EVACOMICS BLOG

I didn't plan to go Comic Fiesta initially because I was uncertain how to bring my books there by myself and nobody to help look after the booth when I am not around. Strangely, one week before CF, I met Shawn (artist) from Draw Slowly  and Mark (writer) from Temploy during Bookmate's launch event and they were going to CF to launch their crowdfunding comic project: " Silent War ". They offered to share their booth with me so yup, off I go!!!

So I'll end off the comics for this year with a good thing about my home country, and yes, it does feel good to be back home :) I'll be posting about my experience at Comic Fiesta tomorrow! ;)

Ok, this one is not very odd, but it sounds like ordering something at Subway... half-sandwich please! ...and half-salad, half-pasta...

It was a privilege to be on BookFest stage despite being assigned a weekday evening from 7.30-8.30pm and labelled as a for "Kids"event. I was very worried that there will be no crowd and my fans won't show up so I asked a few of my friends to come support me (and of course buy the book at 20% discount hee hee hee)

Besides trying to achieve 100% consensus all the time, most Japanese companies try to make sure that everything is fixed before they release their product. But this also means that they are slower than their competitors...

This was my first time at Anime Festival Asia (AFA) so I didn't know if sales would be good or not. I heard that there will be a lot of people but I wasn't sure if they were into well-known anime or into my original creation. I was very lucky that my booth location was pretty good at the entrance into the Creators Hub section.

Based on true story, but luckily not mine. My friend did everything as usual, put in all her clothes and then come back an hour later to take them out. Everything was fine, except, all of her "private collection" were missing. Another case happened to my gaijin (foreigner) girl friend, but not at the laundromat but at her backyard. She lived on the first floor and put her lingerie to dry out one night. Unfortunately, someone went over the fences and stole her entire "showroom pieces". If I'm not wrong, Japan is the only country with some sick people going around to steal underwear at laundromats, backyards and veranda.... =_=;; Update: According to fans in Malaysia, their underwear can also get stolen if left at the backyard...hmm...

Believe me, if I have more money I will visit the more expensive salons to do my hair and not get scratched, splashed and scrubbed on the face...

I am not sure if it is because my friend looked like a foreigner during my latest trip to Japan or sales staff are now more courageous to speak English. Even an " obaasan " (auntie) waitress could ask us "English Menu?", which was quite a surprise for me. It seems that the depreciating yen really helped Japanese tourism and the service line is finally picking up English. Now... I wonder if that Immigration Bureau at Shinagawa has more staff who could speak English or Chinese. It was strange that nobody there could speak a foreign language although everyone who goes there is a foreigner. Luckily the forms are in English and Japanese, whew!

Yup, it is a battle at our airports with people and carts crowding near the belt... I miss flying~

If you want a nice restaurant in Tokyo to chill out with friends/colleagues and experience traditional Japanese culture at the same time, this is it! Shinjuku Awaodori Restaurant  (新宿 阿波おどり) is a new Japanese traditional dance themed restaurant located right outside Shinjuku station's East exit and sits right next to ABC Mart (shoe shop). Very convenient!

Kochia is actually Bassia scoparia (syn. Kochia scoparia), which is a kind of grass that turns red during fall. You can see the sea of red at Hitachi Seaside Park (ひたち海浜公園) in October but 19th Oct was the last day in 2014 to see this plant before they change to brown.

Kawagoe Festival is an annual event held every year in the 3rd weekend of October. The place is within 40mins train ride from Ikebukuro and has buildings preserved from the Edo period.

Based on Trompenaar's dimensions of culture: Internal Direction Versus Outer Direction (How People Relate to Their Environment) http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/seven-dimensions.htm Americans are vocal about their opinions and believe they can change their environment. On the other hand, Japanese tend to avoid conflicts and remain silent to maintain harmony with other people. Foreigners often find it irritating because we do not understand if their silence means consent, still thinking, or rejected. As for Singaporeans, we are a mix of both due to our traditional values but westernised education. Previous cultural dimensions: Collectivist and Individualist Neutral and Emotional Universalist and Particularist Specific and Diffuse Achievement and Ascription Sequential Time vs Synchronous Time

Akihabara Well actually we went to Tsukiji for early sushi lunch first but I won't blog about it since I already covered the topic in my  Tsukiji article  last year. Do note that they will be moving out of Tsukiji in early 2016 to allow redevelopment for Olympics 2020.

My friend had never visited Mt. Fuji before so we signed up for a day tour from HIS Travel. We departed from Shinjuku early in the morning and we reached there within 2.5-3 hours by bus. This wasn't my first time at Mt. Fuji's fifth station and you can read about my previous trip here , when I visited a farm and an ice cave.

It is strange but the entire blogspot.jp has been down since this morning. If you clicked on a link in my article that doesn't work, please change ".jp" in the url to ".com" Thank you!

So the main reason why I visited Tokyo again was because of an interview by a Japanese major company for their staff magazine. I am not allowed to disclose any information right now but hey, I can post my "selfie" first! The interview took like an hour or so with me sweating profusely because of the walk from the station to the office. (I hope my photos turn out fine...)

October was still freakin HOT when there's sun! So if you are going to Disneyland on a sunny day (except for Winter), bring a cap or something!!! My friend and I were both horribly bad at waking up early so we ended up arriving late (like 11.30am) at the park. By then, queues for all the popular rides had become very long. For tips on getting fast passes, etc. you might want to check the following Tokyo Disneyland survival guides here: http://tdrexplorer.com/tips-for-dealing-with-massive-crowds-at-tokyo-disney-resort/ http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3016_tickets.html http://www.themeparkinsider.com/flume/201308/3624/

I am definitely not into a cup of nothing nutritious for 343kcal but my friend was. So we went to Nissin's Cup Noodles Museum at Yokohama to spend our rainy day there. In fact, many fans thought that I would be stuck at my hotel because of typhoon but its strength had decreased dramatically and became a heavy rain instead. Having stayed at Tokyo for 3.5 years and experienced typhoon a couple of times, I learned to always check JMA a day before for a more accurate weather forecast. Thank you all for your concern! ^^

I finally have some time to blog about my 9-days Japan trip (12-21 Oct) for work and holiday so I decided to start with my budget hotel review. It definitely feels good to be back after I left there for a year!

I do miss the can coffee in Japan. There are ridiculously small but really good! On the other hand, lesser and lesser coffee shops are using plastic bags now in Singapore. Maybe because they know it's not good for health? My lovely coffee with bread~

Yup everyone has to drink beer in Japanese parties, even just a tiny sip. I personally prefer sweet wine and mixed juice+alcohol such as: レモンサワー (Lemon Sour: Shochu with soda and fresh lemon juice)、ゆずサワー (Yuzu Sour: Shochu with soda and fresh citrus) and カシスオレンジ (Cassis Orange:  Mixed orange juice with Creme da cassis, which is a sweet dark red liqueur made from blackcurrants). These cocktail mixes are usually served with ice. Many women also like to order 梅酒 (Umeshu/plum wine) and it is served with either ice (ロック rock）or soda water (ソーダ soda) in Japan. ---------- Sake 酒: Often referred to as Rice wine although the fermenting process is closer to beer. Shochu / Shouchuu 焼酎 : Distilled spirit from barley, sweet potatoes, buckwheat or rice, etc. Typically contains higher percentage of alcohol content. It is also often mixed with soda and fruit juice to become Chuhai 酎ハイ. My favourite is with lemon or grapefruit :P Cheers :P

Based on Trompenaar's dimensions of culture:  Sequential Time vs Synchronous Time (How people manage time).  http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/seven-dimensions.htm Although Japanese are deadly punctual for meetings, they are quite vague when it comes to setting up deadlines in business setting. For example to finish a certain thing by a certain date... and not to forget that we have no idea what's going on at Fukushima... Previous cultural dimensions: Collectivist and Individualist Neutral and Emotional Universalist and Particularist Specific and Diffuse Achievement and Ascription

Of course, it is always a good idea to not let your bag out of your sight unless there's really nothing important inside...

I usually give talks (20-25 mins or so) as part of a program for festivals or at bookstores. But this was the first time that it was just me, yup, JUST ME alone to sustain a 2 hour session consisting of a 45mins talk, 10 mins demo and 15 mins QA session. The venue is far from shopping malls and their restaurants only serve Japanese Association members. So people who came were really there for my talk only.

This is the original version... but the haze in Singapore became heavy today... (from fires in Indonesia) so I changed it to this: I guess we need air-con anyway...

After releasing my first book in late June, my distributor took 1000 copies from me to be distributed to local AND Malaysian bookstores. However after selling another 500 copies by myself through talks and conventions, they STILL have not gotten ANY of my books to Malaysia yet! WTH!? WHY!?

You must be thinking it's crazy to have a hot spring bath in our hot sunny Singapore but I can assure you, it was VERY GOOD and can improve your blood circulation! Thank you Ikeda Spa for inviting me to experience Japanese hot bath again!

This comic strip is proudly sponsored by Ikeda Spa, experience Japanese hot bath experience in Singapore! My recommended packages are at 25% off or you can choose any treatment for 20% off when you quote "Evacomics" during booking :P More details and booking here! My full review coming up next!

My friend and I were discussing about the behaviour of a CEO when a crisis occur. We concluded that CEOs in US generally stick on until they are forced down by the shareholders and CEOs in Japan will either say "We are deeply sorry" or  simply just resign, leaving the mess to whomever takes over.

Introducing the new Evacomics comicbookbook™, a new device that is so simple yet life-changing! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRlP-6XxRAA VS Ikea Bookbook: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOXQo7nURs0

Thank you very much to all my fans who came down to visit my booth and hear me talk at STGCC ! Also special thanks to the organizer for inviting me as guest and giving us a stage time for our "Social Media and Comics" panel discussion! (Above photo from Ink Fusion Studios  )

Based on Trompenaar's dimensions of culture: Achievement and Ascription (How people view status). Previous cultural dimensions: Collectivist and Individualist Neutral and Emotional Universalist and Particularist Specific and Diffuse

I tried 3 times to get into the lift at a train station basement with my small trolley luggage and nobody... nobody bothered to give way, even to people on wheelchair and those with baby strollers... Kids and young people who were perfectly fine simply darted pass me while I gave way to alighting passengers and tried to let the wheelchair and baby strollers go in first. After 10mins of waiting and letting people who need it more than me go first, I was disgusted and went up the escalator with my luggage.

To my fans who love to eat like me, you are in luck! :P I was recently invited to dine at a fine casual Italian restaurant and was simply impressed by the great food and service, so here is my review with a surprise behind!

Thank you to all my fans who came down specially to hear me talk about my work, my journey and creative process last Sunday at Scape! And thank you to Extravaganza  committee for inviting me there!

And you must look at it for at least 3-5 seconds...

Based on Trompenaar's dimensions of culture: Specific and Diffuse Work and home relationship is separate VS work relationship extends beyond working hours. Previous cultural dimensions: Collectivist and Individualist Neutral and Emotional Universalist and Particularist

My Japanese friend had a surprise when he saw so many guys having their lunch at restaurants when we were dining at Orchard, a shopping district in Singapore. He was thinking, wow they don't have to work? Well... I guess all office workers in Japan eat bento (lunchbox) or company canteen food?

You can now see a selection of my hand-drawn original comic pieces at Sun Ray Cafe (beside their pet cafe section) while chatting with friends and enjoying their nice cup of coffee!!!  You can also buy my book there for $19.90 (cash transaction only). 79 Brighton Crescent Serangoon Gardens Singapore 559218  Tel: 62838700 https://www.facebook.com/SunRayCafeSG We have also raised $1,880 of donation through selling of my artwork at Sun Ray Cafe to the Singapore Cancer Society and A Packet of Rice. There are still 4 more paintings available for sale at $250~300 with 100% proceeds towards either of these two groups! More info about our Charity Sale here: http://evacomics.blogspot.jp/2014/06/charity-sale-at-sun-ray-cafe-by.html

Based on true story of what happened to me when I was in Japan. The final straw was when the editor who actually flipped my work let his pizza drip onto it and not wipe away! The biggest insult to an artist is to treat her work like trash, thanks old man, thanks... I'm pretty sure things would be different if I was a bright young Japanese man. But then again I don't regret being a Singaporean woman because we are strong.

I realised this when my family went to Japan to visit me last year. My nephew needed a stroller and the staff at Disney Sea couldn't understand it... so I had to point to them the babycars....

Evacomics x Ichiro Films presents...  YouTube Live event on 29 Jul (Tue)  8-8:30pm Singapore/ Malaysia time!  Jakarta 7pm / New York 8am / Germany 2pm / Sydney 10pm 3 more free tickets left to the live talkshow!!! http://peatix.com/event/45737 Yup, you can ask us any questions during our live event on YouTube or on my Facebook! Here is the link to YouTube Live: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuLkLRRRChM&feature=youtu.be TEASERS: Based on my comic strip: Then I found out I gained lots of weight recently so... UPDATE: The final edited clip is here!  

I'm thankful that I don't have to look as if I'm going for a date when I'm just going to the supermarket anymore. But then again... do people have to call me Auntie when I have no make-up or hair wax? Grrr...

Hmm correction, there is no train etiquette in Singapore. Sorry I am so busy this month that I forgot I left my post as draft :S

Thank you to all my fans, friends and passers-by (a Korean family) for the wonderful turnout on Saturday (12 July) 3.30-4.30pm!!!