Xin chào, Viet nam!

A week after returning from Vietnam, and I have fully recovered from the cold I caught on the last day of my trip. All I have to say is that it is a beautiful place, and I was so blessed to have been able to travel with my students. It was primarily a work trip, but I am glad to say that I went. Now that I am well enough to type a lot, I shall be recounting the experience (as much as I can.. Pardon me if I get tried half-way. Gosh. My stamina these days..). I will share some photos and a little bit about what I learnt/ saw/ felt etc.

Dancing, dreaming and squeezing my butt in

Many have asked me what I've been up to this holiday. Ok, actually no one has asked me. I made that up. But I'm going to tell you anyway. This holiday, I am going to: Draw, dance and CLIMB A MOUNTAIN! Finally, exactly a month from today, I'll be travelling to Mt. Kinabalu with my better half, and we'd be off! Pray that it all goes well! :D pretty excited about that.

My ballet run with SDT has ended (that's Singapore Dance Theatre, not a contagious disease), but I find that it was not particularly effective in developing my most fundamental skills.. so I'm following on with a private class (group, that is. Ain't got no money for individual lessons). And hopefully I'll be able to go en pointe someday! But I must have a solid foundation, and I trust this teacher to make sure I do.


All is well and full of love. Heading to Vietnam next week with the school.. hope that works out! In the meantime, hang in there. The weekend is almost here! :)

Ballet Lesson 1

Hello.

I am not going to lie. My body aches like hell. I had to foam roll my legs and all that... My father asks why I want to do "such things".. By this, I am pretty sure he is referring to me learning ballet as an adult. Well, because, I want to see if I can. I have always found it so graceful, so technically challenging, interesting.. Well. That's reason enough isn't it?

I am reminded of the time I really wanted to try ballet classes, last year, and how the lady who owned the studio asked if I would like to try contemporary instead (yes, I bought a groupon). She said it would be less challenging, and that I may find it better.. Truth is, she just wanted to fit me into an existing class, rather than to open a class for me specially. I mean, sure, it was a good business move, but ultimately, I shoved the dream aside (hey, dance IS dance, and I haven't tried contemporary, so I wasn't going to write it off!). But now, here I am.

Holiday time!

Dear all,

The holidays are upon us once again. And this holiday, I am looking forward to start.... ballet lessons!

It's been awhile since I've tried something new, and I'm looking forward to finally being able to fulfill one of my childhood dreams. I shall update you on. My progress and trials as an adult learner. I don't have much background in dance, and I'm not as flexible as I used to be.

I took recreational contemporary dance for about a year and a half till my teacher went back to Australia, and the studio didn't seem to care very much for me so I left. It was quite a pity because I was beginning to see progress and I enjoyed myself quite a bit.

So here's to a new beginning! My bf and I have begun trying to get fit again, to get into a workout routine and have some training sessions together so we will be prepared to climb the mountain in December. Yep! I'll keep you posted on that too.

An exciting few months to test my physical endurance... Time to rest though. So very tired after the lovely fish n co. dinner earlier.....

Have a good workout week!

Love,
Sarah

Color Pencils

So I eventually caved in and bought Prismacolors because I have seen what they can do, and I read how wonderful they are. I used to used Faber Castell color pencils (the kind you can just get at Popular bookstore for really cheap) because I have always believed that well. As cliche as it sounds, it's the artist that matters more than the tools he uses.

But hey, this was when I had the money to splurge. In the end, I got these off Amazon:

Drawing Portraits: pencil

A long time ago (ok, that was about two months ago), I told myself that I want to start drawing portraits again. Not that I was good to begin with, but I do need to start somewhere.

In need of inspiration, I asked some of my family members for some suggestions on who to draw. And I got a request for Harry Judd from Mcfly by my 3rd sister, a request for Captain America from BG, and a Benedict Cumberbatch from my bf. Inspired, and also not wanting to let anyone down, so I began my journey!

My first drawing, the one I attempted of Harry Judd, looks NOTHING LIKE HIM:

But it inspired me nonetheless, and I created two more drawings.

WIP : Captain America

So I didn't complete the Captain America. Or should I say, I haven't. In fact, the Cumberbatch sat around for two months before I finally got around to finishing it. And I am glad I did. Here are the end results:

I used pencils in H, 2B, 4B, 6B and a white gel pen for highlights.

WIP: Benedict Cumberbatch.
This sat around my desk, haunting me for two months.
It was only much later did I realise that his neck was much
too thin, and his eyes were too big. So two months later,
it was like working on a brand new drawing.

I know it looks kind of brown here.. I haven't
mastered photoshopping skills yet. Haha!

Used a Pentel white gel pen to add the highlights in the eyes.

I am going to keep drawing, yes I am!

The Great Blog Clean-up!

Dearest loyal readers (yes, both of you),

You might be surprised to find that almost all of the posts have mysteriously disappeared from my blog, and that it seems to have been taken over by 13 year olds with the colour scheme and all. Then again, you might also have no recollection of this whatsoever, so I have effectively just wasted 2 minutes of your life, and I apologise for that. But I digress.

This year*, I want something different.  Something new. Something positive. Something something.

I have left some old posts up in case you want to reminisce or something. Anyhoos. Prepare for change!

But first, let me take a bath.


*the year starts anytime I want it to.

Peace and love,
S.

May 2014

Hi all,

There is so much work that is waiting for me right now.. Unmarked essays which I find that I have very little motivation to do, setting a mid-year paper that I am really not looking forward to.. And planning lessons for next week.. Three more weeks till the exams, and it's just really crazy. Of course, crazy is relative. It's probably not as crazy as some of your lives.. and I guess I have nothing much to complain about.

Yesterday marked the end of the Dance madness. The concert was a success. I have no regrets, though I really hope that I handled the crowd well enough. I cannot imagine having to face angry guests and having people be mad at you for a long time. Last night's events really affected me emotionally. Never have I had to face people waving tickets in my face and practically shouting in my face (yes, people can be rude.. But I understand how they must feel). But handled it alright nonetheless. Yay me!

Helping the students paint their faces the whole day, talking to some of them, comforting, easing their worries.. All in a day's work. And at the end of the day, I didn't do that much at all! Haha! But it was good.

As I cross over into my late twenties (wow, such a biggie.. I know right), I feel rather ambivalent. Yet, I cannot deny the excitement that I feel for this new chapter.

Recovering (slowly) from an inflamed throat, I am building things from bottom up again. My confidence, my ability. I am trying new things with my art, but I feel maybe it is best not to show people what I am doing. Critics abound, and not everyone has something pleasant to say. I suppose that is part of the process, and while I know I am not doing things to please people, I have not learnt to deal with the sting that comes from someone hating or making harsh comments on my work. Some day, perhaps. My boyfriend has been most supportive of me, and I appreciate it so much.

I did not think I would pass two birthdays without Jaspreet. Ok.. getting teary eyed and choked up right now. I miss her terribly, and I know this will pass. Practical people would say that she is happy and that I should be happy for her and all that... But it doesn't stop me from missing her.

On to happier things. I am going to see Grease tonight!! I remember in secondary school (gosh. It's been ten years) hoping and praying that there would be a Grease musical in Singapore and that I would surely go see it... and now. Wow. Thank you God.

There is a lot more I would like to do and talk about. But that would be for another day.

Late 20s. Here I come. :)

OK I AM REALLY SAD LA. TRUTH. But haiya trying to be positive about it okay.  I worry about lots of things: i.e. I am turning 26.. What have I done with my life? Where will I be? And all other things and worries that a 26 year old might have. Actually I don't know what worries a 26 year old has. It should vary, I think. I want to settle my mind.

I like routine. I like the everydayness of things. I can't wait to fall back into a routine. I like to be the one doing nice things that impress people. I like impressing people. I like order. I like rules. I like people to say "Good job, Sarah". But at the same time, I like to create new things.

It is really the small everydayness that makes me glad. A 20 min sketch. Looking out of the bus window in my journey home. Thinking about Petechang. I am not difficult to impress. Ok, granted I may be difficult to impress in certain areas (i.e. knowledge of cats and cat behavior. The only other persons whom I will admit to are better than me are a) Dr Bruce Fogle and b) Jackson Galaxy. Are you Jackson Galaxy? No? Then STFU. Can a 26 year old say STFU? I guess so.) but for the most part I am very happy with most things. Although my boyfriend may say a different thing, I assure you that he will also say he deeply loves me because I have this.. Gratitude for life.

I know everything will fall into place. I will continue to have love and faith. TWENTY SIX. Here I come. Everything is going to be all right. Hang on.. I meant to say that EVERYTHING WILL BE AWESOME!

And I have used the world 'everydayness' quite a bit. How odd.

Have a blessed day. Will let you know how 26 is for me!

Love,
S.

Lessons learnt

I'm using this blogger app I just downloaded called bloggerzoid because the official Blogger app is really terrible.

It's 4am now and I'm on my third day of "vacation". I have had no choice but to spend my first two days doing work related activities.

I feel like it bas been quite awhile since I've blogged. And erm. I've re-opened my etsy shop!

In other news.. I have found the most wonderful man I could ever have, and he is indeed most wonderful for me. :)

He has also introduced me to this game called Abalone, and though it sounds like the shellfish, it is nothing of that sort. My boyfriend is a brilliant player, and I am picking up so much from him! Ok and yes, I am trying to win.. hahaha.

But if anything, I have learnt this mich after being in a relationship with B the past few months:

1) you can be perfectly happy in a relationship
2) problems are smaller when you solve them together
3) two imperfect people can find perfection in each other (cliche, but it is my blog!!!)
4) sometimes it is much easier for someone else to see our worth because we are so critical of ourselves
5) if you do not support your partner, then it ain't gonna work out
6) love is a truly powerful force

I'm learning to be a better and stronger person every day.

Hope this inspires you to have a great week ahead! :)

Not much of a reflection but it's good enough.

I think about the year gone by, I think about how 2014 is going to be. I think it will all turn out well, because I have love. It sounds silly but I do believe it so much.

I am happy.

I think this will also be the year I let you go, Jaspreet. I miss you; we all do. You are always in my heart, you are always with me. It is wonderful.

Thank you for blessing me. ♡