Gong Xi Gong Xi

It's that time of the year again :) and I tell you, I'm about to break into giggle'y fits any time! It's amazing how this time of year turns me into a slobbering wide-eyed shopaholic kid. Must be the red.

Happy Chinese New Year everyone!

The first ever hamper I've won

I join contests somewhat regularly and I have had won quite a bit of prizes, including the whopper of a trip to LA for the Charlie's Angels II premiere. A few days ago, I received news of having won another contest, albeit the consolation. :) I got myself a hamper worth RM188 full of Pilsbury products, all for buying one cake mix. I'm in sweet-tooth heaven!

CreativeKids studio version 3

The touched up learning studio in mood lighting.



The resource centre with the new pink castle motif.

Kids say the darnest things...

Overheard in CreativeKids:

7 yr old boy: Boys don't cry, except when they're being scolded by their boss. Then they can cry.

Shamelessly in Celebration

Every year, after Chinese New Year, I promise myself to not be taken in by the commercial pull of the celebrations and spend like crazy on red plastic junk. But every year, come Chinese New Year, I willingly enter myself into credit card hell to deck my house shamelessly red with lanterns hanging everywhere. I have at last count 30+ lanterns in varying sizes to fit in a tiny single storey home. But oh, I so love it!

This year, I've went a tad overboard with peach curtains laced with bamboo motifs, striped yellow table cloths, bright orange table runner, more lanterns, dingly dangly stuff, and a whole bunch of plastic cherry blossoms. It's so much fun!

SEGI College, now open!

The past few weeks have been hectic, the past few days have been tumultuous but finally, things have settled enough and our doors are now open! I have to say, after being in dank and dingy Summit the past 2 years, a new building is really refreshing, even with the 'work in progress' status.

Here are some snapshots of the Faculty of Creative Arts and Design :)



Our Theatre.



One of two gallerias.



The performing arts studio.

I like new things. :)

New Year... again?

It's 2006 and it almost felt like yesterday that 2005 came into the picture. With the new year though come fresh expectations and renewed vigour... a strange affliction we all seem to have considering nothing has changed except our calendars. And on the topic of calendars, I really miss my old ones. Getting a new calendar is like going on a first date... there's some chemistry but you just don't know what to expect. Especially when you're like me and you scribble all over the calendar making it highly indispensable!

I had my first Digitalia themed CreativeKids class yesterday and it was not too bad. Kids were all hyped up and I foresee a good 4-5 months of on-time homework before the hype sizzles out. It's good fun though and we're having a photo-shoot next week so I can hang their potraits up on the wall. I also have been getting a steady stream of calls from parents out of USJ2 so it's a good sign. Maybe next year CreativeKids can go fulltime :)



College is a hive of busy'ness... moving campus is more complicated than expected. It's a great big mess but it should be over by this week. And Meng has joined the team so it's nice having friends on board. Will take photos of the actual campus and post them once things have settled down.

To everyone, all the best this new year and may dreams and ambitions be in closer reach!

From The Star:

LONG QUEUE: Hundreds of Mykad applicants forming a beeline as they wait their turn at the National Registration Department in Jalan Sultan on Thursday.

I just cannot figure out these people. You miss a three year grace period... then you are willing to queue from 5am for literally hours just to save some RM20... then you hurl abuses at the people working for being too slow. It's just embarrasing...

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Insurance

An old friend called out of the blue, needless to say, there's a hidden agenda. He has decided to venture into the ill-perceived world of insurance selling and needs me to help meet his sales goals for the month.

I know there are many insurance agents out there and many claim to have your interests in mind but I think it's such a false illusion. I would be so happy to meet an agent that can just say that this is their job, their interests are financial, and all they want to do is explain the product to you and leave you to decide. The hard sell is not as bad as phrases such as,

"As your friend, you can trust me."

"I want to help you."

"I'm only doing this for you, since you're my friend."

Come on. Just be real and say it as it is. Maybe there should be a life insurance showroom, where all the products are stacked up and compared side by side, like cars. But I suspect, the oligopolistic nature of the insurance companies work to prevent this. As it is, agents can only commit to one company. Where is the impartiality, given how difficult it is to get detailed product information without having to go through a smooth talking agent oozing all the niceties of a Care Bear.

I honestly feel sad that people use friendship as a leverage for self benefit. Even worse is that I buy into it. My friend will likely get his sale and as much as I don't like it, at the end of the day, I do need insurance. Darn the irony.

Visit to Kuching

I was in Kuching for the first time the last 3 days attending a convention on Applied and Creative Arts organised by UNIMAS. Overall, it was quite an enjoyable trip, meeting new people from the academic side of design and basking in the history and culture of the city.



Overall, UNIMAS has an interesting array of programs with a diverse academic body. We were even treated to a fashion show by the Department of Textile and Fashion. Although I stereotypically enjoyed the papers by the foreign academics a little more, it was a good convention all in all and hope to be able to attend more in the future. Learned quite a bit and hope to put it to use in the college.



Kuching is quite laidback city and although highly colourful at night, leaves much to be desired in terms of activity. Being quite spread out, although in a manageable area, the city seems to be in a perpetual lull. No one here seems rushed, even the service staff of the hotels and restaurants, and it can be quite disconcerting at times!



The river is in many ways the heart of the city. This is where the tourists and locals gather and it's a wonderful place to walk and relax. The river is beautiful both during the night and day and it's a wonderful sight.



Just by the riverside is a row of shops, mostly selling tourist'y stuff. My colleagues and I spent a good half day here shopping for souvenirs. As usual, I got the decorated and ceremonial Pua Kumbu cloth, bead necklaces for mom and sis, and ethnically decorated batik print shirts.



Food in Sarawak isn't as good as Melaka or Penang. Shown here is the Kolo Mee which tastes to me very much like Indomie. It's very savoury and a tad oily but not too bad. I can't say the same though for the dish below.



This is the Belacan Beehoon that a local colleague was raving over. It's a strange concoction of rice noodles, squid and vegetables in watery liquid topped with belacan and this gelatinous sweet brown glob. My colleague aptly describes it as eating noodles with seawater.



I've also heard lots of SugarBun's dominance in Kuching. I think it's a weird franchise concept and it has obviously not done well in the Peninsular. It's quite thriving here but I have to say, the food, at relatively high prices is just not worth it.



Kuching is a beautiful city, with obvious signs of metropolitan modernity yet holding strong to its deep seated culture and heritage. It's as slow moving as the river in many ways but there's an appeal to the city that's difficult to describe. The whole 3 days there felt home'y... I can never say the same when I visit other places like Penang.



It would be nice to come again and this time, I'll be prepared with loads of empty luggage. Souvenir shopping in Kuching can be very theraupeutic and delightful!

Additions to the family!

After 4 weeks of being deep in their burrows, Mocha's and Caramel's babies finally came out and romped about the backyard. Almost identical in appearance to their parents, these baby Angora rabbits are cute beyond cuteness!

They're still nursing from Mocha so once weaning is complete, the gang will begin their house-training sessions and hopefully, be able to acclimatise to living indoors until they're big enough to go out to the backyard.

Here's introducing the gang:



This is gentle and lovable Biscotti, the adorable, tame baby of the litter.



On the left is Biscotto, and on the right is the big burly Fudge!

These are probably the only baby bunnies I've ever had that was born in a burrow and raised as natural as it could get for rabbits!

Day 3: Surprise!

Day 3 is a little calmer and way lots more fun for Teacher Dan. Only 5 kids turned up but I'm not complaining. Gave me the opportunity to relax a little and joined in the games and the surprise Birthday Party!

A parent called and gave me 30 minute notice to prepare the 'party'. Luckily I have lots of snacks about the house and managed to muster a decent spread for 20. With only 5, and a whole cake, needless to say we had a lot of fun stuffing ourselves silly. :)

After food and birthday song singing, we started a really fun game of Pokemon Master Trainer: The Board Game. Days like this creates such a feel good buzz!

Day 2: Pokemania!

It's Day 2 of 12 of the CreativeKids Games Month and attendance is still high and will likely get higher! I've just about maximised all the chairs I have in the house so looks like some will just have to contend with the floor.

Pokemon Challenge saw a little more guys than gals turning up but that's quite expected. Not as noisy as Day 1 considering the card game required a little more thinking and less shouting! Very fun nevertheless and my once unbeatable deck has been beaten by one guy's tournament quality deck. Apparently, his deck managed a top 10 placing in the country's Pokemon league.

Games Month has been great though in the sense that I've managed to increase recruitment by an estimated 5 kids! 2006 has yet to kick off but classes, including the new ones are already almost full! From 2 kids in May 2004, it's now over 30 in November 2005!

It's BACK!

The Popular Clearance Sale is back in The Summit USJ! Huge bargains, great buys! It's on from now till 11 December. I've already added 55 books to my collection and I now need a new book shelf.

Day 1 of Game Month at CreativeKids

It's the end of year and breaking tradition, CreativeKids is not taking a break but celebrating with a month of games, games and more games! And Day One was over yesterday with Rollercoaster Tycoon the Board Game and Pictionary.

With 18 kids over, all under the ages of 12, it's Kids:1, Daniel:0. I half expected the police to come for disturbing the peace. I seriously owe my neighbours something for their patience. Thank goodness both sides have kids, so they must understand or at least relate to how wild kids can get.

As I'm typing this, I'm reeling slightly from the sonic shockwaves that has left me half deaf, as well as trying to figure out where am I going to muster the energy for Days 2 through 12. If anyone wants to come and help, I will forever be in your gratitude.



It was fun though but gawd... any adult who thinks that they're in control are just misleading themselves.

Digitalia: the dawn of adventure

I am currently preparing a themed learning approach to Creative Writing for 2006 and would like feedback from you guys. Basically, students find themselves in the new world of Digitalia. They will each begin by colonising one plot of land from the world map.

As the year progresses, students will follow lessons that are linked to the world covering topics such as state building, governance, diplomacy, war, ecology, society, culture, symbols of state, festivals, race and more. Through completed lessons, games, and homework, students will earn gold coins that they can use to:

1. Exchange for prizes
2. Build cities
3. Build defenses
4. Build offenses

These are important depending on the student's approach to the game. They can focus on:

1. Development: Build their cities to the rank of a megalopolis of which they will be able to earn a weekly stipend of a goal coin.

2. Defense: Protect their colonies from invasion. Every five colony plots will earn a weekly stipend of a goal coin.

3. Offense: Build their armies to include mythical beasts and to arm themselves with a relic charged with a superpower depending on the land type (plains, mountains, seas). Every colony plot taken over will earn one goal coin but defeat will mean sacrificing the attacking unit.

Basically, students uninterested to pursue this concept will exchange gold coins for prizes. But more adventurous students can expedite their gold coin earnings through strategising. There will be a mechanism for attacking, defending, and building, all designed as incentives for learning participation and involvement.

If this works out well, teaching will suddenly be so much more easier although the initial set up is a little daunting. Will see what the year foretells :) but in the meantime, tell me what you think.

New Management

College group is undergoing some massive restructuring and rebranding, and with the move to the new campus next month, it's been crazy. I have my bosses changed and although the new ones are more approachable, they are also, for a lack of a better word... chinese. With all the extra work and meetings, I've almost had to run home in time for CreativeKids, which incidentally is doing very well. For the first time, most of my classes are almost full! Adding a new one next year :)

Anyways, these new bosses seem to enjoy meetings immensely. I don't know about anyone else but I think that overdrawn meetings are counter productive, especially when they are in the guise of discussion when in actual fact, it's just a venue for the boss to tell you what to do, albeit highly tactfully. If that's not bad enough, my current boss has a tendency to repeat anything he say at least 5 times. He probably thinks that designers can't figure out managerial stuff. This week alone, I've attended 10 meetings, with today alone having FOUR! And with each meeting averaging 2-3 hours, it has been excruciatingly excruciating.

On the plus side, I have come to realise that I enjoy pencil pushing. I am such a bureaucrat...

Happiness is being able to watch TV guilt-free...

After slogging through 16 months of sheer agony, having sacrificed many forms of entertainment and relaxation, it's finally over! I've completed my Masters! Although I've missed my target of a perfect score by 5.4%, I am still very much overjoyed and relieved. Was it worth it? Definitely... will I do it again? Err...

I'm now looking forward to December when CreativeKids will be having a month-long board game fest! And next year will be rocking with 2 new classes bringing the total to 5 in all. It's going to be hectic but fun!

I am such a workaholic...

Now all together... say 'KONICA'!

I've been mulling over getting a digital camera for years, literally. Being a techno-enthusiast, I've always been fascinated by all things digital. And photography is really an enjoyable hobby. Not so much for artsy-fartsy indulgence but to stockpile on memories.

I got my first digital camera when I was doing my industrial training in Seattle. It was called 'CoolCam', a transparent blue plastic camera with the ability to take pictures at 320x240 and record short bursts of 10 seconds of video. At USD20, it was fairly cheap at that time but obviously, with such low resolution and no flash, there were severe deficiencies.

After about a month or so, I got a Samsung Digimax that had a resolution of 640x480 (this at a time when 1.3megapixels was the highest and most expensive), AND it could play MP3 as well as double up as a webcam. At USD100, it was a steal since it was retailing then in Malaysia for about RM1200. This lasted me quite a good deal though pictures were still exclusive to emails and sites. You can barely print a decent photo at 640x480.

Now this was all 4 years ago. Ever since then, I've moved studying to working and the realities of adulthood caught up. Bills, setting up homes, and other costs has always inhibited buying a better digital camera... until now that is! Finally decided to get one, and with the nifty 0% instalment plan available, it's definitely affordable.

And after weeks of contemplating and reading tonnes of reviews, I've settled on the Konica Minolta Dimage Z20 because it's just cool looking :) Placed my order at the shop and now patiently waiting for it to arrive!