what have you achieved this week?

So I finally moved my butt and all my books, well 98%, are upstairs in the spare kitchen. I've already sorted them into piles: to sell, to give, and to keep. dad refuses that I bring my book by cargo because I'll pay more than their value worth but I will bring them by other means since I am not willing to re-buy my whole collection of books by Margaret Atwood, Haruki Murakami, moomins etc. These costed time and money since most I had to buy online and the moomins series were sheer luck in a store in Mauritius. Online I could not find them. maybe most of my luggage will be books or I could cheat by carrying most of them in my carry-on but it'll be heavy and I need space for spare clothing since I am doing an 8 hours transit in Heathrow..damnit. well I'll find means.

I also started working on journal pages inspired from those made in the course "remains of the day". Unfortunately I don't have enough money now-need to save those pennies to bring to Canada- to take the course so got my inspiration from pages posted online in various blogs. Now I only need to find a way to sew the pages to the cover. It took me quite some fiddling to figure out how to get the pages right but I am happy so far. I'll use it during my airplane trip and transit..when i won't have access to my scrap papers, stamps and paints. I'm definitely planning to sign up for the class once I am settle in Montreal and thanks God the classes are opened until Dec 2010. it makes me want to take my grand ma's old singer machine with me to sew papers..LOL

I also started doing "adult" stuffs like looking at bank accounts, internet access, phones etc. I want a iphone so bad but we'll see because the 3 years contract is not to my advantage esp if I move to Toronto later on unless they're willing to switch my number etc.. Hmm need to note this down and ask the seller later on. I should work on my cv and resume as well so that I don't have to rush once I land. Ah the boring stuffs :/I also need to buy a printer. well it seems taht budget wise there are some hard months coming ahead unless I get a job..

“ There's no scarcity of opportunity to make a living at what you love. There is only a scarcity of resolve to make it happen Dr. Wayne Dyer (born 1940); Author, Speaker

You cannot escape the results of your thoughts. Whatever your present environment may be, you will fall, remain or rise with your thoughts, your vision, your ideal. You will become as small as your controlling desire; as great as your dominant aspiration.James Allen (1864-1912); Writer"

deco tape heaven

I should stay away from etsy.com but look at these gorgeous japanese/masking deco tapes! I'm sure if I go to japan one day I'll ruin myself in buying useless stuffs just because they're soo cute!! These tapes are definitely on my "to buy" list...

sigh..too hot

i think i should stop pigging on snacks late at night because now i've a bitter aftertaste in my mouth. yucky. it's hot and i am bed. After reading
daisy yellow blog, i felt better about my journaling and has been working on it since yesterday. I still need more time to get back to my pencils-drawing though. I applied for my birth certificate copy and need to fetch it on Friday. I swear the heat in the city is enough to stop me from going there! I finally got my tae bo DVDs as well and will start working out tomorrow. I've been lazying around for too long. Trying those new DVDs will give me an excuse to get off the bed/computer chair o.O; As much as I am excited to move to Montreal, I am having second thoughts as well. One thing I am sure is that I don't want to stay here-Mauritius- but at the same time i feel like I will be leaving part of me. It feels even more weird when you come back after years living abroad and see how people have gotten old and that you've missed so many events where you should have been present; it's like growing up missing an arm. There's an embarrassing, "clumsy" feeling that prevails.

At least that was how I felt when I came back from my uni years and saw my parents: suddenly i realized how old they were and how fragile too. Now i wonder in how many years will I see them again? Last time I noticed the deep wrinkles my mother is starting to have around her eyes, the growth spur my brother went through and how estranged we are now from our childhood. It's true that when you see people everyday, you unconsciously take them for granted and there is a call back to reality only when you see them after a long time or something tragic happens. during those 3 years i took many things for granted, I don't have regrets per se; i'm just puzzled and scared that when the regrets will come it'll be too late to mend things up. I should learn to be more spontaneous.. 3 years in Mauritius and I have become overly suspicious and cautious about people and it seems that my past is catching up on me.

I feel frustrated because right now I am struggling to lay down my thoughts on paper/blog.

day 3

since i resigned from my job. have i done anything meaningful (to understand something apart: eat, sleep and the internet) ? nope..i still have to clean up my stuffs, packed my books and so on but all i do is nap in the afternoon, eat and nap again. it seems that the lazy bug has stung me or something. well at least tomorrow i am going to the city to have my birth certificate updated and will call HR for my reference letter. i feel so uninspired for anything and even less to pack up. art wise i am torn between using most of my supplies now until i leave (so that i've less to bring along) and buying more online to be shipped to Canada. I am coveting the Zutter bind it all that's on sale for 69 CND and shipped for cheap. I signed up for an online journalling class which to my utter dismay will start on the 22nd March-I thought I would have access to the archived class so that I'll start messing around now- and in the mean while I am bored.

well i could always work on my suzy blu classes which i started working on but never finished because i am amongst those who're unable to follow a plan. i'll follow the base and then start to get distracted once i master the basics which is baaadddd because practice makes perfect and i'll never get anywhere if i lose interest once i can master the basics of something. this is why i dabble on many stuffs and is a jack of all trade but master of none. i do have plans to take my calligraphy to a higher level though because i love text. jeez i'm bored..i still need to work on a few chunkies but need inspiration. surfing mail art sites is not helping for now since i feel inadequate when i see the creations instead of feeling inspired. i'm even struggling when it comes to journalling. i guess i should concentrate on going with the flow than feel compelled to create something.

Chinese new year

please ignore the person peeping at the window..it's my mom!LOL

The CNY is at our door step: the smell of burned firecrackers, incense, burned josh papers announces the arrival of the year of the tiger: more exactly the metal tiger. i hope this year will be good because the tiger is known to be a strong sign and the chinese horoscopes I am reading foretell of a "vigorous, swinging and hard working year ahead" (gotohoroscope.com). it seems that the keyword to this year is "change and caution" especially for people born under signs less compatible with the tiger sign..lol me amongst them but well..time has proved that i am resilient to change *wink* this is weird and probably my last CNY in the traditional sense since I will be away from my family for an undetermined amount of time. I am not superstitious per se nor religious but sometimes coincidences can be funny especially when reading almanacs from the pagoda.

So this morning we did the religious rites for the house gods, and ancestors. Afterwards josh papers and firecrackers were burned. The Chinese New Year Eve is rather quiet compared to the CNY itself. We had a mini family gathering and tomorrow there will be more people although I am going camping for three days. The morning will be spent wishing everyone happy new year, getting fong pao (the red envelope with lucky money) but first we'll have to shoot off the firecrackers to get rid of evil spirits on that day. Rooms are opened to let go of the old year and the light kept on all night if possible.

It's a tradition in my family that after the firecrackers are off, we go to the pagoda to light the first incenses of the year and pray for a prosperous New Year. I started going only on the second year after my return from Canada because it's hard to wake up at 4 am to go to the temple! Pagodas are usually opened from 1 am on this special day and people will walk in and out until noon. Then we'll have a vegetarian lunch with my ever favourite dish: veg mee foon!! It's rice thread noodles with fungi, mushrooms,lotus flowers, bamboo shoots and eaten with mustard sauce. OMG so yummy!!! I learned how to do it a while ago to be able to cook in in Canada when I was at uni. The evening will be spent with members of the extended family and finish late at night. The CNY is like an asian thanksgiving with family gatherings and respect to the ancestors and gods. we also have more traditions and taboos than western thanks giving.

I am reading that how since this year Valentine Day and CNY fall on the same day, businesses and people alike in Asia are feeling frustrated because they will have to choose between either family gathering or their partner and for the businesses, both celebration bring in big money. If it was me, I think I'll choose the CNY family gathering over the Valentine one, why? Because I don't need Vday to say I love you while CNY is richer in meaning and we to get to have the WHOLE family together which can be difficult on other days (at least in my opinion).

I'm starting to keep a record of my family traditions to be able to go on doing them when I am away. Maybe it's old age or what not but I realized that this is my heritage whether I like it or not and are things I want to share with my kids later on.

on a more arty note, I got my neocolor II crayons!! they're better than watercolour crayons and brighter! woohoo I can't wait to start using them although tomorrow it's the tradition not to use knives and scissors,how am I going to craft?? Hmm on an irrelevant note, I am in love with the UK Lush site and the prices are soo much cheaper than the NA american one!