Lost and Found

Something compelled me to open up blogger and write something random again. It's 2.30am right now (3.30am actually, after I finished), I have to work tomorrow but I can't sleep. Not until I type this out. This time, I want to talk about something I used to like love doing, but I stopped, then I picked up again. It evolved but the essence of it still remains in the evolved form. I'm glad that somehow, I stumbled upon this thing again. And it's called "writing". 

    I am currently reading a self-help book (I can see the face of a 20-year-old me, so shocked by this. Because I used to HATE self-help books. It's common sense. It's something everyone knows. Oh sweet girl. Young and stupid girl. You think you are wise, but you are not. The world will teach you a lesson. Many lessons in fact. Then you will be humbled and admit your defeat. I digress). A book regarding why I am the way I am right now. How one's childhood can shape the adult. Then, a homework came up. I had to think about what I used to like to do when I was a child. One of the thing that came up to my mind is that I really like writing. 

    I used to read a lot of chick flicks when I was a teenager (as one should). All the "little black dress" series and of course Twilight series. We laugh about it right now but you wouldn't believe how people went crazy over a sparkling vampire and a young hunk that can transform into a giant wolf. I'm glad I read those book, cause it made my vocabulary flourished. I emulated the way the author writes and with that, I eventually created my own writing style. And I don't mean I write novels of my own, but I was mostly writing essays for English classes. And (I don't mean to brag but) I always get really high marks and the teacher(s) always praised me for it. I was really happy and was really proud of myself. But don't ask me write one of those today, I can't, for the life of me, write anything as pretty anymore unfortunately. *sad laugh*

    Fast forward to the end of my middle school years, I started to blog. Everyone started to blog. It was "the thing". This writing was different, because now, instead of writing essays of fiction, I'm writing about things happening around me or write something about me. I'm laughing right now because I remembered I was involved in "The Great Blog War: Which Girl is The Victim". We made quite a big scene in the all-girls school that I was in. It's so stupid but those were the times. Well, that episode gave me a few traumas of it's own but we were all tragic children with our own family problems. Nobody is to blame. It's just side effects. 

    Anyway, I stopped blogging after a few years. I blame it on adulting but actually it is thanks to adulting. At some point, I guess we all figured it wasn't actually healthy to put everything online. I'm still trying to limit my social media and how much I share online but it's still all work in progress. I mean, nothing is wrong with posting whatever you want online. It's just, some things are better off not shared publicly because not everybody needs to know and even if they do, it's not guaranteed that others would understand you. I think what I meant to say is, the important factor of deciding about sharing things online, is the objective that you're trying to achieve with it.

    I used to share everything online because I wanted attention from the world. I want people to want to know me. I want people to see me. I want people to talk to me and like me. I realised later on, that these are all very shallow thoughts. The attention from strangers are nice but it's fleeting. There are no emotional connection just surface-level attention. I feel excited and flattered and it filled my ego but I also feel deflated and empty quickly. I always felt a void inside but I didn't know why. After 30 years of living, I think I finally figured out why. Social media is a double-edge sword. People are so woke nowadays but still, I think many things has to be taken with a grain of salt. On that note, I'm glad that I have a few close friends who I can talk to and be open with today. Because they are the people who sees me as I am and know the deeper and real me. I feel more fulfilled with this kind of connection and I'm grateful for the relationships that I have stumbled upon and also worked on. 

    Today, instead of blogging, I have taken up journaling. I have been doing this for a few years, and it's been so therapeutic to me. At first, there wasn't much writing because I wanted to be more aesthetic with my "journals". I struggled honestly, but I still had fun. I get to draw, colour, paint and try new things. Subconsciously, I bought a lot of pens, fountain pens and inks even though I don't write that much. I think eventually whatever I was doing (or buying, hah) led me to the me now. Cause there was another turning point in my life. I started to write more again in the last two months. Like. A LOT. I manage to fill up 64 pages of my travelers notebook insert in less than 2 months. And boy, did i write. I'm going through a phase right now, that's why I turned to writing. It's therapy. I needed it. I needed it so bad. There's just so much going on in my head. I can't believe I did not do this sooner. This is salvation for me. Now, I sound like a mad woman who found her saviour in the form of paper. *snicker* 

    Now. I just want to say something cliché. Everything happens for a reason. Even if you think you've lost something, you will find it back in time. If you really want it. You'll eventually find a way, or it will find a way to you. It can appear in another form and you will welcome the change. Or better, evolve with it. I love writing. I also write letters. I love writing letters. There's something about handwritten letters, like I mean, it feels like a person can actually pour their heart and soul through their fingers, a pen and a paper. It just hits different from a text message you know? 

    Where am I going with this? I have no idea. I just wanted to write, is all. I've been in a blogger hiatus since a few years, and I'm still planning to be. But I might just pop up once in awhile to write these kind of random things here. Just for the heck of it. It seems like people still come to my blog, which I am a bit surprised. I mean I know why they come, because of my free amigurumi patterns that I wrote. Thank you for using them by the way! I'm glad you like my design, I really do. I still do get some nice comments on Ravelry and Instagram for my patterns, and I can't appreciate how kind and nice you people can be. :) 

As a closing, let me share this beautiful quote I saw today on my Instagram feed.


There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.

- Ernest Hemingway

Thoughts in words

 Wow, blogger has changed a lot. I don't even recognised it anymore. I haven't been blogging for awhile. I wonder if people still blogs. I have moved on to journalling at some point but I guess that did not went well too cause I stopped again.. Yes, again. I have tried to start journalling twice. Honestly speaking, it did helped me when I was going through some bad times. And it's a little bit more personal, as I get older, I tend to appreciate privacy. Blogs are not private at all. Well, I could set it to private, but then again, it is on the internet. Somebody can still hack into a private blog and leak all the juicy stuff out. Right, as if I'm typing some top secret informations in here to and tempt a hacker to do that. 

    Why am I here? I don't know. I just felt like typing something. Recently, I felt so compelled to type. Well, XM recently just bought me a nifty keyboard and my fingers are in love. I even got motivated to work more on coding. *laughs*. I am currently not typing on the said keyboard but on our Macbook instead. It's not bad. Well, I just lifted the layer of keyboard protector and it feels so much better now. Ouuhhh.. This keyboard ain't half bad either, I love me a slim keyboard. 

    I think my English is deteriorating. I mean I am not talking in English at home, heck even if I do, I'm not using perfect English grammar. And at work, I don't talk much either. I'm mostly dealing with codes and more technical stuffs so grammar are not really needed. I think my speaking is even worse. Honestly, I feel kinda bad. I used to be able to emulate how an American speak but now, I just sound more like a typical Chinese trying to speak good English. I wonder why, I mean I don't even speak a lot of English back in the days. Maybe it's because I'm rarely watching English shows nowadays. More to anime... So maybe my Japanese is better now? Hah, who am I kidding. 

Hah, I'm having so much fun here. It's like I'm talking to myself by typing all these down. It's so funny, sad and weird at the same time. I guess I'm starting to appreciate loneliness (which is not a bad thing to be honest).

Speaking of which... I think I'm going to get a bit more serious here on out since we're at that topic. I think back in the days of my "youth", I cared more about how people was treating me or getting really envious of people having really good time with their friends. How do I put it? Hmm.. Like a great sadness and envy envelopes me whenever I see somebody posting some photos showing that they are having a jolly good time with their friends. That's because I rarely have somebody who I can do that with (other than my boyfriend). Honestly, I do feel that way SOME times even now. But I don't let it take over my mind like it used to. I grew to accept how things are and learn to appreciate them. Truth to be told, I don't really like hanging out a lot either. That explains why I don't really have much friends to hang out with. I am very picky with the people I choose to hang out with too. It's tiring to socialise ya know. It takes effort to think of something to talk and to please the other person. And it's super rare to be able to find somebody who I can be totally myself and just speak nonsense. 

Speaking of that, I think I have multiple personalities, like I behave differently when I am out with different people. I don't know how to explain it. It's like... my brain just automatically choose to behave in a certain way depending on who I am with. Most of the time, I think I just behave in a way that pleases the other person? And not like.. do something that can cause myself to be on their bad side.. At least I try to. It's so weird. I realised this at some point, but I couldn't stop myself from behaving that way. And some times I felt so embarrassed after I did something out of character then my brain would replay that scene again and again and I just feel really bad in the end (for myself). Some times, I talk like an airhead, but funny thing is, I realised that but I continued on anyway cause I know some people think I'm more approachable or likeable that way. Then some other times, I can be haughty and talk less, when I don't want to get close to the person. It's just weird when I think about it, but what's even weird is, doing it without realising it then AFTER that I began to analyse my own actions. Wow, this is becoming so creepy when I am typing this all down. Maybe it's just instinct to win brownie points with people. 

I wonder how I am in other people's mind. Like how they interpret me. Since I myself felt like I behave differently. But at least I do know how the true me is like. Cause it is very tiring to be "not" me, it's like I am constantly acting when I am around people and it just tires me out. Maybe that's an introvert thing. Therefore, in my recent years, I prefer to be... alone or at home. Where I do not need to think how to act or what to say. I just.... do whatever and say whatever that comes to my mind. Like right now actually, in this random post of mine.

Covid is such a weird time. It sucks being stuck in this small country which is actually also a city. I yearn for my time with nature, but the closest thing I can get here is man-made hiking trails. Hah.. After this is all over, I want to have my time with mother nature. Recently I have been watching this anime about camping in Japan. It's called Yuru Camp. It's a chill anime, I need a chill anime once in awhile. Too much hardcore theme will break my brain. Oh, and about this anime, it kind of makes me want to try camping. Was thinking of maybe trying to camp here first in Singapore even though the weather is humid af here. But gotta start somewhere right? Before camping in the cold 🥶.  

Okay, I think that's enough for today. If you're reading this, you're weird or creepy. Are you that interested about what I have to say?? Then again, the only main goal I am posting this to the public is to let other people read it. Is this like reverse psychology or something? Okay, enough of all this philosophical nonsense. 

Hong Kong | Food Trip, mostly

------------------------------------------------
Trip date \\ 31st May - 4th June 2018
Destination \\ Hong Kong
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'Tis was my first time in Hong Kong this time. Honestly, I do not have a strong desire to explore Hong Kong because of it's notorious culture of being rude to tourists. Though I have to say, it was so much better than I have expected, maybe time has changed HK and it has mellow out? We didn't experience anything bad in our trip. No bad-mouth waiter or waitresses scolding us, but maybe just a friendly banter with one or two. The city itself, it has a certain character I have to say. Tough gangster-ish vibe that I often see in Cantonese movie. Other than that, it is quite similar to Singapore I feel. The bus and MTR.. and of course the crowd rush.

I didn't take much photos on this trip, therefore I can squeeze my whole 5 days trip in one single post today. But I did take a lot of videos and I made vlogs out of it. Vlog is kind of like my new thing that I am doing right now whenever I am travelling but I don't talk in these videos. I still feel quite uncomfortable talking and explaining to air while holding my phone out. And I think I sound funny, not nice to hear. HAHAHA.

Amigurumi Tutorial | Eevee Marshmallow Edition


 

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Materials

2.75mm hook (or any hook size that suits your yarn)
Minlon acrylic yarn (or any sport yarn)
# Brown 
# Light brown
6mm Safety eyes 
Felt cloth
# Dark brown
Black embroidery thread
Embroidery needle
Fibre fill
Fabric glue
Hair spray
Dog slicker brush (optional)

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Japan | Kansai | Day 9 & Day 10, Universal Studio Japan and Osaka

...previous post on Japan...


Day 9 // Osaka
*************
/ Universal Studio Japan

Finally, D-Day has come! Universal Studio Japan Osaka! I think this is one of the must go-to place if you are ever in Osaka. Well, at least once I must say. Especially if you are a Harry Potter fan (oh, me me me!)!

I bought my ticket beforehand on Klook, I also bought Express Pass 7 for the three of us so that we would save time, and it did save a lot of our time but unfortunately we did not really took all the rides that was included in the express pass because we were feeling quite nauseated after 2 rides.
Out of all the rides, I would recommend:
  • Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey™ in 4K3D 
  • Flight of the Hippogriff™ 
  • JAWS 
  • Space Fantasy

There are also a few more hardcore ones which are the Hollywood Dream Backdraft and The Flying Dinosaur. I was hesitating to take them but since both my family members are not big fans of super scary ride like these, I gave them a quick pass also (easier than admitting that I don't like scary rides).

If you are planning to buy the Express Pass, I would advise you to check your Express pass ticket properly as there are a few rides that will only let you use the Express Pass in a certain timing which is written on the fine print. Unfortunately, the ticket will be in Japanese, so you might need some help from Klook for the translation. It will look like this:





As for me, I know how to read some Hiragana and Katakana, so I kind of guess the rides name. Learning a new language comes in handy from time to time.

Japan | Kansai | Day 7 & 8, Koyasan, Arima Town, and Kobe

...previous post on Japan...


Day 7 // Koyasan
**************
/ Kongobuji
/ Kondo Hall
/ Daimon Gate
/ Okunoin
/ Torodo Lantern Hall
/ Shinsaibashi for dinner

Japan | Kansai | Day 6, Osaka Kaiyukan & Namba

...previous post on Japan...


Day 6 // Osaka 
************
/ Kaiyukan
/ Namba

I know, it's a particularly short day cause we spent quite awhile in the Kaiyukan. I think if I were alone, I could have stayed longer, just to stare at the whale sharks as this does not get to happen everyday. We also got some shopping done at night at Don Quijote in Namba. 


I think this was the best OOTD I wore during my stay there. I got a new *fashionable* shoes (cause my sneakers were killing me, and it got my bunion worse, so bought a roomier one to lessen the pain). And my outfit matches my coat (which I wore every single damn day). 

Japan | Kansai | Day 5, Nara

...previous post on Japan...


Day 5 // 24 Nov 17 // Nara

/ Nara park 
/ Todaiji
/ 水谷茶屋 (teahouse serving sweets)


Saying goodbye to Monzy at the train station. All of us checked in and out on the same day, what a coincidence. We lug around our luggage to Nara while Monzy to Tokyo. 

Japan | Kansai | Day 3 & 4, Arashiyama and Kibune

/ Arashiyama
/ Iwatayama Monkey Park
/ Owl forest zoo
/ Bamboo Grove
/ Okochi Sanso Garden
/ Gion for dinner
/ Eikan-dō Zenrin-ji Night Illumination

Japan | Kansai | Day 1 & 2, Arrival in Kansai and Kyoto

Believe it or not, this was my first trip to Japan. Yes, I am also kinda shocked myself. I mean I love anime and I have two Japanese-styled influenced tattoos on my body yet I have never stepped foot on the land of the rising sun. I don't know. I always have this impression that I need a lot of money to be able to have a vacation trip there. Well, after this trip, I guess it's kind of true but I bought a lot of stuff there, so I might be spending more than I need to.


// Breakdown of expenses //

So before I start on pouring out the pictures. Here are some breakdown of my Japan trip expenses. I'll be referring to SGD as $ from here on out.

-- essentials --
AirAsiaX return flight (KL - Kansai airport) // RM1369, ~456$ per person **including 20kg check in baggage
Airbnb Kyoto 4 nights // 267.82$, ~22.32$ per person per night
Airbnb Osaka 6 nights // 336.72$, ~18.71$ per person per night
Japan Wireless PocketWifi // 6950yen, ~82$ for 10 days

We also changed 1000$ per person to yen to be used there.
So I could say that we roughly used around 2000$ per person in total for our Japan 11 days trip that includes:

-- optional --
Gion Nanba Kaiseki // 8000yen, ~ 96$ per person
Universal Studios Japan // 7600yen, ~90$ per person
USJ Express Pass // 11478yen, 138$ per person
Kobe beef // 30000yen, 360$ for 3 person

We did not really held back with food or snacks. We just went ahead with anything that tickles our fancy. So, you could say we weren't really frugal with our money. Cause we live to eat. Haha. But I did find some cheaper transportation alternatives by taking advantage of Japan's tourist tickets! Like for example, Kyoto Access Ticket, Osaka Kaiyukan ticket that includes one day transportation in Osaka, and also some other perks for foreign tourists! I'll talk about them more in details in my blog below when relevant.


Japan | Kansai | Joey's 9 days Autumn Itinerary



This is going to be my master post list for my Japan Kansai Autumn 2017 Itinerary (man, that is a mouthful). I still have not figure out how I am going to write them yet but I don't think I'm going to push them all in one post. Most probably will split them up according to the timeline. So, I'll be linking up the detailed ones in this master post. I am also planning to make a bonus post about what to buy in Japan (snacks and souvenirs ideas). Personally tried and tested by yours truly, and also might be biased because I'll be recommending the things that me or my family likes. I thought it would be useful because I have also no idea what to buy before I went there. Tried to google for "what to buy in Japan" and a whole load of drugstore items came up which is not what I had in mind.

I personally planned everything for our Japan trip. So, what I like to do is research about the city that I want to go then go in details about each point of interest and then only decide if I want to go or not. But no definite day on where to go because I wanted to make it flexible. I have also prepared some maps on google, marking interesting places, filling in details like opening hours or what to especially look out for at those area. I don't go to everything I marked of course, so I'll leave them for future trips.

-Edit-

// Breakdown of expenses //

$ = SGD

-- essentials --
AirAsiaX return flight (KL - Kansai airport) // RM1369, ~456$ per person **including 20kg check in baggage
Airbnb Kyoto 4 nights // 267.82$, ~22.32$ per person per night
Airbnb Osaka 6 nights // 336.72$, ~18.71$ per person per night
Japan Wireless PocketWifi // 6950yen, ~82$ for 10 days

We also changed 1000$ per person to yen to be used there.
So I could say that we roughly used around 2000$ per person in total for our Japan 11 days trip. We mostly spent on food and buying snacks/souvenirs. That includes:

-- optional --
Gion Nanba Kaiseki // 8000yen, ~ 96$ per person
Universal Studios Japan // 7600yen, ~90$ per person
USJ Express Pass // 11478yen, 138$ per person
Kobe beef // 30000yen, 360$ for 3 person

-Edit end-

So, this is the breakdown of my itinerary. I'll also link the blog post when they are up (please click on the "Day X" to go to individual post).

Ijen | Mount Bromo | Madakaripura Waterfall Trip 2017

// T O U C H D O W N //

What | Bromo Trip
When | 13th - 16th April 2017
Where | Surabaya, Indonesia

Thanks to Shy Bey for arranging everything, and all we need to do was buy the flight tickets, pay deposit and wait for the day to come. :D Everyone contributed to the pictures posted in this blog. So, it's all a mixture of pictures from our phones, GoPro and DSLR.

Price | ~220$
Inclusive | Tour, accommodation, transportation, entrance fees, breakfast
Flight | 222$ via JetStar from SGP to Surabaya 
Other expenses | ~100$ for food and shopping

Overall, I think each of us used around 500$ per person for the whole trip. It's quite a good vacation trip but need to exert a little extra energy. The view provided by mother nature is amazing, and there's none other like it. I highly recommend it if you're into nature and scenery. 
Like anyone who is going there for the first time, we were fretting a lot about what we should bring and wear. Since I've already been there, this is my advice to anyone reading this. It can get very hot and it can get very cold too. Yes, both! So, be sure to bring clothes that you can layer as the difference of temperature of the same place can change drastically during the day and night time. It was predicted that the temperature would be around 10 degree Celcius for both Ijen and Bromo in the middle of the night. It's bearable but if it's windy then it can get quite cold. Invest in a windbreaker if you can. I almost froze to death on the second night. Mask and raincoat is also advisable as you will need it at Ijen and the waterfall respectively. Some chocolate snacks would be good too to keep your body energized during your hike but not necessary. Be sure to change enough money because money exchange services are very scarce there! If you must, change at the airport as we found that the rate given outside was very very bad. Maybe it was our luck too, as the bank exchange service was closed and it was a holiday that particular day when we wanted to change some money. 

Our flight were scheduled on Thursday morning and by the time we reached there, it was already a little bit after noon. There, we met our driver who chaperoned us for the 4 days. His name was Pak Iman. Overall, I think he was okay, but I didn't like it when he deliberately drove us to some restaurant which cater to foreigners.. and also charge us the "foreigner price" too. When we see there was an English menu, we knew what was happening. There's this dinner place that charged us 25,000 IDR (2.60$/RM8) for a meager plate of rice with a pathetic excuse for a chicken drumstick and 3 pieces of blanch (or dying) cooked leaves. When we stood on our ground and asked him to find us a place where local eats and making sure there was no English menu, we found a place that sells a plate of food for only 5000 - 6000 IDR (0.60$/RM2). That's a very big difference folks! He was making this kind of creepy and nervous laugh at some point.. We suspected something before but.. it's not nice to allege accuse him for something publicly. So, I'll just leave it at that.  

Anyway, TLDR version; Be careful not to get scammed and stand your ground.

In our private van.
Not the most comfortable van but we endured. Our first journey was from Surabaya Airport to Ijen View Hotel & Resort which took 5-6 hours. Before heading off on our journey we had to take our lunch first. We ate at IBC and also made a little pit stop at the local mini-mart called Indomart to stock up on some water and snacks. 

Guadalajara | Second visit ft. Mexican Carnaval, Lucha Libre, Guachimontones, Snacks and Food list

I realized that I didn't blog about my first trip to Guadalajara. If it was the usual me, I would jump at the chance of blogging a travel post but.. it seems like my laziness has reached a whole new level. I was thinking of writing it now, like what I did with my Europe travel trip blog posts (which I finished not long ago, even though the trip was done back in 2015)... I don't want to squeeze it all in one post, I think it will be too long. And my memories are getting a bit fuzzy, so I won't be writing much stuff anyway since I don't remember them very well. It's always good to write everything down while the memory is still fresh in my mind, as they say.

-------------------------------------------
F R I D A Y // 2 4 F E B 2 0 1 7
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So I posted a picture of two pretty ladies sitting in the front seats of a car with the caption "Road trip with friendly strangers.", I'm sure most of my friends thought that I really went to hitch hike with some complete strangers. Well, it's not a complete lie or a complete truth either. 

Joey's 28 Days in Europe | 2 days in Nice


I have also added some useful info in the description on my map. E.g. the opening hours, costs, how to get there or what is recommended to do there. Please fully utilize it!

Easy DIY Apple Pen Cap Holder

If you own an Apple Pen, I am sure you are familiar with the problems of gripping the pen properly and storing the cap when you need to charge the pen. Honestly, the design of the pen is not that "great", it is nice to look but using it is somewhat a pain. I only had it for a week, and I have already improvised my pen twice.

 

I find that the pen always slips easily and it doesn't feel right when I am using it. So, I decided to add my own grip with

30 Days Drawing Challenge

I don't know if I am going to follow strictly to the challenge or just draw for a few days. I might delete this post if I decided to or just completely stop updating it. I don't know. I am just in the mood for drawing. So, here goes..
 
From: http://culturacolectiva.com/ 

Joey's 28 Days in Europe | Prague


Surprise surprise! I am writing this travel post after more than a year. Hah. Actually I just feel bad, I just dropped my travel blog post halfway through my Europe trip. And after all those postponing, I have completely forgotten about it. But here I am, back again. And ready to write down all the thing I did and see.... if I can still remember them! Perhaps a good time to indulge in reminiscence.