Tuesday, April 1, 2025

#Inktober52 2025

 Inktoker52 is a spinoff of Inktober...a WEEKLY prompt is released every Thursday for artists at all mastery levels to response to on top of the daily prompts in the month of October... 


giving this a go this year to reduce the lack of motivation and stress of completing a DAILY drawing for the annual Inktober... i even allocated half a page in all the weekly pages in my planner for this!!!  💪💪💪





我们一刀两段... dont friend you liao... 😂😂😂



我也有想耍帅的欲望... 😎😎😎



reference from photographer Van Duijn's picture perfect moment of a squirrel smelling a yellow daisy before taking a bite of it...  


inspired by this interesting sad news of an angler fish on its 自杀 journey... 😓😓😓



the first Pisces who popped into my head... 



inspiration from the minion movie... 😂😂😂


surprisingly, this was the easiest to draw thus far cos a little off proportion, a missing or an additional part here and there also make no diff that this is a dripping monster.... wahahahaha


one of my bucket list.... to be the human in the cage, watched by free-roaming animals... wahahahaha... 


included the Aquarius in my life... 


the only 'tick tock' that was in my radar this week was on the 'tik tok' ban then an almost immediate revival! 


i luv shrimps (prawns?!?!?)... big, succulent ones that are already peeled for consumptions... gave up trying to draw the noodles & kway tiao... not my level yet... 😓


a tequila sunrise at sunrise - a tai tai lifestyle that i want seh!!! 
 

Beneficial Reading in 2025

after a year of 'forcing' myself to develop a reading habit in 2024, i found out that my reading preference is at two extreme > romance in Chinese and self-help books in English


reading Chinese romance books started way back when i was only 12, a year or two after 蔡妈咪 picked up the habit as i had to tag along her to book stores to rent them so very often... every visit would last at least an hour so might as well make my time and her money worth...


in my peak, usually during the school holidays, i could finish 3 books a day... headache was a norm from long hours of reading and crying over all the misunderstandings and unacquitted love of the characters...my eyes would be so puffy from the crying that i had multi-layer eyelids... 😂😂😂...


i stopped reading them during JC times, after an S-0 told me that they made me form unrealistic expectation of him... and i think i also got busier with school, then with work and definitely with more fun things to occupy my time with...


then Covid hit, confined at home, watched one show after another on Netflix and i was hooked onto a C-drama that was adapted from a "juicy" novel... and the floodgate is open once more... now even more because of the many many online platforms... 就是喜欢谈恋爱的感觉, 甜甜的... 以前是希望发生在自己身上... 现在是接受现实, 享受想象就可以了... 😍😍😍


i think i was only a English reader in primary school... have recollections of reading all, if not most of the books by Roald Dahl and the series of Nancy Drew, Secret Seven, Hardy Boys, Famous Five, Sweet Valley Twins... moved on the Reader Digest in Secondary school and stopped reading altogether when silent reading was no longer mandatory in my life... 😂😂😂... completed the first few books of Harry Potter before it got too dark and sadist and Twilight because of the movies...


Read an English suspense / adventure book hoping that it would ignite my love for reading in English... nah, didnt like it... too adulty for me with the much violence and sexual references... eventually it was books on how to be better at my job and how to better my life that kept me willing to continue reading...


so for this year, i'm gonna continue my love for trashy romance novel in Chinese as nutrients for my heart and self-help books in English as tonic for my brain...


the trashy romance novels that i read / listen to are so trashy that i'm too embarrassed to mention the titles to anyone... hence the title of this post is "Beneficial" reading where i only document the worthy books... 😅😅😅


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(XI) Completed on : 1 Apr 2025

my dog-ther definitely dont think so!!! 😅😅😅

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(X) Completed on : 29 Mar 2025

i think i'm quite safe from those authority scam and love scam cos i dont pick up calls and i dont care about making new friends nor making big money... i just have to be more mindful about my love for cheap bargains... 😅😅😅

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(IX) completed on : 19 Mar 2025 

Don't be drawn to 'potentials', those who need to be healed or reformed... not an investor nor a doctor... 😂😂😂

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(VIII) completed on : 17 Mar 2025 

 a mini just for fun book that sadly has no pic of any of the designs mentioned nor of Xiao Zhan... 😅😅😅 

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(VII) completed on : 2 Mar 2025

simple short story about alien invasion with many many 'ink' sketches; the style of drawing that i like... 



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(VI) completed on : 25 Feb 2025

so familiar... over committing then under delivering and the endless boom & burst cycle... yet it's not a valid reason for dishonourable choices & actions... 

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(V) completed on : 10 Feb 2025

finished in one seating cos it's a comic book about the life of 8 local artists and i was super bored while being confined to my hospital bed... 😅😅😅



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(IV) completed on : 8 Feb 2025

about the author's journey thru grief over the sudden loss of a 青梅竹马 > bf > fiancé... a sharing on her 10 years of escape, depression, 放飞, attempts to seek help, guilt, struggles...


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(III) completed on : 27 Jan 2025

interesting read about the 典故 behind the idioms... 😍😍😍... suitable for kiddos who need to write compos...


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(II) completed on : 6 Jan 2025

started this book on Friday afternoon and received the heart aching news that night... it's as if whoever / whatever here there is prepping me for the terrible news... my viet green bean cake whom was under my form-ship for 4 years has passed on last December... if only... but there's no 'if only' in life after it happens... 早知如此 何必当初...


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(I) completed on : I.II.MMXXV

> happy breathing technique to wake the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex when the amygdala is in control

> notice, comment and celebrate character strengths that lead to achievement and not of achievement itself

> additional printable @ myHappymind


Sunday, March 30, 2025

Giving Thanks in March

31st Mar (Mon)


morning chit & chat over coffee with 蔡妈咪 then brought shuasumi home... 😍😍😍 

thanks 蔡妹妹 for yet another super duper cute glasses holder that i needed for home sweet home after bringing the chickadee one to use in school !!! 


30th Mar (Sun)

a day of much self-pampering from head to toes in JB... 😍😍😍

strawberry shortcake style hair treatment with k-gloss... my hair is now so shiny & glossy & smooth that my hair tie has difficulty staying on... also dont know to be satistfied or disappointed with this end result seh... 😂😂😂


met up with Michelle for manicure @ Nail Fashion, Holiday Plaza, a newly discovered nail parlour after our usual one ignored our booking... =S

great service from the 5 manicurists cum bosses @ Nail Fashion not only on our nails but with our tummies too... recommended and helped to order yummy food & drinks from nearby stalls when Mich asked for Grab food recommendation... 

my nails are chickadee ready for Easter... with nail hardener + 4 nail art @ 140myr (S$43)... worth it!!! 😍😍😍


 enjoyed 1.5 hours traditional thai massage at our favourite Bangkok Spa followed by lok lok @ 大成, next to KSL... 

not worth the hype at all...this was the worst lok lok i had... over fried, over oiled?!?!?!... saving grace was the large variety of sauces which Mich insisted on trying out all of them... 😅😅😅


then finally making our way back home close to midnight (again) while enjoying Hari Raya firework along our journey... 🎇🎇🎇



23rd Mar (Sun)

5 out of 5 stars for Ne Zha 2...👍👍👍... 2 hours 20 minutes of laughter & tears over cute & funny characters & dialogue then lunch with Alvin & Wifey @ Crystal Jade... Happi Term 1 Chua Day ...😍😍😍



22nd Mar (Sat)

courtesy of Mab, Joyce and 3 rounds of game making it 5 rounds within 24 hours... i'm gonna declared that it's no longer my favourite game this March & April liao !!!... 


21st Mar (Fri)


Claire's hatchday meal @ O.bba BBQ & Jjajang, Serangoon Gardens ... 


Claire was so used to ordering for her family of 5 that consisted of 3 men that she went on an ordering spree for 5 of us too... and with the free flow of side dishes, there was really ALOT ALOT of food till we had to tabao food home!!! 


then a super impromptus 2 rounds of our favourite game was executed where Laurice and I won the hatchday girl's money... 😂😂😂


20th Mar (Thur)


the chuas ladies @ 313 for lunch, coffee, bingsu and shopping @ Yutopia & Uniqlo for 蔡妈咪... 😍😍😍


Ong Ong is Honey 妈咪's favourite 'child' seh... 



12th Mar (Wed)


PAL's Pal @ 食尚捞... my first time seeing such a huge variety of hotpot & grill ingredient available for selection on a conveyor belt... so fun!!! i had the $9.90 net set lunch that was super worth it... 😍😍😍



10th Mar (Mon)

just when i gave myself a valid reason (too tired & breatheless from 8 periods of lesson today) to skip today's hamster walk walk, Joyce texted to meet at 7pm for walk walk... 


reward for saying " Yes, Let's Go !!!".... choco and sunblock from her Finland Aurora Trip & Korea Beauty Trip respectively... envy max and kam sa ham ni da... 😍😍😍



8th Mar (Sat)

celebrated Yuan's hatchday @ Kin Kao Mai Authentic Thai Restaurant, Grassroots' Club... 


was 沾沾自喜-ing that i could 'siam' drinking this round since i was still on medication (occasionally)... 哪知道他们来这出 "Candy 输了, birthday girl 喝"... 

就这样, coupled with 一个非常 on form the Ai Ling @ 5-10, 我欠 Yuan 26 mouthfuls of 酒... 😅😅😅... 好愁怎么还, 几时还?!?!?!... next hatchday is mine!!! 完了!!!

food was good... the song so 有年代感 that i wanna bring my mummy there for this year's mother day's dinner... 😂😂😂



7th Mar (Fri)

wanna give thanks to the relief team for giving me such a manageable timetable this week to ease me back to work after my HL... felt really blessed to be surrounded by people who take such good care of me in this way & that way... 😍😍😍



5th Mar (Wed)

90 minutes of 撸串 followed by 45 minutes of 撸猫 @ A.K Zai Lok Lok with mx...  

why do 猫猫 always give me the 别来烦我 look seh?!?! 😅😅😅



4th Mar (Tue) 

blessed to receive these luv from Sylvia, XD, Jeo, Boss & Ai Rin to welcome me back to work... 


Thank you kiddos (& Eunice) for keeping me in your thoughts too while doing appreciation activity during ur FT time... 😍😍😍



3rd Mar (Mon)

lunch @ Wasabi Tei, Far East Plaza with Mich & Claire before attending rubrics & feedback workshop @ Grange Road despite still being on HL, last day though... 😭😭😭

Happy to see fellow starchamp Prisc @ the workshop and congrats once again for finally having a full team after being a 1-woman dept for the last 2 years !!!  



1st Mar (Sat)


of dance, songs, colouring and taking pics with 小黄人 for the residents... 

only 3 of us didnt have other appointment thereafter so Bernice, XP and I followed Victor to Tiong Bahru Market for lunch... 

went in search for the chua's almost once a month Sunday dinner at the old old super dirty & crowded market / food centre at this exact site more than 3.5 decades ago ... 

it was ALWAYS a frustrating dinner because it was so difficult to get parking lot, so difficult to find a table to seat the chua's family with maid & baby/toddler alfred in tow, so difficult to avoid being splitter splatter by the rain / random dripping water from the zinc roof while slurping down the super yummilicious fried pork intestine porridge... 

sadly, the current version was a far cry from the original... disappointing and totally not worth the $8... 


& what a coincidence that today is papa chus's hatchday if he's still around... 


went back to the chuas and was pleasantly intrigued by this pair of chickens 'patok-ing' along our corridor @ level 2??? 


according to the 3As, they have been 'nesting' just outside our gate and roaming the corridor since the night before...