enchanted exam

while time permits me, i shall squeeze in a blog post or two now. exam is finally over, and the weekend begins, so semester break goes on until the weekend before valentine's day. but let's recap what happened over the past weeks. i start with a long rant, so if you wish to skip it, please click on the "continued" link below.

last week, my phone went missing. *dramatic music* here is how it went on that unfortunate day: went to college, leave bag outside classroom, enter exam, busying in the exam venue for two hours, exit classroom, check bag, noticed my phone missing, asked around and was told another coursemate's phone went missing too. WHY US? ;__;

first, the model and condition of our phones. mine: sony eri with camera and basic communication, cracked screen and missing back cover (battery is exposed). hers: nokia, black/white display and old. seriously, what kind of desperado wants our phone for? ARE YOU A SECRET ROBIN HOOD WHO WANTS TO DUMP OUR PHONES IN THE "RECYLCLE PHONE" BIN? please ask first. at least give us back the SIM card!

second, responsibility. is it the students' fault for bringing their phones to college, knowing well in advance that we are to leave ALL our belongings (which are not used for exam) whether rain or shine, outside the exam venue? or is it the college fault with poor conduct? at first you might say the students' fault but you think again - what about students who take public transport to college, one hour away from home? of course we will blame the college because as far as i know, other tertiary institutions have the student bags put aside in the exam venue, not OUTSIDE.

a series of food reviews!

be prepared! your hunger will strike! your mouth will water! and you will want more!

since i have been skipping ACG event on and off recently, allow me to write up a few separate food reviews to merasuah you all to quit complaining why i am not updating. hahaha~

first post of the day: my cooking skill! it has improved and i find cooking a fun thing to do - and i am especially happy when people like my home-cooked items. let's start with the most recent one:

cheesy baked potato boats with sausage coins - (i should call it "pirate ship & the buried treasure"!) the secret in this recipe is stabbing your potatoes before baking, and using a LOT of cheese in the second bake! (it takes 2 hours of preparation and baking time, so it is definitely delicious!)

stabbing the potatoes is said to allow steam to escape from the potato while it is baking so that you get yummy crispy skin! i am guessing the steam trapped inside the potatoes will make the skin soggy or less crispy to eat.

my first eBay purchases!

since i am always hyping myself up whenever i see my blog ranking goes up, i am now blogging something randomly because i noticed my Alexa rank in Malaysa has gone back up to the 10,000 (ten thousands). as of press time (haha~), akikowolf.com ranking globally is in the 2.4mil range. *happy dance*

so here are my first purchases from eBay in september!

firstly, Clannad first grade badge! actually i bought this for a friend, so it doesnt really count as mine. (what an evil friend of me - use my friend's money as test run. haha~)

Daiso @ IOI mall - snacks and drinks!

over the last weekend, i was at IOI mall, so i decided to take a quick browse at Daiso for what new japanese-imported stuff they might have stocked for my eyes, wallet, and now... stomach. XD

located just before the cashier counters, there are four to five shelf-sides that are loaded with goodies that some of you may have been waiting for since going to Daiso outlets in other countries (i.e. singapore) where they have snacks and drinks.

i skipped the first shelf (clearly visible at Daiso IOI mall outlet entrance) as it was a small side that had stuff like instant noodles. plus, i dont want to be a traffic hazard at the entrance on a weekend!

junk food galore: a variety of potato chips, crackers, biscuits/cookies, and candies!

mostly drinks (bottles/cans) with fruity jelly, gum and marshmallows~

instant pre-ready jelly/pudding/yogurt(?), and crackers of sorts.

now i really want to spoil myself with all the yummies and review how they tasted, but i'll probably leave it to somebody with better taste buds than me. (i am not a junk foodie.) i'll probably treat myself with drinks and instant noodles (and perhaps marshmallows) the next time i give Daiso a visit.

if you liked this post, nang me here!

test shots!

since i have not been posting much photos of myself in recent posts (mostly window shopping results in http://twitpic.com/) here i have taken a few random shots! C&C welcomed~ ^____^

K-ON! test shots~

Azusa!

Mio!

Black Lolita Skirt~

before: 0%

process: 50%

Bling things!

Tonino Lamborghini VOI mouse (LED changes into 7 colors~)

glassy electric guitar~

top-far left: do want~

that is all for now~ enjoy!

a K-ON inspired day out.

*refer to K-ON episode 2*

this morning i was at minori's place to watch her play the piano and her beloved ESP electric guitar. (black and glossy!) after that, we had a "test drive" around her housing area and back. if the car was mine, no prizes for guessing who was taking the test drive. XD

once we were in the carpark of mid valley, we went many many times around for a parking lot. strangely, we bumped (NOT physically, mind you!) into a big white car aka the same person. guess what? the third time we saw him, he was walking to the escalator - which means he found a parking lot first and we did not! and the fourth time... i'll save it for later.

akiko and minori were here!

our purpose in mid valley today was to:

• window shop for particular musical instruments and get the best (aka cheapest) price.
• shop for some unnecessary things to buy.
• have lunch.

to our surprise instead, our day went like this:

• make first purchase! (mine totalled RM2, hers RM2.50) lol.
  
• sweep floor by floor for any gashapon/figures and music instrument shops.
• take note of prices (for guitar, bass, and drums).
  
• withdraw money from ATM. (RM50~)
  
• have quick lunch. (onigiri bento and apple juice~)
  
• buy gashapons! (ultimate action evangelion 1.0 series)
  
• play taiko (my first)!
  

onigiri bento~ (the staff forced us to choose fork&spoon OR chopsticks)

for your information, we spend a splendid amount in jusco... both the supermarket (lunch actually) and arcade (gashapons and taiko). we went to McD for free tissue and straws (for our drinks). then, i managed to roll out the evangelion fourth angel (which probably contained the most parts i ever saw in a gashapon)!

its like fixing a gundam kit! how is the above to look like the below...!

Evangelion 4th Angel SACHIEL.

speaking of "fourth"... the fourth time we saw that man from the big white car (we noticed he was wearing a pinstriped white shirt too) was in Yamaha - while we were browsing for the prices, he was sitting in there testing a classic-looking electric guitar and repeated asked the Yamaha staff, "are you sure cannot give me another 5% discount ah?" i thought, mister you can drive a big fat car in the OPPOSITE direction at the P2 carpark, you want further discount at Yamaha?

anyway, that was our K-ON inspired day out. (except the number "4" which appeared a few times.)

David Archuleta Showcase photos!

since we are all interested to look at david archuleta's photos, here is a brief chronicle of how we (nqw and i) got our fantastic tickets to watch the showcase:

mid march - Hitz.fm announced DA showcase, but no set date yet.

26 march - Hitz.fm DJ rudy phoned (to win four tickets to DA showcase)!

27 march - attempt to win Sony+TheStar's contest to interview DA!

8 april - collected four tickets to DA showcase from DiGi!

10 april - collected four tickets to DA showcase from Astro!

next, lets have a look at what happened on david's showcase LIVE:

date: 11 april 2009
time: 3pm onwards
venue: sunway amphitheatre
twitter updates:

10.23am - going to sunway now!

10.43am - attention to DA concert goers: park at sunway medical hospital!

12.26pm - more people coming in after 12noon. gate opening for bag check!

1.44pm - have got my seat in sunway amphitheatre now. Hitz.fm DJ (on air) reports that DA is taking a shower in hotel room now!

3.05pm - DA fans are screaming as they (stage staff) play with the lighting. Hitz.fm DJ Ean is here!

3.22pm - Hitz.fm DJ JJ is here - fans singing crush. DJs are stalling time. srsly. cloudy at sunway. may rain.

4.01pm - JJ and Ean giving out prizes. opening act by astro talent quest choo hou ren.

4.24pm - two more opening acts by one in a million winner alif and malaysian idol winner daniel lee.

4.40pm - david opens with a little too not over you at sunway amphitheatre!

5.01pm - david continues with touch my hand, dont let go and crush!

5.07pm - david's keyboard rendition of thousand miles and angel!
The End.

finally, all that you have been awaiting for! photos of david performing at his showcase with my camphone:

parked at sunway med hosp.

hitz.fm and era.fm cruisers stationed at the entrance.

the first few in queue (reportedly arrived at 8am!)

the bag check station and rules at the entrance.

this is the queueeeee behind me (and theres more until the end which was a bent-U end)

DA showcase security staffs (dont you want a piece of that tshirt?)

temporary mini booth selling DA merchandise (album, postcard, poster, lyric book)

our beloved sponsor-aka-#1fan nqw very hot by noon. XD

ATV rides! (no lah... just cruising staffs.)

mizuiro and i at our very-the-proud seats.

just want to show how the amphitheatre stage looked.



food there was expensive; choice between KFC or pizza hut. drink lagi expensive; choices of bottled water, 100plus, coke.

half of the massive crowd turn up. yeah, half (coz it was shot from where i was seated, quite centre-middle).

well, of course we had pizza for lunch! background top-left: not with us. XD

in pic, bottom-right: free DA paperfan for the first hundred or two in queue.

well, the photos above were apparently all about DA showcase as i doubted my camphone's ability to focus on such a faraway subject. and the below here are all the (hopefully better) photos i shot with my digicam!

my orange jacket and freebies~ (they still try to brainwash us until the entrance)

the (still empty) stage!

wee~ our view.

big ass dslr. thestar photgrapher (coz his telescope lens got label thestar).

who is he?! i think ive seen him somewhere before! (television?)

8tv interviewers & the blonde and brunette.

jj reading the DA placards made by fans in the crowd~

ean giving out prizes directly to the fangirls! (can you spot him? i wonder if he got groped in that sea of people.)

hou ren sang two songs. (but i dont pay attention to chinese language songs.)

alif performed two songs. one was (please) jangan nakal; and the background light created an accidental heart!

daniel lee also performed two songs; one made famous at malaysian idol mimpiku.

david archuleta enters!

david archuleta playing the keyboard as he sings~

photo sequence of his first song performance a little too not over you.

[ editing video clips from DA showcase ]

that's all from yours truly, akiko! (sorry for the delayed report, but still) i hope you enjoyed the photos (though there werent many).

[WIP] cosplay props & costume

want to get an insight on how i make my cosplay props? i have photos and instructions in 10 steps if you want to try any! as for my costumes, sorry, i cant really teach you that, but you can have a look!

liz thompson - soul eater
thompson sisters hats.
event: future.

incomplete: cut out all the patterns for two hats
completed: patches on back of pants (already sewn the front last CF08)

ryomou shimei - ikkitousen
earring, cross choker, wig.
event: emina cosplay photoshoot.

making the earring:
1. prepare tools (pencil, coin fishing line, paper, compass) and material (i used silver coloured sculpey bought from art friends).

2. yinyang shape - draw "figure 8" with two identical coins (choose the coin according to the size that you want your earring to be). then use compass to draw around the figure 8.
3. cut out accordingly - there should be two pieces, a yin and a yang.

4. peel one part of sculpey (its a small earring but you need a minimum 6mm or 1/4in thickness to bake at 130degreesC for 10-15minutes).

5. put the sculpey between plastic sheet (so that your tools dont get dirty) and roll its flat (remember: 6mm thickness is recommended minimum!)

6. sandwich the flat sculpey between the yinyang cut outs. then cut with fishing line along the border (its okay if the shape runs - you can use your finger to fine tune it later).

7. use a needle to pull the fishing line through the middle and cut out a tiny hole.

8. take an earring hook (buy from art friends) and push it in at the top.

9. place on baking sheet to bake at 130degreeC for 10-15 minutes in OVEN only, NO microwave oven. (depending on the heat in your oven you may take more or less time - but STAY WATCH at all times - when smoke start emitting from your clay or oven, (a) you die from the fumes, (b) your clay is overbaked, (c) your oven is not useable for food!)

10. remove from oven, let it cool, and then varnish (with sculpey's own finish)
completed: earring and cross pendant (for choker, also a baked sculpey) - photo refer to misato below.
incomplete: wig (still need it shorter)

misato - neon genesis evangelion
cross choker (cheated! re-use ryomou's choker).
event: GACC/daicon.

completed: silver cross choker

tsubaki - soul eater
axe-sickle with chain (to ponytail), beige dress-coat with double studded belts.
event: ACGC 09 - day 2.

making the axe-sickle with chain:
1. prepare all the materials and tools (paper, artcard, styrofoam, foam cutter, tissue rolls, masking tape, pva glue, scissors, ruler, plastic chain, and reference image!)
2. draft the weapon in life size on a large scrap paper

3. cut out the foam parts for the blade of the axe-sickle. (i suggest you use pins to secure the pattern on the foam so that you cut straight.) i used 2parts for the short side "axe" and 1part for the longer part "sickle"

4. use masking tape to tape them all together roughly (as you just need to have a look at the overall result)

5. when you are lazy, spray silver paint on the plastic chain (bacause plastic chains come in white/red/yellow - i need it to look like metal) and allow to dry (takes a day or so, while you laze around!)

6. wait lar. lazy day.
incomplete: axe-sickle with chain

nemu kurotsuchi - bleach
butterfly, vice captain badge, red bauble-like hair-tie.
event: ACGC 09 - day 1.

making nemu's vice captain badge:

1. prepare the tools and materials needed: thick artcard, normal/tracing paper, pva glue, scissors, life-size pattern (downloadable from here).
2. make copies of the pattern on tracing paper (i used plain paper) until you are sure that is the size that you want. (explains why i have two captain symbol cutouts above.)
3. trace pattern onto the artcard.
4. cut them out accordingly.
5. arrange the patterns properly (double check your kanji is not reversed).
6. glue the back of each piece of pattern starting with the number twelve (in kanji) and captain symbol.
7. get a white armband.
8. attach the badge to your armband with masking tape (you could use more permanent options).
9. wear the armband and badge up the left sleeve of nemu's gi.
10. you are ready to go!

making the butterfly:
gather all your tools and materials: paper, artcard, scissors, double-sided tape. trace the butterfly on paper, then cut it out and place it on your hand to make sure you have gotten the right size. trace the butterfly on artcard, cutout accordingly, and make two folds up the middle neatly. finally, stick double-sided tape under the butterfly and peel off 'smooth' tape when need to use. carefully remove the double-sided tape when no longer sticky, and replace with a new strip.

completed: 12th vice captain badge, shadow butterfly

* i'll upload some MORE photos later. very the tired from full-day photoshoot with EMINA.