when uniformity is a good thing

One dress, 365 different looks

Stumbled upon The Uniform Project while surfing the interwebs, and I just simply love the idea. One dress, 365 days, in the name of sustainable fashion.

I think I love this because I don’t have that many clothes so I tend to try to make them look different by layering/pairing them with different things just so I can fool people around me into thinking that I have a bigger wardrobe than I actually do. It’s one big con job, people! 😛

I’ve never heard of sustainable fashion before, though it does kinda remind me of those “1 dress, 6 ways” articles in Cleo (i think).

I like that she ties in the idea of a uniform so seamlessly (pun not intended, really!) with her charity organisation, the Akanksha Foundation, for its School Project. Proceeds will go to buying school uniforms and other educational expenses for the children who live in the slums in India.

And just in case someone’s wondering, yes she does wash the black dress that she’s wearing! Sheena (that’s her name) has 7 of the same dresses (like a uniform, see?) which she uses everyday.

I like looking at her different outfits everyday, and I like that because the dress is black she tends to accessorise with colourful socks and hats and shoes (I lovelovelove her pastel shoes in the 3rd photo!)

It really is inspirational, from the very simple idea behind the blog to her ability to spruce up the dress and make each outfit so pretty.

Hats off to you, Sheena!

rose sherbet

The Unguarded Moment [taken by Erfen]

As many of you (ok, the three of you that read this blog) know, I’ve been heavily involved in the Month of Photography Asia, being part of the media relations team, helping out with Facebook and Twitter as well (follow us @MOPAsia!) I’ve had the honour of meeting renowned photographers like Francoise Huguier, Bertrand Meunier and of course Steve McCurry, as well as local photographers like Jean Loo, Then Chih Wey and Deanna Ng.

The biggest thing I’ve learnt from this experience has been the importance in storytelling in photography. I have to say, I’ve taken a lot of photos but I can’t recall even one where my photo managed to tell a story or provoke a thought. Which is kinda sad if you think about it.

While viewing the Steve McCurry exhibition at the Asian Civilisations Museum (which is excellent, and I say this in a completely objective way, well as objective as a person could be), I stopped at a couple to think about the picture and what it could mean.

I guess it is this ability to draw the observer in, to invite a thought, a smile, an appreciation of something we often overlook, such as the colour of someone’s eyes (as in the case of the famed Afghan Girl), that has made Steve’s works so highly-regarded and yet highly relatable at the same time.

5 things you might not know about the Afghan Girl:

1. Her name literally means Rose Sherbet (so pretty!)

2. When National Geographic found Sharbat Gula, 17 years later, she was only 30 though she looked almost 10 years older, due to the harsh environment she had grown up in.

3. Steve McCurry’s encounter with her was the first time she had ever been photographed

4. As an adult she had no knowledge of how well-known her photo had become, eventhough there was a store near her home which had her poster hung on the front window.

5. The photo of the Afghan Girl was taken using Kodachrome film, which has been discontinued by Kodak as announced today. Steve McCurry will get one of the last rolls of the film to shoot with, having used Kodachrome for many of his colour photographs.

“I want to take (the last roll) with me and somehow make every frame count … just as a way to honor the memory and always be able to look back with fond memories at how it capped and ended my shooting Kodachrome,” McCurry said last week from Singapore, where he has an exhibition at the Asian Civilizations Museum.

As a parting shot, here’s a photo of me holding Steve’s camera, signed by the man himself. I feel very privileged to have met him, and I’m struck by how nice and humble he is. If anything, his photos have made me really really want to go to India.

Btw, Steve has a blog!

arty farty saturday

Last weekend was amazingly awesome. Besides getting to hang out with friends, I managed to catch two very different, yet very good arts events.

Etiquette by Rotozaza (UK) part of Singapore Arts Fest 2009

I went for this with Erfen. Originally we were supposed to go with Sherms and our other friends, but we had to go for another timing because the 1pm slot was full. At first I thought that meant that they were all lot of people wanting to watch the play during that slot, but turns out, there are only 4 people in one slot. It’s experimental theatre, because basically you’re your own actors as well as audience, but I definitely find it very relatable and enjoyable as well (unlike some other kinds of experimental theatre).

Although I found the idea intriguing, I had no idea what we were in for. When we first came, we were told to take a seat at a table which had  some props on it and a glass of water for each of us. There were 2 sets of headphones, one for the ‘male’ character, and one for the ‘female’ character. You can also participate in the play with a stranger (could be exciting) if you come alone or in an odd number.

Once we put the headphones one, the performance started. A soothing, English woman told me to take a deep breath,  she knew I was nervous. I was now peeking from the wings of a stage at a packed theatre, waiting to take my cue in the performance in which I was the lead actress.

The voice gave me the lines I had to deliver, every move and facial expression dictated to me in that crisp, English accent. I was an actress.

Yet at the same time as I listened to my own lines as well as the words Erfen was saying, I was piecing together the characters, setting and plot. I was a spectator.

It was kinda awkward, as you know the words are borrowed, not yours. Sometimes, it was hard to listen to what Erfen said above the directions being supplied into my own ear.

The props elevated the performance even higher, bringing to life our lines and there were even times where I had to use the props without knowing why. It turned out that Erfen was hearing a story during the same time, and my actions had made total sense to him. It was really, really cool.

The play runs till 13 June at Dome Marina Square. More details can be found here. It’s highly recommended by me!

The Politics of the Popular (POP) Station Kill Your Television (KYTV) Singapore

After the play, we joined our friends to make our own music video at The POP Station at Jendela at the Esplanade. Sherms told us about this as her professor was part of the crew. When I first heard about it, I was a bit skeptical.

“Make your own music videos with Singapore’s most off-beat artist collective. Take the chance to sing and dance to a pop-song while being filmed in a fantasy world. Within 24 hours your very own music video will be uploaded on YouTube for the world to enjoy.” – KYTV (taken from the Esplanade website)

It sounded crazy.

And you know what? It was crazy. But it was crazily fun as well! I did a weird song with my friend Shal. Perhaps I might post our video when it’s uploaded onto Youtube. But we also took time out to do this. Wondergirls ain’t got nothing on us! 😛

(I’m the one in pink with the weird Nacho Libre-esque mask by the way)

Unfortunately, the music video-making segment of the event has ended on Sunday. But from 10 June – 5 July, you can view an exhibition of videos from “POP-tizens” in Singapore as well as Berlin, Jakarta, Bangkok, Vienna, London and Jogjakarta. It’s on at Jendela at Esplanade, and is free.

you know we’ve hit bottom when…

Talk about a lesson on maintaining your online identity! Haha.

beware what you wear

For those of you who are thinking of running a marathon some time, don’t just think about your training.

Something which I think gets overlooked a lot is what you wear.

I’ve gotten chafed tons of times, yesterday while (trying to) run 22km I had to stop at about 15km because my shorts were rubbing abrasively against my inner thigh. Felt pretty bad about it too because we were actually going at a pretty good pace!

Chafing really sucks. Remember to do a “dress rehearsal” with what you’re gonna wear for the marathon, because something that feels comfortable after running 10km may not feel the same after 20km. This applies to shoes and socks too! I’ve gotten blisters from bad socks. Yes, socks!

Trust me, it sucks to stop running not because you feel tired, but because your shorts are painfully rubbing against your thighs.

Marathon in 25 days! *gulp* 

SO I’VE BEEN SITTING

on this post for about a week now, just because I fear that it’s kinda uncool to admit what I’m about to admit.

So here it goes:

I still don’t know how to use Twitter.

This is after using it for more than a year now (well ok less than that since I didn’t really use it in the 5 months that I was in Vienna)

Sure, I know how to write a tweet, to re-tweet something I find interesting/hilarious/meaningful, to reply to someone with an @ sign etc.

Technically-speaking, I know how it works.

But I haven’t found my voice with Twitter, you know what I mean?

If you compare how I use Facebook with how I use Twitter, you can see what I mean.

On Facebook, I update my status pretty regularly.

I post funny videos, post photos with witty captions, state my opinion about some topic pretty strongly.

I’m pretty much ME on Facebook.

But on Twitter, I haven’t found who I am.

Before sending out a tweet, I think way too hard about whether what I write will be of value.

After all, I don’t want someone to read my tweets, decide that my tweets are completely meaningless, and *GASP* hit the “Unfollow” button on the basis of my lack of interesting things to say.

As a result, I rarely tweet.

Why the difference between how I am on Facebook, and how I am on Twitter?

Am I a Social Media Schizophrenic?

A Facebook extrovert but a Twitter introvert?

I guess I know the reason for my Twitter-insecurity.

On Facebook, everyone pretty much knows what kind of personality I have.

On Facebook, I’m comfortable because I don’t have to impress anyone anymore.

On Twitter, 75% of people I’m following are people I wasn’t friends with previously.

People whom I still want to impress with my wit and intelligence (I know, I know, what wit and intelligence?)

Therein lies my problem.

Thing is, how come others don’t seem to share the same problem?

There are people who seem so comfortable on Twitter.

They curse, they post random lyrics, they get angsty.

You know the kind of people they are from their tweets.
I admire these people.

I know, I know.

I think too much don’t I?

Complicating the uncomplicated.

In other news, I went to Jakarta for the weekend.

That was good.

My mom missed her flight, so in the end it became a 3 day hang-out with my brother and Erfen.

All’s good (well, not all, but you know what I mean)

In other news, I’m looking forward to meeting 8 cats this week.

Updates soon.

spoilers

So everyone knows who won American Idol.

Well, everyone in America does.

And then someone decides to change their status on Facebook, or dash off a Tweet, and just like that, SPOILER.

As much as I wish I hadn’t seen these spoilers, I don’t see why people have to be angry when other people reveal a spoiler.

Or issit just me?

I mean, in this age of gratuitous, instant communication, how can we suddenly rail against our ability to receive and spread information simply when it doesn’t serve us?

With Twitter, Facebook, Plurk and other instant messaging services, I can safely say that we should say goodbye to days of “Spoiler Alert” and instead celebrate in the ease at which we can stay current.

Don’t you think?

updates/craving for banana bread

01. I am 24!

Erfen got us tickets to Much Ado About Nothing. Although I love the idea of Shakespeare in the Park, I felt that some of the scenes didn’t translate very well into the real world setting, or maybe this play works better within the confines of a intimate theatre setting? The old world colonial style set was very charming though, and Adrian Pang was really really good in this comedic turn as Benedict. His red and white striped swimsuit is well worth the ticket price, I think!

Oh and have you met my friend Jonny? You may have seen him on TV hosting the School Nationals, or on Live N Loaded. Anyways, we’ve always remarked on how Jonny looks like Adrian Pang, so I decided to do this: (for no real reason. I call it Jondrian :P)

02. Have been busy trying to work off excess kgs. The gym is my friend!

Tampines gym is really really awesome. I had the chance to go to the Jurong East gym last week, and oh boy, the best way to describe the machines and general feel of the place is OLD. The area for stretching is super duper tiny, and the mats are very thin and crinkly. It’s a stereotypical male-centric kinda gym, where the main focus seems to be the free weights area. The whole I was there, there were only 3 or 4 women compared to 20 or so men? I did not feel at ease there at all. I love you Tampines Gym!

03. I have a new pet. Meet Bob Meowie. Sadly, he won’t be around long….*sad face*

04. I’ve just entered the Twitter Tees by Threadless contest. Vote for my tweet if you find it worthy! It’s

Lather.Rinse.RT

Quite funny right? Anyway, you can go to the site and vote for other funny tweets too! It’s rather fun to read the witty tweets. Winning tweets get turned into a t-shirt and the winner gets $500! You can join too! 🙂

TTFN,

nab

8 days ago

8 days ago, my nenek died.

My nenek had sixteen children, but had to give four away. My mother was number eight. She was given away.

I saw my nenek only rarely. Once a year at least during Hari Raya, where I’d take note of her gaunt frame, thinking that nenek has lost a bit of weight.

Every year my mother would have to re-introduce ourselves to her, “Najib is teaching now, and Nabilah is still in university”, and she’d say “Alhamdullilah”, giving thanks to God for our achievements. It’d have to repeated every year because of her poor memory.

Her name was Hawa Bee, or Nenek Hawa Bee as everyone called her. When we were small, me and my brother called her Nenek Ubi.

The last time I saw her was last year, this time not on Hari Raya because I was away. She was very weak, lying in bed. They’d put oven mitts on her hands so that she would not scratch herself or remove the tubes that were attached to her body.

8 days ago, I saw my nenek’s body on the bed, covered by a white cloth. I did not see, at first, because her body was so halus, so fine, that one could easily miss it.

My mum peeled the white cloth back. I said a prayer and kissed her on her pale cheek. One on each side.

The next day after the mandi mayat, the bathing of the body, they laid my nenek’s body wrapped in a kain kafan, the white cotton cloth, in the living room.

One by one, her children, followed by her grandchildren, great-grandchildren, siblings and other family members took turns to kiss her and say our final goodbyes. In that small room in Serangoon on an unsuspecting Tuesday, one could feel the intense love, respect and sadness from everybody present.

We went to the cemetary. It was my first time seeing the burial process. They use tractors now to fill the graves, my mother said. They lowered the body into the earth.

Goodbye Nenek Ubi. I will miss you.

My perfect kitchen

5am and I can’t sleep.

I have a vision of my perfect life.

I bake once a week, and somehow always have all the ingredients on hand. I will bake cookies whenever I feel like it, and never turn down an opportunity to share a cookie with a loved one (husband/kids). Cold milk is a must. Birthdays mean Mummy will bake a cake, though she can’t guarantee they’ll be as nice as store-bought ones. I’ll bake madeleines and scones and cupcakes and brownies and cookies… and I will have an assortment of cookie cutters because shapes make me happy.

In my ideal life, I have a well-stocked pantry with all different kinds of pasta (bowtie is a must, and angel hair because it sounds magical). I will have small pots of herbs. Basil, chilli and maybe rosemary? I wil always, always, always have garlic and onions. And eggs, just because I could eat them in 101 different ways. I will have bread, never white. Hopefully by then 100% wholewheat bread will be easy to come by and affordable. I will have all sorts of grains and healthy stuff that I can sneak into my cooking. I will have couscous.

I will try and make my own sushi. And ramen and Oyako Don. And tempura. Mmm…Japanese food.

I will have a fruit juicer for mornings when I want a fresh start. There will always be fruits, always. Apples, oranges, grapes, pears (those juicy soft ones, not the hard ones), watermelon, strawberries and blueberries. I will have tons of lemons lying about (also handy for making lemon tart or lemon pound cake).

(There will always be vegetables and tofu. Tofu is King)

There will be potatoes (roasted potatoes with rosemary on lazy days. Lazy days will be DVD days.)

There will be many types of cereal, just like in Seinfeld. Although I will only eat muesli, I shall let the kids and husband have their pick of their favourite cereal (I’m guessing Honey Stars will make the cut).

Sundays will be a Special Day. I will make pancakes with maple syrup and fruits. Sometimes I will make choc chip pancakes and make smiley faces with the chocolate chips that will make my kids laugh. (After that we either go out cycling or walking about or we stay in and watch TV in our jammies)

There will always be nuts. Almonds, hazelnuts, macademias (a lil pricey though) pistachios walnuts.

And dried fruit…mmm apricots. mmm cranberries.

I think that should be it. Oh! I will have a nice spice rack as well, with both asian and western spices.

Oh! and in the fridge! Chicken…always chicken. Some beef, some fish (O Salmon!), some seafood. And oh….MUSHROOMS. How could I ever forget you.

Okay, that shall be it for now.

My perfect kitchen.

(Oh, and since we’re at it, my perfect kitchen will have a huge island, filled with every imaginable kitchen appliance [a pasta machine, a bread machine, a KitchenAid and an ice-cream machine have been suggested] And many, many bowls. I have this obsession with mixing bowls of many, many sizes. And square plates. In my ideal life, the best family memories are when me and my family are huddled around that island, sharing a cookie or two with a tall glass of milk. Even before taking a bite, I smile, because I am happy.)