(so much more to see)

Just making a quick note on things. I found this message from my dad interesting. Probably it's just my sleep-deprived mind going berserk, but anyway...

Dear all,
The idea of family vacation in December has warm reception from all of us. There have been variation in destination preference; Yvonne prefers Bali, Marsha prefers Toba, Papa prefers Lombok, and Mom has not say anything but suggesting that we do not book the vacation until Marsha and Yvonne arrive in Jakarta.

Now please excuse me for having to go back to my work. Take care!

Beautiful

After manic periods on Sudoku, I have been keeping myself occupied by... doing my work. This is the main reason why my blog posts for the past few weeks are [I feel] not of a substantive nature.

Apologies aside, I would like to quote a friend's MSN nickname:
Those who live by the sword... get shot by those who don't...
You don't love a woman because she's beautiful, she is beautiful because you love her.

For the sword quote, I find it quite amusing... it's a twist on an infamous quote by an infamous person ^^ guns are becoming more of a modern sword by day. People in the olden days used to stab each other whenever a nasty brawl broke out; nowadays it boils down into shootings. Ah, the beauty of swordplay is diminished by the brute rashness of gunshots (what a poetic line.)

For the woman quote, I find it perplexing as well as touching. As a side note, I don't think love is conscricted to the genre we see in Titanic and Gone With The Wind, or even to Loving Annabelle (thanks to Mag for making me aware of the last title.) Does that mean a woman has to have love in her life to be beautiful? Does being on the receiving end of a love mean that a particular woman is more beautiful than another, who stands on the giving end of another love?

To wrap it up with, a couple of days ago I stumbled into bits of news on Jessica Mauboy, and consequently watched her performances in Australian Idol on YouTube. On one occasion, she did a rendition of Christina Aguilera's Beautiful... and the rest is history. She's now going to battle it out in Sydney's Opera House this weekend. So now, go watch the video yourself if you're interested ^^

Yesterday I went to have a haircut at a relatively upmarket hairstyling salon. Since I wasn't too keen on spending a lot of money, I came in for a model's night... meaning that my hair would be cut at the mercy of fresh graduates who are just starting to get their hands on real heads and real hair. Pros: get a nice haircut for free, gets my head shampooed and massaged... nice! Cons: it does take some time as graduate hairdressers repeatedly enquired to the supervisor of how they are progressing with their cut, and the blowdrying was a bit harsh on my roots... (oh well, they are learning anyway.) Verdict: given the only expense was tipping the graduate hairdresser who worked on my hair, it was pretty good and I'll be coming back for more on one of those model's nights... at least while I'm still a student. Tee hee hee.


Oh well, I'm off to university... take care :))

To all your friends, you're delirious
So consumed in all your doom
Trying hard to fill the emptiness
The piece is gone left the puzzle undone
That's the way it is

You are beautiful no matter what they say
Words can't bring you down
You are beautiful in every single way
Yes, words can't bring you down
Don't you bring me down today...

(a smiling face)

Got this song, finally. Finally! ^____________________^
(Apparently getting this song puts me in a bliss. Tee hee.)

In case you were wondering why this song puts a wide smile on my face, it's because of a number of things... some of them being my first time hearing the song, a post in this blog and the nearly-a-year wait is over. Thank you :D

Enjoy!

(even better)

I'd like to say "I'm getting better", but *this* also happened because of a sheer amount of luck. Tee hee ^^

The One Thing

Hey hey ^__^

I came across this article on Hubble Telescope while browsing/surfing online. By the article's subject, it is somehow bound to generate a lot of opinions and differences in perspective. Honestly, I love cosmology and the studies of heavenly bodies (as those stars and galaxies are alternatively referred to). Since humans started recording their states of being, there are records of the sky. To cut things short, here are several simple reasons why [I think] heavenly bodies exist:
1. They fuel our desire to advance sciences. Insulating materials and gravity-free pens are pretty commonplace nowadays (although the later is still a bit pricey), and both hailed from supplementary researches into keeping humans alive and working well in space. Why send humans into space? Because, believe it or not, we want to see how far we can physically go.
2. The sight of heavenly bodies is a vitamin for the soul. We anticipate shooting stars and look forward to watching meteor showers and eclipses; I personally love looking at the starry night sky. It makes me go 'wow!'
3. Heavenly bodies exist as they give livelihoods to scientists and astronauts dedicating their lives (and making their living by) studying them. IMO, this is very very important ^^

As for myself... having to live on a budget is definitely fun and creative, if not life-changing.

I'm glad I found out how to grow crystals on rusty wires, but I'm concerned about how to arrange the wires before dipping the whole thing into a bath of calcium sulphate concentrate ^^; Oh well, I am getting the concentrate tomorrow for sure. Sea salt and Epsom salt just don't cut it - they crumble when pressure is applied.

I also find designing pantalon/pants to be more difficult in comparison to designing skirts and dresses - that's probably because I don't wear pants often enough (huh?) Friends and colleagues would certainly sing in unison if asked what Marsha would wear today - it's likely to be a skirt or a dress! Meh... this is something I need to closely work on 9__9;>

Alright, have a good Sunday ^^ take care!

I've questioned significance
Meaning and relevance
Does the work I'm doing really matter at all?
Well I've questioned my friendships
Alliance, dependence
Who will still be here when I fall?

But the one thing I don't question is you
You really love me like you say you do
So hold me, hold me
Hold me
Hold me

Only one thing doesn't change
Only one thing stays the same
All I know at the end of the day is your love remains
Only one thing doesn't change
Only one thing stays the same
All I know at the end of the day is your love remains

(cravings)

Regardless of the amount of time I have spent being educated overseas, my gastronomical appreciations are decidedly Asian.

After the daylight savings time ended, the weather took an impromptu change. Last week temperatures briefly hit below zero at night. Along with the need to keep one's body temperature constant, I started craving for sweet stuff. Getting sugar/glucose hits intermittently is a sure way to increase calories intake without turning diabetic, and as it was rather impossible to double the size of my meals... I opted for desserts instead. Yum yum.

The sweet tooth journey started off with the ubiquitous chocolate-filled pudding and Krispy Kreme doughnuts. Hallowe'en was a day of home-made pastries (filled with cream cheese and Nutella), there were days of sticky toffee pudding and trifle days. I wonder whether any supermarket sells ready-to-microwave sticky date puddings, though.

Winters in my high-school years were filled with warm double chocolate muffins, scones and hot puds from Kerry's tuckshop. Well, a funny thing happened today... I was doing my grocery shopping in a normal supermarket (with no in-store bakery facilities) when a hot dessert-y smell came to air... it was weird enough because the supermarket's next-door neighbour is a pharmacy, and pharmacies don't serve hot desserts! Oh well. I ended up salivating in my head, dreaming about the elusive martabak telur and martabak manis that are in abundance in Jakarta (pictures included.) My favourite haunt is Martabak Rudy on Jalan Angkasa, Kemayoran. I have been paying a visit to the encik martabak on a regular basis since I was a schoolkid, and if you're lucky your martabak will be prepared by none other than the engko, a plump gentleman with the one of the best set of hands to make these delicacies. I wonder why the stall stopped selling kue bantal (pillow-shaped fried cakes), though.

The savoury, duck-egg filled variety commonly found in South Asia.

The sweet variety commonly associated with Peranakan cuisines.

I was also told by one of my work colleagues that *somebody* in Indonesia literally took the pains to search for the best martabak in the country. I wonder where the stall is located, and how much it'd cost. I'd love to eat them ^^

That's the end of my cravings' story. This week is a no-class week, but it is by no means a complete break from studies. I need to make a journey to a place two hours away from London (wherever it may be), and record the journey as well as the destination. Plus, there are museum visits to do too.

One of my favourite study-related things to do, apart from the Photodiary project, is draping. The lessons will start in the coming winter term, but I try to spend some free time playing around with the dummies, getting to know how different fabrics behave. One funny fact I learnt is a piece of lambskin leather normally has an area of between 5 to 8 square feet (8.5 sq ft if you were lucky). That's as huge as a lamb gets... otherwise, you would need to look for cows or some larger animals if you don't want joining stitches across your piece. Hee hee.