Just a bit of a Reflection

Thursday 31 December 2015

Dear 2015,

I wouldn't call you the best year I've ever had, as there have been some pretty awesome moments and some not so good ones. Thankfully the bad hasn't outweighed the good, and a good part of that had to do with how I handled things, both mentally and physically. It's been a rough couple of months recently, and for me to be able to still hold my head steady without completely breaking down (like I did back in 3rd year university), has been a dormant metamorphosis that I had not realized I had been undergoing until someone commented on it. I hadn't realized my strength, and while I still have quite a bit to work on, it gives me hope. Earlier this year, I didn't set new year's resolutions (because that never sticks). Rather, I told myself to try to make progress on the following:

1) Drink more water
2) Stop caring too much about things that don't matter
3) Stop validating yourself through other people's words

Funny enough, a friend's birthday gift (a 500ml mug) has partially contributed to my consuming of more water so far (though, I still need to be more consistent... it hasn't been so as of late). The latter two, I'm still working on, and will continuously work on. And really, those two (plus a couple of other things I'll add later on), just boil down to being happier in general. I mean, usually I'm a decently content person I suppose, but sometimes, certain memories plague my thoughts and affect me all too much. Often times I end up beating myself over them and being overly critical of myself... So with that in mind, this is what I hope to work on in 2016 (along with the original 3 points above):

4) Don't let your past haunt you/don't be too jaded
5) Actively seek out what the root of a problem is, and actually do something about it
6) Keep striving/don't be complacent, but know the difference between being complacent and being happy

Along the way, I've also learned some important life lessons this year. I realized I still need to be more assertive when I say "no", but also, I shouldn't have to overcompensate for others and explain myself continuously when a simple "no" should suffice. I've lost some friends but I also gained new ones, along with more bonding with certain existing friends. I unexpectedly grew even closer to my Australian cousin. And for once, I had forgotten that I am an only child and felt what it was like to "have a sister". I went tent camping for the first time. Canoeing was a first too. I still have some things I want to do that will carry over into 2016 for sure, but for the sake of this reflection, I can safely say that 2015 has been quite the eye-opening year for me. There may be another year or two that trumps it later on, but for now, for now, I'll stick with that title. As most cases go, I sit in the final hours of 2015 hoping that 2016 will be an even better year. It'll be interesting, I have a feeling about that.

2016: More knowledge/more life lessons, more adventure, more laughter, more humility. Let it begin.

Christmas plannings/festivities have me like

The Fragility of Words

Wednesday 9 December 2015

I know it's a little random that I've decided to post here again after being away for 2+ months (TLDR: I had a lot of personal and freelance stuff going on, so I didn't really find the time to be able to process photos and write about things), but there was something that happened today that caused me to reflect a little. It was the most subtlest of things, but still worth thinking about.

For a little background context, the topic of people not flushing the toilet after they use the washroom in a public space came up between a cubicle mate and I.

"Not flushing the toilet is barbaric."

Now, before it's assumed that I got butthurt about this comment or anything, no, it didn't affect me personally, but it just became a little important reminder of one's choice of words. Here's the thing. For the most part, most people would find the idea of not flushing the toilet repulsive. Heck, I do too, just because I'm quite sensitive to smell and anything pungent would get me running out the door. But then there are those individuals that may be more environmentally conscious (or whatever other reasoning that they may have) and try to preserve water or energy by not flushing constantly. Is that really barbaric then? I think it all depends on context, and sometimes the choice of words that some people use don't really accommodate that.

Some words are a bit too strong; have too much of a negative or positive connotation. It's no wonder that the English language has a massive variety of words, possibly in hopes of covering the broad range of spectrum in articulation. While the act of articulation is one matter, the individual that chooses a particular method of articulation is entirely another matter.

It's funny, usually we don't really think about how powerful words can be and how much impact they can cause. Sometimes I forget that too. We're all guilty of that.

Sidetracked

Tuesday 6 October 2015

To be honest, I don't watch Korean dramas that often. But when/if I do, I get pretty suckered into watching them (with the exception of She's So Lovable... for some reason, I couldn't bring myself to finish it because the premise of the story just felt so... wrong?).

This time it's The Producers.

**update: I finished watching all 12 episodes in the span of about a week and a half... oh my.

via gudthot on tumblr

Productive/Food Weekend

Wednesday 23 September 2015

I realize that it's already the middle of the week but last weekend had such good photo ops that I couldn't pass out on them; plus, I've been on a productivity high(ish) so I'm excited for when (what I'm currently working on) is finally done... (and I can unveil it on the internet).

I think that productivity high was the result of me actually taking the time and effort to take care of myself in one aspect of my life (at least starting to). I always tend to neglect myself due to other priorities, so it was refreshing to have some "me time" that wasn't entirely dedicated to either freelance work/design, or a mental break that would usually result in myself endlessly browsing the internet. Now if only I get around to using that facial mask... lol.

Currently, I'm in the middle of a "design renovation" for a personal project of mine (aka my portfolio). Maybe it's just me, but I get kind of antsy when I see that the stuff/layout I'm displaying on the web right at this moment is already two years old. It feels a bit dated, especially my colour choice back then, and there are some visual adjustments I've already made that I want implemented so badly. But patience, because I still have quite some work to do...

NYC 2015 (DAY 2...ISH)

Tuesday 15 September 2015

Our second day started rather late, as we were finally ready around noon. I can't really blame my cousins though — one wasn't feeling well (even though she took medication and even a heating pack) and the other was still a bit jet-lagged. I don't think we were as indecisive this time though, as I remembered my Australian cousin showing interest in a restaurant on our way back from the shopping trip* we did the day before. 

*Correction: it wasn't just my cousin buying stuff... I realized I forgot to mention that I ended up buying stuff for my homeslice too. My cousin was teasing me the whole trip about how funny it was that my homeslice wanted not 1, not 3, but 5 of the same funko pops to sell, lol. 

NYC 2015 (DAY 1...ISH)

Tuesday 8 September 2015

Last Monday just felt like a whirlwind/a complete reality smack in the face — not only did I return back to work, part of my workplace was dealing with moving into a new separate unit. I wasn't here last (last) Friday, so I was completely disoriented when I went into the old marketing office seeing almost nothing there at all, and spent most of the morning trying to organize my laptop, monitor, external hard drive, the 432940382943208 cables that came with my work set-up, and settling down with my new space (and 100x better office chair, yes!). But let's not jump too ahead of ourselves, as the latter half of the week before 2 weeks ago made for one of the major highlights of my summer (along with that camping trip a month ago too)...


Back to Reality

Tuesday 1 September 2015

I'm still trying to settle back into my usual surroundings (aka trying to get my shit together) at the moment, so as much as a post about how NYC went around for me this time is anticipated, I still need to process the photos -______-'

I only really started putting stuff away yesterday you guys!

But here's a teaser image to start off...

Of course I would include a picture of something related to the NYC subway system... lol

Um, whut.

Tuesday 25 August 2015

I just find it funny when someone screws up your name in an email even though they've addressed your name correctly consistently previously. Who knows, maybe they're just tired af, but it's just odd.

Original source from vogue.com

Funny how that happened to Cara too, lol.

App Testing

Wednesday 12 August 2015

I just finished testing an app for a company and being able to review and give feedback has been surprisingly therapeutic. It stands strong with my personal philosophy that designers do more than "make pretty things", and it really got me to reflect on the why's and how's (especially on how to improve user experience). Plus I like helping people out, so being able to provide constructive criticism to make something better is a win-win situation.




Wow, I had almost forgotten about this cartoon...

Taste of the Danforth 2015

Sunday 9 August 2015



Admittedly, I've never been to the Taste of the Danforth until yesterday. I had meant to go in previous years, but something always came up (or I forgot). My boyfriend and I started the day at the quieter end of the street festival, first ordering Chicken Souvlaki on a stick for $3. I forgot to take a photo of that one because I was so preoccupied with fumbling between my wallet, my bag, the food and the can of Pure Genius sparkling water in Cantaloupe. I hadn't eaten or drank anything prior to this (and was really parched), so I got desperate and got that drink. I don't normally order sparkling water since carbonated drinks aren't my thing, but whatever.

Functionality Fail?

Friday 7 August 2015

I don't get it. How does one advertise about a street festival promising cultural performances and "lots of food" but only have information on the programs of the shows being played on the stages? Where is the info about the food?! Cause clearly that's what I'm going there for...



#websitefail #wtf

Whatevs. Guess I'll find out tomorrow.

Canisbay Lake

Thursday 23 July 2015


Last weekend, I went camping — legit camping in tents, not in cabins like I've done (rarely) in the past... at Canisbay Lake, Algonquin Park. As I was typing the location of my campsite, I couldn't help but slightly giggle at the fact that somehow it sounded similar to "cannabis lake". I'm not a pothead I swear. I may however, be slightly dyslexic?

When someone expects a fully finished draft

Tuesday 21 July 2015

But they gave you almost next to no direction, and they point fingers at you for barely having graphics on it when they were supposed to supply them to you in the first place.



Aside from that though, I'm excited for my next post! I still need to edit the photos, but it'll be a nice blog post, I promise ;)

Catching Up (Instagram Squares Style) PT 2(ish)

Friday 3 July 2015

I figured the easiest way to articulate the past several months of my absence was to incorporate key photos (if you've seen them already, I'm sorry) that would help me as I elaborate without writing a novel, haha.

This is in no particular order...

OVERALL:

 















1. Office Christmas Party  2. Winterlicious  3. Badminton
4, 5, 6 — Raptors Vs. Nets Game
7, 8 — Archery Tag  9. MUJI
10. Kimono   11, 12 — OCAD Gradshow
13, 14 — OCAD Gradshow (Cont'd)  15. Sangeeth

Glorious

Tuesday 16 June 2015

This is probably a n00b mistake by web developer standards, but after struggling for awhile, I finally managed to redirect the little Wordpress sub site (that I worked on for someone else) onto the main directory AND I FEEL GLORIOUS.

That pesky index.htm from the old version was the culprit to all my woes. UGH WHY DIDN'T I THINK OF CONFLICTING FILES BEFORE?! I feel like that time my classmate realized why his code wasn't working — he spelt "border" as "boarder", and html never tells you when you have stupid spelling mistakes, because the code is an asshole like that. Kidding about the last part. Sort of.

Anyway, I totally feel like this right now:



Bimyou

Tuesday 9 June 2015

Scenario:  My throat feels funny, which can only mean one thing — I'm most likely going to be sick. I asked a coworker if they knew any remedy because the state of my throat was getting worse and starting to hurt. She suggested mixing salt and Coca-Cola together.

EXPECTATION



REALITY



Melody's stomach + Coca-Cola clearly does not mix well.

Current Mood - Long Weekend Edition

Bang Bang

Monday 11 May 2015

With the weather in Canada finally warming/lighting up, I couldn't contain the excitement that was to go and eat some frozen desserts. It has always been a tradition for my homeslice and I (even if the weather was cold, haha) and honestly, I hadn't seen him since archery tag for my uber belated birthday celebration, so we decided to meet up about two weeks ago.


Splinter Spark

Friday 27 March 2015

You know how for a good chunk of the time, you're idling along with life and there are just moments (or string of moments) that suddenly urge you to take action, whatever it may be? Tonight is one of them. I'm not here to write about my latest food adventure unfortunately, so when I finally get myself to update properly, that'll be on queue too. In the meantime, I'm just going for a really raw post.
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Coincidentally, a couple of incidences have happened recently that got me wondering. A friend of mine mentioned that her anniversary with her ex was on her birthday and he never greeted her for all these years except for this one time. It makes me think, how odd it is that we can attribute what can be a thousand-folds worth of memories concerning one person, down to something as arbitrary as a day...

and how long it must've taken the other party to finally let go and simply be able to wish the former a happy birthday without a hint of pain.

Another phenomenon happened in which someone I know got slightly upset about something on her newsfeed that concerned her past. Granted, she was the one that let go, but she hasn't enjoyed enough freedom to truly forget all her feelings. That begs the question:

What would one deem as enough time to get over someone?

I know it varies from person to person and the context too. But I feel, who would be adequate to judge without knowing? For some, 6 months after a long relationship is enough. For others it's not. It boils down to how the individual handles the situation (and ultimately their life), though in certain situations I don't think the longevity of the relationship or event matters all too much. If the impact of the event was great enough that it affected the person's psyche immensely (either for good or bad), anything under a year seems like he/she is just kidding themselves. And by a year I mean a whole 12 months, not a school year.

Either way, it's tough getting over someone, that's understandable. But people shouldn't jump the gun and reconnect so fast when they're probably not ready. It's easy for an outsider to point that out and say that, especially since oftentimes we can have the worst judgements about ourselves. And it isn't until its too late that we find ourselves in pain once again, only having ourselves to blame. Let's not have another chapter of tragedy in our lives, shall we?

Catching Up Part 1/New year, new beginnings

Sunday 1 February 2015

I know I'm about a month late, but happy 2015! I finally got around to coming back here and I'll admit, I kinda miss my little corner on the interwebz, and I know I left some people in the dark for awhile as to what I've been up to, so I'm gonna try to come back in a more "committed" manner... hopefully. *crosses fingers*

Where do I even start?
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Ah, right. Halloween 2014. My costume didn't turn out as grand as I'd like it to be for a couple of reasons: a) time constraint/procrastination, and b) the dreaded weather (AKA it was raining). Had these two not been the case, my ideal scenario would be getting a co-worker to roll me into the workplace with my homemade Sugar Rush "racing cart"... Yes ladies and gentleman, I dressed up as Vanellope Von Schweetz from Wreck-It-Ralph:


I'm pretty much dressing up as myself for Halloween... kidding :P

For the most part, my costume itself was about maybe 80% on point. Fabric painting my stockings took longer than I expected (that's what I get for being a perfectionist), and I struggled to get as much candy-glued-bobby-pins in my fine hair as I could. But you know what, I still enjoyed making this costume, especially since I was trying to juggle with getting a booklet for a non-profit organization done.


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And here are just a sample of the candy hair pins I made...

**As much as I find glue guns convenient, I definitely should've used E-600 instead... would've made the polymer clay candy hold up on the bobby pins much more, but then again, I guess I can re-use those bobby pins now without the comical props attached to it?


So I never got to finish my grand ideals of a personal Sugar Rush cart, and the wagon I bought is still sitting in the spare room of my house, sadly. Maybe come summer, I should collaborate with a friend and sell that wagon for a yard sale? Sounds legit.

Until next time...