Blind Date With A Book

Blind Date With A Book, Elizabeth's Bookshops, Perth, Australia

Blind Date With A Book, Elizabeth's Bookshops, Perth, Australia

I have to admit that when I’m shopping for books, I don’t go title by title. I’d take a step back to take in the entire shelf and I’d reach out for the book that caught my eye. So basically, in order for me to choose a book, the cover has to be interesting enough to catch my attention. Deep down, I know I will miss out a lot of good books just because their book design are not up to par. So when I heard about ‘Blind Date With A Book‘, I’m intrigued.

I found on the Almighty World Wide Web that Elizabeth’s Bookshops in Perth, Australia is doing this and it was a huge hit. I didn’t get a chance to truly explore every nook and cranny of the bookshop because I only stumbled across it in the morning of my last day in Perth (the company trip), while my colleague and I was on our way back to our hotel after getting almond croissants from Jean Pierre Sancho.

Blind Date With A Book, Elizabeth's Bookshops, Perth, Australia

The book stand is placed outside the bookshop by the walkway. It’s very easy to spot; all you need to do is look for the book stand where all the books are wrapped in brown paper and tied with jute twine – like a gift. There’s also a tag attached to the twine with a little ladybird on it.

The price is also stated on the tag itself. It ranges from AUD12.95 to AUD18.95. It’s not too pricey, I guess, but you do run a risk of getting a book that you might not like. The way of minimizing this risk is however written on the brown wrapping paper itself – descriptive words and short phrases of the mystery book. So choose wisely.

Fret not if you truly don’t like the book or if you’ve read it before or even when you have finished the book. You can exchange the book for another as long as you keep the genuine receipt. As I understood from the friendly shopkeeper, no time limit!

Oh, bear in mind that these are secondhand books. If you like reading old books, like me, it’s definitely a plus. I got ‘The Namesake’ by Jhumpa Lahiri. The paper is yellowish but it’s in good condition. I read the synopsis and I can’t wait to start reading it. I have to admit though, that in my normal book shopping routine, I probably wouldn’t have pick up this book. But hey, I always welcome serendipity with open arms. ∇

 

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Last-Minute Syndrome

Today marks the last day of the March 2015 and I wanted to pay tribute to the end of a GST-free Malaysia by writing this post. Starting tomorrow, April 1st, 2015, Malaysia will officially be implementing GST (Goods and Services Tax) and many stuff will be taxed. I don’t want to go into the details but let’s just say that our lives are taxed with a 6% of GST – among many other taxes that are already clinging onto us like toilet paper stuck to our shoe.

So as usual, being Chinese and Malaysian, we’d want to stock up on necessities at a pre-GST price. Typical. No surprise there, really. And being a member of normal working class community, I went to good ol’ Watsons for my toiletries and all. And I’m shocked! I half expected this but when I’m actually in Watsons, I was shocked anyway.

Situation is this; almost 40% of the racks are emptied and the queue to the cashier is like 4 mini Great Wall of China (there are 4 counters)! I have never seen that particular Watsons outlet being so full and so empty at the same time – flooded with people and voided of merchandise.

This made me realize one fact; our nation has a serious case of “Last-Minute Syndrome”. Implementation of GST was announced months and months ago but no, we don’t stock up until the last day before implementation.

I would snap a picture to show you, if only my hands weren’t full.

xx Ashley

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Hot Air Balloon Fiesta 2015

Hot air balloons. The phrase itself brings many happy childhood memories or happy feelings in general. Well, who doesn’t love a huge balloon that flies up high and if you’re lucky, you’ll be able to ride in the baskets too!

Well, it’s that time of the year again where Putrajaya skies are filled with huge flying balloons in various shapes and colors. It’s a 3-day event and so I went on a Saturday, March 14th, 2015, along with Amanda who is a big fan of flying balloons (you should see her during parties where helium balloons are used for decorations).

The balloon show starts at 7am and we reached there at 6.45am (suffering from severe sleep insufficiency).

 

The first balloon to lift off.

 

This is the balloon that Amanda looked forward to but after it flew over the pond, it ended up amongst the trees. Sad ending.

 

The balloon with stars was having some problem staying afloat and eventually landed on the pond surface. Luckily, after few minutes, it was able to lift off again.

 

Then they all floated away. Can you see it? The penguin balloon stuck among the trees?

All balloons will eventually fly over the pond and far away. Basically, you only catch a glimpse of the balloons for a few minutes before they are out of sight.

And so we walked around for a bit.

Came across a scary and dirty-looking shark thing (it’s those air castle thing where kids can jump around).

 

A playground where various activities a going on, mostly games for kids and families.

To be honest, I was a bit disappointed because there weren’t as many balloons as I expected and the main attraction, the Van Gogh balloon failed to lift off that morning. I saw the pilots and crew trying to filled it with hot air but failed for reasons unknown to me. Too bad. But it lifted off some other time, maybe that evening or the next day. Well, not my lucky day, I guess.

However, it was definitely a lucky day for Amanda as it was dream came true for her. She has always wanted to be lifted off ground by balloons and she gets to check that off her bucket list! So happy for her (even if we had to stand under direct sun to line up for that thing). Oh well, it was worth it to see her so happy!

 

A dream-come-true moment.

xoxo
Ashley

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Instax Mini Hello Kitty by FujiFilm

Last night, I found out that Fujifilm has once again managed to fascinate me. They launch a Hello Kitty-shaped instant camera – Instax Mini Hello Kitty.

instax_mini_hello_kitty_catalogue

instax_mini_hello_kitty_catalogue 1

I actually discovered this through YouTube. I saw that FujiFilm Global has uploaded a video that features Hello Kitty. At first, I thought it was some kind of tribute to all their past Hello Kitty cameras. But then I clicked the link under the video and I squealed!! My heart literally cannot take the amount of surprise and delight that they actually launched something this perfect! In the past, cameras (any cameras) that is a collaboration with Hello Kitty, they’ll only be sporting some Kitty stickers on the camera and in pink. And now, this! How can one not be excited?! Imagine bringing this cutesy Hello Kitty-shaped camera around town. Happiness overload!

Here’s the video. And I love it! It’s really been quite some time since I’ve last watched any Hello Kitty animation.

I read in a blog somewhere during my investigation that this baby is priced at approximately RM409 (after conversion). I am most definitely going to grab it when it arrives in Malaysia. If it arrives in Malaysia. One can only hope.

xoxo
Ashley

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A Beautiful Mixture of Science and Music

There are times when you will stumble upon something so amazing that leaves you breathless. In my case – a video. It’s a music video + science + awe.

What we’re seeing here is cymatics – the science of visualizing audio frequencies. And let me assure you that it is AMAZING! You’d have to see it to know. So put on your headphones and enjoy this beautiful creation.

Head over to Nigel Stanford‘s page for more info on his album and behind-the-scenes too.

xoxo
Ashley

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If I’m Not Human

I think I’d most likely be a cat. Or a sloth. Or anything that’s uber laid back with a pint of laziness in it. No, make that a huge pint. Ha. But I’m just gonna stick to being a cat because cats are obviously more visually appealing compared to sloth. So there, if I’m not human, I’d be a cat.

I am a very laid back person, I don’t get stressed out easily, I always look on the brighter side of things and most importantly, my best friend, Amanda, have recently awarded me with a new title – Queen of Procrastination. I have a serious case of procrastinating things and it always puts me in deep shit. But hey, I survived, for however long I needed to.

Enough with that. I want to share with you a list of things that makes me happy:

  1. Independent Magazine. From the moment I discovered them, I fell in love. The more indie magazines that I discover, the deeper I fell down the rabbit hole.
  2. Books. I read a lot when I was a kid. Then in my teenage years, I stopped reading. I have no idea why but I think it has something to do with the clique that I was in. (Peer pressure is a stupid thing.) I started reading again once I went into my twenties. Lightning strucked I guess. I have no idea what got me started reading again but hey, I’m not complaining. Well, maybe just one thing – lack of bookshelf space.
  3. Indie Music. I love indie folk. I just love them so much I can’t live without my music. Period.
  4. Art & Design. I get giddy when I discover amazing art pieces or extraordinary designs. I love graphic design and illustrations, editorial design and product design. Oh, I love beautiful interior designs as well. I intend to learn more about each and everyone of them but my title (Queen of Procrastination) always gets in the way.
  5. Photography. Probably nobody knows this but my secret ambition is to be a photographer. But I intend to make it a non-secret.
  6. Tech. I love all things tech. And I’m an Apple fan.
  7. Fashion. Who doesn’t love fashion?
  8. Coffee. Need I say more?
  9. Scrambled Eggs. I love scrambled eggs. To me, the secret to a perfect brunch lies in the scrambled eggs.
  10. Hello Kitty. I know Sanrio declared it’s not a cat. But it ain’t gonna change my love for Hello Kitty. I’m a hard-core fan. Basically, I love all things HK.

I’m sure there are many, many more but this is what I can come up with at the moment.

Wait. I didn’t intro myself, did I? Okay, okay.
Ola! I’m Ashley and I’m the owner of this blog. STPBCK.com is a blog I created as my very own collection box. Here, I will collect and keep the things that I like, I found and I created. In a nutshell, refer “Happy” list above.

So, how did I come up with STPBCK.com?
First of all, “stpbck” is pronounced “step back”. I took out the vowels because stepback.com costs RM22,220.23 (approx. USD 6,335). Crazy?! So I killed the vowels. It looks cooler without the e’s and a’s anyway. Most importantly, STPBCK is not asking readers to step back and back away from my blog. No. I don’t mean it maliciously. I just took it from my favorite phrase that I live by – “take a step back and you’ll see the bigger picture.” No matter what situation you’re in, always remember to step back, take a deep breathe and look again. Often, you’ll realize that the situation you’re in is really not that dire. This blog is also a creative outlet for my wandering mind and fluttering heart. I have so many things and ideas flowing into my mind that I find it overwhelming and don’t know where to put them. This is where they’ll be in the future. They, being the thoughts and ideas, be it foolish or genius, will call STPBCK.com their home from now on.

Cheers,
Ashley

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