back in the rat race!

so after 10 months of working from home, i think i'm ready to join the workforce again. i know a lot of people envy me for being able to freelance full time. flexy hours, no dress code, be ur own boss etc. yeah, working from home is really nice and all, but there are down sides too.
1) no medical coverage
2) no epf
3) no other benefits
4) u need to be really disciplined to sit at ur desk and get the work done, coz no work means no income
5) no colleagues to be chummy-chummy with
6) no company events to go to
7) no annual bonus
8) u dun get to dress up smartly for the office

and so, i've just been job-hunting actively again, coz u know, i NEED TO GO OUT AND MEET PEOPLE!!!

anyway, i'll be starting at my new company on the 1st of april. so, it's back to commuting to and from work, waking up early, headache with what to have for lunch and ironing clothes!

and here are some weird coincidences:
- i started my previous 2 jobs in april too!
- all 3 jobs made me an offer only 1 day after the interview!

funny, right?

bake a doll lah...

ta-dah! this was what i was baking this afternoon lar... a kokeshi handphone charm. cute?


did i mention that i've set up an etsy store? so this item will be on sale there! check out more pictures of the handphone charm and the other items selling there. u can find the button for it at my sidebar. i just got it set up 2 days ago, so there are only 5 items listed in there and also there's no banner or anything yet...

anyway, some of u may be confused by the items listed, coz they have all been given away at one point or another. well actually, i'm just using the photos of the items lar. if there's any order for it, then i'll just make another one!

bake a WHAT?!

hehe... that's the housemate's oven toaster. experimenting with something (with her permission for the use of the oven, of course!). so what am i baking? ah, that'll have to wait till i'm done! so stay tuned!

*hint: click on the pic to enlarge it for a clue of the thing i'm baking

Pay It Forward

saw this in Faizon's blog, and thot it might be fun!

My Pay it Forward Pledge

“I will send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I don’t know what that gift will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week, but you will receive it within 365 days, that is my promise! The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.”

so come on, let's all jump in and experience the joys of giving! :)

yikes! who is this???

ok, i know 3 consecutive doggie posts is a tad too much, but look what i did to chewie!!!

in her harness at the groomers, waiting for me
to pick her up. no, that's NOT the doggie gym, ok?

yep, i had all her fur shaved off! hehehe... no, it's not for fun, ok? she's been shedding really badly recently and it's longer than the usual shedding period for dogs. plus, her shed-off fur is accompanied by some white flakes, like dandruff, and the skin in her paws were reddish. so i brought her to the doctor for a check-up and it turned out she has a fungal infection on her skin, thus the shedding. so the doctor prescribed some medicine and asked to see her again after she finishes her medication.

sitting prettily for the camera, even tho' looking like a boy-dog!

she looks like a basset hound now, dun cha think? hehe... actually, the doctor didn't ask for her to be shaved. but her fur is flying around the house like nobody's bizz! and they tend to roll up into fur balls when there's wind, like tumbleweeds! the house is like a scene from those cowboy movies. so i dragged her to the groomer's to have her shaved from head to toe!

long legs, long body and long ears... only thing short is the tail!

bored... when is all these clicking gonna stop?

then the groomer said that she may feel a little sad/depressed at first, at the loss of her fur. so it'll be better to get her some clothes so that she won't feel so bare. so i bought her 3 doggie t-shirts... for RM80!!! *&*@^#(%$#@@#!

posing in her new snoopy t

hmm... ok, looks comfy enough in clothes

a red stitch t

...and a blue sleeveless mickey t

but less than 24 hrs later, her NEW snoopy t was shredded! see the right side of the t below? she was in her car crate on her way to obedience school when she got bored (only a 10 minutes car journey!!!). so she entertained herself by biting at the hemp of her t, shredding it to pieces... hmp! useless pup!! @^#*&@A$&*^@$!!!

a more obedient pup?

ok, so chewie passed her puppy basic obedience level last week... with 75%! woo-hoo! she was just so good that day, i cooked a whole big bowl of rice topped with a generous helping of doggie food for her dinner!

now she's starting her pre-novice level. hopefully she'll pass with grades just as good (if not better) as the basic level. i forgot to ask the bf to take pictures of us during the test last week, but here are some from her first pre-novice class on sunday. will take more pics at her graduation day for basic obedience.

"chewie, are u ready?" <-- first command at beginning of every task. this is the ready position, sitting nicely on the left

heel work, walking nicely on a loose leash at the left side.
"so many smells, so little time!" she can't seem to keep her nose off the ground!

sit-stay. at the "stay" command, she must not move from her position!

but that doesn't prevent her from checking out the rest of her classmates!

at the end of the class, i'm the one with the disheveled hair!

chewie's 1st balik kampung trip...

for the cny celebration recently, i decided against leaving chewie in pet boarding here in kl coz i would be gone for more than a week. so i told the parents that i would be bringing her home with me. of course, they were not too happy, but what can they do, rite? hehe...

well, from past experiences of transporting chewie in the car, we figured it'd be better to get a car crate for her 1st trip home to m'ca. i would be driving back alone, so i can't be keep an eye on the road, shouting at her to stop jumping here and there, trying to prevent her from chewing on the car mat, stop her from barking at the various ever-present squeaks and clattering sounds in my car, holding her and trying to keep her from tumbling under the car seat every time i turn a corner, ALL AT THE SAME TIME! so we found this not too expensive car crate that's perfect for her, and she seems to be very willing in going into it! and after a few car trips in it, she seems to be getting the hang of things. she'll be asleep in no time and hardly make any sound! so maybe we can plan more trips with her in the future...

the pet voyaguer 400...

but bringing a dog on trips is like mobilizing an army! her stuff is like triple mine! that's y when i go back for a short trip, i just deposit her at the boarding place. they have everything there and i just need to bring her food. easy peasy! but bringing her back to m'ca is another different story. i need to bring her car crate, cage, food, supplement, doggie treats, chew toys, shampoo, ear drip, water bottle, etc.

anyway, when we got home, of course i got an earful from the parents, esp dad, abt what a big responsibility it is, how troublesome keeping a dog is bla bla bla... but then, dad is the one who played with her the most! hahaha...

dad trying the 'leave it' command with chewie

when night came, i told dad that i'm worried chewie will be bitten by mosquitoes, coz my house is like swarming with mosquitoes and we put chewie outside on the porch. and when dogs are bitten by a certain type of mosquito, they ran the risk of getting heartworm. even tho' i give her heartguard (medicine) every month, i'm still worried. so dad went to get the wire extension to plug in the electric mosquito repellent for her! haha... this is the first time i see a dog with electric mosquito repellent!

see the red dot at the side of the cage? that's the electric mosquito repellent

on the first few days, chewie was really shy. even when i left her cage open to let her run loose around the house compound, she still sat at the front door, looking at me and waiting for me to come out and play with her. only when i'm outside would she dare to venture and explore around the other parts of the house.


but after that, she got used to the place and would be running around happily. she does seem happier with the vast compound for her to run abt. but she'll always go back to lie in her cage on her own, even with the cage door open. i think her cage is like a 'safe heaven' for her, where she feels safest and most comfy.

and i think cny will be her fav time from now on, coz she would have lots of kids to run around with. and the kids simply love her! at the end of the day, she's always tired and worn out and would sleep peacefully throughout the night. even when mom open the front door in the morning, chewie would be sleeping soundly like a baby, oblivious of the bell sounds from mom's morning gongyo. usually she's very alert to every little sound!

but after a few days, all the excitement subsided, all the kids went home, all the firecrackers died down and life went back to normal... hehe...

napping on a boring afternoon... *yawn*

SVE sent and received!

recently, the Shuttles n Needles group in yahoo! that i belong to had an exchange ---> Secret Valentine's Exchange. now, i'm not very good at making anything yet, but still i jumped into it coz it sounded like fun. hehe...

ok, here's how it worked. those of us who wanted to take part in this exchange replied with an 'aye' to the group e-mail. then our organiser (Jullie's our organiser for this SVE) made a secret draw with our names. we were then informed secretly on who we are to send our exchange to, but have no idea whom we will be receiving from. hence the name "secret valentine's", get it?

the criteria for the exchange is:
1) one handmade card
2) one motif - to be independent or as part of the card
3) one special supply for our crafting

well, after knowing who i'll be sending my exchange to, i decided that i wanna make an amigurumi for her as an extra. coz she has not tried making any amigurumi before, but is a great sifu in needlecrafts and threads. so this is what i made her: a floppy-eared bunny! cute?

back view... i love the tail! so cute...

but i had a hard time deciding on my motif. granted, i was on the net a lot, looking for motifs (that i can do with my limited skill) that would look nice on my card. but i didn't have any plan going, so i was kinda just choosing choosing choosing... in the end, i ran out of time! on the last week we were supposed to mail out our exchange (mailing-out date: 6th Feb), i only had my floppy-eared bunny (not even part of the criteria!), a very fine crochet hook (as special craft supply) and halfway thru my motif (which i'm not even sure what use my partner will have for it)! and i have no idea abt my card yet! panic! panic!

my motif: a vintage pattern i found on the net...

so in the end, i resorted to a store-bought valentine's day card, and just added in a few crocheted hearts on the front. it was really pathetic, but it was all i could do with my 'half-pail' skills!

so here's the stash i sent to Faizon:


then when i got back from my extended cny break in m'ca yesterday, i received an envelope from my housemate who was in s'pore for cny. it's from my secret valentine, Jullie, who conspired with housemate M to hand-deliver my SVE to me! nice touch!

cute and bulky envelope waiting for me in kl...

Jullie is really creative. her card is really hand-made and very sweet too! 3 different coloured, crocheted heart-shaped balloons took up the front of the card...

a close-up of the crocheted balloons...

on the second page is Jullie's message to me...


and on the last page is my special craft supply - some plastic eyes for amigurumi! i've not seen these eyes being sold here in KL, so it's really very sweet of Jullie to get them for me!

already i'm itching to get out my hook and start making use of these eyes!

~~~~~

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY, EVERYONE!

i'm ami sifu!

ok, at least to my 2 friends, i am! but actually fake one lah, coz i'm also just an ami beginner! hehe... anyway, remember the meetup of old friends i mentioned the other day? well, they saw my amigurumis and decided that they wanna learn to make it too! so one fine day (during the thaipusam holidays lar...), we (mon and i) had san come over to our place for a day of ami lesson!

we went to pick up san from the lrt station, went to buy our supplies, had lunch at endah parade, went to another needles & craft shop there to look at their stash, did a little grocery shopping detour at carrefour, came home and started our class at abt 4pm! haha... so much for "a DAY of ami lesson"!

well, san did pretty well, having learnt crochet at std 4. so she was able to pick up pretty fast...

mon, on the other hand, was a little slow. not only has she not done any crocheting before, she claims to be hopeless in craft. and on top of that, she's a lefty! so in the beginning, she held the crochet hook a little funny. but after a while, she got the hang of things and was able to crochet pretty well! so proud of my two 'students'... *beam*

here are some pics to share...

giving mon some pointers, while san is diligently crocheting away on her own...

everyone concentrating hard on their own ami...

the ami gals! smiles for the camera...

ta-dah! here are the results! my bunny i'd done earlier for a secret something
to be revealed later, san's ladybug and a diagram of mon's pig...

mon's work in progress. the one on the left is her 'practice' piece. the one with the marker is her 'real' work, which she was finally able to get all the stitches' numbers correct!

san's ladybug. she managed to finish 2 ladybugs that day!

i finally got broadband!

sick and tired of my dial-up connection, i finally went and got myself signed-up for the maxis broadband, with the usb modem... speed wise, so far so good! :)
now need to discipline myself to get work done instead of surfing whole day!

oh, and did i mention that i got a new phone? hehehe... nokia 6110 nav, another present from the bf. complete with gps navigation functions! *grin* (mine's black in colour)