Shame on me or Indonesian education system?

I've been systemizing my unorganized photo stack of around 3500 from the past year into folders and keywords. It's going well so far. I'm at around the halfway point. 

Then i got to the stack of picture from the Dallas museum of Art that I went to last summer and spent time to read the plaques that I took pictures of. They had a permanent (I think) exhibition with Indonesian cultural objects. The plaques that accompany each objects was... fascinating to say the least. It gets me thinking: why was I not taught this in elementary / junior high school? Why did I just learn more about Irian Jaya in a single plaque explaining an Irian house doorpost than the whole time I was in Indonesia? Am I just missing out on something when I lived there or something really is broken here: I learn more about Indonesian culture in TEXAS rather than in JAKARTA.

The picture is not the best since I'm not allowed to use flash and my lens is sloooow. Here's the doorpost in question and it's phallic imagery that depicts vengeance for death of a family member (no, I'm not joking).

So they actually traded other stuff (an ivory spoon) for spices in Malacca too? I thought only Europeans want spices.

Many of these objects concern beliefs other than the eacknowledged five. Are they perhaps discouraged by the government because we're only allowed to be one of the five religions?

Where do people buy light other than IKEA?

My current town, halifax, doesn't have an IKEA because we're poor, and I need a cheap lantern (not 40$++ and NOT a desklamp). So I ran to a hardware store (Canadian Tire) and got these stuff:

Tracing paper, lamp base, 230 watt lamp, extension cord, plug, insulation foam

Since I'm an architecture student, tracing paper and foam are plenty, so those are free. Bought two of everything else since I want to make two lanterns. Total damage: 27$. Ouch. At least that's after the tax... WHY ARE plugs so freaking expensive? 0_o They're just plugs 0_O

One of the bulbs came out dead and the one that is good turned out to be too hot / bright for my room, so I'll prolly go back tomorrow and return them for a new and weaker pair.

Result for nao sitting on my buffet:

Now I can worry a bit less about lens fungus since my lens are getting some light.

Before

And after.

Moral of the story: IKEA is cheap

New question arising: Why is IKEA so cheap? Is my labor such a liability that it's actually cheaper to buy a finished product at IKEA than for me to make one myself with the raw ingredients?

Instant phood again xD

Been working on my abandoned photo stacks lately. The number is over 9000! Well, no. Actually it's more like 3000. I've done around 500 now =.=;; Not in the mood to cook lately but I had the realization that I'm probably just lazy ^^;

The picture is basmati rice and seafood instant package which somehow magically taste good 0_O; might be competitor with barbeque eel for the best instant food that there is? xD I'm eating it with some Franc Cabernet right now. THe Franc Cab isn't as fruity as the gehringer one I had a while back. Still good though xD

Men sana in corpore sano

Talking about food ingredient here. I love cooking, I really do. I think of it as quite meditative, especially when you already know your recipe by heart (otherwise it can be a bit daunting). A week ago I made something so horrible that I actually throw away three full lunch containers of it. =_= I wasted around 30 dollar-ish there. But it's just unbearable.

Earlier today I went to the weekly farmer's market (local farmers selling their products directly) to get food materials. Man what a difference it makes. In general the vegetables are fresher and smells much stronger (compared to the ones in the supermarket that's been in cold sleep for god-knows-how-long). From the moment onions meetsthe heated olive oil and spreads its fragrance all around the kitchen, I know this is going to be good. And it is good indeed. The spaghetti that came out of it is awesome. Each pieces of vegetables just have tons of flavor. Eating this compared to eating my last dish is like heaven and hell. Gah, I think I'll have to wake up early every staurday now to get phood =_=

Oh and even though it comes from the supermarket, the garlic bread brings the dish to a whole other level.

image courtesy of www.caswells-moms.com

Manipulate lvl 10

So tomorrow I'm up for a trivia game fundraising (already paid by professor). I wasn't interested in it until a friend of mine pretty much brainwashed me into it. The way she talks is ... how do I say it, manipulative? 0_O; it's like she expected me to have a certain way of replying and therefore she replies in a certain way, end result being me getting into the trivia x.x; Not that I regretted it or anything, but that skill seems to be a useful one to have. Rather than one of my talents - knowing the time if I saw a clock at least 2 hours ago. xD;

Instant Phood

I just finished eating this -Hungry Man microwave dinner. It's yuck but not too bad. Western equivalent of Indomie I guess? My microwave broke today so I used the oven method. The meats turn out perfect but the mashed potato becomes all watery and yuck. Didnt eat the potato. 

My ultimate instant food is frozen barbeque eel. Ready in 15 mins and very nutritious =) You eat instant phood too or no? I kinda miss Indomie, gotta go get some this weekend

Books over desserts

Hmmm, I'm noticing a weird pattern lately. I tend to process book better in spaces where there is no one that I know and I feel comfortable in. Honestly the libraries around here kinda suck compared to my old safe haven in Vancouver (Vancouver Public Library). My studio is not bad but it's swarmed with people I know half of my study time. So the most natural place to go to would be of course, cafe that serves desserts, yum~

Yesterday I had some liquor-shot coffee (forgot the name, have picture but sucks) and I finished this book over it. Today I finished this book over some lime cheesecake. The cake was okay, I think it's quite old since the demand for cookies here cant be as high as in Vancouver. Where oh where can i get my cheesecake craving fulfilled? T_T

It's been a while since I had a morning bath. It feels great but there's just no time for it when you go to university. Heck, it's not necessary anyway if you live in the great white north =b On the other hand my body clock is turned around already so it feels like 8 at night or something right now.

My morning ritual these days include an omellete and waking up around 4 in the morning, then going to studio~  fun fun

Image courtesy of www.coolslice.com

Sketches of Frank Gehry

Just finished watching this documentary. Never knew Gehry much before but this movie just clicks on me. Gehry does things in ways that are so different from how I do things. He works mostly with sketches and models, changing the looks constantly along the way. Looks simple but effective. Makes me want to try it myself xD

I tear up a bit looking at the Bilbao Guggenheim. It's quite an overwhelming feeling, looking at it through the video and feeling like you're in it. It's in my visit list now for sure =) And surprisingly I got this building to study for History class xD 

Great movie, esp for young architects or just general public =)

"When an artist comes to me, they want to know how to change the world"

-Gehry's therapist

How to Sleep

Architecture school is driving me crazy =.= How are you supposed to sleep in this kind of environment? I tried taking naps and it disturbs my normal sleeping schedule. I'm trying out inverted schedule now (sleep 3-9 pm and 5-8 pm) but I dont feel alive during daytime >_>. Nighttime working is quite effective though. We'll see how this goes. Anyone know whether this is healthy or not?

New blog day

Lets try blogging again shall we?