Urban... both the weekly fashion spread in the Straits Times that i like to read and the crazy module for which i spent my most harrowing week in my aki sch life so far slogging for...
Once again the odd week has surpassed itself in the pain threshold.
The culprit? the urban module once again, now in the form of the analysis of a street in singapore... actually i must say that the assignment itself is quite interesting... i mean living in singapore, we dun really take that close srutiny at our surroundings so this kinda heightens yr awareness abt ur own urban fabric which is impt i think since i mean its our own country.
yup. but the requirements r in another world... everything handrawn? in 2 weeks? in a sem that is chockful with other projects? for a module that is a bit too heavy?

well but i must say that i do appreciate the fact that the school is responding faster and better to feedback. So far... 1 test cancelled, 1 assignment indefinitely postponed, 1 assignment converted frm indiv to an optional grpwork, the design submission extended though ever so slightly :)
so i guess things are improving la... but still much room for improvement. uni-wide... i must say i'm real happy that they finally extended the mid-sem breaks to a FULL week instead of ending abruptly on thurs... haha i see the hoo-ha over the fee hike might have done some good in other areas? haha but more must be done to appease us... like why do i go to my 2326 class every other wed and have to wait at least 1/2 hr for the technician to fix the same laptop/comp connection prob? *tsk tsk* and the length to which they explained the efforts they went to get the full week break is quite overly dramatic =) i mean how can giving one more day change tons of things in their schedule? like maybe dun structure yr weeks that start on sund and end on thurs? yeah simplify the whole admin sys and everything will be better. well for all the complaints... i must still say there are improvements so there. like the addition of old chang kee and new zealand ice cream now at YIH =) hehe

anyhow the whole urban experience has left me, other than the sleep debt i'm now 'paying' off =), a seriously improved knowledge of photoshop! something i'm really happy abt yups =) and of cos in a highly stressful and painful environment like that, pple's ugliest and best colours are revealed. some things i see are well it suffices to say that it's real sad... but the good part is real good. Many thanks to Sarah & si-si =) for being so nice to help me write the words and render and draw my 2326 panel i really really appreciate it... esp Sarah since she aint in my 2326 grp but was so nice to help since she finished her urban... i'm yrs if u need help next time =) yups so it's real amazing to see stuff like that hai i need to be more efficient if i wanna help pple too...

oh the most brilliant thing abt the whole urban is that God was so amazing! i caught the flu bug the week before and was still sleeping like 4 hrs a day in the midst of it. i thought i was getting better but somehow the blocked nose didnt go away. and over the wkend it jus got worse i was so sad cos i felt that if i had slept more it cd have gone away. plus now it was into the thick of the urban thing. plus having to deal with studiomates that tease u to a point where even the most tolerant person cant std it. jus cos i'm nice doesnt mean u can do this k. so my latest strategy? jus be quieter and they'll say lesser. haha plus it's better for my health. yups. i mean some amusement is always welcome but when u're sick, stuck with lots of work, it's just plain irritating and unhelpful. yups. anyhow, bk to the story. on the nite before submission i didnt sleep but amazingly as my mum pointed out - u're getting better! which was true all praise be to God Almighty! yups i'm so grateful to Him for that. indeed "My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness" =) Amen =) so yups a real miracle indeed *big grinz*

another thing that i've realised... mg and even ac was a pretty sheltered kinda existence and uni is like well more the real world... which is good and bad. good cos its a better reflection of society, or reality. bad cos as serene so aptly put it, it is no longer the "protected wild" in AC but the real wildness or in a more bluntly put manner, a more immoral kinda world. i mean the level of perversity in the things pple say is shocking and they do it without qualms. then again of cos not everyone is like that, thank God =) but its quite disturbing and sad. i mean if i already feel this way, then what must God think? I think it really saddens Him to see his creation degenerate like that... of cos he can change all that in an instant, but He's gracious He gives us all a choice so please, please make the right one.

Now in the 2nd yr of aki... i think some things have changed. we are definitely more familiar with each other... too familiar i think =) which is both bad and good. cos this sem is purely aki modules and projects all within the aki pple, we're working a lot tog. and it's closer to our 'vision' of Onestudio hahah our crazy (or maybe not so? =) dream of setting up an aki firm with all the pple in my yr 1 sem1 studio1 =) haha we even like set up the diff roles or each person haha and actually in say 2326, it's already happening on a small scale so yeah but then thru it u see the working dynamics and well it's not perfect. cos there's like other stuff we have to do so it's not a clear reflection but its a start. but the bad part is... cos of the workload and maybe cos we're too familiar, pple become bitchy to each other... ok it can be funny but too long and it is really irritating and unedifying. so yeah i've jus learned how to filter out the bad stuff and forgive the pple involved =) i try i try =)

so yeah finally it's the even week =) praise the Lord =)
ooh btw Blessed Birthday to those having their birthday next week C= there are quite a few C=
God bless and good night!

21st birthdays. March is the month of birthdays. in aki tons of pple have march birthdays =) in my studio of 13 pple alone there are already 4. sigh we're all growing old. and by my bday, most of my friends will be on exchange.oh well. this is funny. i was at the bustop the other day & a couple were complaining abt turing 20... as the girl so aptly put it "it's like 2 fat numbers put together" hahaha

today was an interesting day... oh no my vocab seems to be degenerating ha oh well but this time it was really interesting =) Mondays start out as usual... a spillover of Sunday doing design cos there's studio on monds. I revitted out my design (finally! thank God) for the 1st time after interim. haha sick of revit, sick of the comp... so i've been sticking to butter paper & a physical model haha so she told me "by next studio i wanna see proper plans" so i knew it was back to the revit again. ok la actually in a kinda perverse way it's quite fun, like building up yr own house with furnitures & all u can add or even design yrself. =) yups. so the morning was spent revitting the last of my design. then it was studio. was kinda nervous b4 my turn... dunno why this sem i've been pretty nervous abt even informal studio crits like this... prob cos the need to do well is stronger this sem. Thank God it was a good crit though =) yay! finally! Hallelujah! =)
only minor changes to design... on to details already... but the bad thing was i didnt really know the concept behind flat concrete roofs argh i hope she didnt take that badly =)

so yeah studio was not bad... then it was off to astee's birthday party at... *drum roll* west coast macs... oh man it was the children macs parties thingy replete with musical chairs, animal party hats & kid-size happy meals with toys haha cept that we're all overgrown... pretty hilarious i must say and i think we behaved worse than kids aw man haha it was organised by her JC friends... so nice huh wow. plus my tutor actually came! haha cos she was astee's tutor last sem... man i really think she is so sporting! even played musical chairs with us =) not bad huh i had funky tutors this whole of year 2 (thank You God =) plus they are both nice too =)

so after that, somehow while some of the guys took bk to sch in marshie's car... we girls and a few other guys had to WALK bk frm there to sch! but it was a pretty interesting (haha a good word to use when u have mixed feelings abt stuff =) walk back. we crossed over the road to this narrow path between a condo & this bldg which was overgrown with coarse grass. at some parts there was steep "steps" and then a jump down & even one part where we had to grab on to railings to tiptoe at the sides cos there was a hole in the middle. it's like back to ccab again... cept now there aint a gentleman to hold my hand when i land from the jump down =( but thank God for His Hand =) i didnt twist my ankle or fall =) yeah after that i managed to find the bustop to go home while the rest continued back to sch. so yeah it was an interesting day=)

over the weekend i went to the bugis/waterloo area for my urban yet-another project. slavedrivers! but thank God now they are allowing pairwork so it's me & lw again... hopefully with our improved hehe photoshop skills we will be more effective =) one thing abt aki is that it makes u aware of yr surroundings more, also in exploring the various parts of Singapore more so yeah an architect has a real broad edu which i find very enriching =) so there =) a myriad of concerns... an infinity of inspirations... C=

oh yeah btw i like beautiful things. haha i know this is a random thought but i jus realised this this sem. i mean i have an acute sensitivity to aesthetics as opposed to a general one so yeah =) hehe. but beauty is subjective. beauty can come in a diversity of forms. and so my inaugural column on aki (which will hopefully appear soon =) will be on that of the beautiful. i think that's why i'm so fascinated with figure skating. as a sport, i put it tog with synchronised swimming & rhythmic gymnastics... dance on ice, in water, on the ground...the beauty of the movement, of the music, of the chereography =) ok b4 i go on and on i better go now... to sleep... while i can =)

good nite & God bless u all =) and i'll try to post more frequently =)

Hi this has been an interesting week for me (yeah it's the kindest adjective i can find for it)
okok admittedly for all the awful stuff there were indeed wonderful stuff and thank God for thowse =)

I'll always rem somethg Grace said - in aki u learn that there are 24hrs in a day and EVERY one of them can be used. Indeed. That was the essence of my week (once again the kindest description can find for it).

Monday (Project runway day)
9am - site visit for 2326 at a 6th ave house. which was a great way to start the week though.
real nice house and we learn stuff, took nice pics. i had my doubts when we sent to the
architect's to see the plans & stuff but i must say that it was a pretty successful design =)
11am - back to sch for the start of the 1-day sketch! hehe this was supposed to be a fun break
frm design. Thank God for it or i wd have suffered the nite b4 =) cos of the sketch we
didnt have to show anythg for design. we were to design a lampshade based
on music in 6.5 hrs ... yeah i must say that it was a great learning process. materials
allowed were frosted PVC sht, butter paper and fishing line. it was a good experimentation
thingy & yeah in the midst of all the work, it was a nice break & yeah that's one good thing
abt aki... it allows u to do a variety of creative stuff =)
530pm - end of sketch. phototaking. oohing & aahing at others' lamps while cringing at yr own
haha ok i was ok with mine a bit too safe though i felt. then voting for yr favs. then
dinner and back to the urban proj with lw till last bus
3am - sleep

Tues
9am -woke up late. rushed to sch
10am-urban with lw again (with hopes to finish by 11 which nv materialised)
11am - supposed to meet to do 2326 presentation but our nice grp mems who saw that we were
struggling thks to our sad photoshop skills let us off =) btw Thanks a big bunch =)
1pm- went for lec
230pm-after lec, contd with the urban again (supposed to go to the architect's office to collect
details for 2326 but once again our nice mems went without us so we cd stay to do
urban =)
5pm - finally finished urban! Hallelujah! =) phew. we were 2 days behind our planned schedule.
sigh. but 1 day ahead of the deadline =) praise the Lord! C=
went for lec 1 hr late *oops*
6pm - dinner then finally went to do 2326 presentation for tmr till last bus then contd it at home
this time our other mems who hadnt finished urban were let off. haha we're like working
in shifts.
4am - sleep. finally.

Wed (Amazing Race day)
7am - wake up. argh.
9am - lec to tell us abt the NEW urban assignment. how brilliant. after we have jus slogged thru
one
10plus-slacked ard haha
1045 - left for hwa chong site visit cos we're doing our BU proj on it.
1130-reached there & it wasnt like the best thing. shall not say more. but it's a 9-man grp work
thank God =)
115-cabbed to bugis. horrid lunch at pastamania.
2pm- met our urban TA at bugis mrt for our site visit for the NEW assignment. had to quelch
the shopping urge. walked all way to SAM.
320pm- cabbed back to sch
4pm-2326 presentation. where the seminar room had a faulty comp, markers without ink and
bad extension cables for the lappie. and my increase in sch fees is to pay for
improvements. where? haha zx said i was angsty. hmm actually i was jus seeing the reality
of the complaints of the arts pple =)
6plus-back home fore dinner and design
9pm-sleep haha this is the change in strategy =)
3am-wake up to do design

Thurs
2pm-at ach for design studio
8pm-back home to eat, do QT and sleep finally peacefully =)

Today
woke up at a normal time, slacked a bit then it was off for a noon tutorial. then it was the best part=) today's the last day of the basheer sale & i had my eye on the $50 renzo piano book. but sadly some yr 3 guy bought it moments b4 i came. but God had something better for me C= richard meier...for only a gasp-inducing $30! praise the Lord! hehe was so happy. with photos, proper tech drawings and a bonus of meier's sketches too =) i reserved it went across to arts to get $ frm the atm but it was outta cash argh. they shd have more atms ard sch. so i had to take the shuttle bus 1 stop down to YIH to get $ but it was a blessing in disguise! cos i got to buy OLD Chang Kee hehe jus opened =) so it was a double blessing - great book + great lunch =) thank You God.
"... My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to my God in song." Psalm 28:7
Indeed =)

so yeah as u can see it has been a real crazy week where every hr was spent doing something. but well i thank God for the good parts and for seeing me thru the bad ones too =)

oh yeah... ooh i'm realling into figure skating now. it all started with this news article i read online abt the jap girl who won the singles Olympics gold in Torino last week. "[Arakawa] didn’t show much emotion on her face, but she spoke it with every other part of her body, from her toes to the tips of her fingers." It intrigued me. i think it's like in aki or any arts for that matter where u aim to express something intangible in a tangible manner. but sadly i missed the replay of that beautiful free skate of hers cos we were at ann siang hill(another beautiful place i'll talk abt in my upcoming column =) for ernest's bday & later urban with lw. so i watched the gala exhibition on sund and it was like wow so beautiful why didnt i discover this long ago? aww yeah ok i wont go on gushing abt it but well u get the idea =) erm if anyone happens to have her free skate program can lend it to me? thanks =)

so it's been an interesting week indeed learnt lotsa stuff and did lotsa work haha =) Told ya, life's never boring in aki =) oh btw, the long standing issue of the weird 4-day mid-sem break has finally been resolved. nus has finally given as a full week break frm next sem onwards praise the Lord =) wow i see that all the hoo-ha frm the fee hike has come to smthg fruitful indeed haha need to appease us la. but not without telling us the efforts expended in making that happen. i seriously think the way the admin does stuff is beating round the bush. i mean how can giving us 1 extra day affect so many things that it took 3 sems to rectify it? but thank God it was rectified =) haha u know what after days of lack of sleep in aki pple start to get bitchy & say things like "dun worry i'll wait for you although i'm hungry" that's on the mild end =) but the sarcasm can be real funny some times. but well at least we understd each other & not take it seriously so it's ok in the end =)

so pls appreciate architects. for u to stay in that nice house of yours, some poor person had to draw these copious amts of stuff that better work since it's for real, stared to the comp for hrs and not slept much. so yeah i think architects are underappreciated. it's not some ultra glam funky design creative job k... although true to some extent haha ok it's real fun but u gotta work it too.

ok better go sleep now while i can enjoy =) good nite & God bless =)