your dream job

I got a job offering from our competitor, a local travel agency. So, if I take this job I will be working as an in-door sales representative.

Honestly, the pay is not bad, and you get to receive your bonus every three months. The only thing I am concerned is the annual leave, which is very important to me because I HAVE TO travel abroad twice every year. For that reason, 7 days are definitely not enough and that's why I am still struggling.

Then again, it is really, really hard to have a good boss...along with a decent salary.

To take or not to take, that is the question. So let's stop here.

I finally started drawing after a long, long time, annnnnnd I had not "officially" given up on portrait, so here it is.

graphite pencil + colored pencil

It's Cara, I know I did not capture her good enough but thank God my friend Jen recognized her from this picture. Maybe it is easier to take a magazine photo as a reference. 

Seasonal drink from Agnes b. Cafe. I liked the minty flavor.

Everybody's crazy about the giant rubber duck here, but well, it is not something new to me. Here are my collection of rubber ducks. 

And everybody's crazy about the Aranzi Aronzo cup lids, mugs and coasters collaborating with FamilyMart.

I was miserable, so I treated myself with some fancy ice pops. 

And I decided to buy something I really wanted with a little part of my severance pay. 

Well, this is an early birthday present for myself...

My dream job? I just wanna be a freelancer.

back to the reality, aka, hell

Yes, I am back from Singapore. I had a blast during my stay, but right now I am not in the mood for travel notes here because I HAVE NOT got a job yet.

Job-hunting is something really, really exhausting and frustrating I know, and you know it too. It is even harder for people in their late twenties.

Fyi, I am 29 years old.

Ambitious yet confused, people in this age are always proficient, however, most of them do not have specific life goals and enough experiences. So, when it comes to job-hunt, they are in the group labelled "incompetent".

Last week I had an interview at a big-name PR company for a project manager position. Not sure if it was just me getting old, this 3-hour interview was extremely exhausting , that consisted psychometrics, English test and a dialogue with the HR executive.

When I told him I only used the basic Excel functions making reports(because our BSS did most of the work), he paused. It looked like they needed someone who could executive immediately, i.e, they did not want to spend any time training a new staff. If it is just like what I figured out, they had better have some head-hunter recruit a candidate that meets their qualifications. Come on, I was not applying for a director position.

This is pathetic, here, creative(and hardworking) people are not always given chances to dedicate their life to things that they do not just work for live. It is hard to think positive, really.

FML

indie girl's life - energy-refilling trip

The day before my trip to Singapore, I am still working on my English bio. (Yes, I am using a present participle)

In addition to my resume and bio, or cover letter whatever, I've got a lot things to be done: souvenir shopping, money changing, Traveler's Insurance, baggage packing..., thank God I do not need a visa to visit.

Talking about Traveler's Insurance, my ex is an American who does not have insurance back in his country, U, S and A.  And he was NEVER aware of the importance of insurance for his overseas traveling! I will say he was lucky. If he got a car accident during his trip, he would have to pay a huge amount of medical expense and got NOTHING back. Wrong! HIS PARENTS, who were in their late 60s would have to pay for him, because he did not have much in his bank account.

What can I say? I hate being around stupid people, and I know he will say the same thing, because stupid people never realize they are actually the stupid ones. Ha! I DO enjoy cursing and laughing at my ex, very fun and always reminds me not to date same type of man again.

I finally unboxed my vintage My Little Pony! I tried to make it looked like a fairy pony in the forest...with my mom's collection of succulent plants.

My friend Sidney said it looked like an alien welcoming her to Cactus Planet. Was she talking about MIB2?

And this is my baby boy, the man I love the most in the world. Can't imagine leaving him for a week. :(

This is a WIP shot of me working on a drawing of...a dumpling. 

water-soluble colored pencil

This only drawing I did for this week. A lot of my friends like it but, not good enough to me. I failed to do it with the right colors and the texture of the dumpling did not show up good. The only part I am happy with is probably the oil drop on the chopstick. If I ever draw same type of things again, I will try watercolor. 

Little fatty at the gallery cafe. 

It just didn't turn around and let me take a front picture. 

Little fatty's friend, the Angel Cat. This baby got a lot of whiskers!

Beauty supply! Really happy with the quality of YSL cosmetics. 

Ice cubes made of brewed coffee! Just pour in milk, flavored syrup and make it coffee. 

Afternoon tea with colleagues before my trip to Singapore, making it like I would be there for a year not a week. Hahaha  

indie girl's life - in the hell of resume and CV

As the article title, I've been working on my Chinese/English resume and autobiography. I can tell you, it is too difficult that I could never imagined.

With several employment experiences, your resume and bio are definitely not the same as the ones you used for applying for your very first job. Writing a bio is not like writing a blog article, which is exactly what I am doing. The accuracy of the grammar and profundity of the wording are the key factors to determine what you are represented to the interviewer.  

Okay, I am not talking about resume and bio writing here. Let's stop this subject here.

artist pen

I figured that I needed to do something on the Chinese Valentine's Day, so I made this drawing. And no, I am not engaged, my ex and I broke up months ago. 

It is annoying that you are considered lonely and desperate when you are not in a relationship. No matter how many times I explained to others that I was happy being single, they still acted the same way. Another day, my ex(not the last one) told me I must have been worried that  I wouldn't be able to find a man. I am not being a hater toward this, but, he IS an idiot. A 46-year-old German, who can't even speak English, never has a real job, and married to a Taiwanese girl years ago. Shoot-gun marriage of course! Poor girl, she has to spend the rest of her life with a loser. Fyi, I really don't have a problem finding a man, period. 

I've been having much fun editing photos with Snapseed and Over! Best apps for stylish photo editing. 

Girls' night with Cosiya in one of our favorite bar restaurant, on Chinese Valentine's Day. (rolling my eyes)

And I was having fun editing photos. Tune up the contrast, saturation, brightness..., annnnnnnd done! 

Found them in mom's art material storage: pen case, colored pencils, and pastel bars. 

I finally got a traveler's book for my trip. One more week to go! Here I come! Singapore 

You wouldn't believe what I found at the toy shop in the department store. Old-style My Little Pony! And guess what? These babies was made in 2006.

pastel + colored pencil + ink

I had not done pastel painting for 10 years, maybe longer. Pastel pigment gives the painting a soft, blurry look, which I am not quite into. But it was still fun to try different things, 

graphite pencil

Cream study. I took Steak n Shake n Shake Strawnana milk shake as reference. 

graphite pencil

Details. 

water soluble colored pencil + ink

As you can tell, I made a big mistake miswriting "milk shake" as "sundae". What the hell was I thinking about? 

artist pen

Typography study when the office Internet was done. I got no sample on hand, so I took my Marseille Soap given from our Sales Manager in the morning as reference.   

indie girl's life - never play with the _ _ _ _

The execution was finally announced! Our department will be closed, and the last working day is scheduled Sept. 30th. I knew this was going to happen sooner or later, but I felt more relaxed when it was actually announced...by the big boss.

"I need to let you know this is not against you. We appreciate your dedication blah blah blah", the big boss explaining to all of us meekly in his Swiss accent. None of us seemed to have the patience to listen to those cliches, so our HR manager cut in and started to explain the "package". Well I was satisfied with the package, I mean severance pay, but unfortunately we had to have lunch with the big boss and our HR manager, and it was really, really awkward.

The big boss has been a good person honestly, and surely one of the most patient, kind-hearted and hard-working managers I've met. During the lunch, I wanted to talk about things which had nothing related to work with him, but, our department manager couldn't stop talking, mostly, complaining about work issues.

Well, everybody knows it is not smart to bitch about things to your boss .

Enough of bitching. Here are my weekly art works and others.

artist pen

Made this drawing the day before the announcement. 

artist pen

Made this drawing the day after the announcement. Apparently, I was calm. 

And when you are feeling down, shopping is the best therapy. Time-tested and guaranteed! 

This is what I got. Cute accessories can always cheer up girls! I was a girl scout when I was in elementary school. 

Celebrating Father's Day with my mom, who has been a single mother over 20 years. I love her very much, and I was happy she liked the restaurant I chose. 

The coffee ice cream was a masterpiece! Can't find a better word to describe it!

My plant started to grow fast ever since I brought it back home. I call this "bad Fengshui"!

water soluble colored pencil

Inspired by a professional illustrator, she put candies on the painting making them look like balloons. I was too lazy to draw more macarons, because I was exhausted from the rage against a salesperson, who was being very rude to me and my mom. Well, someone needed to give her a lesson, and that was me!

water soluble colored pencil

The next day I drew a shark, for the bitch in the store and, our management team. Nothing can speak out my mind better than this! Never play with the shark, exclamation. 

Before I finished this, I suddenly had this feeling.  

"Oh my God, shark is really ugly. Look at its gums!"

New succulent plants my mom got in the flower market. The one in the right looks like a brain.