[Artsy Fartsy & Stuff]: Zen doodles, Zendalas, and Mandalas

I'm still stuck on this artsy fartsy thing. Heh.

Last night I learned something new - again.

You see, I have this obsession with mandalas ever since I saw an image of it on Pinterest. This so-called obsession has made me consider even getting a mandala tattoo, but I am not yet THAT convinced.

Anyway, my cousin is fond of making doodles that look like breathtaking pieces of art, which I have always envied. See, I am bad at doodling, and though maybe I can sketch a bit or maybe play around with pastels, doodling and caricature art has never been a strength of mine. It frustrates me and up until last night, I never really had the courage to do anything about it.

Now last night, I was browsing some mandala images on Google when I stumbled upon an image and video that showed how to make Zendalas. It is apparently a Zen doodle (Zentangle) mashed together to form a mandala, and voila! you have a zendala.

I was apprehensive at first and quite unsure, but I really, really, really wanted to try it, so try I did!

This is what I came up with:

Before

After

Basically, I started with the circle and then drew patterns over patterns, and just filled up whatever space available with more patterns. Not sure if this is the correct way to go about it, but they are correct, you do enter some kind of trance or zen state that you just relax and enjoy.

I think I shall be doing more of this in the near future. But I cannot promise you updates. Whatever my reason, I just love it!

Now I have to get ready to head home. It is pouring outside the office, but who doesn't like riding in the rain? :)

[Artsy Fartsy & Stuff]: Learning new stuff

Hullo!

It's been 10 days since I last wrote something, and I promise you I shall post in a while. It's just that the keys of this damn keyboard are not so comfortable to write (or type) on that I almost always neglect writing whenever I have no other choice but to use this.

Anyway, my sister is here and she has this great talent with drawing and art that I just envy. But what I really envied was the fact that she was able to transfer her work from paper to digital version. This is something I really wanted to do for a while now. So when I had free time yesterday, I started learning new stuff that I could do with my sketches.

My sister uses Photoshop to do her art, but since I have a pathetic excuse of a computer, I settled with GIMP which is lighter. It is a bigger challenge, but I think I managed.

If you remember a few weeks ago, I posted a rough sketch here.

I used that as my first guinea pig to experiment on with the paper to digital art thingamajig.

This is what I ended up with:

I know... I know... It's not THAT good. I honestly think I can do better.

But in fairness... well.. I think it's a start! :)

Maybe I can create another one today. :)

[BookWorm] Review: The Night Circus Book

A few nights ago, I finally finished the book 'The Night Circus' by Erin Morgenstern.

The book caught my attention when I read somewhere that it was as fantastic as the Harry Potter series, and that it was supposedly really good.

It took me a while to finish reading it, but I have my reasons. So let us begin.

Summary:

'The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night.' (from Amazon)

The book starts off with a description of the circus, leading to the introduction of Celia and Marco. Other characters are then introduced as the novel progresses, as well as how the circus came to be. Eventually, Celia and Marco (the supposedly dueling magicians) learn of each other, and eventually falling in love. Unfortunately, they are both trapped in the game their teachers have set up, and the only way for either of them to escape is by ending the match. All this and more happen in The Night Circus.

Review:

I give it - **** (4 Stars)

I initially planned on giving this book 3 stars because to be honest, it was quite lengthy.

However, after pondering on my overall review, I decided to give it 4 stars because there are several reasons that I may give it credit after an in depth assessment of sorts.

The book is long, painfully - nay - excruciatingly long. I almost gave up on it, but I was glad that I decided to push on through.

If anything else, this book has fantastic imagery. For me, that alone is reason enough to give it 3 stars. At first I thought it was my imagination that was hyperactive, but I realize that the author simply knows how to paint scenarios that are just exquisite and breathtaking. My complaint, however, is that there seems to be a bit of focus on the dresses, attires, and clocks in the book than what was necessary. Nevertheless, these were written beautifully and elegantly as can be imagined. There are, however, some descriptions that were just confusing and boring. Thankfully, I think I was half asleep during those chapters. So yes, for beauty of the narrations and the magical atmosphere, it felt good.

Mind you, magic in The Night Circus is different from what others may assume. This type does not exactly say its magic - more like enchantment. And unlike Harry and the rest of the Wizarding world who waves wands, or witches who concoct spells, hexes, and such. The type of enchantment in The Night Circus has is more along the lines of Noetic Science. It relies on charms, symbols, knowledge of old, and intense focus. It also shows how such feats take a toll on those creating it. 

So yes, I think the scenery and the magic portion is highly commendable. The plot, on the other hand, is not much. Do not be fooled by other descriptions saying that there is a fierce battle between two magicians. I tell you, there is not. Nope. Nada. There is a bit of a love story, a lot of loose ends, and supporting characters who turned out to be more interesting than the main characters in the end. I wish the author delved more into Poppet and Widget (and their capabilities), but I guess there was just too much of the descriptions going around, that there was no more space for the other characters? There was also a lot of hopping between times. I would have preferred that it was on a linear plane because the years are just messy, IMHO. The end of it all was also quite anticlimactic. Hmph.

While I find The Night Circus to be dragging in certain parts, the first portion and the last were quite worth the agony. Hehe Oh come on, its not like its the worst thing you will come to read. The writing is very well done, but Harry Potter it is not. Thankfully, it is not Twilight as well. It is a mixture of a lot of things that has not quite reached its full potential, but if you happen to like enchantments and stepping into another world, then this should be able to help you color your dreams with black, white, grey, and a touch of red. MY FAVORITE COLORS!

That's all folks!

Road trip to Vietnam

It's already the middle of the week and I have yet to blog about my trip to Vietnam.

News about going to Vietnam came sudden on a Thursday morning when my mom announced that I was going with her to fetch my sister. Earlier, we had an agreement that she would go to the neighboring country by herself so as to save money instead of hauling the rest of us on the trip.

I guess she thought I could use the experience so she decided to bring me along. However, I think it was more of a move to help me become more familiarized with the whole process so that I could travel by myself when time comes for me to go home. Saves a lot more money, really. But it scares the shite out of me!!

Nevertheless, I went with it. I mean, who could say no? I don't exactly have a habit of saying no to my mom. So I said 'Yes' and we went when Saturday rolled along.

The road to Vietnam from Phnom Penh is definitely paved with interesting sights. I must admit that when I came to Cambodia some blah blah months ago, I was not so observant of the sights because I was wallowing in my depression. But this time around, it was different. Maybe it was more of a I MUST OBSERVE BECAUSE I WILL BE DOING THIS ALONE NEXT TIME!

It was a good thing, though because now I was able to notice nuances and some practices that I needed to remember to ensure that I would be able to survive.

Truth be told, I am scared of travelling to Vietnam by myself.

I am scared of getting lost (this coming from a girl who believes 'adventure is out there!').

I'm not scared of getting lost in Phnom Penh, but Vietnam seems more... intimidating for me. So I have my fingers crossed. I think I will do fine. I KNOW I will do just fine. I am a big girl anyway.. In every sense of the word!

So what we did was:

• We boarded a bus at the Sapaco Terminal along Preah Sihanouk at around 1:30pm.
• The bus left the bus stop at 2:00pm.
• We reached Bavet around an hour or two after.
• The bus then stopped at Ta Loeung Inn, where we had snacks, or went to the WC. 
• We passed by Cambodia's version of Las Vegas (heehee).
• We then reached the border and crossed it safely at around 6:30pm.
• Then it was a long trip to Ho Chi Minh City.
• When we reached Ho Chi Minh City, our bus got pulled over by cops. Heaven knows what the driver did wrong.
• We waited for around 30 minutes before the bus moved again.
• We reached the Sapaco Terminal in Ho Chi Minh City at 9:00pm.
• We then made our way to Hong Thien Loc Hotel (Pink Blessing Hotel?), which was just nearby.
• And then... TOUCHDOWN!!

I have separate entries for what happened afterward. Haha.. Here's a map for you to check out my route.

I shall post again later.

On a side note, I do hope I am mature enough to make this trip when the time comes for me to travel by myself. :| I am such a wuss!

View Larger Map

Loosening the Ligaments

I believe that one of the biggest challenges of people who write is the actual act of writing itself.

Though it may not be true for everybody, this is a current malady of sorts that my friends and I have suffered. This came about when we somewhat delved into the world of mass article production and wrote like there is no tomorrow.

The trouble with these kinds of things is that after a while, the love of writing withers away into nothingness and well... for some of us, we struggle to find those moments that make us bleed. A morbid thought, I agree, but most of the good stuff that really hits where we desire it to hit is when you grasp from the bottom of your gut and just bleed.

I have not bled in a while.

Several things keep me from bleeding out in the open. But nothing is stopping me from bleeding in private. But I seem to have lost interest in that as well.

It is a shame, at least, for me, to lose the way I used to write as freely as I wished.

I blame the times when I took my writing for granted and wrote mass produced articles instead. Wait. I blame myself for going in that direction.

But now I can only attempt to retrace my roots and tap into what I used to have.

Keeping a diary, a journal, a blog, the way it is meant to be is a goal. Among other things.

I have troubles with this as well, but I guess these will not be solved unless I give myself the whacking I deserve.

Virginia Woolf once wrote in her diary that the value of keeping a diary or a journal helps '...loosens the ligaments. Never mind the misses and the stumbles.'

So this, I guess, is exercise.

Name that [this] Blog!

So many things happen to me whenever I run around the Internet. That is why for sure I can discover a lot of things that catch my interest and for some reason, today is a lucky day to share.

There is this Food Blog Name Generator that I stumbled upon a few hours ago that made me rethink about the name of this blog. It was such fun to keep generating this clever names that I am in fact considering a name change.

Here are some of the top names that I have come up with during my excessive reloading of the name generator:

• Oh My God, It's Full of Sugar!
• Total Bread
• Stealing Inclination
• Omnivorous Eggs
• Deadly Hankering
• A Fistful of Gastronomy
• Bottomless Sugar
• Street Eggs

I've realized that while I do post some inane stuff here, most of my posts focus on food and obviously its probably because I do love food. So a name change is probable, though the URL would remain the same. Besides, it gives this blog more focus, never mind the other things that are also included. But I figured that the names I fancied above can also work with a random blog that is not necessarily a dedicated food blog, but a blog of a food lover still.

What do you think?

Right now, I have a couple of favorites from my list. The runners-up would have to be the following: 1) Oh My God, It's Full of Sugar, 2) Deadly Hankering, 3) Omnivorous Eggs, 4) A Fistful of Gastronomy, and 5) Street Eggs.

Again, what do you think? :)

Check out this LINK to get to the Food Blog Name Generator at The Last Appetite.

Last Indulgence at The Blue Pumpkin

So today my colleague and I decided to dine out for a change.

After quite a few minutes squabbling over the destination, we finally made up our minds and declared that The Blue Pumpkin would be the place to be.

Both of us have not eaten at The Blue Pumpkin yet, so we were a bit apprehensive - especially since we heard rumors about the high prices. Needless to say, we went ahead with our plan and planned to eat pastries if we were not comfortable with the prices.

For my part, I was a bit surprised since the prices were not exactly stellar high, but I guess it is higher than other places.

Upon first entering the place, I was giddy with anticipation as there were simply a lot of pastries that looked de-lish! That, plus the tons of ice cream that greeted me as soon as I stepped inside.

My colleague made her initial order, while we went up to the second floor to grab a booth and see other options.

Upstairs, I spotted the famed bed-couches which looked ultra comfortable and inviting. However, since it was crowded when we arrived, we opted to get a table and get our orders done and over with.

The food:

My friend already ordered her Farmer's Salad ($5.50), while I opted to try something new by choosing the Open Face Chicken Sandwich ($5.50).

 Farmer's Salad has ham, chicken, eggs, cheese, iceberg(?), tomato, and mustard vinaigrette.

Open Face Chicken Sandwich has ratatouille, basil, bacon, and cheese in panini bread.

We also ordered some dessert to make the meal complete. I had the Chocolate Fondant ($3.75), while my friend had the Home-made Yogurt w/ Fruits ($3.00). Yes, she is definitely the healthy eater between the two of us!

Home-made Yogurt with Fruits (pineapple, watermelon, and dragon fruit).

Chocolate Fondant with caramel and cashew ice cream.

The ambiance:

The place itself relaxing, although with the white theme, I cannot help but find the floors a bit dirty. Maybe because it was lunch time and several people already went through it? In my mind's eye, I pictured a crisp white place that was both comfortable and quite clean. It is, after all, white. But it was not what I expected. Still the ambiance and comfort was okay enough.

The location:

The Blue Pumpkin we went to is located along Preah Sisowath Quay.

Image from Your Phnom Penh

Menu pictures:

Conclusion:

The food at The Blue Pumpkin was quite delicious. I found myself enjoying the dish I was served. The Open Face Chicken Sandwich was big and fulfilling, and I loved the mixture of the flavors and cheeeese (huge fan of cheese). Although I am not a huge fan of basil, so I felt the basil coming back up an hour or so later. For the Farmer's Salad, it was delicious looking, but we found the mustard vinaigrette a bit too overwhelming. But maybe because we are not used to it.

The dessert, on my behalf was the highlight of my meal. LOVED IT A LOT. My friend, however, had trouble finishing her fruit mix. 

Although not perfect, the food was satisfying and I think The Blue Pumpkin can be given another try. I do love their cakes, pastry, and ice cream. That's for sure!