Distance..!

It's been a month commuting back and forth from home to work and back.. the travel is long and my backpack is always heavy. BUT.. It's all worth it! I truly enjoy working with animals, as frustrating they may be at times, but I am constantly learning; from the groomer, the dogs, and about the "order of command" in the workplace. It has been a lot of fun and I continue to look forward to it!

The weather is turning chillier by the day, so dress warm! And like the Starks of Winterfell say "Winter is Coming"!

Vancouver Trip! Pt 6

Walk to Dinner at Minami!
One of the greatest things to do on vacation is trying new food. After our exploration at the parks, we relaxed back at the hotel before dinner time. My sister and I decided which restaurant we were going for dinner.. and decided to have something new, pressed sushi!

Funny thing, since we were using Google Maps, we thought the walk time would be accurate.. but it was a lot farther than expected, and mom was not happy (haha). A 2 km walk to dinner sure worked up the appetite to satiate our hungry stomachs.

So I'll skip the writing, and jump into yummy photos of food!

Vancouver Trip! Pt 5

Lion Gate Bridge and Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge
On the drive through the winding roads of Stanley Park, and missing the entrances a few times, we decided to go explore another tourist location. It was one of the spots my aunt described about a suspension bridge on the side of a cliff with glass floors.

It was quite a drive over the Lion Gate Bridge.. because apparently it was a "Highway" with directional lights hung above [arrow or cross] for which roads were open.

Snapshot out the window on the Lion Gate Bridge.

It was a short drive to one of the tourist bridges, the Capilano Suspension Bridge. However it wasn't the one that my aunt said that would be free. The tickets into the park to just walk over the suspension bridge was ridiculous.. $35 per person for a walk. We were not expecting how expensive these tourist places would be this pricey! So we researched which bridge was the free one and it was in the Lynn Canyon Park.

Vancouver Trip! Pt 4

Vancouver Aquarium and JAPADOG!

On our continuous tour of Stanley Park; next stop was at the Vancouver Aquarium~! It was getting a lot warmer in the afternoon sun but the breeze was very cooling. On the walk up from parking to the aquarium, we saw artists selling their paintings. Sadly was not allowed to photograph, but let's just say, they were stunning, beautiful oil masterpieces.

Up the gentle slopes to the building, was a water wall of a cafe leading to the steps of the aquarium, aquarium gift shop and interesting statue.

It's a Wall-terfall [lol].

Beautiful tribal statue. I believe it's an Orca Whale? I'm not sure.

Vancouver Trip! Pt 3

More of Stanley Park~

Cruising around the park in the car and enjoying the forested cool shade and breeze blowing in from the water's waves. After the short walk, we visited other areas of at the park; another beach area and a park playground. At this short stop, I took the opportunity to doodle in the shade of the towering pine trees.

While my parents and sister wandered around the park, I also took some photos of the beautiful blue flowers at the park. There were a lot of these types of flowers. I think they're hydrangea flowers.. but I love how the blue just vibrated off the petals from the sunlight.

Vancouver Trip! Pt 2

Breakfast and Adventure in Stanley Park
It's an early start, woke up around 6:30 for an early for breakfast before we set out to start the day. We had a breakfast buffet with plentiful fruit, cereals, freshly smoked salmon, apple-chicken sausage and meats, also a minimum range of baked goods and a chef to cook fresh omelettes, waffles and pancakes! A not-too-shabby start.

The first stop of our venturous day was at Stanley Park! It's a very large park with a beautiful view of the lake and you can see Lion Gate Bridge.. as well as walk through many forest hike trails, long walk/bike paths around the whole park. It would take an entire day to go through the entire park so we only made pit-stops at a few locations. And due to the unfamiliarity of the roads, we got lost and just drove around the park a lot. We passed by a kid's water park, beach, and pool park.. and totem park. It's not a bad thing to drive through the park vs walking the park, since parking fees are a bit ridiculous. I understand that the park is tourist location however, wouldn't it be better to have a single payment to enter the park instead of constant charges per hour throughout the park? Just a thought.

Passing by the beach part of the park.

Over the gentle cliff with another water-side hike path.

Vancouver Trip! Pt 1

Flight and Arrival

It's an early morning while getting ready to catch the morning flight to Vancouver. Last minute check-ups on items we have and don't have, feed the hamsters and leave enough food for them for the week, lock up everything.. and out the door we go! We were quite lucky that one of my mother's clients were also flying today and offered us a ride to the airport. Checking in and going through security was a breeze.. and we boarded relatively fast because my sister's handicap priority from her surgery.
---
On board and ready for the relatively short flight [4 hrs]. My sister and I were quite surprised that Air Canada charges for almost every thing now.. even blankets and headphones.. because last time we flew, they were handed out free. And looking at the menu was a mix of "wow this is new" and "holy crap that price".

Upon arrival and after renting out a car, it was quite confusing on the Vancouver roads. The signs and lanes were small and narrow (just like in HK).. even the parking! And speak about parking.. you have to pay for parking EVERYWHERE. Literally. It was also a bit frustrating too since it's the first time using our new GPS and we're on unfamiliar territory. So decision to stop at a nearby restaurant before continuing the search of where our hotel was located.

Convocation Ceremony

It's actually my first real convocation ceremony that I had on June 25th. I'm usually not the type of person who goes to such big events for celebrations but after my first conference meeting, I had a change of mind and decided to go.

The convocation ceremony was pretty much what I expected; with the robes, big screens, and speeches.. though minus the hats (which I didn't mind)..it was a great experience. Very exciting and nerve-wrecking at the same time. Great and exciting in the sense I can see some of my friends and professors again and have a good good chat! While nerve-wrecking in the sense of all the energy and being on stage, haha ^^;

And of course~ a couple of pics!

Movie Night

Tuesday evening was a fun night with one of my best friends, Sandy~ It would have been more fun with Jess.. but she's so far in Australia (miss you so much!! ;-;).

Watched:
How To Train Your Dragon 2 -- We arrived relatively close to movie time and it was packed!!! So many people.. especially because it's summer and Tuesday night special. However, we managed to have a good seat not too close to the screen.
It was so very good.. I really want the concept art books for both movies. The art work is so pretty~

After watching HTTYD 2, we had some time to get bubble tea from Lambie's.. smuggled in our drinks and got some good seats for Maleficent [3D]. The story plot was conceptually different but interesting. It gave a new interpretation to Maleficent's character to the usual Sleeping Beauty story.

Just a short little blerb~
Thanks for dropping by!

Recycling Old Stuff!

Summer is closing in with the warm nice weather.. I completely understand how it is tempting to hit the malls and shop for the season's newest summer fashions. However, if you're low on money and want to maintain a budget, it's easier to clear out old torn jeans and recycle them!

All you really need are old jeans, scissors, and a needle and thread. I made use of mine as I scouraged through my drawers and found old jeans I hadn't worn (but still fit surprisingly) since grade 10!

Nuit Blanche 2013

It was the first time I've ever attended Nuit Blanche and had a great experience. It's an interesting event where different exhibitions were displayed and interacted with in downtown Toronto. There were A LOT of people and so line-ups were certainly long, but it wasn't that bad.. However time to time, I felt a bit claustrophobic.. but the weather was decent for October. A relatively warm night with a strong cool wind.. which later brought the rain.

The large crowds of people slowly died down as the night became younger.. around 1-2am. As for my group of friends, we continued to walk to different locations to check out the different displays.. since our work shift doesn't start till 5am. Might as well enjoy ourselves! :D

A Donut for Thought..

It's already been two weeks since the start of classes and I am having quite a lot more fun than expected this 4th semester. I'm sure it is still a bit too early, but I hope this pace continues.

Here's a little peek at what I've done in Flash, one of the newest programs I'm learning to use.. and it's quite fun! However, there are some nicks here and there when I have no idea what I'm doing sometimes.

Thank you for dropping by~!!!

Work Spam!

It's been awhile since I've shared my work to my readers, so here it is! A little bit of what I have worked on.. and there will be more to come soon.

This is a relatively small maquette of two original chibi characters in Pokemon costumes.
It actually took a lot more time that I thought.. so definitely will layer more paint.

One Hell of A Fun Dream

It's been awhile since my last dream post! Although, I have been having dreams quite a lot, but they were too broken up or spread apart to fully write down. This time I had a rather fun and adventurous dream.. I saw many nostalgic faces; old friends from when previous schools haha~
I hope you enjoy the read!! c:

It was a warm sunny day of early June and something festive was brewing.. you could just taste the excitement in the air. Everyone was chattering in anticipation when a blanket of silence stretched across the gymnasium as the speaker walked towards the mic. The largest event was about to be announced, the game of JURY!!!

JURY - A monstrous jungle gym obstacle course event which involves the combination of schools, ranging from grades 6 to 12 coming together to play in the event! The vast number of the student body was then sorted into colored groups: Red, Blue, Yellow, Black and White. Afterwards, individual colored members go through a mini trial to sort into smaller teams.. *How you are sorted: Riding down a huge slide on a toboggan and at the end, the number appears at the bottom*

Warm and Breezy

Today was a fairly warm day with a nice rushing breeze that stirred my hair. I ran into an old friend of mine on the bus to Seneca@York and had great chat. While at school, I had a few things I needed to settle but unfortunately my co-ordinator wasn't there..

But anyway, I had quite an enjoyable time seeing my friends and chatting with them again hehe~ I hung around the class with them, listened in on the short lecture and met the professors. I guess it was a small insight for what I'll be doing soon. I stayed for quite awhile and by the time I left, I ran into my old friend again and had a long chat on the bus ride home. xD

--- Did some shopping before going home ---

And finally got home!!! The weather got a lot windier during the early evening but it was warm, so I didn't mind too much. Once home, I did some digging.. reading up on new animes to see what was interesting. In the end I watched Kami-sama Hajimemashita! At first, I found it pretty fast-paced, even for the first episode.. but it was enjoyable. Especially because it's about Japanese supernatural stuff haha~

Anywho.. that's all for today! Thanks for reading c:
Current status: relaxing.. essay is finished yay!

Short Dream Blurbs..

A couple nights ago I had a series of short dreams..
I don't remember most of the details either, though it disturbed my sleep.
So, these are basically short, short summaries, haha~ Enjoy!

~ Dream One: The Chase ~
My best friends, Sandy and Jess were with me riding in the back seat of a vehicle. The driver was unknown, but the voice was of someone we knew. Then out of nowhere an obstruction stopped the vehicle.. curious, Jess opened the side door to check out what happened. But to our surprise and fear.. the vehicle drove over one of the Queen spider's legs. Enraged that we caused her so much agony she sent troops of spider soldiers to capture us as her next meal. Next thing I know, we were running for our lives! Suddenly our clothes changed and we were equipped in our game-personality characters: Sandy-Archer; Jess-Warrior; Me-Mage/Healer. Jess and Sandy took down foes with more confidence as I provided back-up support buffs and heals, as well as effective offensive electric/light attacks. The times when I briefly woke up was when the spiders became slightly too close-ranged but I electrocuted them with ease!
[End]

Something New and Catchy

Not too long after being addicted to Psy's newest MV "Oppa Gangnam Style", Hyuna released the 'female' version where she says "Oppa Is Just My Style" in a aegyo voice. In my opinion I enjoy both the original and Hyuna's version. Here, enjoy~

Enjoying the Ride

I had another dream again, and I'm glad this time it wasn't scary. It was quite interesting, fun, and very beautifully colored. I think I'll post a few images that could relate to how it looked like similarly. I hope you enjoy the read! C:

I was sitting on the Toronto subway, not sure which stop I would be getting off at, but I was heading East. There were not many people traveling that day so it was quiet.. a calming kind of quiet. I leaned back in my seat, watching as the train pass through a few underground tunnels. The second time it surfaced, the train environment changed. The interior was familiar.. I was on the MTR.. the subway train in Hong Kong!!!

My expression at the time...

Not So Good with Cars

A new project for digital class!!! It a bit difficult but I think I did ok..? And yes, the car is very purple.. I blame my thermos that was right next to me.

It's so purple~!!!!!! xD

It took my entire Saturday evening, however, I look forward to learning more digital stuff. C:

I hope you enjoyed looking through my blog! Take care~

Contours & Painting WIP

Here are some more contour drawings that I did in class. There was a misunderstanding and the model left early, thus we ended up doing contour drawings of still life objects [plants and skeleton].

Life Drawing ~ Contours

Semi-blind 30 minute contour of a rose tree.
Medium: Black fine point pen

Semi-blind 15 minute contour of skeleton.
As you can see it's not proportional lolll!
Medium: Black ballpoint pen

Traditional Illustrative Media ~ Black & White Still Life

I really like this painting that I did versus my in-class.. I will finish this one soon!!
Medium: Black, white acrylics, matte gesso on white mayfair paper

That's all for now~!! C:

P.S. Happy Chinese New Year or Lunar New Year~!!!!!