No piece of cake - part 2

Madness!!

It was a day of applying Murphy's law! What could go wrong, went wrong!! :O) It started the day before when I went to the cake store to buy the base for the cake. The shop was closed.

9.00am
The next day when I went there, they didn't have the right size. So I had to buy the larger ones and trim them to size.


11.00am
The rainbow coated frost mix took really long to apply, so it was back to the shop to get the plain vanilla frost.

3.00pm
Finished the first batch of 16. I boxed them up, dashed out to the print shop to get the labels done. It must have been project assignment due day, cos' there were so many art students packed inside the print shops at Sunshine Plaza!

3.30pm
Headed down to Cana to do the paste ups!

4.00pm
Handed Cana the first 2 boxes and then off to NUS and SPH! By evening, I had covered the East stretch of the island, completely hand delivering the first batch by 930pm.

Phew! How's that for madness? Doing something not usually your regular routine? Thanks, mom, for the help in the pantry and the noon delivery! Wanna see the final product? It's on The Workshop blog!

AND... ACTION!

Today was day one of a two day film school for me. The instructor is none other than the #1 film instructor in the United States (voted by National Association of Film School)... Dov Simens! He can tell straight up that he's a rotten director and production manager... but teacher? He's the guy! His experience in the industry spans several decades and has graduates grossing over US$6billion at the box office, 9 Oscar nominations, 22 Emmy wins, 87 Sundance, Raindance, Cannes, Toronto, blah, blah, blah... you get the picture. His students include Quentin Tarantino, Spike Lee, Guy Ritchie, Will Smith, Robert Rodriguez, Queen Latifa, etc, etc. Enuf said.

Day 1 talks about the nuts and bolts about film marketing (directing, filming, post-production in under $US200k for a 90-min feature film) and day two, a screen writing sesison and the marketing aspect of the movie business. Notice the the words in bold. I previously would have used the terms "filming making" or "movie making".

This 2-day session substitutes a 4-year education in film. In fact, the stuff you pick up here is much more valuable! So am I going to shoot a S$250k 90min feature film soon? Dov discourages shorts films so we all know what the next obstacle is...

No piece of cake

I tested out the cake idea today. Bought empty boxes, eggs, food dyes, two Betty Crocker mixes and some fondant. I had issues with the fondant which I found out after tasting that it's actually quite close to marzipan! I don't think many will appreciate the taste of marzipan.

The initial idea was to mix the pure white fondant with the red and blank colourings, but it wasn't that simple. Even flattening out the fondant was difficult as it would stick to the table top! I didn't even get to the point of cutting the coloured fondants into the shape of the company logo.

Well, back to the drawing board... :O)

1st Birthday Bash

Imaginative celebrates 1 year this month! I've been wondering what should I give my clients and those who have supported the business?? Before you go "What about an iPod?" or Why not a brand new car?", consider the fact that I'm on my own and it's only been a year... I've not crossed that break-even point yet. So if you know a good prayer, or someone looking for good creative work done, I'm sure you know who you gonna call... besides the Ghostbusters.

Here are a list of items I have thought about (from a month back):

1) Bake each one a cake or make chocolates. It gives that personal touch and that one year old feel. (How many CEOs actually make their own cakes for their clients???)

2) A cube note pad with a pencil that's shaped like a candle that goes thru' the middle of the whole thing. (Where am I going to find that pencil again?)

3) The traditional "Thank you for supporting me"card... but "pop-up" one... that one has a lot of possibilities.

4) Or do a simple Halloween tie-in... Give treats in a pumpkin!

5) A small Rubik's cube or puzzle keychain, all "messed up" with the tagline "Imaginative - Find the creative solution".

Well, comment away and if it's your idea that I pick, you'll get one too!

The Year of St Paul

Yesterday I concluded my 3 month study on St Paul. 12 weeks only allowed a glance at two of his letters: one to the Galatians and the other to the Romans. Fr Ambrose Vaz, clearly a theologian in this field, and in his usual manner popped the class with a 30 multiple choice question type quiz. Not bad for a test with lotsa tricky questions!

I began an in-depth bible study early this year with a Quick Journey through the Bible to prepare myself to lecture to teens in next year's Youth Formation Programme. It's been an incredible adventure so far unravelling and diving deeper into scripture and reading it in context! So enriching and affirming every single word!

Well, like archeology, there's a lot more digging to share with the world! Next up: Gospel of Mark and Acts. Anyone got any references?

Economic Crisis in Japan

I know it's not good to laugh at people, but this was extremely too corny to NOT send. Being the Ja-Gong (Maize in 'Malay') I am, to all suffering from this economic setback, here's putting a smile on your faces...

Following the problems in the sub-prime lending market in
America and the run on Northern Rock in the UK, uncertainty
has now hit Japan.

In the last 7 days Origami Bank has folded, Sumo Bank has gone
belly up and Bonsai Bank announced plans to cut some of its branches.

Yesterday, it was announced that Karaoke Bank is up for sale
and will likely go for a song while today shares in Kamikaze Bank
were suspended after they nose-dived.

While Samurai Bank are soldiering on following sharp cutbacks,
Ninja Bank are reported to have taken a hit, but they remain
in the black.

Furthermore, 500 staff at Karate Bank got the chop and
analysts report that there is something fishy going on at Sushi Bank
where it is feared that staff may get a raw deal.

- Author unknown.

100,000 toothpicks

CLICK ME!

Absolutely fun!! OK, better start collecting those empty soda cans...

Making the most out of it...

Last Saturday, I assisted the level 6's in their Day of Recollection. It was a day programme held at St Patrick's School right after their Primary School Leaving Exams (PSLE) and the whole idea was to get them aware of the four year confirmation programme that starts next year for them... and hopefully commit to it.

It was really neat to see these pre-teens in their regular clothes in a school canteen during the breakfast and lunch breaks. Reminds me of a typican American public junior high school.


Since parents were also invited for the programme, I used the opportunity to screen MOST. I had just ordered it from the US, and this is my first time screening it for religious education. (I'm sure there will be many more.) It a simple short film that drives home hard the very important message of connecting back with God. This is always a good time in sessions like these to remind us of where we are in life. Do check out the trailer on the link above. More of the Day's proramme in the Scoop Shop.

I have been inspired to do short films like this and will be enrolling in a Dov Simens' 2-Day Film School on the weekend of the 25 & 26th of Oct.

Let's Dance!

A friend posted this on her site and it was too irresistible NOT to blog about it. Everyone probably associates this with Celtic Irish folk music, but it was a remake of an 1848 song "Simple Gifts". Called "Lord of the Dance" this piece was adapted by Sydney Carter in 1963.

This song changed the way I see the word DANCE! Especially in the line "I dance on a Friday when the sky turned black." It goes to show the spirit of what one is doing is far more important than what others perceive of it. Cos' others may not know what the intentions are and only the person doing it knows why!

I kept singing this song yesterday when no one was around and wished I had two others to accompany me! Makes you wanna be Irish! :O) Let's dance beautifully this one journey in life for our Choreographer and the audience around us!

The Story of Religious Education

The topic was the Church Today, and I decided to share with a class of nine year olds a little bit from The Story of Stuff which I had posted awhile back.  I hesitated a little as there were some pretty big words used in the video like "Planned Obsolescence" and "Perceived Obsolescence". Words even I don't know.  But what was really neat was that they got the message!  A couple of questions from them, especially from the ones who get bored easily, cleared doubts.  

It got me thinking what engages the young ones?  And it got me thinking about the manuals we use to teach from... are they truly effective?  For one, the manuals we have here for religious education are from the US.  It's really good stuff, but culturally, what might attract the children there may not captivate the kids here.  Yes, it's been the back of my mind for a long time.  But writing out a whole syllabus requires a lot! Right now, we just trust that God's guiding us to sow the right seeds and that He'll take care of the blossoming in Hs time!

If you missed the last post (on a previous blog) on this and are interested in The Story of Stuff which gives a bird's eye view on our consumption in the environment, click here http://www.storyofstuff.com/index.html.

Big little spark!

It's been difficult waking up in the mornings especially on Mondays for Mass. Last night before I slept, I asked our dear blessed Mother to nudge me when it's time. Even though I slept past 1am (I think?), my eyes opened at precisely 5:30am, 15 mins before the time I was suppose to wake up. And just when I thought of switching off the snooze mode, the morning birdie calls to keep me awake! :O) Only when I stepped out of the house, did it stop it stop singing its song!!

When Mass began, Fr Pat and Fr Chris were joined by a very elderly Fr Brian, a Friar. And when Fr Pat introduced him, I was like... WOW! A visiting Friar priest from the Capuchin order who bares so close a resemblance to St Pio. Two of my friends are in Italy this period in time and I think they're on a pilgrimage to view the body of St Pio that is exposed for public veneration in San Giovanni Rotondo. Yes, on the one hand, how I wished I was there too, but on the other, God manifested Himself to me through all the small little things I had experienced in what might have been in the span of half hour this morning... which is all I need for the day! What a way to begin the day... Thank you for this day!