G List

.... cloudy sky, unconditional Love, Dena, time on my own, KDM little brothers & sisters, friends, forgiveness, laughter, Thursday Skype nite, Jazon Mraz, giving trees, WO, very extended family, patience, perseverance, hot genmai-cha tea, circumstances, quiet time, morning breeze, road runner | beep beep, strong knees, rain, IES family

The World Is My Oyster

Outodbox

Outodbox

Outodbox

Outodbox

Identity Crisis

I like being anonymous. That's just who I am. But a fellow blogger suggested that I should have a description about myself and what this blog is all about so the reader can relate to me and have a sense of Outside The Box. Okay, that makes sense. "And remember to keep it short," my friend added. So here it goes in less than 100 characters:

I'm a 40 something sleep-deprived workaholic single parent who procrastinates & day dreams full time. I reside in Jakarta, the capital city of traffic jam & pollution. Unless under the influence of a blogger's block I mostly blog about 4D, not the kind one experiences in a theme-park theater, but these kinds: Dena (my only child), Drawing, Design and Devotion. Not necessarily in that order.

Self Portrait by Outodbox

Lost Art

My only daughter Dena was born as a digital citizen, while I'm merely an illegal alien in a digital world. She doesn't read the manual of any gadget or new software, she just figures things out. I read manual front to back and still need her help with stuff. The other day over Skype she showed me actual prints she developed in a dark room taken from an analog camera using an actual film! She slides effortlessly from digital to analog. I'm struggling. I used to wait eagerly for an hour to have my pictures developed in an hour photo service. Nowadays I can't even wait one minute for my laptop to restart. Patience is such a lonely word. Kudos to ECUAD for going back to basics.

Photograph by Dena

Photograph by Dena

Photograph by Dena

Photograph by Dena

It's Personal

My godchild soon will enter the ever-challenging-oh-so-full of drama teen years so I thought I would preserve her innocence. I adore scrapbooking but dislike buying the over-price materials. And I don't like the inorganic look of using store bought materials. I love the messy look of using handmade and recycle stuff. The cover is cut & sewn from a banner, the pages are made from her portfolio pages (each semester her teachers compile her worksheets, photos, drawings to show her progress in school), the fancy string snowman is from a Christmas wrapping gift I got three years ago. Total cost: nothing.

D Yearbook

Dena wrote her own name and her best friend's name in her very first yearbook. Twelve years later she made her own class yearbook. She came up with her own concept, organized a photo shoot for her friends, worked & edited the layout between 12th grade exams, portfolio prep for college, teenage vs adults drama, prom & pimples. Well done sayang!

Word Play

Dena & I love Shel Silverstein. His poems are full of giggles. His line drawings are so delightful. When she was small, we spent hours reading his poems and had tons of laugh. Our favorite is Mehoo & Exactlywatt. The poetry book project back in August 2011 was inspired by his books. 

A Light In The Attic, Poems & Illustration by Shel Silverstein

Orange

The world wide web is a source wonderful inspiration or dreadful distraction.  I was working on my blog when I encountered blogger's block. I went online to see this and that, came across this online shopping and found this really cute top in my favorite color. It was one of those I-gotta-have-this-or-I-die moment. I was still under the influence of blogger's block the next day, when the package arrived.  I love the brown paper packaging , I love the personal letter, I love how Sienna fit me perfectly, and I have a new post in my blog! A match made in heaven. I was happily distracted by PinkEmma.

Catch Of The Day #11

Fear Factor

I'm afraid of common house gecko. No kidding. Just reading a dictionary description of it sends chill down my spine (a nocturnal and often highly vocal lizard that has adhesive pads on the feet to assist in climbing on smooth surfaces. It is widespread in warm regions). I rather not take a shower when a gecko is in my bathroom. I will not sleep if I knew a gecko is lurking somewhere in the corner of my room. In a documentary about phobia they say one must face fear in order to overcome it. I thought as a start I would draw it and read about it in Wikipedia. Terrible idea. I'm more terrified than ever. It has claws! Horror! And making it look like blocks, simplifying the line of it, drawing geometric pattern on it, making it wear running shoes doesn't help either. Aarrggh...!