macro-shadows

major ego issue i'm dealing with. and yet i need to deal with my tutor's ego as well. as much as i don't want to give in to him in terms of design, i had to. for my grades, you see.

(mental notes)

*need to get everything done by wednesday*

*start digidesign after that*

*study for exam*

*must not fail myself*

confessions of a food aficionado.

pasta can taste awesome too.
check out the spinach fettuccine. it tasted better than i expect actually.

***


finally had the chance to try out the apple tart recipe that i've been putting on hold for the longest time. =D
tasted a bit too sweet for my liking but nevertheless still lovely. ginny said it was just right though. having only ONE miserable baking tray does not help at all. had to bake the tarts in batches and had to cut them into smaller squares just so that they could fit on the tray. came out looking rather pale actually. should have popped them in the oven for a tad longer. the freshly sliced apples were surprisingly crunchy despite being in the chiller for more than a fortnight. but i preferred them soft as it is on the tarts. a really easy recipe i have to say. XD a definite winner for establishing good rapport between neighbours. lol.

ingredients:

-1 puff pastry sheet

-1 granny smith apple (green apple)

-2 tbsp sugar

-1/4 cup almond meal

-1 egg white
-1/2 tsp cinnamon powder

-1/3 cup of apricot jam

preheat oven to 220degrees. (210degrees for fan-forced)

core and slice the apples. (i kinda soaked the apples in mildly salted water to prevent them from browning while i prepare the rest of the stuff)

combine egg white, cinnamon powder, almond meal and sugar.

score the puff pastry, 2cm away from edge, be careful not to cut all the way through. this allows the sides to rise and becomes puffy. =D

spread the almond meal mixture only on the inside of the puff pastry, not the edge.
lay the apple slices on the pastry.

bake for 20min or until the edge is brown and apples are soft.

mix the apricot jam with 2tbsp of boiling water until "spreadable" then spread over the apple tart.

enjoy. =) (the recipe highly recommends serving it with ice cream or custard but i think it tastes just as good by itself.)

cause i am strong...

To find strength in oneself is to believe in oneself.

i'm thankful that i'm blessed. to do what i love.

to know that i'll be able to feed myself financially, i feel assured.

and to be able to follow what i believe in, i feel emotionally and spiritually empowered.

♥

all the best, my friend. =)

World expo is held in Shanghai this year. dilys was hoping i could join her and miilk. but too bad i cant cause that would mean having only 3weeks in Singapore. =(

if i cant experience the flamboyance of the Singapore pavilion on the site personally. then at the very least allow me to bring forth the experience to you visually. =D

photo courtesy of expo2010.

(credits to http://en.expo2010.cn/c/en_gj_tpl_30.htm)

Pavilion Preview

Theme: Urban Symphony

Highlights: A Smart "Music Box"

National Pavilion Day: August 7 (never knew we had a Nat Pavilion Day, where's my ph? O_O)

Pavilion Area: Around 3,000 Square Meters

Highlight 1: Unique Design

Unique Design Supported by four columns of different profiles, the entire structural system features floors of different shapes and sizes, connected by ramps and stairs suspended from trusses smoothly, to form a tensional balance, which symbolizes a harmonious coexistence of people who live, work and have fun in Singapore.

Highlight 2: "Hanging Garden"

"Hanging Garden" The unique Singapore experience will culminate in the "Hanging Garden" - a rooftop garden landscaped with mysterious flora and music fountains. Here visitors will get a first-hand feel of Singapore as a Garden City.

Highlight 3: Environmental Protection

Singapore Pavilion also highlights its environment-friendly design. Facade slits and chilled water along the perimeter of the ground floor centre space will help reduce massive energy consumption whilst recyclable building materials will feature extensively.

Highlight 4: Beautiful Night View

Beautiful Night View Fountains at the square outside of the pavilion is a prelude of "Urban Symphony". When night falls, dazzling light rays flow out from the interlaced windows and facade slits, rendering the "Music Box" with more charming beauties.

***

(edited)

very beautiful hor??! i thought it looked somewhat like the colosseum.

OMG. and this is just the Singapore pavilion. there are alot more pavilions in the exhibition itself. ahhh~~!!!

and it's just too bad it ends 31oct. so i cant go at the end of the year as well. *upset*

World Expo will be held in Switz next year!!! Yeosu, Korea in 2012. (google was wrong. =.=)

i'm SO going next, next year by hook or by crook. (somehow Korea seems like a more accesible place than Swiss. hahaha)

if you are keen on viewing the pavilions by the rest of the countries...here's the link. =)

http://en.expo2010.cn/pavilions/hqzg.htm

if my life is a bottle, then it is filled with hope.

" Impossible is not a word. It’s just a reason an excuse for someone not to try. "
-taken off xue's blog.

i kind of changed it a little. "impossible" is a bad excuse.
and i'm guilty of it. i've been conveniently attributing the fault to "impossible". so much so that i had forgotten my true goal.

i wouldn't classify myself as a motivational speaker but i hope that this post will inspire you greatly and probably in the slightest ways change your life significantly.

my life was never smooth-sailing. as cliche as it may sound (and probably this phrase as well), it holds much truth.

if life is like photography, then it is never always about the good pictures. then again, it is so subjective as to what one may perceive to be "good".

if life is like a blog, it is never only about the happy stuff. it's a log for our lives. an online journey of all the events that had occurred, good or bad.

what i'm trying to drive at is never be afraid to show others the bad side of your life. it's never pretty nor perfect. most importantly is to pick yourself up where you fell and learn from the fall.

if you had never fallen, you will never know how high you were. just be sure to pick yourself up and go even higher.

i've fallen and i was at pit's bottom. it was only then i realise how convenient my life had been. i picked myself up and now i've climbed higher than ever. but the higher one climb, the harder it gets. gravity is like the forces in life that are acting against you. but why let that stop you?

"never say never."

Architecture is making concious the unconcious.

He would have been a really nice person if he hadn't been my tutor. but sadly, he is. bleah. =.=
quoted from him: "Architecture is making conscious the unconscious."
a very simple idea phrased in the most philosophical way. how ingenious.

***

chatted with Paul for the longest time today!! *beams*
after last semester in his studio, there was hardly any chance to catch up with him. poor Paul had only 1 student coming in today to attend his studio. (miserable~) but he didn't seem to mind the least bit because he understood there was a submission in the same afternoon. aww....so nice.
i want Paul back as my studio master next semester!!! (probably the next and the one after that, and the one after and after and after....you get the point.)
he is like THE nicest studio tutor anyone can wish for la! X)

Orh Lua (蚝煎）

while i'm suppose to be drowning myself in the piles of library books i've borrowed and desperately scanning through the pages for the potential essay material, i'm stuck with this question in my head. that i have to blog about. otherwise, i can't continue. (what a good excuse to not do any work! =D)

why is it that i didn't cry when i first left?

not that i'm crying now. but i just felt why didn't i cry that time? yes, i do miss home from time to time. and yes, i do love my course.

because i remember vividly crying my guts out after knowing i had to leave home for another place. (at that time i have yet to apply for the overseas uni yet.) knowing the fact that i had to leave home just upsets me ever so much. even when i was at idp, trying to put my my application through, i got so emotional. so much so that the person who was helping me with the application thought i was being forced into architecture. LOL.

probably i had cried enough that time. my waterworks ran dry by the time i left home for aussie.

just a random thought that hit me and i feel the urgent need to blog-away!! haha.

reality check: essay...only completed the intro. =.= bwah~

***

oh...if you were wondering about the orh lua picture, it's just because i'm having a craving. X)

tough cookie for a change. no time for apple tart.

it's so annoying and definitely frustrating when he banishes my work without even glancing at it.

(slapped with the laptop in his face)

"i can't see." he said.

"what the f**k is it you cant see??!!", i thought to myself.

"print it on paper." he said.

i tried to fiddle with the mouse and toggle between the tabs.

"i can't see if you don't have it on paper." he squinted his eyes, looked at the screen for a second and looked away.

"duh....of course you can't see if you DON'T open your eyes." i thought to myself.

"ok..." i told him, all ready to bring my laptop away to do my prints.

"where's your layouts?"

"erm...it not done yet." i told him.

"i can't see without layouts, i can't visualise."

"obviously, nothing is going to get done if this old fark doesn't approve my work." the voice in my head said.

***

(nearly an hour later)

i came back with my prints, still no layouts.

he looked at it and said, "see...isn't it better?"

"wtf?! it's the same as what's on my monitor!!" as the voice in my head continues to disagree with the words that he had just spewed out under that sinister breath. i did not answer him.

***

well...the rest of the critique session wasn't any better. i wasted my print credits just because he said "he can't see." but you get the point.
so much for sustainable architecture.
=.=