Ang Bao Box Adventures

I've been spending some of my spare time on crafting an all new ang bao box for one of my besties who's getting hitched. I've done another one earlier this year for Hooch and feel its kinda addictive for me. It's really an exciting thing to participate in the wedding prep work for someone close to you.

These are the 2 designs I've completed in the year. 

This one lights up from its tiny windows!

Because Love grows..

Are they any good? Would you buy them? Please Poll for Polly!

Would you pay real money for my ang bao boxes?

In the meantime.. I'm wishing there are more sweethearts within my social circle who can quickly tie the knot, so I can have more projects to practise on. Alas, none others.. yet!

♥

Home is a Good Feeling

My humble home, my shabby abode.
I sometimes feel overwhelmed with your cluttered spaces. 
It doesn't deter me from returning to you.
I love you and the neighbourhood which you sit in.
Every family around here seems to purposefully placed.
So comfortably living and making a living.
Enjoying the park and public facilities.
I feel relaxed when I see you.
You hold all my good and bad memories.
I am protected when I live and breathe within you.
It is here that my favourite people congregate at the end of every harsh day,
Every delightful day, and every uneventful day.
In here I rest and recover, grow up and learn to be me.
I am thankful for this home.
My humble home, I will always cherish you.
I wish you will always be here for me.

♥ 

The Defiant Night Guy

Jerry's got THAT right.

The defiant Night guy over here is really exhausted right now, but is refusing to give up on scanning the last 2 pages of Poppadum's crafty posters. Night guy has been Poppadum's secretary over the last 3 days, digitizing all his artwork from hardcopies. 

How does Poppadum churn out these masterpieces at such a super-human pace?
...........Is what Night guy needs to know.

Now there are just 2 sheets to go... And the rebellious dual purpose HP scanner decided to go on strike so Night guy had to go reset it. Night guy is scanning the pages of artwork in high resos and therefore it takes gazillion minutes to do a single scanned sheet.

Night guy is a little cranky right now... Morning guy is SCREWED by Night guy.. Once again.

♥

Doggie-bag It: Passiton.Org.Sg

I think the disposal of something, or indeed anything, is an important consideration. It is a topic that most people neglect. 

Disposal of everyday items that are produced as a by-product of frequent consumption is a real waste of resources. Things like extra plastic bags, plastic drink bottles, disposable food packaging, advertisement leaflets or brochures are just examples of how we produce a lot of waste that, to a large extent, can be avoided. 

Disposal of larger household items is equally bad. In Singapore unwanted household objects are often left at lift lobbies or at the ground floor of high rise apartments. It gets in the way and is unsightly. Although there are proper avenues to dispose household items, people simply cannot be bothered to bring their items to the rubbish dump facilities. This is really a deep-rooted behavioral problem. 

Conscious of the issue of proper disposal, I've been searching for a way to meaningfully dispose of my spare mattress which I've used over the last 10 years because I got myself a new one from Maliland that helps me with my bad back. I thought perhaps I could do donation or I could break it down into parts that could be upcycled, recycled or reused. 

What showed up was an interesting online donation portal known as Pass It On.org.

How-tos:
To donate an item, simply fill out a form with your contact details and pictures with a description of your item. Your item will then be listed on the database of donated objects. Representatives of local registered Voluntary Welfare Organisations can login to the portal and search the database for suitable objects needed by families whom they look after. Where there is a suitable match, the VWO Reps will then contact you to confirm item availability and subsequently arrange for pick-up.

To date I've listed my mattress and a spare table-top fan on the portal, and already managed to rehouse my fan with a new family. My fan is now being put to good use instead of sitting lonesomely in a corner of my storage room collecting dust. My mattress doesn't appear to be popular but I will still keep it listed for a few weeks before I go on to Plan B.

If you guys out there need a meaningful way to de-clutter your living space, do give the portal a go. If your items are still in working and reasonably clean condition, there should be no reason to let them go to waste in the rubbish dump!

And you will also receive a personal thank you note for your kind donation!

♥

Me Need Workstation. Need Bad!

I am, rather frequently, an impulsive animal. I mentioned previously I have a multitude of hobbies. Well I am the Jane-of-All-Trades and Mistress-of-None. I still go back to each one of them from time to time and each of my hobbies have begun vying for space to be present at my makeshift work table so I can pick them up and continue working on them from where I last took off. 

De-clutter, de-clutter, de-cluttttter!

Scene from my make shift work table from my last major project. It's an old mahjong table! Huat ah..

I am wistfully wishing for a new work table. Wouldn't mind this baby from Ikea.

Love the idea that this work station can be closed up to keep out the dust. For craft work however, this table may be a little narrow so I'm still browsing. Still it doesn't resolve the issue of my cluttered-ness. I wonder if there really is a cure?

In the meantime, the mahjong table and my bedroom floor are my best resources. Can you tell I'm bravely defying the thought of procrastinating creative work through the excuse of having no proper work table?

Here's an example of how I am scanning Poppadum's craft work for administrative purposes. He's recently into lettering and borders. Isn't it neat?

♥

Paws-to-Ponder: Living without Regrets

This is the youngest that you would ever be for the rest of your life.

Recently there had been several of my friends and co-workers having new babies. New life is so naturally exciting and full of promises. Congratoos the new mommies and daddies. Special mention going out to Shinn, my fro-worker (friend and co-worker) who's always living life to the max - Little Janie is just so perfect. Well done ol' gal, well done.

And on TV this weekend, I sat through the entire National Day Parade. It was Singapore's 'birthday', or so they call it. Personally I feel it was just a waste of a sh*tload of taxpayers' money in doing the event. Since my teenage years I found the event highly repetitive, cheesy, and really boring. The only part that interests me was the first hour of the show when we see families, young and old, gathered at the stands to watch the parachute performance, and up till the part where the contingents march in. Everything from the inspection procedure and onwards is just crap. Instead of all this, we should just make the 'Parade' into some sort of a 'Remembrance Day', to give thanks to our pioneers. A wholehearted show of respect would be most appropriate. And then save the rest of the money that is spent on setup and costumes, and use it on more meaningful ways.

On TV the nation saw a very old Lee Kuan Yew. I saw a very old man. What exactly went on in his mind when the people in silly costumes sang and dance in front of him? Have people become so frivolous since the last he remembered? This man has devoted his life to the nation. Did he think he did a good job? Does he wish there was more he could have done? Maybe constituted a law to banish those dreadful costumes from National Day celebrations? Hero or zero, I would give him a pat on the back for his effort and wish he could stay around to celebrate Singapore's 50th National Day.

The thing I've noted for myself is that some day I am going to be old like him. What are the things I want to do between now and then? What are the things which I tell myself now that I'm way too old to attempt? There are so many, so I'd better get started. Better now than later. Better now than regret.

If I want to learn a new skill, it better be now.
If I need to keep fit, I'd have to start now.
Because now will soon be 50 years later.

♥

Paws-to-Ponder: Everyday is a New Discovery

A chance to learn, it is today.

A moment to experience, it is now.

An opportunity to improve, it is this one.

A time to appreciate, it is present.

A life of discovery, it is yours.

Life is a beautiful thing.

♥