Vivid Sydney Lighting Festival 2013

26th May, 2013

The festival was quite an underwhelming experience, really.

Free Comic Book Day and May The 4th Be With You!

I attended the Free Comic Book Day at Kings Comics and I had so much fun! This was my first time doing anything like this.

Like queuing for hours.

Like joining the masses in adoration of fictional characters.

...you know what I mean. 

I had planned on taking a bus so I'd arrive at the store by it's opening time 9am but I was offered a lift. I sure am happy that I didn't take the bus because when I arrived at 8:20am, the queue was already looking rather formidable. So for the next 50 minutes, I gawked at cosplayers, read the 2 free comic books and ate the free donuts the staff gave us. Awesome, right?

Photo credits: Kings Comics Facebook page

When I finally got into the store, it was pretty crazy. I grabbed 2 more free comics and pottered around the store, looking for the manga section. I promised myself that I'd purchase only one manga but even that was proving difficult since they didn't have the first volumes of most mangas. After some thorough browsing, I finally found Volume 1 of "21st Century Boys" by Naoki Urasawa! I watched "Monster" anime a year back and it was amazing.

And creepy.

And awesome.

After I left the store and escaped the general crazy atmosphere, I crossed the street over to Elizabeth's Bookshops to buy an Asterix comic for my mom. She's a quite a huge fan and owns around 25 titles. I found that Elizabeth's has a good comic collection which includes manga and used comics for cheap prices.

I got down at the wrong bus stop on my way back home (yeah, I went full retard) which meant I had to walk over a kilometer. As I was walking, I spotted an Inspector Lynley novel at a thrift shop so I guess I was lucky...?

All in all, it was a great experience and I'm looking forward to reading the comics!

PS: Here's my OOTD. One of the staff members said my Vote for Pedro was awesome. Aw yeah.

DIY Dip-Dye Denim Jacket

One of my favourite jackets was starting to look a little careworn so I decided to give it a DIY makeover! In this post, I've outlined the steps taken to achieve the ombre effect.

This is my denim jacket, bought from SES for $20, I think.

You're going to need:

- Bleach

- Fabric dye (I used Fevicryl)

- Warm water

- Patience (or maybe a good book)

First, I put my jacket on a hanger and hung it like so:

Then, I mixed about a cup of bleach with...a whole load of water? That wasn't very helpful.

And let the bleacher games begin! Okay lame, I know.

To achieve a more gradual bleaching, my mother kept adding in more hot water at 15 minute intervals.

Oooh bubbles!

After an hour, take the jacket out the the bleach solution and run it under cold water.

Wring the jacket dry...LIKE A DOTHRAKI WARRIOR!

After the bleaching, it should look a little something like this:

If you're into the whole 90's acid-wash/grunge look, then stop! This is as far as you should go. If you're a hipster (which I'm not, I swear!), then you've still got some more work to do.

Add in the dye. I used up about three quarters of the bottle here.

Next up, warm water!

Swirl it around for a good measure...

Crunch time! Carefully place the hem of the jacket into the dye. Ensure that there is no dye splattered about which can cause spotting.

Remember to add more warm water in 15 minute intervals, just as I did in the bleaching process before.

Context needed now, more than ever; if anybody walked in, they'd have thought we were massacring someone. After 45 minutes, remove the jacket from the dye and hang so that the dye seeps downwards. Do NOT wash with water. Not yet, anyway.

We used a glazing brush to darken the hemlines a bit more. I guess you can say it's chicken glazing days are over.

After the jacket's soaked up the dye and dried, I recommend leaving it in some fabric softener solution because the entire dyeing process leaves the fabric a little stiff.

Drum roll, please...presenting the finished product! It didn't really turn out maroon but instead, to rather dirty pink.

And that concludes my first DIY post. I hope you found it helpful!

PS: Special thanks to my mother, who actually did all the work while I sat on the toilet seat, gawking and taking pictures.

Tips for IELTS Listening

I haven't blogged in ages, mainly because nothing note-worthy has happened recently. But that's no excuse, you say? Well, without further ado, here are a few tips I've compiled for the IELTS Listening exam:

1. Listen first, answer later

In the beginning, I wrote down the answers as they were being read. Sure it may seem like the normal thing to do, especially when the questions look so deceptively easy. But trust me, if you're concentrating on writing the answer quickly then you are risking missing out it. Listen and understand. This will help you to commit the facts to memory even if the recording whizzes by. This tip especially useful for lecture-type questions.

2. Look out for synonyms
During the time you're given to read each Section, you must attempt to guess what is going to be read in context for each blank. In doing so, one should be aware of synonyms that could be present. This means that although the speaker may describe something using a particular word, it's synonym could be on the question paper instead. For example:

Speaker: "Participants are advised to arrive 15 minutes at the Main Hall before the competition begins."
Question paper: "Players should be present quarter of an hour ahead at the   Main Hall   ."

3. Listen to radio shows

This will help improve you attention span of your ears. When I was doing practice tests, I noticed how easily distracted I could become. For instance, my pencil never looked more interesting until I started listening to a particularly challenging passage. Therefore, as practice in order to focus all my attention to hearing when needed, I listened to radio shows like Cabin Pressure on my iPod before I went to sleep.

Good luck for your IELTS!

PS - In case you were wondering, I scored 8.5 on my IELTS Listening exam.

I PASSED!

Oh my goodness, I actually passed IELTS!

I cannot describe the happiness and, most of all, the relief I'm feeling right now. I mean, I was actually expecting to resit the exam because of my lackluster performance, particularly in Speaking.

I'm quite proud of my results, especially the perfect score for Reading! Not so much for Writing, though. Oh well, I've never been great shakes at writing in the first place. Anyway, what matters is that I've got enough for my degree!

Until next time, goodbye!

Bon Voyage

Hi hello hey! Greetings from Sri Lanka!

[This is quite an over-due post. In fact, I typed it out during my first few hours in Sri Lanka but I wasn't able to publish it because I don't have an Internet connection. Yes, pity me.]

I love flying by myself! The journey from Sydney-Singapore-Colombo was both tedious and fun, which I'm sure any solo traveler can empathize with. This is admittedly random, but my favourite part of the journey is when the plane starts accelerating for takeoff and the exact moment when the wheels leave the ground.

Any time is camwhore time. Even if it's in a lavatory, thousands of feet above ground.

I spent most of my time watching Krissworld, instead listening to Cabin Pressure as originally planned. I watched 4 movies, out of which only 3 I could actually finish watching.

1. Hotaru the Movie: It's only a little light in my life

Hotaru no Hikari is one of my favourite Japanese shows. But I will recommend this movie only to fans of the TV series.

2. Runway Cop

The plot was mediocre but these guys made it totally worth it.

Lee Soo-hyuk

Kim Young-kwang

I would like to ask them whether it hurts to be that good-looking.

3. Himitsu no Akko-chan

Another Ayase Haruka movie! I've noticed that she's great at portraying quirky characters. It also helps that she's downright gorgeous! The movie is sweet and has an interesting concept.

4. The Grand Heist

I couldn't finish watching this because a few minutes into the movie, I was overcome by a wave of drowsiness. It looked interesting so I'm going to download it soon.

After I landed in Changi airport, I badly wanted to use the toilet so I rushed in search of one. In case you're craving for more unglam pictures of me the toilet....

Then, I wandered around the Duty Free area a bit. I didn't buy anything, though. Except a can of Pepsi, which is rather sad.

The flight to Colombo was pretty empty, a reflection of how popular my country is. I didn't mind; more space for me to stretch out and sleep!

Props to the chefs who prepare the in-flight meals. They were delicious! I always fly on Singapore Airlines because of their great meals and hospitality.

So now I'm finally back in Sri Lanka but I've unfortunately caught the cold. I wanted to completely stuff myself with the food I've been missing but here I am, with zero appetite and a pounding headache  Tough luck, huh? I hope that I can get better soon so I can fully enjoy my brief stay here. 

Here's a wee little squirrel. Goodbye!