MIA

Today I realised with much horror that I have not written anything here for about a month now.

Eeeek.

It has been quite a busy period for yours truly. Here's a not-so-short recap of what's been going on for the past one month or so:

February 6 - 28:

La familia

• Flew across the pond back to Red Henna City after a long break with the fam in Camphor Island.
• Hosted my mum and my sis who came to visit for a few days. Mum insisted on dragging her across the pond, alarmed by how obsessed she had become with homework and exams.
• Locked myself out of my bedroom the night I was supposed to pick my fam from the airport. Perfect timing!
• Took the fam to iCity for the first time. Hello, sparking lights, overpriced snacks (a boiled frankfurter costs RM3, I swear I'm not even making this up!) and a pretty warm night!

Self

• I discovered the Suits TV series about two seasons too late. Lol.
• Finally got over my fear of destroying my new sewing machine and stitched a tablecloth as a test on Valentine's Day. Got hooked immediately and so I used it to stitch curtains for the living room. Kicked myself for having such an irrational fear of failure.
• Water disruption in my apartment, followed by power failure. Double mini tragedies. Urgh.
• Lost 2 kg, most likely due to stress.
  

Friends

• Obi-Wan, Cyn's dog, and our old office's mascot, had fallen sick.

March 1 - present day:

Self

• Gained 2kg.
• Thanks to my colleagues who kept asking about it, I finally realised that I did not have a dress for the company's annual dinner, less than a week before D-Day. Went panic shopping to 10 shops in one day. Came home with nothing that suited my body, my budget, and the dress code of the event.
• Sewed a dark emerald toga that costs me less than RM30 in materials. Check out the tutorial here.

• Lost at a speech contest, the same day MH370 went missing. Can't imagine what the family and friends of the passengers and crew must be going through now.
• Lost 2 kg. Hello again, stress.
• Went to Genting for the first time for the company dinner.
• Almost died and gone to heaven upon discovering a huge accessories shop called Rico Galleria in Genting Grand. 

• Decided to DIY my dinner make-up instead of shelling out RM160 for a make-up artist.
• Tried the milk of magnesia trick. Verdict: Fantabulous for keeping the shine at bay!
• Tried Revlon Photoready Two Way Powder Foundation for the first time. Hope to do a review on it.
• Came home from Genting and went straight into the cough-inducing embrace of the thick haze.

Friends

• Bugged friends (hello, Nurrul!) who had sewing experience for days before I decided to make my own dress.
• Discovered Burgatory with JH and DK. Cramped spaces but the juicy burgers made up for it. 
• Created a mannequin with JH as part of our ad-hoc guilt-tripping post-burger workout hahaha.
• Dearest Obi-Wan succumbed to liver failure. I think I used enough tissues to cause deforestation when I got home and the sad news finally sank in. Cyn wrote a poignant piece on him that made me cry even harder whenever I read it.

At the time of writing, MH370 is still missing. Let's pray and hope for the best for all those affected by this tragedy.

The Geek Goddess

Tête-à-tête

It's the last day of 2013.

For the past two years or so, I haven't been alive.

No, this is not a blog post written from "the other side". I am still pulsing and breathing, thank you very much.

What I meant was that I haven't been alive in the truest sense of the word.

Have you ever wondered if there is more to life than what you currently have on your plate?

I do. All.the.time.

For the past two years or so, I have let work and Toastmasters consume a huge chunk of this pie I call my life. Those years were not completely wasted, mind you. I am now finally a writer, after years of many false starts and dipping my feet in different buckets. I have also found an outlet that allows me to improve my communication skills and connect with like-minded people.

It is always good to fill your days with meaningful labour and contributions. However, in my haste to keep up with work and speech deadlines, a lot of things have unfortunately been unceremoniously sacrificed.

And so I have started this blog, to document the misadventures I am about to set upon, in my effort to live life to the fullest. 

In order to do so, it is always good to have a list. I personally am partial to lists because they give me a sense of purpose and direction. Whether I complete them or not is entirely another matter, of course. Haha!

After a long discussion with Mickey, a geek friend of mine, and many weeks of contemplating *cough*PROCRASTINATING*cough*, I have decided to set my heart on two things to achieve by the end of 2014:


1. Learn how to write HTML.

I used to work in digital marketing communications, so I can read and modify HTML a bit. A little wittle bitty bit only. But if you ask me to code from scratch, you'd be covered in cobwebs long before I even start.

I recognise that while I do have the appetite and maybe a little bit of aptitude for coding, my dedication to mastering this craft has been embarrassingly scant.

Very embarrassingly scant.

2. Learn how to use Photoshop.

I used to make amateur announcement posters as a freelance Facebook Page Manager.

Guess which programmes did I use to make them?

a. Word
b. Picture Manager
c. Snipping Tool
d. All of the above

I seriously wasn't kidding when I used the word "amateur". My current blog header is created using a combination of all three programmes. Haha!

Told you I wasn't kidding. Lol.

So that's the list of goals from the world's most underachieving blogger, folks. I promise this won't be the first AND the last post you'll see from me.

The Geek Goddess