I was having a conversation with my atheist friend the other night and I think we share a lot more in common about faith than we once thought. It’s not our beliefs in the existence/nonexistence of God that found common ground but that we both agreed that we can’t fully know God and His thoughts. I guess that when we say we do, we’ve missed the point.

Do I sound like a heretic already?

I could write a disclaimer here about how I believe in Jesus, but won’t. There are better places to do that. Not here. I’m glad we had that conversation. Among the stuff we talked about was that we both agreed that a selfless Buddhist would probably make a better Christ-seeker than a bigoted Christian.

On another note, I’ve been so caught up with the busyness of work that in between that and my coffee breaks, I managed to relieve myself from some stress by indulging in some randomness:
The CD Album Cover Game from Damien Correll

1. The first article title on the page is the name of your band.

2. The last four words of the very last quote is the title of your album.

3. The third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.

When I’m not designing for work, I’m designing to relieve stress. Amazing.

I’ve also bettered the frosting recipe (it’s chocolate mint cupcakes this time). My sister got a little bit carried away with the decoration and the piping nozzles. I call her ribbon cupcake ‘Louis the XIV.’ She also made one that resembled his baroquesque wig. Too grand for a photo.

I should sleep now. The sound of raindrops suicidally slamming their tiny bodies on my window is too tempting.

I don't know about you, but when I was a kid I had many dreams. When I was a teenager, even more. And when I became an adult (maybe not physically but perhaps mentally), my dreams aren't so 'grand' anymore. Here are some of them, fulfilled (√) and unfulfilled (×).

[ √ ] have a dog and a cat
[ × ] learn Japanese (I took a class for two months before the teacher quit on us)
[ √ ] make a short film
[ × ] complete writing a screenplay
[ √ ] do a full storyboard
[ × ] be like Michel Gondry
[ × ] be like Wong Kar-Wai
[ × ] visit Europe
[ × ] travel Tibet
[ √ ] go to Hong Kong
[ √ ] visit India
[ √ ] climb the Angkor Wat
[ × ] ride a horse in Mongolia
[ √ ] travel America again
[ √ ] visit NYC
[ × ] go to Africa
[ × ] grow taller
[ √ ] put up my work in a gallery
[ √ ] snorkel in the sea / swim with wild fish
[ × ] sew my own clothes
[ × ] space travel
[ × ] dance without feeling / looking awkward
[ × ] make perfect soft-boiled eggs without the timer
[ × ] experience Death Cab For Cutie / Sufjan Stevens / Sigur Rós / Arcade Fire live
[ √ ] catch Explosions In The Sky live (this February 19th, KL)
[ √ ] catch Múm live (this March 13th, Singapore)
[ × ] have my art/photographs published
[ √ ] own a retro looking Polaroid camera that works
[ × ] get a Hasselblad
[ × ] go to Afghanistan
[ × ] study overseas
[ × ] have my own dark room
[ × ] go vegan (I can’t give up steak, cheese, sushi and hamburgers. I’m sorry.)
[ √ ] not step into a certain mall for a year (a personal protest)

More to be added.

Here are some cupcakes my sister and I frosted at midnight. I followed an American recipe and found the frosting too sweet. There's a possibility that one cupcake has as much sugar as a can of Coke. I will do better next time.

I found this interesting.

I know I can be fickle. This is the second - and hopefully the final editing done to the blog template.

I need to sleep. If only I knew creating two columns for my flickr badge would take me more than an hour.

Html/xml/css/ihavenoidea is for geeks.

Next: cupcakes!

So I changed my blog header. And I had my first paid photo shoot last weekend for a hospital's cancer ward. Not the most creative or uplifting, but some extra cash will come in handy. I'm looking forward to this weekend, however.

Pirates. Children. Eye patches. Gold chocolate coins. More chocolates. Yes.

Múm in March. Singapore. Yes, yes.

2008, you are looking up.

A couple of nights ago I received news that someone I knew from high school passed away. This was not the way I imagined 2008 will begin for anybody.

We mostly sat together in class. She would talk about Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet and Leonardo DiCaprio. We were fourteen. Once when we were waiting for the school bell, she told a group of us about her parents' Catholic beliefs and how they called a priest to exorcise spirits from her house. It was a lady with a flowing red dress, she said. The sky was thundering and raining heavily outside and we had a sudden power failure. We screamed and giggled. I remember those moments vividly. Mostly of her smile, liveliness and cool stationery.

Death is never polite. It didn't sink in until I saw her obituary in the newspaper today. She was still smiling beautifully.

I know how to feel but I don't know what to think. Births and deaths are peculiar ways to gather people together... when you were born, adults gather around to see when you'd take your first step. When you're dead, friends and family gather around you hoping the doctors made a mistake and that you'd resurrect. Sans zombie-style.

In many ways I wish I knew her beyond high school. I regret having such shallow memories of her, but they were good ones.

I suppose when you pass away your story doesn't end with you. It starts with the people you loved and those who loved you. They will tell your story for you and others.

If I'm able to contribute anything to the storytelling of her life, I'd retell her house exorcism story.

Ng Shu Zanne, 1983 - 2008.

You are loved.

For all we've lost, Iron & Wine's The Trapeze Swinger.