Together til the End

They just want to be together til the end, probably til the end of time. Their love knows not time. When time stops and nothing is alive anymore, their love keeps them alive, because they believe in their love, their hope for things to be better, and their strong faith. When people say STOP or giving so many directions, they only become one and follow their own path. No matter how old they became, inside their spirits are still young and high. Because love keeps them alive. Forever.

Original images. I was really touched when I took these photographs of them. It's rare to find old couples who are still able to hold hands as casually as this; when nobody of their families they should act and fake their love, they still keep holding on to each other.

And again, I took pictures of them SECRETLY. This was at Golden Gate Park.

Waiting.

Sitting, waiting, wishing. (Jack Johnson)

That's the original image. IT'S SO HARD TO GET A GOOD NATURAL POSE OF A SWAN, DO YOU KNOW THAT? BECAUSE THEY KEEP SWIMMING AWAY FROM ME! Not from me, but, from humans, generally. It's taken at the lake at the Palace of Fine Arts.

Japantown, San Francisco

Doesn't the picture already said everything?
I don't need a caption, huh.

Summer Love... will it stay forever?

In the Summer, flowers bloom, Sun shines, birds sing, trees grow, and love grows too. But what will happen when summer ends? It will be time for the greatest battle of love, and love itself will determine whether it is worth fighting for it or not.

Here is the original image, taken at the Palace of Fine Arts. Hush, they are not freaking models, they are real couples and I took this picture SECRETLY. Actually, I cropped this image so that I really make them as the focal point of the picture. Now, it's following the rule-of-thirds, and it has the most contrast in color in the picture. Plus, they are humans. When us humans see this picture, we only want to see humans and humans alone, we egoistic beings. Especially love, what everyone dying for, or will die for.

Blue Skies and Red Strawberries

Super clear, blue skies at Golden Gate Park, never photoshopped. This photograph creates uber calmness and tranquility. This is an element of nature.

Super red, bunch of strawberries at Fishermen's Wharf. Photoshopped a little. Very great contrast of red. This photograph creates vigor and energy, and lots of motion and liveliness, as opposed to the blue skies. This is an element of life. The only bad thing about this photograph is just both my brother's and my own shadows -___-


Comparing photographs, huh? I just want to look at the skies forever when I look at the photograph, and I just want to squeeze every single strawberries and then munch them one by one when I look at the other photograph.

Hanging Cloth

Analysis of Form: Drapery project
If I am my instructor, I will give it a B. I hate the background lighting, I hate the right half of the drapery because it has as much contrast as the left half of the drapery so the right half should be lighter, and it is not very refined. So my conclusion is: I could have done better =(

Winnie the Pooh and friends

Analysis of Form: Still-Life project.
If I am my instructor, I will give it a B. I hate the pearls. I hate the proportions of our face. I hate the rendering of the cup. I hate the bottom cast shadow. So my conclusion is: I could've done better =(

Samoyed

It became one of my favorite breeds ever since I saw a tiny little one at a local park, I forgot where. One thing I think is not proportionate about my drawing is the eyes, and the left half of the dog's body is a little too wide. Yes, proportions is what I am worst at. But hey, it's just a sketch.

An Angel's Serenade

Amidst the wings and halos, there's one angel singing a serenade:

"My love is dear and kind
and he was never that hard to find
one day I slept in the heart of the ocean
then came god's greatest Creation:
my Love, my Other Soul.

He came across the deep ocean
our eyes met and set without motion
I saw him, he saw me,
we saw god
within those stars that twinkle and sparkle.

As soon as we've found the Other Soul,
we musn't lose our own souls into the big, black hole
invisible to the eyes and mind
However, love is never blind ---

With my love, we will be One
wherever, whenever, whatever we want
even in the big, black hole
we will survive together as One whole.
Love is power."

She is definitely not a fallen angel.

The Brightest Sky

A moon and a star.
All you ever need for a bright nightfall.
Romance or Horror? It's up to you.
I only see peace;
The perfect blissful state of mind for contemplation.

It's the sky just above Wabash River viewed from my ex-apartment:
Williamsburg Apartments, West Lafayatte, Indiana, USA.

It's amazing; no matter where you are in the world, the moon always look beautiful. It reminds you of home and of love.

Yosemite Park, California, USA

Look up to the sky...

Big, soft, chubby food

Ehmmm... bite me?

Hoodies

Blue is Beautiful

Certainly, that heart she's keeping and holding on to contains a deep ocean of secrets, secrets that you can only discover through the wisdom of the sea from the rivers and clouds.

This was designed a little bit of a movie-poster feel. Not exactly a movie poster, but it just have that feel. Kind of ironic, though; since it contains English, Japanese, and Mandarin words.

Organize Yourself, Shopaholics!

Audience Analysis: My intended audience is a group of middle-aged women who has a passion for shopping, particularly for women’s clothes and accessories. I chose this age group because by their late 20s, more or less of these women, either married or not, should already have experiences in the past in managing, or trying to manage, their money in shopping. Because my audiences are people who are much older than I am, I will have quite a hard time persuading them to start practicing my way of managing money in relation to shopping, so my experience alone isn’t a good enough supporting evidence.

How do shopaholics define adrenaline rush? The answer is very simple. Picture yourself inside a fitting room at a boutique store, squeezing in the drop-dead gorgeous dress you picked out right after the moment you spot it. Then you close your eyes and say: Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all? Slowly, you open your eyes, and you are astonished. The mirror tells you that you will be the center of attention at the party tonight – the party that will be jam-packed with the hottest designers in town and the most coveted models around the world; how perfect can it be? While you are getting all agitated with your own imagination, you don’t take much notice of the price tag that was printed USD 999.99 on it . You swap your credit card without much hesitation, since you’re going to pay the amount back by the end of the year anyway. Now I would like to ask one simple question: What if this happens once in every month for a year?

The sum of the expenses per month will be equal to 12 times USD 999.99, and I dare not say the total number of digits the result has. If you think again, the large amount of money could have been used for buying necessary groceries, for paying electricity bills, and also for providing your children, if any. This is why it’s so important to keep track of your expenses on a regular basis. This is also why, in my opinion, shopaholics like you and me should record the monthly transactions of our expenses in shopping for clothes and accessories so that we can practice a better financial management and set aside that money for better use, and also more importantly, to gain control of our temptations to avoid wasting money on the things we end up not liking that much.

As I have mentioned earlier, you could have spent the amount of 12 times USD 999.99 for the things you need more than dresses that you are only going to use for one night. Keeping records of your personal expenditures per month will help you reveal your spending “weak spots”, as recognizing patterns of impulsive purchases can help you avoid the reoccurrence (CIGNA Behavioral Health, 2003). For those of you who already have a family, I thought that giving a little information about my mother’s method of financial management from our interview early this month (Ng, personal communication, April 2007) can be very useful.

As a parent of three children, of whom I am the only daughter by the way, and also as a loyal shopper, mother has an efficient way to draw out the plans for the family’s needs and her own very clearly. She keeps three individual journals for us children respectively, recording every Chinese herb and other essential food supplements that she has bought for us on the journals. She has also set a specific amount of budget for each of our three housemaid monthly wages, and also for the amount she allows herself to spend within two months. For her personal spending, she keeps those transactions she made within the two months in another separate journal of her own. This way, she’s able to reflect her own spending with her own budget, and if she thinks she has spent enough for her own needs, she would use the rest of the budget to buy groceries to provide the family.

From the example I have given, keeping an organized plan for your financial life and also a budget for ourselves and for others has proven to be a benefit. Following a budget is not a matter of pinching pennies. It's just deciding exactly where those pennies should go and following your plan (“Shopaholic?”, 2007). Also, if you reduce your clutter, organize your stuff, and create routines, your stress levels will go down immensely (DePaz, 2006).

Now that you know how record keeping can help in managing your life financially, I shall explain how it can also help in developing abstinence from spending money quickly and freely . Although I am a little young, I know for sure that all female shoppers have the same attitude towards shopping as opposed to male shoppers. Men usually would stick to their mission, and women would expand their mission, but not abandoning them (Maguire, 2006). Men generally do a lot of research first before buying an item, whereas women would not be as interested in the details at first and explore what other items are there in the store (Maguire, par. 16). Based on my own experience, I will have to agree with Maguire’s beliefs of women’s attitudes towards shopping.

During the first three months when I first stepped into America for further education, I indulged myself into spending a total amount of US$600.00 recklessly on clothes and accessories alone. I picked out the apparel that immediately caught my attention and grabbed the skirts, dresses, bangels, necklaces, and shoes altogether without reconsidering buying them in the first place. Whether it was because I often see them on the runway on Fashion TV or because they look good on the mannequin displayed, which doesn’t necessarily look good on me, I handed them all to the cashier and swiped my mother’s credit card thoughtlessly. Because of this, I was scolded by mother for hours on the phone, which were hours spent on a long-distance phone call and also a huge amount of phone bill I had to pay for. Since then, I have kept records of all of my transactions so that I could keep track of how much I’ve spent.

Besides that, I have also done a lot more online shopping than before. Online shopping is beneficial in such a way that I can compare prices of the same item from different stores so that I can get the best deal (Germain, p. 3). Also, usually online stores require a shopper to create an account for setting up something called an “order history” that records all of your past transactions. Since online stores have provided me this record-keeping service, I won’t have to keep another journal for that use like what my mother does.

Nevertheless, mother also has her own way to control ourselves when shopping. Until she married father, she had this principle that I can briefly describe as “don’t need, don’t buy”. As a teenager, she was forced to buy only the things she needed as opposed to the things she wanted. However, getting married to a wealthy man didn’t make her spend all the money within a flash of light. Instead, she incorporated the principle of “don’t need, don’t buy” that has already been rooted on the ground of her beliefs, along with her desire as a child back then to spend some of her money on the pretty clothes and shoes she longed for, and made a whole new idea of buying both what she needs and also what she wants.

Take the example of her thoughts when deciding whether or not I should buy my colored toric lenses. Toric lenses are specially made according to the degrees of our eyes, but are available in both transparent lenses and also in colored ones. Back then, if it was my mother who had to enhance her vision, grandmother could have bought her a pair of spectacles, considering that she must only buy what was needed. However, colored toric lenses are worth the amount so that we can see more clearly. Moreover, they are made in color so that our eyes can look more dramatic. Since it was both needed and wanted, mother almost immediately agree with me on purchasing the lenses.

Based on the examples I have mentioned, being aware of how much we have spent can improve our abstinence from shopping compulsively. It means going cold turkey on the credit card purchases, which is the most difficult step for many people to take (“Shopaholic?”, 2007). However, this difficulty is made simpler by keeping records of transactions, most preferably collecting them at the end of each month as a routine. This way, you won't be constantly thinking that you thought you had something you had to do - you will know what you have to do (DePaz, 2006).

However, what use is a transaction record anyway if I’m already able to control my money, you may ask. I understand that some of you shoppers who have lived for more than 20 years from now have found other ways to shop sensibly. You may have practiced safekeeping your credit cards once in a while, handed them temporarily to a trusted friend, or limited yourself to only one or two all-purpose cards (CIGNA Behavioral Health, 2003). Nevertheless, keeping each and every record gives you a written document that you can review whenever you go for a shopping spree. It not only constantly reminds you how much you have spent for the month; it also exercises our mind to differentiate between our needs and our wants. For example, those of you who have never practiced record-keeping before, you would probably swap your credit card carelessly right after you saw that gorgeous dress you’re going to wear to the A-list party. When you said you need that dress, did you mean you went to the mall to look for a piece of clothing to wear for the event, or did you see the dress first, and then decide to go to the party after that? If your answer is the second option and at that time you don’t have your transaction record with you (which reminds you how much you have spent), you might actually think that you want it so much that you will be wearing it often, since you “need” it and want it so badly. After a few months of the moment you swap your card for that dress, you realized that you need to find a supportive reason to give that dress away to your sister. How ironic is that?

Given the examples I acknowledged above, I would like to stress my opinion once more on the huge advantage of record keeping your monthly expenditures in your life financially. As loyal shopaholics, we should not only have the skills in predicting fashion trends and good sense of style, but also understand how we can manage our money wisely so as to avoid wasting our money on the things we won’t like for long and also to spend that money for better use instead. Who knows when you will spot the latest lovely model of Gucci’s handbag, but end up realizing that you don’t have enough money to purchase it!

References

CIGNA Behavioral Health (2003). Overcoming Shopaholism. Retrieved March 2007 from http://apps.cignabehavioral.com/web/basicsite/consumer/educationAndResourceCenter/articleLibrary/other_addictions12.pdf.

DePaz, L. (2006). Clutter = Stress. Common Connections: The Health Connection. Retrieved 19 April 2007 from http://www.commonconnections.com/health/Stress&Clutter.html.

Germain, J. (2005, November 1). Attention Internet Shoppers: The Web’s Best Product-Comparison Sites. NewsFactor.com: E-commerce/ Retrieved March 2007 from http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=112007GNGX28&page=3.

Maguire, J. (2006, January 25). Men, Women, and Shopping Online.

SmallBusinessComputing.com: Online Marketing. Retrieved March 2007 from http://www.smallbusinesscomputing.com/emarketing/article.php/3579771.

Ng, M. (mother). Personal Communication. Conducted on March 2007.

StanCorp Financial Group, Inc (2007). “Shopaholic?” TheStandard. Retrieved April 19, 2007 from http://www.standard.com/pensions/psc/newsarchive.html.

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Score: 96/100

Stacia,

I am glad you found a topic that you enjoyed writing about. In this paper, you used an effective mixture of published sources, interview material, and personal experience, and together those sources of information not only support your argument but make you seem credible as well.

I have enjoyed reading your papers this semester, including your extra-credit paper. As I have told you before, you have a lively writing style and a lively imagination, and that’s great. As you take other courses where writing is required, you may have some teachers who prefer a more controlled writing style with less personality injected, and in those cases you should definitely adapt your writing to suit those teachers’ requirements and preferences. (It’s always helpful to practice different types of writing, anyway.) However, I think most teachers appreciate some personality and uniqueness in papers that they read, so I hope you are able to adapt your style to different writing situations you may face in the future.

The other thing I hope is that you are able to follow your own advice and control your spending. Not only will your mother appreciate that, but if you get married someday, I’m sure your husband will appreciate it, too! For now, good luck with your blog, and have a nice summer.

Extra Credit

Her Ramblings…

Behold the radiance from the mighty sun! Feel the zephyr brushing against your body, and then listen carefully for the message it brings in its whispers. Ho! The waves of Ibiza are approaching your way from a distance, and it sings a song so mellifluous and so lyrical at the same time that you can’t help but heed the words uttered by each splash and thump your feet to follow its rhythm. And it sings: Liiistennn tooo whaaat I haaave tooo saaa– kringgggg, kringggggggggg, KRINGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!

Good grief! Now you are telling me that it was all a dream? Reality is such a nightmare, I thought. So I went back to sleep again for some time when I realized that it’s a Monday! Then I quickly got off from my messy bed and brushed my teeth so hastily that I still had a lump of white foam sticking onto my peppermint-scented lips when I jumped into the shower. After grooming myself for what seemed like forever, I munched the last two pieces of bagels on the kitchen shelf and gulped my now half-empty chocolate-flavored soymilk, then hie me to the front door before I miss the 9:00 AM bus.

What a luck, I gasped. My speed proved to be worthless. The moment I caught my last breath was the moment the bus rode off from the bus stop. Sigh, how could I forget that it’s a Monday? Now I have to sacrifice some my points for the next assignment, just for being late! So then I tapped my feet impatiently while thinking I had to waste half an hour of my day just to wait for the next bus. Hold on. On second thought, no, I decided to make effective use of the time to continue reading Totto-chan: the Little Girl at the Window, the best-selling novel by Tetsuko Kuroyanagi. That way, I would feel like time was flying.

Soon I was so immersed in Totto-chan’s tale that I didn’t realize the bus was waiting for me to hop in. I closed the book and got into the bus, feeling a little relaxed then after the rush earlier that morning.
“Next stop, Purdue Memorial Union.” I quickly got off the bus and ran towards Hovde Hall, the building where I have my College English Composition class for that semester (Spring 2007). That was my earliest morning class, and also the class that I was late for.

Nevertheless, it’s always better late than never. On that day, my generous instructor, Tom Glass, informed us about the extra credits he was willing to give for the class. Although I realized that I had been doing well so far throughout the semester, I still had the urge to write in every opportunity I could have. And so here I am, sitting in front of my Sony VAIO laptop, typing out my reflections of how I’ve done so far for this class while sipping a cup of hot latte. As I am pondering about the five assignments I had done, I come up with the decision to emphasize on the different and similar attitudes that I had to face these assignments.

The first assignment, Writer’s Autobiography, was basically a review of my life as a writer. I was to narrate the story of my development in writing ever since I got to know the alphabets. At the beginning, I briefly described my pre-teenage years when I used to write my personal problems and contemplations into my first journals. This was actually the underlying significance of my life as a writer. It not only cultivated my interest in writing today, but as I grow older, it also triggered me to stop myself from being narrow-minded and expand my thoughts to those topics that have a larger sphere, such as science and politics. Consequently in the field of art, the more an artist receives critiques and suggestions for their artworks, the more he or she will learn from their mistakes and improve in the future. However, to me, becoming a true artist takes more than manifesting your ideas successfully through visual means. I challenged myself to express my ideas verbally as effectively as I draw. Over the years I write more and more, and my sore hands were soon replaced by my energetic fingers that type like a robot on computers. Since then, I have always taken the advantage of my freedom of speech on the Internet, specifically to blog, up till today.

Just as how the first assignment has given me the opportunity to express a huge part of myself, the following assignments, too, has enabled me to write in my very own unique style, except that this time I had a lot more freedom. The assignments that were given since then until the end of the semester were part of a sequenced writing project, of which I would write about one topic that I’m interested in and would like to find out more about it. Since I was given that much freedom, I, without any hesitation, took the chance to write about what every woman loves: Women’s shopping.

The first part of this project was about my personal experience with shopping, when I spent a total of US$600.00 during the first three months I came to America for college. Then I had to interview my mother to ask for information about organizing a proper financial life, which was relevant, especially after the bad experience I described in the preceding assignment. Although the interview have helped me more than enough in changing my shopaholic habits in the future, I still had to do a literature review, where I did my research about how shopping addiction works and ways to control them. In the process, I think that it was fun to know the differences between shopping habits of men and women, especially when I found out that men buy what they are looking for, and women buy what they are looking at, and then ending up buying too many unnecessary items that they later regret. These three leading assignments turned out to be very helpful later on when I was working with my argumentative essay, of which I stood for the opinion: Shopaholics should record monthly transactions of their expenses in shopping for clothes and accessories. This time, I had to add a paragraph of audience analysis that turned out to help a lot in guiding the tone of my essay.

Just by seeing how distinct each assignment from one to another, there is no doubt that I definitely had more or less different attitudes when facing these assignments. One thing that I have practiced throughout the semester was to insert my personality into each of the assignments. Personally, I enjoyed working on the interview report most, as I was allowed to not only exhibit my own shopping habits, and therefore, my personality in the paper, I could also include a brief story of my family, especially my mother. I feel very excited when I can tell stories about the things I love, which includes shopping. But I became more enthusiastic when I can talk about shopping and also about the people I love together. I figured that when we write about what we love the most, it would give extra meaning (…and extra points too! For your information, I’ve got the highest point for this paper) to the essay, just like a love letter.

However, whenever there’s love there’s always hatred. I didn’t hate doing the literature review assignment, but I dislike the idea of summarizing. Although the assignment was pretty straightforward to me, I think that the result was boring. When summarizing, we were supposed to make a paragraph of the important points from an article, so we had to omit the details. To me, the details given in an essay give the most significance to the writing. Without giving specific examples for the reader, he or she would not fully understand our ideas. This is actually why I have always written papers which are longer than the length assigned, just like the one I am writing now. On the contrary, not many people would like to read a long paper just to get an idea, unless they are willing to find out more about what they are looking for and therefore, are willing to read the details of the essay. From my experience in writing a literature review in this class, I now notice the importance of writing a summary.

Now that I’ve talked about my reflections for this class, the attitudes I had when facing the assignments, and also brief opinions about them, I would probably go wash my tea cup and hope to get an A, and then get ready to sleep. Who knows I can go back to Ibiza island to listen to the whispers of the wind and to hear the songs of the waves, tuning up the hymns from Café Del Mar. Ahhh… paraíso! (and let’s hope I will never be late for class again!)

Sequenced Writing: Interview Report

Mother’s Words of Wisdom in Shopping

“Mom, I need your credit card information to pay for my new contact lenses. Please reply me ASAP.” A few seconds after I select the button “Send Message” on my mobile phone, my home telephone rang. My initial reaction was: Whoa, since she’s the one who made the call, then I won’t have to pay the phone bill for this session! Considering the “free” long-distance phone call, I decided to take advantage of her time and come up with some questions I have to ask her for my interview report assignment in my writing class.

“Are you fine, darling? Have you eaten your dinner? Here’s the information you asked for. By the way, I just bought Louis Vuitton’s latest Damier Canvas handbag! What do you think?” It’s obvious why I chose her as my interviewee just by listening to her first sentences on the phone. Mariaty Ng is a parent whose job is to control all of the financial aspects in her children’s lives. She’s also a woman who has spent 23 years of her married life learning how to resist her shopaholistic temptations upon receiving a monthly paycheck from her husband. Most importantly, she’s also a shopaholic herself who adores fashion, but knows how to manage her financial plans as a shopper, as a parent, and as a housewife. But the question is, how did she learn to balance her expenditures and savings at the same time while upholding both her responsibilities and her personal desires? Since the greatest lessons we learn in life are mostly based on personal experiences that we encounter through time, I asked her to flash a little blast from the past in chronological order: Before marriage, before children, and after children.

Before marrying father, mother was a very timid teenager. She had a very restricted life back then because my grandmother was overprotective. Mom wasn’t very happy with her monochrome life as a teenager – colorless in such a way that she never got the chance to be given what she truly wants versus her needs. During those times, mother resisted her inner desires by confining herself to achieving good grades, eating proper meals, and getting enough rest – basically doing what was needed to be done, only to satisfy her mother. So whenever she went to shop for clothes, the reasons were simply because the old ones were torn or because she gained weight. She listened obediently to her mother when she said “If you don’t need it, don’t buy it”, but grandma never knew that she dreamed of marrying someone soon to escape from her “prison.”

It was after my parents got married that all mother could see was the real world outside of her tiny bubble. The marriage was her dream that came true, because father was the one who went to her rescue from prison, and also happened to be someone who came from a wealthy family. For the first time in her life, she was given the freedom to buy whatever she wants. Although she was finally given the privilege to spend her money in any way she wanted, she never left behind the “don’t need, don’t buy” idea from her mother whenever she went for a shopping spree. The idea left permanent footprints throughout the rest of my mother’s life, and it would largely affect how she manages her money from then on. Whenever she’s shopping, this idea would cross her mind and make her either reconsider buying the item, or, if she liked the item, she would compare the same item with many different stores just to pay for the lowest price possible.

It didn’t take more than a year until my elder brother was born. The thought of my father providing full financial support for starting a family also came to mind, especially when father and mother decided to have only three children, of which, by the way, I was the youngest and also the only daughter. Ever since she became a mother, she has always held the responsibility to prevent herself from blundering parenting needs with her personal happiness. Children’s needs became the first priority ahead of everything else, so there was a decrease in the amount of expenditures on clothes, handbags and shoes as to her year of honeymoon .

As we can see from these experiences mother had been through in the separated timelines of her life, the foundation of her present shopping habit came from grandma’s idea of “don’t need, don’t buy.” The question now is, how does she actually apply all the things she has learned into her shopper’s life today?

What I’ve noticed over the years is that she keeps each of us children a journal containing records about the expensive Chinese herbs and other essential food supplements we’ve consumed each month, since her children’s health is on top of her priority list in parenting. As for our allowance, father is the one responsible for handing 25 USD to each of us every week. Mother also fixed a specific amount of wages for each of our housemaids per week and also a number of 1,000,000,000 Rupiah (approximately 10,990 USD) as the maximum amount of money she can spend for her personal shopping activities within two months. Since that maximum number was pretty huge, she kept another notebook for herself to record every major expense she made, such as Louis Vuitton’s Damier Canvas handbag, which costs up to 1,030 USD. This was done to keep track of her own transactions so that she won’t faint at the end of the year when she reads her annual credit card billing information from the bank. Thankfully, she only buys expensive goods once in every two months, because the larger sum of money was meant to be spent on weekly grocery shopping. Now the question is, what are the things she considers before buying an item?

Let me give you an example of how shopping works for her when deciding whether or not I should buy my contact lenses. Colored toric lenses are specially made according to your doctor’s prescription if you have done an eye checkup recently, which is why they are very expensive. You can no longer find colored toric lenses in Indonesia, as the optical services have stopped ordering for imports of this product. For this reason, my mom suggested me to buy this type of lenses while I am in America, no matter how much it costs. She wouldn’t mind if it was so expensive that she had to sacrifice her personal shopping days. Like I said, her children’s needs are above everything else.

Although to some people toric lenses don't have to be colored, having the color itself is just for the sake of fashion. However, toric lenses that are tailored to the degrees of your eyes are a must to enhance your vision. Besides needing the item, fashion is also in the wish-list. So in this case, mother has no problems at all in handing over a huge sum of money in return for the many advantages. That was how she had suggested colored toric lenses over normal toric lenses for me.

“…So the important thing is for you to think carefully whether something is worth buying or not; are you going to use it often? Is it durable enough for you to use it longer? More importantly: DO YOU LIKE IT?” Of course she doesn’t want to be like grandma who wanted her daughter to find only what she needs, without listening to the deepest desires within her daughter’s heart. She understood how I want to make shopping an activity that I can enjoy as much as possible, and also came up with a system of managing her finance to provide basic family and housing maintenance. Even though she is not responsible for her children’s weekly allowance, as a mother she has to teach us how to shop sensibly and why should we do so. Otherwise, she might really faint at the end of the year and we would have to ask dad for help. Nevertheless, mother’s belief in buying only what I need, but also what I like, is what truly makes shopping not only useful, but also enjoyable.

97/100

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Stacia,

Your paper is not only entertaining and informative, but it also reveals quite a bit about your mother’s life and her values. Great paper! My only question when I finished reading it was this: Do your brothers have the same kind of shopaholic tendencies as you?

Perspectives

These are only sketches for myself to understand the concept of linear perspectives. At first during the lecture in class, I really don't understand how to look at something from one-point or two-point perspectives. How can you ask me to look at something from a three-point perspective? (Bird's and worm's eye views) After making these sketches I finally understand how to spot vanishing points. You know how women just can't think 3-Dimensionally.

Three ISN'T a Crowd

Still-Life of grapes, an apple, and bananas.
See how they look good together?
That's why being a threesome is never too crowdy.

Summer Sky

Plivitce Park

Waterfalls at Plivitce Park, Croatia.

Pinecone

It's a sketch, it's gestural. It's not a the real work you put all your effort in, it's just a rough sketch coming from the hands of a vague mind.

It Has Just Begun

The journey of a 1000 miles begins with a single step, and it has only just begun.

Original photo.

Extraordinary

If only I know how to duplicate this image and make it digital. It could have been better.

Personal Statement

Harry Truman, Doris Day, Red China, Johnnie Ray… – We didn’t start the fire, but somehow the lyrics ignited me to thump my feet on the parquet floor relentlessly, following its rhythm. Nevertheless, Joel’s beat didn’t tag along my pace any longer as soon as I advanced upon the threshold into the Grande Galerie of Musée du Louvre. I decelerated to marvel at the exquisite design of the corridor that lay before me, in which, on either side of the walls, there arrayed some of the most remarkable works of the preceding generations. The walls, floor, and ceiling were constructed with flawless precision. All these can only be done through excellent artistry and craftsmenship, I thought. Maybe this field trip isn’t that bad at all, as suggested by the Art Department. I was quickly aroused by the idea, and so I stepped forth, ready to browse the art galore while still humming Joel’s catchy tune in gay... South Pacific, Walter Winchell, Joe DiMaggio!

In the midst of all adornments, there was one painting that grabbed my attention. It’s the most famous painting in history and was done by the most renowned artist of all times – It’s the Mona Lisa. I studied her with composure, calmed just by noticing her enigmatic smile. It wasn’t the most mystifying feature though. Wondering what could make her so intricate, I tried to be experimental – I moved to the left, and then shifted to the right while gazing at her face; I squatted down, and then rose up, still gazing at her face. Then it hit me: It’s her eyes! They darted from one corner to the other, following each of my directions. Learning this wasn’t enough for me. I placed my palm on the protective glass to conceal her right eye, assuming that might explain why her eyes bore life. Negative – Instead, I was astonished to see a masculine countenance! Even so, I did the same with her left eye, only to find her feminine features back again. That was amazing! I had just discovered why the pop culture regards her as androgynous; then again maybe it was just my imagination. When I was about to verify my discoveries, whom should I find eyeing me at a distance while mumbling something that lets my mind wandering elsewhere but two gabby girls I reckoned from my school. “Isn’t that the girl who drew the still life drawing for the guest who visited Broadrick on Thanksgivings? I heard she’s a dear to Madam Amnah!” one of them murmured as both were walking past me. How true.

During my first year in junior high school, I volunteered to draw a flower arrangement as a token of appreciation to the guest-of-honor for paying a visit to my school. At that time I was interested in abstract art, specifically the various ways I could combine different colors, shapes and sizes to give a touch of life on canvas. Our class was due for a session on this topic in the coming semester. But considering my enthusiasm in learning, Madam Amnah offered to spare some time of her busy schedule to deliver a brief lecture about the fundamentals of abstract art and lent me a handful of flower catalogues for references. I was not the only one who was thrilled to bring about my new project; Madam Amnah was glad too to have a student taking the initiative and truly eager to learn and thence did not hesitate to disseminate her knowledge to me through her courtesy.

I incorporated the skills acquired from Madam Amnah with my observant nature to produce the masterpiece. First, I broadened my mind to unleash distinctive views, of which I discarded the norms and reviewed the eccentricities to pick out an interesting outlook of the Sunflowers, Delphiniums, Lilacs, Daylilies, and Gladiolus. In the process, I observed each structure of the petals, stalks and leaves from a deviating angle, just like how I discovered the living eyes of Mona Lisa. I uncovered each shade that were hidden and shielded each hue that were too vibrant, just like how I noticed Mona Lisa's androgyny. Eventually, the piece was finished within just three days. I couldn’t be more pleased with the result and felt triumphed when Madam Amnah proved her pride of me by holding an exhibition of my class works in the school for a month. This has yet proven that I was fast to grasp the concept of abstract art. Just the thought of it made me feel victorious, even though there weren’t any prizes rewarded to me. There was though; the guest was overwhelmed with gratitude upon receiving the piece, and this has led to Madam Amnah acknowledging me to have completed one full semester of courses on abstracts – in just 3 days!

Einstein, James Dean… Elvis Presley, Disneyland – Satisfied with the last hint of Mona Lisa’s delicate smile, I left the portrait and finish my notes about it on my collection of the most admirable characters of all times. Upon mopping up the final sentences, I was about to close the book when I found the presence of the same elegant beauty of another character on the opposite page: Jane Eyre.

Jane was the character that influenced me to set a new paradigm for my life and impelled me to think like a woman. Her idea of women's stagnancy to constrain themselves to do and learn only what their custom has pronounced necessary inspired me to do and learn more than a girl needs, that is to make things happen instead of just dreaming. Women feel just as men feel, and I feel that there is no right for people to condemn women who yearn for more than just being a housewife. This explains why I hold a relish for reading. Books are adventuresome, because they provide vast knowledge beyond imagination. It gives me the pleasure to monitor a character's actions that cause a series of events, for there is always a lesson behind them.

As from Charlotte Brontë's novel, I perceived an image of the class conflicts in the olden days, yet the days have changed. Today, people no longer discriminate the roles of men and women. We exploit differences among us to achieve the greatest possible advantage, as I’ve experienced. I’m an Indonesian-born Chinese who has a great interest in the culture of Japan and had underwent cultural differences while I was in Singapore. But I had never experienced working together with the Westerners, and when now I get the chance to, I’ll bring this thrill of encountering cultural differences into America. I see everyone equally, just like through Jane’s eyes where women are of no difference with men.

Fiction or non-fiction, there will always be sources of inspiration for all of us. I closed my book after spending the minute mulling over Brontë's character in awe. I peered at the hidden eyes staring back at me behind a mask. On the front cover of my book there depicted another character worthy of reverence. He might not appeal much if you regard him as a childhood companion, but to me, Spider-Man is more than just a crawling superhero. I recognized the same spirit in him when confronting overwhelming obstacles. Each time, I recall his refusal to quit and his humility after a victory, and also sensed the responsibility in order not to blunder the duties I hold with my personal happiness. Only through enduring with this determination that I have imbibed comprehensive knowledge along the way that aided me to surmount those obstacles, as learning is not only about memorizing word for word from the materials given in school. In this way, I have not much difficulty overcoming all sorts of problems anymore. I am certain that this perspective will help me conquer adversity I will encounter later in life, especially if I behave in a responsible manner.

Pope Paul, Malcolm X, JFK, blown away – Not to forget John Fitzgerald Kennedy who made me feel obliged for having the chance to receive education when he let me think of education as the means of developing our greatest abilities, because in each of us there is a private hope and dream which, fulfilled, can be translated into benefit for everyone and greater strength for our nation. It’s because of school that I have discovered my potentials, and utilize the new knowledge disseminated to enhance these capabilities into talents that might contribute the school itself or even the society. I have been educated in different environments, of which I’ve seen various achievements attained by talented people and have developed discernments. This fosters rationality to appreciate the diversity of human capabilities, and promoted many other areas of studies I’m enticed to learn. Since my areas of strength are related to expressing creativity, I was willing to study many languages so that I could verbalize ideas at ease, as scribbling journal notes, posting blog entries, and writing poetries have proven to be simpler. I’m most familiar with English, and being brought up by Chinese parents in Indonesia, I’m also literate in Mandarin and Indonesian. Yet I’m still working on my Japanese, and am thinking of learning French in the near future.

By being multilingual, expressions can be conveyed in many ways. However, they’re not always delivered by means of words.

I’m always fascinated in the world of music. Whether or not a song has a lyric, it’s the instruments that make me feel what the composer was feeling. I shout out that feeling through playing piano or guitar by letting my fingers dance on the notes and stringing the cords to produce ranging tones, each revealing the ups and downs of life. But at times of impatience, I couldn’t bear to conceal how I feel before arranging the chords and keys in my own style. That’s when I would sing.

Birth control... Terror on the airline... Heavy metal suicide... AIDS... Crack... Rock and roller cola wars, I can't take it anymore! – Alas! I think I must go back to reality! I’ve been mooning over Spider-Man while allowing my mind drifting away for the past hours. There’s no wonder those passers-by eyed me with confusion as I was standing there, gawking stupidly at my book when my legs went numb. Outside the opposing windows dusk was falling. I’d better hie me to the shuttle bus before my teachers and friends leave me here. So I stretched my calves and began to run, but stopped short when I reached the central courtyard where the glass pyramid lay. I drew in the cool night air, and then breathed out slowly, trying not to pant after speeding all the way here. The air condensed on the surface of the glass, and soon it misted over. I could never stop being experimental, so I rubbed the surface to see what would happen. It flashed a silhouette beneath the twilight; it’s a figure of a girl. It’s neither of Paris Hilton, Goldie Hawn, Audrey Hepburn, nor any other ladies in the spotlight; it’s a girl metamorphosing into a notable lady. A reflection, I see –- but the bus was already honking! Anyhow, the girl was smiling to me as if to say goodbye, so I left her and ran as fast as possible, knowing I could reach my destination.

World's End

Continuous Writing

Question:
8. You see a bus that says ‘World’s End’ on the front. You decide to go there. Write the story of the journey and what happens when you arrive at your destination.



The crisp clear morning greeted me with its brisk winds and sweet air. I heaved a sigh of comfort; realizing that I’ve never been in a place with such wondrous atmosphere in such a long time. My schedule is jam-packed with innumerous tasks each and every day. I have a busy life, but so is any other middle-aged businessperson living in the city of New York. Any normal person reforming into a workaholic is a convention to anyone living in the city of lights. Stumbling upon traffic jam during rush hours, busting in noisy offices where rowdy workers hustle with one another and avoiding high-rise buildings that embodies urban lives happen every day. I just wish I have the time to be away from the skyscrapers whatsoever, which does not happen every day. Fortunately, that day happens to be today.

I rested my left hand on the armrest of the wooden bench I was lolling on, helping myself into a comfortable position. At least there was still a source of solace in the metropolitan, the vast and enormous Central Park. Right then, the direction I was facing was a few distance away from a bus stop crammed with crowds of people; some admiring each other’s purchases, others just couldn’t get their hands off their cell phones. I closed my eyes to flee from these views I got bored of seeing every day, what is with these people?

My visions were blurry when I opened my eyes again, but I saw something that caught my eyes from a distance. It’s big for sure, and, if it’s not for its vibrant hues, it couldn’t have grabbed my attention. I squinted to get a better view, and there it is, a huge double-decker bus emblazoned with shades of tangerine, just like the sun. I gazed at it for a minute when it veered towards the bus stop’s direction abruptly. I was bewildered to see that not one person in the bus stop have set their eyes onto this bus, despite its picturesque design. I approached the bus when curiosity overtook me. Strange bus, I thought. There was no plate number, no charges for rides, as indicated by its signboard, and there were no passengers inside; only one driver was in the driver’s seat, eyeing at me. I pretended not to see when I turned my head away, and then I saw this banner in front of the bus that says, “World’s End.” How weird could it be?

I glanced at the driver, signaling him that I would appreciate the offer for a free ride. The door swung open, and he gave me a sincere smile. “Enjoy the ride!” he exclaimed. I forced a weak smile back to him and decided to choose the backseat. Out of the blue, it all blackened out.

When I was conscious again, I tried to recall where I was. There, outside the window, I was astonished to see such magnificent view of trees of various range of colors; emerald to ruby, lime to ivory, all blooming and seasoning. I marveled their glory, forgetting the intention of finding out this mysterious place.
“Been a long time since you’ve last seen these, eh?” the driver called from the front.
”…Yes, it has been.”

He murmured something under his breath, but I was too stunned by the forestry that I couldn’t care less for more.

Soon, a lake came into view. It was when all the shades of green vanished away; the blue skies and azure springs showed up. Once again, I was bewildered by the striking seascape; the waters so clear they glittered under the radiant sunshine, so blue that I almost thought that I was back in front of my PC, admiring the slideshows of natural landscapes. How different is this to the urban lives? Heaven and Earth, I suppose.

It dawned on me that the sun had sunk beyond the valleys that stood as far as the eye could see; some time had its first gold faded through the ground. The majestic view of sunset before a lake was astounding.

Before I could ask why did this peculiar driver offer me, without expecting anything in return, to let me goggle at God’s richest creations for half a day? And where was he heading then? The sun had completely slipped beyond the boughs to dream till dawn, and the sky was obscured, but adorned with glimmering stars that I’ve never seen before in the metropolitan skies. Where am I? I was wondering for a moment whether I was still inside the bus or not; the sights were all so real, I was skeptical about being indoor or outdoor. Sudden crispy winds howled, and somehow I felt the chill. That proved that I was not in the bus. I realized then where I was. In the twilight, I saw light waves of water heading towards my feet while they were dipped under soft sands. I couldn’t picture the panorama before me, but I could see the silhouette of human figure ahead of me. It was the driver.

”Isn’t it great to spend a day alone marveling creations of the One above? Like, away from the urban sprawl for once? Hmm?”
Alas… How did he know?

”Who are you?”
”Funny how I know what you were thinking all day, funny how others neither see me nor the bus earlier, funny how I know exactly what you want.”
”You mean, being anxious to know how you can explain logically to me to get out of the bus without taking any step? Or wondering whether someone have been spying on me all day long?”
”I don’t mean that. Who could possibly be there in the very beginning and at the very end at the same time, scrutinizing people’s daily urban lives?”
”No one. I mean, yes. There’s always God.”
”Bingo! The Alpha and the Omega.”
”What are you talking about!?”
”Let me rephrase your question: Who are you? I am God.”

Sounds of waves smashing on the coastlines stopped, and everything fell into silence. What had I done to meet a mad guy on my Sabbath away from urban lives?

He broke the silence when he cleared his throat. Not long was when I really heed the crazy driver’s explanations about all the immortal events that occurred earlier today. Without anymore doubts after listening to this man, I stared in awe, not quite easily believing that I’ve just met the Creator of the forestry, the seascape, the sunset and to my dismay, me. He began his stories about how the world has changed into the present days while eschewing his sadness that his own creations have been destroying the world, his creation too. That was why the world’s approaching to and end, and luckily, he sensed a mutual feeling of the mortal world today, and that was me.

The greatest mistake I had done was to be ignorant and continue to do the things I don’t want to do, like adapting myself into the place I neglect to be in. He, that day, have brought me awareness of the outcomes if that continues, and suggested that maybe it’s time to do something about it soon enough. When he was finished, he gave me a pendant with a shape of a crucifix, on which it was engraved with words saying “World’s End”, and then instructed me to close my eyes if I perceived his words of wisdom, and reopen them when I am ready to make a difference.

When I did, I was back in the wooden bench again, down in Central Park.

The sky had darkened and I’d better get back home soon. When I was dashing across the street, I heard clinking noises coming from myself. Something kept on hitting lightly onto my chest. When I looked down, it was the pendant that I saw; the pendant saying “World’s End.” Yes, I’d better get back home soon to make a difference as soon as possible.

A few meters away from the street, a man was observing a girl dashing across the street from afar. He secretly smiled. Being satisfied, he swerved the bus away from the street.

The Twilight Zone

Write about 350 – 450 words on:
Descriptive Writing
- Describe a place which comes alive at night.

Every night, the sky is illuminated with millions of stars in different shapes and sizes, sparkling brightly like individual diamonds. The pulsating gleams reflect the atmosphere of the mansion, where no one is stoic and everyone is constantly moving.

Orange County is where it is, where it’s jam-packed with exciting events every night. Whether it’s a birthday or a new year, parties will be held at this mansion, the one mansion that is situated just beside Newport Beach. As the saying goes, beach is where the American dreams come true. Outside the veranda of the master bedroom, where couples will be during these parties, you can see the silver crescent moon shining for you. Along with the sea of stars surrounding them, the waters of Newport Beach mirrors the ever-changing faces you’ll find in the party. This is why the bedroom is perfect for couples: a view so beautiful, as if it came to life from a neat piece by Picasso, and the colorful ornaments of every shade you can think of – perfect. Yes, the ornaments include a magenta bedroom of pillows cloaked in periwinkle blue; walls of wallpapers printed with pictures of ancient Greek gods all in brown, posing as if cameras are all around; a red carpet stretching across the parquet floor, and a murky-green wardrobe that stood aloof in the right corner beside the bed. Where can you find another place so colorful, so absolute, and so complete that it makes our dates so perfect? Fairytale is not an alternative, because Seth Cohen’s mansion is where you should begin with for a long-lasting relationship.

If you try to walk out of the bedroom, don’t worry because it is still a whole world beyond your dreams and imagination. As you tip-toe down each step of the rounded staircase, you are actually drawing closer and closer to the life of the party, where on each step you’ll hear someone yells, though you cannot make out the words, as those words are actually floating about an air of more words, of which, all together, creates a place with full of life. The minute you step on the ground floor, the first thing you’ll notice is not a celebrity, never a chimpanzee, but, as bizarre as it seems, it is the smell of cocktails and champagnes. Alcohols can get richer and more famous than Britney Spears, or Ace Ventura’s company (the faithful chimpanzee), especially in parties held by someone with such a lavish lifestyle. The Cohens is a rich family, as obviously indicated by the size of their mansion and the acres it covered. Not only the Cohens are wealthy, but they have neighbors like the Nichols and the Coopers who owns Orange County. All this make up a rich district, comparable to Bill Gates’ home. Everyone in the neighborhood seems to know one another, and so they gather every night at the Cohens to celebrate as one family.

At the ground floor of flying corks of champagnes and floating glasses of cocktails, you will easily find the world’s most remarkable designer clothing lines worn by people who are adorned with the brightest jewelries. This view has far more colors than the rainbow has, where jades shine under purple shawls and sapphires lit under pink frills of Versace dresses. These people are the hippest, the famous and the first persons people talk about in the neighborhood. At Orange County, daytimes are not as effervescent as twilight, due to the habit of these people flaunting their shining garments hither and thither in the night, making darkness a resemblance of joy and happiness.

Chauffeurs and limousines waited outside the gate and housemaids and gardeners by the poolhouse. They anticipated until the break of dawn, where the house will be littered with spills of alcohols and tissue papers spreading everywhere around the living room so large it can fit elephants. However, the living room is where the life of these parties are located, where the kitchen, the garden, the bedrooms and the poolhouse are combined to create one enlightening atmosphere that is far beyond any description, where the animation is present, and where the heart of Orange County is every night.

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE & LITERATURE
PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION FOR SECONDARY FOUR & PRE-UNIVERSITY
CONTINUOUS WRITING
SCORE: 21/25

Technology

Technology improves human’s everyday activities, which makes our lives easier. However, its jeopardy takes a more potent effect rather than its objective of creation, that is, to simplify human’s busy lives. With improved medical services, human life spans are stretched to a longer extent, which will eventually lead to an ageing population. This overpopulation may lead to a lack of resources, bringing ecological stress, not to forget the imminent dangers caused by the Internet. Does it provide all information for the good of mankind or otherwise?

As we mentioned earlier, a better healthcare due to technological advances of scrutinizing the problems of certain illnesses, overpopulation may be experienced an area due to the larger proportion of senior citizens with longer lives. At this state, the area cannot be supported stably as there is less working population of age ranging from the early youth to the fully-grown adults. These people work for providing resources to support families with food, water, and other daily vital supplements.
Accommodation is also improved as more infrastructures and other transportation routes are built. As a result, the spread of diseases can also be omnipresent in the area, because the outspread of them is also mounted.

People burn fossil fuels to provide an alternative energy source other than the Sun: electricity. This process augments the depletion of ozone layer, which lets more UV rays to penetrate to the Earth and to create global warming.
Raw materials obtained from nature, such as wood, are also made under technological processes to give us paper. People don’t realize that the cutting down of forests will increase the amount of carbon dioxide in the air and, in addition to that, the loss of habitats for animals. Extinction of certain species of animals is possible.

The most popular matrix in which identities are irrelevant is the Internet. This is where we find all sorts of information we want to know about, including the construction of weapons of mass destruction, normally looked up by terrorists. Maybe these weapons are meant for educational purposes, but these weapons may be considered as destructive machineries for others. Look at Dan Brown’s best-selling novel “Angels & Demons.” An honored scientist who succeeded creating “a whole new world” of antimatter was foreseen as a sinner of God through the eyes of a zealot. The scientist was murdered by the zealous dignitary, who then terrorized the whole of Vatican by using the antimatter’s destructive hazards to prove that God’s path of virtue in life was forgotten in the battle of science against religion. Terrorism was then what it was called, where riots are all over the city. This is currently a major concern worldwide, and who knows whether the judgment day is approaching?

In conclusion, I think that technology have been working for its motive by improving the hard lives of people, but its harm towards us is the main dynamic behind its origination, whether we are aware of it or not. With these environmental catastrophes occurring under chronological process, the end of the world is surely heading its way, sooner or later.