December 17, 2006
it's done!
So last night we had an informal graduation ceremony, and the final exhibition. It was packed and soon I was tired of talking about my project; I should have prototyped a repeat button with a voice recording on it. Oh, it felt, somewhat anti-climactic.
My Arduino blew up at 3 am that morning (after I thought everything was done), and without my knowledge, Robert had taken the spare Arduino to his office in Monza. So in a panic I had to email Massimo and Giovanni, asking whether they had a spare Arduino lying around at the studio.
Luckily, everything turned out OK. Here's some photos... taken by Hector and Mika...
We skipped out of the exhibition early. Giovanni, Robert and I went to Rosso Pomodoro to celebrate with Napoli-style pizzas and beers. It was delicious! I'm glad Giovanni was there to celebrate with us. Afterwards, we were supposed to party with the rest of the graduating class at Trattoria Toscana but dinner didn't finish until half past midnight and we were knackered so we went home. :-)
Yay me! It's over! It's been an amazing year, learning so much, meeting creative people... I'm sad because everyone is leaving and thinking about life in Milan without them is painfully unbearable...
Another chapter begins, I guess... :-)
Posted by Yasmina at 01:29 AM | Comments (5)
November 01, 2005
getting nervous about the MA course.
i found a few people who are going to do the course with me. one is a fresh graduate of a design school in india. we've emailed and spoken over YM/MSN and he seems nice enough, certainly a curious guy.
another person is a furniture designer based in NY. and a colombian girl currently living in glasgow (?) or somewhere in scotland.
i'm feeling a bit nervous. i feel like i've been working too long, even though it's only been 5 years. i feel like i'm molded in a certain way, and i'm curious to see how i will adjust to the study environment again.
i'm insecure in the sense that the fresh graduates will be more creative/innovative/skilled than i am. that's what i think, anyway. also, the tutors might expect a lot more from me, simply because i've had a lot of industry experience.
daunting thought, really. well. i guess i'll just dive in there.
p.s. there's always cooking school, right? mmmm, alimento delicioso
linky: see more progress on: get a masters degree
Posted by Yasmina at 03:37 PM | Comments (3)
May 12, 2005
kathya + risoles!
just been to kathya's blog and she's just received the indo food package, yay! she has a picture of her eating the risoles i sent her... successfull food swap then! everyone happy!
there's a couple more people interested in foodswap and both live in US, one in seattle and the other in georgia, so i'm going to work on that next... i was offered sweetwater IPA, which is a local beer from georgia, as well as pecan pralines... wow! looking forward to more swapping... i just loooove getting stuff in the mail...
see more progress on international foodswap with other 43things.com members
Posted by Yasmina at 03:00 PM | Comments (4)
April 22, 2005
kathya and kerupuk
dear K,
i got your kerupuk. and supermie. and a lot of other food stuff.
will try to mail this weekend. keep an eye out for the postman.
xxx, ysmn
Posted by Yasmina at 11:40 AM | Comments (2)
baking bread
*still part of my 43things goals*
last night i baked brown bread for robert and i. robert only eats brown bread. it was my first time ever making bread on my own. we got really hungry waiting for the dough to rise (60 mins) and to cook the bread in the oven (30 mins)
i made two loaves. one plain big brown bread loaf for robert. one small loaf with grated orange rinds and poppy seeds, for me. thank you monica for the recipe.
the bread turned out ok, for my first attempt. the outer crust was a bit hard, too hard at the bottom, but the inside was soft and fluffy. so last night robert and i had a bread party together.
robert even took half his loaf today to work for his lunch. :)
good start, i think.
see more progress on: baking bread
Posted by Yasmina at 11:32 AM | Comments (2)
April 19, 2005
roasting your own coffee
i was inspired to do this after making a trip to java with robert this year. my family own an estate in west java where my mother's sister has coffee trees, amongst other things, and she roasts her own coffee.
we took some of this coffee to bali with us further on our travels, and it is heavenly. it tasted even better knowing that my uncle and aunt had put in all this work so we could enjoy lovely coffee.
the problem is: i'm bloody back in the netherlands, where there are no coffee trees. grrrrr... can i buy coffee beans, roast them then grind them? does that count?
See more progress on: roast my own coffee
Posted by Yasmina at 12:07 AM | Comments (3)
April 18, 2005
holidaying solo to a place where you don't speak the language
went to tunisia on my own, in 2001, when i was 23. it was really cool, even though i didn't speak the language, which was predominantly arabic and french. i got by on the french somewhat, because i got to all the right places safe and sound, without any hassles.
i didn't know anybody but tunisians were friendly enough, often mistaking me for being japanese, and the country is liberal and stable enough for a girl to travel around on my own. it was nice traveling on your own; you had your own pace, didn't have appointments to keep, and could do anything i wanted to do, see the sights i'd marked in my guidebook, and i didn't have to talk to anyone if i didn't want to.
in fact, the most interaction i had were with tunisian students and the waiters at cafes.
spent a lot of time on the beach, on my back, reading books, but also hit the local medinas or old town squares for shopping or photography. i ate like the locals, in the market, and went to the coffee shops where the men are always smoking pipes. at the time i didn't realise that women don't actually go there to smoke; it was a men only place. oh well.
anyway i would definitely recommend going on vacation alone.
See more progress on: take a vacation alone
Posted by Yasmina at 11:54 PM | Comments (1)
waking up before robert so i can make him breakfast
most of the time i wake up before robert anyway, but then immediately i shower and get ready for work and i don't make him breakfast as much as i like to. even if i do make him breakfast, it consists of me making a cup of tea or coffee and pouring his yoghurt into a bowl.
so the plan for me to wake up before robert consistently for three weeks, and make him a proper continental breakfast that consists of tea or coffee, milk or juice, yoghurt with muesli or toast with jam or cheese croissant.
it's getting to summer now, so i wake up earlier with the sun rise, but i wonder if i can keep it up for the winter time?
See more progress on: wake up before my husband so i can make him breakfast
Posted by Yasmina at 04:21 PM | Comments (2)
April 14, 2005
43 things
my friend sahala started me on 43things.com. i linked my blog to my profile, so i will be blogging from there as well as here. you can view my to-do-things here. my have-done-it list is also there on the right hand side. so come on people, cheer me on, or motivate me to get the things on my list done and dusted... :-)
some of the things i want to do: actually learn to play my guitar properly, to live instead of exist, write more letters by hand, to go on a road trip with no pre-determined destination.
things i have done: live in london, visit italy, amsterdam, portugal, and travelled alone to a country without speaking the language.
Posted by Yasmina at 11:00 AM | Comments (4)
