feel the experience - Finnish/ Global Game Jam 2015

*A conversation held around December 2014

"We will host the next Finnish/Global Game Jam 2015 at our school" <-- my teacher

"Great! sounds cool!...uhhh...what we're gonna do there?"

"Its the event gathering where you make a game in 48 hours"

"...."
"Wait WHAT??
"How the HELL you possibly do that???" -_-

*dramatic music*

That is my friend, what I was thinking back then.
I went into panic-anxious-excited-mixed feeling mode because at that time i don't have any idea what is it. It's the first time for me (and our class) to participate.

The funny part was when someone asked me what is that event about, this is my answer ;

"I don't know (with confuse face)...its...well...you make games with other people...under 48 hours...sounds fun and cool...we got a free t-shirt...oh and we got a school's credit also...uhmm...yeah...like that" XD


But anyway,

We survived the whole things. Our awesome team got the job well done and we are so proud of the outcome (woohoo!).

The event was held at 23-25 January 2015 and it is worldwide. Global Game jam is the biggest game jam event ; check their website here to learn more since I'm bad at explaining things.

The first day we didn't actually start making the game. We form the team, watching some videos, getting to know each other, and blah blah...

aaaaand *drumroll* waiting for this year's theme! Its the time we were waiting for since before the D-day you don't know what's the theme will be.

This year's theme was "What do we do now".

We decided that the game will be a jumping platform with super-cute-unicorn-cat-character that need to choose what it want to do (according to the theme, d'oh!).

So, here's how it work.

The player need to choose whether it want to free the poor little chicks in the cage or to eat the tasty chicken legs. Each of the decision the player make will affect the game.

The chicks will make you slimmer, but faster the game's pace.
The tasty chicken legs will make you go fat and more fatter and harder to jump, but slowing the game's pace.

The fun part is the two player mode that either you can work together to the top, or kick others down.

Hence the name "Karma Cat" (We hope you got what we mean xp).

Here's the gameplay video or you can go to this link;

And you can actually play it also in this link. Don't forget to put the sound on, it is so awesome that it will stuck to your head after a while.

Surprisingly I though that we are going to stay up super late that we all going to transform into some brain-eating-zombie-state after the event, but it is not that bad after all.

Tired? yes.
Did I turn into zombie? barely, but fortunately not :p

To make it simpler here's what I felt about this event :

The fun-happy part

- You met other people (did I mention about meeting other NERDS?).
- It is not a competition
- It don't need to be finished game, it's just for fun!
- You experience how you develop a games in really tight time.
- You learn how to organize better.
- I got to see how other's make a games.
- Pizza...pizza..and pizza...since everyone is lazy to move from the computer, so pizza guy are our best friend here.
- I got free t-shirt.
- School's credit.
- Like I said before...it sounds cool :p

The annoying part

- They put the live webcam whole time. I can't pick up my nose! everybody is watching!
- The class room somehow turned into a hellish-hot since there's too many people.
- Its not actually 48 hours, it is LESS than that.
- They said if you're not having fun you doing it wrong...but then if you have fun all the time, then something is wrong.

The verdict 

Will I participate again? Absolutely yes!
the next year will be held at 29-31 January 2016.

Lastly, here's the photo of our awesome team member...skully-fy and pixel-fy by my friend :p

Team Karma!

Graphics : Emmi Malkki, Maureen Lukito Alkkiomäki, Moona Miettinen
Programmer : Antti Alkkiomäki, Joonas Jakobson,  Sakari Malkki
Sound designer : Jan Kanerva

5 things that make me smile : Rovaniemi/Lapland 2014

This year's christmas was snowing in Finland! 

I can't be more happier since last year we didn't get any of it (in here we called it "musta joulu"  lit. means black christmas). 

But we got a lot more of snow since we (me and husband) traveling to Rovaniemi - Lapland. It was -25 in there and it was my first time to go here, so it was exciting. 

We went to a *small version of ice hotel* and Santa claus village also (that they claimed it is the original Santa Claus). The entire trip took 3 days 2 night. I must admit it was too short! ;)

1. The scenery on the road
White, white, white everywhere! Everything are frozen solid also. We went with car and it took *only* 8-9 hours drive (ouch!my butt >_>).

2. This super cute - alaskan husky sled trip
They are so cute, fluffy and really friendly. I was hugging and petting almost all the dogs. I want to take them home! The ride was fun and super cold when they running really fast. I could felt a thousand needles prickling my face Ö_ö

*Fun fact - the guide said that they only use siberian husky and alaskan malamute usually just for advertising purposes...uhm..ok :p

3. The color of the skies was awesome
It was breathtaking seeing those skies changing color every time. And seeing the northern light in there was really nice experience. I could say that I unlocked one of my life achievement, yay!

Unfortunately I didn't catch the photo of aurora since it was hard...well next time :p

4. This trip with snowmobiles to the frozen forest
Not the most pleasant ride since it was super freezing cold, super bumpy ride since I was in the backseat :p

Nice experience driving around Lapland's frozen forest. Its almost dark at that time but the scenery and color still fabulous.

5. The speciality stuff from Lapland
Tried reindeer meat stew, I finally found the handmade Kuksa cup (Lappish wooden birch cup), We stayed at really nice cabin and I got my own reindeer's antler also* :p

*Reindeers shed their antlers occasionally, so there's no harm for retrieving these :)

kimchi, beef, ramen, and small explosion

Suddenly out of nowhere,
I'm craving some Korean kimchi. It is strange because I don't usually like kimchi so this is strange. I taste a lot of different kimchi but I never fond of the taste.

Except one in some small restaurant in Jakarta (that i doubt if its still open today). It was 10 years ago maybe (now I feel old!). That was the first kimchi I ever like...ever. It is the only one that i can manage to eat.

Eating in Korean restaurant would be a luxury for me since they are quite expensive and they have *uncommon* type food so I rarely want to eat it. Couple times I went and i got really confused when I read the menu...they all look the same to me.

Have I mentioned that they all look RED for everything? (seems they love spicy things so much). It give me that eerie-creepy feel somehow seeing almost all the food in super-reddish color.

Anyway since in Finland it started to get autumny, coldy, windy and super darky (with additional cold and flu sickness also) plus I binge-watched this awesome Korean woman "Maangchi"

That kimchi-stew-soup seems so warm...spicy...and hot...
perfect for this time of the year!

I must make those!

But then again I was super-skeptical at first since kimchi sounds so fancy and hard to make. And I don't want to buy store-bought-kimchi, they usually horrible plus the Asian market is far from my home (I'm to lazy to go).

After couple googling and reading Maangchi blog again and again, I found a simple recipe to make in here.  I didn't use any raw squid or other raw seafood like the original recipe, It is scary just to think about putting them altogether...euuughyyy...

So let's start by chopping the most important part of the kimchi ; chinese cabbage! (kiinaankaali)

I love the cruchy-crunch sound they make when you cut these :D

I have a funny-stupid moment doing my *first* kimchi. 

I didn't realize that I should give more space in the glass jar that when I check it after 2 days there's some *fizzy-fishy* stuff happening. I was panicked and open the jar without thinking too much.

And then *sploorrrchh* the kimchi exploded bursting everywhere from the jar.

lesson learned here ; 
fermentation give you carbon dioxide reaction

*ouch*

*The culprit of the kimchi-explosion

After a painful kitchen cleaning, I split the kimchi in 2 jars afterwards to prevent more explosion. Fortunately its only the *kimchi sauce* that bursted out. All the vegetables are safe and really yummy to taste.

I am satisfied with the result and even make one more easy Korean dish "Yak-gochujang" (Fried gochujang). It consist beef, pine nuts, honey (mmmmm honeyyy) and Korean fermented chili paste "gochujang". This kimchi is really good when you mix it with other food, especially with ramen noodle soup.

I should try more Korean foods in the future after this ;)

5 things that make me smile : 29072014

Here in Helsinki we have a really HOT weeks.

We have over 30 degree Celsius with the sun shining brightly more than 12 hours.
Oh please don't throw shoes to me, i know for some country 30 degree are normal lol. I have been living in Indonesia and i know this *hotness* is normal in there.

But in Finland its really rare opportunity to get this hot. Though many of the Finns (the Finnish people) are rejoicing for this (you can spot the beach are super crowded) i'm not really keen for this since i like coldness more. Though honestly the half-naked-six-pack-guys strolling in the streets are ok for me...whooopss! *hubby-stare-at-me*.

*Ahem*, anyway I try not to complain too much since the summer is short in Finland. Soon the autumn come and the cold-darkness is here (People who live in Finland will understand this). But hey what I am blabbering about, let's just go straight to these pics that i took recently in my daily life :)

1. Japanese cherry blossom's trees in Helsinki. 
When my teacher said there is a small Japanese garden in Helsinki i was thrilled. She said they have this sakura trees blooming on this day (spring) so i went there right away after school, dragging my husband also.

2. Museums! 

A visit to a museum is always a good things.

3. Flowers, flowers, and more flowers!
This is called "lumipallo kukat" literally translated "snowball flower". My parent-in-law's have this cuties in their backyard and it is huge. The entire plant is bigger and taller than me in comparison. I think it is really cute and they all look like a perfect snowballs that i want to hug it ( not that i can hug a plant for real, they'll be dead crushed :p )

4. My corner - update
I have been trying to make my "working station" in the corner more comfy and green. I have a bit hard time to find a perfect plant for it since in this corner the window is quite small. I decided this ZZ plant is the perfect one (it have a "balls" that act like a water reservoir in the roots). I've been told that shopping malls and hotels often have this inside since it is really strong plants.

I found some thrifted whimsical wine bottle ( can you see there is a small grape shape inside? ), an unique vase and reindeer figure from IKEA ( that i think it looks like something from minecraft...probably :p ).

5. Gift from Indonesia
My dear friend sent me this tote bag from Indonesia. How cute is this? and it is a one of a kind since it is a handmade. She bought it from this talented person here and sent in to Finland. It is for my belated birthday gift since she was really busy but i appreciate it. Love this so much thank you! :D

sus-shi-shush.

Last week i'm craving for some japanese foods. But i am too picky and I don't want to spent more money since i went to the dentist to end my tooth-ache-misery-drama.

I am not a person who like to cook lots of various foods at the same time. I always try to avoid making japanese foods like sushi. 

But anyway, 

i finally try to make it and understand completely why it quite pricey ( and expensive ) in restaurant.

When i still at work in Indonesia, one of my friend always woke up at 04.00 - 05.00 in the morning just to prepared sushi for us. She need to be at workplace at 08.00 and always made a lot of batch ( you can check this late post here ). How did she manage to do it that fast! it took me almost 4 hours for 4 types of sushi! XD

Here's the result, though i'm sure i can do better the next one! :p

*please ignore the burnt part and the odd size sushi...pfffttt*

After i made all the sushi and ran out of the ingredients, I still have more sushi rice left. So i just turn it into onigiri...though this is not an original onigiri since they didn't put vinegar in it. But anyway better than going to the trashbin. I made some homemade furikake also and mix it together. 

The leftover *flower* carrots really nice for the decorations, isnt' it? ;)

welcoming the 2014.

Finally I decided that is better to organize 1 blog only. So i merge my old imajinasimaginatia blog together with my main one salvadorkatz. You can still see my old posts from the imajinasiimaginatia in here also.

For this Christmas 2013 i made some drawing so i can print my own christmas card. After i sketches and doodling ( and tons of glögi and piparkakku - gingerbread ), here is the final result. I am really satisfied with it. 

I drew some small "goodies" in a rounded wooden ornaments and sent it together with the cards.

I love taking photos for hobby and last year 2013 I decided also to bought new camera so i can maximizing my hobby. I felt with the current point&shoot type camera ( its a pocket camera ), i didn't get 100% what i want in my photos. 

So I pick Fujifilm X100S ( that break-popping-my-original-budget-ouch ) after pestering my old co-workers and photographer friends ( and long hour stalking the internet ). I haven't use it for long time but i'm quite satisfied for now. 

I move my photo gallery to flickr since they changed the design to my taste, neat, professional looking and easy to navigate. 

Here is the link http://www.flickr.com/photos/salvadorkatz/

This photo is one of the result also for using X100S,

organizing fever - accessories.

I hate cleaning. 

Whatever the type of cleaning i hate it. I have an allergy with dust, but it's not my main excuse why i hate it. For me its just wasting your time when you can do something else more nice. 

Let's face it anyway, you need to do cleaning in daily basis, except if you want to see your home or room fill with dust and spiders! ( yuck! ).

So i tried to find way to minimize cleaning. After sometime browsing internet, talking with friends, and family, i found the answer for it.

Organizing.

When you do organizing, it will help to minimize the time you spend for doing cleaning. 

For this time is my accessories that got the ooohh-rrr-ganized. I am a big fan of accessories. I think its more nicer than clothes and shoes. You can enhance your look just by wearing different accessories even if your clothes are simple or boring. And before i know it i have ( quite ) a lot stashes of it.

Pinterest is really helping me for finding some ideas of organizing. This is the outcome of it, i bought  a push-pin board and hanger rail.

Did i tell you that its more cheaper to DIY than buy some fancy-pancy-expensive accessories storing ?

To add more space without buying too much pushpins, i used thin wire to make some wire-line so i can

hang my dangle earrings. I connected it to each pushpins and twisting the wire so it looks more artsy :p

Its easier to take-and put it back also, plus its a neat decorations for my wall also! :D

For the other accessories, my husband helped me to installed a hanger-rail into the cupboard and bought some S-hooks that you can add more later. This is for storing and displaying my necklaces.

Then i got plastic cups from pudding that i turn for storing my bangles and bracelets. Plates for stud earrings, small boxes, foam board, and even clothespins. I used whatever at home that i can turn for storing accessories.

Lastly, i remembered i got some portable LED-lamp ( bought from LIDL ) so i installed inside. 

Now its easier to take and put back, no more mess and if i want to clean the cupboard i just need to take the boxes and cups out. 

Love it! :D

the colors of autumn.

Mother nature are the super-artists of all who create most of the beautiful artworks ever. Like i've been mention before, this is my first time to experience autumn in here and it was gorgeous!

Many times i read in some fairytale or books talking about how pretty is the autumn color. I never imagined i can see it until now.

Here's some of the pictures i took to share for you all :D

Enjoy! ; )

What i've learned 24022012.

Some week ago, i have an urge to eat chinese potsticker ( jiao zi ). I want to make it myself but get scared of failing it.

Then i push myself at last to make it, and it turns out well and nicely even the look of it not so promising i think, here's the evidence ;

The taste are pretty same with what i remember when i still in Indonesia. I really happy that i tried it, it's not too hard actually, i will make more of this later.


#Life, is the same. 


We always afraid to do new things for the first time, after you try it and experience it yourself, you eventually gain more courage to do it more and making it better. 


Learning from your mistake in the past and move on into new challenges.


Sometimes we scared at first before even try it because see or hear other people said it is hard. But until you try it yourself, how do you know if it really hard? who know if it really easy?


It's like when you open one door, 


the other will open also for us. 

nailart addict.

Much of all my obsessions and addictions i got, this is so far one of the tricky addiction i have. 

It's always hard to do this for my right hand even though i'm quite used to it, i need to wear mask to prevent my nosey-allergy, need time to wait ( for them to dry ) and try not damaging them by touching and doing stuff, and most annoying part is you *accidentally* break them after all your hard work!

Having a cooking hobby are not a good idea pairing with nail art hobby. You tend to break them somehow, most of the time get a cut when chopping foods. House chores also break them even though you already try as careful as you can ( or is it just me :p ).

Thats why now i don't grow my fingernails too long anymore. Actually it's not that bad with short nails ( yes i'm comforting myself, lol ) they can be look sexy also depend on how you make the design.

Here's are some of my nail art that i made this past year, probably i won't have this longer nails again. 

This year christmas design, i love this China Glaze Red-Pumps look on the nail. Too bad my camera can't show too much of the sparkle. In the reality it have more glittery-sparkle looking. I bought this one and fell in love with it ; for my chinese-theme engagement party which suit my red-gold cheong-sam dress.

Kitty design! 

i'm using some gel paint pen for making this. It took some time and hard to apply. I think this was my first time painting something on my nails.

The polkadots design are the most easiest to make and it looks cute, i don't think you will be bored with this design. I'm using the dotting tools, although you can just use any tools you have currently. Just be creative with it :D

So far this is the most *complicated* time-consuming design. But the outcome are satisfying don't you think? 

Mostly, making the gradient effect are annoying, i need to use sponge for it and be patient. I'm trying to make a fresh-lemonade-lemon-ice effect for this one.

While most of the nail lacquer's bottle usually have normal design, this one i think is the most creative from most of all brand ; the Nfu-Oh. They transform the a boring bottle into a women's sexy-bust like :D

This brand have a lot of unique colors. Like the glittering effect for this one can make a *mermaid-scales* effect ( Nfu-Oh 52 ). One of my favorite also, although hard to apply if you didn't use any base color first because of the translucent liquid. Applying this into scale effect might take 4-5 layering for me.