short holiday + diving into ton of work awaiting + bad news = crash and burn
i'm back from my mini resort holiday, with the whole spa thingie, massages, hot spring soaks, etc. but already had a relapse of overworkedness and stress... i came back to news that my tanktop sewer has just suddenly passed away... ??? too young, too sudden, too depressing...
now it's all one big headache for me. i've been having migraines since wed, so forgive me if your email hasn't been answered... i'm sort of in and out of it, so if you did get a chirpy email reply from me, yeah, it's probably when i was out of it.. for that 30 minutes or so...
you all have been awesome by the way, thanks for bothering about my whinings... lol
i'm still looking for a plastic/acrylic accessories maker who does customised designs. this would be the material i'm referring to-
http://www.greenergrassdesign.com/alissiamelkateichroewsplasticbling-blinkdiamondring.html
also could be like those opaque plastic bag handles...
i'm found a couple, but they all require a minimum order of USD500???? wtf, thanks, but no thanks
also looking for someone who can crochet 1"x1" little thingies...
also looking for new tanktop sewer...
also needing to do my taxes asap...
also making an important customer wait for me to get done with my presentation...
waahhh....! sobss...
i don't mean to be so depressing... i did have a really nice holiday, but it's not worth to mention now...
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
into her mouth it goes
i feel like stuffing a smelly sock into her mouth whenever we shop or talk about anything fashion/ design/ style/ craft/ art related. is that bad? oh well, whatever.
i shared some interesting crafts on etsy with a couple of my friends, including her-
"oh that's so simple, i can make that if i wanted to"
we were shopping together at xxx shop and one of the decor items was handcrafted by a local designer-
"she dares to sell that at such an expensive price? aiyoh, but that's so easy to make! i can do a much nicer one myself if i had the time"
a mutual friend, an art director, was showing off her treasure shopping finds from her recent trip to tokyo-
"so weird and ugly and you paid so much? i think i've better style sense than this japanese designer and you, and you call yourself an art director"
all these, coming from her, who accessorises herself with cheaply mass-produced made-in-china plastic flower pins, amongst many other gaudy things which i shan't mention
she saw my collection of plush by many indie designers we all know of-
"but what do you do with them? and who buys them anyway? children? that's a really stupid way of spending money. and since they are handmade, aren't they going to fall apart after awhile?"
she grabs a monster plush, a toast, and a sushi and started to squeeze the life out of them, turns around and grabs one of my just-completed treelings and shakes it really really hard up down left right
(verdict: none of the above mentioned plush were harmed in any way after their crash-dummy test)
i stared in pure shock and astonishment
don't you feel like stuffing your smelly sock in her mouth too? especially those sweaty salty ones after your 5km run... muahahaha!
other than these bizarre traits, she's really a fine gal. oh well.
i've been overwhelmed with work (when am i not...), not to mention stress and headaches, it's always so hard to get the things i request for and the results i want. urgh.. and especially b, who has been working late into the night everyday as his new career ladder progresses, so does his workload, and my website overhaul has been put on hold temporarily (sigh). so we're glad that our long weekend off is finally here!!!
does anyone know where/ how i can do customised little clear acrylic accessories/ decorative stuff?
i shared some interesting crafts on etsy with a couple of my friends, including her-
"oh that's so simple, i can make that if i wanted to"
we were shopping together at xxx shop and one of the decor items was handcrafted by a local designer-
"she dares to sell that at such an expensive price? aiyoh, but that's so easy to make! i can do a much nicer one myself if i had the time"
a mutual friend, an art director, was showing off her treasure shopping finds from her recent trip to tokyo-
"so weird and ugly and you paid so much? i think i've better style sense than this japanese designer and you, and you call yourself an art director"
all these, coming from her, who accessorises herself with cheaply mass-produced made-in-china plastic flower pins, amongst many other gaudy things which i shan't mention
she saw my collection of plush by many indie designers we all know of-
"but what do you do with them? and who buys them anyway? children? that's a really stupid way of spending money. and since they are handmade, aren't they going to fall apart after awhile?"
she grabs a monster plush, a toast, and a sushi and started to squeeze the life out of them, turns around and grabs one of my just-completed treelings and shakes it really really hard up down left right
(verdict: none of the above mentioned plush were harmed in any way after their crash-dummy test)
i stared in pure shock and astonishment
don't you feel like stuffing your smelly sock in her mouth too? especially those sweaty salty ones after your 5km run... muahahaha!
other than these bizarre traits, she's really a fine gal. oh well.
i've been overwhelmed with work (when am i not...), not to mention stress and headaches, it's always so hard to get the things i request for and the results i want. urgh.. and especially b, who has been working late into the night everyday as his new career ladder progresses, so does his workload, and my website overhaul has been put on hold temporarily (sigh). so we're glad that our long weekend off is finally here!!!
does anyone know where/ how i can do customised little clear acrylic accessories/ decorative stuff?
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
v.i.f.f membership discount cards
all VIFF membership discount cards (VIFF = Very.Important.Forest.Friend) will be mailed out in batches starting from next week! weee!!
only our repeat regular customers will receive their very own VIFF card with their own unique code numbers, so watch out for it in your mailboxes if you are one! your unique code number entitles you to a 10% discount when you check out your future purchases, applicable only at our online boutique here *wink*
conditions and details of your membership card priviledges will be enclosed with your card in the mail!
p.s. please notify us if your mailing address has changed or if you haven't received yours before the end of march!
only our repeat regular customers will receive their very own VIFF card with their own unique code numbers, so watch out for it in your mailboxes if you are one! your unique code number entitles you to a 10% discount when you check out your future purchases, applicable only at our online boutique here *wink*
conditions and details of your membership card priviledges will be enclosed with your card in the mail!
p.s. please notify us if your mailing address has changed or if you haven't received yours before the end of march!
Saturday, February 18, 2006
Buying a car - driving in Spain
When buying a car in Spain, prepare for the fact that it may not look new for long! 18 months ago I paid 24,000 Euros for the first brand new car I’ve ever owned. Today it looks like a 5 year old car. Driving in Spain is actually a pleasure most of the time – very few traffic jams, lovely scenery and usually a lovely sunny day – its just the other drivers that are the problem. How many people can say they’ve driven through Spain and not been cut up on a roundabout, blocked in by someone double parking, had some irate driver 2” away from your bumper for miles, or come face to face with a driver on the wrong side of the road? Most of these circumstances are not one offs, but regular occurrences.
I have a neat round towbar dent in the back bumper from someone backing in to me whilst I was parked, and a dented front number plate gained by the driver in front suddenly deciding to reverse into a parking space which I was partly covering at the time (no reversing lights, hence no warning). I have also had the front bumber, wing and bonnet totally replaced after a lady opened her door without looking, in a narrow village street, plus various dents and scrapes where a driver has been determined to squeeze into a space in which he barely fits. Dents and scrapes in my pride and joy make me angry, the attitude of the perpetrators enrages me further. They truly do not see it as a problem, in fact the lady who took off my wing told me off for getting upset as she kept repeating ‘no problema’ over and over again. Her attitude was that the insurance would fix it, so why worry? True enough, but when you are on your way to an appointment because you have to work, have to pick up kids from school, and there is no local bus services in the area, it proves to be a big problem when you are unable to use your car. The insurance did not pay for 10 days car hire, so yes, it WAS a problem.
Ever seen some of these drivers parking? They judge their distances by banging into the cars front and back numerous times until they are safely snuggled in the middle. They double park, the park on zebra crossings, they pull up in the middle of the road and jump out to nip into the local shop whilst you sit tapping your fingers and waiting. No amount of horn slamming or shouting gets the result you are looking for – no-one is in a hurry to let you pass.
I also have a key scraping from front to back on the drivers side, and the Peugeot badge on the boot has been prised off with a knife - probably due to kids. Not to mention what the dog has done. Following its return from the garage with its brand new bumper and wing, the dog obviously decided he didn’t like the new smell to proceeded to eat it. I now have a partially chewed wheel arch and bumper at the front. That’s apart from the claw marks on the boot – god knows what he was doing on there.
One of the young guys who makes the signs for our office was hit by a speeding driver overtaking him last weekend – the passenger side of his car is a complete write off, but the Spanish guy who hit him jumped out, threatened to hit him, and then drove off again leaving him in tears of shock. The police can’t do anything because he has no description, and left with with the impression that they didn’t really care about it anyway.
As there are no drains, or cambers on the majority of roads, when they flood (which they always do when it rains) you can find yourself driving through rivers up to your wheel arches, even when it dies down the roads are still dangerous as the have no grip. However, Spanish drivers don’t seem aware of this and just carry on as normal. Best not to be on the roads when its wet.
If you let someone past, or stop for pedestrians, don’t expect a thank you – you probably won’t get one, and if you do it will be from another English driver or possibly German – never Spanish.
Zebra crossings are another hazard. My daughter’s friend got hit by a moped who overtook a car approaching a crossing in Benidorm. The moped driver came off his bike and her friend got taken to court and charged. He had to pay compenstation to the driver for his injuries, despite the fact that he too was taken to hospital with injuries!!!
Many urbanisations and country villas still have dirt track access as opposed to tarmac roads, in fact the main entrance road into the Jalon valley is so full of potholes that you arrive in the valley with bumps and bruises if you come over the mountain too fast. Unfortunately, I have to drive there every day so I expect very soon I will have a large bill for suspension repairs. Surprisingly enough, I know very few people who have suffered punctures.
Villages often have exceptionally narrow streets where once upon a time only a horse and cart would pass. Many streets are wide enough for one car only, yet receive two way traffic and allow parking. A weird tradition they have is that on the first of the month, the parking is changed to the opposite side of the street. You have until Midday to move your car if it is still parked on the wrong side, or it will be towed away. I have no idea why this is. Pavements are so narrow that everyone walks in the street, and if you live in the village you will have parked cars with 12” of your front door, making it very difficult to squeeze in with your weekly shop. Virtually impossible with a baby’s buggy I would think.
If I was buying a car now, I would probably opt for a second hand one - I'd probably find it less stressful. Second hand cars hold their value better here as they are less prone to rust, but are therefore more expensive than in the UK. Trading in your old car is encouraged, as the government try to avoid cars of over 10 years old being on the road. I don’t really know why this is, as most cars look like they’ve been driving in Spain for 10 years even if they are relatively new.
Read the book 'Moving to Spain' to find out more about life in Spain.
I have a neat round towbar dent in the back bumper from someone backing in to me whilst I was parked, and a dented front number plate gained by the driver in front suddenly deciding to reverse into a parking space which I was partly covering at the time (no reversing lights, hence no warning). I have also had the front bumber, wing and bonnet totally replaced after a lady opened her door without looking, in a narrow village street, plus various dents and scrapes where a driver has been determined to squeeze into a space in which he barely fits. Dents and scrapes in my pride and joy make me angry, the attitude of the perpetrators enrages me further. They truly do not see it as a problem, in fact the lady who took off my wing told me off for getting upset as she kept repeating ‘no problema’ over and over again. Her attitude was that the insurance would fix it, so why worry? True enough, but when you are on your way to an appointment because you have to work, have to pick up kids from school, and there is no local bus services in the area, it proves to be a big problem when you are unable to use your car. The insurance did not pay for 10 days car hire, so yes, it WAS a problem.
Ever seen some of these drivers parking? They judge their distances by banging into the cars front and back numerous times until they are safely snuggled in the middle. They double park, the park on zebra crossings, they pull up in the middle of the road and jump out to nip into the local shop whilst you sit tapping your fingers and waiting. No amount of horn slamming or shouting gets the result you are looking for – no-one is in a hurry to let you pass.
I also have a key scraping from front to back on the drivers side, and the Peugeot badge on the boot has been prised off with a knife - probably due to kids. Not to mention what the dog has done. Following its return from the garage with its brand new bumper and wing, the dog obviously decided he didn’t like the new smell to proceeded to eat it. I now have a partially chewed wheel arch and bumper at the front. That’s apart from the claw marks on the boot – god knows what he was doing on there.
One of the young guys who makes the signs for our office was hit by a speeding driver overtaking him last weekend – the passenger side of his car is a complete write off, but the Spanish guy who hit him jumped out, threatened to hit him, and then drove off again leaving him in tears of shock. The police can’t do anything because he has no description, and left with with the impression that they didn’t really care about it anyway.
As there are no drains, or cambers on the majority of roads, when they flood (which they always do when it rains) you can find yourself driving through rivers up to your wheel arches, even when it dies down the roads are still dangerous as the have no grip. However, Spanish drivers don’t seem aware of this and just carry on as normal. Best not to be on the roads when its wet.
If you let someone past, or stop for pedestrians, don’t expect a thank you – you probably won’t get one, and if you do it will be from another English driver or possibly German – never Spanish.
Zebra crossings are another hazard. My daughter’s friend got hit by a moped who overtook a car approaching a crossing in Benidorm. The moped driver came off his bike and her friend got taken to court and charged. He had to pay compenstation to the driver for his injuries, despite the fact that he too was taken to hospital with injuries!!!
Many urbanisations and country villas still have dirt track access as opposed to tarmac roads, in fact the main entrance road into the Jalon valley is so full of potholes that you arrive in the valley with bumps and bruises if you come over the mountain too fast. Unfortunately, I have to drive there every day so I expect very soon I will have a large bill for suspension repairs. Surprisingly enough, I know very few people who have suffered punctures.
Villages often have exceptionally narrow streets where once upon a time only a horse and cart would pass. Many streets are wide enough for one car only, yet receive two way traffic and allow parking. A weird tradition they have is that on the first of the month, the parking is changed to the opposite side of the street. You have until Midday to move your car if it is still parked on the wrong side, or it will be towed away. I have no idea why this is. Pavements are so narrow that everyone walks in the street, and if you live in the village you will have parked cars with 12” of your front door, making it very difficult to squeeze in with your weekly shop. Virtually impossible with a baby’s buggy I would think.
If I was buying a car now, I would probably opt for a second hand one - I'd probably find it less stressful. Second hand cars hold their value better here as they are less prone to rust, but are therefore more expensive than in the UK. Trading in your old car is encouraged, as the government try to avoid cars of over 10 years old being on the road. I don’t really know why this is, as most cars look like they’ve been driving in Spain for 10 years even if they are relatively new.
Read the book 'Moving to Spain' to find out more about life in Spain.
Thursday, February 16, 2006
the greek edition
so here it is! we are featured in exactly the same section and format, but in the greece edition of lucky magazine (feb 2006) i wish i could read greek since i have the entire magazine with me now
thanks jessica!
i've been to athens, greece, once, when i was a silly 10 year old. beautiful awe-inspiring architecture... must.visit.europe.soon.
thanks jessica!
i've been to athens, greece, once, when i was a silly 10 year old. beautiful awe-inspiring architecture... must.visit.europe.soon.
Sunday, February 12, 2006
domokun
anyone owns a domokun toy? or knows of its existence? or have seen it before?
http://cardhouse.com/travel/japan/domokun.htm
well i've owned a domokun key chain thingie, a gift from a japanese friend, for more than a year
and while taking a break from my design work, i went to browse the samplersampler journal, and saw something so familiar...
http://cardhouse.com/travel/japan/domokun.htm
well i've owned a domokun key chain thingie, a gift from a japanese friend, for more than a year
and while taking a break from my design work, i went to browse the samplersampler journal, and saw something so familiar...
Friday, February 10, 2006
v day
| Your Candy Heart Says "Get Real" |
 You're a bit of a cynic when it comes to love. You don't lose your head, and hardly anyone penetrates your heart. Your ideal Valentine's Day date: is all about the person you're seeing (with no mentions of v-day!) Your flirting style: honest and even slightly sarcastic What turns you off: romantic expectations and "greeting card" holidays Why you're hot: you don't just play hard to get - you are hard to get |
What Does Your Candy Heart Say?
hahahaha!
wonderful greece
it's not everyday we (or i) get to experience such kindness
jessica of jewels by jessica from greece is awesome
she sent me an email to let me know that forestprints.com was featured in the greek printed version of lucky magazine, and went out of her way to not only give me a tearsheet from her own copy of the magazine, but also helped me to purchase another new copy! of course i paid for it and the postage
yay!
jessica of jewels by jessica from greece is awesome
she sent me an email to let me know that forestprints.com was featured in the greek printed version of lucky magazine, and went out of her way to not only give me a tearsheet from her own copy of the magazine, but also helped me to purchase another new copy! of course i paid for it and the postage
yay!
Wednesday, February 8, 2006
i must survive...
...the 15 days of chinese new year
i'm in no mood to even whine about it... it's just bleeuurrgghhh... and my appetite has been like that of a pregnant woman...
if you haven't noticed, i've been busy updating both littleoddforest and crafthings
membership discount cards are waaaayyy overdue, i know... i promise they'll be appearing in your mailboxes soon! when? soon...
been trying to get these things done
• new tank top designs
• new tee designs
• new huggables
• new felt brooches
• new big bags
• new small bags
• new purses
• new cushion covers
• new home decor items
• new catalog
• good sewers (anyone out there?)
• print peripherals
have been
• running every evening
• swimming once a week
• dreaming about me flying around in my little odd forest which transforms into an outdoor boutique (seriously, work hazard...)
• drinking too much (might also explain the above...)
have not been
• sleeping enough
• doing nothing enough
• having fun enough
• as frank as i would like to
i've been crazily shopping and buying supplies online the past week. there's nothing cool to get here in singapore. is this a good enough reason to relocate???
i'm in no mood to even whine about it... it's just bleeuurrgghhh... and my appetite has been like that of a pregnant woman...
if you haven't noticed, i've been busy updating both littleoddforest and crafthings
membership discount cards are waaaayyy overdue, i know... i promise they'll be appearing in your mailboxes soon! when? soon...
been trying to get these things done
• new tank top designs
• new tee designs
• new huggables
• new felt brooches
• new big bags
• new small bags
• new purses
• new cushion covers
• new home decor items
• new catalog
• good sewers (anyone out there?)
• print peripherals
have been
• running every evening
• swimming once a week
• dreaming about me flying around in my little odd forest which transforms into an outdoor boutique (seriously, work hazard...)
• drinking too much (might also explain the above...)
have not been
• sleeping enough
• doing nothing enough
• having fun enough
• as frank as i would like to
i've been crazily shopping and buying supplies online the past week. there's nothing cool to get here in singapore. is this a good enough reason to relocate???
Saturday, February 4, 2006
An Airline Disaster: Independence Air
It’s been a month since Independence Air ceased operations on January 5. I was initially impressed with the fact that they gave advance warning that were shutting down, avoiding the debacle exemplified by Eastern Airlines when they folded without warning in 1991.
I’m not sure what to think about Independence Air now that there has been a month of post mortem. I feel especially bad for the employees, many of whom worked for Independence Air in its previous incarnation as a financially strong United Connection carrier. Published reports state that Independence Air began with a war chest of over $800 million – where did that go in eighteen months?
I’m not sure what to think about Independence Air now that there has been a month of post mortem. I feel especially bad for the employees, many of whom worked for Independence Air in its previous incarnation as a financially strong United Connection carrier. Published reports state that Independence Air began with a war chest of over $800 million – where did that go in eighteen months?
Wednesday, February 1, 2006
greek lucky site? wow!
bet'cha can't read it!! lol
http://www.luckymag.gr/default.php?pid=10&subcat_id=12&cat_id=5
http://www.luckymag.gr/default.php?pid=10&subcat_id=12&cat_id=5
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