Sunshined

Hot Tunes I Dig

Hazel — 2009 07 18

Hey guys! For those of you who follow me on Twitter, you’ll know that I finally finished summer school! All I have to say is that I’m sooo glad that’s over with. *phew* Now my summer vacation begins! On a side note, any of you going to watch Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince? I sure am! Probably sometime this weekend..

One day in summer school, a friend asked me, “What kind of music do you like?”. I responded with, “Anything that sounds good”. It’s true because I really can’t specify which genre I like the most. When you look through my iPod, you’ll find a little of everything: some pop, electronic, hip-hop, kpop, indie, etc. I think it’s fun discovering new artists and finding songs which are underrated or simply over-looked. But that doesn’t mean I dislike songs by popular artists as well.

Here are a few songs that are on constant repeat in my iPod. Some are new, some are old, some have really great videos and others don’t even have official music videos yet. Nonetheless, enjoy:

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“Boys & Girls” - Martin Solveig feat. Dragonette

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“D.A.N.C.E.” - Justice (watch in HQ!)

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“Summerboy” - Lady GaGa

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“The Fear” - Lily Allen

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“Single Ladies (in Mayberry)” - Mashup by Party Ben

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“Ulysses” - Franz Ferdinand

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“Merry Happy” - Kate Nash

I was planning to post more songs, but I wouldn’t want to slow down your computers. Feel free to suggest some songs. I’d love to hear what you guys listen to!

Published in: Life, Music,

Photo Post: Jones Family

Hazel — 2009 07 11

I decided to post more pictures of my sims because right now, I think my sims’ lives are turning out to be more interesting than mine. Don’t you think that’s just sad?

Remember Melissa from my last sims post? Here she is taking a nap after a long day at work.

This is the new baby’s room. I think it’s my favorite room in the house! Melissa agrees.

Melissa and baby Natalie.

Natalie as a toddler. She’s hiding because it’s bath time!

More after the cut…

Melissa is having a nice time at her friend’s place and then suddenly he dies on her!

Dixon tries his best to console her. Look at her expression!

Dixon teaching little Natalie how to walk.

Time flies in the Sims world. It’s already Natalie’s birthday!

Afterwards, she celebrates by going to the theater to watch a movie.

And poof! She’s a teen. Natalie’s chatting with her friends online.

Diligently doing her homework in the bistro. She turned out to be a beautiful young lady, don’t you think?

On another table, the parents are having a little date.

Then Melissa brings out her guitar and suddenly everyone changes into their formal wear. Time to dance!

Published in: Photo Post, Sims-related,

I’m Infuriating

Hazel — 2009 07 07

I always wondered why it constantly takes me forever to finish making a layout when other people can complete theirs in one weekend. I thought about it and I realized that the reason that I’m such a slowpoke is because… of me. Let me elaborate by making this list of factors that contribute to my slow-ness :

WHENEVER I MAKE A NEW VERSION, IT HAS TO BE UNIQUE - This means that I have to think of more unique ways to do stuff like displaying dates and whatnot. I don’t want the same thing as everyone else!
I WANT TO LEARN SOMETHING NEW FROM EVERY LAYOUT I MAKE - For example, in my recent pre-made I discovered how to make double-image backgrounds, which will surely come handy for future designs. Also, while making the current version of Sunshined.org, I learned so much about Adobe Illustrator.
I WANT TO MAKE EVERYTHING MYSELF - I always try to avoid using someone else’s image or resources (like photoshop brushes) for my own layout. It never truly feels like my own work if I do that. But this also means that it takes longer to pretty up my site.
CODING, CODING, CODING - After I finish coding certain things, I usually have to backtrack and redo because I find better and cleaner ways of coding to achieve the same results. (e.g. a simpler code to position a box)
I HAVE TO MAKE SURE IT’S ACCESSIBLE - I often make the mistake of forgetting that not everyone is using a 1440x900 screen resolution like me or that not everyone uses the same browser I do (sadly). So before I actually unveil a layout, I have to let it go through some tests on other computers which also takes some time.

Soo, all of that equals to a month-long “under construction” sign pasted in the front of my site. I hate myself

ps. No, I’m not leaving. Just expressing how irritated I am that I am such a perfectionist when it comes to web design. It really slows me dooooown!

Published in: Ramblings, Site ,

So Close Yet So Far

Hazel — 2009 07 02

I was going to blog about my plans for Sunshined.org’s new layout, but something actually happened today that was far more interesting than what color palettes I thought looked nice, or whether I was going to use Georgia as a body font for the layout. (I’ll save that for the next post…)

Today, while I was calmly fiddling with Photoshop on my laptop, I heard an odd buzzing noise above me. No, it wasn’t the whooshing sound you hear electric fans make. Nor was it the soft humming of my laptop fan. It was a buzzing, yucky, twitchy noise. The kind that makes you cringe a little.

And whaddayaknow, flying above me was a bug! Not just any bug, but one that looked like a cross between a stick bug and a mosquito. Does that make any sense? Actually… maybe it WAS a mosquito and I was just in denial.

Well whatever it was, as with any kind of insect, I freaked out. It was all twitchy and I was all staring at it, frozen.

Once I unfroze, first thing I did was dim my laptop screen so that it wouldn’t hover around me. But that was pointless because the “thing” looked a bit trippy. It seemed as though someone had already tried killing it. That didn’t make it any less dangerous, right? Anyway, next I took the one thing all bugs are afraid of: my mom’s pink house slipper.

I took a couple of throws at it with the slipper (I was too scared to get any closer). And a couple more after that. But unfortunately, luck wasn’t with me and my aims were pretty shabby to say the least. But it DID sense the slipper’s presence and flew to the next wall which was in a better position. So as quietly as I could (do they have ears?) I went a bit closer, and threw the darn slipper like I was playing some crazy game of shot put.

Instead of crushing the bug like it was supposed to, the stupid slipper went here instead:

Just goes to show how good my aim is.

Oh, and no, I didn’t end up killing the thing. I need some more practice…

Published in: Ramblings,

Honestly

Hazel — 2009 06 26

Thanks Krystalyna for giving me this award since I don’t really have anything better to blog about anyway. To the rules:

The HonestScrap award comes with a caveat or two. Firstly, you have to tell your readers ten things about you they may not know, but that are true. Secondly, you have to tag 10 people with the award.

So here’s my list:

One of my favorite cakes is the Daim Cake you get from IKEA. (look down at flickr pics) IT’S HEAVEN!
I’ve never ever been to the hospital for any broken bones or anything. I’ve only gone there when my younger brother was born.
Ever since I could remember, my favorite color has always been yellow. It makes me happy and reminds me of sunshine~
So far, I’ve lost contact with all my elementary school ‘best friends’. I am so afraid the same will happen to my high school friends.
I am a VERY light sleeper. I can never sleep if the lights are on or even while someone’s using the laptop in the room. I get very grumpy because the light..it burns!
I despise math with a passion.
As far as I know, I’m not allergic to anything.
If I were a sim, my traits would probably be: bookworm, family-oriented, computer whiz, neat, and light sleeper.
I think it’s great to be a part of a family of seven. You can be sure that it’s never quiet in our house!
For years, my dentist led me to believe that my teeth were perfect. Then they found two cavities a few months ago that they told me “went undetected”. Some dentist.

I think I’ll just tag these three: Thrila, Skye & Veronica.

Published in: Life,

Photo Post: Sims 3!

Hazel — 2009 06 22

Here are some of the sims screenshots I promised! I warn you though, I sort of had too much fun with the new camera controls in the game, so there’s A LOT of pictures in this post. More after the cut!

This is my first sim. His name is Felix and his traits are: friendly, lucky, daredevil, flirty and handy. That’s his house in the background.

Since he’s a daredevil, he likes to play with fire.

Here he is using his charm to propose to his girlfriend, Madeline.

This is after the proposal. Can you guess what her answer was?

Coming out of the grocery store.

Madeline flipping salmon. Yum!

That’s Dixon and Melissa. Dixon’s traits are: neat, clumsy, good, vegetarian, and kleptomaniac. Melissa’s traits are: workaholic, neat, vegetarian, schmoozer, and ambitious. When sims have similar traits, it’s more likely that they will get along better.

Since Melissa is a workaholic, she can work from home.

What’s great about living right beside a waterfall is that you can fish any time you want!

Here is Melissa celebrating after her promotion.

Dixon proposing to Melissa.

I just love the beautiful buildings in this game!

This is Dixon and Melissa’s home in front of the waterfall. I love how the light changes as the sun is setting.

Here they are in their wedding at the beach!

Published in: Photo Post, Sims-related,

A Trip Down Sim Lane

Hazel — 2009 06 14

While doing a little closet clean-up a few hours ago, I stumbled upon a dusty paper bag which I haven’t seen in forever. I looked inside and the sight almost made me pee my pants.

It’s my old Sim games! (ignore the Sims 2 box..) These really bring back some fond childhood memories. Memories of hogging the computer all day and sneaking on to it even after midnight when mum was asleep. I thank God for the person who introduced me to this wondrous game. My life wouldn’t be the same without it..

I had all the expansion packs for the Sims and I was pretty devastated when I lost the Sims Unleashed disk while moving to a new house. When I bought the Sims 2, my computer at the time couldn’t handle the huge space it took up. Everything was so slow and I really couldn’t enjoy the game. So I had to wait ‘til we got a new computer to actually start playing it. Yes, sad, I know.

In the same paper bag, I found other sim games that I don’t even remember playing like Sim City 2000, Sim Farm, and Sims Golf:

It surprises me how much of my life was spent playing this game. I’m still a loyal fan and got the Sims 3 a few days ago! Watch out for more sims-related posts and more screenshots.

Published in: Sims-related,

The Final Countdown

Hazel — 2009 05 30

Next week will be the last week to hand in anything before it’s exam time. AHHH!!

I really have to work my butt off this weekend if I want to finish everything. Most of the work I have to complete are final projects and things like that. In one of my subjects, I have to design a CD cover using Photoshop, in another, I have to make some game on Flash. I really don’t feel like doing anything at the moment, but the amount of effort I put into these last few days of school will decide if I’m going to have to go to summer school or not.

Lately, I’ve just been feeling tired ALL THE TIME. I stayed up until 4AM yesterday to finish my math homework and I was so exhausted. I climbed in bed to catch some zzz’s, but somehow I couldn’t make myself fall asleep. It seemed like I was just fussing and turning in bed the whole night!

I should really hire a sleep therapist when I get older. Ever since I was about 10 years old, my sleeping pattern has just been totally screwed up. When I was younger I slept at around 12AM when other kids were snoozing away at 9. I’m so tired of being tired..

Anyways, I just hope you guys have a great weekend.. Don’t forget to catch the MTV Movie Awards on Sunday! I’m really excited to see the “never-before-seen” Harry Potter preview during the show. And don’t worry, I’ll watch it while I’m doing my homework. Hahaha~

Published in: Life, School,

Awkward Seminar

Hazel — 2009 05 23

Yesterday in art class, my art teacher gave us this seminar to prepare us for our ‘life drawing’ session next Tuesday. By ‘life drawing’, she meant that we would be drawing a nude person..in the middle of our classroom..surrounded by a group of students…who still act like 7-year-olds. She clarified that this lady we would be drawing wouldn’t ‘hot’ and that she wouldn’t pose as if she was going to be inside some adult magazine (collective sigh from the guys in the room).

We were told that students don’t usually get to do ‘life drawing’ during sophomore year, but they changed it the year before because of the amount of serious artists that year. She then walked us through the history of nude drawing and showed us some famous artwork from the past. Some guys in the seminar kept snickering and pointing at the nude pictures and others were obviously trying their hardest to avoid looking at the screen.

We were just observing this painting of a very large, nude lady, when my gym teacher walks in, evidently looking for an art teacher or something. He glances at the screen and does a quick double take. His whole face becomes red as a tomato then he makes a sort of nervous coughing noise, and then runs for it!

Everyone in the classroom laughed and it totally broke the awkwardness of the seminar. My teacher said that maybe he came in purposely because he had walked in on a ‘life drawing’ seminar the other day too. LOL!

Anyways, after the seminar was over, my art teacher told us that going to the ‘life drawing’ session wouldn’t be mandatory. She knew that some people weren’t ready for that yet and asked us to write yes or no on the paper bedside our names to indicate if we were going or not. I put yes because I wasn’t that uncomfortable with the idea of drawing nude people (I’ve already seen some in my art books). And I thought it would be a good learning experience since I can never draw bodies proportionately.

The seminar was awkward, but I just know the real session would be even worse than awkward. I’ll blog about it next week. Wish me luck!

Published in: School,

Art Show

Hazel — 2009 05 09

In the last post, I said I was going to post pictures of our school’s annual art show, so that’s why I’m here!

The show went on for the whole of last week and it was a major success. It displayed work from all the different departments like design, comm. tech (computer art), art, tech (construction), photography, video, journalism, and fashion arts. All grades taking these courses have to contribute something to the show (which is almost everyone in the school), so there was a lot to see. Obviously I’m not going to show every single picture of every work. Just the ones that stood out to me and the ones that I was proud of.

The theme this year was “eccentrick”. Here’s the funny logo (we paint the logo on the walls of the school every year):

The Artwork

A drawing of one of the Olsen twins. The same artist created the dress below:

Someone from my year made this. Really creepy but very well-done.

This is the drawing that my sister worked so hard on. She put me in there somewhere…

We had to make a multiple exposure for our comm. tech class using Photoshop. This is my friend’s work featuring her younger brother. I love this kid!

These plushies were done by my sister’s class. Totally reminds me of Ugly Dolls.

My work

The drawing below is the final product of my Louis Wain portrait. I’m so glad that I finished it in time..

This is my multiple exposure which I also did of my younger brother:

And that’s it! I’m sort of sad that I didn’t get to see everything in the show, but no use crying over spilled milk. I was so impressed by all the work I saw. Seriously, it makes me super proud to be a student at my school.

On an un-related note, life’s been going swell. I’ve been working extra hard lately and I have a feeling that I won’t be needing to go to summer school this year. Tomorrow for Mother’s Day, we’re going to go eat at Swiss Chalet and then we’re going to top off the day with an ice-cream cake from DQ (can we say, “nom nom nom”?). Hope you guys have a great weekend!

Published in: Art, Photo Post, School,