Napie’s Neighborhood

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Merry Christmas; Happy Holidays; Best Wishes for whatever you celebrate at this time of year.

I will see you on the other side of the 25th ......

We will have Christmas day with my three children and my new daughter-in-law.....   firing up the barbie and tossing some prawns and seafood on it.

On Boxing Day (26th)  we start the flights back to DC  -  arriving in Los Angeles before we leave Sydney - LOL -  I love that International Date line!

 

*warning-this post is filled with bad language orientation,bad english and all.aka 'bahasa rojak'*

uh..i woke up today to listen to my mom's babbling..I asked the timekeeper..it said 11am..oh darn I missed my subuh prayer again.bangun lambat lagi!*my mum yells.yeah I can see every reason for her to be mad.
and blablabla...i went down.checked my list of things to do.*yeah I do have a list!unbelievable is it?

and quickly as ever.my mum said the thing I've to do before I start figuring out the blurry lines.*am reading here.bila nk cat pagar tu?bila nk pi byr unikl tu?esok kn nk tgok adik?.sabtu kn dh nk pegi dusun?.

ps:the unikl registration day is in 3rd jan 2010.and the registration paper said I must pay rm1040*or 1400? to them at least one week before registration.and I have exactly one week.darn!whut are they doing with my 1k of money,even b4 I entered?

and yeah this week is a buzzing one.this weekend my mum's side family is making a...gathering?at dusun eco resort..and I haven't finished with my UNIKL registration..hopefully tomorrow..and yeah.tomorrow I've to accompany my mum to see my lil' bro and attend my lil sis' report day..like when will I have the time?omg idk.
friday?godknows.but something is telling me it'll be a very busy day.

the last few months/weeks/days have not been nice to me.I dont recall when it starts but I guess it starts when my former employer called me back to work for him*most of his 'workforce consists mainly of practical students..so there is this critical 1 month of no-student period,the semester breaks.and he called me to man one of his stations*stations?hahahah.his outlet in seksyen 27..which is..far far away.not that far.but it hurts trying to get there on time with all the friggin traffic.and during my time I've had close calls..two times!

and since I had this roadtax-less kriss.I've got two love letters from the police.in total amount of rm640 of summons.
which I've settled for only rm140.since the bike does have a roadtax.*the summons note wrote-no roadtax,rm320 fine.
and both police officer who geve me the love letters said it can be cancelled if u really did have one.and so I did.but!
the IPD police said it cant be cancelled,but lightened.changed to "not displaying roadtax offence"i said wtf man?he said in total for both rm140.means rm70 for each offence.oh this is ridiculous.....and so I paid.

ok i think this is enough.for now.

k thanx if u read.

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We spent yesterday with my parents who live about 3 hours drive north of Sydney -  in Tea Gardens/Hawks Nest. This will be my last visit with them this trip. It is always really, really tough saying goodbye to them as the thought is always in the back of my mind that this might be the last time I see them.

  Their little town is  sandwiched between the Pacific Ocean 

and the Myall River, Great Lakes system:.  We were only on the beach for a short time before I could feel my too fair skin starting to burn. The water was clear and so inviting, and there was no seaweed here; just tiny shells washing ashore:

The river is also lovely and clear....

 

The pelican was hoping we had some fish for him - he was disappointed.

 

Thanks everyone for attending the Open House on Saturday! For those interested, here some classes that are still available...

#1005A/B - Introduction To Head Drawing A and B

Instructor: Mario Hernandez
Saturday, 10am-1pm

This course is an excellent opportunity for students to learn the craft of head drawing. It will provide each student with the necessary understanding and experience to draw the human head with authority. Each session will consist of a lecture or demonstration that will guide students step-by-step through the process of drawing from a live model. The traditional elements of life drawing will be emphasized including the structure and planes of the head, the values of light and shadow, edges, portrait composition and drawing techniques. The course will also include exercises and assignments aimed to help students greatly hone their portrait drawing skills.

#1002A/B- Head and Figure Drawing with the Reilly Method A and B

Instructor: Israel Martinez
Wednesday, 10am-1pm

This is an introductory figure and head drawing class, concentrating on the methods of Frank Reilly. You may see a broader explanation of Frank Reilly’s methods here . Using 6 simple lines as the starting point for drawing the figure, Israel Martinez will instruct and demonstrate how to simply draw a figure that is solid and proportional, having weight and balance. Your drawing will improve drastically and will have economy of line. The class will warm-up by drawing 5-minute poses, followed by instructor demonstration, and then 20 minute poses that will teach you to block-in structure quickly.

#2380A/B - Alla Prima Head/Figure Painting A and B

Instructor: Ignat Ignatov
Friday, 10am-4pm

This course will consist of painting demonstrations and lectures covering the important elements of painting such as value, color and edges, as well as composition and design. This class will also cover the limited palette and the amazing advantages that it offers. Each week the artists will paint from life a different model using the Alla Prima (wet into wet technique) and will receive individual instruction and critiques. The goal is to advance your skills in the direct painting method while applying the fundamentals to achieve a solid understanding of painting the human form in various light conditions and settings.

#2367A/B - Figure Painting A and B

Instructor: Joseph Todorovitch
Wednesday, 12pm-6pm

We will paint the figure from life and discuss choices for setting up the pose, composition, color harmony, lighting, pacing, and bringing the painting to a decent level of resolve. We'll also discuss the language of describing paint in order to better understand our mixtures. Joseph will explain his approach and demonstrate by painting along and illustrating his ideas about the approach. Pose lengths will vary from single days to multiple days. Previous drawing experience is highly recommended.

#1122 - Sketching the Figure (Quick Pose/Head/Figure Construction)

Instructor: Sergio Sanchez
Tuesday, 7pm-10pm

The student will receive study in drawing the head and figure, using quick-sketch and longer pose study of the figure and head. This is a broad overview of the many aspects of drawing the figure.

To view our whole schedule of classes, go to www.laafa.org/sessions/calendar . Or feel free to call us at, 818.708.9232. The Winter Quarter starts January 11th!

it was full of seaweed: 

- bruno rotival : fotograf des monastères.... 

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I'm not sure I want my food to announce it's going to make my jiggly bits dance but this was a wonderful dinner on a hot evening:;

And how could I resist wine with a label like this?   It was actually pretty good and I've bought another bottle...  :

Huge storm last night.  This was after a day where it hit 40 Celsius here in western Sydney.  A day where I went to the city to meet my Economist son for lunch and in my "wisdom" decided to ride the Monorail from Darling Harbour parking over to city centre (Pitt Street). 

 

There was a notice at the "station"  warning that due to extreme heat the a/c in the little cars would not be efficient.    Well,  I got a $9.50 all day ride (cheaper than a return) and got on it anyway.  Holy Moly - it must have been over 50 degrees Celsius in the little tube!!!.   "I can do this;  I can do this"  -  I repeated to myself  - surely it won't take that long....... 

There are more stations now than I remember and it seemed to take a very, very long time though it's probably only 15 minutes - but 15 minutes in that kind of heat and stuffiness is no fun.  I considered getting out two short of where I wanted to go  but that defeated the entire purpose of taking the monorail in the first place as the walk would've been longer but surely it could not have been hotter.

I had images of a news story "woman collapses in heat of monorail"   or worse - the monorail breaking down and everyone expiring before we could be rescued.     

Last night there was a tremendous storm with  lightning so intense I saw us all being fried in our little tin huts.

A one stage there was a large crash as a branch fell and first thing this morning I checked that now not-so-new rental car to make sure it didn't have a bough across its bonnet.
 

So today it is raining and there is a bus strike so it should be fun on the roads - but at least it is cooler. 

 This is Rose Bay, Sydney - I have a friend who lives in this idyllic location:

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I know this is not a big surprise for this week's Quest!  This quest runs for 2 weeks so you have time to get some photos during this busy season.

Photos can be recent or old...you are free to use any photo enhancements, color or b & w or sepia tones. Make a collage, a Christmas card, a poster or just a single photo.  Post how you took the photo and what enhancements you used.

If you haven't ever posted before just jump in and have some fun.  No worries we are all learning here and enjoy seeing everyones photos.

Get creative and show the Photo Quest Group what Christmas means to you.  Is it about the ornaments, the tree, the cookies, friends, children, parties (this is for Yan), pets, nature, church...what makes a Christmas special for you.

Since this quest runs through Christmas...I want to take time to wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas!

 

Maureen