Whimsical.nu

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Hi, I'm Angela, a girl with a blog on five different psyches:
girl, geek, reader, writer, gamer
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Yet another blunder (A TeamLava rant)

Sometimes, I really am dumbfounded with some gaming outfits. I suppose I’ve never really had an opinion of TeamLava specifically, though I have tried almost all their “-Story” games and have spent money on gems. I’m currently an active player of Bakery Story, and have started out on Farm Story as well. I’ve toyed with the idea of reviving my Restaurant Story game, which is the next-highest level TeamLava game I have.

The Chocoberry Cafe

I enjoy the games, although Bakery Story is the most interesting for me. My bakery is called the Chocoberry Cafe, and I bake according to a theme: if a recipe has chocolates and berries (of any kind) in it, I make it. This means I always juggle between recipes that have long cook times, but higher yields, and recipes that are quick but have lower yields (except for Brownies and Blueberry Muffins, because they are too quick and I can’t afford to babysit the cafe). Given the theme of my bakery, it’s fairly important to me to keep the food stocked up and displayed on the counters. After all, the food is the reason why my cafe is named “Chocoberry Cafe”. They are part of my “decoration”, if you will. So whenever a food item dips to less than 5,000 plates, I could be in danger of “losing” that item, which is something I’d rather not happen. (It also messes up with whatever arrangement I already have with the food items, since you don’t really have any control where the food gets served once you serve it.)

Yesterday morning, I saw a message on my wall from one of my neighbors, saying that she was gifting brownies now (instead of the “standard” cappuccinos) due to changes in the game, and that they are now the highest-profit items. Dumbfounded, I went and looked it up–and it’s true.

This isn’t Kansas anymore

As early as January 17, players have noticed the change and have put forward their thoughts and complaints. TeamLava has responded only to say that the change is “to ensure that the game is enjoyable as possible — not just for current players, but new players as well…to balance out the game”. Based on what I’ve read, the changes that have happened include:

  1. Normalizing selling price per food plate to 4 coins. This raises the profit for stuff like Brownies (initially selling for 1 coin per plate) and lowers it for stuff like Red Velvet Cake (initially 12 coins per plate, though I may be wrong–this used to be my biggest earner, though).
  2. Lowering yield per bake. I have no comparison data for this, but it’s been reported.
  3. Lowering cost of recipes to bake. This was communicated later on, but again, I have no comparison data.
  4. Blocking the door to stockpile food does not stop sales now; there have been reports that once you unblock the door, the food that you should have sold while you were stockpiling all gets sold immediately.

These changes make counters harder to stock, whether you’re a new or older player. I’ve noticed this myself, but shrugged it off initially and thought maybe I was just imagining things. Less yield means that if I try making an item that takes a number of hours to make, if my baker stays open the whole time, by the time I get to serve these new food items, there is nothing on the counter anymore. Empty counters at any point of the game means unhappy customers, and unhappy customers bring your popularity down, and popularity affects the number of customers coming into your bakery (lower than the measly 30-or-so customers we’re already getting). I have some stuff stocked from before the change (now selling at a loss, since they were baked with a higher-priced recipe than now, and selling for much lower), but new players don’t have the 16 appliances I have: how are you supposed to keep counters stocked with only a handful of ovens that you’re limited to due to your low level? Why, spend $4.99 to buy gems to add one extra appliance, of course! Worse, you can’t even block the door to stockpile, now. The only way I got through those lower levels was to stockpile. I don’t see how this change will help new players.

These changes make it slower to earn money. I used to spend a lot of bake time and coins to bake the ones with high yield and high profit, because I knew that once that batch sells, I will have reached a coin goal and I can get x item, or expand, etc. as opposed to waiting and waiting and waiting for my lower (therefore slower) items to sell. And yes, the recipes cost lower to make: but you bake more (and therefore spend more) in order to keep your counters stocked, so the point is moot. I’ve noticed it’s harder to earn money: it’s been a while but I’m having a hard time trying to break 2M (for my 4M goal, which I need to expand) when I need to keep baking to keep food items on counters.

Also, it removes the strategy element: if everything is normalized, then it doesn’t really matter what item you bake. I enjoy just making the food items that fit the theme of my bakery, but I want to make other items too, but right now, I can’t afford to do that (time-wise) because wait, my Chocolate Cake is getting dangerously low, I need to stock up on that first. So I just never end up making these other items. It becomes mindless, which kids probably don’t really care about, but as an adult, it was part of the draw of the game. If I wanted a mindless game, there are a lot of action arcade games made for the iPhone, on other consoles. I’ll go play that instead.

And an extra dash of salt to wound:

No warning nor formal announcement on these changes. They were just rolled out and it was the users themselves who noted it and started asking questions, who are understandably confused and worried if there was a bug. They have responded with an official statement after a while, but continue to largely ignore the strong user sentiments on the changes. And other people have noted that TeamLava’s wording–that they have “legions of super-passionate fans” sound almost insulting. I don’t think it’s wise for TeamLava to ignore these “legions” of “super-passionate” gamers that they are alienating. New users are great, but those who TeamLava might classify as “super-passionate” are the ones dropping significant hard-earned cash for the game.

A time for all things to end

I do like spending cash now and then on freemium games–I just did recently with Bakery Story. Paying for stuff like gems is good because it supports these smaller game houses and I like thinking that I’m doing my bit to keep them going. I stopped Bakery Story for a while, but then had my account ported over to my new phone just to be able to keep going. But this is unacceptable. Poor communication with the community and user base, shady decisions that doesn’t look like it’s going to change–I’m not going to continue supporting games by a company who does this.

I’ve been thinking it’s time for a break–and maybe it really is time to say goodbye to TeamLava and the Story series. Goodbye, Chocoberry Cafe and my beloved chocolate fountain.

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Re-kindling the flames

I'm talking about: the Amazon Kindle

Kindle 3, now more known as the Kindle KeyboardI realized that I have never properly talked about one of my purchases this year on this blog, though I’ve certainly talked about it to friends and tried to enable people with it. Last April, I caved and bought myself an Amazon Kindle 3, which was the most recent model out at the time, now more known as the Kindle Keyboard.

What, ebooks? Tolerable, I suppose

When the Kindle first came out, with the much-touted e-ink technology, I was skeptical at best. I loved my paper books, and in the years following that first release and up until my decision to get one, I was firmly in the paper-book-lover camp. No newfangled technology was going to tear me away from my paper books! I liked the tactile feel of turning the pages, the scent of paper. I spend a lot of my time looking at text on screens and have tried reading ebooks, but it never caught on.

When I started getting into audiobooks, my penchant for still buying the paper books after listening to the audiobook firmed my belief that nothing was ever going to make me give up my paper books. My attempts to read ebooks on my iPhone didn’t help, either–my head hurt after a while, I got dizzy, the eye strain felt uncalled-for when I knew I could stare at computer screens for hours and not be bothered.

So what changed?

Coincidentally (or maybe not so much), the same guy who got me hooked onto audio books, got me hooked onto the Kindle. He brought his Kindle 3 to show us one fine day.

First impressions: definitely handsome enough to tempt me

I was very impressed with the Kindle 3, when I first saw it and held it in my hands. It was light, almost felt like a toy, but felt fairly solid enough for me. I could quickly see myself bringing one everyday and not minding the negligible weight increase (especially when this comes at a time when I was full into reading Wheel of Time. Yep).

But the definite selling point was the e-ink technology. I tell you–photos do not do this fabulous screen justice. I had to see it myself to be completely won over. Go ahead, open a book, any book. That page you see there? Pretty much the same thing you see on the Kindle screen. It was amazing. It was amazing. I’ve seen a good number of tech gadgets, and I’m not easily wowed. But this one?

It was love at first sight.

The stars also aligned for me then: while the Kindle is not released for Singapore, a friend was coming from the US in a month’s time. I had a long trip coming up. I had a little extra money that I didn’t expect.

And so a Kindle 3 came home to stay.

Brightened by the exercise

I had my Kindle in my hands in May last year. My friend handed the box over to me, and I couldn’t wait until I got home–I opened it right then and there. And there it was, in all its beautiful glory. There was a note on the screen that told me to connect the Kindle to my computer to get started. I couldn’t help it–I started with opening the box, well, I should just finish it off and remove the plastic screen protector, right?

So I lightly picked at the corners of the screen…and then another corner, since I was unsuccessful…and then I realized that there was no plastic covering. That note on the screen is not printed on a piece of plastic and taped onto the Kindle, it was on the Kindle itself. You can’t believe how embarrassed I felt, and what a good laugh I had out of it.

Seriously, folks, the e-ink is that good.

Kindle text vs book text: a comparison

Kindle text vs book text: a comparison (click to see full image, 1632x1224)

PICS OR IT DIDN’T HAPPEN! Well, the comparison shot with this post might help (click it to enlarge). I took it with my iPhone camera, but it’s a good comparison shot–the focus in near the bottom half of the photo, which is unedited except for halving the size of the actual shot. No other manipulations on sharpness or contrast. Apologies for the slightly yellowed book pages–it was the nearest one on hand (A Writer’s Workbook by Caroline Sharp, which embarrassingly I have not gone through properly yet).

I’ve had my Kindle for well over half a year now, and I think it’s still one of the best purchases I’ve done. Previously I tended not read at all. I was mourning the lack of time, but also quite unwilling to add 300-400g to my everyday bag for a book I may or may not have any downtime to read that day, and disliked ending up with books with battered covers and corners.

But being able to bring the Kindle everywhere with me changed all that. I could read whenever I wanted, I kept my book near me at all times. When I read on the way home, I am more likely to continue reading when I get home than not. The lack of a backlit screen does not faze me at all–it never deterred me when I loved paper books and it doesn’t deter me now.

Nowadays, I would probably prefer the Kindle or Kindle Touch over the Kindle Keyboard, mostly because I use the keyboard so little that I can let go of that feature in favor of a smaller overall gadget–and I will admit to trying to use the Kindle screen as a touchscreen for a while there (blush). But in no way do I feel that I paid too much for the more expensive Kindle 3 (“Kindle Keyboard”), it was well worth the price then and it would be well worth the price even now.

But does that mean I’m giving up on my paper books? Not at all. Like my “audiobook situation”, I still buy paper books of ebooks I read that are amazing. They are fabulous, and sometimes, I am plainly in a paper book mood, that the Kindle can’t satisfy. But all the other times–most of the time–the Kindle answers all my hobby reading needs.

If you’re in the same boat that I was–unable to read from backlit screens, wanting to read on the go but unwilling to bring along heavy books–I very strongly suggest you take a look at the Kindle. It’s a fabulous gadget and I am so, so pleased that I bought one.

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A long arduous journey through the postal service’s underbelly

I'm talking about: postal service fail

Last week, I arranged for a parcel to be shipped to me in an express flat-rate box from the US, as I needed it to arrive before last Saturday, December 17. Thus started an unbelievable journey riddled with the worst things that Murphy could throw at anyone.

December 12

The parcel was accepted by the post office in the US on December 7, 9:56am (local time), and arrived in Singapore shores on December 11, 11:05pm (local time). Because of this, I messaged my boss on the morning of December 12 that I would be working from home. The reasoning for this–my opting to work from home in order to receive the parcel–is because if I was not able to receive it personally, I would either have to:

  1. Get it redirected to the nearby post office, which takes two working days before I can claim it. That means that, if they attempt to deliver on Monday December 12, and I attempted to get it redirected to the nearby PO, I would only be able to claim it in person on Thursday December 15. I might be able to claim it Wednesday December 14 if I go within office hours in the afternoon, before 5pm. I knew this because I had tried collecting something before on the second day since redirection, and I was told it wasn’t there yet. I work from 9-6, the PO is closed by the time I can get off work.
  2. Pick it up at the SingPost Headquarters. I’ve done this before. But because my evenings are packed with errands that I have to do within this week, and going to the SingPost HQ is going to essentially take up my whole night, I understandably did not want to do this.

Hence, I decided to work from home. Let me tell you something about working from home: it is agonizing. The network connection that particular morning was shaky and slow as a turtle unsure of which foot to lift first. I dislike working from home, because unless I am working on something that is largely standalone and does not need a network connection to the office, progress is slow. And let’s not forget the oppressive Singapore heat.

In any case, on December 12 9:22 AM, it was marked on the tracking as “with delivery courier”. From experience, that meant to me that I was going to get my parcel before 2pm, which was fabulous–that meant I could head back to the office afterward. I left my door open, with the grills closed, just to be sure that the courier would know that someone is home.

By 2:28pm, with the parcel nowhere in sight, I called the SpeedPost hotline and inquired about the status of my parcel. They told me that it would be delivered by 6pm. I asked how certain they were of that, because it wouldn’t be the first time where I was supposed to receive something (according to tracking) but I didn’t get the item NOR the delivery advice sheet. The girl on the phone assured me it would arrive.

By 6:07pm, with the parcel nowhere in sight, I called again. The girl told me this time that the courier must have been in heavy traffic, but it should arrive soon. I reiterated that this wouldn’t be the first time where their courier said that a delivery attempt was made but without any sign of a delivery advice sheet. I asked them to follow up on the courier. They took my number and confirmed my name and address, and I continued to wait.

By 7:17pm, with no parcel, and no return call, I called again. It was the same story, and they told me that they have not received a response from the courier either, otherwise they would have called me back. They will contact me as soon as they have an update, they said. What, is this the age of beepers or something, where you can’t call someone up on the phone easily?

By this time, I was very antsy. I meant to go out to do some of those errands I mentioned, but obviously, with all the waiting, it was not going to happen tonight.

By 8:07, no parcel and no call back–I called again. Their “inquiry line is now closed”. I fumed. Shortly after that, I received a call from SingPost, apologizing that they have not been able to deliver. She asked if they could redeliver the next day. That meant, to me, wasting another full day waiting at home and wrestling with the network connection. She offered to have it redirected, and when I said that meant I couldn’t get it for two more days, she said she would write an instruction that would have it at the post office of my choosing within the morning, so that I could pick it up at 1pm onwards from the PO. I asked if that time slot was a definite thing. She said they would call me tomorrow just to be sure. I asked them to deliver it to the Tiong Bahru post office, where it was easiest for me to reach from work.

That night, at 10:04pm, the package was marked with an “Unsuccessful delivery”, with the reasoning being “Heavy Deliveries; Insufficient Time”.

December 13

On the morning of Tuesday December 13, my colleague asked me why I didn’t ask to redirect to the office address. Huh, well, I didn’t know one could do that. So after checking the parcel status online–there was no movement–I called SingPost, on 9:14am. I asked if it’s been dispatched, and if it wasn’t, for it to be delivered to my office address. The lady on the other end told me I had an instruction to have it redirected to the Tiong Bahru post office, which I confirmed, but asked that since it wasn’t dispatched yet, could it be redirected then? She took my new address, and confirmed with me on the specifics.

On 12:22pm, with no movement on the tracking page, I called again. By this time I am a little hazy on what exactly we talked about, but that my package was going to be delivered before 6pm. I wanted to check on where it was, and she said she would. We talked about which instruction was being carried out.

On 2:49pm, still no update on the tracking, I called again. I tell them my concern that there has been no movement whatsoever on the tracking. She tells me that sometimes scanning is delayed, but it is with the courier. Are you sure it will be delivered to this office address before 6pm? Yes, she said. She confirmed the address with me.

On 3:07pm, finally, there is some update on the tracking page. 3:07pm, marked as out with the delivery courier. Wow, okay.

On 5:18pm, still no sign of the package and no call back, I called them again. I asked them to call me back in 30 minutes as to the status of my package. She kept insisting it will be delivered before 6pm. I insisted that I get an update on the whereabouts of my package. She finally relented, and said she would try her “level best”.

On 5:53pm, just as I was getting up to place yet another call, my phone rang and it was SingPost (hallelujah!). She confirmed who I was, and the proceeded to tell me that my package is now at the post office and ready for pickup.

…WAIT A SECOND. I’m sorry? I said to redeliver to my office address. The girl on the line said that because the parcel was out with the courier when I called to change the instruction, they were not able to give the updated instruction. In my red, befuddled haze, the fact that the parcel was released only at 3:07pm though I had called at 9:14am was not remembered; but I was plenty irate enough because the whole day, they have been assuring me that it was going to be delivered to my office address, even if I make a note to mention the conflicting instructions.

Furthermore–let’s say they decided to ignore my second instruction, and went with what the lady told me the previous night–that it would be delivered from 9am-12noon to Tiong Bahru post office so that I could pick it up within the day, and that they would call me as well to confirm. But I’m sorry, you said it would be there by 1pm–and it was not. You did not call me, there was no update in the tracking that it was out for delivery until 3:07pm, no update that it had been received at the post office. You told me it would be out for redirection in the morning. It did not get redirected in the morning, which meant to me that they had held off releasing it because of my second instruction. I made three calls, all referencing the second instruction, before it was finally out for delivery/redirection.

But it was not delivered to me, it was to the post office.

The girl on the phone only kept saying that they were sorry. That they apologized. That she understands. No, I’m sorry, but she doesn’t understand. I expected the parcel the day before, and it was SingPost’s fault why it was not delivered to me, when I stayed at home all day and kept my door open all day (I didn’t even go out for lunch). And now what? Nothing?

Well, yes, there was nothing for it (real life is not like the movies, folks). I was so frustrated I almost cried right there and then. I went back to work, packed up my things, and left. I tried to make sense of my jumbled schedule. Later that night, at about 7:50pm, I bring up the tracking page just to see what they have put in there. And WHAT DO YOU KNOW. THE TRACKING SAID THEY REDIRECTED THE PARCEL NOT TO TIONG BAHRU POST OFFICE, BUT THE ALEXANDRA POST OFFICE.

I was on the phone as fast as I could get to it. From 7:51 onwards, I was waiting on the hotline. At 8:01, it died with a busy tone. I was beyond livid. They mess up my second instruction, and they messed up the first? How absolutely crazy is that? How unbelievable is that?

December 14

The next day, after looking up on the map where the Alexandra post office was, I resolved to head out after lunch and pick it up. My colleagues told me it was a long walk–contrary to how it looked on the map–and J offered to drive me to the PO to help. So we left after lunch and he waited in the car while I queued up to get my parcel.

I explain to the girl at the counter that I had no delivery advice, but that I was told that my parcel was here. I gave her the tracking number. She opened one cupboard. Then she moved to a stack of boxes on the floor. Then she verified with me again on when it was redirected, and checked on her computer. I think she opened another cupboard, and then I heard her talking to, presumably, the manager.

This. Was. Not. Boding. Well.

She told me it was not there. I asked if she could call the Tiong Bahru and ask, as that was where I told them to redirect to, and I had no idea why they sent it there. After a few minutes on the phone–finally, a confirmation! Yes, Tiong Bahru had the parcel. I asked the girl why it was marked as accepted at the Alexandra office. She gave an embarrassed laugh and said she had no idea.

When I arrived back at the car, J joked, “Aren’t you glad you didn’t walk instead?”

We drove to the Tiong Bahru office, where I tell the same story, and finally, finally, I finally receive my package.

SingPost fail

Crazy.

What the hell just happened there?

Okay, the holidays are tough on postal service. There are lots of parcels moving around, people doing Christmas shopping online, things constantly in motion. I get that. But seriously, SingPost, when someone pays for express shipping, they mean express shipping. When someone calls you to check on their parcel, you don’t just tell them you’ll try your “level best” and then forget about it for the next hour. Your people told me they would have my parcel out in the morning to be redirected to the post office, but it did not get out that morning. Your people told me they would redeliver to my office address since it has not been released yet, but instead you redirected, and goodness knows why my item was scanned in the Alexandra post office when that has never been in any of the communications you’ve had with me. And then, ooops, no, it’s in Tiong Bahru office instead, booyah!

Uh, NO. This just does not cut it. Singapore is tiny. Population density is high, but my gosh, it is TINY. One mess-up is fine, things happen, Murphy strikes suddenly. But seriously? This many mess-ups for a single package in the span of two/three days?!

And all you can tell me is, you’re sorry?!

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Gasp, a website update?

I'm talking about: website updates

Yep, I actually went and worked a little bit on my blog over the weekend! I updated WordPress (it’s shameful how far behind it’s been), and more noticeably, I changed the font out. I’m not entirely sure if I want to keep it or revert back. It is pretty, yes, but gosh–that Flash of Unstyled Text (or worse, no text) is horrible. Plus, Firebug tells me that Firefox is trying to get the font file every single time I reference it in my stylesheet.

That is plain horrible–no one needs a font multiple times–and it is making me seriously rethink this. I know, I know–it’s a blog, and I very much doubt I have readers who would still be on dialup. But it is taunting me and my years shaving kilobytes off page loading time D:

Tell me, is it worth it?

3 Comments

Eventually

I'm talking about: coming back

Eventually I will find the time to revamp and blog here again! But whenever I log into WP, I look at my blogging calendar and I am crazy behind and I get discouraged. Eeep!

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The pretty smellies (a BPAL newbie post)

Last Friday, I finally received something that I wasn’t yet expecting, although I was almost mad with impatience to actually get it: I received some of my first Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab (BPAL) purchases. Two things came in the mail: an imps (sample vials) purchase from someone at the BPAL.org forums, and a wonderful enabler who sent me a welcome private message and some imps, also from the forum. I gave them all a sniff, and have found one keeper.

I actually wouldn’t call myself a perfume person prior to this. I did go on a hunt for the right perfume a few years ago, ending up with Calvin Klein’s Eternity Moment, but I’m sure everyone, once in their lives, goes on that perfume hunt. I’ve seen BPAL a long time ago and wanted to give it a shot, but never got around to diving in–the sheer number of scents, not knowing what to get, the higher cost and the “unknown” of international shipping, not having my own credit card or Paypal…it wasn’t going to happen.

Over the years, however, I’ve got my own credit card and I got my own Paypal and I’ve bought a number of items online and shipped internationally. And a couple weeks back, Jen tweeted about BPAL’s new RPG line, and well…you know me. I HAD TO HAVE THEM. (Desperately searching for bottles…I don’t care for some of the scents, but omg those bottles, I MUS HAS DEM.)

And as another friend pointed out, BPAL appeals to the collector/hoarder, because of the sheer number of scents and the pretty labels, and the really interesting themes behind them. I’m totally a collector, and can be quite a hoarder if left unchecked! (*cough*)

Another aspect of BPAL that completely won me over is the community behind it. As mentioned, within hours of my joining the forum, someone out of the blue private messaged me and offered to give me any imps that she’s selling if I was interested in them. I don’t think this is a regular occurrence or anything–don’t join for free samples, folks!–but as a newbie, I was instantly won over with the generosity and welcome that was extended to me. There was also another person on the forum who was offering a number of random imps to newbies only for the cost to ship the imps. I’ve read elsewhere–and I agree–that it’s likely the Lab’s practice of sometimes giving free imps with its shipments has fueled this generosity in its usual patrons, such as paying forward and giving some goodies in their own shipments too.

The smellies! They have arrived!

Instead of going directly to the lab, I wrote out lists upon lists of scents I wanted to try, as a bit of a shopping list. I joined the forum first, and my approach changed. I still have that list, but around two or so weeks ago, I bought a couple of imps from other people at really affordable prices. I told myself I’d get these, and then I’ll be better able to figure out what scents I should give a shot, as well as find out if I need to stay away from some (skin chemistry etc). I was impatient to have my first sniff, but I was resigned to wait until mid-May.

I checked my mail last Friday AND FOUND TWO PACKAGES!

I was going out with my mom and sister, and could not indulge myself yet, but upon coming home, that was the first thing on the agenda. They are wonderful. I received the forum fairy’s package, as well as another package I bought, all in all containing:

  • Danube
    (Wanderlust)
    Rhododendron and bellflower petals swirl through deep, cool, dark aquatic notes.
  • Veil
    (Bewitching Brews)
    A quiet scent, soft, calm and enigmatic. A perfume of mystery, of whispers, and of secrets behind secrets. White sandalwood, lilac, gardenia, violet, orris, lavender and ylang ylang.
  • Persephone
    (Excolo)
    Beautiful, radiant daughter of Demeter… her loveliness was so exquisite that even Hell itself could not resist her. Pomegranate and rose.
  • Casanova
    (Ars Amatoria)
    A rakish blend of leather, anise, lavender, bergamot and amber with tonka, lemon peel and lusty patchouli.
  • Queen of Sheba
    (Ars Amatoria)
    Her scent is a bounty of golden honeyed almonds and a whisper of African and Middle Eastern spices.
  • Ulalume
    (Bewitching Brews)
    Starry white lilies lend an eerie brightness to the deep black wooded scents of cypress and oak, layered with a touch of crushed dried leaves and the faintest aquatic note.
  • Blood Pearl
    (Bewitching Brews)
    Lustrous, sanguine, soft and lavish: soft orris, blood musk, and coconut.
  • The Miller’s Daughter
    (Marchen)
    Spun gold, tear-soaked straw, and rose-infused amber.

But also containing imps/testers/decants of Jerusalem Cherry Infused Honey, Strawberry Moon 2009 and Ruffles, Bustles and Corsets (A gathering of ladies for an afternoon tea. White orchids, sprigs of lavender and petite vanilla butter cream frosted lemon pastries), a bottle of The Girls love Vanilla (For anyone who loves loves loves the smell of vanilla, this is the supersaturated honey soaked, sinful, hedonistic custom rare and unabashed blend you have been waiting for. Outrageously lovely. Too pretty for angels almost, but not too pretty for you! Characteristics: vanilla, honey, sweet, foody), two potpourri tarts, and a homemade soap sample (and a card from the fairy).

I sniffed them all, starting with Persephone, and decided I’d try Persephone first. It was a very lovely scent, but ended up smelling almost soapy and faint to me, so just before we left for the night, I washed it off and tried on Ulalume. Unexpected, but I love it! It was very woody at first, but ends up an airy, starry lily, as described. Definitely worthy of a bottle.

A new money sink hobby

All this spells out to be a wonderful new hobby, not just the collecting bit but in training my sense of smell to pick out notes in the perfumes. It’s relaxing and intriguing, and clears my head while trying to decipher which is which, and what smells good to me. And the joy of finding a scent that is beautiful wet and in the bottle as well as on my skin–priceless.

If you’re interested in following the scents I’m trying and my thoughts on them (and various other perfume-oil-related rambles), I started scentwhims.tumblr.com :)

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Chibi Starcaller Tala

Two days ago, I decided to get artwork done for Tala, my discipline priest. And yesterday, it was finally done! :D

Starcaller Tala, the bubblebot (by Diana/apricaught.tumbler.com)

Diana (apricaught.tumbler.com) drew her for me, and she is such a cutie :D For those who don’t get the reference, “tala” is one of two (as far as I know) words in Tagalog for “star”. It is such a teenyboppery name, I know, but it suits her well as a space goat! ;)

And of course, now she has a use for those horrid ponds on her shoulders–a place to put soapy bubble liquid in!

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What’s in my bag

I don’t know what it is about handbags, but there has always been a huge attraction between girls and bags. Maybe it’s because as children, we wanted to be like our mommies, and mommies always carry handbags along. My sister is often the butt of jokes regarding handbags–does she have a flat clothes iron in there? (She used to bring along practically everything, like staplers and whatnot. I don’t know if she still does that…)

Well, because I have a pretty new bag, it felt like a good time to go through my bag and show what I bring along on a regular basis!

What's in my bag (April 2011)

Contents of doom!

  • Obviously, my camera isn’t here. Because I was using it to take this photo!
  • Why yes, that is a fluffy sock I use to wrap one of my lenses…
  • I don’t know why I have three different brands of pain killers with me: Dolfenal, Advil (my last one!) and Panadol. Uh, at least I have multiple fallbacks?
  • I know, I have pens but I have no notebook. I need to rectify that soon.
  • I seem to cut myself on the weirdest things, which is why I have Betadine and band aid in my kikay kit. And yes, I end up using it a few times…like just last week. (I also have a box of band aids in my office drawers…)

There are a couple things I want to bring/add to that list, but I haven’t yet because I haven’t found the right items–space and weight is at a premium, they have to be just right. Stuff like a small notebook and a good cheek stain. I daresay I have room for a book in there, but with the camera in the bag, books are a bit heavy–especially since I am reading The Wheel of Time currently -_-;; I need to find a smaller umbrella too, but I am reluctant to part with automatic models :s

So that is what’s in my bag. What’s in yours?

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A camera bag in disguise

I'm talking about: the Kelly Moore camera bags

Earlier this month, I finally bought a Kelly Moore bag after seeing them online sometime in February. Her bags are geared towards photographers who want a camera bag that doesn’t look like a camera bag.

I’m not a “bag” person: I can’t imagine having more than two regularly-used bags at a time, and in fact I only use one bag at a time on a regular basis. I will switch to another if the occasion requires a different bag, but as much as possible I stick to my one bag. Also, I can’t imagine spending a lot of money for a bag; I once saw this fabulous, fabulous bag that I wanted really badly, but it was S$349 and no way in hell am I going to spend that much money on a bag.

However, I don’t think I’ve had as much fun buying a bag–any bag–as this. First off, I love that Kelly has posted video demonstrations of her bags on the website (warning, the first video plays immediately). I was immediately able to zero in on the bags that I wanted, namely the Posey and the B-Hobo bags, and I knew pretty much what I wanted to verify in person with the bags when I went down to TK Foto to take a look at them. The videos are a great, great idea.

The bags themselves are well-done. The Classic seemed a bit too big for me, and I liked the look of the B-Hobo and the size of the Posey. I was really torn between the latter two, but ended up with the B-Hobo because it was bigger (more things to put in!) and while I loved the cards area of the Posey, uh, I don’t have that many cards, digital or otherwise! :p Use of the Posey expects you to leave your wallet at home and use the Posey pockets for your cards and money and whatnot–hence its smaller size–but as an everyday bag, I can’t imagine bringing the bag with me as I nip out of the office quickly for lunch (since I have no wallet).

(I know there are things called pockets, but I don’t always have those contraptions known as pockets and face it, oftentimes on women clothes those pockets seem to be just for show.)

The B-Hobo bag feels very sturdy. It’s a little stiff new, so it needs a while before it softens up a bit according to your carrying style. I was honestly expecting to use it as a shoulder bag, but with the GF2 and a heavy Voigtländer Nokton 35mm lens (it’s heavier than the GF2 body!), I don’t think the weight is feasible for that kind of carrying. It’s padded–the bag isn’t light, but that’s what you get for wanting to bring a camera along everyday ;) As such I use it messenger-style, but I’m giving the shoulder bag way another try (without the Voigtländer lens!).

The adjustable dividers are an obsessive-compulsive organizer’s heaven. Okay, maybe not exactly heaven–what would be absolute heaven would be if there were more available dividers!! The B-Hobo comes with two, allowing you to partition the bag space inside into three variable-length spaces. I think I need at least two more :x I’m a stickler for pockets in bags and anything that helps me organize the inside of my bag. I would love things like a pen loop, and a pocket right in that velcro backing, too! All that said, I am perfectly aware that three partitions for huge-ass lenses are enough for most people–I don’t suppose many people who buy small m4/3rd cameras usually go this far in the bag department, after all. The dividers that came with my bag are a little skewed due to the packing, but hopefully they’ll get un-skewed soon.

(Just a note if you are in Singapore and are checking out these bags in TK Foto: as of time of writing the B-Hobo on display seems to be an older model, as the velcro backing does NOT wrap all around the middle–but the new bag I got from their storage does have velcro all around the center and as such is fully customizable.)

Cost-wise, these babies aren’t cheap–my B-Hobo is easily the most expensive everyday bag I own, selling locally in Singapore for S$209. However, the make of the bag and the feel of it during handling, I feel, makes the cost worth it and the bag a good investment:

  1. It looks like an ordinary, everyday bag. This is good for when you’re traveling, or you live somewhere where people might want to get your camera if you look like you have an expensive camera.
  2. I want to bring my camera every day, or almost every day, and this bag lets me do that and I don’t have to worry about padding for it. Of course, bigger, full-size SLRs will probably be way too heavy for everyday toting along…
  3. It’s very roomy, and can very easily carry all of your everyday things and your camera and lenses.
  4. It’s certainly going to see a lot of use. Specialized bags I have for laptops–my purple Crumpler, my olive Hello Lulu–are currently gathering dust in my shelf, taken out maybe about three to four times a year.

It’s not for everyone–if you don’t need a camera bag that doesn’t look like a camera bag, there are likely a lot more cheaper options for you out there, not to mention just getting a camera insert (definitely cheaper!) to protect your gear in your ordinary, usual bag. But if you’re in the market for an everyday camera bag, then the Kelly Moore bags are likely worth a look. (Yes, there are bags for men, too!)

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Bowling (right into the gutter)!

I haven’t gone bowling in a long time. I don’t do very well at it, my coordination is bad and my throwing weak! To illustrate:

0 - 0 - 0

What, it’s not golf scoring? :D I did so poorly in the first game that on the third round in the second game (shown above), they put up the gutter guard rails for me. Yes, my dear friends, I managed to sink the damn 9kg bowling ball into the gutter with the guard rails up. How’s that for skill! :D I saw the local kids in the lane next to us laugh along with our mad capering and cheering at my amazing talent. ;)

Well, the ball managed to ricochet along the lane and hit something after that ;)

By the end of our three and a half games, I thankfully was able to get a spare without my ball meeting any of the guard rails! Only once, but it feels like an accomplishment already! I had cut my nails short for this (apparently not short enough–my thumb’s nail still has some tearing) and I’m thankful it wasn’t all for naught.

Maybe I should try some more!

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