Why Would I Write

  • 2019 Season Finale: Part One

    I’m not sure how many of these I’m going to write, but I thought it’d be good writing practice to just put my thoughts down about the year (and more) before the year ends.

    And so, we’ve arrived at the conclusion of another year. Time to recap what happened over the past fifty-two weeks and plot down what’s going to happen next. This is kind of silly since we all know that time is a man-made construct and only has any value because that’s what we’ve given it.

    Like who said one second had to be one second long? I feel like I’m rambling, but I guess it’s better than not writing anything on this blog. I’ve been slipping up, haven’t been updating as frequently as I have in the past, but that’s okay. I recognize it and I know that it’s not a big deal. I don’t have a thousand readers a day coming to find out what’s been going on in my life, and what’s running through my mind.

    I’ve grown older by another year, and I feel like life has begun to slow down for me. I don’t do as much as I used to because I don’t feel like it. These days, I’m happy just chilling at home with a nice show, some twitch stream or just sitting in a cafe with a coffee and a book, or having a conversation with a friend. I don’t miss partying at all, it’s weird.

    When I was younger, I enjoyed it immensely, don’t get me wrong. I don’t regret (most of) the times I used to spend with my buddies, getting smashed at clubs, eating Maggi Goreng at mamaks after and nursing a hangover the next day.

    Sure, it was a waste of time in hindsight, which is probably why I don’t do it anymore, but it was just something I did in the past. I mean, if I was to turn back time, what else would I have done back then? Spent those nights studying or learning a new language? Probably way more beneficial, but also I wouldn’t have had all these alcohol-fueled experiences I’ve mostly forgotten.

    I guess the main thing, is I had fun doing it, and it’s great to spend time with people close to you. That’s one thing that you shouldn’t take for granted. There’s no telling what’s going to happen to them in the future, you’ll never know when you’ll see each other again, and that reason alone is probably enough. Don’t regret spending time to have fun – if you feel like you could be more productive – start now. Unless something you want to do has a definite deadline (like traveling to the sun after 5 billion years (the estimated time it will take to die, in case you were wondering (wait, you’d be dead long before that))) – it’s never too late to do something.

    The worst thing you can do is sit around regretting something you didn’t do in the past. Be the change in your own life, make the most of the time you have left.

    On another note, I used to read my Facebook ‘what happened x years ago’ notifications daily. These days the only time I click on it is by accident or when somebody makes a comment or reaction to something in the past. Not sure why I stopped, but it hasn’t affected my life. Like religion. Or horoscopes. And personality tests.

  • Shaving Foam Revelation

    For those of you who have been following this blog, you would know that back in 2015, I decided to upgrade to an electric shaver and haven’t gone back. My first shaver lasted me until earlier this year when I visited a barber for facial grooming.

    The dude was using one of those head shavers but without any combs, so it cut the hair as close as possible to my face and was done in a matter of seconds (my beard isn’t very thick, unfortunately). Long story short, I was so impressed that I knew I had to get one of those shavers.

    So after the shave, I spoke to the barber who showed me the shaver he used. A few days later, I found myself at Mr. DIY and saw one of those shavers for purchase. I knew I was going to get what I paid for, but I had never used such a tool before and I thought, better to try using a cheap one then regret buying something expensive.

    I bought an RM30 shaver which worked well, but I dropped it on the floor a few months later, which caused it to stop working. I promptly took the opportunity to purchase myself this bad boy.

    Quick breakdown
    Pros: fast, efficient, painless (compared to rotary shavers that pulled the hair before cutting them aka my first electric shaver), super long battery life (I’ve only charged it like twice since I got it in April), comes with so many different headpieces and combs – there’s one for every situation, including nose hair and body hair.

    Cons: you can cut yourself if you’re not using the combs. I took a really long time to shave confidently initially, but after many months I have become proficient with using it. It is kinda noisy, but shouldn’t be a bother if you’re not spending hours shaving (which you shouldn’t). Pricey, but I think it’s worth it.

    Anyway, I’m not sure why I bothered writing out the history of my shaving devices but I thought I’d update whoever cared enough (or comes to this blog for grooming advice kek).

    Well, remember the first shaver I bought? It came with a can of shaving foam that I thought I had misplaced, and found it last week and waited until today to shave off my Movember mustache.

    And here comes the point of this whole post – did you know that shaving foam helps you not make a mess when you shave your facial hair?! Instead of it flying all over the place, it is stuck to the foam which you can just wipe off or flick into your sink. Holy shit, I never realized it until today! After so many years of shaving without it (I would only use it in the shower until I misplaced it and never bothered buying a new can) because I found it troublesome to clean up. But today, I discovered its other function! Whether intended or not (I’d like to think it was), I’m definitely not skipping it in the future. It also makes an already smooth shave even smoother. And you can pretend to be Santa Claus or old Hitler for a brief moment.

    Sure, there’s an additional step of washing your face again after the shave, but you don’t have to hunt those hairs on your bathroom counter anymore! It doesn’t ruin the look of a clean sink! I’ve been doing it wrong all these years. I’m so glad I found my can of shaving foam.

  • Animal Bus Launch

    It’s December, George! Have you abandoned this blog? Nope, just that I’ve spent the whole of last month drawing a couple of pages a day for Animal Bus. I’m happy to report that sticking to targets gets you results! (who would’ve thunk?) If you’ve been waiting to read Animal Bus, it’s here.

    First up, I’d like to put a disclaimer that should put all your questions to rest:

    The art style for this comic is going to be highly inconsistent. It will depend on my mood, what I use to draw, and the weather. Really. I haven’t locked down any of the designs for my characters, so expect them to change over time if I think of a cooler way to draw someone. Just think of it as multiple terrible artists working on the same comic, except that they’re all me.

    I decided that if I don’t go ahead and push the comic out to hold myself accountable for keeping it updated, it would never see the light of day. I’m really good at procrastinating. So, instead of releasing something that’s completely polished, you’re going to see a mess of a comic. Sure, you can call me lazy or just full of excuses, or unskilled – I’m okay with that because it’s the truth. This comic is an outlet for me to fuck around with painting software and my Wacom Intuos.

    I used a story I’ve written in the past just so I can output something cohesive instead of just putting out random sketches. Also, people have been wanting to read Animal Bus for a while, so why not kill two birds with one stone?

    The art will be shitty, though hopefully (don’t hold your breath) it will improve over time. I’ll be drawing my comics on my PC, on my tablet, phone, and paper. It will be colored and uncolored. The only thing I can guarantee is text that is typed out since I have illegible handwriting.

    Also, the story was written many years ago, and even though the meat of it has been determined, I’m working with the first draft of Nanowrimo script, so expect some plotholes, corrections, changes, and some things that don’t make a whole lot of sense because I may have overlooked them. My aim is to learn from this ‘project’, and if things go well, I can use the lessons to put out better comics in the future.

    So yeah, head over to Line Webtoon to check out Animal Bus. Make sure to subscribe to be notified of future chapters. Enjoy!