A Sturdy Tree

Dear papa,

Thank you for being my playmate when I was a toddler. For taking me around the neighbourhood on your bicycle, for playing with Mr. Caterpillar, Charlie Barlie, Fifi and me, for carrying me in your strong arms whenever I was too tired to walk. 

Thank you for comforting me when I had a terrible nightmare at six. Thank you for attending to my midnight nose-bleeds.

Thank you for fishing me out of the water the time I turned turtle while wearing a float, my head stuck in the water, my legs kicking desperately at thin air.

Thank you for waking me up early one vacation in Penang, bringing me for a walk to see the beauty of a small starfish.

Thank you for playing badminton with us, for teaching us how to cycle and play ball. 

Thank you for driving me to my endless classes. For your comment on my water colour painting after one art class — you said the seahorse could sell for RM35. I was over the moon. I thought I was going to be able to make a living from selling RM35 paintings then.

Perhaps I grew up too fast, or I was too busy, or you were, but somehow I remember nothing of the years in between, except stress, disapproval and strong advice.

But thank you for the constant emails for the past two years. The unwavering belief you had in me, you still do. 

And as of late, the patience and graciousness and space you have given me. Thank you for your ability to appreciate me in my imperfections.

I am incredibly proud of you, your determination and grit, your excellence and wisdom. Your ability to withstand great pressure, your steadiness. Your courage to stand up for the right things, unafraid of challenging the norms. The man I marry must be like you — a sturdy tree.

Happy Father’s Day.

My First Model Shoot

If you have been watching TV lately, you’d have noticed this girl in the Hotlink ringtone advertisement, singing Jay Chou’s song on a stage. I got to shoot her plus 3 other models today! It was quite fun. Awkward, at first, not knowing how to break the ice and communicate with the tall beauties; smiling shyly at them whenever they looked my way, but fun nevertheless. We shot in the garden and by the pool; I was sweating from the sweltering heat, but too immersed in my task to notice. It’s really tough, modelling, I never quite grasped the difficulty of their profession until today. 

p/s: The girl with the camera is NOT me!! And this photo is unedited by Photoshop! Do check out Capture NX though, from what I saw today, it seems like quite a cool AND CHEAP (compared to PS) software.

Jasmine the Artist (lol)

It is already midnight, but I am still tense from helping my sister finish her project in time. Completing 3 environmental posters in one night requires serious speed for someone unwilling to burn the midnight oil. Haha. I feel a sense of achievement I’ve not felt in a long time. Look at our sick little friend I drew below. I’m kinda fond of her. 

OK the plastic bag I copied from some clipart one lah (I’m very good at copying!), but the earth I produced out of MY imagination (think silvery threads of memory going into Dumbledore’s Pensieve). I’m quite happy with it! I know it’s amateurish but hey, it’s one of the few times I actually produced something from scratch! There is a catchy phrase at the bottom but I won’t show you that coz it was my mum who thought up the phrase. And somehow I always like my own ideas better even if they suck. 

Now what do you think of this?

Entirely my idea OK, not inspired by anybody else. Lol. The photoshop work is slipshod and I changed the font colour to black coz I only have a black and white printer but overall wouldn’t you say it’s not bad?

p/s: This Saturday I’m going for a basic photography course with my papa. Course comes with purchase of new camera. On one hand I am secretly not very interested in photography, but on the other hand my dad says it’s a good skill to pick up. So I told him yes I’m interested in photography and forced myself to sound earnest. Lol. Maybe I will develop the interest but I’m doubtful.

Force myself to sound earnest. Sigh. Seems like I do that for a lot of things.