Still Surviving

And I thought it was hectic before the break week. Now it is UTTER MADNESS. Deadlines are coming in the next two weeks for all four projects, so it's a huge scramble with different groups getting things done fast. The SMU zombies are back, and I think I'll be off to join them pretty soon once I hit the daily quota of 4hrs of sleep maximum, 2 cups of hot coffee gao, spectacles, declining fashion sense and 99.9% chance of looking stoned.

However, I'm still pleased to say that I have a life outside school by just a wee bit. (Ok, once I make such a statement, I should start my declining fashion sense to school tomorrow with a thick set of armour and maybe my biking helmet for fear of having stones thrown my way by the existing no-lifes.)

I'm glad that there are still people willing to meet up, hang out and have nice chats over such busy days. Junny has been awesome and has come by often to town although he lives so far away. We still have our weekly family meals which is a good solid 2hrs+ to catch up and relax. And the weekend was also well spent with Auddie and Nic celebrating Auddie's birthday!!

Aud's Double Two Day (24 Oct 2009, Saturday)

On Saturday, Auddie was telling me and Nic to dress up! Haha yay! So finally, a good ocassion to make use of our nicer clothes!! Off we went, exploring shops in Ion and Taka once again. Ahh.. the sweet smell of orchard and retail therapy :). So we attempted to go shopping, though the shops were slightly disappointing and I only got a pair of earrings, while Auddie had better luck and found an awesome gray F21 jacket!!

So hard to find good, reasonable food in orchard too, so we settled for Italian food tucked away at Taka basement. Quite yummy! Then it was quite amusing.. Nic and I were openly discussing about getting a brownie for Aud, while my iphone got Aud all distracted (haha you never hear.. I hope?) much to Aud's cries of being too full when the brownie came! Haha.. well, a birthday girl can never be full when it comes to cake =) Did a little more shopping before we had to bid farewell. But it was nice meeting up again.

We seem to be meeting up more this year.. I have no idea why. But it's a good thing =)

Visual Design: Meaningful Creations

Although this has been the class that was the most tiresome of all my modules, with 4 less-than-a-week design assignments so far, it has been one of the more interesting and relevant ones too.

I particularly enjoyed today's class because everything that we were doing in the last 10 lessons was all put together nicely by a guest speaker from a design company - Yellow Octopus (http://www.yellowoctopus.com.sg/).

The speaker shared with us how the company started, what the company did and some of the projects they've taken up. And what was particularly good about them was to show how much thought and meaning goes behind a design, to conceptualize it such that it turns out to be such a beautiful solution to the problem.

One example was the concept of "yolo" (http://www.yolo.sg/pages/aboutus) which they came up with. If I remembered correctly, this was created on their 10th birthday, so yolo looked "yo" - yellow octopus, "lo" - 10. And they made it such that what it stood for is "You Only Live Once". So what adds depth to this whole concept was the further idea that it is about Finding Forgotten Passion, which almost everyone has once upon a time, and more than some regret when they reflect back to realize that they never seized the opportunity to chase their dream.

I love the whole notion of such rich, conceptual and ideaful designs. One which is deeper than it seems at face value. I like the way the meaning enhances a design and inspires the soul. Now I understand the meaning of a design in (almost) its full glory. Lovely.

Greener Pastures
the grass will be greener on the other pastures if you do not keep your pasture green.

Perhaps it is because of the increasing talks and worry about it. Gordon Brown was pushing for a meeting for world leaders to meet earlier to discuss about environmental issues before their current actions, or lack of it, brings about irreversible harm for us and subsequent generations. The mayan calendar is also said to end in 2012, signifying the end of the world (though reports suggest that those who know about the mayan calendars more are said to call this news bullshit).

Suddenly, all these issues are so in your face that I thought I'd start being more conscious about it. World leaders can only do so much (ok, quite a lot if we think about regulation of heavy-polluting industries and the like). But the power also lies in our hands, for as a collective whole, the difference can be quite huge. Especially for affluent countries with a greater tendency to consume and waste.

So besides doing the normal saving electricity/water, and reducing/re-using/recycling, which I'm trying to be more conscious of, I'm not sure how else I can do things yet. So.. Throw in green tips this way please! And green holiday projects too!! =D

7:16 pm ·