Of packing and moving

Sorry for the unannounced hiatus. I didn't intend to leave it at that last post before going off the radar for a while. It's been a hectic three weeks for me. I moved out from the halls in the first week of June. Not only was it physically taxing, but emotionally as well. After having lived with my hall mates for this significant amount of time, they grow on you. Sure, I'll probably still see some of them in campus or in the streets of Oxford, but its just not the same not being able to walk two steps out from your room and find someone to talk to when you're feeling lonely. Anna, Jimmy and Amanda. I will surely miss them to bits.

Moving out has made me realized that I'm a collector of things. Random pieces of junk, sheets of papers and articles and books (apart from all the clothes, of course). Sure, I'd love to have these worldly possessions with me in the following term, but moving them into storage was a feat which gave me backaches and sore muscles for the better part of my vacation. Needless to day, I got rid of quite a few things.

Packing the remaining stuff was no picnic either. I was pretty much required to sort things into 4 categories: for Storage, for Italy, Self-Care Package while I crash over at a friends' before I return to Malaysia and for Malaysia. It was a sorting nightmare. And couple that with storage woes due to my forgetfulness, transport and financial problems, tight schedule and lethargy, makes for one hellaciously brain damaging experience I want to forget. But I thank all my gods that almost everything fell into place at the very last crucial nerve wrecking second. Otherwise I would have been rendered homeless, with boxes of my stuff on the street curb, plane tickets in hand with no way of going to the airport.

But almost as soon as I left for my vacation, everything turned around for the better and my worries started to melt away in the Venetian waters. More on that later. And now, I'm crashing over at a friend's, looking forward to the concert tomorrow and then back to Malaysia in due time. :)

And by the way, these are previously unpublished photos of my room in Crescent Hall. The room I called home for 38 weeks. It too will be missed.

Nearing the end...

| model of chain mail



| sketch of chain mail linkage
the Wallace Collection, London

I've just finished cleaning my room, and I've yet to sort through the mountain of scraps of papers, random models, printouts, folders and files. The final studio submission has gone through and that's a large load off my shoulders.

It's been quite a hellish ride here, but at the same time, the intensity and pressure the tutors put you through usually results in you pushing yourself a little more then you're used to. I'm not saying I am doing better than ever, but I'm just happy to be doing certain things I've never thought I could do. Like for instance: portfolio layouts. Oxford Brookes seems to have a different style preference for their portfolio submissions which I'm obviously not accustomed to, but I've tried to adopt some of the presentation techniques and I hope it's come through a little in my work. And the amount of work we have to pour into compared to when I was in Taylors is appalling. Back in Taylors, I had to print about 4 A1 sheets for my final crit. Over here, they expect you to do a maximum of either 30 A1s or 60 A2s. I managed a total of 35 mixed sheets of A1s and A2s. And don't get me started on the printing, but I will ballpark it around £100.

It's been a hellish week that I've gone through, spent several nights in the studio and only had a maximum of 2 meals a day. And they mostly consisted of cookies and water. While I look forward to the holiday, I can't help but to look back at the things I've submitted and regret some of them. The phrase 'there is room for improvement' is a huge understatement.

But for now, it's back to work mode as I try to whack out a couple thousand words for an essay I've to hand in in a few days. And after that, well...who knows...

| Ornament Against Crime: Pollution mask



| Ornament Construction

You...

...you know who you are

Listen to This

The City Lights
by Umbrellas
from the album Umbrellas

It's Monday and i'm truly feeling the Monday blues. Well, partly because I'm room-ridden since I'm a little under the weather today and making trips to the bathroom. But worry not as I'm self-medicating. The only thing one should worry for me is for my work as I've still go a tonne of things to do. This panic attack I'm having right now would seem like a nice mild headache compared to the insane emotional turmoil I'm about to have in less than a week.

Or am I?

The dust has settled once again in the aftermath of Studio interim and my technology review. The past week saw my life in a flustered chaotic lifestyle swinging from the highs of contentment from just reading a novel to the utterly bitter moments of what my friend calls 'zombie-ing out', the act of emotional disassociation from oneself to wholly concentrate on the academic task at hand in order to make datelines.

You may be wondering why am I reading a novel in the midst of all this calamity. But it's just one of the many little things I do to keep myself seemingly normal. But also, it could be viewed by many as just another way of me procrastinating said academic task at hand. God I hate it when my mom is right. She's been calling me out on that for quite a while. But I seem to have a talent in self-denial.

I'm not trying to alarm anybody here. I'm surviving, academically. I'm consistent in my diet. The only thing that bothers me is when my emotional levels take a hit especially after watching some sappy movie or completing a book which tugs at your heart strings, both of which I happen to do on the same day which would probably explain Sunday's wallowing in self-misery.

But seriously. I'm alright. Not great, but alright. My feedback from the interim may have been quite confusing, but I think i'll be able to straighten myself out and start afresh. My technology review may have been a bit of a disaster, but then again, whose wasn't. Everyone else in the unit seems to have produced a somewhat similar amount of work. But on the bright side I got a decent grade for my part in the primer work I did last semester with the essay I wrote regarding the act of running down Oxford Street in London (I'm thinking of posting this essay here).

I guess I just wanted to assert some kind of confidence back into being through this post and telling myself that I'm on the right path and that I'm fine. But at the same time, this constant attempt at self re-assurance is beginning to make me wonder 'Am I really?'

Sloth

Oxford has been seeing nice bright and sunny afternoons in these past days. I do hope they continue. I've been here for like what? Five months? And I must say I am longing for days when I only have to don a t-shirt to walk out the front door and not worry that I'll freeze to death.

Sure, I've always wanted to layer clothing back in hot and humid Malaysia, but now that I've been constantly wrapped up in bundles of fabric everytime I step out of the house, I find that i'm getting paler, slightly sluggish, and possibly deprived of D. The thought of myself layering in Malaysia seems a little pathetic at this point. But doesn't mean I'm going to stop doing it.

If you're wondering what is up with me at this point in time, you're reading the right post. Just a quick update before I go back to my time and thought consuming work. I'm currently preparing alot of drawings, designing, what-have-you for the interim I'm having later this week. It's a mid-point review if you will. A short evaluation just to make sure I and the other unit-mates are steering towards the right course. But the work load seems to never end.

I must admit that I'm progressing rather slowly. But making comparisons to the others in my unit and I find that I'm not that far behind at all. Ahead of everyone? Definitely not. Lagging behind? Not that has been indicated to me. Somewhere in the middle? Possibly.

I have to place blame on these couple past week or so when I've been unceremoniously neglected my most, and feeling like I'm falling into a habit of sloth-like nature. Sleeping and eating, eating and sleeping. Eating well, no doubt, but very rarely I produced work.

It was just a down time for me. No need to worry too much. I've come out from that and have been beginning to do some serious crunch time again. Nevertheless, my health comes first and my stomach, so it will not be neglected, I assure you.


Stay tuned.

Stewing

I've been stewing in my room for the past three days. I've rarely been out let alone travel in these past two weeks. I'd like to think of this as my reward for the insane amount of time and energy I put into my work in the last semester, then again, to think of the fact that I'm rewarding myself by being idle is utterly pathetic. I think I should be feeling some sort of guilt remaining in this state of inactivity seeing as I've actually got quite a bit of work to be done over this so-called 'holiday'. I should be working harder than ever, with my back bent over the desk hard at work. But interestingly enough, I'm not. And I'm not feeling any remorse or guilt over it. I'm merely.....existing.

It's moments like these when i take a step back to evaluate myself. And it just so happens these moments tend to occur at the end of the year or during some significant event on my calendar. It's like wriggling out of my skin to just take a broad perspective on the things that I've done, people who's life I've crossed, places I've been, things I've read, sights I've seen. It's reading my diary in reverse.

My views on the semester that had just ended several weeks back: I'm beginning to take more chances. And I think I need to push myself to the boundary and take more bold choices and risks. I've yet to find my stride but I'm feeling my way. I need much much better time management. I'm disappointed in myself for procrastinating at times and not setting my priorities straight, but at the same time I'm glad I handed all my work in on time. The studio design work is a very interesting topic and I'm very glad I chose this unit. I need to cherish and take advantage of it as I've only got one semester left to spend in that unit.

I've lost some part of me in the design, but can I find myself back again? Will I change? Someone once told me that you have to lose yourself before you can really discover your true nature. I hope he was right.

Don't worry about me, I'm just having alot of thoughts in my head right now that I need to vent out to someone. But funnily enough, I don't want you to tell me everything will be alright. Because you probably don't know what is really going on in my head and in my life. Just say "It sucks to be you right now" and give me a pat on the back.


Stay tuned.

Freezing White Christmas

Christmas is just around the corner along with it, New Year's, Valentines and before you know it, they light up the damn Christmas tree again and 2011 is over. Before I get all bitter and talk about the time flying by at an amazingly loathsome pace, I shall just remind myself to just narrate what is going on with me right now in the present.

This week was a little bit crazy. First of all, it's been snowing and there is about 20cms of snow on the ground. Yes, yes, it's lovely and everything but I have to tell you, it's only lovely when you see it from the window inside the house next to a heater or fireplace. Outside, the temperatures are freezing, a couple of days ago, it hit -16°C. Yes, you read that right. The UK is going into a deep freeze. It's apparently one of the worst winters in history. For the first few days, the snow was fun, but it kinda gets annoying after awhile, but i'll try to keep myself amused with it.

When I go out these few days, I have to practically wear 5 layers and wear boots or some kind footwear which is suitable to walk in ankle deep snow on the pavements. And when I'm outside, it's freezing, it's windy, the snow on the pavements can get slushy, so it feels like you're walking on slurpee. I'm actually considering getting wellies.

So when you look at the following depictions of a winter wonderland, keep in mind that it's windy, wet, slippery and freezing.

Stay tuned.

First End

Well, the semester has come to a screeching halt as Christmas looms ever so near. People are getting in the holiday mood, doing shopping and lots of it, stocking up on presents and loading up their cars and heading home. While I'm stuck here with 3 weeks of total peaceful bliss. I'm going to spend Christmas and the holidays exploring London and Oxford a bit more. Get to know the area. I wasn't exactly able to do that since I've been here because I plunged headfirst into classes, projects and assignments. I barely had time to adjust to the weather. But as I continue to settle into this place, occasionally buying items to make myself feel better (sweater, pate, shoes, ice cream, what-have-you), I have found that being here with people you know from hope certainly does immensely help in cushioning your fall into a foreign country.

I'm not returning to Malaysia for the holidays. Will probably do so at the end of next semester. But that has yet to be confirmed since I've got to get next year's accommodation sorted out first. I do miss home in the little moments I have with my family and friends. Whether it's having dim sum on a Sunday morning with my parents or Bak Kut Teh with dad, or even my random outings with friends around Penang Island and KL exploring not only the shopping complexes but places to eat and hang out. The hours we spend talking just about anything into the wee hour of the morning in Sega's or having my almost ritual Indian Thursdays.

But I assure you, I'm having a fantastic time here. Yes, the cold does occasionally get to me, but then again, it just takes a little of getting used to.

More work

I was tied to the swivel chair in the studio for the past 3 days and 2 nights, working my brains out on this one Technology report of the building depicted above that just would not finish itself. It was a real pain in the ass from the very beginning of the semester. I spent the last two nights in the studio, far away from the seductive lure of my bed and duck-down duvet. It was certainly rough, but i'm glad I did it. Had I not been in the studio and stayed a wake for almost 48 hours with only a brief nap of 4 hours in the wee hours of today, had I not only survived on hot chocolate and fruits and deprived myself of a proper sit down meal, AND had I not sacrificed a good chunk of my sanity, I probably would have handed in the report late and potentially, single-handedly destroyed all that i had poured into this module in the semester.

Before my mother or other concerned family member finishes reading this post and start ranting to me to eat a proper meal and stop procrastinating and concentrate, I must reassure them that being here in this somewhat foreign land with the added workload WILL cause these effects. There is not really one person I know who has not gone through these sleepless nights. It's just part and parcel of being an architecture student.

But anyway, now the bed beckons. And I must get sufficient sleep tonight if i even want to be able to wake up tomorrow and continue working on my studio project of this semester which will be assessed in a week's time. In other words, the gates of hell are creaking open inch by inch.

I will see you on the other side.

Stay tuned.

Update

It snowed a little this morning, but I couldn't care less because it's another one of those weeks I'm having right now. Those divinely hellacious weeks of plenty of work stacked up before me and i'm trying to attack it with all I've got but it just seems that that bitch won't go down. I've got studio work that needs designing, and a report and text presentation to get cracking at. And mind you, it's all going down in the next week. And these assignments account for alot of marks and I'm already secretly freaking out.

Somewhere in my head, a little version of me is already banging his head against a wall, bottle of vodka in one hand and a pocket knife in the other. A nice mother-of-pearl inlay-ed knife. Hey, if I were to die from a stab wound at least let the knife I'm stabbed with be pretty damn nice okay. Diamond-encrusted nice.

Yes, my mind wanders when I'm doing assignments. And the presence of the internet does little to help. The only thing I'm glad in a weird way is the cold weather that has been keeping me indoors mostly. Which should be keeping me glued on the computer or desk working out my designs and report but I end up straying from what i'm supposed to do and end up with a whole lot of "Where did the time go?" questions at the end of the day.

Damn it.

Stay tuned.

PS: And it also doesn't help that the sun sets so bloody early. It just makes one feel like turning in earlier than one is supposed to. WORK DAMN IT. WORK!

Hold on

Please Please Please stay tuned while I try to juice this puppy up! I've been insanely busy lately, and I'll try my best to update more soon-ish. I guarantee it.

Did I tell you it's fall by the way!

Rhandom

People are burning hell notes left and right. Large piles of notes printed with amounts amounting to billions of Ringgit? Dollars? Hell-ish Currency? Why are they called hell notes. I'm an optimist. I call then heaven notes.

And the fact that we mortals 'send' billions and trillions of Heaven Currency to the dearly departed can't help but make me wonder how high their rate of inflation is. I bet it costs close to a billion to get a decent meal.

And while we're on the issue of burning, am I allowed to just burn a single 'Heaven Cheque' as a means of sending the money up there. We would waste less, and pollute less. If people are willing to modernize and burn unusual things like clothes and credit cards and cars and electronic gadgets, they can probably just substitute all that with the burning of a single piece of paper.

I'm not against the burning ritual, I'm just trying to push it in a better direction.


When I go, just send me a cheque.
Stay tuned.

Home Life

Life at home has been pretty mundane but I'm absolutely happy with the way it is. In the past three years, college has been keeping me pretty hectic so, this sudden drop in activity is somewhat startling. However I will admit to longing for a creative outlet in which to express myself. I had previously expressed myself through my assignments and so without them, i'm trying to give myself little projects and things to do as an effort to prevent myself from going brain dead.

I baked an apple pie, and served it ala mode:

I tried my hand at dying fabrics, but i'm convinced that the instructions on the package is lying to me. What was supposed to be "Desert Sand" came out looking more like "Sloshy Mud Pie".

On a side note, I've just decided to experiment with more natural dyes. Hopefully it's not colourfast.

I've also taken an effort in spring-cleaning. Many items from my room have been disposed or donated in a not-so-orderly fashion. Downsizing never felt so good. I'm also dreading the day when I have to start giving away some of my clothes as well, because they are just taking up too much space and I simply can't demote a t-shirt into pajamas when I already have like 10 t-shirts which are currently serving as pajamas. If I could, I'd hold onto all of them. And on top of that, I'm also telling myself not to shop.

Other things to keep myself busy: Helping out with the chores and errands, eating Char Koay Teow, cycling, eating Laksa, taking pictures, eating Char Siew Fan, eating in general, and reading books. Yes, I'm actually reading a book, it's actually been like 2 whole years since I completely finished a book. Crazy.


So I guess I'll just carry on then.

Stay tuned.

T.I.R.E.D.

Tuesday night: 5 hours of sleep

Wednesday night: 3 hours of sleep

Thursday night: 3 1/2 hours of sleep

Friday night 5 hours of sleep

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

Skin: Dry, Break-outs

Eyes: Blood-shot

Stomach: Growling

State-of-mind: Worn-out, Frustrated, Worried, Aloof, Unaware, Euphoric, Down in the pits, Blank




All this for my Studio project. My LAST Studio project in Taylors.


Stay tuned.

Let there be shorts!

Hugo Boss | Spring/Summer 2010


Louis Vuitton | Spring/Summer 2010


Michael Bastian | Spring/Summer 2010

It's getting hotter these days in Malaysia, more so in the city where trees and greenery are leveled in favour of soaring concrete and glass buildings. We've all heard of the urban heat island effect where temperatures in cities (like KL, and what I like to call greater KL which includes PJ) are a few degrees higher than the outskirts. So, when I set foot in the new Taylor's Lakeside campus only to discover little signs on the doors of classrooms prohibiting shorts, frankly, I was a little outraged.

In this day and age, I find it quite pathetic to impose a ruling against the wearing of shorts especially when we're living in a tropical climate. Shouldn't the rule be made that one has to dress to a level to which is credible and respectable? Why must we be made to conform to formality and sartorial rigidity when it's thirty-over degrees Celsius out there on the street. Wouldn't one be better off looking and feeling comfortable in shorts instead of feeling extremely agitated and sweating uncontrollably in pants?

I do understand that there is some level of decorum which must be met in educational institutions but there should be a middle ground where shorts are an acceptable piece of attire and I think that middle ground is dress shorts. Those sleek smarter looking shorts like those pictured (above).

Just like how vernacular architecture produces buildings and structures which address local issues, why can't fashion rules be made to adapt to the locality in which climate would be a huge consideration. We live in a tropical climate where it's hot and humid year round. Let them wear shorts for god sakes!

If you're not convinced, read this.


Stay tuned for more.

New campus life

Classes have resumed as per usual if not for the drastic change in scenery. The new Taylor's Lakeside Campus is large. Three blocks about nine floors each with other facilities still undergoing construction. The building is.....well...meh. It's alright I guess. Well i'll only be here for another couple weeks before I finish off my diploma so I won't be here long.

The change in location doesn't really affect my driving route all that much since it's pretty much in the same area. The facilities have improved but that would probably come at a cost for newbies. Thank god this is my last semester. But here's the part which is rich. Food is priced higher than most places, our studios and computer labs which I need desperately to do my renderings and projects have yet to be properly set up, the parking areas are bursting at the seams, the 'lake' in 'lakeside campus' is actually an abandoned mining pool and the fact that the site is located directly next to what I presume is a cattle farm is...how shall I put it...an olfactory violation.


Stay tuned for more.

Update

So life has been crazy/amazing/wonderful of late. So many things to do in my last semester at Taylor's College. This week is the last week in the current campus I am in as next week, we're getting a week off as the entire faculty is moving to the mew lakeside campus which, although looks decent in pictures, I'm a little bit hesitant to go to. Hopefully it won't affect my journey there since it's actually about the same distance from where I'm staying. But I'm only going to be there for two weeks before my study week starts, then finals then the critique and that's the end of my college life.

I've been wrecking my brain over university choices. It's not easy trying to select the university I want to go to since I'm still weighing over two different continents. I still have a little time left, but I DO need to make my decision as soon as possible as planning and preparations take up so much time.

Although I'm having a one week break, it won't seem like it since I still have a million things to get done from I.P. to Studio work which is currently experiencing stunted progress. I'm going to try and spread out work evenly in the next week. Balancing out work and fun. And I am trying to make a trip back to Penang sometime next week for a couple of days.


Stay tuned for more.

1st Avenue: Is Penang ready for another mall?

The supposedly 'highly anticipated' 300 million ringgit mega project situated in the heart of Georgetown city is slated to open its doors in the third quarter of 2010. Boasting men's and women's fashion outlets, cafes and eateries, a cinema, a karaoke and all the fixings of a mall, 1st Avenue aims to be an 'upmarket' shopping complex.

But is the island state really ready for another mall?

Gurney Plaza and Queensbay Mall are currently the most 'happening' malls to shop in. Groups of narcissistic teenagers, families, couples out to flaunt their love and yuppies all throng these two malls come weekend. Massive jams and traffic obstruction all caused by people who just want to go to a mall but are completely oblivious to the carbon footprint they leave behind from driving their shiny petrol guzzling, carbon monoxide spewing cars. (sorry i'm veering off topic)

Yes, these two malls, are at the top of their game as compared to the other malls which have unfortunately gone down hill like Midlands' One-Stop, Bukit Jambul Complex and Island Plaza. But from observation, these malls share a few other things in common besides their success:

1. Location, location, location.
Queensbay mall, strategically located off the Jelutong Expressway and in an area currently undergoing rapid development. And Gurney Plaza...Gurney Drive. Nuff' said.

2. Space and Ceiling Height
Queensbay has 1 million sq. feet of retail space. Gurney Plaza, over 800,000 sq. feet. If you contrast them to KL malls they fare quite well (Pavilion KL: 1.4million sq. ft.) And both malls have pretty high ceilings on each floor. The high ceilings give a more grandiose feel and emphasizes space, avoiding tight cramped areas.

3. Circulation
A linear and easy to follow mall layout encourages good circulation. Take for example the awesome malls. KLCC: Linear shaped mall. Pavilion: Linear shaped mall. Midvalley and the Gardens: Both linear shaped malls. Queensbay: Linear shaped mall.

Of course there ARE exceptions like One Utama and Sunway Pyramid whose layout is non-linear but nonetheless, they are still pretty easy to maneuver compared to the terribly planned complexes the likes of Prangin Mall and Bukit Jambul. They are just a hot mess.

And not forgetting the New hot mess, Penang Times Square. That mall is a circulation nightmare. I wouldn't be surprised if it was modelled after it's terrible namesake, Berjaya Times Square in Imbi road, KL, but the layout of the complex is horrid. Sure, it's new and the tiles are so shiny I could see my reflection, but that mall is just a big million dollar mistake. And plus, the ceiling height is surprisingly low probably to minimize costs. And the shops available are mainly F&B outlets. There is absolutely nothing to do there. I stepped in there once. And I will never again. Unless of course they pull of a miracle and manage to get Zara to open in there.

4. Retail outlets
This is a no-brainer. It's the types of shops which attract the crowd. Cinemas are almost a must. F&B is also a crowd favourite. Fashion stores are undoubtedly necessary. And you NEED an anchor tenant like Parkson of Isetan or Tangs. If you have crappy shops, you get crappy and measly amounts of people.


So with those self-observed facts, let's see how 1st Avenue fares.

As mentioned, it would be located in the heart of Georgetown which is a good thing. But right next (and will be joined) to the uber-devastating, Prangin Mall. That may cost it some points. Hardly any 'upmarket' shopping complexes are joined to ill-diseased malls. And the fact that it only has 400,000 sq. ft. of retail space (half that of Gurney Plaza) worries me.

Unfortunately I have yet to know about the circulation and interior feel of the mall, but it was stated that 1st Avenue is 'modeled after Singapore retail outlets'. If that is true, this may be great. It also says that '80-90% of the shops would be popular brand names' as they are targeting the 'chic and young shoppers'. Well, it better be. And if there are any new brands penetrating into the Penang market, that would make a fantastic attraction. Say, Cotton On, Zara (which are already available in KL), Uniqlo or H&M. But one thing's for sure, the anchor tenant would be Parkson.

With construction already well under way and approaching completion, I sincerely hope this mall is able to stand its ground and not end up being Penang Times Square II: Revenge of the Empty Mall.

Oh and one more thing, whoever initially wanted to name the mall 'Mutiara Parade' is obviously off their rockers.


Good Day!
Stay tuned for more.

Update

My weekends aren't weekends anymore. The times when I use to spend them taking it easy at home or hanging out in KL city or a mall has been abruptly replaced by hours and hours pouring over the computer screen and pages of architecture books working on on-going projects which seem to never end. Yes, I may be stressed and lethargic from the physically and mentally taxing projects, but the upside to it is that I spend less on shopping. Which is especially important now that we're already halfway through March and inching closer to the end of my embargo.

Instead, i'm spending a lot on food. But of course, it is no sit-down course meals or anything remotely like that. Lately, my meals have been condensed into 10 minute quickies trying to shove down greasy fried food from fast food chains, interspersed with Photoshop-ing.

This lifestyle is so not healthy. And a bowl of salad won't fix anything. It's not that easy. But maybe a tub of ice-cream will :)


Stay tuned for more.