life : toys : art : junk

New Year's Resolution?

2011-12-28T15:18:00.000-08:00

I can't think of any.

Maybe its because my brain is too stuffed with turkey, mash potatoes,and tea eggs (actually, I hate turkey but I eat it anyways just to feel some holiday spirit). My resolution for the rest of the day is to clean my room because my desk is so messy that im reaching under a pile of crap to type this entry with my keyboard. Excuse any spelling mistakes because I can barely see my keyboard right now.

Thankfully, I've dedicated most of my winter break working on projects for my cousins restaurant (EC Kitchen @ Portland OR). I've spent two weeks building the website with my ridiculously amateur html and css skills. After going through a bazillion trial and errors, I've finally managed to set up something that works 'decently'. The layout ended up looking like..... my previous blog layout (uh oh). It will be launched soon. For now im in charge of updating the facebook page (here). I also made a twitter despite not having one myself... but I have no idea how to use it for marketing purposes. Im also in charge of taking photos of the food, my cousin owns a Nikon D80 and all I can say is...the difference between a point/shoot camera and a DSLR is like rat's poo and fairy dust. I was extremely excited to finally be able to play around with a DSLR and now I feel like burning my sony cyber shot every time I see the results.

Here are some of the random photos I took for testing. Food photos are on the facebook page and will soon be on the website as well.

Extremely delicious food!! Seriously, im not bias, but you can't find this kind of high quality and authentic Chinese/Taiwanese food anywhere in Portland (maybe even Oregon).

This is where I usually sit with my antique macbook when im hanging around at the restaurant.

Anywhoo... before I move on with other random pictures I wanted to share my experience with last term's acting class. On the first day the instructor announced that we were all going to talk facing the camera and then watch/critique our scenes. At that moment I quietly declared in my head that I would go straight to my advisor and drop the course (but I stayed because I'll have to take it eventually, why not get it over with). This might sound ridiculous, but I've always avoided video cameras...for years and years. I would rather be forced to do a speech in front of a million people than to speak in front of a video camera and be forced to hear/watch myself talk...let alone ACT in front of the camera. It was definitely a class I dreaded attending every week....but watching myself on film sort of forced me to accept all the flaws I was afraid I had. Its a bit difficult to explain, but basically its something like this- we (ourselves) never really know what we truly look or sound like because the mirror is only a 'reflection' of ourselves and our own voice doesn't sound the way we think it does...etc. I always knew I had a lot of flaws I hated but never knew what it looked or sounded like to others...and finally, I was forced to see what im 'really' like through another perspective. Not happy with the results, but nothing I can do about it so time to move on.

One thing I learned from this course is that I can never be and will never be an actress. I didn’t think I could possibly be any worse than Kim Hyun Joong or Kristine Stewart.... but turns out im even worse than the two of them combined! Eventually it was like, ‘okay I feel so humiliated to the point where I cannot be humiliated any further’. Then I closed my eyes and dived into the water despite not knowing how to swim (wow miso poetic). I realized that acting is definitely a lot harder than what most people would think. The feeling of getting into your own character is very interesting, we all experienced it slightly after many NGs and it definitely feels shocking when you've finished with your scene. Its like "wait...what? was that really me??" When you're given a character, the way she/he walks, talks, reacts, every little tiny detail defines the character's personality and background. How well you act depends on how well you understand your character. The rest is just reacting in the shoes of your character. Okay, im not acting instructor and im a crap actress because I had a tough time breaking out of my shell, but acting class was an 'interesting' experience to say at the least...im surprised I haven't shot myself in the head during the course but im just glad I got it over with.

On with random photos!

So after I started project 360 (i've already failed it), I discovered this mini watercolor on-the-go set and was like OMFGIWANT. But its freaking expensive so I decided to just buy a watercolor brush. Basically, you add water into the body of the brush and you can paint with watercolor anywhere (without carrying a cup everywhere). I haven't test mine out yet, I actually completely forgot about it until now.

I have a few more pages but I haven't taken pictures of those yet. I feel like I should practice drawing more animation style characters like rubberhose style (because I love the oldschool feel). I haven't drawn in the notebook since the term ended so I have a lot of pages to make up.

YAY another picture of my fugly ramen lunch! I tried to improve the look of it this time and added more toppings. Picture didn't turn out appetizing at all...half an egg, a dumpling, an exploding fish ball (okay that sounds wrong, its actually a ball made of fish paste and inside is roe sauce which may explode everywhere when you bite into it), ham, seaweed, and korean marinaded anchovies.

Blueberry muffins made with Trader Joe's blueberry muffin mix. Deliciousssss, especially when the top is crispy and warm right out of the oven.

My aunt brought me some to-go from Saburo's (extremely popular sushi place in Portland). Their seafood is so fresh and delicious, plus each piece is huuge. The seared salmon and eel is amazingggg. I've been craving for their soft shelled crab sushi for weeks...

FINALLY had a chance to try the famous Shin Ramyun. All I can say is...its spicy. Nothing amazing although im impressed by its circular shape. I actually got extremely sick after eating this, but that might be because I was already getting sick and the spicy msg just triggered a bad reaction in my throat (literally could not talk after eating this).

This is the brand of ramen I always eat. Its like the shin ramyun of Hong Kong. The photo isn't the original flavor which comes with delicious seasame oil.

My parents were obsessed with these green tea noodles. They literally went to the supermarket and cleared its entire stock of green tea noodles. They were eating it almost everyday and now im just plain sick of them. Thankfully, they aren't sold in stores anymore (although I think they will be restocked soon). Dont get me wrong, its really good and the noodles are very high quality for ramen.

How I cook my ramen: I don't like cracking an egg in my noodles like most people do because it makes the soup all thick and the noodles all distorted. I always add water from my water boiler to a bowl, mix msg/sauce/etc, and when the noodles are done I strain out the water and add noodles in my bowl of fresh hot water. I usually add some ham, mushrooms, seaweed, and if im not lazy- a boiled egg. If im extremely unlazy, i'd even cook chicken stock instead of using the packet of msg. I've tried adding cheese, it tastes weird with ramen but its okay in cup noodles. I've also tried butter (this is popular in Japan), the first time was really good but the second time I added too much and it was gross.

Found out that Toys R Us were having a sale on Uglydoll products!! Came home with two uglydoll figures and two cushions (one my mom kept and the other I gave to a friend for xmas). Wish I'd bought more because I almost died on my way driving there HAHA. Okay it wasn't that bad, but I was kind of traumatized for awhile.

Found these little blind packets of hello kitty Lego's at Target. $2.99 each. Im buying more next time.

Fuego was having a 40% off sale. My sister bought me these capsule headphones...haven't test out quality yet but they're cute.

My sister got this for xmas. A Lotso plush with a strawberry scented tummy! Funny thing is we bought the same thing for our niece last year.

Hello kitty keycaps from Fuego.

If im not wrong, I've never taken a proper picture of my panda-z set. Ignore that thick blanket of dust sitting on my shelves....

Be@rbricks at the top (and a metallic qee)

Acrylic mustache vesselware cup from Sarah as xmas/bday present!! Omg i love it!

I learned how to fold a dollar bill elephant (from a video on youtube). My family were at my cousin's restaurant when a customer gave my nephew an elephant dollar bill. My dad came home with a stack of new dollar bills and told me to figure out how to fold one. I suck at origami and im no genius... so there was no way I could figure it out on my own. Nowadays you can learn anything on youtube so I cheated and looked up a tutorial. This is a crippled elephant cause I gave the nice ones to my dad.

These shoes were on sale at Aldoshoes and I couldn't decide between the 3 so I bought all of them -_-...kind of regretted it because they looked so similar. Oh well, since they're black and will match with everything in my closet. Saves me time.

I also realized that as I grow older my sense of style is becoming more tomboyish, whats up with that. Its supposed to be the other way around...

Saw these awesome notebooks on kidrobot's website. Knew I had to right click and save image.

Cute headphones I found on 9gag

More stuff from 9gag (gaaah the watermark!)

Hello Kitty x TokiDoki collection in Hong Kong's 7-11!!! You have to buy $20HKD (like 2.50 USD) and you'll get a stamp. For every 15 (i think) stamps you can get a figure. Or 5 stamps+$20hkd for one. Trying to get my cousins to get me one in HK. Y WE NO HAVE CUTE STUFF AT OUR 7-11s?!?

Okay so I have a sing-a-ma-jig still in its package and collecting dust on my desk. I bought it because I thought they were fascinating, ugly, and strange...and also because I watched a Jay Chou street performance where he incorporated one with his song. I also thought they could sing whatever tone I wanted, but obviously it wasn't that hi-tech. I saw these 'new' series online and I gotta admit, the baby set is pretty cute...

Some work I did over last term's image manipulation course.

Postcard graphic with random pictures given by the instructor. For some creepy reason this picture doesn't show up right on my itouch, it turns into a black and white photo with some strange white areas...

Two ridiculous World News magazine covers. Don't ask me where I got the ideas from... I don't know either.

Indie band album cover (main objective was to scan a photo and get rid of the dots)

Some symbols/elements to incorporate in our final project.

Final project 1-

Final project 2- I added a watermark cause im thinking of selling prints of this. Sadly, I resized and saved over the original so I'll have to redo the entire piece. I arranged the rubber ducks one by one until it formed the word RUBBER. Then I traced a photo of a rubber duck with my tablet and added accessories to them. Really bummed I don't have the original printable size anymore :(

Final project part 3-

(Progress shot of how I put that piece together)

I spent many hours working on this final piece and I probably had over 200 layers/pictures. I had a very strange feeling after I finished this piece because it felt extremely sentimental. I didn't have a clear image of what I wanted and ended up following whatever I felt like doing (I rarely work this way). Surprisingly, the result really reflected what I wanted to express- an old childhood memory. Back in the days, anything could be magical and adventurous with a little imagination. This piece have a Peter Pan-like story behind it.

OMG im finally done. Im trying to type super fast and finish up this entry because I still need to shower and then go out. Anywhoo, im finally done so off I go!

Mini post of randomness

2011-12-09T23:51:00.000-08:00

I should really be working on my final animation project...or studying for history...or figuring out wtfork I've just learned in math today so I won't bomb my final. I've been procrastinating way too much this term. Maybe its because work+winter makes me feel like the little match girl. If I could choose I'd rather take winter term off and make up for it during summer. I feel much more motivated and (obviously) awake in school during the summer (plus free AC all day puhaha). I also recently discovered 9gag and had my soul taken away :( must refrain myself from going there until after my finals (actually its opened on my other tab and im viewing it as I write this entry) AHH THERE IS NO ESCAPE *shivers* that site is the root of all evils (or of all the reasons why I may fail my finals)!!

Anywhoo...

So I was extremely bored one day and decided to reread my old xanga blog entries. I was mindlessly skimming/reading through entries when I suddenly noticed that they were all dated back in 2009. My eyeballs popped out of its sockets and rolled to Antarctica (just had a spelling fail. thank god for spellcheck) because I couldn’t believe all those events happened 2-3 years ago!! It’s like I blinked and two years suddenly flew by with a troll face. I realized I got my car two years ago and yet I STILL do not have my license two years later (epic fail much?). I swear im not another bad asian driver, okay maybe I am but at least I haven’t run over any furry friends or Portlandia hipster bikers yet. I vow to get my license before…uh, 2013. I was speaking on the phone with my cousin a few days ago and he told me that I had broken his record because he was the only one in our family (younger generation) who got his license after 18. Holy cow. Im growing old and moldy without even realizing it. Before I know it, people are going to start getting up for me in the priority seating areas on the bus. FML.

(I usually don’t use FML but in this case I cannot find a more suitable word).

Speaking of old, im turning another year older next month. I kind of miss the good ol’ days when I would I start counting down a month before my birthday and plan out this ridiculously mind-blowing birthday party that would’ve even put Kim Kardashian’s 10 million dollar wedding to shame (and it would last even longer than that)…. but unfortunately, none of those plans actually went through. Anyways, my parents would buy me a present and hide it in their closet, but eventually they would not be able to contain their excitement and go, “WE BOUGHT YOU A PRESENT AND HID IT SOMEWHERE. YOU WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO FIND IT.” Our house is so small that it is impossible to really hide anything (if something in our house is missing it’s probably because my mom secretly donated it to Goodwill) so I always ended up finding it before my actual birthday. The night before my birthday I would be so excited fantasizing about all the presents I may receive that I wouldn’t be able to get a wink of sleep. I really miss those days because I realized that as years go by, my birthday became something that I secretly started to dread. Yeah, im still young but once you hit 18, every year after that just becomes another load of responsibility, another growing pressure to become an independent adult, and another ~~one~~ countless amount of these “You’re already __ years old and you’re still acting like____,” lectures from your mom. For me, another increasing amount of bewildered, poop-their-pants-shocked and omfg-are-you-kidding-me-what-kinda-illness-do-you-have expressions from people when they learn of my age. Sometimes I just want to let it quietly slip by and pretend that I will remain a kid forever : ( yeah I wish I was a bit more optimistic. I told my sister this awhile ago and she said, “You’re so ungrateful. At least you have a family who wants to celebrate your birthday with you.” and at the moment I wish she’d added a slap in my face afterwards because it made me feel so guilty. So from now on I will remind myself that even if I had to take on 100x more load of responsibility and suddenly grow white hairs, it will be worth it.

Recently, I've been writing down a lot of random thoughts on my itouch...mainly just out of boredom during my bus rides to school. I guess I will be sharing some of my gibberish here...someday.

I was planning on sharing some pictures because I don't like publishing entries without photos...but I don't have time to resize and write captions for every image (because I will fail all my finals at this rate). I need some kind of ingenious tactic to keep myself from going online- internet addiction is scary. Originally, I just wanted a head start on this entry and finish the rest later, but then it wouldn't make sense for me to publish it after my finals...so here it is.

Will drag myself to school tomorrow (Sunday) so I can finally stay focus and get something done :(

Project 360

2011-12-01T20:18:00.001-08:00

I decided to be all pro and bought my first mini moleskine watercolor sketchbook around two years ago, but I never touched it because 1.) its freakin expensive for a tiny sketchbook, 2.) im bad at drawing on tiny paper, 3.)too busy being lazy, 4.) it looks too fancy to be touched.

So I decided to finally put this little friend to use because I realized its been a million years since I drew something thats not school related. The only time I can get myself to draw is when deadline is approaching for an assignment, otherwise im too lazy to even pick up a pencil (this is what art school does to you). Im afraid my drawing skills might start fermenting and growing mushrooms :( ....Anywhoo, I've been seeing a lot of project 365 for photographers and because im such a crap photographer, I decided to start my own project 360 for drawing. YES 360 BECAUSE IT SOUNDS COOLER. Okay, I lied. I must confess that I am an idiot and got 360 degrees mixed up with 365 days of the year. It was too late when I realized my idiotic mistake.

The first page tells you to write down your contact info and reward money if found. I have no money so I wrote 'good karma' which is probably more worthwhile than money anyways. (......actually im just a cheapo)

And yes there is my antique 'drug free is right for me' ruler which has managed to survive through history while all my other fancy rulers didn't.

Only posting this to remind and commit myself to the project because knowing me, I will probably forget about it after sunrise. It's something like a declaration of war so I can't back out.

Some rubberhose animation of Oswald the lucky Rabbit for old memories sake. I hope to do some rubberhose style animation someday.

A dedicated blogger?!

2011-11-22T14:08:00.000-08:00

I've become such a dedicated blogger that I am shocked at my own ability to do something productive even during break. THREE entries in 1 month! I've set a new record since like... 6 years ago *amazed*. This is mainly just another entry on awesome products/toys/random stuff I've come across in the last two months. There are only a few pictures I've taken with my own camera...one is an unappetizing photo of my half-eaten at-home ramen and the other is a picture of two sparkly pencils...(how sad can my life get?). Anyway, im considering doing some illustrated story entries because I suddenly felt all nostalgic and wanted to poke fun at the stupid events I've experienced as a kid. Then realized how bad of a story teller I am so I attempted to illustrate them instead, so far its not working out very well...but we'll see.

I think I may start trying to write more rather than just post pictures. This might be to due to getting an account on tumblr. Im not active on my tumblr at all, it’s more like a list for me to keep track of cool videos from youtube and sometimes (rarely) pictures. I’ve never reblogged any thing there, and to be honest im not quite digging the whole system. I don’t like the idea of ‘reblogging’ images. I see a lot of amazing photography skills there, but there are too many pretty pictures that aren't even taken by the users. It’s boring and feels more like im surfing around on a stock image site. It also drives me crazy when im scrolling and scrolling and scrolling forever and its all pictures without a single 'break' of writing. With that said, I decided I wanted to start writing more again even if it may make this blog less interesting. It’s kind of funny cause I know nobody really visits this blog and im basically talking to myself LOL (I dunno why but i recently started using LOL again)… I haven’t really shared this with blog people I know either, but I don’t mind because this blog is mainly for my future self to look back at when im old with dementia and can’t remember what my youthful past was like (if I ever had one in the first place). When im 80 years old I can read this blog and give myself a pat on the back for knowing I actually did something productive in this lifetime. I also realized that I am an extremely wordy person, completely contradictory to what I am like in real life. If you tell me to verbally speak to you in paragraphs, I will have a complete brain fart. If you tell me to write on paper I can ramble on for a million pages. Whenever im done blogging, I’ll look at my post and go HOLY COW how did I write so much?? But really, i think it’s because my layout is tiny .......*cough*

I also said I would share some works I've done through my courses...but im still too lazy to go dig out folders and take pictures of everything so I'll save that for another time. Maybe next time i'll have a nice long huge entry dedicated to everything i've done in the last 1-2 years. Someday.

To start off...

New layout! The above was my previous layout which I'd been using since I betrayed xanga for blogspot. I've liked it all along, but a few days ago I looked at it again and it suddenly seemed so gloomy and uninviting. Whenever I saw words, I just wanted to skip through everything (maybe its because i was the one who wrote it? ha). It even felt too cluttered and busy so I suddenly wanted to something completely different. I wanted something whiter and simpler......so here it is.

Feels like my blog threw up and took a bath.

[inception moment]

PICTURES (wow excuse my photography skills. My camera kept threatening to shut off cause it was low on batteries so I took these as fast as I could)

Been trying very very hard to take nice bright photos, but its not working :( i blame Oregon's weather and bad lighting in my house....and maybe my crap photography skills.

Most unappetizing photo of a bowl of ramen ever taken...but I wanted to share it anyway cause its been forever since I actually bothered to boil an egg for my ramen. I was halfway through eating when I suddenly decided to take a picture. Added beef shank slices, ham, seaweed, and an ugly egg (cause i cut it with scissors).

Went on a one day trip to Seattle and had deliciousss Taiwanese food. I also took this picture when we had already started digging in. Wow this is why I can never be a food photographer, all my photos have half-eaten food. Theres even my finger on the bottom left corner.

(trying to capture sparkly angles)

I had one of those moments where I see something that's completely useless, common, and random but suddenly felt like I NEEDED to buy it. Like my life will never go on if I don't buy it. I know I won't need it and its probably going to collect dust and disappear somewhere among the pile of mess on my desk, but I had to have it anyway.

So i saw these 'Swarovski crystal' pencils at the art store (swarovski my butt). I could've bought a whole pack of pencils for the price of one of these, but I got it anyway because it was so sparkly and calling out to me to buy it. I'll probably never use it cause it doesnt have an eraser and I hate writing with wood pencils. Snapping a picture of it might be the most practical thing I will ever do with them.

Finally bought a copy of The Art of Toy Story 3! Decided to share a few pages in my book cause the pictures above ^ are so lame :(

Mainly pictures of the toy designs because thats one of the reasons why I bought this book.

So cute!

My absolute favorite toy design in TS3!! I loved it so much I even took a screen-cap of it for one of my old blog entry. I even cleaned up this photo in photoshop. I wish they would make a real toy out of this. I know the design is based off of a very common toy, but none of them have cute characters like this! I also noticed the same artist designed a lot of cute characters (seen in photos above) ex.- the sunflower character, the hamburger, and the folding fruit.

Ok lemme dig up the old picture...

I waaanttt T_______T

Saw this new to-fu chopsticks toy/game on strapya and thought it was SUPER cute. I love the one with the mustache. The game doesn't seem all that entertaining, but its cute anyway. Wish it was cheaper though.

And a teeth game by the same company. The idea is extremely creative as well.

Not new but still cute! Designed by Treeson designer, Bubi Ai Yeung. Too bad I can't seem to find any U.S online toy stores selling this :( he comes with a bubble too.

The Treeson set was released a few months ago. I was about to buy a set, but cheaped-out at the last second before clicking the 'confirm payment' button. Decided it was too expensive with shipping for such a small set of figurines.

Gaahhh can't remember which artist made these, but they're resin (i think) gummy bear figures. How awesome is that? I remember when I was a kid I always dreamed of buying a giant gummy bear display figure (too bad none existed until now).

Been trying to find one of these for a reasonable price on ebay...no luck so far. He's called pon de lion created by a donut company called Mister Donut.

Look at the genius character design. Different types of donuts are incorporated into every character.

(bottom photos taken from Giantrobot shop)

I want one but im refraining myself from buying plushies.

I saw these on giantrobot for a super good price but decided I'd buy them later. When I went back again they were all gone :(

One of my favorite character designs. Its kind of uncommon to see giraffe characters cause real giraffes are so ugly *ahem* i mean, unattractive.

What a cute keychain!

When I first saw Gachapin I thought he/she/it was one of the ugliest and creepiest character ever (Boohbah still takes the cake though)

Okay and I still think its the ugliest and creepiest character ever.

Versus...

Boohbahs. Which one is scarier? They all look like they're about to feast on kids.

(image taken from google)

OSWALD! I promised myself I'll buy one the next time I go to the Disney store. This picture doesn't do the plush any justice, its so cute in real life. Oswald > Mickey mouse. (for those of you who don't know, Oswald the lucky rabbit was the first Disney characters created...yes, even before Mickey Mouse). Such a classic!

Sleeping disney baby characters. WHY DON'T WE HAVE THESE IN OUR DISNEY STORES?!?!

Been trying to get one of these on ebay for the longest time ever, but whenever I think about the size im hesitant about fishing out 12 bucks for it.

When I first saw these on the Kidrobot online shop I was like eeh?......then I looked at it again and went OMFGIWANT. The color combination, the simplicity, the design, the characters, the box, the freaking sweater, BEST SIMPLE TOY DESIGN EVER. Yea it doesn't have arms but who cares, be creative.

Its designed by Sticky Monster Lab, a studio in Korea. Its been so long since I've seen a good and unique toy design that I almost shed tears. The designer toy world is finally salvaged!

Check out their awesome site:

http://www.stickymonsterlab.com/

(image credit to jeremyriad.com)

Nowadays all I see in the urban vinyl world are stuff like this...

I cannot hold it in any longer. If i see this toy again I am going to shove a sock down somebody's throat (apparently its gonna be my own cause i will see it on my blog all the time now.) As much as i love designer toys and all its quirkyness, i cannot describe my hatred for all of these kaiju figures.

(more kaiju's here http://www.rotofugi.com/toyscart/pc/Kaiju-+-Japanese-Vinyl-c14.htm)

Another ADLSFJADFLKJ!!! SUPER AWESOME toy design I saw on some random chinese auction site. Mr.Cloud by Fluffy House. So far I haven't seen these on any english/US toy sites... so no buying for me. Another reason why designer toys are dying, it's because awesome designs like these aren't even sold anywhere in the U.S -_-

More cuteness to cleanse the eyes after seeing 'that' (3 pictures above.)

Hello Kitty collaborations are the best.

Someday when im rich, im going to buy ALLLL of the Re-ment sets.

Apparently, theres an awesome colored version of the white slim angel camera (vivitar ultra wide and slim copy). Blah i wanted to buy one but not worth the money for a toy camera.

Omg this cracked me up. Too bad you cant see the heels Barbie is wearing in this photo.

Wtf but so amusing!!!

Dead rubber duck o_o. I want it.

I saw this and almost fell off my chair. Smart idea. I love puns.

Since im suddenly blogging about funny things, I recently read Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris. Hilarious and entertaining all the way to the last page!! Definitely going to read the rest of his books.

Also bought the bunny suicides book. HAHA so amusing and creative.

Awesome tshirts. From threadless, wrongwroks, and design tshirts store graniph.

Okay I still have other stuff I saved for blogging (mainly childhood cartoons, some recent dramas i've been watching etc.) but I feel like i've spent a million years getting this entry together so im gonna save those for another time.

Adios!

Trader Joe's Product Reviews

2011-11-19T19:49:00.000-08:00

There is a Trader Joes nearby my house so my family and I often goes there to check out what kind of new products they have. I grew up buying stuff from Trader Joe’s and have always enjoyed their unique products. Since there are so many favorites I decided it would be interesting to do a short review of some of the recent stuff we bought.

I actually started writing these reviews one day (that was around half a year ago) and then totally forgot about updating it. Im not sure if some of these products are still being carried in stores, but even if they aren’t they might be restocked some day.

Also, some of these photos don’t belong to me although I did edit some of them. I googled and saved them into a folder a long time ago so I don’t remember where I got them from. I also couldn’t find photos for some of them :(...

Potato Trio 1.99

There are three types of potatoes in a bag; blue, Yukon, and red bliss. Im not a huge fan of potato chips, especially the ones that are not flavored, but this one is great. These are NO salt added… sounds a bit unappetizing, but it is actually perfect without salt because you can taste the true flavor of the potatoes. They are vacuumed dried so its not greasy like the Lays potato chips (yuck), but are rather very crispy. I recommend this to people who are looking for something more healthy and different. Being able to taste the original flavors of the potatoes is refreshing.

(image does not belong to me)

Sweet potato fries – 2.99

My family is obsessed with this at the moment. This also has no sodium (but you can always sprinkle salt and pepper). They use high quality sweet potatoes that are full of flavor, the fried batter is yummy and crispy if you bake it well. It’s a quick and easy snack (just reheat in oven) and well worth the money for the amount you get.

Country potatoes with wild mushrooms – 2.99 (??)

As you can see, I love almost anything potatoes. This makes a great quick meal if you’re lazy to cook anything fancy. I believe you can also microwave to reheat it, but I prefer to heat it in a pan. It tastes good with anything- rice or pasta/spaghetti for example. There are different types of mushrooms, each has a unique flavor. I think it’s a nice meal for those who don’t like frozen food from Safeway or whatever, it’s definitely a few levels above that.

Mini Mint ice cream – 3.49

This is basically mint chocolate ice cream sandwiched between two oreos. It’s a bit pricey for a seemingly simple dessert, but it Is DELICIOUS. I love the bite size oreos with the not-too-sweet ice cream, the flavor of the mint chocolate chips and cookie is a perfect combo. I wasn’t expecting much from this when I bought it, but it has exceeded my expectations. I’ll definitely be restocking on these. It’s probably one of my favorite ice creams from Trader Joe’s at the moment (although I love their ice cream mochis too).

Petite Cocoa Batons - 1.49

The price was so nice I just had to give it a try. This definitely reminds me of chocolate wafer sticks, but lighter and crispier. They are in tiny bite sizes, shaped like a wrapped mini candy (a bit hard to describe). Very addicting and crispy, but not too sweet. The price is amazing for what you get, its definitely worth buying.

(image does not belong to me)

Cassava Chips

I AM SO ADDICTED TO THESE. When I first tried them, I didn’t like it. The golden edges tasted a bit like burnt chips to me, but when my family started a second bag the taste grew on me. They are super addicting. The flavor is unlike any kind of chips I’ve had (I guess they kind of remind me of asian snacks), the flavor is kind of strong, but since its from Trader Joes, it is probably healthier than other chips out there. They are made from cassava, which im assuming is some kind of sweet potato type thing. They’re just so crispy, thin, and ADDICTING. It’s a must-try. Even if you don’t like it somebody else will. Its just the type of chips that some people find extremely addicting while others don’t.

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Chile Mango popsicles

My dad bought these thinking they were mango popsicles made in Chile -_-, but they were actually mango WITH chilies. Nobody in the house have the guts to try it (mainly because nobody can handle spicy food). The sound of mangos with chilies definitely reminded me of Mexican candies (which I haven’t had in YEARS and I crave for them often). So I decided to give this popsicle a try. It is extremely spicy at first bite…and even a few bites after that. The mango part is good and the spiciness adds a unique tangy flavor to it. It’s an interesting balance and strangely addicting. I think they are okay... not sure if I’ll be buying them again, but they are a fun try. If you like Mexican candies, you’ll probably enjoy this. The first few bite makes you want to throw it away, but it becomes less spicy and starts to grow on you after awhile.

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Charmingly chewy chocolate chip cookies

Naturally, my dad hates these because he only likes crunchy and crispy cookies. My sister and I both like chewy cookies, but she doesn’t like these. I personally think they make a good yummy snack. My sister doesn’t like the slight gingery taste. I don’t mind the ginger flavor. It kinda reminds me of good ol’ gingerbread cookies with chocolate chips. Overall, it’s a nice little snack with milk. They are a bit sweet on their own so I always end up drinking milk with it.

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Smores frozen sandwiches

Probably one of the more disappointing products I’ve purchased. It doesn’t taste like smores, or anything near marshmallows. I find it extremely sweet and there is nothing especially unique about the flavor. I can eat only half of one sandwich because I can’t handle the sweetness. The mini mint ice creams are much better tasting. These have around 23 grams of sugar while the mini mint ice creams only have 9 grams.

Mango Butter

I love mango and I love butter, it sounded like a yummy combo even though I usually hate any type of fruit jam/sauces. I think this is decent, nothing amazing because I still don’t like jams. But if you are a jam/fruit sauce lover, you’ll probably like this. The mango flavor is good, tastes natural and not too sweet. I like it on my pancakes and biscuits (perfect with biscuits). I definitely prefer this over any other type of jams.

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Gone Bananas – 1.99

I bought this because the box had sock monkeys on them (YAY!). I hate eating bananas but I’ve heard good stuff about frozen ones because they taste creamy and almost ice-cream like. They were only 1.99 a box with sock monkeys on them, so I had to give it a try. They are extremely simple (I could make them myself), basically just chocolate dipped in sliced bananas. It tastes decent, makes a nice cold snack. The only complaint I have is that the chocolate melts together and rather than getting nice little slices, you end up with a huge chuck of chocolate+banana. Its annoying to have to break them off because the chocolate melts easily. I won’t be buying these again, but they tastes good and is alright for their price so im not complaining.

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Veggie Stix – 1.99 (??)

I’ve been buying these for so many years I don’t even know what to say. Simply put, they are delicious, addicting, and healthy. Packed with good natural flavors and EXTREMELY crispy. YUM. If you haven’t had these then you are missing out.

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Buttermilk pancake mix – 1.99

BEST PANCAKE MIX EVER. Delicious! It’s better than all the overpriced pancakes I’ve had in restaurants. Its easy to make- just add egg and water (I use milk instead). The only time-consuming part is getting a smooth batter without lumps of flour, but I put everything into our Magic Bullet which saves me a ton of time. The flavor is just very nice and unlike any other pancakes I’ve had. Well worth the price.

Blueberry Muffin mix - $3.49 (forgot price)

I’ve been craving for warm blueberry muffins and decided to try a box even though they were a bit expensive compared to other baking mixes. I had some trouble following their recipe, which told me to pour melted butter into my mixture of egg and milk (which is cold), so I ended up with chunks of lumpy butter. I ended up baking it anyway and it actually turned out perfect. I ended up with around 2 dozens of blueberry muffins. It also came with dried blueberries, although it would be even tastier with fresh ones. Warm muffins with a crispy top straight out of the oven = heavenly.

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Trader Joes BBQ Chicken Pizza- $4.99

The taste was not bad (although I added more of my own toppings) but its kind of overpriced for a small frozen pizza. There were just not enough toppings (this is why I added my own) and the crust is quite thin. BBQ sauce and chicken on pizza sounds like the ultimate combo, but there were only several pieces of small chicken. There was also this one ingredient / herb that I didn’t like although I have no idea what it was, just tasted slightly bitter and strange. I’d buy it again if they lowered the price to $2.99 :P

Trader Joes potato tots - $1.99

DELICIOUS. Put on a baking pan, pop into oven for around 24 minutes, and tada delicious crispy potato tots. I also can’t believe how much you get for such a low price, it’s a pretty big bag of potato tots (can probably last 3-4 meals). The instruction tells you to turn them after 10 minutes, but im a lazy bum so I just let them bake until times up. Still tastes amazing!

Chocolate covered biscuits- $1.99

It’s a fairly small box but it’s still cheap for the quality you get. It’s made in France and the combination of biscuits and milk chocolate is delicious. The chocolate has a strong milk flavor and the biscuit is extremely crispy and light. They also have this in dark chocolate, which my family loves (I prefer milk chocolate). I think this would make a great part of a gift.

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Guilt-free Macaroni $1.99

I usually never buy anything that’s fat-free, sugar-free, etc. because im not trying to lose weight and they usually don’t taste as good. Decided to give this a try because it was only 1.99, its not bad but obviously nothing special.

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Butter Chicken $3.49 (?? Don’t remember)

Gotta say its pretty darn good for frozen Indian food. Im no Indian food expert, but I think the flavor was quite nice. Usually frozen food tastes really bland and includes the worse rice, but the rice was actually decent (not the best but still edible). Not many pieces of chicken, but the amount is still reasonable. I’d definitely be buying this again. Only complaint I have is, the box shows two pieces of naan and I thought it would be included…to my disappointment, there were none.

Trader Joe’s Expresso Pillows $2.94

These are delicious!! Its basically coffee bean sized chocolate covered toffees. The expresso flavor is especially strong and tastes almost like those chocolate covered coffee beans. Comes in a nice tin box too.

Chocolate chips brownie and oat bars $2.99

I personally thought they were average. It’s got a nice chewy texture and has a bit of a rum flavor which im not a big fan of. It tastes like a chewy, tough, brownie pressed together into a bar. To my surprise, my mom really enjoyed these and even asked me to get another box. I guess these are the types of flavor that really depends on one’s taste.

Raspberry macaron cake $ ???

My dad loves this cake. The cake comes frozen and tells you to defrost it in the fridge. The ‘maracon’ ends up kind of soft and sometimes soggy. The raspberry cream is quite good though. It’s a pretty small cake so a slice would be a nice treat for an afternoon coffee/tea/milk tea. It’s a very size nice for people who live alone/doesn’t each much cake.

French toast $???

Has a strong cinnamon flavor. Its not very sweet so I usually add butter and honey, but it’s also good on its own. It’s a good quick breakfast and doesn’t end up dry and rough after toasting. Nobody in my family likes the taste of cinnamon so it’s been sitting in the fridge for awhile. I’d say give it a try if you like French toast and the taste of cinnamon.

Dark chocolate bar – caramel and black sea salt $2.99 (?)

I have a strange interest in foods/snacks that have opposing flavors, like sweet and salty or sweet and spicy. I’ve heard good things about chocolate with salted caramel so when I saw this product I knew I had to give it a try. Im normally not a big fan of dark chocolate, but in this case I think it worked well with the salt and the caramel. The black sea salt is very salty and its actually on the outer layer of the chocolate rather than blended with the caramel. The flavor definitely grew on me after I put the chocolate in the fridge. Its hard to break apart without getting caramel all over your hands. The caramel is soft and oozes out when you don’t break the chocolate properly. I think it tastes 10x better after putting it in the fridge, its actually kind of addicting even though im not much of a chocolate lover.

NO PHOTOS ....

Tomato seafood sauce- $5.99

Its not terrible, but its kind of bland and sour unless you add your own flavoring to it (perhaps some salt or sugar). My mom added a lot of stuff to this so im not sure what it tasted like originally. According to my mom, it doesn’t taste good at all. It does have a decent amount of seafood in it, but they shrink into tiny pieces once cooked. Personally, I don’t think it’s worth buying.

Trader Joes onion honey mustard pretzels

Another disappointing product. I usually hate mustard, but I like honey mustard with my chicken nuggets. These pretzels just did not cut it for me. The pretzels itself were extremely hard and broken randomly so you get these HUGE chunks of broken pretzels (in different sizes) that are not particularly crunchy or flavorful. The honey mustard and onion flavor just did not work well with the pretzels. I felt like I was eating a spoonful of mustard and onion powder, the mustard also left a bitter aftertaste. My aunt enjoyed them, but she agreed that they were too hard. They weren’t disgusting, but they’re not worth the price and seemed badly made.

Trader Joes pad thai (in square box) – 1.99

I think this is probably one of the best frozen/quick pad thai I’ve had. It’s definitely not comparable to the ones you get at Thai restaurants, but for the price it is decent and filling. Would be better if it had some meat, but its vegetarian. I like to add a fried egg and stir fry (instead of microwaving) the pad thai to bring out the flavor. It doesn’t have that full fresh flavor you get when you order from restaurants, but hey we’re talking about frozen food here. It makes a quick, easy and good lunch or dinner.

Trader Joe’s Gummy Bear

No artificial flavor and no preservatives. Made from real fruit juices. I still prefer Haribo gummy bears, but these have its own unique flavor and density. They are extremely chewy, slightly hard. It’s a bit difficult to describe. The taste is not bad at all, but I personally I don’t like the density of it. It just feels strange to bite down on because its not exactly hard or soft or chewy. Heh, guess its just one of those things you gotta try for yourself. It’s worth a try because it might be the perfect gummy bears for some people. The natural ingredients are a plus as well.

To be reviewed later...

Cranberry bread mix

Remodeled garage / new studio

2011-11-16T16:26:00.000-08:00

I haven't touched my camera in a long time, the battery life runs out before I can even turn it on (apparently my sister told me I need to take the battery out whenever im not using it)...so I've been using my itouch to capture any photo-worthy moments, unfortunately any photo-worthy moments can be ruined with itouch's horrible quality camera. Looks fine when viewing on a tiny screen, but once viewed on the computer its like seeing a photo without my glasses on. I reaaaaallly hope to get myself a DSLR or at least a more decent camera soon. Looking through a bunch of cooking blogs with amazing photos, I have to admit I am extremely envious of their high quality cameras and photography skills. I've been holding off on getting a better camera because I literally have no life. There would probably be nothing interesting to photograph because im always at home doing school work, going online, at school, or out buying groceries. On the other hand, perhaps having a better camera would motivate me to seek out more interesting things around me... Anyway, I managed to get some pictures of my remodeled garage/studio and FINALLY my toy collection (on display). I took these photos a few months ago and my collection have grown since then, but here they are anyway!

Im also thinking of changing my layout cause it suddenly feels too dark and gloomy. Im thinking of something more refreshing and simple (WHITE!)...and hopefully a bigger entry layout so I dont have to resize everything in photoshop. I love the minimalist style web pages (actually for anything, really), but I also realized im one of those people who tend to keep adding things on until it looks 'fancy'. Minimalism that doesn't look too 'under-designed' is quite hard to achieve.

On with pictures...

I'll start off with some before pictures of the garage (I posted these earlier)

It was completely filled with junk, the garage door was broken, the entire garage was self-built by the previous owner and was poorly constructed. A few stray cats used to live in there (and probably other little furry friends as well, but I would rather not think about it)

After around 10(??) trips to the landfill...Empty but the walls and floor were extremely dirty and some of the woods had deteriorated. There was also no 'ceiling'.

AND THE AFTER............

dun dun dun!!

Key to the studio!! (had to use a huge keychain+strap cause I kept leaving it in the studio)

Added a door, two windows, new walls, a ceilling, new flooring (and painted white), a new ceiling light, and a heater.

NOTE: These pictures were taken on different days. The earlier set were taken during my summer term and my studio was a mess because of 3D design projects.

Excuse the giant mess on my desk...

LOL my dad's mahjong area. Im a bit hesitant about showing this side of my garage...

Took this photo when my studio was a bit neater... (now its more organized, but the floor is ridiculously dirty because of the rain and its too cold to work in there even though I have a heater.) Gotta do some major cleaning up when I have time. I also haven't done any decorating at all. Originally, I had a lot of ideas and plans in mind...but I haven't been motivated to start.

And more detailed shots of my designer toys/urban vinyl collection! (because thats the main focus here hahah. These aren't updated photos and I have more in my room (I have shared pictures of those a long time ago in my previous entries)

TOP ROW

SECOND ROW

THIRD ROW

FOURTH ROW

.....

I also woke up today and found a package at my door...

I WON THE LOTTERY!!!!

Just kidding, but its almost like winning a lottery. I got a huge set of to-fu oyako/ devilrobots toys from ebay for $61.25. It even included a brand new chogokin to-fu set (which was on my list of 'want but can never afford' toys). When I found out I won the bid, it felt like I had just won the lottery. This whole lot would probably value around $200++. Plus there were some rare pieces that are probably impossible to find now.

I couldn't believe my luck. I thought it was hilarious because at first I was going to bid $60.10 at the last five seconds but changed my mind to $61.25. I happened to win the other bidder by TWO CENTS! It was amazing I could hear the melody to hallelujah playing in the background......but I bet the bidder wanted to shoot me.

and here is the lot...

Lazy to take all the to-fus out of their boxes...Usually when people sell stuff in a 'lot'/set, I always find a few that I dislike. When I saw this lot on ebay, I was like, "I MUST WIN THIS BID. ITS MEANT TO BE MINE!! These were all the pieces I wanted in ONE BIG set with a ridiculously low starting bid. I thought the bid would go up to at least $120 and my budget was $80...but surprisingly there werent many bidders, probably cause devilrobots havent been releasing anything new lately.

The chogokin set!! The to-fu's bodies are made out of metal and it even includes two tinier versions!

Rare pieces!

I think I'll end this entry here and do the rest another time (mainly toys and random images I've saved over the months). I've done so much random artworks for school, but I havent been taking pictures/scanning or saving them so they're all over the place. I do have a lot of works from image manipulation course and intro to graphic design course saved on my desktop so I'll probably share some of those later. In fact, I might wait until the end of the term so I can collect all my works and share them at once.

2011-10-29T18:46:00.002-07:00

I haven't blogged in so long I actually forgot which e-mail and password I used for my blogspot account. I can’t believe I’ve already gone through two whole terms since my last blog entry. Well I’ve been using my new-ish tumblr (www.joirobo.tumblr.com) although I update once in a blue moon. I’ve been lazy and unmotivated to blog…I kept saving pictures for blogging, but eventually collected such an overwhelming amount of pictures that I just became lazy and allowed them to collect virtual dust.

Similar to other terms, I had some classes I enjoyed and others that made me want to yank out my hair (for stupid reasons, really). My cousin once told me that classes actually become easier as the level increases (for example a class titled MA123 would be tougher than a class titled MA259) and in my case, this is definitely true so far (note the SO FAR *knocks on wood*). I haven’t taken any classes higher than a 260 so I probably shouldn’t be talking…but anyway, last term was quite fun, but I’ve never pulled so many consecutive all nighters. Usually when I brag about pulling an all-nighter, I end up sleeping at 3:30 or 4:00 and then get a few hours of sleep before school starts (im not sure if those are even considered real all-nighters). But for last term I was pulling all-nighters around 2 times a week and almost the entire week of finals. All nighters meant working till 4:30 or 5:30 and then heading off to school at six with my eyes half-opened. My dad was afraid that I would get run over by a car while walking from my bus stop, but I am alive and well as you may see.

I might as well write a review for some of them. I took 5 courses per term, but I'll just review the more practical courses. I cannot for the life of me remember the real course titles, so I will refer to them as the way I remember it.

Drawing for animation- This course was such a BIG slap in the face for me. I always thought I was decent…or to be boastful, ‘good’ at drawing until I took this course. It really woke me from my daze and made me realized that I have an extremely long way to go. I had a tough time stepping out of my boundaries because im such a perfectionist. In the beginning I couldn’t loosen up and let go of this inner ego I had… I always felt like I had to prove my technical abilities. I always thought that a good drawing meant a pretty one and that was the only thing I aimed for. For years I couldn’t understand why my work lacked life, why everything I did was so dead and stiff. Through this course I finally learned that a pretty drawing does not equates to a good one. I can easily say that throughout ALL of my years of taking countless art classes, this was the only class that I truly learned something from. It completely changed my entire perspective on drawing. My instructor was an amazing artist and teacher, he was straight to point and honest, no beating around the bush or sharing useless life stories. Everything he shared with us would benefit us in the future and pushed us even further beyond our abilities. Everyone struggled in that class even though there were tons of good artists and the bar was raised especially high. I poured my guts into that last final and realized that hard work really does pay off. Im still nowhere close to being a good drawer, but im sure that class changed me in a way that would continue to help me improve. Just learning from this instructor made me believe that walking out of Ai with a 40,000 debt would be worth it.

3d design- One of the tougher courses I’ve taken through the year. This class required a lot of hands on work and abstract thinking. It made me realize that a good abstract sculpture can take a million years to get right. The work in this class was extremely time consuming and introduced me to a ton of medias and equipments I would normally steer away from or simply would not want to bother with. Stuff like saw and sanding machines, spray paint/primers, soldering irons and melting copper, sanding foam boards. I honestly thought I might have permanently damaged my hands by the end of this course. Especially for our final we had to sculpt and sand a 50lb salt block by hand. I became a caveman for days, hacking, hammering, chiseling, and sanding away like a mad caveman. For a few weeks, my fingers were all bandaged up, swollen or bruised. Not to mention it was also sore for weeks, but I couldn’t let it rest because the deadline was near. That thing was as hard as a rock and at one point I seriously wanted pour hot water over it, watch it melt into a pool of salt water, and turn it in as my 'organic' sculpture. Overall, it’s a tough class because you never know how long you may take on an assignment. Some assignments required around eighteen 3D sketches and I could take 4 hours just trying to get ONE done. It’s a great class for architecture and industrial design majors though.

My final salt block sculpture (process and final). It didn't turn out as organic as I had pictured...Thanks to course my studio is covered with salt and foam.

Intro to editing- This class was a breeze for me… well… I ended up with a ‘B’ which im extremely regretful about. I didn’t really take this class seriously because the program was so ridiculously easy to use (Final Cut Pro). Learned some interesting and informative stuff about editing, but it wasn’t anything I couldn’t learn on my own. I didn't really bother studying and it kicked me in the butt cause that 'B' pulled down my GPA...but I don't have anyone to blame except for my own laziness.

Graphic design- Wasn’t tough because it was a beginners course. It finally gave me an opportunity to learn to how to use Illustrator (YES!) and Indesign. I can say that after this course, I am official a pro at photoshop (well, I would like to believe I am). I thought I could just breeze through this course as well because I’ve been using photoshop for years…but to my horror our instructor made us do homework that requires following every single instruction on a ridiculous photoshop tutorial book. There is a reason why I avoid all kinds of tutorial books on using computer programs. They tend to take you through a series of steps that requires 10 pages of reading when you can really achieve the same result in 10 seconds. Thanks to that wonderfully efficient book, I spent hours making something I could’ve done in 5 minutes if I were to do it my way. Not to mention the final results shown in the book all looked like the work of a rejected self-proclaimed graphic designer.

Anatomy and movement- Learned the basics of human anatomy. I believe I almost failed all of the quizzes because I didn’t bother studying. This class requires A LOT of anatomy drawings, knowing all the muscles and bones of the body. Writing short essays on how the human body moves and with what. Not only memorizing the terms and location, but being able to draw them out as well. Looking back, im not quite sure how I managed to survive this course with my laziness. I’ve forgotten about half of what I previously memorized, but the rest are still fresh in my head. Learning the human anatomy definitely improved my understanding of the human figure. I can draw figures without reference much more accurately than I used to. It’s a must-learn for every artist who wants to draw realistically, especially animators…

3d modeling II- Since the previous course, 3D modeling I, almost made me age ten years, I thought I would go crazy in this one as well. It actually wasn’t as tough as the first course, mainly because I’ve become much more familiar with Maya. There was more freedom in this course because we were able to create something of our choice. On the first day, everyone almost had a heart attack when the instructor showed us what we’re going to turn in for our finals. None of us believed that we could create a façade, an environment, and animate a character within 9 weeks…but guess what, all of us managed to survived and turn in something decent. I believe we were all amazed by what we were capable of doing. Our works weren’t mind-blowing, but it was beyond anything we thought we could do. I can honestly say I poured my sweat and tears into my final, 130+ of work resulted in a 39 second video…and here it is. Character BLOKE belongs to Ai.

I can't say im super proud of it, as you can tell there are a few glitches and I accidentally lit his mouth instead of the light bulbs (everyone got a good laugh out of it). The store wasn't lit correctly because I could not figure out what the heck was wrong. I didn't have a clue as to why his mouth lit up, but the light above his head wouldn't lit *facepalm at my own stupidity*. Didn't have time to ask for help so I ended up turning it in. Oh well, it was only a beginners class so im not too bothered over it.

"BEAUTY SHOTS" (detail shots. wish I had taken more) Click on thumbnails

Trying to set up an official portfolio with my own domain, but I can't figure out how to use the one that our school provides for free...too confusing, maybe ill figure it out later. My HTML skills are rusty as well.

Will do picture blogging on a separate post...

2011-03-28T20:00:00.001-07:00

Photo Spam!

Once again, my sister took the camera with her to Canada so I don't have much of my own photos to share. I've been extremely lazy about taking pictures these days...and I wish my itouch had a better camera. All of my own photos in this entry was taken with my itouch and edited on photoshop (still crappy no matter how much i PS them). I've developed a habit of saving pictures of items/things I find interesting, so I have quite a lot to post...

Well here goes!

Photo of my brand new Yamaha T121!! I waited six years, but it was well worth the wait. I can sit and play on this piano all day because the sound and the touch of the keys are amazing (compared to my old one).

My panda-z figure set took two months to arrive in the mail. I was worried because the seller didn't provide a tracking number and I was almost positive it got lost in the mail.

My final project in figure construction course. A life-sized self portrait. I have to admit, my face looks super strange and this photo REALLY emphasized the weirdness. Its not great, but its not that bad if you see the drawing in real life either. Maybe I need to take a picture of this with a higher quality camera later...

My final project for color cheory course. A digital drawing done on photoshop with an analogous color scheme. These are (almost) all of my favorite 3d animation characters.

My art portfolio webpage layout for Internet Concepts course. I just need to fix some codes and I'll try to upload the whole website so I don't have to use dapoortfolio anymore.

A set of dimsum characters I designed for my cousin's HKSA club at the University of Oregon. This style of drawing cute faces has been done (literally) a MILLION times (and im pretty sick of seeing it too), but I didn't have much time to work on it and they didn't ask for a unique design so I ended up with this predictable set of dimsum :) added watermark because this was designed for HKSA.

Speaking of design, I've also been working on a logo for my cousin's upcoming restaurant/store/cafe (im not even sure what to call it). It took a long time to finish and I still can't say im completely satisfied with it. My sister and I also worked on the interior design of the restaurant. Obviously, she was in charge of the project since shes an architecture major, I mainly just gave suggestions and ideas on the decorative aspect. I will also be working on ads, menus, photos, tshirt designs, etc for the future restaurant. Very exciting stuff!

My cousin from HK tagged me with this photo. I thought the design was awesome. They're keyboard figures with different emoticons. Very creative!

My very first model made in Maya for 3D and modeling course. That course was such a nightmare...just looking at this photo makes me feel a chill up my spine. I have to take the second part of this course next term...ughh

Mini calpris be@rbricks. I love the size of these 40% be@rbricks, I used a lego for size comparison.

TO-BUY BOOKS!!

All the photos from here onwards are not mine, credits to wherever I found them...

Definitely on the top of my to-buy list. I've been trying to find this book in stores so I can see whats inside, but no luck =/ from the few pages of preview on amazon, it looks pretty good.

Probably my next book purchase. I've looked through this several times at the book store, and its amazing and inspiring. I've always enjoyed watching behind-the-scenes clips in DVDs, this book is even more informative. I've always been curious about the references Pixar used for the toy designs.

I have this strange fascination for mascots and I've always wanted to do a series of paintings on them (I did one last year and its one of my favorite piece although most people prefer my other paintings). Maybe its due to my childhood phobia of mascots...and now im fascinated by them.

Just bought this book recently, a compilation of Hayao Miyazaki's interview and few other animators. Its an extremely interesting and inspiring book (partially inspiring because some of the facts makes me feel worried about my future as an animator). I would recommend this book to any Hayao fans or animation majors.

Expensive but huge book of Friends with You artwork. Im such a huuuuge fan of their works and style. Must get my hands on this book some day...

Friends with You~

So envious of their wonderful style and works...

Random stuffffff....

Friends with You mimobots/usbs! They're a lot cheaper and cuter than mimobots, but still expensive for 2gb USB.

There needs to be a giant vinyl figure or a mini keychain of the mario kart bananas!! Maybe I will be the first one to make one... puhaha

Super nerdy but awesome tshirts. I love buying cool graphic tees and im hoping to get one of these, preferably the dissected Mario... They're made by a company (?) called Otaku Underground. I don't really consider myself an otaku (although I claim to be a border-line otaku in my profile) hahah its not really something to be proud of, but hey...Mario is everyone's best friend....

Bought one of these on ebay, they're pretty cheap. Hoping to have a small Toad collection... he's too cute~

Treeson series 2 is out!! $60 per set...its over my budget so I will save these for later.

An old Ren progress shot, just want to share this because these types of sculpt/progress photos are extremely inspiring to me (not sure why...) they remind me of how much I want to become a toy designer some day.

Would really love to own of these panda-z figures. The red one looks amazing, but its over my budget. I've always been interested in things that are somehow 'opposite' or contradictions, like for food; sweet&salty, and for toys/character designs; cute & tough or ugly. In this case, I like that combo of mecha + cute character. Its both a girl and guy friendly character.

This is major problem I have with american children's toys and characters. They're always SO stereotypical. Girls toys are always pink, purple, dolls, and cuddly animals. For boys, they're are always cars, weapons, or action figures..all designed in 'boys' color. Why aren't there any toy designs that can be played with by BOTH girls and boys? Seriously, America needs to step up with their toy designs.

A Dr.Evil Porkchop collectable figure!! (photo found on someone's flickr)

A new be@rbrick...can't remember the name of this one and where I found it, but I think the use of materials is quite interesting. Would look less tacky if the stars didn't have bead-holes in them, but still cool nonetheless.

I've always wanted a 400% be@rbrick (28 cm high) and if I were to buy one, it would be this one. I like how the back is silver and how the body is transparent with beads. Definitely brings back memories of my childhood toys.

Mari Inukai – Sekaiseifukudan Full Sets. Very very nice....

Im not sure why, but that squirrel with the red headscarf puts a smile on face every time I see it...

I've been seeing these around a lot on the internet and I finally found out what they're called, FumoFumo. Im going to make my sister look for one in Hong Kong next time. They look extremely cuddly and cute...and TONS better than pillow pets. I don't understand the pillow pet hype, they're soft but they look like those cheap and ugly stuff-animals you get from claw machines.

Hoping to learn amigurumi when I have time. This is a cute and original design :D

Some random toy. Its kind of got this oldschooled vibe to it, which I like. The randomness of it is also awesome.

When I first saw this, I was like "OMG an awesome calendar! I must get one!"...but then i realized that its be totally inconvenient cause I would have to change the date EVERY day. My guess is that its not a calendar, but more of a birthday reminder type of present.

Wall-E figure made out of wood! How awesome is that?

Would be fun to piece together if they sold them as model kits.

Badtz Maru characters designed by Amanda Visell. I prefer her other figure designs, but this is kind of interesting.

Modified mecha Danbo figure!! I would buy one...

Adorable teapot designs!! Would make a great present for tea-lovers.

Cool cloud shelves. Not sure how practical they are, but its a neat idea.

Been trying to find this Sy and Am Tinpo set...no luck as of now :(

photo credits to http://www.flickr.com/photos/67896537@N00/sets/72157600060779748/detail/

such awesome photos of vintage and other random figures!!

Iron Man figure by 3age. I like some of their chibi super hero designs...gotta say Iron Man is my favorite design out of the rest.

Im only interested in Hello Kitty collaborations (or just anything thats sort of 'out of the norm' for Hello Kitty). These Hello Kitty snowmans are a bit too girly for my taste, but the snowman idea is very adorable.

New uglydoll series!! I like what I see :O ...the fancy boxes are a plus too. Im too cheap to buy blindbox figures these days.

Im waay late, but im currently obsessed with Project Runway. There are so many seasons out, I decided to start with season 2 because i heard it was the best out of all the older seasons. At first I couldn't figure out why most of the contestants dressed so badly even though they were fashion designers and could make amazing stuff on the runway. And then I realized its because season 2 started back in around 2004... its kind of amazing how much fashion in the U.S has improved (although its still not up to par with Europe and Asia). This show is intense and amazing even though im not a huge fashionista.

Jesus christ...maybe its time for me to get a tumblr. Would probably make my life easier.

2011-03-25T00:06:00.000-07:00

Long awaited spring break!

This is such a long and wordy entry I decided I’ll separate this from my photo blog update… will get those up soon.

Second term is over and it's finally time to blog again! Simply put, this term was a bit of a nightmare. The last week of finals equates to a week of no sleep and constant paranoia. Every minute I had this little voice running in the back of my head, hurrying me to move on to another project.

Now I gotta rant and give my ‘review’ of each course.

3d modeling- I believe I might have aged ten years and grew several strands of white hair thanks to this course. First, I must rant about my instructor. For one thing, nothing annoys me more than being called "honey" like I'm still a kid in diapers. On the other hand, I have been accused by her THREE times. First time, she yelled at me for doing my homework in class when I wasn't. Second time, she accused me of wasting her time by turning in an old assignment and trying to pass it off as an upgraded one. I might’ve mistakenly given her the old file, but that's unlikely because I have overwritten the old one (I didn’t get the chance to clear this up with her). Third time, she made it seem like I was lying about getting the wrong final schedule when it was our schools crappy website’s fault. She allowed me to do my final early with her other class which is kind of nice... but anyway, Maya is the most annoying program I've ever used. I'm going to quote somebody from last term when I asked him about Maya," it's not difficult to use, it's just a major pain in the ass"...yup, took the words out of my mouth.

Figure construction- The homework in this class was the most time-consuming. We did the same thing almost every week; drawing figures of live nude models. I thought it would be a bit awkward to draw nude figures in the beginning, but when we actually started, it wasn't strange at all. I actually learned and gained a lot in this course. Before, I had a lot of difficulties with drawing human figures from imagination, but now I definitely have a much better understanding of the human figure.

Design, media, and communication- A course I dreaded going to every week. I almost had a panic attack when I heard it was a speech class. Yes, I have this MAJOR fear of public speaking that I probably shouldn’t have at my age. Thankfully, we didn't have to present a lot. The course was actually quite interesting and had topics that got me thinking (not to mention, super easy hw)... but if I had I to retake this course, I might go crazy.

Color theory- This class was full of awesome people and it's probably the only class I felt comfortable in. I gotta admit it's kind of a tough course even though the workload was not that much. I over estimated myself and thought I was pro with colors, but apparently I'm not even close. I kept getting B's on almost every assignment (even though I spent hours on them). I think I did terrible in my finals exam too. For one of the questions it asked me to design a product for baby boomers and the product was pastures (??). This is stupid, but I assumed that baby boomers meant toddlers, and pastures (or however it was spelled, I have no idea what it is) was some odd term for diapers. Then I reread the question after I finished answering in paragraphs + color diagram, and realized baby boomers meant elderly people between the age of 55-66. Wow epic fail much?

Internet concept (web designing course)- Listening to webpage and HTML talk for hours was like listening to a year-long lecture in a foreign language. I actually used to be pretty good at html, but I've forgotten everything (unfortunately). Web designing is pretty fun + satisfying stuff (although extremely frustrating at times). Despite in how the lectures made me doze off like crazy, this course actually made me want to switch my major to web designing for a minute. But I totally bombed my final exam cause I thought I would pass it with flying colors. I seriously need to stop overestimating myself…

Its only my second term and im already complaining. I didn't struggle with the workload until finals week, but I went through a lot of mental stress this term. I felt extremely intimidated and insecure in my classes, I seriously doubted my major for the first time, and I constantly felt frustrated by the things around me. Mainly, I was angry because I didn’t know why I had to go through so many things I didn’t ask for. I only want to do art… why do I have to deal with all this presentation crap, why do I have to take courses im not interested in when im the one paying loads of money, why do I have to deal with people, why do I have to stand in the freezing cold and wait for the bus that never arrives on time…all these little things I pretty much know the answer to.

On the bright side, I finally bought a new piano after wanting one for six years. It cost more than I had expected (I felt guilty), but it was the last of the made in Japan YAMAHA pianos. All of Yamaha’s new pianos are made in their China factory and they are no longer selling the ones made in their Japan factory to the U.S. There is no way I am buying a piano that’s made in China, no matter how strict their quality control is. It was now or never, so I ended up buying the Yamaha T121. No regrets!

2010-12-16T16:14:00.000-08:00

Survived 1st term!

Finally finished with my first term!!

Kind of sucks that the term is over just when im starting to know more people.
Normally, I don't like blogging without my own photos, but my sister took the camera with her to Hong Kong for two months so no camera for me :( My last resort is my itouch...which takes ridiculously crappy pictures.

I've abandoned this blog for so long so I thought I might as well post something. Plus, its the end of the first term. I always feel obligated to blog something after every school year or term/semester. Today is my first day of winter break and im already bored out of my mind. Feels to strange to not have that little voice in the back of head urging me to do homework.

Im tired, my back aches, and my brain cells are still snoozing...so im totally not in the mood to type essay-long entries XD ......this will be a very short entry, but on with pictures!

I really hate photobucket and im probably the only oldschooled person who still uses it -_- the recent photobucket upgrade is even worst. Also, it would make my life so much easier if blogspot would stop putting my pictures at the top of the page whenever I try to upload them (or maybe im just stupid and doing it wrong). Its no wonder why im so lazy to blog these days (or years).

One of my projects for visual communications. Its a pretty fun course and I've enjoyed most of the assigned projects.

My sister went back to Hong Kong for two months. I gave her a shopping list, but it was definitely less than what you see in this photo. A ton of my wonderful HK relatives went out of their way to buy all these gifts for me. I don't think I've ever received so many presents in a day. Definitely happiness overload x 10000!! This is such a crappy quality photo, kind of difficult to see whats in the pile. I'll definitely retake photos once I put everything on display. The garage/soon-to-be studio is almost done remodeling, super excited!

My To-fu design entry for the tofu contest. Made it to finals :D

Teaser of my final project, which was an illustrated story with sound effects. I've had this story in mind since last year, but never got around finishing it. Decided to take the chance to complete this for school. I ended up with 24 pages with sound effects. Took around 2 weeks, crouching in front of the computer with photoshop and my tablet. Forced myself to draw at least 3 pages every day. I still need to figure out the best way to upload the whole story...

Other stuffs!!

Currently obsessed with reading Yotsuba. Its a manga about a 5 year old girl named Yotsuba and shes beyond awesome. There are no words to describe her. Here are some of my favorite pages (I have tons more than this...)

My top obsession at the moment. Its a korean webcomic called Cheese in the Trap. I don't think I've EVER read such an AWESOME comic. Its suspenseful and mysterious, the characters are by far the most realistic and interesting. The story line is definitely unique and completely unpredictable. Its just amazingly impressive. I stalk for scanlation updates every week...

***

Turtle bun arm rest/ stress ball ? I think I might be tempted to eat it...

I've become such a Devilrobots fanatic I just feel like I NEED to own everything made by Devilrobots (although I have a pretty sad excuse of a Devilrobots collection)

Hoping to add some Smery to-fus in my collection ...too expensive though

Probably my next purchase.

My life will be complete if I can actually find one of these healthy edition Maffys :(

Gloomy bear X To-fu. Another must-get!!

Astroboy x Tezuka Moderno. So angry I missed out on a super good deal on this at amazon.

This is SO awesome. Seriously, whats better than a giant banana plush with a face on it.

Giant toast with a face. Looks very huggable

And a super giant sushi!! I wish I could make my own, in fact I think I will when I master sewing.

A pretty old designer plush by one of my favorite toy companies, FriendsWithYou. I love the child-like toy elements to it, its both adult and children friendly.

Koedalien Peter Pan set. This is based on a vintage Japanese toy called Koeda Chan. The Koeda Chan toys definitely brings back some childhood memories. This modernized Peter Pan set is awesome, but I can't find it anywhere.

Newest Gloomy Bear figure, the continous pound edition. Its a bit too violent for me, but I do like how Chax is included in this figure. Its on my 'maybe-to-buy' list.

Lunartik mini teas blindbox figures!! I've always wanted one of the original Lunartik tea figures, but couldn't afford them. Luckily I can afford this mini version.

***

Trader Joes is the most amazing store ever. They never disappoints!!

Some new Trader Joes addiction. Danish pancakes!!

...and Strawberry Yogurt O's. This is the best cereal I've ever had. Its a lot crunchier than Cheerios, doesn't get soggy as fast. Its not too sweet and has yogurt covered dried strawberries. *drools* (I could only find this tiny picture)

I believe thats all for now :D !!

2010-10-14T17:38:00.000-07:00

Months of craziness! + Pictures

Haven't blogged in two months (although I don't really consider my last post an 'official' entry). I feel like a lot has happened in the last two months...like driving, picking up some projects, attending several events, etc. Some lifestyle changes since college started, but im slowly adjusting to the college life. I'll start with driving...to be honest, I think I hate driving. I've made a ton of stupid mistakes, I've discovered that people aren't very compassionate when they're on the road HAHA. I feel bad for my mom since I've probably given her a few major heart attacks while she sat on the passenger side. Thank god my dad haven't witnessed any of my mistakes, he would've completely burst my ear drums with his bellowing.

As for college, so far so good. Im enjoying a few of my classes, although there are some that has been making me want to shoot myself in the head (while I sit there for 4 hours). As I said earlier, im slowly adjusting and starting to enjoy the independence of college. I've been trying to have a more positive outlook on life (ha.ha) and other crap that makes me want to crawl back into my cave. Hopefully, college will help drag me out of my little cocoon and throw some more self-confidence in me. Life is all good at the moment :D

Some exciting things coming up... I received the Local 14 women's scholarship previously and the art show is finally starting tonight! One or two of my pieces will be displayed among 85 other amazing local women artists. Im pretty excited to attend tomorrow and hopefully, be able to take some pictures. Second, my aunt and my dad decided to turn the garage (which was FILLED with junk) into a studio for my sister and I. Currently, we are still remodeling the inside (a lot of work needs to be done) and when the studio is done, my sister and I will be decorating the interior ...maybe exterior too. I finally get to have an area to do my work, display my toys, buy shelves for my books, and etc.!! The construction may go on for another month or so and my sister would be in Hong Kong for 2 months ...so im not quite sure when the studio will be completely finished, but at least we have started.

Some weird things I've done... I've been obsessed with making guacamole and cooking potatoes hahah. Too delicious! I also tried jalapeño bagels and it was the most amazing bagel I've ever tasted. I've also made mango pudding with real mango + pudding/jello mix from asian markets.

Another random thing, I've decided to continue piano lessons throughout my first year of college (might be a bit of a crazy idea), I THINK I can handle it since I'll only be auditioning (again) for level 10. Playing the piano has become an enjoyable hobby, and I've discovered a lot through learning the piano. Although I've been playing for many years (and is still quite bad at it), it took me many years to find the true joy in playing. I was never really passionate about playing since I was hardly ever interested in the songs my previous piano teacher taught. I could have quit piano when I was in eighth grade, but thankfully I suddenly became interested in playing after I learned a song I loved. So after eighth grade I changed teachers. I remember how stressed, scared, and regretful I was. I thought my new teacher was extremely intimidating and I was CONSTANTLY embarrassing myself with my lack of knowledge and skills in playing. But now, I believe that changing teachers was one of the best decisions I've ever made. I've enjoyed almost every song my teacher suggested and discovered the beauty of real classical music (my previous teachers only taught modern songs). Im quite slow at sight-reading, can never for the life of me count beats correctly, but my teacher would never tell me, "this is too hard for you to play". Even when I doubted my own abilities, my teacher would always give me the chance to try. Playing the piano has taught me that I can accomplish anything if I put my heart into it and that no matter how scary and terrible something seems in the beginning, I will always adjust to it as time goes by. I knew I would probably have to give up a lot of things I've enjoyed on my free time once college started, but piano is something I want to keep for a little longer.

HOLY CRAP. I wrote so ridiculously much...

Anyway, I don't have a ton of pictures to share. I've been lazy...in fact, I should really be doing my homework right now. I have a flip book project due next week which im kind of excited about starting. I sense a lot of frustration and hair-pulling but its okay haha

My current 'other' toy collection

I SWEAR I did not win a lottery, or get a job, or found a million dollars in my backyard. My obsession with toys just sort of skyrocketed. Luckily, most of these toys were bought for a very good deal. I hardly ever buy anything for its original price (not very worth it in my opinion, unless its a rare toy). There are still a ton of toys I can't afford and are on my wishlist but so far here is my other mini collection thats stuck inside a box because I don't have room to display them yet. Im lazy to take stuff out of its package and take pretty pictures (will do that when I actually put them out for display). These are only pictures of the undisplayed/new toys (the rest of my old/other ones are still in my room on my shelves)

>My favorite!! (thats why I took it out of its package for a photo). I've been looking for this strawberry gum to-fu for AGES and finally found it on ebay. Love it!!!

The set... basically the outside boxes are Toy Story 3 figures, Gloomy threat edition, Dalek Icebot Black, Large pink Treeson. Inside the semi-large clear box is a bunch of other random mini toys. Lots of dunnys, to-fu oyakos, treesons, hello kitty, etc.etc.

Got these at Target. I was only planning to buy one set but I couldn't decide between the two... ended up buying both sets and sort of felt bad for spending so much. Woody is in the bottom set, but I gave him to my sister.

Another one of my favorites, Astro Lapin gift from my sister as I mentioned earlier in one of my previous posts.

Some random stuff I got for a good deal from ebay and kidrobot forums. Knockman, Knockman mini series, be@rbrick, and a Qee.

Two sets of wanroom mini and keychains, and a set of to-fu magnet series 3. Had my cousin get these for me from Hong Kong.

My tiny treeson collection (rest are in bags). I have collected the whole Series 1 treeson set, but im still missing a mini Ren.

Side of my box...can kind of see some other to-fu toys, treeson blindbox bags, hello kitty figurines in tube.

Uglydoll, giant Scrump from Jallisa (omg I almost had a heart attack when I saw this <33).>

Adidas Outlet...

So my cousin got a pass to Adidas outlet and a coupon for 50% every product at the outlet. My sister, my aunt, my cousins, and I sort of went on a crazy shopping spree. Ended up leaving the store with two-three GIANT shopping bags.

Bought two pairs of shoes. One was around 21 dollars, the other was around 26 (i think...). I couldn't decide between the two and ended up buying both (need to get rid of this horrible decision making problem of mine)

My current 2nd backpack for studio classes. I wasn't going to buy this, but my aunt insisted that she would buy it for me. I felt extremely bad for making her pay :( cost $32 but its perfect for school. Very roomy and looks less boring compared to my old jansport backpack, which I use for 'textbook' classes.

Others...

Expensive textbooks!! Some of the prices of my textbooks are ridiculous, such a tiny book for a huge price -__- I guess some of these are useful though. Animators surival kit isn't required (may be later though), very useful book!

Got an itouch 4G as a grad. present from my dad because I didn't need to buy a new laptop for college (yet). Im completely dependent on this itouch for...everything. I think its the most practical thing I own (besides my computer). It's like my second life.

SOMEBODY convinced me to get a listography since I have short term memory. Its kind of addicting... a bit tedious as well.

Studio remodeling progress shots

Removing all the junk from the garage. Took around 4 trips to the landfill.

Let down the garage door for the first time in around 18 years (extremely dirty and needs to be power washed). Added a new door and window!

New door, windows (one more on the other side), and ceilings. The walls will be covered in new boards later.

Trip to Nevada

>Went to Nevada/Lake Tahoe a few months ago (feels soo long ago). I have a TON of pictures, but mostly of family members. I kept forgetting to take pictures of other interesting things :(

I'll only post a few here...

Went to Reno as well...

Super fun place called Circus Circus. Its not really a circus, its like an arcade and a carnival (full of those win-a-stuff-animal games). We spent quite a lot there, but had tons of fun. My nephews went home with a large bag of stuff animals.

Many days of playing in the sand!

TOYSSSSSSSS

I've been feeling a bit toy-deprived since I haven't bought any toys in ages (actually I did buy a few, but they haven't arrived yet). So here are more omgawesome toys!

Super old figurine by Yoshitomo Nara (one of my favorite artists!)

Im a HUGE fan of almost anything Devilrobots (especially to-fu oyako)

I feel like I've posted this large Ren before.... he's a bit over my budget so im happy with just looking at it.

PECK by Devilrobots....TOO CUTE. $15 each

Suddenly felt all nostalgic when I saw these model kits and felt very tempted to buy a box. I remember when I was kid, we had a lot of those model kit toys where my sister had to assemble. They're not too expensive on ebay so I'll probably purchase a box later, plus I think they're worth it since you actually get to have fun with the building process.

Forgot the name of this thing. Its super cute and makes my day though :D

Another nostalgic toy design. Reminds me of those vintage/old-schooled Japanese toys.

Not usually a fan of Mickey and Minnie stuff, but this one gets the cake!

Need to buy this book. Its a photobook of Japanese mascots.

Snoopy & Charlie Now& Then set. Shows how much the characters have changed throughout many years. Previous Charlie was adorable!!

Some cute mini Re-Ment sets.

Trying to collect these Takochus, but they're extremely hard to find T_T

All for now!

WOW that took me ages. Blogging takes me (almost) hours since I have to resize images, edit on photoshop, upload, type entry, and then upload images on the entry. Its a bit of a tedious (but enjoyable) process...which is probably the MAIN reason why I take months to update now. I should really be finishing up my homework now...

Here is one last picture to end this entry. Its a character that took me forever to finish on photoshop (finally discovered how to use the pen tool!!!). There are some awkward areas, but its a start. Im hoping to do a series of character designs later. He looks a bit devilrobot inspired (espcially the 'M' on his shirt).

Dunny 2010 and others!

2010-08-19T11:26:00.001-07:00

Wasn't planning to blog in awhile (since I don't have any of my own pictures ready for blogging) BUT I AM TOO EXCITED FOR THE DUNNY 2010 SERIES!

Im not a big fan of dunnys and don't plan to collect every single figure...but I always tend to find one or two from each series I'd want to add to my toy collection. After getting myself a paypal, an account on ebay, and (recently) an account on kidrobot forums (you can find the BEST toy deals there)... I think I can officially consider myself a designer toy/vinyl addict. Of course, my lack of "income" prevents me owning much of the bigger pieces, but that's okay.

Anyway, the dunny 2010 series were officially released today...and I definitely see a few that I MUST get my hands on. Rather than purchasing blindboxes, I'd probably just wait on the opened ones for sale on kidrobot forums. Im excitedddddddddd!

Photos credit to toysrevil.net

Dunny 2010 series!

One of the rare ones designed by SketOne. Pretty tight pop art design based on/influenced by Roy Lichtenstein's work.

Designed by Travis Cain. I saw this and immediately thought, "I NEED THIS ONE!!!!!" I think I love this more than I love my to-fu dunny from the 09 series. I've seen the balloon head concept done a few times, but this one is just WIN. The metallic head, the blue & orange color combo, the cute faces...AHHHH

Another dunny design from Amanda Visell. Her works are seriously growing on me. Im thinking of collecting all of her dunny designs (been trying to get the unicorn one from fatale series). Her style is so unique and distinct.

Ketchup dunny should be pretty easy to get my hands on. I think the ketchup cap on the dunny ear is an awesome idea. Im actually very surprised that the ketchup dunny isn't a chase figure, but thats a good thing!

Designer Chairs! + others

I've seen these mini collectible chairs like years ago and remember thinking, 'who the heck wants to collect mini chairs that looks like they're for barbies'...but I saw the recent series and suddenly had a 360 change of heart haha

They come in blindboxes for like $12 each (?) and each chair is a shrunk down version of the latest chair design. I don't think i'll be collecting these since they're over my budget. I mean I could just buy a couple of blind boxes, but I think they'll only look good as a set displayed together.

Tiny picture, but the only one I could find of all the series (including the rare ones)

Bigger picture of the regular series.

I really like most of the designs and I can imagine a furniture designer or interior decorator collecting every single piece. *sigh* if only I could afford all the series...

A pretty old Kaws x Pipo figure. Im not a huge fan of Kaws figures although I do like most of his collab works. I don't think I will ever own anything by him in this life time (cause I can't afford them), but his chums figure are starting to grow on me...maybe I'll buy one if I win a lottery or something. Anyway, about this Pipo figure...it feels very nostalgic. Reminds me of the asian toys I used to own as a child which makes sense because Pipo is an old Japanese police mascot and Kaws just added his own twist to it.

Saw these juicebox cameras (good for stalking! haha) on a blog somewhere and thought they were pretty neat + cute. Again, they are stalker friendly.

Guess thats all for now. I recently went on a trip to Nevada, very fun and lots of sun at the beach. I was lazy and made my sister do most of the picture taking...they're pretty boring pictures so im unmotivated to blog them (but i will, eventually).

Oh and I also updated my profile info. It should be a bit more interesting now.

2010-07-05T18:38:00.000-07:00

Summer + Seattle!

I haven't done much so far, but i did have a chance to go to Seattle with Sarah and Nelly for two days. Very short amount of time, but we made the most out of it. I loved Downtown Seattle, it's on a completely different level compared to Downtown Portland *disgusted face*. The four hour ride to Seattle felt like the longest four hours of my life. There were no more seats on the greyhound so the three of us ended up sitting next to strangers. I sat next to this sketchy looking man, but we all made it safely to Seattle. The trip back was very nice because the greyhound was empty and we basically had the vehicle to ourselves. Hope i'll have a chance to stay for a much longer visit some day :)

And moving on to pictures from our trip...

Street art!! I love the artistic aspects of Seattle, seems like there were art works everywhere we went.

Behind (?) the Pike Place Market is the gigantic wall full of gum (aka Gum Wall). This wall didn't have as much as the other one. Next time I go to Seattle I'll be sure to bring some bubblegum!! I thought the second picture would be more interesting if it had a person and that kid happened to be standing in my view finder...

Pike Place Market! I've been there around two times from my previous visits to Seattle (which was ages ago). It hasn't changed a bit, still full of awesomness! We bought giant korean wraps for dinner and it was delicious (been obsessed with korean food for awhile). Wish I had taken a picture before I ate it, guess I was too hungry.

Sucker for vintage posters.

Giant gummy bear made out of gummy bears!!!!

Inside of the Westin hotel we stayed at. Nelly got a room with two beds for an amazing deal. It's also at a perfect location, all of our planned destinations were near by.

View from the hotel room. Morning/afternoon.

Night view.

These were included in the fridge (with the exception of the korean wraps and fruits). Everything was ridiculously expensive in that fridge, costed $5 for a small pack of m&ms and other candy bars. The whiskey and alcohol cost an arm and a leg. (obviously we didn't eat/drink anything they provided in the fridge) Call me a country bumpkin, but I was surprised to see all the alcoholic drinks in there so I took a picture haha

Took the monorail (rail-based transportation system). Felt like I was taking a flying max haha. We need one of these in Portland.

Monorail about to go through the Science-fiction Museum. Unfortunately we didn't have a chance to visit the inside. The building itself was a work of art (super shiny and colorful), I've never seen anything like it.

A somewhat interesting picture... ?

Some sculptures near the Space Needle (thats not me in the picture btw). We took turns trying to climb (or lifting each other up) onto that circular sculpture/space on the bottom right...which took a lot of effort, some scratches, and sprains -_-.

Space Needle!! Got some bad/embarassing memories from this. I was going broke by the time we decided to visit the Space Needle so I decided to save some money by buying a kids ticket (thinking I could pull it off). Apparently, I failed at looking like a 12 year old. The ticket lady let me off after giving me a glare and a FEW, "I don't believe you're 12." Ok, I learned my lesson and will never attempt to be a 12 year old again but this also means they need to lower their admission prices!!

Views from above the Space Needle. Pretty cool...although im not sure if it was worth the money. Im not too interested in looking at morning views.

I bravely walked up close to this seagull and snapped a picture before it could attack me. Puhaha *proud*

Went to the Seattle Aquarium. Admission was, once again, expensive but pretty worth it. They had some cool tank designs and I had a chance to touch some sea creatures.

Fishes/tank on the ceiling.

After visiting Seattle I've decided that I will have jelly fishes as my pet some day. Screw fishes.

Okay, I swear this fish looked adorable when I saw it at the aquarium. But when I looked at this picture I was like, "EW WTF." Guess its not photogenic at all. In reality, it just looks like a cute smiling fishy =D

Nemo and Dory!! (although Dory is blurred in the picture)

Im not that interested in fishes but I sorta like the contrast in this picture although its a bit out of focus.

I want this sign....

Seattle at night. We walked to the Seattle Waterfront from our hotel. Pretty view...it was nice to just sit there and chat while staring out at the view.

We went to several more places and took a ton of pictures but I didn't take out my camera much.

"Back at home..."

My sister and I made the perfect cheesecake for Father's Day. Took a picture before it deflated. It was supposed to be a mousse cheesecake but we made the mousse separately and decided to spread it on when we eat it since the pan was too small.

Excuse my terrible food photography skills...

I made and ate a lot of these sandwiches in the beginning of the month. It's my own version of a subway sandwich...I called it the 'joyway sub' haha. Its basically bacon, cheese, egg, tomatoes, peanut sauce, and sauted onions.

Been cooking a lot these days, especially after my dad went back to Hong Kong. I feel guilty about lazing around at home all day so cooking is sort of a way to be more productive and also a way to help out my mom so she won't have to be in the kitchen all day.

Starbucks drinks are always so photogenic haha

I bought the chicken in the background from Daiso in Seattle for $1.50. WE NEED A DAISO IN PORTLAND. LIKE NOW.

My aunt bought me this giant stationary holder and it fits all my art supplies perfectly (except my paint bottles and tubes which are all in a separate shelve). It's shaped like a hexagon and can be spun around.

Missing Link on Hawthorne was moving so I stopped by to purchase some designer toys while I still had the chance to. Not that many sales but I did spend A LOT there...mainly the toys that I know will up in value. Haven't had the chance to take pictures of my purchases yet. Here is a metallic qee keychain my sister bought me for $5.

I was running out of ideas for my extra credit art work so I decided to paint my giraffe munny.

Another progress picture of my final art piece. I managed to finish it on time...but forgot to take a picture of the final product...if im not feeling lazy, I will photograph it for my next entry. The colors are EXTREMELY off but I couldn't fix it on photoshop :( its more of a blue-green and a neon pinkish orange.

A terrible picture of one of my most recent paintings. I took this in the middle of the night so the lighting is bad and the colors look all funky. I added a red push button (which i bought off ebay) on his nose ...have some bad pictures of the final product so I will probably be retaking them when I have a chance to.

Toys & Toy Story 3!!

Not a toy but a SUPER AWESOME mustache -chart porcelain coffee cup!! I saw this in Seattle but I was too broke and thought I could probably find it online for a cheaper price...unfortunately, I was wrong :( I must get my hands on this coffee cup.

Finally had the chance to watch Toy Story 3. It was beyond amazing!! Topping my list of favorite animations. The short film, Day & Night was amazing as well. The ending of Toy Story 3 was very touching...I watched this with two other friends and we could definitely relate to Andy since we're all going our separate ways for college. Most of us grew up watching Toy Story and now watching Toy Story 3 as 18 year olds...it felt like we also grew up with Andy and the toys. It's kind of hard to explain in words but there was definitely a strong connection. The humor was great and the entire movie was full of fun, creativity, and excitement. I wish I was also a part of the production, creating and designing all those toys seemed like it would be ridiculously fun. I especially loved how they used a ton of vintage toys, toys that I grew up with and actually owned when I was younger. Pixar definitely never disappoints!

I had plenty of favorite characters (peas in a pod, dolly, etc.) but this one was just ADORABLE. I see a ton of these toys around (I think my nephew has a few) but none of them look as adorable as they do in Toy Story. I took this screen cap on youtube, they should have official pictures for every single toy in the movie.

And speaking of Disney...here are a few awesome Disney-related toys and designer toys.

Stay real Astro Mouse and Spongebob Mouse designed by Stayreal. These will be released at the Taipei toy festival this month. I seriously hope they will release these even after the toy festival.

Pinocchio designed by Kaws. I personally dislike Pinocchio...but I wouldn't mind owning one of these.

'Up' Bearbricks and Kubricks!!

Jallisa showed me these cute Disney pook-a-looz. Still need to stop by the Disney store soon.

PJ Berri Plush... there's just something about it that makes me smile.

Bet you've never seen the 'real' inside of a Hello Kitty.

Hello Kitty anatomy by Jason Freeny. It would be awesome if they made a toy out of this (maybe I'll make my own out of clay and wires puhahah)

I saw these Boobahs (is that what they're called?) a few days ago and this is what their body language and creepy looks told me...

(don't ask me why i decided to gave them a weird accent)

How scary can these things get?? I saw them for the first time on TV several years ago and luckily I was in my teens otherwise I think I would've peed myself. No doubt they would've became a reoccurring nightmare that may haunt me for years to come (I were a kid).

(not my photo)

This To-fu design feels very nostalgic. I think I had a lot of these types of toys when I was a kid, they were quite popular back in the days in HK and Japan. Looking at it makes me think of the good old days.

Jesus christ, this entry took me ages and is probably one of my longest blog entries x_x I feel a bit brain-dead now.

Anyway, I've finally decided to leave my xanga even though I've been using it for around 6 years and all my precious (maybe) memories are there, but I guess its time to move on and start a new. Still working on the layout background (I wish blogspot would let me use my own background pictures -_-) ...the banner is a collage of some pictures I've taken/blogged in the past. It took me ages to think of a name for my blogspot and I decided to go with joirobo because it sort of matches my current interests. So many designer related toys are named something 'robot' so whenever I see the word robot, I think of designer toys. I used 'joi' instead of 'joy' (first 3 letters of my name) because joyrobo looks funny...joirobo flows better. It's sort of a simple casual screen name so I will stick with this for now. :) until next time!

2010-05-10T22:48:00.000-07:00

So I've finally graduated from xanga (so old schooled, i know). What a refreshing new beginning!

Pasting a new entry i wrote yesterday since i don't know when i'll be updating again and I don't want to leave this blog blank.

....................

Im finally back to picture blogging....uh hopefully i'll keep it up.

Im amazed i made it through April. I finally finished my IB Art exam which was actually quite enjoyable because it was pretty much just chatting with the extremely nice examiner. I also got my piano syllabus over with. Finished 3 presentations (which all happened in one day). Went to financial aid appointment. Received a full ride scholarship from Ai Portfolio scholarship..and $1500 from the Lake Oswego art scholarship. No more scholarship and financial aid crap to worry about for now. Im just lazing around with senioritis waiting for graduation.

Im feeling extremely lazy today so instead of rambling about all the crazy and not-so-exciting things that has happened in the last few months, im going straight to the pictures! =D

[Projects...]

Bigger versions of some art work can be seen at my da portfolio.

I've worked on aloooot of art pieces this year...not sure where to start so I guess I will start with my first studio piece of the year...

I don't have the final picture of this piece yet but it was basically a house that looked similar to the one from the movie 'Up' and instead of balloons, it's attached to pills (symbolizing drug addiction as a form of escapism). I couldn't figure out where i could buy an assortment of pills without spending too much or people thinking im a druggie so i decided to make my own out of clay and acrylic paint. What you see in the photograph were all hand-made from clay.

In one of my previous entries I wrote something about the Scholastic art and writing scholarship. So before the scholarship, I went to Art Media and stocked up on clearance canvases. I spent around $110 on all 14 canvases which was a majorly good deal (especially the large ones).

...and in the end I ended up with these 8 pieces for my scholarship.

The poster i created for the Ai poster scholarship contest. I received local first place $3000...still waiting for national result.

Ink pen tshirt design drawing for print-making class. I silkscreened for the first! Majorly fun and interesting process but my print didnt turn on too well because of the drips on my screen. (maybe i'll photograph the shirt later)

Illustrator blob tool tests. I just discovered the best digital drawing tool EVER. Blob tool *you rock hand sign*

I drew the cover page of my illustration book on Illustrator with my new love (the blob tool & my new tablet)
Character (c)opyrighted by me.

My new bamboo wacom tablet. It was a birthday present from my sister and my aunt. Needs to last me through (at least) the freshman year of college. Still trying to get used to it but so far i like it.

And my ceramics sculpture for the character in my book.

Some random illustrations in my sketchbook.

Another semi-large scale piece im working on. The color came out all funky on camera again but oh well..

D.Toys.... !!!

I must be crazy but i've been spending quite alot on designer toys (and not so much on clothes). Im willing to pay more for limited editions and toys i know will price up in a few months. Ebay is another guilty pleasure -_-

I've gotten so much more than this but i have the expensive ones in a box so they dont collect dust on my desk. I've ran out of room on my toy shelves so im currently waiting to buy something to display my new stuff.

I got this for a good deal and its authentic (from what I can see)

To-fu dunny! Im having an obsession with these to-fu dudes. I have around 16 of these mini to-fu figures (which i need to take pictures of later)

I won an ebay bid on 7 blind boxes of treeson. I got 4 which i dont have in my collection yet (2 rare ones) and 3 repeated...will probably sell them. Photos coming soon!

Got a set of Astrolapin by Mr.Clement for a reasonable price on ebay. It was a bit over my budget so i kept stalking it on ebay. I showed my sister and a few minutes later I checked and was extremely disappointed to see it 'sold'. About an hour later my sister messaged me on MSN (from her room -__-) and pasted a link to an image. When i clicked the image it was a screenshot of an ebay page and i was about to shoot her because i thought she was trying to make me feel worst by showing me that 'SOLD' page. BUT i scrolled down and realized SHE was the person who bought it. *sigh* i owe her a bigggg present.

Stuff of awesomeness.

Need to pimp out my keys with this keychain.

Superheadz Nico mini digital toy camera. So adorable i want to eat it.

I was feeling very green one day and decided i needed a cool plant on my desk for decoration. Spotted these somewhere online and decided i must get one of these awesome futuristic-looking Domsai by Matteo Cibic plants...WHEN IM RICH that is, because apparently they cost over $100 each. Guess im not meant to be a green person after all.

Treeson blindbox series 2 teaser photos! These are only the sculpts and unpainted figures. Im totally anticipating this series (and is determined to collect them all). The last picture is a sculpt(?) of the character Ren, he will be made into a 5 inch figure. Im totally excited. I really enjoy looking at pictures of the sculpted design or unpainted figure...it inspires me to create my own set of toys. The designer, Bubi Au Yeung is an illustrator/toy designer from Hong Kong...gotta support my fellow HKers.

Drooled and stared at this Hello Kitty x Quolomo 400% kubrick. It was a limited edition sold for around $80 bucks when it was sold during the show (obviously i didn't know squat about it since theres nothing here in Portland). Now its worth over $200 bucks and i can only dream about getting on one my hands T_T.

I saw this totally AWESOME kids book at Powell's (i was studying kids illustrated books there for reference lol). Its called WAVE by Suzy Lee (swear im not being bias because shes an asian illustrator) but its truly one of the most refreshing childrens book i've ever seen. The art and media is exceptionally simple (only charcoal and watercolor) and there is no dialogue, the artwork speaks for itself. I should've bought myself a copy..

When the Music Ends by Dan May. One of my favorite paintings, there's just something magical and nostalgic about it.

Hawthorne is forever one of my favorite areas of Portland. It shows the weird, hippie, unique, creative and etc. aspects of Portland. Most of all, I enjoy seeing this artists work everywhere around Hawthorne. I think i've posted a similar picture of these signs before...but if im not wrong, these are new and drawn by the same artist.

New gloomy bear figure im trying to get my hands on. The previous one was sold out and is now sold for an extremely high price on ebay (actually they're all sold out on ebay as well). Strangely i havent been seeing this new one around much...

Im actually anticipating Toys Story 3 because the new characters are freakin awesome. Three peas-in-a-pod, Barbie and Ken, a stuff animal unicorn?! I must be crazy if i dont go watch this.
Toy Story 1 was actually my first animation and my first movie in theaters. I was like 6 at the time and didn't understand the movie much at all... in fact, it scared and bored the hell out of me. Monsters Inc, Meet the Robinsons, and Corpse Bride (yes i know its stop-motion) were the 3 earlier animations that truly inspired me to major in digital animation.

Currently watching this jdrama with awesome cast. Its alright at the moment but i kept sensing that it will get extremely depressing and dark.

Personal Preference. New korean drama im addicted to (darn you korean dramas!! so addicting even though its always cliche and cheesy!!)

One of the pictures my sister took during her trip to Europe. Theres something i really like about this photo...

HAHA sorry its a totally random picture. I fail in food photography....anyway, its a twice-baked-potatoe with onion and mushroom stuffing topped with cheese and bacon. Looks crappy but it was delicious and took forever to make. I've been cooking alot these days (i've sort of developed an interested in cooking...) and helping my mom out in the kitchen should count too?

Ohmygod this entry took me AGES...now my back aches and my neck needs a brace (don't ask me why). So end this entry..............

Just for laughs awesomeness.... !!

Its a super old polaroid picture of my sister and I during halloween...

okay now i can go eat my cornbread in peace (my sister is having an obsession with baking corn bread. dont ask. its beyond me)