times.in.the.sun

the day when i gushed about the dean TO the dean himself. and after that proceeded to make him take a million photos with me. also the day when i nearly tripped while going up on stage to receive my graduation cert becos my shoes were massively killing my feet. oh betsy johnson why do you hurt me so?

the day when i nearly got frostbite and sunburn at the same time. freezing your ass off at the beach is no fun i tell you. huddling under beach towels and being glad you brought a thick one, is hilarious. don't let the pictures deceive you... it was way COLD!

the day i nearly died with kenneth. had to run for our lives when a mini hurricane storm decided to advance upon our happy party with less than 5 mins notice. wind blowing dirt into your face and into your mouth and up your nose and threatening to blow you off your feet and all shops are closing and cafes are closed and nowhere to run and rain is pelting down was the scariest experience ever. don't mess with nature i tell you.

we've had joy, we've had fun

we've had seasons in the sun

Randomness.

Remember how I mentioned in my previous post about liking the randomness that everyday life in New York brings with it?

Well, I had the most random night out with the girls on Friday- it started out really benign and innocent- we were supposed to meet for a low-key dinner and to make a trip to a Cingular customer service centre to help me set up my voicemail (yes, after nearly 2 years... I finally have a working voicemail!!!). The girls (Alma, Lourd, Kristen, Karen, and Elma) have unanimously decided that since I will be leaving soon, we have to make the most out of the limited time left, and so we have to do something that we have never done before every weekend. Sounds like fun? Heh heh. Read on.

Our chill night out ended up being coffee at Starbucks, oogling at the cute doggies at the dog run in Union Square, hanging out at Cingular for a bit and almost tearing the place down with our rampant behaviour, having dinner at a French restaurant along Park Ave on the corner of 20th St, running to Trader Joe's to buy bottles of white wine, stealing paper cups from various bodegas, sitting in Union Square sipping our "seltzer" which was precariously poured from nondescript brown paper bags, hooting and singing "Happy Birthday" to Lourd since we collectively don't know any other song lyrics from start to finish, deciding it WOULD be Lourd's 35th birthday and then coercing a group of guys playing on the guitar nearby to provide accompaniment for us while we sing the birthday song at the top of our lungs, having one of the guys (probably super drugged out) invite us to a Rapper's Club, and then having him freestyle about the apocalypse for us (intense, yo.), deciding to walk to Pratt Manhattan along 14th St to use the bathrooms, and instead of walking like normal people do, we strut and practice our fierce poses+model walk a la ANTM (Tyra would be proud of us!), me going in to Pratt Manhattan for the first time in 2 years, and only to use the bathroom (damn!), us smoking cigs together (my first and second fag!) and drinking more wine, running into some random pizza place to use the bathroom again, walking down further to the Meatpacking District and standing in front the of Alexander McQueen store admiring the absolutely gorgeous clothes, and while we're standing there, have a guy come up to Alma to offer to buy her a McQueen dress so sheer you would swear it was crotchless, simply because she reminded him of his wife's best friend, who was, by the way, in the club barely 6 feet away (the wife i mean), and then wandering around Meatpacking some more, have Alma meet 2 fellow country men who speak Serbo-Croatian as well, have a few other questionable men pick Alma up (gawd... Alma! Stop giving out the vibes!), have Kristen say "hello" to everybody she meets on the street, and get invited into a limo with a party going on inside, wandering around a little bit more, saying "hello" a little bit more, and then deciding it was finally time to head home, 8 hours after we first started.

It was such a relief to be able to kick off my shoes when I got home.. phew. I still don't know how SJP manages to skip along the sidewalks of New York in those sky-high shoes and not sprain her ankles at least a million times over.


Oh, my mom sent me renderings of my room-to-be when I go back to Singapore! My parents sold our house in Queenstown, and bought a smaller unit near the Henderson/Tiong Bahru area. We didn't need the space since my elder since has married and moved out of the home, so time to downgrade! Apparently it's a really small apartment, and the rooms are small as well, but the previous owner was an architect, so it came with nice finishings and lots of hidden storage area! For my room, I'm going to get a platform bed, a wardrobe and a desk with shelves, all fully custom made and beayootifool! See the pics below- I'm impressed that contractor offices now have funky renderings as well... I'm so going to be out of a job at the rate this is going. Isn't it nice? I'm all excited now. :p



Ok, just had to share this with you guys. Time for me to sleep. It's nearly 6am here, and I got back about an hour ago from Lotus, a club in the Meatpacking. Had lots of fun dancing, but that's another story in itself I suppose hahaha. *does a wiggle*

Two.more.months.

My ticket is bought, my fate is sealed.
No running away for me.
Somehow I couldn't stop my tears from streaming down when I told my friend about it.
I didn't wanna cry, I wasn't going to. I'm not even at the airport yet. I just bought my ticket online for crying out loud!
And this happened after a lichicosmo on the sidewalk, and bird poop on my arm.
Well, see you in Singapore- leaving 28th May, arriving 30th May.
Exactly 2 more months left, I can't believe how fast these 2 years went by.
I hope I have built enough of a solid base here to make me feel at home once again if I ever decide to come back. I will miss New York, all the experiences, the familiarity and unfamiliarity of my neighbourhood in Brooklyn, and all the friends I have at one time or other, opened my heart up to here...
Just last night during dinner, a friend asked what I liked about New York, and I replied saying that it was the randomness of everyday life that got me hooked. The dirt and the grime on the sidewalks, are physical manifestations of the freedom that is accorded in the land of the living and the free. It is the meeting of strangers at random places and at random times, it is the unexpected chance sighting of a celebrity in a neighbourhood cafe, it is the man walking down the street who catches your eye and says hi, it is the friendliness and helpfulness when you get lost in Manhattan, it is having your spirits lift up when the sun is out and shining brightly simply because every prior day has been grey and overcast. I have grown to love this place, even though I started out being aghast at the "ghetto-ness" of it. I would like to think I have grown somewhat, for better or worse, and come to understand myself and the people around me a wee bit more. I feel like I have found soulmates here, who know me more than I know myself, who can predict my behaviour, and who accept me for the strange person that I am. They analyse me so accurately, and support me in ways that can only stem from sincere care. We've had uber good times, and the most shitty times together. 2 years is neither long nor short, but I'm grateful for having them in my life even if it's just for awhile.
Oh gosh, why am I doing a monologue to myself here on my blog? I still have 2 more months! To make a difference in their lives, to have the most fun I can have, to enjoy and appreciate the smallest New York moments, whatever they may be. I will NOT cry.

♠♣♥♦

♠♣♥♦ ♠♣♥♦ ♠♣♥♦ ♠♣♥♦ ♠♣♥♦ ♠♣♥♦ ♠♣♥♦ ♠♣♥♦ ♠♣♥♦
♠♣♥♦ ♠♣♥♦ ♠♣♥♦ ♠♣♥♦ ♠♣♥♦ ♠♣♥♦ ♠♣♥♦ ♠♣♥♦ ♠♣♥♦
♠♣♥♦ ♠♣♥♦ ♠♣♥♦ ♠♣♥♦ ♠♣♥♦ ♠♣♥♦ ♠♣♥♦ ♠♣♥♦ ♠♣♥♦
♠♣♥♦ ♠♣♥♦ ♠♣♥♦ ♠♣♥♦ ♠♣♥♦ ♠♣♥♦ ♠♣♥♦ ♠♣♥♦ ♠♣♥♦
♠♣♥♦ ♠♣♥♦ ♠♣♥♦ ♠♣♥♦ ♠♣♥♦ ♠♣♥♦ ♠♣♥♦ ♠♣♥♦ ♠♣♥♦

It's time to bring out that stack of cards collecting dust in that corner of your room.
Taiti or bridge anyone?

Birthday wish granted!

aruba, jamaica...ooo i wanna take ya

berffdaze

many.many.

Many many things have happened since I last posted. Been really busy with school, or just miscellaneous errands like doing my laundry and settling the paperwork for a Social Security Card... (photos to follow when I have more time. Right now I just want to crash.)

My housemate turned 29, we partied.

Went for a Generative Components Conference at Cooper Union, and then for a private party at the Guggenheim after (Cecil Balmond was there too!!!), and we partied. Free wine and lovely hors d'oeuvres.

Given the post as a Teaching Assistant for one of the pioneers in computational architecture, David Ruy, currently teaching at Pratt.

Received grants from Pratt... more money to go shopping?!? Please let me keep this, ura.

I turned 26, we partied at Pacha NYC. Watching the sunset from the top of Empire State Building in the freezing cold on my birthday was surreal indeed.

The birth of ishfl - a gift from my girlfriends in NYC!

Launch of the new issue of TARP, Pratt's Graduate Architecture magazine, of which I helped to do some itsy bitsy layout. We partied again.

Included in the admissions committee for GAUD.

Hung out at Bonita, a cafe near my place, and in walks Keri Russell and her friends, cute curly hair and all. Celebrity sighting woohooo!

Went to lectures by Todd Williams+Billie Tsien, and Masimilliano Fuksas.

Published in the latest issue of AD. I haven't seen the article yet, and part of me still doesn't believe it.


It's been such a fast start to the year, I've barely had time to breathe. Here's to a stellar year for Aquarians! Next up, a party at my puerto rican friend's place in Park Slope tomorrow, and then the next day is Chinese New Year Celebrations! Happy CNY to you all.

Heaps.and.Heap

I've had this album for about a year now, when a friend (now somewhat non-friend) burned me a cd as a birthday present. I was really enamoured by the sounds I heard, so much so that I kept it on repeat mode for at least a month after that. Somehow in the following months, this album was relegated to the back shelf, perhaps because it brought with it certain associations that I didn't want to relive or just be reminded of.

Last week though, I suddenly felt the urge to listen to the album again. It is amazing really... Imogen Heap is also a half of the duo known as Frou Frou, and while I'm not really taken with Frou Frou, I think Imogen is fantastic. My fav song is "Hide and Seek", and in that song, Imogen's voice sounds so electronic, like an instrument. I'm glad I rediscovered it again... familiarity can be so comforting sometimes.

On another note, Pandora is coming to town! Tim Westergren (the founder of Pandora) is holding a get-together session with New Yorkers to present the origins on Pandora, and also to get feedback from Pandora users... This session is going to be held in a cinema (I think) somewhere in the Union Square area. Should I go? Should I go? Maybe just for the Pandora goodie bag? :p

Spring break is coming soon, and I bought me a ticket to Jamaicaaaaaaa!
Ooooo... super excited. Hello Carribean Sea, white beaches and welcoming sun!
It's funny cos bohboh has been singing the Beach Boys song on MSN, and I'm amazed I actually know that song... Brings back childhood memories- Good times indeed.



Aruba, jamaica ooo I wanna take youBermuda, bahama come on pretty mamaKey largo, montego baby why dont we goJamaicaOff the florida keysTheres a place called kokomoThats where you wanna go to get away from it allBodies in the sandTropical drink melting in your handWell be falling in loveTo the rhythm of a steel drum bandDown in kokomoAruba, jamaica ooo I wanna take youTo bermuda, bahama come on pretty mamaKey largo, montego baby why dont we goOoo I wanna take you down to kokomoWell get there fastAnd then well take it slowThats where we wanna goWay down to kokomoTo martinique, that monserrat mystiqueWell put out to seaAnd well perfect our chemistryBy and by well defy a little bit of gravityAfternoon delightCocktails and moonlit nightsThat dreamy look in your eyeGive me a tropical contact highWay down in kokomoAruba, jamaica ooo I wanna take youTo bermuda, bahama come on pretty mamaKey largo, montego baby why dont we goOoo I wanna take you down to kokomoWell get there fastAnd then well take it slowThats where we wanna goWay down to kokomoPort au prince I wanna catch a glimpseEverybody knowsA little place like kokomoNow if you wanna goAnd get away from it allGo down to kokomoAruba, jamaica ooo I wanna take youTo bermuda, bahama come on pretty mamaKey largo, montego baby why dont we goOoo I wanna take you down to kokomoWell get there fastAnd then well take it slowThats where we wanna goWay down to kokomoAruba, jamaica ooo I wanna take youTo bermuda, bahama come on pretty mamaKey largo, montego baby why dont we goOoo I wanna take you down to kokomo

One.Last.Hurrah

So, the portfolio update is finally done. After procrastinating for the entire holiday period, I've been forced to sit down and just get it over and done with. It ended up being 8 crappy pages of NO text at all because I'm too lazy to do it. But studio selection is on Thursday, which means I have to print it out tomorrow, and add them to my current stack of unbound portfolio pages.

Today was my first official day of school, and I tell you, having a class at 9am on the first day of school is PURE TORTURE especially when you're used to waking up at a leisurely 4pm, eat some brunch and decide what to do with the rest of the night. (Which is mostly spent in front of the computer, thanks to youtube, lim and peekvid.) Still, I think I survived pretty well, good enough to have lunch with friends and then go for a shopping spree in manhattan. Sales sales SALES everywhere! I got 2 Arden B. tops for a mere 25 bucks! Oh and mama wendy, my red military coat is here! But dang it, the weather just dropped considerably so I am unable to wear the coat out unless I am willing to literally freeze my ass off. I saw so many cute tops that I wanted to buy... shirts that I tried to justify as working clothes in the future... MUST RESIST! Grrrr...

I signed up for my last core elective class today, after cursorily browsing through the re:ACT website that sh sent to me. Decided that since it's my last semester, I shouldn't waste time with a graphic design packaging course, which albeit sounding fun, would not really have much use for me in URA would it? My choice then fell to taking Manuel de Landa's lecture series on self-organisations in nature, in society and therefore in cities. He is widely known for his book "A Thousand Years of Nonlinear History", which seems to be the standard bible here in Pratt, but which I've never felt inclined to pick up. Well, this will make sure I get my hands on that book now eh? I'm giving up my free Fridays to take this Friday afternoon class, but I'm sure it'll be somewhat worth it. My first baby step in facing my future: URA.

Righty-o... one last hurrah before the semester hits high gear again. Somehow everything that I do seems to be tinged with the foreknowledge of going back to Singapore in 4 months' time. It's going to be a fun semester, and who mentioned anything about school? :p

So the blog finally got a much needed update. It is now simpler, cleaner, and yes, as niki said, more me. Funny that I would do it since I don't really blog much nowadays, but I guess a new year, a new look! I shall have to try to figure out that html gibberish even more, so that I can edit the blog more easily, but all that code really doesn't make much sense to me, and trial and error takes up too much unneccesary time. Help anyone? Where is OY when you need him?

recent.obsessions.

1. Jack Johnson >>> Somehow his music makes me feel really warm inside. It's classified under the 'Rock' genre, but to me it seems more acoustic and folksy with reggae elements. The more I listen, the more his music grows on me. I also really like the cd sleeves of his album titled "In Between Dreams"- the combination of saturated colours, out-of-focus photographs and random plants appeals to me greatly.

2. Red Hot Chilli Peppers >>> Need I say more? Even Lance Armstrong named "Dani California" as his power workout song. I have been stuck at the first disc so far, simply because "Dani California" and "Snow ((Hey Oh))" have been on constant repeat mode on iTunes. Maybe a couple more rounds will reveal more gems to me on Jupiter, and then it'll be on to Mars.

3. Chairlift >>> It's a budding band that I had the fortune of catching live last night at a very cool bar/art space called Galapagos in hippy-town Williamsburg. The female lead singer is oh-so-cute and has such haunting vocals (think bjork, tanya chua or even faye wong) that even I'm mesmerized. Pouty red lips and subtle hip movements in time to the beat of the music complete the whole seduction process. Not to mention the flirty looks at the hippy suave lead guitarist every now and then. *swoon* And she was wearing gold parachute pants!!! Caroline was gracious enough to give me one of their demo cds when she heard from a common friend that I had enjoyed their performance thoroughly. It reminded me of Telepopmusik or The Postal Service at parts, electronic beats and cute springy random sounds that layer upon each other. But then they also added in electric/acoustic elements, electronic keyboard solos and vocal harmonies, coupled with *gasp* country music influences. From their song titled "Bruises":

"I tried to do handstands for you,
I tried to do headstands for you.
Every time I fell on you, oh every time I fell,
I tried to do handstands for you,
But everytime I fell for you,
I'm permanently black and blue,
Permanently blue for you."

4. Patent/leather/vintage clutches >>> Mama wendy and mingming can attest to this, Shopaholics Anonymous unite! I have 4 in my possession so far, and another 6 currently in on the way crossing an entire ocean to get to me. Oh my babies come to momma! They are so so SO cute, even if they can barely hold my wallet and cellphone all at once. I like those that have hidden handles on them so that they can be used as a normal clutch, or as a delicate handbag depending on one's mood.

5. Funnel-necked/Empire-waisted/Military wool coats >>> Babydoll is THE way to go this season, waistlines have been urging themselves higher and higher recently. Military is still in, but in belted styles now. Oh, and I've seen a couple of fantastic flared coats, much like pleated dresses. And for the neckline, it's got to be the funnel-neck look. Staying warm is in as well!

Well, so much for my recent obsessions.
I should post up pictures of the pressies my housemates gave me once I actually get round to taking them... They are pretty hilarious. And. Well. School's starting in a day's time. How depressing. The holidays have barely started, hello.

Novemburr.updates.

It's the final countdown period again, stress levels rising, sleep periods decreasing, and eye-bags ever-growing. 2 1/2 more weeks to final review?!? Where did this entire semester go to? I don't even feel like I've done any architecture this past 3 months... eeps.

Some quick updates on the happenings in the past 2 weeks:

1. My housemate managed to get her cat chair (known as such due to the pungent cat pee smell emanating from it) stuck in the narrow staircase, in the attempt to bring it from my room down to hers, causing me to have to crawl under the cat chair on all fours in order to get to my room upstairs. (After that saga, the cat chair is now back in a corner of my room, with an air freshener dispenser sitting happily on it.)

2. My other housemate, who's a photo major at Pratt, slapped on generous amounts of petroleum jelly and then literally poured beads all over my face, just so I could model for one of her jewellery photoshoot assignments. Conclusion: It's pretty hard to see/smile/look vaguely interested in the camera when beads are constantly dripping into your eyes and mouth. Also, check out the standing hair done the ghetto way with innovative use of a bottle (for stabilising of form) and tons of hairspray and bobby pins.

3. Went to Central Park to check out the sights + pretty colours of Fall, but arrived WAAAY too late with only 5 mins of daylight left. The rest of the time in Central Park was spent trying to navigate our way through in the dark. I did get to the restaurant where Carrie fell into the lake while arguing with Mr. Big (Bigg?) though. And to the ice-skating rink, as the picture testifies.

4. Went on a field trip to the ghastly-looking mix of Niemeyer+Corb UN building. The view of the Crysler Building from the Main UN building was awesome. You realise what a central position this is with regards to its position in midtown Manhattan, and even to the greater world.

5, 6. Felt powerful to be inside such a place where so many important world-changing decisions are made, and privileged to have had the opportunity to sit where the world leaders sit, to walk into the General Assembly rooms constantly on tv, and to stand on the podium where announcements are made to the rest of the world. Of course, we couldn't just stand there, be serious and NOT monkey around.

7. Watched the NYC marathon right outside my school's Higgins Hall Architecture building, at exactly the 8 mile mark. Lance came by too, barely 10 feet away from the sidewalk I was standing on, cheering my voice hoarse to bits. He's the one in the green tee, kakis/busybodies in tow, with the camera crew right in front of him, voraciously taking in his every move. He finished the race in slightly less than 4 hours, merely 40 minutes short of the race winner. Livestrong yo!

8. Fall came and went. Am sad that I can no longer see vibrant colours of golds, reds, and orangey-hues bursting out and engulfing the trees in the neighbourhood. Now mostly everything has been reduced to a drab grey when the sun's hiding behind the clouds, and the leaves all fallen to brown mush as we tread on them daily on the sidewalks.

9, 10. Had my 3/4 term review as well... So much work to do, so little time, so little desire to plunge right in. What can I do to convince myself to hang in there, and that all sacrifices made, sleep or otherwise, will be worth it in the end? And while I'm at it, seriously, what is architecture?

11. Skipped 2 classes in a single day just to queue for a live taping of the Daily Show with comedian Jon Stewart, which my housemate had reservations for. The waiting line was crazy but the pre-empt to the show was hilarious. I appreciate the fact that these Americans are willing to laugh at themselves, and that they have the freedom to do so. People are so witty it puts me and my lame jokes to shame.

12. Going to my friend's bf's first solo art exhibition in NYC tomorrow night. It must have been a tremendous undertaking to realise such a dream, and I'm excited to go, not only because of the free beer (did anyone mention FREE BEER? Kudos to Brooklyn Brewery!) but also because I personally know the artist this time, and so it makes the show more real.

13. We're having a surprise bachelorette party for my classmate on Saturday night because she's getting married at the end of the year! I'm invited to the wedding too, but it's in Minnesota so I'll probably just get buy her a lapdance and get it over with.

14. It's 4.45am and I should be asleep by now. Mingming's coming over in April! Yey! :)

15. More updates will come after the end of the final reviews I guess! Till then, I am resigned to the fact that I won't have any life to speak of.

golden.girlssss

I love Halloween. It's officially my favourite holiday of all time. Last year I dressed up as part of a 6 pack of Brooklyn Lager beer, this year I went as half of the Golden Girls duo. Ha.ha.ha! It was fun dressing up... Kristen (my housemate) and I went to the dollar store in the evening to try to make ourselves some last minute costumes... we ended up getting some cheap tights, cheap lingerie, gold tinsel and some gold spray paint! We were going to transform into the GOLDEN GIRLS! We spray painted our lingerie and tights gold, painted our nails gold, put on gold eyeshadow, and gold lipgloss.. and of course I had to put on gold hair extensions (that felt more like a thick hat held together by a million bobby pins), my gold belt, and my camel boots- it was totally and completely hilarious! And all for under $20.. who says you can't have fun for cheap? One random guy in the subway actually snapped my photo too! (On hindsight I should have asked him for money in return... even animals in the zoo get paid, hello! The hideousness of it all. Tsk.) We then made our way to my friend's bf's manhattan loft, but somehow the party didn't live up to all the hype. Pretty disappointing for all the work dressing up, but at least we still had fun taking photos at home as you can tell.. :) Halloween's officially tuesday, but I think I'm all goldened-out for now. heh. Have fun you guys! Fall's the best season of all!

UK.Overdue

I don't know why i procrastinated so long, but as i was searching through my dying laptop for old files today (yes my one yr old baby is dying.. eeps), i came across the photoshop file i had previously made so i could blog about my summer trip to the UK. I wonder why it never made it off the shelves.. must have been the humid and totally unbearable summer heat that caused my brain to shut down... ah well. Better late than never i guess... Good to hear your voice again today bohboh! I miss talking nonsense with you.

a.NUS

Haven't been sleeping well lately. Images of pulling and scaling and rotating vertices keep floating in front of my eyes even when they are shut. Diagrams and modules haunt me to no end. I see modules everywhere! And what is a module you might ask, I don't know! 5 weeks into the Fall semester and I'm still trying to figure out. The funniest thing happened last night: I was in studio developing my modules in Maya... It was around 3am and I had little sleep over the last few nights. Not inspired at all, and so I was just playing around with stuff in the computer, when my friend came over, looked over at my shoulder and gasped with disbelief! After some quick rendering while trying to hold my sides bursting with laughter, this is what my "module" came up to...

















Doesn't it remind you of anything in particular?!?
[clue: some body part below the waist]
Well, as the saying goes, SHIT HAPPENS.
What the hell was I thinking when I modelled this?!!? No one knows... *faint*
Hahahahahahaha.... So freaking obscene...
Super darn funny...

On another note, my friend came over to nyc from dc 2 weekends ago as a birthday treat for herself, and I finally got to catch Rent at Broadway! It was pretty confusing because the plot was so fast-paced and the words of the songs oftentimes lost in the overall energy of the production, but boy, were the singers good! "Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes... seasons of love!" Here's us doing the touristy stuff outside the theatre:




























As you can see, my hair is long now (desperately need a haircut!!!) and mingming and bohboh! Look at the necklace I'm wearing! woohoo... it's one of my fav pieces of accessories! I love it! Muacks.

Oh, and by the way, just in case anyone needs/wants a fishie, let me know. I've got one right here-




Ah. Sleep-deprived. hehe... Gucci rawks, niki!

gorgeous.weekend.

Still on a high after yesterday's studio recording- Went to some far-off super industrial looking part of Brooklyn to help my friend record some background vocals for his band's demo cd. The studio itself was actually 2 loft spaces (one above the other) that were converted into freelance recording studios+sound engineering room+living areas. It was really quite cool... Apparently Josh (the cute guy who owns the studio) converted the space himself, with wirings running up from the studio below straight to the sound room THROUGH THE FLOOR. The amount of equipment inside was truly crazy-ass amazing... Must have easily cost a million bucks to set up the studio! The sound-mixing programme he was using was SO SO SO complicated (a million buttons and possibilities, anything can be done with sound!) and it made psd, cad, maya, 3dsmax all look like child's play. Strangely too, the sound-proofing foam attachments to the wall reminded me of zaha hadid's models. It's no wonder then, that there are quite a few sound engineers-turned-architectural students in my school. The virtual space that one is able to develop in sound landscapes via mathematical complexity is very similar to the virtual spaces that we design in the pursuit of architecture as well. I was surprised to see bezier curves that could be manipulated to change the tone of sounds, just like how the curve editor functions in psd or 3dsmax can change the shade or geometry of an object. Perhaps one can sing a song monotone and then post-edit it to form the tune? hahaha. Ah, josh, you are so good at what you do... how i love you!

I think after seeing Zaha's exhibition at the Guggenheim over the past weekend, I am reminded of how passionate/crazy/spoil-market/incredulously talented/diva-ish one must be in order to make it in architecture. And I simply don't have that. It was such a tremendous exhibition- the explorations in architecture beseiging art which in turn inspires architecture, and yet Zaha has enough confidence/arrogance to say that her exhibition at the Guggenheim bored her. hmmm...

I wanna be a sound engineer now! Too cool for words already... Or maybe I should just aim to become the sound engineer's WIFE? heh.

happy.day!

found an apartment found an apartment found an apartment found an apartment found an apartment found an apartment found an apartment found an apartment found an apartment found an apartment found an apartment found an apartment found an apartment found an apartment found an apartment found an apartment found an apartment found an apartment found an apartment found an apartment found an apartment found an apartment found an apartment found an apartment found an apartment found an apartment found an apartment found an apartment found an apartment found an apartment found an apartment found an apartment found an apartment found an apartment found an apartment found an apartment found an apartment found an apartment found an apartment found an apartment found an apartment found an apartment found an apartment found an apartment found an apartment found an apartment found an apartment found an apartment found an apartment found an apartment found an apartment found an apartment found an apartment found an apartment
FINALLY FOUND AN APARTMENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i'll.remember.you.

Sorry wasn't good enough
A song without meter and rhyme
A long forgotten promise I recalled I made to you
A candle flame dies in the wind
It looks like it's about to rain, about to rain

Spirals from your cigarette
Your sweet colgone on my pillow
Messages you left me still sing like some lullaby
Pretty pictures on the wall
Hopes in us will rise & fall, rise & fall

And in the rain
In summer days too
When the willow tree weeps too
Under the street light so bright
I'll remember you everyday

The plane leaves in an hour's time
Hold me till our last goodbye
Silence is the only sound
No words can speak it through
I'll breathe your breath for one last time
You'll be strong and so will I, so will I

And in the rain
In summer days too
When the willow tree weeps too
Under the street light so bright
I'll remember you
I'll remember you
I'll remember you
Everyday

Feeling somewhat nostalgic today. The weather's gorgeous out, the air is cool and the sun's shining brightly. I'm in an oddly happy mood, with overall sense of well-being. Went to school to meet my professor and hand up my assignment, and was lucky enough to be introduced to his younger SUPER GOOD-LOOKING brother, and his father. Bumped into my fav korean classmate at the bursar's and sat on campus for a bit to catch up with her. I've missed her so much... she's just like an older sister to me- she looks out for me at school, we bitch together whenever things get rough, we talk over problems together over long lunches. Made a date with her to go to k-town next friday for korean bbq and spicy tofu soup (yummers!) and then karaoke after. Ran into another classmate and his partner at the corner coffeeplace- seems like everyone is everywhere being busy with everything this summer. Came home and got a call from a friend wanting me to go down to the recording studio and do some back-up for his band over the weekend... sounds exciting yah! I'm going to be on a demo (although my voice probably can't be heard over all the banging of drums and clashing of cymbals and whining on electric guits).. STILL. Talked to my future housemate over our housing prospects (or lack thereof)... I do hope we manage to find one soon before I become homeless in exactly 3 days' time. Going to an open house later in the evening, just one block down from where I am right now... *prays hard*

Feels like a day where Tanya's voice floats over in the background, and so I started playing her songs on my computer... and somehow I got to finding her lyrics online. Couldn't find it for the song I originally wanted, but guess what I found? The lyrics to the song I once sang at an aki bbq in year 2 I think... Seems like such a long time ago, with niki strumming the guitar, and everyone else pigging out on food at the garden area. Come to think of it, those gatherings were pretty fun huh? I can't remember the tune anymore, only the chorus part, but as I read the lyrics over, I just felt like crying. Suddenly reminded of Alice, and Alvin Yeo Jie Hao, and those nights spent singing/playing guitar in the stairwell with bing, lim and niki. Nice resonances and happy faces. I miss you guys, everyone seems so far away, leading vastly different lives. Hope everyone's having a good time whereever you are, coping well with life and all, and actively searching for happiness. *hugs* This song's for you, my dear friends, till we meet again.

animate.form.

Been auditing a 3dsMax class in school, and rediscovering how cool computer programmes actually are. Spent the whole of last night tweaking animations and space warps, and rendering surfaces with tessellations. Amazing how something that looks so simple could take me so long to figure out. haha. I know, I know... doesn't sound like me to be working so hard (and for no school credit?!!?)... Eeps. Read a little bit of Greg Lynn's essay on "Animate Form", and I think I'm becoming to understand why architecture has recently been moving towards the blob, curvatures, and animations processes as a design procedure. Not entirely convinced yet, or rather I'm not clear how my appreciation of 'clean' aesthetics fit into the overall scheme of things, but I feel as if I'm more aware of how architecture as a field can engage in such a broad spectrum of issues, that perhaps relegating it to mere buildings would be somewhat incredulous. Oh gosh. What has Pratt done to me? Guess it's time to go back to my taiwanese soaps. hehe. Joe Cheng! My new idol....... *swoon* And yes bohboh, I take it back... Kim Sung Soo IS drop-dead gorgeous too. (- -")

heat.wave.

Don't be fooled by the summer again

Been about 3 weeks since I came back to nyc from london... temperatures have been soaring to above human living conditions- today it hit a high of 43 deg c... Humidity seems to be 200% (is that even possible?) since you sweat like a pig even when u're sitting in front of 2 fans and doing absolutely nothing but trying to breathe. Thunderstorms are expected tonight, together with possible tornadoes, signalling the end of the current heat wave that has had much of the east coast in an oven-baked blanket. I think I will just be grateful for the relief that the rain brings with it. Summer fun indeed.

Current background image>>> Feist "Gatekeeper" lyrics and Quattro Signioni (4 Seasons) by American artist Cy Twombly