Little Story 225 : Obikeee

So you know about the bike services that they provide all over the city?

We downloaded the app and we used the one in Putrajaya 2 nights ago, we were happy and excited, the night felt exciting after a long day of work. We planned to go to the 'Friday pasar malam' behind the Palace of Justice. So with empty stomach, the three of us rode there from the mosque where we parked the car.

There was no dedicated parking space for the bike near the 'pasar malam'. We decided to : lock the bike at a safe place near the pasar malam, go buy and eat dinner, and later come back for the bike to ride back to our car. So there shouldn't be any issue of leaving the bike all over the place like an irresponsible person. 

We hunted for food, I bought a nice chicken wrap *(later I decided that if I want it healthier, I should ask the one with no mayo, no sauce - because boy, they put way too much in there). Af ate 'nasi berlauk' as predicted and Aja ate 'yong tau fu'. 

We went to our bikes back with a full stomach and happy faces.

Here are problems that came next : 

• now, to unlock the bike you need to verify your account (*no early notice whatsoever)
• to verify your account, you need to pay refundable RM 69 through the app
• we didn't have RM 69 x 3 
• to leave the bike, means leave the bike at non-dedicated parking spot
• leave bikes at non-dedicated parking spot means deduct -20 points from your account
• it also means we need to walk back 2.5km to our car with a full stomach

Happy night turned sour. 

We had to leave the bike like an irresponsible person (Now I understand why some people left their used bicycle at random places. We thought we just need to leave it for 15 minutes and we will come back for it, later to find out we need to pay RM 69 first) 🙁 

And because of how I'm wired and I can be super 'pembaris' about something, I feel bad and super disappointed in myself because I didn't follow the rule and I left the borrowed bicycle at random places :

cool.

Event : 1-day at Machi Mochi Market

Another short noticed event that I joined this year : Machi Mochi Market at Sunway Velocity on the 21st of Oct (Saturday). The organizer asked me to fill-in an emergency Saturday slot for 'Apom-apom' because they can't join on that day. I knew the organizer, so I'd said 'yes' 😃

I'm quite happy to learn that local illustrators are emerging slowly, I saw several new faces at the event among old faces ❤  

Here are the stuffs I bought from my fellow participants (more stickers + artprints) :

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The event took place at the 5th floor of Sunway Velocity, it was quite a nice space with cute lights, dedicated space for sharing sessions, artisan booths and small workshop. But the crowd wasn't as much as I anticipated (maybe because this was their first event) :

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Anyway, other worth mention : 'Seven Cups' cafe (an artisan cafe near our event). I bought an iced Matcha Latte from the cafe and I felt like I was in Japan again. 

Image from their Facebook

I bought my own Matcha powder several months back so that I can make my own matcha latte at home. But it didn't taste as good as the ones at the cafes, and so I asked my brother "why is that?", later I found out that it is because I refused to add sugar in my own drink :F 

"Everything tastes better with processed sugar, love ❤ "  

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Next events in Nov + Dec :

• Comic Play, Publika ( *still in application process )
• Etsy Made Local, PAM Bangsar
• Comic Fiesta 2017, KLCC

Happy weekend, guys ❤

Work Related : Book Nerd + Game Nerd Pins ❤

My purple 'game nerd' enamel pin is almost sold out. I only have less than 5 pieces in my keeping, sent 10 pieces to Stickerrific last weekend, and probably around 10 pieces in Salt x Paper (if they still have those - I sent it weeks ago). Well, it is almost over - I'm glad people really like it ❤

In between the first enamel pin that I ordered and now as I'm writing, I also ordered 2 more enamel pins (the 'book nerd' 📖 + the 'game nerd' 🎮 in grey version) last month.  I don't think I mentioned about it in my blog yet (but I also did a 'book nerd' gift-away via my IG last month.

Well, because those first enamel pins were sold quite fast, I decided to make a new one and reorder the 'game nerd' in different colour :

These pins came in last month ❤
They are also limited to 100 pieces each design, I don't want to re-make exactly the same one but I can reorder in different colour because the cost to make the mold is PRICEEEY $$.

I designed another 2 new backing cards especially made for these new items :

You can buy it here :

>> Book Nerd | Game Nerd (Grey) <<

or at Stickerrific in PJ / Salt x Paper in KK

❤

Whiny complain :

A LOT of people keep on asking me about where I did my enamel pins, obviously they didn't read >> my previous long post << about my enamel pin experience. I now find it annoying (because 'strangers ' keep on asking me the same thing over and over again, in IG + FB) - sometimes just abruptly, no greetings, none. Don't they know that it is rude to ask about where I make my stuffs. At least have a decency to do research first, instead of waiting to be spoon-fed :F 

Even for me, I found it hard to ask other independent makers about where or how they make certain stuffs because I know it is a personal question 😐 Where is the manner, guys ?  

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Mini Escapism : Avillion PD + Ma's Birthday

4 days after we got home from Sabah, we got another mini escapism planned out for Ma's birthday in Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan. We were obviously still catching up with workloads and other stuffs after spending 5 days in Sabah, so that week felt so short. 

We spent 2-days at Avillion Port Dickson, a super fancy-mancy water villa. By far, this is the most expensive place we've ever stayed (for a budget traveller like us) . This was a sponsored short holiday for us, so we accepted it with open hands ❤

The trip started with :

1. Lunch at Burger Byte, Seremban
People suggested this place, so we went here for a lunch when we first arrived in Port Dickson. They cater most western foods specifically burgers. We ordered several different dishes, I shared with Aja because I was worried the potion might be too big for me. We ordered for a combo set of 2 patties (chicken & beef), mashed potato with 2  small broccoli pieces + 2 small cauliflower pieces ( for their price, I think they should have be more generous with their vegetable potion). Their patties and mashed potatoes were great ♥

2. Avillion Beach Resort

From the lunch stop, we headed to our hotel and it took an hour ride. Our hotel check-in time was around 2pm (it was also a full weekend - I guess it was school holiday season?). We never went to a 5-stars fancy beach hotel, so we were a bit 'jakun'. 

We got 2 villas (one with a huge king-sized bed and another one with 2 single beds) - my siblings and ma got the one with the one big bed + extra bed at the Pangkin for 2, and Af + me got ourself the other villa ★★★★ It was beautiful and huge ! There's a door to the open sky bathroom with bathtub, huge rain shower and a small toilet. There's also a sliding door to my own private balcony so you can have a view of the sea or even fishing.

My favorite part was the huge rain shower, but it was a bit uncomfortable to take a shower in a open sky area with no ceiling :F 

Extra stuffs : Pet farm, 2 pools (one for everyone another one for adult only), karaoke lounge, children room & playhouse, spas, fully equipped gym, tennis courts, several lookout points, nature walk, steam & sauna, peacocks walking around the area. Faaaancy. 

3. Embok Village Steamboat
For dinner that night, we went to Embok for a steamboat and grilled fish (but unfortunately it was full house for an event), so we decided to order some seafoods. We just got back from seafood galore in Sabah the weekend before, so for me, this wasn't the best seafood I tasted this month. It took around an hour to get our food, Ma was already feeling sleepy (so it wasn't the best place to eat out during the weekend night).

Food for 6-7 people costed : RM 160

4. Late night birthday celebration at the hotel's 24-hours restaurant

After our dinner, we went back to our hotel and waited for Ma's birthday. We ordered for 2 juices and spent the time there chatting until 12 am. My brother made a 2-tier birthday carrot cake in purple (Ma's favorite colour) with fresh flowers. We ate our cake, passed our birthday gifts and we went back to our villas back.

5. Next morning super-big Breakfast Buffet

I love breakfast buffet (because the food isn't as heavy as other buffet). If I was not mistaken, the morning buffet costed around RM 40 per person (which was way expensive for us) but we got 50% discount using special passes. I think I ate until my stomach can't process anymore, this wasn't my proudest moment. My favorite were hash potatoes (not salty, not too mashed), camembert cheese slices, several types of ham slices, and fishes. 

6. Walking at the beach

By the time we wanted to walk on the beach after our big breakfast, it was around 11 am and it was  already painfully hot. The glare was too much for my eyes, I couldn't even open my eyes properly. I borrowed Ma's sunglasses and walked along with the others. Af wanted to shoot a short videos but I couldn't participate,  I was the first one to go back to my room and I hid in the darken room where I pull down all the blinder. The sun was never my best friend and I need to do something with the condition of my eyes.

Finally, we checked out at 12 pm and our short stay at PD ended 😩 

Personal thoughts :
This is definitely a nice honeymoon spot ! You'll get a great view of the sea, everything was so beautiful with thoughtful tiny details, personal space with everything oh-so-fancy and romantic. We are very grateful for this chance ❤❤❤

Mini Escapism + Event : JAM, Sabah

We went to Sabah 2 weeks ago !

We originally planned to go to Sabah for an event invitation by Salt x Paper in Kota Kinabalu. They were organizing a monthly event called 'Jesselton Artisan Market : Inktober'. I thought it was good for us to visit Sabah for the first time and at the same time making little money out of our trip. So it was a work-holiday trip :D

Two sunsets in Sabah

This time we went in a group of 5 : Aja (my older sister), Ma, Wati + her baby, Af and me. We booked a 3-room apartment in Marina Court Resort right in the middle of the KK city. 

The places we went :

• Mount Kinabalu National Park - We wanted to take some photos of the mountain top but we had a long tough car ride from the city, so we were considered late. We can't see the mountain top in the afternoon, it was blocked by a huge dark cloud. Around 2 hours+ ride. 

• Desa Dairy Cow Farm in Kundasang - fresh milk, froyo and ice cream without any preservatives ! Also a nice view of the green field and black+white cows that reminds you of New Zealand. Fees - RM 5 each person. 

• Filipino Market - Super affordable seafood dinners ! We dined twice in different food stalls during our stay :

• Handicraft Market - where people sell local items : pearls, batik shirt, coconut wallets, hand-made items. This was where we spent our money buying souvenir to people at home :F
• Gayang Restaurant - A recommended restaurant by someone we met at the event. 
• Signal Hill Observatory Tower - A short car ride to the tower on the hill where you can have a view of the city (but mostly tall buildings nowadays). Sunset view from the tower would be great, I think ? Fees - Free. The view :

• Tanjung Aru Beach - A short visit before we headed home that afternoon. I'm guessing that we would have a really nice view of sunset from here :(

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Things I'm quite surprised about Sabah :

• It feels like we are 1-hour early than Semenanjung because the sunrise time is around 6 am and sunset is around 6 pm. 
• We need to have a visa-like document when we arrive, show your IC/passport for them to give you a 90-days visitation time even though both sides are Malaysia. (Note : I should have remembered, I use to love history - and I'm pretty sure we learned this somewhere). Oh, and make sure that the document stays with you, don't lose it or you'll need to make a report to the local police.
• So many affordable seafood ! I looooooove ♥
• Everything ends with '-bah' . 
• When people ask "are you local?" that means I need to say "no, I'm from Semenanjung" even though I'm pretty sure we are all local Malaysian. I don't even know why there's such a question.
• In Sabah, they are very welcoming and super-friendly but I feel like an outsider. 

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The event (Jesselton Artisan Market) :

This event was organized by Salt x Paper (thanks Aaron & Chrystin!) and Riverson. I sent my products to Salt x Paper since Dec last year so we've been communicating through Whatsapp & emails for the past 10 months. I felt like I know them even though we've never met.

When they invited me to join for their event, I thought about it for several days before I said yes. For this event, I shared my booth with Eureka ArtStudio - a young independent illustrator/painter that I've come to adore (remember that I've been searching high & lo for local independent illustrator that I could partner up? Well I think I found one). You guys can check-out her works on her IG.

Her most famous item at the event was :

Anyway, the 2-days event was a success.
My sales was quite high and I should be happy, but considering our expenses to come all the way from KL and the 5-days stay and the car rent, it wasn't enough. This was a paid trip to Sabah instead of business trip, because we didn't managed to get any extra money to bring back home BUT everything else was paid using all the money from the event.

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Expenses (per person) :

• Car rental (Bezza) + Gas (for 5 days) : RM 90 + RM 18
• Apartment - 5 days : RM 213
• Luggage : RM 76
• Flight : RM 310
• Food : RM 64
• Tickets : RM 8
• Groceries : RM 10
• Grand Total : Roughly around RM 800 per person 

How to improve in next events in Sabah (as an independent artist) :

• booth sharing (in a small group, 2-3)
• sales must exceed RM 1,500 (per person)
• conduct a workshop/class at the event (multi-income on the event day)
• restock items at Salt x Paper (save the postage cost !)

Glorious seafood galore

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Work Related : New Shop Stickerrific

This post was drafted on September :

For those art & craft lovers, you must have heard about Stickerrific in PJ (near JayaOne). Well, I contacted them last year asking for a spot to send my products - and they asked me to come with my products when I have the time. But last year I was super busy with Fin soon after I contacted them and I didn't find the time to make stuffs. So I kinda kept low afterwards.

Until 2 weeks ago I contacted them again, and they were still interested to meet me & my stuffs. So for the past week I've been preparing stuffs to send to Stickerrific. I am the only worker - so I had to do every single thing : designing, preparing file, printing, cutting, packing, bar-coding & sending the items. Imagine if you want to send 10 types of your products and for each of the 10 items, you want to send 10 pieces of it, then you'll have to prepare 100 items. Most of my items are not ready-made stuffs, they are in a way or another : hand-made or needed my personal touch. So you can imagine the time-consuming process.

Of course I can choose to 'just design', mass produce all my stuffs, and not having to think about the small fussy things. But here's the difference between just a designer and an independent artist : independent artist like to give personal touch to each and every item. This explains why I love preparing my sticker packs and why I don't really feel connected to items like my postcards (because I just send it to print and it is ready).

If you are a crafter + hoarder, this is your heaven :

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So on that Thursday we went to Stickerrific.

Other than Af, my mom and my brother tagged along as well. I was greeted by the siblings and we discussed about all my items (well they take it all) and I felt oh so happy oh oh ! I prepared the delivery order copies, let them count the stock, and that's it - my items are officially at Stickerrific :D You can now get some of my items at Stickerrific (like the travel journal, Japanese food sticker packs, Kuroneko postcard, enamel pins and some of my other big stickers) - so you don't have to wait for an event or pay the shipping fees.

I did some shopping here as well.
I bought Stickerrific's cat sticker and a beautiful letter-pressed postcard :

Anyway, just a few days later they informed me, telling that all my Japanese sticker packs are sold out and I need to restock +.+ I am super thankful, but I was busy preparing my stuffs for the Jesselton Artisan Market in Sabah so I had to put the priorities first to the event then to the shop.

Current situation : I am preparing all the items I need to send to Stickerrific especially the sticker packs. I'm not sure about the pins (all the pins that I brought to JAM was sold out so I need to prepare the packaging as well). Busy busy week. This weekend we will be having a mom's birthday holiday at PD and next week's weekend I'll be joining Machi Mochi Market at Sunway Velocity - so I don't think I have extra time to rest for now :F