You Is Right

Folks,

I've squandered 20 days in September. It almost feels like I'm not serious about producing stock for my Christmas craft market. It's not that I've not made anything. I have. But just little items here and there, all in various stages of completion. Not a staggering amount. In fact I'm quite ashamed of how little work I have done. I've not yet drawn up a master plan of how many of what to make. I just know I want to hit the number 74 just so I could reach my goal of 1000 Projects Before I Die.

And before any of you ask again, I AM NOT DYING. It's a goal I set out for myself a while ago and back then, I did not know I could sew so many items. If I had known, I would have set a higher goal like 10,000. Now that's unreachable I'm sure.

Once I reach 1,000, I will not keep count anymore. I used to want to keep on counting but now I don't really care to.  Hope hubs isn't disappointed. It's really getting to be a chore - this counting.

The weather in Singapore is getting humid and smoggy again. A horrid combination. We're just done with the month long Hungry Ghosts Festival. So now I can breathe again. I kept getting told it's the last day of the festival and then it turned out to be untrue. I really should get a Chinese calendar.

So I was basically in this no-hurry mode and yesterday bam! It hit me. I panicked. I peeked inside my stock closet and was alarmed there were so few items. Yes, I knew I didn't have that many. Still I had to see with my own eyes. I tried fainting but it didn't work. I tried pretending I had plenty of time. It didn't work. Finally, overcome with anxiety, I started sewing. That's the one thing I can count on. Panic often results in some small creativity in me.

I decided I wanted to make a few lunchtime bags. Yes, yes. I know I already have lunchtime pouches. These are bags. With zips. And handles.

I'm going to call this version 1. It's not too big and not too small. But I think I need to make another version because many women carry large wallets. Like me.

I decided to add a zipper because most women feel comfortable if bags have zips.

Originally, on paper, I wanted the bottom to be rectangular. But while sewing I changed my mind and decided the bottom would mimic the top. The hardest part of sewing this little bag? Top stitching around the top.

Today I started working on other zip pouches so my sewing mojo is back. I'll show you the others another time.

* * *

From next week I'll be joining an exercise group in my neighbourhood. I had failed to find a Pilates class close to home and decided that the next closest thing to Pilates is Tai chi. A few days ago, the instructor called me to confirm the class. It will be outdoors and the instructor is a Chinese helicopter. Yes, I'm as terrified as hubs is. This Tai chi guru can't speak a word of English. How on earth will I cope? My fluency in Chinese is not exactly zero but ordering food in Chinese is different from getting instructions to go left, go right, hold the pose. Speaking of left and right, to those fluent in Chinese, it's a piece of cake to. But for a long time I couldn't for the life of me remember which is which.

Left is zuo.
Right is you. (yes, as in you, you, you, go stand in the corner)
Many years ago, I was working in this company and one day I was delighted to discover a kindred soul. This guy, let's call him Charles (his real name) was pretty bad in Chinese too and he was sent by his folks to study in Canada, possibly to escape learning Chinese. Anyway, I told him how I could never remember left and right in Chinese. He told me he had the same problem and gave me this little trick which worked. He said the trick was to imagine pointing your finger at someone and say "YOU". Since I'm right handed, I would point with my right hand. So YOU IS RIGHT.  And ZUO would then be LEFT.

Let me just say this trick worked its magic. Each time I need to tell a taxi driver the directions, I would find myself pointing my finger,  and say YOU. If it's left, I want, I would lower my finger and say ZUO. I know, what an insane way to learn Chinese. Incidentally, Charles is left-handed. So he had to think the OPPOSITE. Just imagine his left hand pointing and saying YOU.... and then his brain tells him it's the opposite.

Anyways, when I'm doing the Tai Chi, I hope I won't find myself pointing my finger going YOU! I wonder if my instructor is worried. The other day he asked me if I am a YANG something something. I had no idea what he was talking about. So I told him my age because YANG has the same sound as YOUNG. He roared with laughter. I think he knows he's getting a clown.

And just so you know, I tried very hard to be fluent in Chinese. I spent more time on Chinese than on any other subjects in school. (which was silly) All my Chinese teachers did nothing to help me. They expected me to just naturally know the language. They told me I was lazy. And I wasn't. When I became an adult, many people I worked with helped me learn the language better, often giving up part of their lunch time. Despite all my efforts, it was always a struggle. Now I'm pretty sure I'm dyslexic in Chinese. Otherwise, it just doesn't make sense. Because I tried so freaking hard.

1 out of 74 bags completed.