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Work Related : March Workshops

March 27, 2018

After my last post on all the firsts , I managed to conduct another 3 workshops in March : 2 in Stickerrific and another 1 in MyPaperProjects. March was a month of sharing and I'm glad I actively participated almost every week. 
Participants : I usually take maximum of 8 people (usually there are requests to add more, but I think 8 is a good number). More than 10 is a bit too much.
Duration : I think 2.5 hours is just nice. 4 hours - too long, 3 hours still a bit draggy. I did an 8 hours workshop once - with kids (it was craaaaazy).
Module : I think I improved my module at least 3 times by now, every time I see a task that can be improved in each workshop. It's a try-and-error process (to find a balance spot where it is not too hard, not too easy). 
Every workshop is a bit different :
  • Doodling & Rubber Stamp Carving : The one with MoodySeagull felt like a failure, because the class was long (4 hours) and I had the last 2 hours - most people looked like they are already bored/tired. I felt demotivated. We had 10 participants. I kept rewinding the session thinking what I've been doing wrong and how I can improve the module. I didn't give up. 



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  • Doodling & Zine Making : In my second workshop at Stickerrific that month, we only had 5 people because 3 more people cancelled last minute. So it was a really small workshop and we had an improved module since the last time. I was quite sick during the class (I had a really bad cough + sore throat, the one that make people uncomfortable). I had to wear mask and Szeetoo even made a hot green tea to calm the bad cough. It was a challenging class, I had to stop often to clear my voice.  


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  • Doodle Your Day : In my third workshop in March at MyPaperProject event last weekend, we had 7 people (1 person cancelled last minute). The class started early at 11 am - when I mistakenly thought the class starts at 2 pm ! But I managed to get ready on time. Interesting stuff : Marina M. joined the workshop ! I'm glad it was a fun class 😁
Note : Our face were highlighted + filtered in these pictures (the room was a bit dark) - this explains the look of youth and flawlessness in my face (in real life, my face is covered with pimple scars and it is several tones darker)
😂

Every workshop I've given taught me a lesson or two especially in improving my social skill. I can be forever awkward if I let myself be myself, but I think learning how to mingle and converse with people are still important (and very useful). I'm not shy, guys - I just find it hard to be around people. 

Plus, I'm not that good in conversing using full English (because I rarely speak in English) - so can you imagine me trying to explain something in class ? It must be hard to watch. But oh-well. We do what we have to do. I won't say no just because I don't feel confident teaching in English. All the workshops I did this year were in full English - berterabur wei 😂

Next workshop :

Work Related : Wander - Second travel book + Video

March 15, 2018
The book, I should have written about my self-published book like 2 weeks ago when I opened for the pre-order (it ended last night). But I was busy and pre-occupied with other small projects and workshops and restocking stuffs  :F I didn't even updated my Patreon page as many times as I should this month. 

But I had my coffee and chocolate treats and I supposed I should write something about it now.

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This is a project that took a year to finish. 
Book projects take so much time and energy especially when I'm the one that have to decide on the tone and the style and the cover and the quality of the work. No one gave me any direction - yes, I received suggestions and opinions but in the end I decided on everything. So it is a 'syok-sendiri' project. 

I didn't want it to be a travelogue, I didn't want it to be a guide, I didn't want it to be a comic. But I wanted it to be just like a personal travel diary - almost exactly like something that anyone can do when they travel because I did just that. That was my daily input when I was travelling in those 14-days Japan trip. I wanted to show people that it is possible to do such thing (even if you are not a comic artist, or a writer - you can definitely compile something and make your own book).

Wander (buy the book here) 🚀 :


In this book :
  • Daily activities
  • Places I visited in Osaka, Kyoto & Nara
  • Halal restaurants in Osaka
  • Things I saw and found interesting
  • On foods
  • Stamps & ticket/passes I collected


More about this book :
  • Size : A5
  • Pages : 60 coloured pages
  • Printed on 360 gsm matt-laminated cover + 128 gsm art paper for the content
  • Language : English
  • Self-published, printed in Malaysia
  • 100 copies first-print
  • Signed and numbered
Editing was done by my English teacher, Miss Chin.
Note : If you found any spelling/grammatical mistakes please inform me via email : azreen_31@hotmail.com so I can edit and print the improved version in the next printing. After all, this is a self-published book, I didn't have the budget to hire professional copy-writer 😅



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This book means so much to me, because I did what I wanted to do. I know I travel a lot and every time I travelled, I feel like I should have produce/make something out of it. Useful stuffs. So that my travels will mean something, will somehow benefit others. I'm glad I compiled this in a book form.


The making :



Audio Books : The Chosen One - Scribd

March 14, 2018
It has been almost 3 months of a LOT of audio books. Honestly this is quite new for me, I've been reading physical books actively since I was 9. Although I listened to podcasts and online talks all the time, I never thought listening to audiobooks would be this accessible nowadays. Several years ago when I first started searching, it was still hard (because of the licensing and expensive prices). 

I also been having mixed feelings about whether I should convert to digital books or stay with physical books (for almost 4 years now) - but this year, I've decided to convert to digital. Except for comics and graphic books, because I really love to re-read and go through those picture books over and over again. 
So the search for audio book platform started early in January, I've tried a lot of websites and apps that could offer free trials (because we need to know the pro & cons before subscribing to something - personal preferences is important). Other than online reviews, I did try their free trials happily (and so I listened to a lot of free books before deciding on one).  ♥

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Here are the lists of audio books platform that I've tried :

Librivox 
- Free - you can use it anytime
- Old books, mostly before 1932
Desktop + app
- I've listened to :
  • Anthem by Ayn Rand
  • Porcelain & Pink by F.S.Fitzgerald
  • The Book of Tea by Kakuzo Okakura
  • The Light Princess by George Mac Donald
  • Mathilda by Mary w. Shelley
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Audible
- One free trial = 1 credit
- An Amazon company
- You'll buy the audio book (so you can listen to it over and over again, if you want)
- Great selection of latest books
- $14.95/month = 1 credit
Desktop + app
- I've listened to :
  • The Sense of Ending by Julian Barnes
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Perpustakaan Negara (Overdrive)
- Free
- Very limited selection
- You can borrow books, but you need to wait for your turn
- You will get a week to finish it up
Desktop + app (Libby)
- I've listened to :
  • The Ghost by Robert Harris
  • The Noticer by Andy Andrews
  • What Language is That by Uwem Akpan
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- One free trial = 1 credit
- $14.95 per month
- You'll buy the audio book
- Desktop + app
- I've listened to :
  • Call Me by Your Name by Andre Aciman
Note : I forgot to manually cancel the subscription after the trial, by the end of the month, money has been deducted from my Paypal account and I received another 1 credit =.= So now I've cancelled the subscription and I'm currently listening to : The Year of Less by Cait Flanders using the credit.

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Otto Radio (app)
- One Free trial
- Selection of podcasts & audio books
- I've listened to :
  • Mr. Penumbra's 24-hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan
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Scribd ★★★★
- One month free trial
- Latest selection
- 1.4M ebooks + 100k audio book selection
- Online/offline feature
- $8.99/month, unlimited rents
- I've listened to :
  • Call Me by Your Name by Andre Aciman  
  • After You by Jojo Moyes
  • The Midnight Palace by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
  • The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto by Mitch Albom
  • Sounds Like Me by Sara Bareilles
  • Rework by Jason Fried
  • Yes, My Accent is Real by Kunal Nayyar
  • An Unquiet Mind by Kay Redfield Jamison
  • $100 Startups by Chris Guillebeau
  • Scrappy Little Nobody by Anna Kendrick
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Feelings and thoughts :
So I used more than 5 companies/apps - the free ones and the paid version ones. I've decided to choose Scribd. Here are my reasons :
  • One month free trial = 10 audio books
  • Renting instead of buying - honestly, I just need to listen to the book only one time. If I really like it, I will probably buy a physical one so that I can hold it and put it next to my bed and pretend I have the time to read it.
  • Subscription = $8.99 = RM 35 per month for unlimited access to e-books and audio books. I don't really need to own books (in this age) when I can still enjoy it by borrowing it from the library (think about the dying polar bear). Plus, RM 35 is the price of one book in Malaysia when I can read unlimited amount of books in Scribd.
  • Latest collection - they currently have more than 1.4M e-books and 100k audio books. I can't complain to that. 
There are cons for free apps available in the market, for example : Librivox only offers old books and Overdrive offers what Perpustakaan Negara have in their library (very-very limited collection - I've listened to all that I wanted to try). Not to say that I'm not recommending these apps - if you just want to try to listen to free audiobooks, you can definitely try those. 

Plus all the paid apps/websites that offers free trials. Audible and Audiobooks.com are very expensive (around $14.99 for 1 credit = 1 book), but you'll buy the books and will have your own library to store your digital books. But I don't think you would want to buy expensive e-books/audiobooks when they are just digital files.

So that's why Scribd is the best option there is, at least for now

Note : There are still a lot of other options around, I'm sure. But I've tried several for now and I think I'm okay with paying $8.99 per month to Scribd to borrow from their book collection plus, I'm thanking them for their free one-month trial when I listened to those 10 books for free. I am so happy so I've been recommending the app on my social media and now in my blog (See, if you make one user happy, you'll probably get so many more new users by all the great recommendations and reviews by that happy customer) :D 


Books : February List

March 06, 2018

I am still actively listening to audio books, currently on free trial : Scribd
In February I listened to 7 audio books :

  15. Call Me by Your Name by Andre Aciman
  16. After You by Jojo Moyes
  17. The Midnight Palace by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
  18. The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto by Mitch Albom
  19. Sounds Like Me by Sara Bareilles
  20. Rework by Jason Fried
  21. Yes, My Accent is Real by Kunal Nayyar

My favorite book this month : Sounds Like Me by the singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles. 
Most cringe-y but sometimes beautiful : Call Me by Your Name



Several mentions :
  • After You is the story after Me Before You, if you've seen the movie in 2016 or read the book. The one with Mother of Dragon and Sam Claflin, the one that makes you cry a bucket. Well, it was written after that book. It is not a 'must-read' book, because there was nothing much happened after the incident. But it is nice to know what happened to Louisa Clark. A really easy-read.
  • Call Me by Your Name was cringe-y because I am not comfortable with the idea of man attracted to man (that's it). It was still beautifully written, about a relationship between a 17-year old Elio and a 24-year old Oliver. And oh, it was read by one of the main actor : Armie Hammer with a very manly and soothing voice that reminds you of autumn 🍁
  • I tried riding a bike on a new path while listening to Rework.  It was a bit distracting, it was hard to focus on listening when I was trying to explore new places. The mind buzzes off elsewhere and I'll forget what I was listening to. Usually when I listen to something, I wouldn't be there in the moment. For example, I can still do inking and colouring at my desk because of the repetitive work, but I can't explore new places or engage in a conversation while listening to an audio book. Not recommended. 
  • After listening to several biographies/personal stories from : Ellen deGeneres, Sara Bareilles, Kunal Nayyar, I feel like I personally know them (with extra little trinkets more than anyone else). It felt so close and personal - now I'm going to listen to more biographies read by the person him/herself. 
Note : Thanks to audio books, I think I'm reaching my 31 books goal soon. 

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Movie : Falling in Love and Having to Say Goodbye

March 05, 2018

I watched 2 movies that touched me to the core last month - or maybe because I was having a PMS and that lead to constant crying over every single sad things in my life. I chose these 2 movies in the same week because I was ridiculously unstable emotionally and I wanted a good cry. Have you ever felt like that? - Wanted a good cry I mean. Sometimes I do and that happens usually in the same phase in each predictable week in a month. The week when women get a thorough cleanse physically and emotionally - a week after that, we will feel like we can conquer the world !

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The movie :


So if you are in love and you are still afraid with the idea of letting go/saying good bye - here are some movies that you should watch. Just to give you a head start in thinking about the topic that you are so afraid to face.

I know about A Ghost Story since last year, but I was reluctant to watch it. Even Af watched it several months before I did. After I watched the trailer, I felt like I can predict the story and I was not ready for it. It felt like a huge similarity between us and the characters in the movie. So I didn't want to feel that much. I am so in love and I just wasn't ready. 

But after 3 months of waiting, I finally watched it,
A Ghost Story (2017)  :


I love the unspoken silence and the music and the pain. 
You need to be very patient, because it is a very slow-paced movie. It is a ghost story, but it is not a typical ghost stories with jump-scares and creepy moments. I loved it because I love how simple the movie is, but it captured the bigger message and human emotions. You can feel just by watching, it can test how observant we can be when we have to, even without any conversations. Feelings passed from one scene to the other without dialogues. I found it intriguing. 

This movie is for people who are comfortable with silence and slow-paced reality. It is also for people who are in love and people who are trying to understand, or at least for those who are not afraid to feel sad and melancholic.

I freakin' love the song ♥ :


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Irreplaceable You (2018)


This was just a random Netflix featured movie that I found when I was packing stuffs for the day. It is also brought the theme of : Being in Love and Having to Say Goodbye ♥ It wasn't as powerful as 'A Ghost Story' but it was painful nonetheless. I'm not sure whether I want to be the one who leave or who has to leave. 

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Being in love teaches me this, that something so beautiful and so pure can be so painful and so heart-breaking. I'm thankful for this God's given chance that is given to me, for letting me feel this beauty in life that I've never felt before. Even though it puts me in a very vulnerable position. I guess in life, for us to have something great and beautiful, we must balance it with the sides that we are not ready to face. Like the risk of losing it, the pain and the heart-breaks.

But we just have to deal with it. 
It's the yin to the yang, the light to the dark ♥

Note : My mom mentioned about how morbid I can be at times :F I noticed that too, but I feel like talking about death is really important in relationship (because every single person on earth will face it eventually). Even though we try to not think about it, it is still as real as facing tomorrow. So why be afraid of something that real ?

Review : Florence , Interactive Comic by Mountains

March 01, 2018

It is not a proper review, I just want to mention about an interactive comic that I found last night in my App Store : Florence because it was so nice. Unfortunately, it is only available for iOS users guyyys ♥ 

I bought the comic for RM 12.90, reminiscing the time when I did my own interactive comic for my final year project (don't ask to see it because it was REALLY bad). 9 years ago, there weren't as many samples available in the market so it was hard to explain to lecturers about my FYproject. I was the only one that chose to make an interactive comic, so even the lecturers didn't have any references to compare me to other projects (which was a bonus point for me). 

So I was excited to see this app and I chose to buy it right-away ( I was too curious to read/feel/try - even though I wanted to buy other mobile app too at the same time : Old Man's Journey (let's wait until I have an iPad).

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This is a story about 25-year old Florence and her first love, it was launched during Valentine last month. So it is still pretty fresh in the oven. It was made by the lead designer of Monument Valley (so no wonder it was beautiful), developed by Mountains x Annapurna.


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There are several chapters in different phases of Florence's life. User's will have to play around with the items in the screen to read/watch the story. They are only simple stuffs like clicking, swiping, moving certain items, but users still need to do something to continue with the story.

Even though it is not for children, I'm curious to see how children reacts to this app (as an experiment, I will let Af's little cousin to try it later). Oh, and there are hardly any words - just visuals and sounds. Sounds interesting ?



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I think because of the storyline and theme, it relates to female audience than male audience (most games in the market focus on themes like strategy, wars, cars, sports, domination, battle) - which for me, I feel a bit blergh - boring. I needed themes that are more relatable to me, and I'm not interested in the overly imaginative world. Even though people do play games to leave the real world. Hm.  

So, I feel like something as simple as this is exciting. The app is already featured on the "Editor's Choice" - I hope the market will grow and developers will realize that there are a huge market in this theme. (After all, women's population outgrow men - imagine if we can attract women to be more tech-savvy and play more games / read more digital comics ). Ha.


The downside is I think it is too short. 
I needed more :F To be fair, for them it is just a $3 digital comic, for us - it is RM 13. Ha. But I appreciate the effort, so I don't mind spending money on a good stuff. 

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I hope there will be more comics like this in the future - I'm up for digital books and comics (I already started to sell and donate my unused books, to minimize my collection. I keep on thinking about the dying polar bear).

And I didn't know Ken Wong could draw this good ! :F 
So have you tried this app ?