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.