MSNtiquette

I can't help it. I have possibly the worst MSN-manners on my contact list. My friends who I speak to regularly follow perfect chat protocol. So, I have decided to compile a couple of MSNetiquette guidelines that I have tried to pick up.

1. Greetings
Saying 'Hi!' and/or 'How are you?' does wonders for the convo. Once you've gone through the normal greetings and niceties that you would if you were speaking face to face, you're both on equal ground. Always a good thing.

2. Don't overdo the..er.... you know.. speaking out loud..and typing...with loads of those little things that are meant to end a sentence.
Annoying aint it?? If you can't help yourself from hitting those lovely little convo fillers, either find something to talk about or gaffa-tape your little finger to its happy little letter-hitting neighbour.

3. In da same way, speakin laik dis either makes u sound laik a 12 yr old askin a/s/l or sumwun wif a speech impediment. N even if u did, ders no escuse 4 bad spellin. ait?

4. The 'away' sign. Use it! I'm really bad at this as I: a. have fallen asleep at my desk, or b. have gone 'oh sod it', shut the laptop lid and wandered off groggy eyed to bed, or c. in the process of doing both a. and b. Leaving me with a couple of unfinished convos come morning. Note to self: its annoying for everyone else so don't forget to switch off!

5. Let me demonstrate. lol

(mid convo)
Me: so I was stranded!
Mo: hahahahahahaha
Me: and I had to ring Fo to pick me up!
Mo: huhuhuhuh
Me: but guess what Fo was doing.
Mo: dunno.lol
Me: Fo was stranded too.
Mo: huhuhuhuhuhhaohaohaohaohaohaoah

'hahaha' or any of its similar sounding cousins don't always make for a good reply.

6. having two convos at the same time. i know you're sat there. makes things confusing. watching that little line at the bottom. so you can't follow whats going on. that says so-and-so is typing. and there's no point to the conversation. but reply anyway as fast as your fingers can fly over those keys. and you quite often forget what you were talking about in the first place.
(again- guilty!)

7. If you've got a '...' that becomes lit up and bouncy everytime you type it in or a 'hahahehe' that does the same. Its quite likely to get really annoying if you are guilty of points 2 and 5.

So... dats all iv got 4 now...lol...goin off to bed now cos im sleepie..herez a *cute emoticon for you cos wheneva i typ in tings dat r suppose 2 end in 'y'...erm.. i dunno. sounds kinda cute and cuddlie and stuff. xxcutebunnie ahaks.

Folding Chair

I've been rubbish at keeping up with my posts, I know. Been doing that thing you do when lots of work gets chucked your way and you retreat into your little hole and slog. Ah well. It's got to be done, hey?

Got my results for last terms portfolio and am fairly satisfied although feedback was as expected: 'you could do even better.. you've got more potential than you've displayed.. etc. etc' the same song and dance I've been getting in report cards from the age of fourfoottall. At least I'm being consistant. woo!

Anyway, short one from me today because I saw this while on archinect
looking for inspiration. Saw one of these at the London Design show last year and had no idea that it could do all those crazy things! brilliant. The loveseat looks cute though.. I think you could put it in a little corner in your room as its one of those things you can play with and needs loads of space. Fab convo starter, I'd say! xxw

Rendang for the Soul

We all know it. Staple for wedding dos, family get togethers, Hari Raya and general feel-at-home food makes rendang my all time fave, Malay dish. It helps that K knows his que when to get the Rendang stuff out - i.e when Wids is homesick/ill/hungryhungyhungy/Hari Raya. After all, the secrets to a happy home begin with a happy belly. Dare oppose, by all means.

So as usual, it got to around that time when the ladies at work and I start talking about food. Then out comes the round table discussion about food - whats good for you, what isn't, what really isn't and everything in between from our in-house food experts. Let me introduce you.

Name: *Arianne.
Otherwise known as: Soulfood Mummy
Vital Stats: Volunteer, been here for 2 years already. Mum of 21 year old chef in the making. From Jamaica.
Most likely to be found saying: Is not right to be eatin they yams, sweet potato and banana together. Too much starch.

Oh I am beginning to get really attached to Arianne. She's such a.. mum :)

Name: *Jackie
Otherwise known as: Morning Oats
Vital Stats: Works full time, knows the place inside out. Mum and wife, loves being organised and just right.

Jackie knows her stuff but usually lets Arianne and me babble on about how much we love coconuts. Then she'll come out with a corker in the middle of it that'll make you giggle.

Name: *Sue
Otherwise known as: Food Encyclopedia.
Vital Stats: Works full time, also knows the place inside out. Quiet, strong type who knows exactly what she's putting in her system.

Sue knows exactly how much a 'large sized chicken' from the local supermarket will cost you and how many people it will feed. She'll also know just what it says in the papers about how much goes into that chicken.

Name: Widarchitect
Otherwise known as: The girl with strings attached from her belly to her heart a.k.a Soup-er Slurper
Vital Stats: Volunteer, new, getting to know the ropes. Gets excited about food though isn't the world's best cook but is lucky enough to be sous chef to him. Loves soup. SOUP.

So today, Arianne tells me that if I'm wanting Oxtail, to ask her, because she can get it at the butchers near her since they don't sell it at the normal supermarkets. They are £5 a tail, girl. Crikey.
Sue asks me - so what kind of food do you all have in Brunei?
Me - mmmmmm(in curry stupor) rendang.. spicey stuff you know.. a little like a cross between indian food and thai (hey, its the closest description I could guess)
Sue - Rendang?
Jackie - Did you say Rendang?
At this point I'm surprised to see that they can say the word like they've said it before.
Arianne - What is in it?
Me - errrr.. its a curry. (long pause) oh oh.. coconut. (?)
At this point Arianne has a surprised face on
Jackie - you know we (the three of them are originally from the same part of the world -ish, I've gathered) have something called Rundown.
Me - with coconut?
Arianne - Yeah, you boil it down and it gets all sticky and you put a meat in it.
Me - Yeah yeah yeah.. something like that.. only we usually have it with beef..

Okay, so you get the picture. The Rendang/Rundown convo goes on for a while until this:

Arianne - When i was 5 my granddaddy passed. At his funeral I saw his face and I was crying. Then my grandma said 'why you crying for him for?' and she gave me some Rundown. Then I stopped crying completely it was so good. With saltfish.

So I looked it up. The rundown recipe online looks delish and I might give it a try. Or... find the closest Carribean restaurant! And yes! it has loads of the same ingredients as rendang according to this. Only huge differences are, 1. The difference in meats. 2.Rundown is served with 'food' as Arianne puts it i.e green bananas, yam, roast breadfruit and dumplings. phwoar.

Might go and put on my Delia Smith hat, or rather, my Carnival togs on and make me some rice and peas. man. xxw

Waxy O' Daisy's

Okay, it doesn't quite have the right ring to it. Waxy's or Waxy O Connor's is a pub near Leicester Square that Kyle and I found while waiting to meet some friends a couple years back. From the front it looks like your regular, bog standard pub-fitted-into-a-corridor type with the bar taking up half the width of the room. A couple steps further in, and its a whole new story with a huge tree-like thing occupying the centre of the hallway that leads you up and down stairs and ramps in this labyrinthine pub.

We hardly go there anymore since finding better, less.. gimmicky places that are closer. Especially since my last project was about the London pub. Sitting for hours in the pub, observing people and routines, why they go there etc etc. You get the picture.

I won't go into detail about my current project just yet, so for now I shall provide a couple of visuals.




So for now my mantlepiece is covered with 'experiments' and it looks quite spooky really. I can't explain it. Just something weird/sad about flowers covered in wax.

For the next while I think I shall be staying away from my home-made experiments as I've run myself down over the past couple of weeks. Have a good week folks. xxw