Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Art House Co-op

I found something really inspiring on the Internet today - Art House Co-op. They're an Atlanta-based team that creates massive art projects that anyone can join - way to bring art to the masses! So cool. Some of their current projects include: "The 10,000 project", where 10,000 people interpret one word; "The Great Art House Print Exchange", where you get to trade editioned artwork with others; and "A Million Little Pictures", a photo exhibition bringing together 1,000 artists and 24,000 photos from around the world. You do have to pay a fee to take part in these projects, but it's necessary for operating costs and the guys who run this have to make a living somehow! I signed up for membership today, and I look forward to actually taking part in some of their projects whenever my budget permits. Curious? Find out more about them at this link:

Monday, April 20, 2009

Star suicides @ Venusbuzz.com

I was struck down by a fever last week. I had headaches, chills, and a horrible cough that kept me awake at night. Being sick is bad news for writers, your brain just refuses to cooperate. Thankfully, however, all that has subsided, and I can feel my strength returning.

I wish I could say that the article I'm about to highlight is rather more cheerful than being sick, but it's a lot worse. It's about suicide. To be exact, it's about the disturbing trend among Korean stars, who seem to think that killing themselves is the only way out. Check out the unnerving Korean drama, as it unfolds on Venus:

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Interview with Personal Money Magazine

Yesterday morning, I headed over to Amcorp Mall with husband and son in tow, to meet Siew May, a writer for Personal Money magazine. She said she wanted to interview me about freelance writing and how it helps in the current economic slump.

The family and I arrived early, so we sat down at a kopitiam. I asked my husband to get me a 'Nescafe ais'. They didn't have it, so the hubby figured that a 'kopi ais' would suffice. I took a few sips, and decided, no thanks.

About a half an hour later, Siew May and her photographer friend arrived. There was a brief introduction, and the husband and son went about their way. My interview with the charming Siew May lasted an hour or so. I think it went well, although I found myself yammering away at times. Once we were done, I reunited with the family for lunch.

I also had to take my passport photo that day. It turned out horrible. It wasn't the photographer's fault, of course. I looked exhausted, and well, frankly, I need to lose about 40 pounds.

My husband pointed out, not unsympathetically, that J.Lo's luggage was now parked underneath my eyes. I pacified myself by thinking, "Everybody looks bad in their passport photo," although I'm sure this isn't true.

I can only hope that the photos the Personal Money magazine photographer took of me weren't half as bad. Oh well. The magazine will be out in June, we'll find out then.

My unsatisfactory passport photo made me realise that I've been working too hard and neglecting myself. I must resolve to get more rest, even if it means writing less.

My boys doing what they do best, reading comics and playing with plastic dinosaurs, while I waited for the writer to arrive and continued to stir my undrinkable kopi ais with a straw.

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Baby learns to read

Mum called me yesterday, while I was at the office. She screamed, "Your son can read Lin!!" over the phone, which sounded too good to be true, because every time I'd ask my 5-year old, "What did you learn at school today Amir?", his usual reply would be, "I don't know." So, staying true to myself, I reserved room for skepticism, "He probably just memorised a few words in his book," I thought.

That evening, when I got home, mum urged little Amir to show me that he had learnt how to read. Amir opened his school book, pointed at the words on the page and read, "Kuh-eh-tuh. Caaaatttt. Cat." He pronounced each consonant and vowel; then he read the word, first slowly, then fast. It was so cute. I saw, however, that there was a picture of a cat on the page, so I still wasn't sure if he was actually reading.

But then, he read and read, stumbling on words as he went, and spelling them out, phonetically, to himself. By the time he got to the middle of the book, which had no pictures, I was convinced that he had, indeed, learnt how to read. Cat, bat, tot and cab, these were the four words he read over and over again.

To test him, I purposely messed up my spelling as I read with him, "Kuh-eh-tuh - BAT!" I would say. He'd giggle endlessly at my silliness, delighting in the fact that he was smarter than his mum. He'd then point out my mistake and recite the correct spelling.

As I tucked him in that night, we spelled things that were in his book, then things that weren't in his book, like: rat, hat, fat, pat, mat and sat. We finished up with a silly sentence - 'A fat rat sat on a cat on the mat', which drew more giggles, and then he fell asleep.

He has only learnt to read about four words, since this is his first reading book, but I'm so proud of him! I can't wait until he brings home more reading books from school, so we can learn to spell and read and spell some more. Soon, he'll be able to read all of the books that I've been collecting for him since before he was born! What an adventure that'd be!

Welcome 2019: Time to Grow

Happy New Year everyone! I'm so so excited for 2019 and everything that it'll bring. I'm starting the year with gratefulness for...