For we must all learn to howl.

#100happydays: Day 15 I opened my email on Thursday and found this waiting for me - long story short I DID IT, I made auditions! I know I said that it was likely that everyone who auditioned would make it through into either professional or amateur groupings, but even with that in mind seeing this was a huge joy.  I told mum about this and it seems that I kind of have her support about this, as long as it doesn't interfere with my studies and grades - I've promised that I'll do my absolute best to juggle everything. I can't wait to start training next week, I'm super nervous but here's hoping it all goes well! 101 Things I Think About: Day 15 I went to the Super Japan Matsuri with Panda and a few friends from EDIT  to check this festival out - we'd heard about this and requested for media passes to cover the event, and we were really excited to see what this festival had promised to deliver. Well, we were sorely disappointed. The event had prom...

I'm aware this is later than I promised - yes, I did say the last time that I'd post every Friday - but things have been pretty hectic, and it's honestly been tougher than usual to try keeping to a posting schedule like I used to during the break. Either way, this is the post that I owe - I know I was supposed to post this on Friday, but I thought it appropriate to hold on to this one for a little bit because of the content I wanted to include. #100happydays: Day 14 I love live music - there's this vibe from listening to a song that's being played live that makes it so different from listening to the perfectly recorded mp3 version.  In my opinion, live music has this kind of magic about it that's incredibly difficult to find. I mean, imagine walking down a street at night, minding your own business... And all of a sudden you hear people playing music - doesn't it just colour the air? It's really quite refreshing, and I'm not sure how best t...

#100happydays: Day 13 As previously mentioned, today was the first day of the new trimester - which meant that the lot of us trudged to school, and I can't say we were too eager to get back to work so soon. On the brighter side, it also meant that we managed to catch up with the others - it was nice to just sit around and talk and joke and laugh again. Hsi Er gave us all souvenirs from Taiwan (she went home over the break) and it was really nice - she gave me this wraparound towel affectionately called "the mushroom" and I was really happy to receive it because I'd loved it when I saw her using it on the Circle trip to Bali and asked her to maybe help me buy one if she had the chance. I can't wait to start using it - I must admit that hot pink really isn't my colour, but it's a great choice in all honesty given how often I dye my hair bright red. In this way, I won't have to worry about dyeing the mushroom some other colour than it's sup...

#100happydays: Day 12 Anyone who knows me well knows that I'm a huge fan of anime series, and will follow any ongoing series I like religiously. Unfortunately, I could never say the same for live-action television series - Tish regularly bemoans the fact that I don't watch any of the shows she does and won't get most references that she talks about - until I stumbled across Penny Dreadful. My interest in the show was aroused when I first saw a picture set from (where else) Tumblr, and I knew I had to find out more about the show. I wasn't disappointed at all - the show was dark, twisted and beautiful in all the right amounts for me, and I was especially tickled to find that they included some very familiar names such as Victor Frankenstein and Dorian Gray.  Of course, these names were hardly there for show, and the show did include the elements that are so closely tied to the names (such as Dr Frankenstein's famous creation, for example). However, I li...

#100happydays: Day 11 I don't really have a picture for this one, but I like treating the first of every month as something to celebrate in general. I started doing this when I was younger because I felt like it was good to keep something to celebrate every month - in this way, I had something to look forward to every month, and made it a point to wish those around me as though it were truly a special occasion - after a while, some friends started wishing me back too, and that became a fun tradition of sorts. So I know this post is a day late, but happy first of May! 101 Things I Think About: Day 11 I like watching anime - to me, it's an escape of sorts into a world where I truly don't feel out of place, but that's a post for another day. I don't normally watch series like the one pictured above, usually opting to watch stuff that focuses more on action, thriller and supernatural themes if I can because those interest me more. However, this series cre...

#100happydays: DAY 10 Passed by the National Museum on the way home last night and saw little food stalls set up for the Singapore Heritage Fest - the fairy lights were so pretty I couldn't help but snap a quick picture - apologies for the bad quality! 101 Things I Think About: DAY 10 Got my hair dyed today - I've been dyeing my hair ever since I completed my student internship in my final year of studying in TP, and was a deal I made with my mother that I would be allowed to dye my hair when I had gone through my internship with no trouble. I first dyed my hair black with red streaks, but eventually moved on to a full head of red hair because I liked how fiery it was, and from then on it was always brighter, redder. The chemicals I used today were stronger than usual and it stung so badly when the hairdresser applied it, but I grit my teeth and told myself that it was worth it, all worth it. I've shared before  why I always dye my hair red , and that r...

#100happydays: DAY 9 I came across this fan-made picture when I was clicking around and my heart just melted - I'm a huge fan of the Zankyou no Terror anime series, and seeing all my babies together in one picture like this really made me happy. 101 Things I Think About: DAY 9 I wrote about my grandmother yesterday, so I think it's fitting to write about my third aunt today. It's been a year since she passed away - my grandmother passed away on the 28th of April, and my third aunt passed away on the 25th of April the year after. I was closest to my grandmother and third aunt (I'm only talking about extended family here, so I'll not mention my mother), but a family feud between my mother and her sisters meant that battle lines were drawn and sides were taken, and we didn't come into contact with my second or third aunt for years after that. I didn't know the whole story because I was quite young when it happened (which meant that no one would tel...

#100happydays: DAY 8 I did something that freaked me out today - I can't go into details because I don't want to jinx it, but I saw something calling for a sign-on and I did it! I'm absolutely terrified at this point, but I promised myself I'd do it if I saw a chance and I'm taking this for sure. I'll give more details once the thing's over, but before that here's hoping I'll break a leg! 101 Things I Think About: DAY 8 Today marks the second year since my grandmother's passing. It's funny how time flies, because it still feels like my grandmother hasn't been gone that long but I only have hazy memories from attending her wake. I remember thinking that my cousins and I were strongly against the idea of giving her a sea burial, but since it was what our aunts said we should do we kept quiet, and I told myself that it wouldn't be so bad since she now had my grandfather to keep her company and take care of her - he was a sailor, an...

#100happydays: DAY 7 I'm giddily happy because it looks like this outside my window now - I love it when there's a rainstorm, because it's so uncontained. It's the cascading of the rain, pouring itself over everything it can and cannot reach, it's the howling of the wind as it batters your windows and threatens to barrel down the door and let itself in. I used to think rain was God crying when I was younger, and every time it rained I'd wonder why God was crying again. Maybe he was upset because people were too selfish, maybe he was upset because we were killing our home. Whatever the reason, I didn't know. Now that I'm older, I still can't tell you the reason why God might cry - perhaps He thinks there's too much cruelty in this world, and perhaps He wonders where He went wrong in his creation of man. That's a topic for another day, though. My thoughts are always in a delicious jumble whenever there's a storm this heavy, because...

#100happydays: DAY 6 I really love plants - they require the same love and dedication that an animal does, but you don't really have to worry about them wandering out of the house and not knowing how to find their way home. On the flip side, a plant isn't able to tell you if something's wrong, like if it's not getting enough water or sunlight... But that's not quite the point of this post. I'm currently keeping a potful of lavender seeds, and it's amazingly therapeutic to take care of them and watch them grow - I was so proud to see the little seedlings peek through the soil, and I've been talking to them and trying to make sure that they get what they need. 101 Things I Think About: DAY 6 This quote comes from The Cat Returns (Neko no Ongaeshi), which is a Studio Ghibli movie and I remember watching it when I was younger. Uttered by the character Baron, the quote refers both  to himself and Toto, who are sculptures with the ability to com...

#100happydays: DAY 5 I've never been much of an arts-and-crafts person, which is why I'm extra proud that I actually did something like this: I've had these briefcases since forever (I bought them on a whim while shopping in China years ago muahaha) and honestly I didn't know what to do with them because they were pretty yeah but they didn't really suit my style - I just liked them for the shape and ended up regretting the purchase. (Don't tell my mother though, because I'll never hear the end of it - she predicted this very thing even before I bought the cases.) Long story short, I realised that I could use the briefcases if I just made them a more Nat-ural colour (hee!) and the bigger case could even be used as both a prop and actual bag for when I cosplayed as Amane Misa.  It's the holidays now, so doing this was nothing more complicated than getting a can of spray paint and some duct tape and getting to work. An afternoon of ...

#100happydays: DAY 4 It's a well-known saying that if you need talents for shooting, you should expressly avoid working with children and animals. These two types of talents are interesting yes, cute yes, but also hell to work with because it's nigh impossible to give them instructions. I can 100% vouch for the accuracy of this saying. In the picture above is Marble, the cat that hangs around the block near mine. She's pretty affectionate, and very talkative - she gets super excited when she sees someone she recognises, and simply won't shut up when she wants to get your attention. I love this noisy little kitty, honestly, and I used to like talking to her about my problems because she would always sit and listen for all of two seconds before mraowling and rubbing herself against my leg (or my butt), and in a way it was as if she was being comforting in her own way, as if she was saying shut up shut up  I know your human problems are supposed to be bad but I...

#100happydays: DAY 3 This art sculpture stands outside Plaza Singapura, and I love it because it's so colourful and bright. One other reason why I love it is because the sculpture makes me think of gummy bears, and on hot days like today I like to imagine that maybe the sculpture's going to melt! 101 Things I Think About: DAY 3 Sometimes you get so used to heading out with company that you start to forget how to enjoy your own company - Panda went home for the term break sometime last week, which means that I've got the next three weeks without his company. It's funny how this sudden loneliness is something I have to get used to - all of a sudden I have too much time on my hands and too little to fill it up with. I've been heading out whenever, but it's incredibly boring to be out alone with naught but music for company, and it doesn't help that everyone else is busy with their own lives too. I've got some personal projects lined up t...

#100happydays: DAY 2 You know how you have those days when you just want to do something nice for yourself? This was my something nice - bought the dress on sort-of impulse and decided to wear it immediately after purchase because hey, why not? It was cute, and I took a picture and sent it to Panda. What I didn't expect was the huge boost of self-confidence that the picture (and Panda's reaction) gave me - needless to say that he was a fan of the dress. I think it's safe to say that I've found my next reliable LBD! 101 Things I Think About: DAY 2 There's a student-run magazine that I'm a part of, and we have to come up with articles for publication on the website  (it's under  maintenance  right now, though, so check back later!). The most recent article I did was an opinion piece on the worrying beauty trends/fads that were becoming viral. Of course, the thing about writing for anything that isn't personal is that you have to be a lot n...

I was talking to Panda last night, and in between talking and laughing and dozing off he suggested that I try the "101 Things I Think About" challenge and the #100happydays challenge. What're these challenges about, you ask? It's simple - the #100happydays challenge requires you to find something that makes you happy, and you have to keep this up for 100 days. Sure, it's easy enough in the first week or so, because you find so many things that make you happy - your friends, your cat, your family, so on and so forth (#blessed, amirite?). The real challenge begins after you run out of all the big things to be happy for, and you have to start looking for smaller things, simpler things. This challenge has actually been around for a while - I remember seeing some friends participating in this a year or so ago - but hey, better late than never. Most do the #100happydays challenge on social media like Instagram because it's a lot easier to take a picture of the t...