Am very frustrated with blogging because I cannot stand not having any pictures on the blog but because I have no life, I don't have pictures to blog about either.

This is very sad. I don't like blogging anymore. >:(

Gimme back my life!

A few months back, I'd never have thought that tomorrow will come true.

La Novella Studio is finally, finally going to expand. A lot happened in the last 6 months or so... But long story cut short: we opened a studio with close to zero faith, met some awesome people who helped out so so much, met some terrible people who just took advantage of what we had and we are finally expanding to a space that is a lot larger than what we expected.

6 months ago, we opened the studio with the thought of making 1-2k a month to fund our future projects. Who knew that we could manage to bring the studio up to what we have today? Who knew?

Who knew that it would become a joyous affair to see smiles from people coming out of the studio? Who knew that it would make me smile to know that they had fun? Who knew that I was going to step into the studio business at all? Who knew?

In less than 2 months time, I would be turning 21. Isn't it fast? Just a few years ago, I was a nerdy girl with tied up fringe, untidy hair and of course untidy clothes. Just a few years ago, I was 16 and had big dreams that I didn't know how to fulfill. And now, 5 years later, I am working on a project that I would have never imagined myself doing.

-

A lot of people asked me the reason behind La Novella Studio. There was no reason. Honestly.

The truth is that we were working on Thursday Tales then. There were very few studios to choose from that were reasonably priced and had vacancies for us. We also didn't really like travelling too much from where we lived. (In the east) We, then, thought that it would be nice to start up a studio for blogshop owners like us who couldn't find an affordable studio in the East. But we didn't act on it because we didn't know how well it would do. We were afraid that it just wouldn't work out.

At that point, we were working on a funding project by YES! Startups. And since we had to write a report on our future plans, we started doing research on how much it would cost to rent down a space to do up a studio. We started looking around for units and started doing adult-ish things like going for viewings (haha). We never intended to follow through with our plan.

But as we went on, we started discussing the possibility of actually just doing it. We started thinking that it would be great if we could just step in and start doing something instead of being so afraid all the time. At that point, we chanced upon the unit at Hola Centre, #05-10. It was one of the very very first units we viewed. After 3 viewings with the boyfriend, the father and the best friend, we decided to take down the unit. (I will have to say at this point that there was a very huge part of me who rented down that unit because of the unit number. It just so happened that 05-10 also represents my birthday, hahaha) 


And so, this was how La Novella Studio was founded. Because we were extremely tight on cash then, you will realize that the studio is really bare on renovation.

But I am glad we followed through with our plans. I am glad we didn't give up. I am glad that even though the first 2 months seemed bleak, we just decided to continue doing it.


And I don't know who reads this blog anymore but I would really really really love to thank all the people who have played a part in bringing La Novella Studio to where it is today. We might not be a very large thing yet. But we are definitely growing. And thank you to all of you for your support.

Thank you Beth, thank you Elaine, thank you Jalyn, thank you to all my dear friends who have forked out time and effort to help me with the studio. Thank you guys. Thank you.

Lonely

Loneliness is a funny feeling. You could be surrounded by a million people, and still feel lonely. And yet, you can just have the company of one person and feel whole again. 

Haven't seen any of my friends for the longest time. (With the exception of meeting up with the male bestie for a 1 hour lunch session the other day) 

It occurs to me that we've all grown so old, all so wrapped up in our own lives, busy with work and school, we just don't have all the luxury to fork out time for each other anymore. It's sad because I really miss some people in my life. 

But it's a really really upsetting period in my life currently and I am also sick of burdening my friends with my incessant rants about life. 

I have so much to write but I feel like it's almost impossible to translate all my feelings into words. I feel pained. I feel lonely. But I also feel alive. 

I don't know how this makes sense. 

I miss you.

It's one more day before the start of the third month of the year. Unknowingly, we have already reached the first quarter of the year. Isn't life amazing? It has this knack of passing us by when we least expect it to. This year is passing way too quickly.

In another 20 days time, La Novella Studio would have officially reached its 6th month of operation. It doesn't even feel like that. It doesn't even feel like I've been doing this for the past 6 months. I can still remember the day we first got the keys to this place. I can still remember when this place was bare as a newborn baby. I can still remember feeding on furniture shopping. The memories feel so faded now though...

We are moving on to a new location very soon. It's so very surreal. And the same things are happening to us all over again. Except this time round, you're not around. I wish Army restricted less freedom. I wish Army didn't bring you all the way to Thailand. I wish you were back by my side now. I wish for the 22nd of March to come as soon as it can.

It's the 29th of February today. We've never spent this day together despite having known each other for almost 7 years now. The last February 29th, you spent the day working and we had our relationship on the rocks. This February 29th, you are away in Thailand.

I miss you, I miss you, I miss you.

2012

It's the 3rd day of 2012 and I'm already back to work. Back then when I still had my old blog, I'd take time off every 31st December to blog through the new year and set new resolutions for myself. I'd even recap the whole year and see if it was a good or a bad one.

I don't think I'm going to do much of a long post this year around mainly because I'm pretty lazy and still have a bit of work to do so I don't think I can do a long one anyway.

2011 was generally speaking, an eventful year. I finished Poly (finally!), I joined Start Up @ Singapore and got into the finals with the lovely friends, I started up La Novella with the boyfriend and we are finally starting to break even. :)

I had a lot of downtimes this year because of my lack in better time and stress management. I suppose this year, I'll have to work on them a little more.

It's still a little hard to believe that I've finally finished my 3 years of Polytechnic education and have moved on to carving out our own little world here. It's also especially difficult to believe that I'll be 21 in 4 months time -_- The boyfriend will officially be turning 21 in 2 days and I've literally prepared nothing for him. :/

I'm glad I got through 2011 - it was the year of a lot of tears, a lot of hard work, a million surprises, rebuilding friendships and just generally speaking, a year of beginnings.

Hopefully 2012 will see major expansions in La Novella's operations and a generally better relationship with the boyfriend, the family and all my dearest friends.

Here's wishing everyone out there who happens to read this a very happy new year and I hope 2012 will be a good year for you no matter where you are and what you do!

Sobfest

This Thursday feels like a sobfest in the studio for me. I started off with doing work that I don't have to start on yet... And then, I started watching a proposal video. That sparked off my tear glands. They are not very happy today. After which, I started reading blogs of widows... And that didn't sit too well either. My tear glands are still working pretty hard today.

I wonder how my customers will react if they see me weeping silently outside the studio when they exit the studio.

There are so many thoughts going through my mind right now. My emotions are in an absolute turmoil.

It is scary to be in a relationship. You end up baring your soul to someone so foreign yet so close to you at the same time. It's been 6 years now. But does it make me feel any better to bare my soul to someone else? Not always. I feel exposed and vulnerable and easily hurt most of the time. But he's so impossible to leave. He's so impossible to reject. He's so impossible to not love.

It is also extremely scary to be in a business with the same guy you're in a relationship with. There are so many what if's. There's so much tension most of the time. There's so much fear. And you bare yourself a lot more than you're supposed to just because you're in a business with him. There's so much insecurities, so much fear, so much that can go wrong.

I hope nothing goes wrong.

The story.

If I was myself one year ago, I'd never have thought that I would open a studio one year later.

One year ago, I started up Thursday Tales (which is now closed) with the intention of setting up an online boutique that was fairytale themed. But it turned out to be a fairytale as well. It's simply too difficult to enter the online boutique market without some fame/ extra capital or just a selling point that was unique enough. I eventually got discouraged and closed Thursday Tales down permanently. Actually there's a part of me who would love to bring the shop back. I loved it because I fully conceptualized the idea and created it with the help of my lovely friends. I still love Thursday Tales and it'll forever be part of my memories and history.

But now La Novella Studio has came along and I love it with every bit of my life as well. Despite the need for National Service and the many difficulties that we perceived would come our way, the boyfriend and I still went ahead and followed our hearts instead. We created La Novella Studio with the help of our parents and although he's in army now, he spends much of his free time here in the studio with me.

It's not easy, really. This studio is probably one of the hardest projects I've embarked into in my entire life. There's much of photography that I've yet to learn. There's so much of the studio that still baffles me even up till today. But it's challenging I guess. It's challenging to learn. It's so different from what I've done in my entire life that it challenges me to want to learn that much more.

I wouldn't say I've done a good job though. I've made so much mistakes in the scheduling of bookings that it's not funny. But realize that I'm still a newbie at this and sometimes, I just really need time to learn. I am not a machine/a robot. I'm a human being and human beings make mistakes - much like anyone else. The fact that I work in this studio doesn't make me any less of a human being so start treating me like one please.

I've been working the most irregular hours here in the studio and sometimes, it's just really exhausting to say the least. So when I make mistakes, please understand that it's not my intention to screw up your schedule. It's just that sometimes, you're just too exhausted to focus but yet you still have to because you have a mailbox that is filled to the brim.

So yes, it is definitely not easy and I'm definitely still learning, but I'll be better. I promise.

La Novella Studio will be a lot better one day and I'll be sure to make that happen.