasure - no more for now. I'll definitely miss college. Below is my quantitative summary of college:

I know who to hand my Maths, Chemistry and Economics textbooks and notes to, but the largest pile has yet to be organised. I never realised how large a pile I had for Literature.

I even took out all my colourful tabs from the books.


At the end of it all, delicious desserts to clear my head.

Candles.

They say that birthdays can be celebrated earlier and never later. I don't know the logic in that; perhaps it goes to say that 'be-earlied' sounds better than 'belated'? Anyway, this year, like many years before, it was held before the official day. More on it another time.

Now that I think about it, I realised that for the past few years, I have been 'working' on that special day in my life. Last year I was more concerned about handing out magazines during a ball which we had no part of. The two years prior to that we had intensive marching practice on the fields in preparation for Sports Day (which, at least, paid off).

Funny how this year it would be a heavy paper in an important exam.

Of course, that would be until 3pm. Hopefully after that, while people shed a tear for the King of Pop, I'll celebrate royally like there is no tomorrow! Not that...I have plans yet. Oh well.

Happy Father's Day '10

For someone who lets our dreams soar...

For someone who fixes and fashions the plane that will bring us to the skies...
For someone who would be there if we fall...

For someone who gives us his all.

Happy Father's Day.