Friday, May 29, 2009

My mom gave me this story

I’ve always got a soft spot for old things. I think I got it from my mother, an ardent collector of antique wares when I was a kid growing up in the 80s. I didn’t understand it then and constantly probed her why she spent so much money on such things, like a Chinese 3-seater that doesn’t have soft cushioning.

The most vivid memory I have was the night she came home with a 6 x 4ft wooden triptych of 15 Chinese fairies lazing around the mountain stream (yes, it's that vivid!). It was decided as the center piece of our living room and I was furious. I couldn’t stand another antique in the living room while my friends’ houses were modern colorful paintings of sea-mountain landscapes. So I confronted her several weeks later and it goes something like this…

ME: Why do you spend so much money on this wood?

MOM: It is worth it.

ME: How?

MOM: Because I come home from a hard day’s work to see something beautiful.

ME: Why is it beautiful?

MOM: Dunno. Just staring at it makes it worthwhile.

I bought that logic. It sounds silly, I know, but it made sense. Ever since that night, I was always staring the that triptych, imaging myself lazing ideally in the mountains. Sometimes, I was one of the fairies, and when I turned 13, I was all of them. Staring had become my favorite past time.

This story has significance in my life and it has formed a series of connection to the traits I have today.

1.I’ve learnt to train my eyes to spot things, be it pretty, odd or ugly. Thus, slowly forming my own judgment to what is good-looking, irregardless of it pretty, odd or ugly to my neighbor’s eyes.

2.Doing so heighten my sensitivity to my surrounding and appreciation for things that are less-liked.

3.No one likes it, I can afford to own it, hence increases the value of my appreciation for it. Knowing that I’ve unique taste also gives me great satisfaction, and along, a new playground for me to ask why so, and breeds new imagination.

4.But I also realize that I can be weak to social pressure. I’ve conformed to pop cultures a lot of times; liking the assurance that everyone is in it. If everyone is in it, it can’t be lonely, right? Wrong. Because my heart was not content with what the mind decides and an on-going mind-fuck begins.

5.By not liking this, we return to Point 1, the fundamental lesson from the conversation with my mother.

The heart knows what the mind doesn’t.


My mom’s antique collection is a metaphor for the series of connections above. They are basic principals to making great or choices, be it love, money, career and even things I chose to represent www.ilovesnackfood.com. Each decision breeds new stories, and behind it, a light of reasoning. This is what matters most for me.

Writing this, I admit I’m afraid for taking 4 months off work, no pay. But most of, I'm tired of getting weird-amused looks when I tell peeps about this sabbatical. I wish I can explain, but I’ll need more wisdom before I do so. For now, my mom didn’t blink an eye, so it’s ok.

KLSE

When the stock market sees red, all the (blogger) analysts shut-up.

Lesson from a freshman trader.

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Rant

I hate it that my identity is connected to work. I can do other things well, you know!

Like digging for dirt and eating crabs.

I have no one to blame but myself. Sigh.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

In China with no mandarin



On google chat:

Keats: Will you do it again?

Me: No prob. even with no mandarin. But if u ask me to plan for Morocco, hailat.

Sukeats: canto? what did u guys speak in then?

Me: we spoke in currency via calculator

Ahhh, money, always a reliable universal language.

Wednesday, May 06, 2009

tsugi no basho wo erabenai

Branding with empathy


I think FedEx Office's marketing tactic nails it right. Simple, relevant and timely to the state of current economy.Formerly known as Kinko's, FedEx Office is now offering free resume printing to job seekers in the US. Customers can print up to 25 black-and-white copies of their resume at any of their 1,600+ stores across the United States.

Targeting the job seekers is a brilliant strategy and I can see this working for the printer brands who wants to reach new customers with their SOHO printers. In tougher times like this, students, job-seekers and people in the creative industries wouldn't mind a helping hand in printing their resumes and portfolios. In return, it is the perfect time for the brand to demonstrate empathy and the quality of their printers for future consideration. Perfect. :=)

Tuesday, May 05, 2009

Betting my savings on the future




Was digging out the Yuans and Bath for China and Thailand and found this cool Japanese Capcom coin. I've never been to any amusement park in Japan, so it must be some crook who passed it on without me realizing. What a pleasant surprise.

Paper Beats Internet


Paper Beats Internet is an “analog” social networking site that uses hand-rendered drawings as communications tools. Users post an initial drawing on the Paper Beats Internet website, and others create comment and response drawings that work off of the first drawing’s theme. Besides being aesthetically pleasing, the time and care that goes into doing a drawing adds a sense of thought, warmth and depth to the usually quick, off-the-cuff world of social media. The project is a collaboration between the New Directions in Pictoral Design class at the Ontario College of Art and Design, and a group of invited collaborators.

Can it sustain over time and take over the world? I doubt, but who knows.

On vintage fashion

Question:
Is vintage fashionable on a 50-year old woman?
My bet is you shouldn't be wearing a 'vintage' that is as old as you!

Boosting my immunity for Silk Road



Typhoid, check.
Hepatitis A, check.
Flu, check.
3 immunization jabs within a month. I'm getting use to the needles already.

Friday, May 01, 2009

Skate Video Battle

How many times does it take to get one stunt right?

I guess this is what the video battle is about. Manipulative Mind is calling for edits submission so that he can compile it into a nice gore video to promote the skating scene. Check out his site for more info. errrr...is skate boarding and roller skates allowed?

7 days to Silk Road

Got new socks. Hope it'll keep my toes warm and happy during the trip.