Posted on by crystal · 3 Comments

Shoppaholics h[e]aven

I had a date at Java Adams tonight that didn’t quite work out, and my little black book failed me too. Since I had a free evening and a ‘paid’ babysitter, I didn’t want to waste my night out. So I decided to go shopping.

There’s a market behind Java that’s called Toi. It’s an open-air market where you can find anything from tangerines to Timbaland boots, all at affordable prices. I call it the ‘real people’s mall’ because in regular malls, all I can do is window-shop.

I got myself some nice tops, and a pair of sparkly jeans for my daughter, as well as some grapes and four apples. I also got a keen lesson in business – and realised that I’m not very patient.

Toi has two kinds of stalls. There are the ‘high’ stalls, where items are hung on display, so you can instantly see what appeals to you. Then there are the ‘ground’ stalls where stuff is splayed on the floor in amorphous piles, and you have to sort through them to see what you like.

The ground stalls are way cheaper.

I noticed that while the high stalls are pricey, they’re easier to use. They save you time and effort, but you spend more money. The ground stalls are very often goldmines, and you can find dirt-cheap treasures, if you have the patience to sift through the stacks.

But I found that I preferred the high stalls. They were just so much more … convenient! And as my brother eloquently put it, when you find items at a throwaway price [i.e. ground stalls], you have to work for it.

In my business, I take the high stall approach. I’ve laid out all I have to offer in a nice, clean, easy-to-use way. You can find a summary on the About Page, and detailed explanations in each little space. The template itself speaks volumes, since the lady’s violin and the light purple rose is all quite me.

So do look around and take in the scenery; I’m sure you’ll find something that goes great with your shoes … or your hair.

Posted on by crystal · 4 Comments

Off with her hea … hair!

So I changed my avatar again. The main reason is that I cut my hair yesterday. Well, that didn’t come out quite like I intended.

See, I’ve always liked cartoons, and I love, love, LOVE yahoo avatars. So it figured I’d have one headlining my blog.

I initially had this purple-haired one because I really like the spiky hair look. If I had a different kind of hair, that’s exactly how I’d wear it. But this head does nothing but dreads. Believe me, I’ve tried.

I had Peaches [the flowered avatar] for a while, because she represented how I felt, how I saw myself. She’s flirty, and girly, and delicate … and fairly naïve. Plus that peach dress is to die for.

I have a whole bunch of avatars stacked in my computer; each one suits a different mood. Greenie, the cybertwin’s avatar, is as close as I get to having green eyes. Plus the site needed a JPEG image, and Miss Purple is in PNG.

The Drama Queen is chilling out on twitter for a while. The one with the specs is my game-face, because I only wear my glasses when I’m working [or flossing]; the glare from monitors and pure white paper disturbs me.

I got Miss Purple when my hair was pretty short. It’s now short again. I like the look – it’ll do. Fatoo did a brilliant job with it … but I’m not likely to chop it off again. You could almost say I’ve gone latter-day-nazirite. My hair people will be so happy *cheeky grin*.

I’ve revived Miss Purple for another reason. I sense a subtle shift in my nature. Ever since I went into business last month, I feel … different. Miss Purple was my first avatar in the writing world. She was an icon for my writing career and my dreams of getting paid. And now it’s come true.

Now that I’m hustling for money, I feel tougher, more hardcore. I feel confident; like I can do anything. And I admit it took a lot of [wrongly placed?] balls to walk into a salon and have them cut my dreads off.

They’re not completely gone. They just look short and spiky and a little unkempt. I can still shake them if I spin my head really really hard, and I’m sure they’ll grow back.

If only I could dye them purple…

Back to blogging, I know how to work my avatars with Microsoft Photo Editor. It’s so easy to use. But I’ve now upgraded to Office 2007, and that only comes with a Picture Manager. I can’t figure out how to make it do what I want – which is to cut, paste, shift things around, and remove the grainy effect on my headliner.

Ideas anyone? And please don’t say photoshop. I tried it once and I got stuck at the layers. There’s a reason they say Microsoft is for dummies…

♫ Afterlife ♫ Avenged Sevenfold ♫

 

Posted on by crystal · 11 Comments

Talk about a block!

I don’t get writer’s block very often. And I hardly ever get blogger’s block. But if there’s one thing that gets my creative juices freezing, it’s money.

Which is not to say I wish to work for free – that’s just silly. They say your passion is something you would do even if no one is paying you – but that doesn’t necessarily mean you want to.

For most people, the prospect of getting paid is the ultimate muse. All they have to do when they get stuck is count the zeroes on their cheques and they’re good to go. But me, I find that distracting.

This is the problem.

Living my dream means writing for money – which translates into blocking from the pressure.

I’m still working on a system to get me out of this. I suppose I could go metaphoric and fix an actual block; stick my gloved hands down the drain and pull out some cloggy muck. That will likely clear up the plugs in my head. Unfortunately, my drains are pretty clean right now.

The good thing about my block is that I have something else to keep me occupied – editing. I currently have three assignments due, all stuff that someone else wrote. It’s so much easier to mark others’ work than try to start your own, so I focus on that as I dredge up writing ideas.

But I have to be careful. Editing can kill writing in more ways than one. Some writers lose their focus after their work is trashed corrected by critics. But many more writers get so busy helping others improve that they forget to write themselves!

Back to the blocking.

I’m not generally a good multi-tasker, but the first rule of successful hustle is … well … hustle! Have your hands in as many pies as possible. That way, if one is raw, or worse – rotten, you can still get your taste buds sated.

Only, be sure not to take on more than you can do. It’s very hard to turn down ready money, but you’ll lose a lot more if you do fifty shoddy jobs instead of five good ones.

I suppose the only way to turn down ‘free’ work is the buddy system. Just like having a gym-buddy keeps you hitting the treadmill, having a trade-buddy provides not only someone you can rant to about work, but also someone who can bail you out when you’re stuck.

Just be sure to choose your partners wisely. You want someone who’s good enough to deliver, so they have to be as good as you are, if not better. But you also want someone who is fair enough to return the favour. Think about it.