Well, I’ve promised another Style Studio installment, so here we go.

It feels like ages ago since I last did a self portrait. I haven’t really had much chance to do much photography lately. In any case, here are my style and photography notes:

Style Notes:

• Navy Blue Halter Dress – This one’s an oldie but goodie. It’s a custom-made dress that I asked a seamstress in the Philippines to make for me some 10+ years ago. I chose the fabric and I sort of designed the dress (based on another dress I saw in a magazine), if I remember correctly. It was actually a maxi dress (ankle length) — when I first had it made. I even wore it on my hen’s night! But, I sort of got tired with the long dress. I didn’t want to throw it away, though. Since the cut was still right for me, I decided just to make it in to a mini dress. So, I took it to another seamstress (in Singapore, I believe) and had it cut and hemmed. Even though it’s soooo old, it’s still one of my favourite dresses. Yeah, this dress really makes me miss getting custom-made dresses (it’s too expensive here in Oz).
• 3-strand Blue Elastic Hairband – Brand new from the cheap shop. Only $2 – and I love it.
• Silver Hoop Earrings – A staple for me. I wear these earrings. A LOT.
• Black Sandals with Heels – A hand-me-down from my mom.

Where To: Off to my son’s school for drop-off (and supposedly, volunteering at his school) + Uni seminar

Photography Notes:

• Camera: Nikon D40x
• Lens: Sigma 30mm f.14
• Self-Portrait Technique: Remote Control + Tripod
• Lighting: Natural light — almost mid-day sun. When it comes to photography, I really love making the most out of natural light – and the outdoors.
• Additional Note: I like playing with angles in photography. This session is an example of how using different angles can make different pictures.

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In a nutshell, it’s about a 30-something single woman called Erica Strange (Erin Karpluk) who had everything going for her — except, her life hasn’t turned out to be quite like what she hoped. Unable to keep even a dead-end job, even unable to maintain a good relationship, and with a lot of other baggage, she ended up meeting a mysterious, quote-loving, philosophical “Dr Tom” (Michael Riley). In her therapy sessions, Dr Tom gave her a chance to face up to her regrets – and several opportunities to “do her life over”. But, revisiting the past and “doing things over” can’t ever be simple. And, she has to learn valuable lessons, including the realisation that it’s not about changing the past, but learning how to deal with it that will make all the difference.

Now, I’ve never heard of “Being Erica” before I came across the DVD series in my local library. Although I saw somewhere that it may have been shown some time last year here in Australia via ABC2. In any case, even though I wasn’t familiar with the series, I’m glad I stumbled upon it. I really enjoyed watching the series, and I can’t wait to get a hold of Season 2 (it’s apparently been shown in Canada already, and there’s a possibility of Season 3).

Sure, the concept is a bit bizarre, what with the time travel thing and all that. But, being a fan of fantasy, that sort of thing never rattles me. But yeah, there are some odd stuff around the whole thing that did make me raise my eyebrow a few times. But, I loved it anyway. Seeing the 80s and the 90s again… Even the introspection, the philosophical ideas, and the quotations (not to mention the soundtrack!) all worked for me. Yes, including the lead actor, Tyron Leitso (he played the character Ethan Wakefield, Erica’s best guy friend since University) — really cute. I even enjoyed seeing bits and pieces of Toronto on the screen, as it reminds me of my visit there (waves to my Canadian friends!).

The only thing that really bugged me about it is that the main actress (Erin Karpluk) – especially in character – reminded me too much of someone who brings up unpleasant memories in my life (think along the lines of Julienne, Erica’s boss in the publishing company, during the Ice Queen b*tch stage…).   

Anyway… one thing that I can’t help doing when I watched this series is ask questions like: “What’s my Regrets List really like?” and “If I had the chance to do things over, what will I change?” and “Which part of my life would I like to revisit?”  

I mean, sure, I’ve thought about regrets like most people. And, I’ve wondered about re-doing things. But, I wonder, if I sat down and actually listed my regrets like Erica did in this series, what would my list look like? What would I regret the most?

Honestly, I’m not quite sure, as I haven’t really taken the time to write down those past mistakes and difficulties. As someone who does a lot of introspection, I find that fact very strange. I guess, writing down one’s regrets can be really confronting. Maybe one of these days, I’ll face up to the task.

How about you? Have you ever thought about your own regrets in life? Have you ever listed them down? If there’s something you can revisit in your past, what would it be? What would you change?

Oh, and here are some of my favourite quotes from Season 1:

“Learn to be what you are, and learn to resign with good grace all that you are not.” ~ Henry Frederick Emile

“In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” ~ Albert Einstein

“The life which is unexamined is not worth living.” ~ Plato

“We learn to do something by doing it. There is no other way.” ~ John Halt

“Those that fail to learn from the past are doomed to repeat it.” ~ Winston Churchill

“The most exhausting thing in life is being insincere.” ~ Anne Morrow Lindbergh

and one of my favourite quotes of all time…

“It takes a lot of courage to grow up and be who you really are.” ~ e.e. cummings

{ Buy “Being Erica” (Season 1) from Fishpond }

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Crunchy on the outside, chewy on the outside. That’s what these chocolate chip cookies are like! They are just so yummy-licious.

When I first started baking during home economics class in highschool, one of my first projects included making cookies. And, even though I wasn’t quite as pleased with my efforts back then, some of my former classmates still seemed to love my cookie creations. I couldn’t quite fathom why! Perhaps, the thing with homemade cookies is that they’re almost always better than the packaged variety.

In any case, if you’re looking for a simple but effective recipe for homemade classic chocolate chip cookies, do try this one out. I actually found the original recipe at the back of a Cadbury’s chocolate chip packaging. Here you go —

Ingredients:

• 125g butter
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup caster sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
• 1 egg
• 1 1/1 cups self raising flour
• 3/4 cup chocolate chips (I use Cadbury’s Milk — I found that a 230g packet can make two batches of cookies)

How To Make:

1. Preheat your oven to 160′C

2. Melt butter, the mix it with brown sugar and caster sugar. Cream them using an electric beater until they’re light and fluffy.

3. Mix in the vanilla essence and egg.

4. Then, stir in the flour until combined.

5. Add the chocolate chops.

6. On a lightly greased cookie sheet / baking tray, place the dough mixture. You can use a teaspoon to scoop the mixture, then make it in to a small ball, and flatten a little before putting on the baking tray.

7. Bake in moderate over for approximately 10 to 15 minutes. I find that 10 minutes is usually enough, but it might depend on your oven.

Additional Tips:

• Make sure you only use a small amount of dough mixture AND leave enough space between cookies. The first time I tried this, I made them too big and put them too closely together. The dough started to expand/raise and they began to stick to each other. Yikes.
• Don’t attempt to take the cookies out of the baking try until they’re cool enough. Otherwise, they tend to crumble.
• The original recipe says that this will usually yield about 30 cookies. I found that when I made the perfect size cookie, I ended up with about 40 cookies.

What kind of cookies do you like? Do you have a favourite cookie recipe that you’d like to share? I’d love to give them a go too!

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• Home Sweet Home. Sorta.

Even though I may have gazillion ideas and projects going at any given time, there are days when I feel like I’m just stuck. Like I go in circles in spite the inspiration. I end up going nowhere, in spite the drive and the passion.

When such things happen, these are some* things that I try to do to get out of that rut — pronto!

1. Do something completely different. If I’m obsessing about writing, I paint or draw or doodle. If I’m anxious about crafting, I journal or play music or cook. If I’m stressed about Uni stuff, I read or bake or dance. It doesn’t matter what I do, as long as it’s different from what I’m way too pre-occupied with.

2. Start something new. It doesn’t matter if I’m going to finish or not. I just want to start something for the sake of it. Sometimes, just being able to recapture that feeling of newness, the excitement of beginnings… may be enough to spur me on.

3. Join a class or a workshop. Sometimes, getting input from other people… or getting some kind of feedback… helps me to absorb new concepts. Or, try out old ones in a different way. Sometimes, it doesn’t even matter what I try to learn… I’ve attended all sorts of art classes (watercolours, oils, drawing, figure drawing, etc), writing classes (children’s writing, romance writing, etc), and dance classes (flamenco, pole dancing, jazz, African, etc). I’ve even attended a DJ (radio personality) course, a Neuro Linguistic Programming course, Pilates classes, and now, Zumba.

4. Be more physical. I’m no fitness freak, as some of you might already know. But, I do feel that rush whenever I do something more physical – like when I go walking or dancing, or if I do some exercise… even doing chores or gardening might even work for me at times.

5. Create a list. Yes, I’m a listoholic. And, there are all sorts of lists to break out of ruts. There are Gratitude lists, Things To Do lists, Dreams lists, Inspiration lists, and even Prayer lists (if you’re so inclined). Creating such lists sometimes gives me enough reason to move, or to hope, or to feel more excited.

6. Practice Mindfulness (and/or Prayer). This mindfulness thing is really just a “new thing” for me (sort of…). And, even though I’m not a real heavy “mindfulness” practitioner, I do find it a very useful thing to practice as much possible. It has healed me in all sorts of ways – from physical and emotional ailments to all sorts of work and personal pains. I’m really and truly amazed.

7. Journal It Out! I’m not the sort of person who sorts out issues by calling a best mate. No matter how close I am with my friends, no matter how much I care about them, I’m never the kind who go crying to them whenever I have something I need to sort out. Instead, I turn to writing. Journal writing in particular. That’s why I have all sorts of journals all over the place – my paper journals, my art journal, my desktop electronic journal, my private web journal, my blogs… I access them whenever the need arises. In fact, I notice that the more issues I’m trying to work out, the more I tend to write in my journals (especially the non-public ones). I mean, for example, when I hit a massive snag when writing my novel, I tend to journal the problems, and before I know it, I’ve got something to work with. I just love it whenever I have those Eureka! moments whilst journal writing myself out of a rut.

8. Allow myself to be inspired by others. Be it through reading books, watching films (or TV shows), looking at art, visiting blogs, flipping through magazines, listening to music… or simply letting people tell their stories to me. I like finding inspiration in what others have done… or are doing. It’s amazing to see creative products and creative people at work.

9. Do something crazy or scary. If it’s something I’ve been thinking of doing but never dared before due to fear of failing or some other anxiety… Sometimes, I just go for it when I’m in a rut. Or if I want to avoid getting there in the first place. It doesn’t have to be anything big like skydiving or mountain climbing. It can be just simple things… like recording your singing or speaking voice… or saying hello to someone new.

10. Decide to keep things simple. One of the things that gets me stuck at times is this feeling of wanting to do something nice, great, amazing… I want to write blog posts that will blow your socks off. I want to take photos that will inspire. I want to write novels that will amaze. I want to make art that will make your jaw drop. That’s why in the past, I end up with no new blog posts for days (and even weeks) on end. Or that I don’t pick the camera, or write novels, or make art… When I over-think (which I do A LOT!), I under-do. So, when I’m feeling stuck in a rut, I try to make a conscious decision to find ways to simplify it… Like, don’t worry about singing Whitney Houston songs in public, just think about singing lullabies and children’s songs to my kids (at home and in school)… Don’t think about playing lead guitar of amazing songs just yet, just enjoy playing a couple of chords in the back-up tracks of pre-recorded band music… Don’t create a 2-hour feature film at first go, just consider making a 5-minute educational film for class first… Yes, just simplify, simplify, simplify…

How about you? What are YOUR tips and practices for getting out of a rut?

NOTES:

• * some – I have other things that I do, but I thought I’d share the first 10 that came to mind…
• Image – Yes, it’s a doodle I made using my old Wacom tablet. I’ve been in art-making/doodling/illustrating rut for a while now, so I thought I’d take on the challenge and play with my Wacom again since I haven’t used it in a while. Just to practice what I preach, so to speak.

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It feels like ages ago – The Big Trip. That’s why it feels a bit odd blogging about this now. But, I promised to blog about it all, so I’m delivering on that word (whether you like it or not ).

Looking at these photos still make me smile though, no matter how long ago this may seem to be.

Anyway, since we spent almost four weeks in Johannesburg, South Africa, a day-by-day recount of our trip is definitely out. Let me just share with you some of my favourite memories and highlights from my fifth South African trip (this is my boy’s 3rd trip, and my li’l girl’s first official trip):

• Our arrival at the airport – with our family waiting for us. Such a nice sight!
• Going to the Mountain Sanctuary for a four-day camp. Lots of nice things here – barbecues, star gazing, swimming at an infinity pool, seeing baboon and warthog families in our camp, hiking to rock pools, toasting marshmallows on the campfire, reading… It was really nice of my sis-in-law and her family to organise this for us. They even paid for everything. How sweet, eh? Oh, and yeah… Funny moment for me was when I knew I just had to enrol in one of these courses at Uni, so I ended up with my brother-in-law’s laptop with a wireless connection… enrolling at Uni in the middle of the night, inside a tent, with warthogs just outside. How strange can that be?! Anyway, the views to this place were amazing!
• Lazy days at my parents-in-law’s place – Got to do lots of reading, even watched some movies (on Christmas Eve – I overdosed on FOUR sappy Christmas movies via cable – heh). There was also art-making and lots of swimming in the pool, some croquet and cricket, mini tea parties, and more… especially for the kids.
• Christmas Eve/Christmas Day – Fun gift-giving! We mostly stayed at home and just had a very traditional Christmas lunch with the family.
• Some shopping and eating out – I love shopping and eating out in Johannesburg. Really cheap – and lots of variety. Some of my favourite places to eat out there: Mugg & Bean, Ocean Basket, Nando’s (I first discovered Nando’s in South Africa, about 9 years ago, on my first trip there…), Bambanini, and Spar’s, among other places. There are also several nice places to shop at, and in this trip, I even discovered a shop that I really fell in love with called Young Designers’ Emporium (YDE) — such gorgeous clothes. Unfortunately, I discovered it too late, we were just about over-baggage (and over-spent! )… so I didn’t get to buy much from there. But, I’m definitely hunting that place down when I get to visit again.
• Going to Montecasino and the Bird Park – Well, we only really went to Montecasino for the park, but we did stop by for a quick lunch in their food court. The kids really loved the park. We remember this place really well because the last time we were there (some 5+ years ago), my boy was only 11 months old and he talked for the first time saying “bird” over and over again.
• Going to Johannesburg Zoo – Another favourite place to go to. Although, I must say, the zoo was looking a bit sad this time around. Hmmm…
• Going to the Botanical Garden – My sis-in-law often chooses to spend her birthday at this place, to meet up with family from our side and her hubby’s side. We have a nice lunch at their open air cafe, go for a walk, visit the beautiful waterfalls, and due to kids, we often take the mini train back to the entrance.
• Spending some time at sis-in-law’s place – They’ve hosted us for breakfast and a couple of lunches. Each time, they’ve been wonderful. There were barbecues – and even a yummy potjkie (a local thing!).
• New Year’s Eve / New Year’s Day – Lovely time with sparklers and braais (barbecue), which I’ve already blogged about here.
• Going to The Lion and Rhino Park – Another fave. It’s a great way to do a mini safari for the kids. It’s not like “the real safari” – but the real one will bore kids like crazy, I think, as it can take a while to find animals in the wild. This one’s almost as good – and definitely fun. We had a real nice experience spotting the lions!
• The Boy’s Advanced Surprise Birthday Party – My in-laws even went out of their way catering for this party with great food and fabulous party games, with prizes. It was so much fun, seeing how the kids reacted to this. Especially the boy. He didn’t expect it. It was sooo cool.

There are many many other moments that are not easy to capture in words and pictures. But yes, that’s why that “goodbye scene” at the airport is always tough.

In any case, yes, it has been an amazing trip.

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Nothing I like more than falling in love with a new author and series (even though she’s a veteran writer and these are relatively old books). Plus, I’ve also started a couple of other series that I’m enjoying at the moment. And, falling in love again with an old classic!

You see, one of the things I decided this month is that if a book is not cutting it for me at the time, I should just abandon it and read something that I’d actually LOVE. After all, there are too many wonderful books out there and not enough time. So, why waste precious spare moments on books that don’t speak to me? I’d much rather enjoy my reading moments, thankyouverymuch. Of course, I might make an exception every now and then, when I’m already more than halfway through the book and/or series.

And, even though Uni started again for me in February (even more reason for me to read just stuff I want to read), I still managed to keep up with my reading time. Here’s what delighted me…

1. Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer (Fiction, YA Fantasy/Romance) – The story of Bella Swan and Edward Cullen continues in this book. This time, extending the love triangle with Jacob Black even further. In this book, the idea of “new, untrained vampires” had been introduced, as well as facing the wrath of Victoria’s revenge.   

Mini Review: Well, I’m going to be honest and say that offhand, this is the book that delighted me the least this month. And yes, it’s also the book that delighted me the least in the Twilight series. If it were possible to get a big headache whilst reading a book, this one did it for me. I’m not averse to reading romantic novels, even the really cheesy variety. But, the “love triangle” aspect of this book just got to the point of being ridiculous for me. And, the comparisons with Wuthering Heights? Come on, really? Bella, as a heroine, hasn’t really been too endearing from the start. This book made it worse. She makes me think too much of girls who’re called uh… a tease? Plus, the hysteria? Uhm. Anyway, I probably would’ve liked it so much more if New Moon and Eclipse were somehow edited and merged in to one book. With New Moon material being of more prominence. Or perhaps, shortened Eclipse and add the earlier bits from Breaking Dawn. Just anything to stop the extended whining and whinging! Anyway, I’m not sure if I’ll change my mind when I re-read it. But for now, I’m just not that crazy about this particular book in the series. That’s why I’m not so sure how I’d like the movie that’s meant to be released this year.

Studio Notes Rating: 2.5/5 { Buy at Amazon } | { Buy at Fishpond }

2. Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer (Fiction, YA Fantasy/Romance) – The much-awaited wedding between the mortal girl Bella Swan and the vampire Edward Cullen finally occurs. Then, there’s the honeymoon… and of course, the unexpected pregnancy – and the gruesome birth. All in just the first part! Then, there’s Bella’s new life as a vampire and mother to a half-vampire girl who’s become imprinted by former suitor and friend Jacob Black. And yes, the great big “vampire showdown” where the Volturis (from New Moon) makes a re-appearance — and the Cullens, with their closest friends and allies.

Mini Review: Still completely cheesy and utterly jumpy in many places (e.g., the werewolves in the first three books, apparently, aren’t real werewolves – just shape-shifters… okay… I’m not even going to get in to the “overly perfect ending” and all the other crazy stuff). But, I have to say that in some ways, Breaking Dawn is a bit more palatable to me on some level – probably because Bella finally stops whining too much – and there was less hysteria. Although there was that “I’m so cool now!” vibe you need to ignore next. In any case, it was also interesting to read the story from Jacob’s point of view, giving a closer glimpse in to their world. Though perhaps, I might have liked a story told from Edward’s point of view as well. Give it more of an even space between the main characters. And, yes, admittedly, I was hoping for a bit more action during the final battle scene. But overall, I did finally manage to like the series for the most part (faults and all). I’m definitely looking forward to the movie adaptation of the final Twilight book, which might end up as two movies.

Studio Notes Rating: 4/5 { Buy at Amazon } | { Buy at Fishpond }

3. Percy Jackson and The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan (Fiction, YA Fantasy) – At first glance, 12-year-old New Yorker Percy Jackson is an unlikely hero: Not only does he have ADHD and dyslexia, he’s even a trouble magnet. He’s been moving from school to school for as long as he can remember. Then, when he accidentally pulverizes his teacher who tried to kill him, he realises something’s really, really different about him. That’s when he found out that he’s a demigod – a Half-Blood – half-mortal, half god. The son of the Sea God Poseidon himself! But, that’s not the biggest problem. He’s being attacked by monsters all over the place – AND the God of the Air Zeus is after him, as he is believed to have stolen Zeus’ lightning. Now, with the help of his best friend Grover (a satyr) and Annabeth (another demigod he met at Camp Half-Blood), he has to catch the real thief to stop a war between the gods – and World War III.

Mini Review: Having been reviewed somewhere as “better than Harry Potter” and liking the premise of the book (and the look of the movie trailer), I read the first book of the Percy Jackson with expectations that were too high. I was prepared to like it a lot. That was probably a bad thing. As I read the book, I just found myself saying over and over: There’s no way that this is better than HP! For one thing, there were aspects of the book that grated on my nerves. A lot. I know that they’re probably meant to be taken tongue-in-cheek. But, they didn’t come over as funny to me at all. However, I love mythology. I’ve been fascinated with Greek mythology since I was a child. So, the whole idea of the Greek gods and monsters appearing in modern times captured my imagination. And, if you like action-packed reading, then this will certainly deliver. That’s why even though I felt disappointed in places, I still bought the rest of the series. And, I’m glad I did (more on this in next month’s review!).   

Studio Notes Rating: 3.5/5 { Buy at Amazon } | { Buy at Fishpond }

4. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (Fiction, Classic) – The feisty and fascinating Elizabeth Bennett meets the dashing and wonderful Mr Fitzwilliam Darcy. Do I need to say much more?

Mini Review: I know I’m a Jane Austen fan. But, I have to admit that I’ve forgotten when was the last time I read this classic favourite. Either it’s been so long ago, or I may have never even read the full version (que horror!). And, having watched BBC’s version just last year, I knew I needed to read the book (again). Since I didn’t have a copy (another shocker!), I ordered one from Fishpond early this year. And, I just fell in love with the book all over again. It’s funny, sweet… and absolutely absorbing. I loved, loved, loved it. *sigh*Romance, society, politics, family… Perfect heroine. Perfect hero. Wonderful storytelling. What more can I ask? Reading this made it certain that Pride and Prejudice stays in my “Favourite Books of All Time” list.

Studio Notes Rating: 5/5 { Buy at Amazon } | { Buy at Fishpond }

5. Charmed Life by Diana Wynne Jones (Fiction, YA Fantasy) – Cat (Eric) Chant admires his older sister Gwendolen more than anything. He follows whatever she says. Especially ever since they’ve become orphaned due to a tragic boating accident. Cat thinks Gwendolen is a witch. A powerful, ambitious one at that! When they were taken to Chrestomanci Castle to be taken care of, Cat becomes increasingly agitated. Especially with the way Gwendolen kept behaving badly! Then, when his sister abandons him and gets a replacement, he slowly learns the truth about himself that changes the course of his life forever.

Mini Review: Wow! Just wow. There’s something about reading a book that takes you to a completely different place. When I picked this book up, all I wanted was to get to know other YA Fantasy writers and Diana Wynne Jones is one of those that keeps coming up at libraries and bookstores. So, I gave in and chose a random book off the library shelf. After reading this, I realised just how much I’ve been missing. She’s a wonderful storyteller that spins worlds and creates characters that just make you want to believe. I’ve definitely become a fan of this veteran British author. Charmed Life (a Guardian Award winner, amongst other awards) — is just one book from her Chrestomanci series (apparently, they’re in no particular order, but I’m reading them based on the author’s suggested reading order). There’s humour, adventure, parallel worlds, magic… all packaged well in this wonderful story. Definitely a recommended read for YA Fantasy readers! Now I’m hoping to have my own copies of the books.

Studio Notes Rating: 5/5 { Buy at Amazon } | { Buy at Fishpond }

6. The Ultimate Happiness Prescription (7 Keys to Joy and Enlightenment) by Deepak Chopra (Non-Fiction, Self-Help/Spiritual) – A small, practical read on the topic of joy and mindfulness. It shares several lessons, tips and ideas about living a happier life – and why we should strive for one.

Mini Review: If I were to come up with a list of “must read” text for Blissology, this book will be one of the top on my list. In fact, I love this book so much, I probably could write a whole blog post singing its praises – and quoting several points from it. I actually filled a journal full of notes from the book! While I’m not completely sold on some of its points, I have definitely taken on board most of its lessons. In fact, it has given me some really wonderful food for thought on my study of mindfulness – and my quest to understand what it means to be truly connected. For example, this book helped me to see that mindfulness is about living a connected life from within. It even gave an excellent scientific explanation on how mindfulness helps us. Also, it shared how our personal happiness can actually help people around us. It even gave some practical advice on how to put the concepts in to practice. Really amazing stuff!

Studio Notes Rating: 4.5/5 { Buy at Amazon } | { Buy at Fishpond }

7. Airhead by Meg Cabot (Fiction, YA Crossover) – All tomboyish Emerson (”Em”) Watts wants is to finish highschool, play video games with her best friend Christopher – and to be noticed as a ‘girl’ by aforementioned best friend. But, due to a freak accident, she wakes up living a totally different life — in a totally different body. Not knowing exactly how it happened, Em Watts – the old one – is now dead. And, she’s now living the life of face-of-evil-corporation Stark — Nikki Howard — due to a mysterious brain transplant.

Mini Review: I came across this book accidentally when I was visiting Meg Cabot’s website. The idea intrigued me, but I wasn’t too certain about the supermodel + celebrities + sci-fi + crime / thriller approach. However, when I read the excerpt of Book 2 on her website, I was kinda hooked. There’s really something about Ms Cabot’s writing that reels me in. And, in spite the weird plot, I still enjoyed reading Airhead, thanks to interesting character building and fascinating storytelling. Definitely made me want to know what happens next! (Yes, this is just Book 1 of a three-part series).

Studio Notes Rating: 3.5/5 { Buy at Amazon } | { Buy at Fishpond }

How about you? What have you read lately? Anything you’d like to recommend?

Oh, by the way, I’m at Goodreads! If you’re there too and we know each other, please do add me as a friend.

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• The Reading Studio {January 2010 Edition}
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• Post a blog community-related request in the comment form.
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And, well… That’s it!

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Some notes on requests:

• Please make sure that your requests are blog community-related only (example: “please comment on this post”, or “please join my contest,” etc).
• Make your requests simple enough. Don’t ask for anything too difficult! (e.g., if you require sign-up before commenting, please avoid requesting for comments…)
• Do ask reasonable requests. For example, don’t ask for people to buy what you’re selling, click on ads, or donate to something, etc.
• You can make a request for yourself – or for another blogger. It’s up to you!

Since we’ve been at this for a while, I’m hoping that you get the picture of what we’re hoping to achieve in this task!

It’s just that one of the things that I notice that for many of us, it’s just too hard to ask for something (e.g., vote for us, ask for comments, etc). However, as a blog community, we learn to tap in to each other’s resources. And somehow, when we learn to ask for the right things (in the right way!), we allow our community to overwhelm us with support. Often, I’m just in awe of how our blog communities can be so much more generous than we can imagine.

Hopefully, through this task, we’ll see this in action… We’ll see how it goes!

Anyway, speaking of generosity and blog community love, here’s our wonderful participants from our 52WoC#49 task (”What You Love”) -

• Kari
• Rachel Cotterill
• Nenette
• Tereza (welcome to 52WoC!)
• eds

If I missed you, please don’t hesitate to let me know. I’m actually doing this at midnight on a Friday when I’m soo exhausted. So, it’s not unlikely that my eyes may be getting all crossed and blurry by now!

In any case, I’m looking forward to see your special requests… and all the blog community love we’ll pass around for this round’s task…

My special request for the 1st Commenter: If you’re an old-time commenter on Studio Notes, I simply ask that you say hello to one of the bloggers that are leaving comments here at Studio Notes (especially someone you’ve never said hello to before). You can check out the links of “Top Commenters” on my sidebar. Do say howdy to at least one of them – and tell them I sent ‘ya.

If you’ve never left a comment here on Studio Notes – all I ask is that you delurk and just say howdy by leaving a comment. Then, post your request!

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Does anyone here remember the time when I told you all about my hope to learn to play the guitar?

Well, my first serious attempt at this was some 3.5 years ago. However, the whole thing came to an abrupt end. As shortly after I told you all about my guitar-playing dreams, I found out that I was pregnant with my li’l girl.

Anyone who knows me knows that pregnancy meant spending most of my time feeling absolutely weak and ill. As such, eating and other normal activities just became too much of a challenge. There was no way I could keep up with learning the guitar at the time.

And, I’ve never picked up Ashton again since. The brand new guitar stayed in its soft case inside a small storage space behind the pantry. Just outside my home office/studio.

Aside: Well, okay, maybe I did pick it up once since then. For that self-portrait shoot of “The Girl and Her Guitar” a couple of years ago (as pictured here). But, it was just a prop then, so that doesn’t really count.

Anyway, ever since I started helping my son to learn the piano (tutoring him for piano practices), that music itch began to grow in me. I began to play more tunes on the piano. Just basic beginner stuff. It was enough to fan the old flames of playing music.

Then, some time last month, after some strange daydream/fantasy sequence — with matching contemplation on “desirable skills for teaching” — the old flames turned in to a growing fire within. Not too strong that it completely throws me off. Just enough to entertain the idea of taking my mini piano playing to another level (think Kindergarten to Grade 1!). Right now, I’m working on learning “Superman” by Five for Fighting (a fave). I’m okay playing with the right hand. I’m just about able to play the song. But, I’ve always been hopeless when I try to add the left hand. So, let’s see how long it will take for me to get to an okay level.

And… Well… I’m not stopping there. That growing fire in music also include my attempt at trying to learn the guitar all over again.

Yes, Ashton’s out of the closet and the soft case. And, with the help of Jamorama’s Guitar Lessons, I’ve been re-learning my chords and my strumming the last couple of weeks or so. Of course, I’m taking it easy. Just doing lessons when I can – and trying to practice at least 3-4x a week. My fingers are sore (my ego’s even more bruised – nothing like being a complete beginner at something!). And so far, I’m really enjoying it, even if all I do is play the A major and D chords with Jamorama’s “jamming music”.

I’m hoping that this time, I’ll be able to keep at it. No matter how slow my progress might be. As long as I just keep going.

But, guess what? The piano and the guitar playing aren’t the most embarrassing bit of my rekindled flame in music. In fact, I feel so shy admitting this next bit to anyone but my immediate family. I even try to lay low with it when kids and hubby are around. That’s how hopelessly embarrassed I am about it.

However, I figured, if you care enough to read my blog faithfully, then you definitely can laugh at my expense about this next bit of my confession.

Well, I’ve never really made it a secret that I’ve always wanted to learn how to sing. In fact, I even confessed it right here at the Studio (see my item #2). I may have even mentioned it more than once. It’s definitely a childhood fantasy that turned in to one of my biggest frustrations in life.

The thing is, I’ve given up on my voice many, many years ago. I knew that I will never ever be a singer ever since that fateful singing contest, when I failed so miserably (at least, I can laugh at it now, though I can still vividly picture my then-crush and his friend’s comical face in my mind). Then later, I was told even by my own mother never to sing in public. Even my husband, though not a musician at all, tells me that I do not fit the “singing Pinoy” bill (a funny stereotyping about Filipinos, as apparently, one of the things we’re generally known as is “the musical type”).

So yes, I knew.

That’s why no one can even convince me to sing karaoke. Never mind that many people who sound worse than Cameron Diaz in “My Best Friend’s Wedding” pick up the microphone with no issues whatsoever. When it comes to singing, I just can’t muster enough chutzpah to make bad sound good enough. Even just for a laugh.

However, over the last six years, I’ve been singing more and more. Granted, it’s mostly just singing for my kids (who happen to be my biggest fans — but they’re the ones who also tell me without flinching, “Enough singing, mummy!” when I try to sing for over half an hour).

And, thanks (or no thanks?!) to this same daydream/fantasy… and my time spent in classrooms as a student teacher… this long pushed aside dream of singing resurfaced.

Especially because one of the things that kept being raised during teacher training is the mantra, “Make sure you take care of your voice. It’s your best instrument.” (and other similar tips on vocal care).

Now, with all that in place, you’re probably ready for this admission: Yes, I am learning how to sing too – or do vocal lessons. Or, whatever you want to call it. It’s something I’ve wanted to do for years. But, I decided long, long ago that my voice was just one of those things that was not worth putting any of my renaissance time in to. Except now, I finally learned to think that maybe there’s something there that’s still worth saving.

Now, you can go ahead and laugh.

If you’re still reading – and if you’re interested to know how I’m planning on doing this – Well, I’m using a programme similar to Jamorama’s Guitar Lessons. Except it’s for voice, of course. I think I’ll hold off on the name of that programme for now. Maybe if I see any improvements, I might decide to share. Heh.

In any case, no, I have no intentions of joining the next Australian Idol or Australia’s Got Talent. Nor am I planning on joining a band, cutting an album, or taking part in a musical. Definitely not what I have in mind right now.

I’m just hoping that my ambition is simple enough: I wish to learn to manage my voice well enough to be able to use singing (and hopefully, guitar and piano) as part of my teaching repertoire. You see, I have a few teaching ideas that I wish to use someday wherein I’d like to be able to tap in to such skills without being too afraid of what I can or cannot do.

And yes, maybe one of these days, I’d be game enough for a karaoke party too. Maybe.

What about you? Have you got secret dreams and hopes that you’ve given up on – but now you wish that you can try working on again?

“In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, in the expert’s mind there are few.” ~ Shunryu Suzuki

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