Happy, Happy New Year!!

Wow! We've come to the end of 2007!
It's been a real interesting year!

Here's a quick wrap-up of what I managed to get done:

1. amazingly, I've learnt a whole lot of new things (mainly programs),
2. designed my own website (finally! with loads, i do mean loads of help
of course, I am still getting loads of help hugs*)
3. started a couple of blogs &
4. made lots and lots of new friends (hi there from asbooooooo !)
5. "re-strengthened" (i don't think that's a word!) bonds with old friends
within this short span of time.

I would like to take this time now to thank everyone for
sharing this journey with me!
So here's to a happy, happy New Year! ^- ^;;
May your 2008's be even better & filled with all that you wish for!

Much love*
Lynn

p/s- The figurine featured is called Yotsuba! I absolutely love the series, I got her from Akihabara for half the price compared to the same ones available back home in Malaysia, sigh..I do miss Tokyo @ times! chuckle*

Merry, merry christmas everyone!

+ new Jinjerup patterns updates!
Featuring snowmen (in the greeting above), candycane, gingerbreadmen
& a pitter patter of patterns!

Kamakura

I think i left my heart in Kamakura.
It is absolutely so quaint & cute, loved it to bits!
Some earlier visitors have advised that I should have gone to Kyoto to experience the same minus the temple admission fees but due to time constraints, I was unable to. (Kyoto will definitely be on my list in the future!) Kamakura is one of the 2 places I truly enjoyed visiting during my brief stint in Tokyo due to its scenic nature.
Back to the post at hand!

(Apologies for the harsh grey-white sky, it was rainy-cloudy 85% of the time we were in Tokyo. We had to make do with what we got!)








A train arrives at
the Kamakura train station.




















PASMO robot is cute.
This is the first time
i see him bowing.

(PASMO is a rechargeable contactless smart card ticketing system for public transport introduced in Tokyo & their robot is their logo)





















We had to take a little train through narrow pathways behind & around houses.






















Cleansing.
A ritual of purification for those who pray at the shrines. First the cup is dipped into the water & then used to cleanse hands & mouth.






















My fave Daruma picture!
He was sitting on this window sill of this shrine's ticketing window, just waiting for a shot! ^- ^;;






















Fur for the winter.
The kitties get all decked out
in their thick,lovely coats.

























A statue of a monk amidst
the fauna of his shrine.


















I can't help it,
even their manhole covers
are so design-y.
















Fresh rice crackers
being grilled daily to be
sold in the shop behind.























Cute little piggy statuettes
line up infront of a store.




















There were these hundreds & hundreds of little statues lined up on ledges,
on the ground.
























The great Daibutsu
of Kamakura.



















Day & night, locals & gaijin come to p(r)ay a visit to Kamakura's many lovely shrines & temples.














Plenty more pics to come.
Turns out our trip this time around was more of a photo trip.
Eating, sleeping, toilet business & let alone shopping were just essential tasks to be done along the way to our next photo destination!

YAY!!! ^ -^;; Congratulations!!!

I can't stop grinning!
I can't stop chuckling!
I can't stop feeling so happy & proud of u!!
Hugs & Kisses! (aww.. I know how shy you are ^- ^;; )
Congratulations again!!!

The Star, a Malaysian mainstream newspaper has featured Ivan of Mangada!
Here's an excerpt & a screenshot of it!

Ivan Song, 33, won first prize for his manga, Falling Flat Out into Space, in the IMAF category, “One-page Theme Comic” (the theme was “flight”).

Indeed, Song got off to a flying start with that short manga, which took him some four days to complete. It also caught the attention of Ilya. “I had a look at BNM1 and didn’t even imagine that I would be in the next volume!” said the freelance website designer. For BNM2, he drew a six-page black-and-white manga named Beat Me – his first published work and a “comedy/action story about doppelgangers,” according to the author. “It feels fantastic to see your work on paper, which looks different from when it’s on the web. There’s some value to it, and there are people around the world reading it,” Song smiled.

Reference: Excerpt of Article & Picture from TheStar Newspaper 16-12-07

Pages from Ivan's latest comic strip Leeroy!
(Click on the comics to enlarge the pages)

Stay tuned to find out what happens next! ^-^!!

Shinjuku Night Lights

Shinjuku. City. Nightlife. People. Entertainment. Shopping. Red Lights.






First up, this is one of my favouritestest shots of the whole lot. We were on the way on the way to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building to observe the cityscape when i caught sight of this lone person sitting & reading by subway station light.

















Passersby curious as to what i was shooting got included into my shot of this magazine vendor looking cozy in his little nook.














Burst of autumnal colours. Trees lit by lamplight.




















Scooter-bike-car thingamajig.
Cute to watch them locals zipping around in these.


















Spoilt for choice of the male kind. Male Escorts

Lovely ubiquitous vending machines. I got so used to seeing them around, I missed my instant espresso, perfect strawberry milk & hot cocoa the moment i set foot out of Japan.

Taking a stand.
Can anyone translate what these ladies are campaiginig for?



















More night scenes of the bright, bright lights of Shinjuku.
The people and their city
don't seem to sleep.

















Up next, lovely Kamakura with its many, many shrines & temples!!
Not to be missed!

Trippin'

Gardening in my patch!

My new blog-project: The Veggie Patch is up and running!
Here are some samples of its headers in action. New veggie characters get added to the header every Wednesday & Sunday. Watch the patch grow! My current veggie faves are the 2 featured on the latest header.

Learn new fun facts about the veggies we take for granted, today!

On a more personal note, I decided to start this project as a way of promoting vegetables (a community service of sorts) as I've turned over a new leaf.
(eating habits-wise) :)

Remarkable Remakeables

Talent does not grow over overnight.
IMHO, I'd say its 45% love for what you do, 45% persistent hardwork, 5% burning curiosity & lastly, another 5% of innate perception! It's amazing what one can do when you've put your mind to it.

Say hi to one such talented person, right here> Amy of Remakeables!
A very dear friend and an upcoming brilliant illustrator! Her illustrations are not only pretty to the eyes, they carry weight in their concepts too. It's always a pleasure reading her quirky, little blog-shop, it never fails to inspire & put a smile on my face at the same time.

A big hug & congratulations to finding your calling, Amy!
Since nothing great ever came easy, it looks like we've only just begun!

5 Random/ Weird things about me

Tagged, I have been, by the amazing Amy! Time to spout some quirky randomness. These come in a number of five's:

1) Instead of lazying around in bed, running to the loo or doing some stretch-ups, the first thing I must do in the mornings (after I open my eyes), is to switch on my computer! (SEE! I think that the micro processor human-fusion idea is such a lovely one!)

2) I nibble all chocolate sides of a Kitkat bar before proceeding to dislodge each layer of wafer. All the wayers (wafers+layers) and all their thin chocolate glory will then be savoured, devoured, slowly. This procedure mostly only applies to Kitkat and certain other wafer-y chocolate bars.

3) Whilst speaking I tend to mash up 2words together as demonstrated in 'wayer' :) I also swap the first alphabets of two words around. For instance, I have two good friends named "Jarod & Kelly". Spoonerism, the name of this verbal boo-boo, made me say Karod+Jelly :P (I'm sorry my dears, that was the worstest-funniest example I have!)

4) My i-pod has only one primary function; being a paperweight. (don't bother asking me about it)

5) I used to really dislike vegetables when I was a kid. My mum had to bribe me with candy each time she spooned spinach in my mouth. Can you imagine going without veggies daily for years? I still have all my body parts-organs with me but I was missing out on a whole lot of good stuff! The great news is I've changed me eating habits for the better! (thanks to a certain special someone) Oh the irony! I guess I like them well enough that I am even running a fresh vegetable blog! )

Now, here are the rules:
1. Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog.
2. Share 5 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 5 people at the end of your post by leaving their names & links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Harlo there June, Liann, Ju, Jac & Nick! You've been tagged!
May you go forth & spread some quirkiness!

TA-DAH!! I'm here!! Back Again!

It's oh so good to be back!!
If there is such a thing as an internet god, thank u thank u thank u!! On top of being swamped with 100 tons of work, my net connection had been down for over a week. Throughout that horrible period, I discovered how much I am connected to the net & my computers.

I had no inkling I was that dependent on them. No, I am not a nerd (neither am I a reclusive with a cave) & I am not obsessed . (btw, how would anyone define a nerd nowadays anyways? with everyone else using laptops or wireless connections too?) It was during my net-less free moments, I pondered how much time I spend on either a comp or the net?

The staggering answer is listed below.....

I practically spend over 85% of the day infront of a screen. Doesnt help that my work requires me to be infront of one all the time! It IS part of the job! I'm not really going to break my computer usage down into percentages & charts and graphs with cute little icons. (mmm.hmmm... that's an idea right there!.... nah...)

From the moment I wake to the moment just before I close my eyes, I am right smack infront of one. Maybe I should consider being fused to a high-end microprocesser with a ultra-fantastic speedy net connection?! MMM.MMMmmmm...

On to JINJERUP! Featured, is a medley of NEW Jinj patterns!
Fresh off the shelf, introducing pretty little red goldfish swimming in their green padded pond, lady birds, button imps, crowns & cuffs, cloud travel, HIPPOP-tamuses and of course, dancing bots! & new FREE gift box patterns & wallpapers of course!

Thank you, bunny!

Busy bee

Herro, just a quick note.

The period of now to the coming month shall be an extremely busy one.
=-------="" Plenty of work is already flooding in. Posts shall be a bit more sporadic & shorter. & to top that all off, I am getting sore throaty & runninnggg nosey...ugh... now of all times... (darn murphy & his law!)

Jinjerup & my NEW project shall be continuing at a bit of a slower pace. (
but ......chuckle* The show must go on, so check back for more!!

Oh and Happy Halloween!!

XOXO

Plead the fleeting moment to remain

I love the title phrase, can't remember where its from though.
A book, perhaps?
A poem?
A movie?
Oh, well. It matches the pictures I'm sharing today :)

I happened on these last week. Enlightening gems, they are, taken either very early this year or nov-dec last year.



The sky is one thing I can't do without. (in the metaphorical sense ) Its lovely just sitting and observing its many pretty colors and moods. Thereapuetic even.

I find it amazing that no matter where you are in the world,
we're all still under the same sky.

I have spent a considerable amount of free time watching it since a child. Shall share more of my old sky pics (when I can find them) and new ones of course, once I've taken them.

p/s- I've recently taken up gardening! This is something I've never thought I'd be one to do! More about it in the near future!

Until then, hugs all around!

Fine feathered friends

It's now kind of funny that I aspired to be an ornithologist (study of winged creatures>birds) when I was younger. Oh well. There are still birds of all kinds to observe. grin*
Some samples attached below.

(A trip to the KL Bird Park earlier in the year produced these.) Come now, what on earth were you thinking? (no pun intended)


Scarlet Ibis : It's looking for something, isn't it? (Yes, this is a red bird. Its plumage color comes from its food source)


Sitting Stork: on its reverse bend-able knees


The feather tips of his crown remind me of an emperor's.


Peahen and her progeny: Not being very tall, the poor little thing was scrambling all over rocks, grass and roots to follow mum.


I have forgotten what this perty bird is called. Anyone care to enlighten me?


Dove, sitting pretty. wood variety?


I am unable to identify this one. Was shooting pix of flaming-goes when I noticed this hidden amongst the trees. Its tail feathers are superbly long! Probably over a metre . As the trees weren't very tall, I had to crouch to snap a shot of it in whole. Guess my photo doesn't really do this bird justice, length-wise. (chuckle*chuckle)

Jinjerup Update 21-10-07

Here's a sneak preview of Jinjerup's latest range. Am exploring more character driven designs, keeping it fun.

Introducing daruma dolls, teruterubozu, adamant peaches, dancing atoms (my fave!) and treachery amongst fruit.

Click on Jinjerup's link on the right to view more of the NEW designs! Have also added new free wallpapers and gift box templates too!

Hi there!

Bear with me as my first blog is getting all prepped up! Shall be back as soon as i can!
In the mean time, check out http://www.jinjerup.com
XOXO, Lynn