Coalition Government: Behold, the 3 Stooges are here to govern Canada

(Comic source: The Globe and Mail; Dec 2)

Wow. This is democracy at its worst during such economic uncertainty. This is a proof that politicians are self-interests maximizer. Politicians buy our vote; we vote them in. Yet, they seem to treat Parliament as if it were a kindergarten playground. Why do people not realize for everyone to be able to pull through an economic recession is to co-operate? This is not the time to play games to gain political power. Partnering with the separatist party? Stephane Dion, avez-vous perdre la tête?!

If the coalition goes ahead on Monday, I am never voting again because apparently, mine and some other person's votes will never count anyway; the opposition would always do what they please and they would not care about what majority of voters think. People who did not vote for the Conservatives, did not vote for a coalition government. This is not how democracy works. If the coalition goes ahead, all of Canada's power will lie in the hands of a few political leaders from the East and with the separatists, leaving the West vulnerable and displeased. It will upset a lot of Western Canadians. Playing Robin Hood does not create National Wealth; increasing productivity creates wealth and results in increase of GDP. Once again, the West is being alienated.

PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION AGAINST THE COALITION IF YOU BELIEVE IN DEMOCRACY. (Click on linked sentence)

The Customer is Not Always Right

Being in part-time retail for a couple years, I have learnt to be more cynical and tactful when it comes to customers who demand they are always right. You would also learn to appreciate other people's stories... with a chuckle or two. Below is a story from this website: http://notalwaysright.com

Personally, I Prefer Stars And Polkadots

Tourist Shop | Vancouver, BC, Canada

American customer: “Your flag is just so pretty. I love maple leaves. Does it come in blue?”

Me: “Um, no, sorry, only red.”

American customer: “That’s a shame. My kitchen is blue, and it would look so pretty on the wall. You should make them in other colours.”

Me: “…”

Canadian customer behind her: “That’s a good point. I’ve always thought the stars-and-stripes would look great in earth tones.”

American customer: “Our flag is ALWAYS red, white and blue! Honestly, Canadians are so stupid sometimes.”

Wishlist

Arts and Crafts
I have always wanted to learn how to oil paint as a child. I have an easel; I draw from time to time, but somehow, oil paints was never explored. I was somewhat working on a watercolour pencil crayon project; I haven't got back to it yet since my college papers beckon me towards their direction with meticulous analyzing, writing and citing.

It would be really cool to get this:







The only oil medium I have been exposed to is oil pastels. It is a little tricky to use, but after a lot of blending and mixing, you can get a really cool painterly effect. Nonetheless, it would also be cool to get stretched canvas, oil paints and brushes for Christmas. A Staedtler Fineliner Set would also be cool since I do a lot of comic drawings. If you'd like to see colour on my comics, Fineliners would come in so handy!

*sigh, it's a good thing I have two days off after my last final exam. Guess where I would be heading: craft stores. It's bad when craft stores, bookstores and music stores are all sorts of candy stores to me.

Meanwhile, I am meeting up with an Artist on the Ward volunteer coordinator tomorrow! This would probably be the most humbling volunteering experience; it's a great way to give back to the community.

Money
On a not so serious note, it would be cool to get cash, just like during the Chinese lunar new year. After all, I would most likely won't spend it, but rather invest it in something. This is why I am a Finance major. On a grim note, my balanced mutual fund is experiencing a $300 loss, which isn't too bad when you compare it to the TSX index within the same period. However, this is only normal -- as long as you keep the money long term, it will grow despite all the short term turbulences and bumps.

Need more cowbells to cure this headache.

Amazing Videos for knitting

Who can resist a ball of beautiful yarn at $0.99? Not I. The bulky yarn, 76.5% Acrylic, 10.5% wool, 10.5% Mohair and 2.5% Polyester, has been incredibly difficult to knit with, especially with bigger sized needles; size 10 mm in my case. Frustrated with trying to wrap my head around knitting abbreviations, I turned to youtube for help. It has been a while since I have knitted! I forgot how to cast on. (Crochet is part of knitting, but it is technically not the same) There are so many methods of casting on -- you could either use your fingers as if the yarn was a sling shot, working with one needle; or use the other needle.

I might just have to rip out the scarf I was working on. I think the yarn I bought would be good for making a scarf with elongated stitches. See pattern. (6 rows of garter stitch, 1 row of elongated stitch. Repeat. Add fringe.Elongated stitch: insert needle as if to knit. Wrap yarn 4 or 5 times around needle. Pull all wraps through stitch. On next round, knit just the front loop, letting wraps fall off of needle.) I might just give this scarf to a cousin as Xmas gift, my way of saying thanks when she drives me to the airport this December, instead of donating it to the business association's silent auction.

Hearing the phrase "Purl stitch" used to make me feel like a knitting idiot, but this video explains it in full and concise clarity.

I was stumped on making my boyfriend's scarf for the longest time. He requested for a scarf with a button, which is a cool idea -- you button your scarf instead of having to wrap it around you. Now, I might not be as stumped. This is how to stitch a button hole.

Seriously, I will love any of my friends to death if they give me knitting patterns/needles/cool yarn for Christmas. You have no idea how addicting knitting is.

French 101: Parlez français

You cannot ruthlessly translate English into French, word for word. Each language behaves differently when you try conjugate words to make a sentence.

For example, I am hot. (Or I feel hot.)
I overheard a girl saying, "Je suis chaud."
It was quite awkward because she has just said that she is horny.

In French, some adjectives are meant to be possessed, such as hungry, thirsty, hot, cold, 'seems like' and the list goes on.... Hence, it should be les pronoms + avoir + ces adjectifs.

J'ai chaude.

For more stories on this kind of language blunders, go to here.

Burning cash to survive

Recently, my lecture-mates and I have been stalking GM in the TV and newspapers, just like some of you might read tabloids about celebrity gossips. The business section of the newspapers is "tabloid material" for me to analyze; it's all relevant to what I am studying. I have no life.

It's a real mess; Cerberus Capital (note: not an auto company) owns Chrysler and 51% of GMAC. GM and Chrysler were in talks of a merger; it all seemed very exciting since it might tell me what the answer to my assignment is. The assignment due date is November 17. Despite the events that are fast unveiling in the "real world", my time spent on reading the news now seems somewhat futile when Chrysler might turn to Nissan for merger talks -- my assignment is now a fictional "what-if" scenario; I am suppose to come up with a way to carve the deal if the merger were to happen, such that GM would have access to Chrysler's cash. (This takes account into setting my personal opinions aside, like many other doubters)

One of my frustrations with following the news is that a lot of the news articles are opinionated. Damn it, I don't care if you think GM's execs don't deserve to be on the board, bla, bla, bla... I just want facts! And FYI, it's not easy to just fire your top executives when there are severance packages, gold, silver and tin parachutes. Column writers ought to use their nogging before they voice their opinions, especially if it is a business news column.

Time is of the essence. $25 billion is supposed to go to the auto industry in the US, but there are going to be restrictions on how the car-makers can use it; they can't use it merely for survival purposes, but rather to help in the innovation process. It is rather tempting to write my paper as if I was a pseudo-journalist, but I will not. It is also tempting to add the cartoon as a part of my paper. So much for sardonic humour.

A Cynful column: It's not easy to be "me"

It’s not easy being a twenty-something. Your parents silently expect you to be at least decently successful; silently because they miraculously nag slightly less now that you’re no longer a teenager. You may have switched majors for the umpteenth time, cursing yourself why you did not take a year off travelling after high school. You still have no idea what you want to be when you grow up. You wanted to be an architect when you were 8, but a cousin misinformed the deadly legal consequences of not designing buildings properly. (See Cynful comic) You wanted to be a rock-star, but you’d never have the time to practice when there are multiple part-time jobs to make ends meet. Your peers have almost everything they want while you are still working hard at it. You suddenly find yourself stuck – as if a car were trying to roll its wheels on a heavily bubble-gum littered track….. Discouraged, you try convincing yourself that you’re a failure. Wait, there’s a red light; Stop.

Look, times have changed. We cannot always get what we want anymore when we want it at this exact instant. It is, however, not the end of the world. To be successful in life, we need Opportunity, Passion and Vision.

“We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations.” - Charles R. Swindoll

A vision without an opportunity or rather, an opportunity without a vision, is like a cat chasing after its tail. An opportunity without passion is not worth exploring; I have been there – I pushed myself towards an actuarial degree I suddenly had the least interest in towards the end of it. Nothing, however, was gone to waste – the discipline from being trained to think and form good study habits remained. Meanwhile, a vision without passion seems quite half-assed; I would call that day-dreaming. Passion is conviction, dedication and all the other positive -ions. Have I lost you yet? In a nutshell, you need all three; you can’t just have one of or two of the above.

It is not easy being a twenty-something these days. When the economy is at its trough, we are competing with experienced people who are laid-off for jobs. Employers are the one having the better bargaining chip this time. While times seem to be bleak, if you are a law student, studying bankruptcy laws might be a good idea. Opportunities will always be present, but they might not be very obvious. This isn’t the time to wait nor hunt for opportunities; it might be our time to create one. The light has now changed to green, it's race time....

"Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity." - Seneca (Roman philosopher, mid 1st century AD)

As the Future Unfolds

It has been a while since I have written an article; I have been reading more than I have been writing: professors are making sure that what we learn in class will help us identify and analyze market information from a Finance and Economics perspective. It would be quite naive to assume that Canadians would not be affected by the global economic slow-down. The United States is one of the world's largest consumer; when credit is not as readily available, demand for luxurious goods and services falls, hence prices will fall -- less consumer spending = declining sales, in a painful, but simplistic nutshell. Furthermore, briefly speaking, any country that trades a lot with the USA is affected in the sense that there are possible exposures to the sub-prime mortgage investments meltdown as the housing bubble burst. In essence, there was little or no cash-flow to any of these investments -- sub-prime mortgage home-owners did not have to pay until a certain year, then they would face escalated mortgage payments. Ironically, simply put, consumers were encouraged to spend more than they can earn; that was where things went out of hand....

Perhaps, this sounds like déjà vu? Indeed, one of my very first blog entries talked about smart spending. While there may be no crystal ball that perfectly predicts the future, take this also into consideration: the things we consume require various resources; not every resource, however, is replenishable. We want it. We want it now. We have the money after all; be it cash, credit card or otherwise. While money do not grow on trees, trees take a whole lot longer time to grow than the time it would take to accumulate your annual salary. If such reckless spending were to continue when times are good again, and if the world is consuming more than the rate of production, the lack of supply will drive prices up to meet demand. (See WWF article)

“Losers live in the past. Winners learn from the past and enjoy working in the present toward the future.”
-Dennis Waitley

“He who controls the present, controls the past. He who controls the past, controls the future." - George Orwell

It's easy to simply blame anyone for the infamous credit crunch, but the market is essentially demand-driven in nature. As consumers, we should be responsible with our personal wealth. Once the money leaves our hands in exchange for our wants and needs, we have no further control on how others use that transferred wealth. Trust, however, is an important basis in the financial markets -- while free-market is important in achieving economic efficiencies, consumers should be protected from fraud/greed; this is where regulations would prevent gains by few in society. Nonetheless, consumers should always be aware of the risks they are taking -- be cynical of investments which promise huge returns in short amounts of time; huge returns require taking huge risks. Similar to dating in a way, do not date huge risks if they do not make you feel comfortable; safety first.

To sum up, to date "Rich", as consumers, we need to watch our weight when it comes to spending, relative to what we earn; unnecessary debt is flab, which will take several years to shed/pay off. Also, we need to be comfortable with ourselves in the sense that we should control our emotions when it comes to investing; a bubble will burst when it gets too big. So what if we missed the band-wagon on real-estate investing? Big deal. There will be other opportunities (or fishes in the sea) -- if you're lucky, value-investing (investing in under-valued assets/companies) might bring wealth. Here's a mighty R-word that attracts "Rich": research.

Nobody said that dating "Rich" is easy; there will be ups and downs. The future is unfolding itself of the turmoil as we speak.


Disclaimer: this article is not intended for any academic purposes; this article reflects the views of the author, based on some fundamental economic principles. Please note that even though central banking has not been included, central banks do play an important role in the economy. Therefore, it is not wise to cite this article for any research purposes. Reader discretion is advised.

Comical humour

(From the Edmonton Journal, 29 September 2008)
Ah yes, a geeky cartoon to enjoy for Finance enthusiasts alike.

On the Surface and Between

What you see is not what you get
On the surface it's pretty and all
Peel the layers away; it's mouldy and old
Deep, dark, ugly truths not wanting to be told
What could a smile mean?
So many ways of smiling; how could you tell what
Someone's thinking . . .
If you look into the mirror, on the surface and between
Do you know who you see
Or are you escaping from that person?
It's not easy to like him/her
But we aren't manufactured by society
So much fabrication . . .
On the surface and between
Don't know where to turn,
Life is complicated, threaded
On the surface and weaved in between.
I want to run away and hide
Under all this surface; I want to know
What's in between.

- Cynthia C.
2006

I like Greenades and Ham

(It has been a while since I've drawn a cartoon, I know. The Cat & Mouse series should be back soon....)

Windows Live OneCare

Windows Live Doesn'tCare.

It is only OneCare if ALL of your software is Microsoft -- it doesn't work well with others. It was already very frustrating dealing with the software; to deal with the customer support over the phone -- be prepared to be passed around with never-ending call transfers. The software treated a lot of my programs as if they were viruses. When I tried cancelling within the money-back guarantee period, nobody returned my calls despite leaving a few voicemails.

Just then, a nasty email from Billing told me that an automatic renewal would be charged unless I cancel it. I called FOUR times. After several business days, no calls were returned. Trying to cancel the subscription was hopeless -- one transfer after another. One representative said, "Just to warn you, Windows Live OneCare is American. They don't really take care of Canadian accounts." So, more transfer after another transfer until I recognize a friendly Canadian accent. She apologized, "Yeah, sorry. I left a few voicemail as well, but they never called back either. But here's the money-back guarantee toll free number."

There HAS got to be a way to pull the plug. Then, I typed the necessary keywords on Google. Finally, there was another way (NOT mentioned from the links provided in the email) to reach Billing: via online chat. After what seemed to be forever, the subscription was successfully cancelled. Of course, they would not give my money back, like I predicted. After such experience, I would never try another paid Microsoft subscription EVER again.

Untitled

Our eyes are window to the soul

Our hearts, alive with passion, we need to mould

From pieces of broken hearts, melted to whole

A piece by piece, we need to release

That memory which keeps our eyes shut

Locked up from the rest of the world

We are prisoners from our past;

The wilted flower will not grow,

New seeds need to be sowed....

Now, tear storms hit the panes

When it ends, all survivors see is a rainbow.

- Cynthia C.

December 2, 2003

Typing Blues

Pecking away at the keyboard,

Hunting for melodious alphabetic chords,

Painting rhymes, simile, metaphors and hyperboles,

Maintaining a somewhat harmonious accord.

Like a pianist typing the jazz scales

Which makes no sense,

Rising from the start of the rainbow

to the pot of gold.

Blues in a poem

Is about a million ohms

Of resistance, of annoyance in a person

who is clueless of what

A blues-ey poem is.

Typing the blues is nothing

Other than infusing

Clashing sharps and flats.

- Cynthia C.
(written in 2002)

The Everything in One Pot series: Creamy Corn Stew

Being a student means you won't have much time to make gourmet dinners nor the budget to get fresh ingredients. However, how do you PLAN to eat healthy? Well, it takes a bit of creativity and laziness. You put everything in ONE pot. Note: you can get any ingredients you like and just throw everything in one pot. It doesn't matter how you cook it: Stir-fry, boiling, using the slow-cooker, baking; you throw everything into one pot.

Why? It saves time. Also, you get more flavour in your food without having to add too much acquired taste. My boyfriend gets nervous whenever I throw everything in one pot. But hey, he's tasted it all: baked mushroom chicken, chow mein with a lot of stuff, stir-fries.... All it takes is a sense of adventure and any groceries you ALREADY have. The process really is just an improvisation of how my mom taught me to cook curry and "hot pot". Hot pot (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_pot) is also known as "steam boat" in Brunei.

Stuff I used:
1 can of creamy corn

some small portion of canned mushroom

carrots (since I'm lazy, I used washed and skinned baby carrots)

onions/shallot

Chicken breast

Ham (a great way to use ham when it's getting closer to the expiry date; you don't have to use it if you don't eat pork)

1 egg (creamy corn generally goes well with egg; again, you can skip the egg if you aren't a big fan of eggs)

Directions:

1. Add a tiny bit of butter or cooking oil. Grill the onions, ham and chicken first.

2. When the chicken looks cooked, pour the can of creamy corn. Throw in mushrooms and carrots or any vegetables you have got.

3. When it starts to simmer, crack the egg. Stir.

And there, you have a quick meal which is brought to you by Everything in One Pot.

Love is a Simple Melody

Frogs and crickets made it to this original song? Yeah, they sure did. So did my boyfriend's acoustic guitar with the name Mann on its headstock, which has been a great inspiration with a really nice warm tone. When you can't write a love letter nor even make a phone call to see how the other person is for two weeks, you could write a song and sing it to the stars. The heavens would listen. It's kind of like that song from American Tale: Somewhere Out There.

When Recipes don't look like they ought to be...

This is a video on HOW to crotchet a circle.

And NOT this:

According to the pattern I have, I was supposed to:
First Motif
Chain 6, Join with Slip stitch to form circle. (This was where I went very wrong. I slipped stitched the entire chain.)
First round
Chain 3, 23 double crochet in ring. Slip stitch in top of chain 3. (This is where I'm like, WHAT? How do you even crochet a circle?!?!)
Second round
Chain 3. 1 double crotchet in each double crotchet to end of round. Slip stitch in top of chain3. 24 stitches. (This is where it starts becoming gibberish. There are even more steps after this second round for the third round..! ACK!)

When books don't do enough justice to visual presentation, I am so thankful for people who take the initiative to upload help videos. Well, I guess it's back to ripping my stitches apart for the umpteenth time....

So, after ripping it apart three times while trying to get the hang of crocheting a circle, this is how my first strip looks like:

On Crotchet and Knitting

I USED TO crotchet. All I knew was how to make a chain, single crotchet or double crotchet. However, now is all but a faint memory of not touching it for more than 5 years -- I have a quarter-finished scarf that I was crotcheting while I was on my concert choir tour in BC -- in an attempt to give it to a girlfriend for her birthday then. Please bear with me as I am adding patterns that catches my eye. I am going to have a fun time trying to understand the abbreviations in crotchet. I suppose you could request some of the patterns I post to be done -- it would be a good challenge.

Baby's First Teddy Bear
By Suzy Rigby Copyright 1997

This is the perfect quick gift for that new baby or for a Saturday shower! Since there are no loose parts, it is wonderful for the crib. It will quickly become your babies best friend!
Materials:
2 oz main color yarn
sm amt. 2nd color yarn
Size G hook
Yarn needle

Note: Bear is worked in 2 rnd granny squares.

You will need:

9 of mc and 2 of 2nd color. You will also have the "face" square.

Motif
Ch 4, sl st in first ch to form ring.Rnd 1: Ch 3. (counts as first dc now and throughout) 2 dc in ring. *ch 3, 3 dc in ring. Repeat from * 2 times more. Ch 3 and sl st to beginning ch 3. >
Rnd 2: Sl st to corner space, ch 3, 2 dc , ch 3, 3 dc in same sp. *Ch 1, 3 dc, ch 3, 3 dc in next corner. Repeat from * 2 x more. Ch 1, sl st to top of beginning ch 3. Finish off.

Face Motif.
For the face, start with the 2nd color, ch 4, sl st to form ring. Ch 3, 2 dc ch 3, 3 dc in ring. Join mc in top of last dc, and fasten off 2nd color. Repeat as for regular motif. This will give the impression of eyes.
Ears:
Ch 4. Row 1: 3 dc in last ch. Ch 3, turn.
Row 2: 2 dc in each dc across. 8 dc . Fasten off, leaving long end for sewing.

Joining.

Crochet or Sew all squares together as shown in picture. There will be a front, with the face, and a back with 2 white squares (one for back of head, one for back of belly) Then, sl st around entire piece to join front to back. Sew ears to top of head.

Your Past Can Come Back to Haunt You

Out of curiosity, I googled myself. I'm happy to see that this blog has made it to being somewhere within the first two pages of the search list. Nonetheless, my gutsy-ness never fails to haunt me: I was surprised to be able to find myself on the first page of the search when I typed in my full name. There it was: four delegates from my high school representing the debate club in the model legislature. http://www.shep.net/newsletters/Feb2002.PDF If you were to persuade me into joining a debate club now, I would have to think more than TWICE before saying yes. Debates, however, are fun, but only when you have got the facts right.

A newsletter from (oh, gosh) 6 years ago!! There is supposedly a Shep's 50th reunion this fall, but I'm not going (despite it being a great networking opportunity). I guess I've had enough of eating expensive rubbery chicken at the Northlands Agricom. I wouldn't want to relive my Grade 12 grad if I could help it. That chapter has been long closed even though I still ocassionally keep in touch with a few people I've met from that high school.

Well, one day when my butt starts to sag due to age and gravity, I hope what I am doing right now would not come back to haunt me. Well, I know a few poems from my childhood and teenagehood have. Most of us had those kind of moments: what the hell were we thinking??

Yep, if we say before we think, we will think too much later before we say. Therefore, we can say that conclusively it is better to think before we walk the talk. After all, as the old saying goes, empty vessels make more sound; kinda like this blog entry -- there is no actual meaningful content. Wait, I am contradicting myself, aren't I? Have I lost you yet?

An Excerpt from Love is A Simple Melody

Love is a Simple Melody. Media: Charcoal (Click for a larger image.)

An excerpt from an original song I wrote on June 1, 2008. It would take me a while to get the song figured out. Stay tuned for more.....

Stronger

An illustration of the headlands in Tintagel, Cornwall, South-east coast of the United Kingdom. Media: conte

I'm usually a pretty level-headed girl,
but I can't carry the whole world up on my shoulders
I know I'm strong, but sometimes I'm wrong
because I'm stubborn and let pride get along the way

I'm definitely stronger because of You
The ghosts of yesterday are slowly gone;
I feel so safe when I'm with you
You make me stronger
So much stronger, like the rock after endless storms

I'm still standing stronger because of the sand breaking the waves;
The grass is like friends that holds the rainwater,
preventing me from breaking down any further.

The sun is definitely shining brighter, longer and stronger
because of you, you and you.

- Cynthia Chiew, February 24, 2008

This is me visiting England alone on a whim in January 2008. It was a wet, windy, and an unpleasantly cold day to visit the ruins of Tintagel castle, which was believed to be the legendary King Arthur's castle, but I had three hours to kill after a long train ride from London. I was the first visitor that day, brave enough to go despite a rainy hail-storm. The stairs to the castle were difficult and uneven; it was sort of poetic that way. It reminded me of life -- not each step is the same nor it is easy to climb, but once you get to the top, the view is marvellous. I was deeply humbled by the headlands -- they have been here for many centuries. When I saw the ruins of Tintagel Castle, I was even more humbled by the strength of nature: waves of the Atlantic Ocean.

Cynful Comics: Curiosity doesn't always kill a cat in Cat & Mouse

Meaningful Artwork

I was inspired to draw this picture when I knew how much it meant to my boyfriend. It was an actual photograph that came out in the Edmonton Journal 17 years ago; my boyfriend was 8 years old. It is simple, but meaningful: it was how he spent time with his dad; chasing after trains and taking pictures. He's always dreamt about it being painted, so I drew it as painterly as I could. It took me several weeks to finish this chalk pastel project. As soon as I finished it, he wanted to give it to his parents, whom I have yet to meet. (insert nervous smile)

This scanned version doesn't do justice to the actual picture though; it is chopped off on the sides.

My first music video: Autumn

I wrote this song four years ago on a beautiful and rare sunny fall day; I was sitting on the grass at the U of A quad. Somehow, it struck me that every thing good in life is short and bittersweet. We get so absorbed in daily routine that we are usually oblivious to what's going around us. Life is short -- Live it. Cherish it. Some things last forever; Some don't.

All pictures in this video are from the public domain. I do not claim rights to any of these pictures.

BlackAdder

You can visit here to view the rest of this first episode. Ah, I love British humour.

Oh, F!

Yes, all hail the almighty letter F. It's the grade you do NOT want to get. And so, some of us have our own rituals when it comes to writing the letter F. Some of us stay up pretty late to the point where processing rate of data and absorption rate of knowledge in the Big Brain slows down with a warning that silently goes: "BRAIN OVERLOAD. BRAIN OVERLOAD." Slowly, Lenient Liver is silently protesting against the over-consumption of caffeine. Some people use cue-cards; some pace back-and-forth while trying to get things to memory; some people camp out at the library. I take a lot of power naps which often, unsurprisingly, backfires when a 15 minute power nap turns into hours.

I have all the classical and jazz online radio stations ready; whether it is conducive to study to jazz is quite questionable. There is nothing more FUN than studying. It seems like a marathon you can't win -- the same chapter isn't quite done yet with the triumphant turn of the page. When you're finally done the chapter, you try to take a moment to recall what you've learnt. Oh crap, what was that again? I've tried mind-mapping; illustrating axioms within theories to remind myself how they are all relevant. I've made up my own mnemonics, but Frustration seems to reign.





Studying for Finals is kind of like baking. Having a recipe isn't enough; you need to make sure you have got all the required inputs. Eventually, it will become a piece of cake. HAH, I would only wish it were so....

This post is brought to you today by Sarcasm and Loss of Sense of Humour.

Good luck with your Finals for all ye who write them. Study SMART.

Will it Blend? - Chuck Norris

My boyfriend showed me a few of these Will it Blend videos on YouTube. Well, I don't know about you, but it sure is one hell of an intimidating blender! (_____ smoke. Don't breathe this.)

Cat & Mouse: What do YOU want to be when you grow up?

Well, it definitely took me a long time to figure out when I got scared to be an architect.

Cat & Mouse by Cynful Comics

I guess I could make my comics a weekly thing. If you want to be guest comic story writer/artist, just shoot me a comment and we could definitely work something out. On a side note, I cannot wait to get chinese ink and bamboo brush from the art store; then, incorporate such media in comics. I definitely can draw better than this... though I might keep all my characters leg-less for now, until a petition for legs by either readers or my characters ensues.
Self-deprecating humour. Epic Fail: When Cyn learns to cook a dish with just ingredients, sans proper instructions. This comic strip is dedicated to Mike and Amy.

Yes, I shall find out how Mom cooks prawns or shrimps because it's not supposed to be fishy. (The failure was so epic that a photograph of the dish could go down to Ripley's Believe it or Not's headquarters. The batter turned out to be clumpy; shrimps very very naked and red, but was covered in "sauce".)

Cynful Comics: In the Life of a University Student

AH, yes. I'm trying to find humour beneath being buried by many research projects. You know it's definitely crunch-time if you're a university kid and April is flirting around the corner. Having worked with many different groups before, I find, sometimes, it really is hard to communicate with some people -- especially in the storming and norming phases of the team process. Some people want instant gratification of it being done while they have absolutely no clue which direction the project is going; I have the tendency to step up as the leader/coordinator of the project when nobody else will. I would make sure everyone has every member's contact information; etc. Well, sometimes in life, no matter how hard you try to make the mission statement clear or try to get everyone to contribute fairly, you've got to work with what you have and make the best out of it. The challenge I always face is to not create any negative energy when expectations are not met, but rather work with it. After all, group projects is a mini-threshold into the "real world"; or so my dad would speak in cliches and metaphors.

Below is a comic I drew earlier this morning. Disclaimer: This is not a direct representation of any event/incident that happened in real life. Even if it were, it would be made fictional and be completely blown out of proportion for the sake of comic humour.

Low-Rise Jeans Ettiquette

Ladies, please wear a belt. Nobody wants to see your knickers. If not the belt, how about sewing a sash onto your underwear? Wearing a longer blouse or t-shirt works fine too. Vive long tee's!! How I heart thee with the way you make me look a tad bit taller.


Low-rise jeans and me have been public enemies since way back. It started when pictures of me in low-rise jeans were not flattering at all; also, when I have to pull my jeans up immediately after bending over. Whether there is a correlation between buyers who buy low-rise jeans and fancy knickers, I do not know, but it could be an interesting marketing research topic.

Did I throw you off when I was talking about knickers with sash? Well, it's not a new idea, albeit a clever one. They are called high tied panties. However, I am not sure if such panties would douse my disinterest in low-rise jeans.

Chinese Take Away

This is what happens when two Chinese restaurant wrong workers collide!

Self-Portrait

Tracing from a mirror using a felt pen

This was such a hoot! I felt like a little kid again, drawing a caricature of myself. There is another one of me, but I am more self-conscious of myself in the other self-portrait because I was posing in front of the mirror with my chin down.

You could try it at home in front of the bathroom mirror too. Just get a non-permanent felt pen and trace yourself in the mirror. Then, trace again over with a tracing paper with your felt pen. You would get a 2D picture of yourself. Neat, huh?

Dad Makes Prom Dress

... out of condoms. Yes, a pretty original safe sex dress.

P.S. I got this in an email forward. It's too funny not to share.

Artwork

I love art. Contrary to what people think on this silly Facebook application Compare, I think I'm quite artistic; whether I'm good or not, it doesn't really matter because art is a mere hobby. When you're dealing with art, you're learning to take risks; you're always experimenting with different kinds of media. At the same time, you're solving problems; figuring out how to draw or create an object. Like Music, Art is very therapeutic for me; it exercises my right brain.

I have discovered that I love using India ink. I do the wash first, then I use a calligraphy pen, different brushes and paper towel (believe it or not) to further add details. You could also use a straw or even a toothbrush if you desire some cool effects with ink.

Above: Study of drapery -- a scarf.

Above: a daunting still life study -- the way as I interpreted it; it was not close to the real potted plant at all, but it was all I could see from my angle.

And here is a still-life study piece I did with conte. I am currently still refining my landscape of headlands in Cornwall, England, which is also done with conte. When I'm done, I will upload that here as well.

A Cynful Review: The Ivory Club and Ebony Lounge

I was in for a treat on Thursday evening after I got off work. My boyfriend picked me up and both of us were in for a royal treat. I have always wanted to go to the Ivory Club, but it is not very accessible by public transportation. In retrospect, it is probably a good thing because it keeps the teeny boppers away from such a sophisticated and genuine place.

Honestly, I did not know what to expect from a "piano duel". I thought it would be something like this:

Well, of course not exactly like that, but I thought it would be more of a match of some sort. Nonetheless, the whole show was 100% on-request. Here is a tip to those who haven't gone to this club yet: you should tip the pianists when you request for songs; it's only polite. $5 is the minimum. The more you tip, the sooner it will be played.

The food was amazing! We had a giant plate of nachos and asian spring rolls to start with; some sort of grilled pork dish for an entree. Hi-balls were half off that night. I didn't take any pictures of the food because I didn't plan to bring my camera. The pork fell right off the bone; very well seasoned that you don't even have to ask for salt nor pepper; it had some sort of cooked sliced apples as a side. I give the food two happy thumbs up!

Seriously, there is nothing more romantic than live acoustic music. I was melting the entire night; the food, the drinks, the music. As I was saying earlier, both my boy and I were treated royally. Well, I know my boy probably won't like me bragging, but he helped fix a lot of the equipment the club has at his job, including the white baby grand piano. Hence, the royal treatment from the club owner himself. I requested Van Morrison's Moondance and it was well played by the owner. I also requested Elvis Presley's Hound Dog and it was played pretty darn good by the sound guy. Wow, even the sound guy knows how to play! Hmm, how could you not dance to/swoon over any of these two songs that I've just requested?

Nothing beats live music. I love this club.

Has Alberta really got a Plan?

Maybe Ralph Klein wasn't that bad as an Albertan premier after all. In 2002, Alberta's Ralph Klein was halfway through his first term, riding a 20% spending cut roughshod toward the $2.5-billion deficit he had resolved to eliminate. (source: http://www.ontariotenants.ca/electricity/articles/2002/ch-02c29.phtml) Now, Alberta has a surplus. The question of HOW the province is going to spend/invest its surplus is a difficult one to answer. So, what is Ed Stelmach going to do?

Well, let's see how the Tories are doing under Ed's leadership in the public opinion poll first, shall we?

(source: http://www.nodice.ca/elections/alberta/polls.php)

It dropped from 58 to 32 from Jan 13th to Jan 24th 2008. That is a significant drop; but why? Is it because people are not so confident about Ed's leadership? Or is it due to voter apathy?

Challenged to think about what the top 5 issues in Alberta are in my Public Policy Administration lectures, following the news critically has been actually quite entertaining. My group came to a unanimous decision that housing (or the lack of) in Alberta is a major unsolved non-market issue. It is a farce really when the economy is in such a boom and it is getting more expensive to live in the province. Where and when does the provincial government draw the line when it comes to putting a ceiling to rent prices?

The NO PLAN propaganda:

On the contrary, the Tories have just recently unveiled an annual $6B spending plan that will run for 20 years. A 20-year plan? That is ambitious. The 100-page long plan (that I might actually have to end up reading as a class project), however, is short on specifics for longer-range schemes. (source: January 30, 2008. Edmonton Journal; Capital Plan; page A3) Well, that is actually quite understandable since politicians can't really predict the future as precisely as economists do.

To read more about the 20-year plan, click here.