WANT.

Finally ended my last day of work yesterday! It was a pretty bitter-sweet experience – i felt so relieved on that day but at the same time was so sad to leave the people behind, having made quite a few good friends there. Gonna miss the other interns, my team and mentors. But in the end I guess the joy of leaving the job behind (it was getting a little dreary towards the end) overrode the sadness and so my last day at the archi firm turned out to be my be my best day there HAHA. It isn’t every day i get showered with gifts and cards, meal treats and good food, so..yep. 😀 Furthermore, there was an intern I didn’t quite take a liking to and was looking forward so much to getting away from him, but i guess being the last day yesterday, my tolerance was really high and i ended up talking to him a lot, finding out alot more about him and realising that he’s really not as bad as I’ve always thought he was. Pity I didn’t realise that earlier:/ On the contrary, there was another guy intern I actually grew to fancy, but turns out there was someone else he liked and it was mutual for that girl, so i guess it’s good to get away and get him out of my system HAHA. Quite glad he wasnt going to the same university as me, or else i would be pretty distracted lol.

This internship was a really great experience in my opinion, having met quite a handful of awesome people, learnt a lot with regards to architecture and received some really valuable advice from the seniors. I’ll admit though, after hearing so many architects dissuading me from taking up architecture, I’m a little shaken. Might give architecture a second thought since i still have about a year before making the decision.

Speaking of university, I think I’ve already gotten more used to the idea and am more mentally prepared for it compared to a week ago, when I was so afraid I almost decided to take a gap year just to avoid it. Surprisingly, I’m getting quite excited about it hahaha NEXT WEDNESDAY YAY. 😀

Ive been wanting to go shopping for university stuff – clothes, bag, stationery etc and I put together the below on Polyvore what is on my want list currently. Quite in love with tie-front tops, zip-up hoodies and black leather backpacks(:

Summer fashion by aerilt featuring high waisted shorts

Quiksilver / Aztec print shirt, $20 / Black hoody, $19 / High waisted shorts, $92 / Light Blue Tie Front Sleeveless Denim Shirt, $23 / TOMS shoes, $65 / Leather rucksack backpack

Want by aerilt featuring mulberry handbags

Converse trainers, $70 / Mulberry handbag, $1,545 / Marc by Marc Jacobs mini bag / Kate Spade wallet / Marc by Marc Jacobs marc and marc jacob / Ann Demeulemeester Classic Laptop Case / Marc Jacobs daisy perfume / Kiel James Patrick, $70

TOO MANY THINGS I WANT, TOO LITTLE MONEY):

Insta-rama!

Work has been getting more enjoyable these days especially with the company of the fellow interns, and I’m really sad that our internship is coming to an end in about 1+ week’s time. Sigh it always when things are about to end that we start feeling a sense of attachment and begin treasuring time.

University is also starting soon and I was having the jitters so badly the other day that I was seriously considering taking a gap year just to escape school this year. Honestly there’s so much more I wanna do and I won’t have enough time for them once school starts. But I didn’t in the end, cuz I didn’t wanna miss being batchmates with my friends and everyone’s telling me it’s normal to feel that way and that it won’t be so bad once I actually get j to the hang of things. Right now, I’m just hoping/praying for the best:/

On another note, I’ve been hanging out pretty often with the cca gang these couple of months haha I love this second family I have. Without them I wouldn’t have felt much sense of belonging to my junior college. Just spent the best night ever with them night cycling and doing really retarded things(ie things I wouldn’t ever do again) ahh it was a classic YOLO night. It’s 5pm and I just woke up not too long ago hahaha ohh glorious muscle aches.

Gonna end off with recent pics from my Instagram, as usual(:

Just a couple of food photos/typography works and sketches I did/picture I edited to encourage my juniors who were going for their SYF/photos of last night’s adventure.

I also came across this photo the other day and I pretty much fell in love with it haha I wish my future house could look like that!

Instag+wants:

I’m out of topics to blog about for the time being, so I shall just fill this space with photos from my Instag I’ve taken lately(:

Really loving this set of alphabet stamps i bought a few weeks ago from a flea market!

Crazy amazing balloon landscape in the mall where I’m working at.

A tumbler i got my sis for her birthday from Typo. Love that shop.

Lovely food from The Coffee Club where we celebrated sis’ birthday.

Also thought i’d share a few pictures of the items currently on my want list:

-I’m getting a new white iPhone 5 soon(can’t wait!!) and i’m torn between the few covers shown below. SO PRETTY I CAN”T DECIDE.

But seriously, the back of the iPhone5 is so sexy it’ll be such a pity to cover it with a case. Perhaps I’ll risk it and go cover-less, or maybe a translucent pink one?

– The cherry-printed wallet my mum got me for Christmas is getting so filthy and I really love this sweet little brown wallet from Accesorize, but I’m afraid I’d hurt my mum’s feelings if i changed a new wallet so soon after she got it for me)’:

– Visited Typo the other day to get a birthday gift for sis(the tumbler, as shown above) and o.m.g it is shopping heaven for me haha i’d get everything from that shop if i could. Everything’s so pretty! Went to their site and picked out a few i’m eyeing:

In the order above: 1/2/3) I really love their buffalo notebooks – less overrated, prettier colors and more affordable than moleskins, perfect for notes-taking when lessons start. Really hope their current promotion lasts till at least May cuz i’ve no idea what type, how many or how large i will need the notebooks to be. 4) I’m gonna get my mum’s Macbook Air which is mega gorgeous, and i really want to get this equally beautiful brown leather case for it. Hopefully i can find red silicon outer and keyboard covers for it too. Can’t wait till this Macbook is completely mine<3 5) As pretty as fairy lights and i just love love love them really want to spam them all over my room!

Hehe i took leave for 2 weeks from my internship and helped out my friend’s dad at the firm he’s working at. Brainless and tiring job, but so much higher-paying hehe and it is really rewarding to receive my pay in cash daily at the end of my shift HAHA. Gonna get my hands on the stuffs above once i’ve saved enough^^

(School’s starting soon, meh. Half-excited, half-scared.:/)

ROLLER COASTER.

Seriously, its been such a roller coaster period of time ever since the A level results have been released. But it’s good news today, I guess(:

To sum it all up, I was hell-bent on getting into SUTD, loved architecture, got the internship at a famous local archi firm, successfully extended the internship, got satisfactory grades for A levels, was offered a place at SUTD, appealed for their scholarship, got introduced to NTU’s art/design/media course, fell in love with it(much more than architecture), was in a dilema between that and SUTD…until today.

My appeal for SUTD’s scholarship was successful.

Still can’t get my head around it, once again it sounds too good to be true. Yknow, that awful feeling when you finally get what you want, only to have it slip right out of your fingers again?

I went from overjoyed to depressed when i happily called my parents after i got the news while i was at work, expecting them to be as excited as I was, only to get scolded for not discussing my appeal with them before i took action. That feeling was pretty horrible haha it took a lot not to tear up right there in the office. Idk, my mentality was that as long as I got a scholarship that freed them from having to pay for my university tuition fees, that’s all that matters right? Whichever ‘bonus’ that came with the type of scholarship i chose, that’s for myself/my own choice isn’t it? Furthermore it wasn’t as if I kept completely mum about it, i did mention about it but they didnt question further so i assumed there wasnt a need to discuss with them in detail. I chose the overseas exchange programme one and i was awarded the one with an exchange programme to ZJU, china. Of course, i wouldve been alot happier if it was MIT but oh well, i guess I’m already more than satisfied(:

I think what made me the most upset was my mum telling me that my dad was actually a little unhappy that i didnt discuss this with him beforehand, when in fact my dad always seemed to be so happy and proud of me on the surface.

But i guess my parents realized the effect their reactions had on my mood and both texted/called me to let me know they were glad and i did good anyway. Haha idk why i felt even more like crying upon hearing that, but i guess all was good after that(:

I have been praying so hard for answers to guide me out of my dilema, that He will show me the right path i should take from now on, and i guess this couldnt have been a clearer answer. I feel so guilty for all the times when gratitude wasnt the first thing that came to my mind when i received good news. To think of it, I have been so incredibly blessed these few weeks and it’s only by God’s grace that such miracles could happen. It’s still a little hard to believe that I’ve actually been awarded a scholarship…of course, there’s the pressure having to maintain a minimum of GPA 4.0 but i believe I will pull through, when He’s with me(:

Thank You Lord for everything.

Rewards.

It’s 2am and I really am too exhausted to type a coherent post so I shall just let the pictures do the talking.

Basically did some shopping in town today as some form of self-reward for my results and I was quite happy with a few of my buys hehe. Altogether, got an OPI polish(Samoan sands, a nude-ish colour), a couple of plastic ear studs(I’m allergic to metal ones. Oh and did I mention, I got a second piercing on my left ear a few weeks ago? It was pretty impulsive and ofc I got in trouble with the parents haha oops. I really want a tragus/helix piercing actually), a lace/black skater dress, a pair of loafers and a really awesome set of alphabet stamps hehe. Other pictures below include some stationery I bought a while ago, manicure I did for myself using my new OPI and a really cute cat pencil case my mum surprise-gifted me today hehe. Nothing makes me happier than cute stationery!

Sigh okay I am beyond blessed and I really don’t like how I’ve been so ungrateful and angst tonight. My parents don’t deserve that when they love me so much:/ I need to get myself sorted out. But first, sleep. Hope I feel better when I wake tmr xo.

Ps: If someone could tell me the names of the flowers in that lovely bouquet I’d be eternally grateful. I’ve never seen a lovelier bouquet of flowers before omg these might just replace my love for roses and daisies.

New experiences

I’m sorry for the lack of posts recently, it’s because my internship at the architectural firm has started since last monday and the working hours are pretty long, from 9am-630pm. Its pretty hardcore how evreryone there practically OTs every single day, till what time i’m not even sure cuz the latest i’ve left the office was at 7pm and even then, at least 70% of the staff was still there. Nevertheless, it has been a really enriching and fufilling experience the past week despite the long hours and meagre allowance they give.

I’m really quite thankful for this internship especially since I bagged the company that was my first choice, and i’m really quite surprised how much effort my team/mentor puts into making sure I learn as much as I can. Some of the things i’ve done the past week include sitting in for meetings with the consultants, researching on landscape companies, learning to use the basic functions of Microstation, learning about GFAs, code of practice on environmental health, building facades, sales galleries and even getting to build a model on my own. The latter was the most enjoyable, despite my frustration during the measuring and cutting process(I wasted so much materials because of wrong measurements)plus the muscle aches and wounds i got(cutting 2mm thick cardboard with a small penknife is no joke). The photo below is  my completed model which i’m really really proud of hehe. Took almost an entire day to complete! Really hope i get to build other models soooon(:

Aside from that, I also took my Basic Theory Test which i was so worried i would fail because i failed half of the attempts during my trial session. It wasnt as easy to pass as i had imagined, cuz the passing mark was 45/50 instead of the 25 i thought initially. THANK GOD I scored a 49 during the actual test so i received my provisional driving liscence hehe;D Can’t wait to start my driving lessons!

Because of the meagre allowance I got from the internship, I was a little desperate for cash so I took up a one-day job at this Logistics company on Saturday which paid $64 for 8 hours of my labour hahahaha. Worth it la, I would say. It wasnt that tiring, just a little boring because it was pretty repetitive and brainless. Full of awkwardness though:/ If they still needed help next week, i think this awkwardness would be the only thing holding me back haha. I have no idea why I’ve such a fear of awkwardness. Anyway, i discovered the difference between having a job i am passionate about and doing something just for the sake of money – during the entire week of internship, i never once found myself checking the time and even feel a little disappointed when 630pm comes around, yet on Saturday, i was literally counting down the hours to the end of the day and even dozed off a couple of times. I hope my love for this internship/career doesnt ever fade.

I was in a dilema if i should request for an extension of this internship or search for other jobs at the end of these 2 weeks. I’m pretty keen on jobs in the retail/f&b industry, ideally something like working in a bubble tea/ice cream shop or some clothes stall haha. After all if i did take up archi in uni, i’m sure i will have plenty more chances to intern at architectural firms in the future and i thought now would be the perfect time to try all sorts of random jobs. In the end I emailed the person in charge from the arch firm to request for an extension. I hope it would be granted, but if not then i would go ahead with my plan of doing random jobs(:

Lastly, I discovered the wonders of Japanese architecture while surfing the net the other day and I must say I really love the clean, white, elegant, classy designs typical of Japanese architects.

One of my favourites would definitely be Kazuyo Sejima, one of the first successful female architects. Here are some of her beautiful works:

 

Another one would be Sou Fujimoto:

 

Pretty, right?

 

NOMNOMZ.

I finally got access to my mum’s iPad where most of the food photographs I took are stored. This is mainly cuz the camera in the iPad produces much clearer photos compared to my pathetic iTouch camera haha.

So I guess this is just a mass spammage of food photographs dating up to about a month or more ago.

Here goes.

 

Awesome chocolate cake from Chocolate Origin for my 19th birthday(:

 

Pretty awesome ramen from Ippudo Ramen! Finally got my family to try with me after hearing so many reviews on it haha. In my opinion it IS good, but a tad overpriced:/

 

Reunion lunch my dad cooked on CNY eve. Mad love his cooking(:

 

Fusion lunch at my uncle’s on the third day of CNY haha!

 

These are from a Japanese/western restaurant my family decided to try when we were at Plaza Sing haha. Forgot the name of the restaurant though:/ Pretty good food there!

Yepz that’s it for now(:

Sketch-o-Rama

Just a little pictorial update on the sketches I’ve done lately(;
I do them in series/themes so you may see sketches of similar subjects grouped together. Now I’m kinda stuck in a creative rut, ran out of ideas so there might not be any new sketches in a while:/

Had a wonderful weekend. Bible study with Niki yesterday morning, followed by a quick shopping spree at Scape to check out the flea and support her friend, then a jamming/recording session at my house. Darned camera(battery) died while we were filming our last cover dammit. Too bad she had to rush off for dinner, but I guess that means we’ll be meeting up for another session soon:D

Had an advanced birthday celebration with my family and I picked dinner at this Japanese buffet restaurant Kuishin Bo. Rather pricey I would say, but we had our fair share of Alaskan King Crab legs (heaven i swear)and sashimi to make it worth it. Hehe satisfied, happy, and blessed(:

Next week the BCA shadowing programme starts. A little bummed having to wake up early, but still a little glad for having something to occupy me. Not gonna hope very hard to secure the internship. I do want it, but all in God’s will(:

Little joys;

It’s been a pretty good day, i would say. Had an impromptu lunch date with the parents at DTF, then visited mum’s seamstress who had an absolutely adorable chihuahua puppy, before going off for piano lesson. Dad hung around the area and picked me up when i was done, then i spent practically the entire day with him. Really love doing so, idk why. I dont even mind if all he does is go to his nursery and visit job sites; it’s always been such a treat for me since i was little. Perhaps it’s the long, comfortable car rides with good music, and the occasional ice cream treat hehe.

But today was great cuz he brought me to Sentosa just to admire the beautiful(AND EXPENSIVE) houses there. Some of the architecture were great, some were…a total flop-tasteless, tacky, weird. Huge waste of money and space omg. Sometimes you just can’t help wondering what on earth went through the architect’s/buyer’s head when they decided on the design. But as nice as some of them were, i doubt i’ll ever want to own a house like that even if i could afford it, unless I have a really big family in the future. Honestly, i’ll just be contented with a cozy little cottage. Took some photos with my dad’s little Olympus and i’ll just let them do the talking for now. The last few photos of the cottage-like bungalows were really my favorites; i took the others mostly cuz they were either interesting…or weird HAHA.

Spent the entire afternoon there, then dropped by Chinatown so dad could get a couple of CNY decos for the house and his office. Wandered around the area and got quite a few interesting shots. Hmm might consider sending a couple of them for competitions if there’re relevant themes to heritage or archi. Afterall my first winning shot was from Chinatown too(;

Revisited Gardens by the Bay in the evening just to get better shots of the super trees, armed with the cable release and tripod for night shooting. Quite a pity it was pretty cloudy the entire day, but still ended up with a couple of satisfactory shots. Love the pretty lights!

That’s all for today, hehe such a pixel-loaded post! Might head down to Sungei Buloh soon for some nature photography, really hope to catch birds in flight because that’s the most beautiful state they can be in.

ps: on a side note, i realised nothing makes me happier than spanish music HAHA.

Lightened heart.

Pretty contented at this moment(:

(FINALLY) received the long-awaited call from SUTD today regarding early admission+the special scholarship which gave me a heart-attack, seriously and YESSS INTERVIEW NEXT TUE.  God, I really want this so bad i would be totally over the moon if i get in, even without the scholarship. Please just let things go smoothly and not let me be tongue-tied during the interview, to impress the interviewers and say the right things at the right time. And most of all, nerves begone please. I already predict I’m gonna spend every night of the next week thinking about the interview and imagining scenarios and scaring myself awake.

Aside from that, have been working on quite alot of sketches and i really hope i get the chance to show the interviewers my sketchbook(: Quite glad i borrowed the book on drawing animals from the library the other day, ive produced quite a number of feline sketches i’m pretty satisfied with(:

Oh yes, and i bought that lovely typography book i mentioned a few weeks ago and it’s been such a source of inspiration for me. Experimented with some of the layouts and letterforms and drew my favourite quotes in my sketchbook too(:

I’m pretty glad I decided to take a break and not find a job so soon, otherwise i wouldnt have all this time to do such creative exploration and get my right brain running again. Though i do kinda wish I’m more self-funded haha, feeling quite bad for relying on my dad for pocket money. Really do hope i secure that internship at DP/RSP Architects, but even if i dont, a job at the florist’s(i hope my friend has her sources right!) does sound quite lovely too.

Visited Gardens by the Bay with my dad the other day and omgzz it’s such a heaven for nature enthusiasts/photographers seriously! It was almost macro-macro-macro all the way, with all the beautiful flowers around. Enclosed in an air-conditioned greenhouse too, what more could you ask for?:P The roses there were just …<3 Also love the super trees at night! The lights…AHH. Would love to go back there someday with a tripod.

Edited the photos afterwards and experimented with filters using pixlr-o-matic. I’d say some of the turned out really pretty and dream-like, and even had a vintage feel to them. Quite satsified with the photos overall(: just not sure if they are of competition-quality. Ive been searching for photography competitions to enter recently but havent found many. Those existing have themes too obscure for my preference:/

Also, created a Flickr account to share my photos, and now i’m a little regretful for not doing that early otherwise I could’ve included in my application for the interviewers to view too.

Ive been procrastinating about so many things lately and they’ve been accumulating like asdfghj, but finally had the discipline to face them one by one lately hehe. Firstly, got my earphones repaired(thank goodness for warranties) and I had a new set replaced YAY. Secondly, finally finally finally overcame the month-long inertia and went for a jog last weekend and I didnt die as badly as i thought i would, thank God for that HAHA. Hope to keep to my resolutions! And today, finally made a call down to the dentist so i can finally have my teeth cleaned up(ughh, i suspect one tooth decay:/), and also contacted my piano teacher to continue my lessons, so i’m heading there tomorrow! Kinda worried about the last one because i honestly have not been practising much and i’m so afraid I’m gonna have my head bitten off tomorrow cuz the exam’s in March and at the rate i’m going…):

But anyway, HUGE BURDEN OFF MY SHOULDERS YIPEEE. I just hope i havent missed out anything else ive been procrastinating on. Wanna clear them all up asap.

Time for pictures!(: