holy crap i haven't forgotten how to draw!

...is what i thought as i drew my first colour wheel for culturerun's urban sketching workshop with jun hao. granted, it was not a very proportionate circle, but still, it's a start.

ever since the 9am to 6pm (more like 7, 8, or 9 these days) grind started eating up my energy i'd lost the habit of doodling / drawing / painting / creating / writing / observing / daydreaming, and spending that couple of hours doing nothing but sketching in an inspiring place like publika was a sorely-needed change from the routine.

i'd forgotten what it feels like to sit in a moment. to block out the noise and distraction all around and focus on simply observing some random trinket, scene, leaf, or person that catches my attention and try to capture that moment in words or drawing.

i'd forgotten how good it feels.

and now that i've been reminded, i swear to never again let myself forget. a noble intention but it's better to try than to keep giving the i'm-too-busy excuse.

props to jun for being an awesome teacher although i'm still waiting for him to set up that urban sketching group he said he would. check out his awesome work (top title photo of the temple is by him too):

urban sketching workshop
teacher: ong jun hao
the bee @ publika
host: culturerun.com

LOKL: artisan coffee nook in the heart of kl

serendipity... is deciding to stop making the excuse of being too busy to venture out with colleagues for lunch and try out a new ramen place... and along the way back, stumbling across a gem of a find: LOKL, a cosy little nook tucked away behind a small glass shop front that stand in stark contrast to the rusty, grimy shoplots that line jalan tun h. s. lee.

we'd noticed the eye-catching hipster / minimalist logo a few days back, but the cafe's interior was hidden behind frosted glass and a big wooden door so we assumed it hadn't opened for business yet. now, our bellies stuffed with ramen, we decided to peer into LOKL again to see if it had opened for business yet.

to our delight, it was indeed open, and coincidentally, being patronised with a few acquaintances who happen to be coffee connoisseurs as well. i realised then it wasn't a mistake stepping into LOKL.

deciding to give the coffee a try and come back for lunch another day, i stepped up to the counter to place my order with an extremely petite barista who seemed vaguely familiar but i couldn't place her until i noticed her nametag that read, hi, i'm cheryl.

curiousity piqued, i couldn't help but ask, you wouldn't happen to be cheryl samad, would you? i noticed your nametag... and trailed off, suddenly realising i sound like a bit of a fangirl. she laughed and said yes, i am, explaining that she owned the place with her husband, ping.

i wanted to order a mocha but there was none on the menu, so they gladly accommodated my request to combine a shot of espresso with hot chocolate. i won't go into detail, but good coffee is good coffee. and LOKL serves good coffee.

the very next day, we were back to try their food. we arrived to an almost full house; thankfully, there were just enough chairs left for our party of four. three of us ordered the lunch set, with a choice between the pulled beef burger and hainanese-style meatloaf as a main.

i opted for the pulled beef burger, while the rest, the meatloaf. our sets came with a deliciously creamy mushroom soup with thick, chunky slices of fresh mushrooms and a hint of cheesy goodness.

the pulled beef burger did not disappoint either. served with a tangy, almost-as-fresh-as-straight-from-the-garden peanut slaw, the portion was generous and beefy, with an oriental, slightly spicy taste to it.

we finished off our meal with dessert - they had only one last creme brulee left, so the rest of us opted for panna cotta to round off our set.

the panna cotta was smooth, silky, decadent, and satisfying - a sweet end to a good meal.

i returned to work, tummy-happy, and reinspired for another round of drafting copy and designs. it is quite amazing what wonders a good meal can work. it's such a pity that we'll be moving office next week so we won't be around to enjoy good coffee + food within walking distance for much longer!

LOKL coffee co.
30, jalan tun h. s. lee
kuala lumpur
tel: 03-2022-0788
open: weekdays during office hours only

minimalist social icons (and an attempt to bring my blog back to life)

i'm a hugely aesthetic person. i get my inspiration from being around things and environments that i find beauty and character in.

which is why for quite some time, this blog has been sitting idle as i've tried to figure out how best to present it, and how to differentiate it from all my other social media platforms. it has occasionally come to life in fits and starts, but like any work in progress, the tweaks and changes have been short-lived. 

today, i'm starting to think i've hit on just the right combination of minimalist simplicity. and i'm getting that little bit closer every day to understanding what makes me me, and what essential non-negotiables i need in order to thrive. 

besides my no-frills writing blog (writing is absolutely THE biggest thing in my life), i needed a space to explore all the other things i'm huge on as well - design, photography, food, travel, and running. 

i prefer not to compartmentalise my life (my time, yes, but not my life in general), and i like everyone i work for, work with, become friends with, or lead to not just get who i am in the context of where we interact, but to get who i am as a person, not a colleague, best friend, mentor, or mentee. my values and personality are inseparable from the way i work or play. 

i bought this blog's domain name as a one-stop address where people could find me, and all the stuff i care about. it's been sitting dusty for quite awhile while my tumblr, pinboard, and wall was buzzing with activity.

(because pinterest is much prettier than blogger's default templates, unfortunately, and i'm only inspired to post in pretty places.)

i've decided it's time to change that, starting with accessorising this space a little with some minimalist social icons. 

and because i'm huge on social sharing and serendipitous discoveries (the internet is a rabbit hole of whimsical discoveries), i'm sharing the original artwork. so for fellow minimalists / hipsters who want something fuss-free with none of those bright colours-busy design-tacky gradient thing going on, you can download them here for use on your own blog. 

DOWNLOAD

life is short. fail and fail fast.

life is short.

too short to wait for that one perfect relationship that will bring you eternal happiness.
to craft that one perfect campaign that will win you international fame and awards.
to hold out for that one perfect job that will rocket-launch you into the career of your dreams.
to produce that one perfect video that will go viral.
to compose that one perfect song that will land you a record deal.

life is too short to wait for one. perfect. shot. at something. at anything.

life is short, and the ones who win at it
are those who don't wait for perfect.

those who admit they don't know it all.
who are willing to explore.
who try as many things as they can.

who are forever adapting, modifying, tweaking, building, revising, adding, subtracting,
working with whatever they've got.

because they know the fastest way to succeed is to fail, and fail fast.

the faster you fail, the faster you discover what doesn't work
and the faster you get one step closer to discovering what will.

these are the ones who discover, as they push themselves out of their comfort zones, that there is no one right answer to life. there is no one fixed path to success.

that sometimes, you end up wanting something you never thought you wanted. and the things you thought you wanted are not really what you want at all.

these are the ones who live each moment and season to the fullest. who drink in the depths of every small victory, but also every defeat, every question, every crossroads, every dry spell. 

these are the ones who realise that the real success is not in what you achieve,
but in how much you enjoy the ride along the way.

so even though they dream big, it doesn't matter so much if they achieve their dreams they way they hope to. they find new dreams in every new dawn, every turn of the page, every bend in the road.

and sometimes, sometimes, along the way, without trying too hard for that one perfect shot, they achieve it.

at the water's edge

morning bled at the water's edge

the city was bringing me down

and my mind was on a ledge

saying who's going to help you now?

without sun we pull what feeds us

from the heat that's in-between us

-Sans Soleil, Miike Snow

Like the flowing river

Recently, I've been reading a lot about this idea of 'flow'. It's the notion that we are created with a unique set of skills and interests for a unique path that we're meant to follow, and when we find that path, when we get into 'flow', things just fall into place and we feel fulfilled, life is meaningful, and get to do what we enjoy doing without it feeling like work. Just like a flowing river, we're not stagnant, but we're vibrant and alive and always moving forward when we're in 'flow'.

It sounds alluring and effortless, this idea of 'flow'. It's where we all want to be.

But we mustn't forget that while 'flow' is a path of constant, deliciously and wildly exciting motion, it is not the path of least resistance.

Just like a river, there are sharp and jagged rocks we'll have to flow over. We're not meant to have a smooth ride over the rocky, turbulent parts of life - but rather, when we're in flow, our efforts and our persistence over time should smoothen the resistance we face and turn it into something beautiful and worth admiring.

When we speak of finding that thing we were 'meant for' in life, we shouldn't fall into the trap of pursuing 'comfortable' and 'easy'. Often the thing that will bring us most joy and meaning doesn't seem appealing in the beginning.

Learn to embrace the jagged edges of life. Instead of running from the ugliness of life, let your life be a part of the river that will, slowly but steadily, smoothen out the roughness around you.

Some rights reserved by Matt Mercer