000056 - another year bites the dust

happy new year!

another year has flown past and what a different and interesting year it has been for me. i haven't blog for a while mainly because i haven't been very motivated to blog. both xmas and nye were very quiet and mainly spent with family and friends. been pretty much busy setting up the knight-edge forum since the last time i blogged and also just bittorrenting heaps of cool manga scanlations.

the whole tsunami in the south east asia and indian ocean is still quite surreal to me. very sad to sea all the dead bodies being found and laid along the beach and similarly sad that islands have literally disappeared forever.

caught up with abby, bryce, jb and tom today over a spaghetti lunch at abby's place. noice.

i was originally gonna do one of those best of 2004 list thingies but i found some questions on mr.tang's blog (that he had found somewhere else) that were better suited i think. there's apparently more questions, but i have to wait for him to update before i can update! (^__*)

1. What did you do in 2004 that you'd never done before?
hmm, this is a tough question to start with... i don't think i've done anything in 2004 that's i've never done before, at least nothing memorable that i can draw on right now. oh, i've made and co-directed a short horror/thriller film with my friend alex, which was a fantastic learning experience. i made an interactive flash pet game and learnt heaps of actionscripts (thanks to roger) and general animation. i also just recently installed a forum on my website, which i'm quite happy with.

2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
i usually keep 3 new year's resolutions per year. for 2004, i wanted to publish knight-edge #3 (achieved) since I've been working on that issue for the past 2 or more years. i also wanted to learn more programs like flash and dreamweaver (achieved) and finally, i wanted to start making a living doing illustrations and freelance design (not achieved).

my new year's resolutions for 2005 will probably be to publish at least 2 new issues of knight-edge comics this year, to complete a short animation feature and/or trailer for my master multimedia design course and finally to make a living or find a job working in either illustration/design/animation or visual effects.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
yep \(^__^)/, my high school friend, johnny and his wife nish gave birth to a baby girl named zalia. my uni and ex-workmate abby and his wife cathy gave birth to a baby boy named joshua. and my best friend terence and his wife junny, who lives all the way in birmingham, uk, are due to give a birth and i'm just waiting to hear the news!

4. Did anyone close to you die?
no, fortunately.

5. What countries did you visit?
none, unfortunately. i only lived vicariously through my parents this year, whom went back to hong kong and also went to sapporo, japan and various parts of china. hopefully, i'll be able to go overseas at the end of 2005 maybe if i can save enough money. i definitely want to go to japan and hong kong again.

6. What would you like to have in 2005 that you lacked in 2004?
- a steady or semi-regular income
- less fat and be more motivated to exercise
- a 'psp' playstation portable

7. What date from 2004 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
going back to uni, doing homework and assignments and passing all my subjects!

9. What was your biggest failure?
not achieving my resolution in find or making a living from illustrating or designing stuff. while i didn't feel sad or bothered that i had to take some measuring jobs from hong late last year, i still would have liked to have gotten more freelance work. hopefully, i'll be able to make more connections and jobs in 2005.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
apart from 2 very severe fevers i had, i was lucky not to have suffered any illness or injury. knock on wood.

there's a part 2 apparently... so to be continued!