Thursday, April 17, 2014

Hubpage update and plans

What's up pixies?

I just spent my afternoon updating my Hubpage because I don't have anything else to do today. Updating it took a lot of time compared to writing just a simple post here in my blog. To write something in hubpage is quite an effort because it's not your ordinary blog. It's a place where a lot of information can be found. There are a LOT of good writers in hubpage and I do read some posts that interests me a lot. I started posting articles there since 2012, had a long hiatus and came back to posting again last year. Since then, I tried to make it a habit to post at least one article per month.

What did I post there today? Well lately I've been searching the internet about anything about grammar. My curious mind just started looking for common grammar mistakes because I don't know... I just feel like I need to have a self-refresher study about the usages of words so I won't look stupid whenever I write or say something in English. It really helps that I get to do this self-study thing at my own pace and whatever time I want since I have the occasional mood swing of jumping to one task to another.

Anyway, since I've been searching these stuffs, I decided why not make an article about these information I gathered and share it. It can help... I guess students who might be doing homework about grammar or something similar to it. I don't know, I'm just trying to be practical and spend time wisely by doing two things at the same time: learning and sharing.

So if your curious mind wanted to know what I'm talking about here is the link to the most recent article I made about common grammar mistakes. You can also find my hubpage link and other links directing to my tumblr, etsy store and deviantart account in the sidebar.

Good that? (haha this expression is from the Maze Runner series, obviously someone's been reading the series obsessively).

Let's shift to my plans shall we?

One of my friends (Shey) suggested that I apply on this home-based work she's been working at wherein you have to teach English to Japanese students. Honestly, it's actually one of the reasons why I've been researching about grammar so that in case I passed the application process and scored a position as online tutor, I won't look dumb in front of my student. Plus I've been doing this grammar research thing way before I decided to apply so it benefits me as well (improves my writing on hubpage and in blogging).

This past few days I've been doing some self-reflection. Part of it was questioning myself if I should try applying for this job or look for another one. I've got lots of concerns because first, I don't have a good spot at home where I can do this tutoring because the neighborhood is so noisy. Second, I want to just either draw and crochet all day, everyday.  However, one day I just woke up and decided I should try. I WILL TRY. Nothing to lose and so I SHALL do it.  I guess I'm being such a worry wart, making excuses which are not really a problem. I can work upstairs and I can still crochet and draw while having a job. It's actually the reason why I started to work at home - because it is cool. Work won't totally take over your life. You can still do whatever you want to do at your own pace.

Having said that, my first plan is to apply for this job. Hopefully I can pass the overall procedure in applying (including the test, interview, training and etc). Shey told me it's easy to do that but still I'm a bit nervous because it's been more than 4 years since I last got interviewed for a job (not counting chat interview). This one is skype interview so I'm pretty nervous about it. I'll just continuously chant "nerves is good."

Second plan, I'll be joining my friend Nanz on MM's (Manika Manila) tiangge event on August and we'll be joining forces once again to sell doll-related items. So my May, June and July will be full of crochet work to make BJD (ball jointed doll) items. Of course if ever I pass the job I'm applying for I'll be budgeting my time wisely. I'm still going to squeeze some time drawing and attend sketch events so my social life won't shutdown.

Alrighty then, this post is too long already. Sorry no pictures to share on this post today. But I'll do an art dump post soon so that I can at least share my drawings and crochet works to you pixies out there!

Swish and flick! (my new outro word since I'm a fairy/pixie)

Sunday, April 13, 2014

Books and the Dystopian world

I love reading books. I recalled that during my grade school days, whenever my mom picks me up from school, we usually went straight to National Book Store (NBS) Harrison Plaza branch (that's because that's the nearest mall from where we live) if we need to buy some school supplies for projects or homework. My mom will ask me what I want and I said I want the latest book on the Unicorn Club series (Sweet Valley). She'll buy me the latest one and so my book collecting hobby started since then.

As the years goes by, my taste in what kind of genre I read had changed. I used to be love books about young love. However when I started college I became choosy when it comes to buying books. I find myself buying for classical books and then fantasy and adventures. Those books still have some "love" involved but it's not entirely about romance.

Speaking of adventure, I noticed that I became obsessed with books about dystopian world. One of the series I've read is the Hunger Games. This I think is the first book that will first come to mind if you thought about dystopian world. It has and is still being made into a film which has been a worldwide success. I guess after reading this series, my love for dystopian future books heightened even more. I've never liked reading science-fiction books but because of this I'm slowly accepting that genre into my books to read list.

Now I had started reading the Maze Runner series which is also made into a movie starring one of my current favorite actor Dylan O'Brien (Teen Wolf). Thanks to my friend Nanz, I discovered the brilliant acting skills of this guy. He's really good and I think he'll go places.

Anyway, I'm done reading the prequel book of the Maze Runner series as well as the first book, Maze Runner. I only have three words to say about these books. I love it. So if you love Hunger Games, I think you'll love this one too.

I haven't read the Divergent books yet but that will be the next on my list after I finished the current series I'm reading. Expect to have more posts about books here in my blog. I might include some book and movie reviews on my future posts just to give you pixies ideas what my little brain is currently reading.


Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Amigurumi keychain and Going 30's

Hello pixies,

My post title speaks about what I'm about to share to you in my blog entry today. I'll be writing about my new amigurumi creations and a post birthday celebration I attended last Monday.

Let me start with the amigurumi keychain first. Amigurumi is one of the things that I enjoyed doing. I'm an "all about arts and crafts" type of person and it's no surprise if I often post about these stuffs in my blog. My latest adventure with crocheting was making stuff toys with the help of some crochet yarn and my basic knowledge with crocheting. I've had posted several samples of my works in my past blog entries but none of them were keychain.

Lately, I came up with the idea of making a key chain or bag charm for my aunt and grandma who lives in Canada. I used the bunny pattern I bought a while back and inserted a chain and circular hook so it can be used as a key, wallet or bag accessory.






I also plan to sell this kind of keychain soon in my etsy shop. However, I have also added another keychain item on The Winking Fairy store and this is an Adventure Time amigurumi keychain. The character I did was Jake. I'm going to make a Finn keychain too but I need to find the right pattern for this first.

Adventure Time with Finn and Jake is one of my favorite shows and that's the main reason why I decided to create this keychain.




If you're interested in purchasing this item, you can check out the item here.

Also, last Monday, I met up with my college friends (our group name was and is still called "Angels") what a unique name right? Haha

Recently,one of our friend turned 30 years old. Since we didn't get the chance to celebrate her going on 30 on her actual birthday, she set up a lunch date last Monday. Only 3 of us (not including her) were available on the date she set but we still pushed through with the plan.




It was such a great day to reminisce about our college days especially the days we had our practicum at a local radio company where we learned a lot of things while having fun.

That's it for now. Hope you have a great day/night ahead! May the odds be ever in your favor! :)

Life and Art

I would say that it's been quite difficult for me to express what I'm feeling right now especially during the past few weeks. I don't want to be negative so I tried to brush off things that are bothering me especially when I'm around people (that includes families and close friends). However even though I ignore these "negative things" it's like they manage to find ways to enter my mind. Yes, I laugh and smile and joke around people but deep inside, I'm not that happy person at all. I also feel that I am becoming moody almost all the time. It's like having to persona in one body. I assure you though that I'm not crazy. Yet.

Right now, life has been difficult. I admit that. Here I am facing the laptop thinking why am I even blogging about this? Maybe because I needed to talk to someone who won't judge me. Don't get me wrong though, I've got friends I can talk to but honestly sometimes I feel better when I write down my thoughts and  not to literally talk about it. If you're my friend who's reading this, please don't call me up or text me and say "hey I read your post, wanna talk about it?" Nope, I don't need that. Give me some time to collect my thoughts and you will know when I'm ready to talk about it. OK?


You know why I love my best friend? Because when I talk about something about my family's situation, she won't give me advice. She will just listen. That's what I like about her. We don't see each other often but whenever we talk, I don't have to explain anything to her. Last month, when I saw her, I told her something about a very private moment I had with my family. I didn't tell this to anyone but her... she listened and just said few words which is better than having someone giving you a lot of advice but in the first place not knowing exactly what you're dealing with. This is the time that I realize that I can't give comforting words to someone I know but not being able to know exactly the struggles they are experiencing. It's really hard to explain. To make it simple, you have to experience the situation first before being able to give advice.

Words of encouragement are okay... but giving too much of it makes it more difficult. Maybe I'm being moody again but that's how I feel.

Anyway, this post is getting too long and too dramatic already. I guess it's time for me to blog about the things I've been doing (yes I'm not all wallow and rants). I still have some activities in my life that gives me joy even though for a short time. I gotta still embrace some positive energies in my life right? :)

Okay so, every summer vacation, my niece stays with us in Manila for at least 2 months. Since I'm the one who works at home (which is not really happening at the moment), I get to spend more time with her. I'm like her personal maid (as she describes it herself) because I take care of her. I make sure that she takes a bath, eat her food, and give her things that will keep her busy (she gets easily bored). So our routine is to watch movies in my laptop, read fan fictions, and draw.

Since I have the time to do all those stuffs, I was able to start drawing again. My hand is no longer used to holding a pencil due to lack of practice so my drawings and sketches now are not good compared to my other artworks. Hopefully I can regain back my artistic skills. Below are some of the drawings I made just few days ago:

My favorite though is the Loki fan art I made.


I also joined a sketch event with some of my friends midweek of March. It was a wonderful experience even though the weather's so hot. But the weather didn't dampen our spirits as we all enjoyed the activities.


There are still other events that took place during the days I wasn't able to blog but I decided to make separate post about it so it won't be overshadowed by the negative things I said earlier. Don't mind me, that's just me being all sentimental and moody.

Okay then, see you on my next post!