Salsa Dance Workout

Great salsa video for beginners (for ladies).

YouTube link: http://youtu.be/lPwD0PNvWmI

Finally solved the Rubik's cube

A couple of years ago, I bought a 3x3 Rubik’s cube. Thinking I could solve it easily but after a few tries, I gave up. Lately while I was clearing away some junks in my drawer, I saw the Rubik’s cube. It was lying at a corner and I swear I could literally hear it said:”solve me, solve me!”

So I decided and was determined to learn how to solve this cube. Where is the best place to gain knowledge without having to pay any fee? Of course it’s the internet.

I searched ‘Rubik’s cube tutorial’ in YouTube and voila, a list of people sharing their videos on solving the cube came up. So I randomly picked out one video by the name of RobH0629 who has step-by-step tutorials to guide me. (He has seven videos altogether, speaks clearly and he is brilliant).

I watched all his videos, replayed them, jolted down notes and worked the cube according to his tutorials. The last couple of videos, he showed us the different sets of algorithm to solve the cube. I knew it has to do with maths!

After many hours (eight, to be exact), I had finally solved the Rubik’s cube. I felt so satisfied and my self esteem boosted up to the next level. I thought I should share this ‘accomplishment’ with my family. But in turn I was asked:”Hmm… Are you very bored? Don’t you have hot dates to go to?”

Well, I will not let those words dampen my spirit. My next challenge would be to memorize the steps and solve the cube again.

Gundam 2011

OH! Open House 2011 @ Marine Parade

I brought along a friend to the OH! Open House 2011 at Marine Parade today. Some very nice HDB flat owners have allowed the artists’ works to be displayed in their flats and not mind groups of strangers going into their houses to view the art pieces.

It was a good day; it did not rain. Otherwise we would definitely be drenched as the flat units are blocks apart, (though still within the neighbourhood) and we did quite a bit of walking.

The first unit we arrived at is on the 17th floor with sea view! I couldn’t help snapping a couple of shots before entering the house.

Comparing to the 2009 OH! @ Niven Road, I feel that there aren’t enough art pieces to view. This could be partly due to that the 3 & 4 rooms HDB units which are rather small. Hence I find that my ‘glass is half full’ after viewing. However, when in the car later, my friend makes a date with me for the Post-Oh! Show! on 29 January (at 48 Niven Road; 29 Jan - 13 Feb 2011), which he spotted on the brochure.

 



"Lift" at the common area.





The view from window
ouside the house.



What are they peeping?



Er... No wonder it's entitled
"Parental Guidance".

  

OH! Open House is Back

For those who’ve missed the art exhibition Open House in 2009, OH! 2011 is back.

OH! 2009 was held in Niven Road where owners of the pre-war shop houses allowed the artists to display their art works in their homes. I enjoyed the house hoping concept to view the artists’ works.

 

OH! 2011, as I was informed will be held in Marine Parade in January. The right and below pictures are works of artists Jes Brinch and Teng Yen Lin that will be displayed then. (There should be more artists but I was only given those pictures).

From my experience in 2009, I would like to share what you should pay a little attention to:

• Do wear shoes that are easy to take on and off. (Foreigners who are new in this country, in our culture we do not wear our shoes into someone’s house).
• Carry an umbrella as there might still be wet days in January.
• We were not allowed to use the houses’ toilets back in 2009 in Niven Road. Hence please do your small/big ‘businesses’ elsewhere before you go there.

So mark your calendar for OH! 2011.

Gundam Fiesta 2010

Realised there's a Gundam Fiesta at a neighbourhood mall. Those toys were amazing; couldn't help take a few shots of the robots. Saw many fans; mostly men and boys buying their favourite robots. A father was carrying his baby and also busying looking at those toys.

Saw some limited edition toys on display. Wonder how much will their prices increase in the near future and is it really money well spent?                                                                           

                                                                                                                 

                  

                                                                                                                                     

                                                                                    

The Making of Teddy, the Bear

A girl friend of mine has recently taught me how to make a teddy bear. I could never have imagined I would be able to do so. Well, after two lessons from her, the making of my first teddy bear has begun to show some progress.

As you can see from the picture, most of the parts were ready, waiting to be stuffed and joined together. However, somehow when I looked at the head, it didn’t look like a bear at all to me. It looked more like a squirrel or a puppy. I began to get worried. I couldn’t go wrong. I could not make a teddy that looks like a puppy, because the materials are very expensive!

I began to speak to the teddy: “I hope you’ll turn out fine”. I sewed with trembling hands, (afraid it might not turn out ok), and often poked my fingers with the sharp needle. I ran out of thread when I was sewing the lips of the bear. I didn’t want to waste time buying for new thread to redo. And hence, the teddy has clef lips.

When I finally finished joining the parts, I was relieved. It looks like a teddy bear but a little grouchy though, (probably due to the clef lips). Nonetheless, I’m quite satisfied. I intend to make another one to improve my skills. Thereafter, I guess I could start receive orders for my ‘teddy business’. But I don’t think I could make a profit cos’ it’s actually cheaper to buy from the ready made market.

For the time being, this teddy is resting on my bed. :)

Memories of the Past

Was going through my cupboard earlier and found some interesting stuff I still keep till now.

I remember this doll! It was the only one time I asked my dad to buy for me. I knew my dad was not earning alot when we were young and I would usually not ask for new toys. But I could not resist that particular one. It came with three dresses, curlers, hair dryer, make-up, etc. I remember I tried to convince my dad it was not that expensive; "Dad, its only $8.15!" (the price tag is still there at the top left hand corner of the box). Oh, I remember I'd hand sewn extra dresses for my doll too. Isn't she adorable?

This piece of drawing was one of my favourite. I had chosen pastel as the medium and had used perspective to project space between the lady and the guy. The outfit on the guy was actually one of the designs of my collection.

Not sure if I could reproduce the same standard now. Drawing needs patience and lots of practice...

This piece of bangle was my exam piece for my jewellery design class. Though it was an elective class, I still spent alot of effort in researching and refining my designs to come up with the final design. And because I had chosen to make a bangle, due to its size and weight, it had actually cost me a bomb in acquiring the right amount of silver to work on.

Don't assume a piece of silver to be shaped like a bar (like a bar of gold). It actually shapes like a piece of rock; irregular shape. Alot of work has to be done to turn a piece of silver into a piece of jewellery. Cutting, flattening, pulling, soldering, filing, etc. are all neccessary procedures of any kind of hand made jewellery (not to mention the amount of sweat too). I had deliberately chosen not to polish it in order to give the bangle a tarnished, rustic look.