...finding colours, love and you ♥ `

FOREX with GK Goh

2011-10-18T23:13:00.003+08:00

Welcome to Wall Street.

in my humble little home in Singapore.

Okay, that's kind of an exaggeration. Traders properly see much more complex screens than this, which will make any layman go bonkers. This is why GK Goh's FOREX trading Platform - GOFX - has simplified it to just this screen where you can clearly see:

The 4 major currency pairs
Charts
News
Current Position

The screen does appear daunting at first. When I first accessed it a few days back (which explains my very low account balance, since I only started on it 3 weeks after everyone!), I was simply stunned by the jumping numbers and was unsure on what to do.

But then my exploratory nature kicked in. I like to explore with such systems and figure out how to get it working. Well, basically I just clicked on everything and checked what each link does.

There are possibly two most important screens:

1) The Charts

2) The News

However, being super unexperienced, I can't seemt o do both at the same time. The news just keep coming in! I guess a seasoned trader will probably greatly appreciate this timely update of news. Because, well, duh that these news will affect the foreign exchange right!

The first thing that I tried to explore was to find out how to get the Simple Moving Average (SMA) lines onto the chart. After some clicking here and there...

To format the lines,

And you get this:

See my SMA 21 and SMA 55 line? The system is actually quite instinctive to use, though you do need some patience and abit of an exploratory nature. I say this if you are using this system without guidance. However, if you go through GK Goh and Terraseed's full FOREX training course, I believe they teach you how to navigate the system, so no worries there.

Subsequently, I was desperately trying to find my candlesticks, doiji, golden crosses and dead crosses which we learnt during our 2 hour basic course with Terraseeds. But...aiyah, quite difficult! However, I did make some money (peanuts only, because I did not use a big amount. Did not use up my entire margin).

Other than just buying/selling, you can also protect your order through a limit (on your earnings) or a stop loss (on your losses). This can be done upon making the order. However, I feel that it's quite difficult to do so because the numbers are jumping so fast and I just want to lock in at a particular number. You can also protect your order subsequently, but that is on a GTC (Good Till Cancel) basis, if I am not wrong. If you had altered this during your order, you would be able to select what type of basis - whether it is GTC/GTD/DAY.

Well anyway, this is how I did it:

Yes, and I regretted twice for setting a limit - and now, I stopped setting a limit anymore. I would have earned much more if not for the limit. The limit, as the name suggests, is where your position will be closed automatically once the ceiling is hit.

There are also other things that can be explored in the system:

1) Economic Calendar

Like for example, I clicked on the Economic Calendar to better understand the current state of each country and where they stand in terms of Exports, PPI, Trade Balance, etc.

2) Alert Manager

If you are afraid that you may miss the price while browsing other screens, you can click on the Price Alert Editor. This will let you know when, for example, AUD/USD Sell price hits a certain number. Then from there, you can decide whether to buy or sell. This is an alternative to setting the limit or stop loss.

Previously, I encountered two other "finance-ish" system too. One common platform used in school would be Philips Capital's POEMS Stock system, where there is an annual competition. I joined twice if I am not wrong. Didn't really maintain it though. But anyway, the POEMs interface appears less daunting and is easier to understand. However, because it is too simple, it lacks a one-stop page for information. Like for technical analysis and other details, there is a need to switch to another page. Switching here and there...a hassle! The buying-selling transaction was slightly troublesome too, where I have to key in the numbers instead of just getting it at that amount. Well, then again, it could be due to the different nature of stocks vs foreign exchange.

I also went for the Citi Foreign Exchange Challenge in 2008 where we tried the E-Bourse Game. It is slightly different from GOFX because in that game, you are the bank. This means that you can buy-sell from the market, and you are the one setting the price. As it was just a very short challenge, it was merely just acting based on Market News which would pop out everytime something occurs. There wasn't much of a technical analysis and it was kind of "fastest brain with fastest finger wins" concept. We were basically hunting for arbitrage in currencies, and if I remember correctly, I accidentally set a few arbitrage too -.-

I actually quite like the idea of having the News popping out (which GOFX does not have). Because sometimes, I am so fixated on just looking at the centre chart, that I do not look at the news panel on the right. That could be annoying to some people, but there could be an option to toggle this off too, based on one's preference.

That's about all for the system.

To really get serious about FOREX trading, I believe it takes quite a bit of time and learning.

To give us a simple background on FOREX trading, we had gone through a short 2 hours session with Terraseeds under the guidance of Binni Ong. I would say that the session was probably difficult to absorb if you have absolutely no background in Finance. That is not to say that I learnt FOREX in school. I didn't specialise in Finance nor take the FOREX specific modules. But at least I went through a module on Financial Markets.

FOREX is not something that you can learn quickly. There is just so much to read about, so much information to absorb. Aside from what was taught in the 2 hour session, there are also other methods for technical analysis. Terraseeds have come up with a Tflow analysis which they teach during their regular courses, where participants learn how to earn while sleeping and other skills necessary to trade wisely in the FOREX market.

Other than the learning, it takes time too. I didn't have much time to log on to the system because...I was just too busy. Every day after work, I am just too tired to read up and monitor the system. I basically just slack around. I guess handling a FOREX trading account takes lots of commitment and perseverance too.

Trading is something that I am quite interested in. I believe that investing wisely is the way to go to get rich. I can save all my salary and yet, still not earn. In fact, I will be losing money because of inflation. And what's with the banks pathetic deposit rates these days!

I need to read up more on forex trading once I start getting used to work and have the time to spare!

ANTM Cycle 17 All Stars

2011-10-16T22:00:00.000+08:00

Has anyone been watching America's Next Top Model Cycle 17 All Stars?

I personally think it sucks. I mean, are you sure these people are really the crowd favourites?! I do agree with some (namely Kayla, Allison, Laura) and that's about it. The rest... eew? I get it that this is not just finding the best model, but also one with personality and can be a correspondent too. But one should not stray from their fundamtentals. They still HAVE to be good models. Don't know what's people like Lisa and Camille doing there.

If I had my way, these would be my cast for ANTM Cycle 17. I tried to choose at least 1 from each cycle, though I don't think all are deserving. But anyways, I would have preferred these 20 girls over Tyra's picks anytime:

Cycle 1 - Elyse Sewell

Cycle 2 - Mercedes Scelba-Shorte

Cycle 3 - Toccara Jones

Cycle 4 - Kahlen Rondot

Cycle 5 - Jayla Rubinelli

Cycle 6 - Joanie Dodds

Cycle 7 - Melrose Bickerstaff

Cycle 8 - Brittany Hatch

Cycle 9 - Chantal Jones

Cycle 10 - Anya Kop

Cycle 10 - Katarzyna Dolinska

Cycle 10 - Lauren Brie Harding

Cycle 11 - Analeigh Tipton

Cycle 12 - Allison Harvard

Cycle 13 - Erin Wagner

Cycle 13 - Laura Kirkpatrick

Cycle 14 - Jessica Serfaty

Cycle 14 - Raina Hein

Cycle 15 - Kayla Ferrel

Cycle 16 - Molly O'Connell

What do you think? :)

Harajuku Street Style 2011

2011-10-15T18:03:00.002+08:00

Sponsored Review

Harajaku Street Style at TANGS Orchard is back!

Went for the opening on 7 October 2011 at STYLESPACE on 4 at TANGS with Nuffnang G+. Since the event was also open to public, there was really alot of people! Good thing I was kinda early, and could browse around without having to "excuse-me" my way through.

I was there at 6.30pm, and there was actually a queue for vouchers! Apparently the first 10 in the queue got $100 in vouchers. Hence, I walked away since I wasn't the first 10. I didn't realise that the next 90 people in the queue will get a $10 voucher too!

Oh wells!

And as with almost every event, I met a new friend there:

This is Michelle, who has just joined Nuffnang recently. I didn't realise she was Miss Singapore Universe 2011's runner up! Oops, my bad. I didn't really follow this year's MSU. In fact, I stopped following since it was off-air. We met as I was registering with Amanda from Nuffnang, so we walked around together after that, talking about random stuff.

We met this cameraman who was looking for contestants for "Kawaii of the World" - where the first prize winner will walk on the runway in March 2012 for "Tokyo Girls Collection". Apparently that's one of the most popular fashion shows in Japan! Well, even though I participated kinda in the filming and took the contest form, I highly doubt I would submit it. Me? Runway? I sometimes trip while walking ya know -.-

Harajuku Street Style featured brands such as rosebullet, Ciaopanic, BEAMS, mystic, URBAN RESEARCh and many more. I think my favourite would be rosebullet. It is girly and flirty, much like the Liz Lisa style and looks featured in Vivi magazine.

After all that browsing around, the fashion show finally started when VJ Utt came on stage. He introduced celebrity blogger Rei Shito from Japan and street fashion photographer James Bent.

Here are some photos of outfits from the runway show which I liked:

It was really hard to take photos...eveyrone was like trying to inch towards the runway. And I couldn't take photos of them up close because I wasn't using a prime lens. Arghhh. Well, at least not all the photos came out blurry.

Other than the models, there were also 4 bloggers who walked the runway, namely Xiaxue, Qiuqiu, Cheesie and TypicalBen. I managed to get shots of them... all except typicalben. Not being sexist or what, but it was just too fast, and everyone kept blocking!

Extremely blur pictures :( Midway through the fashion show, I finally met up with Thiang who came later because of work.

I really like her bag and her outfit! And so did James Bent (the street fashion photographer), and many other photographers! I believe she will be on the next issue of Nth magazine. I didn't know Nth magazine was free till Thiang told me about it!

After the event, we went for dinner at this porridge place at Paragon. I forgot what it was called, but I like the green tea there! :) It was nice to just catch up. Tweeted that night about how it's amazing and cherishable to find one of somewhat similar wavelength in an absolutely random group of people :)

Well, that event was great and all, but I did feel slightly un-wowed by it. My impression of Harajuku was something daring and unique, and to some extent, perhaps somewhat crazy. The outfits shown were kind of toned down, didn't have the oomph-ed factor! (okay, perhaps I have been watching too much Project Runway, I just want to be wow-ed!).

My impression of Harajuku is something like this:

But I guess it was toned down so that Singaporeans will be more comfortable with them. So go to TANGS Orchard and check out Harajuku Street Style now! :)

For more photos, visit my facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/tracy.sjl

One Month at Work

2011-07-30T23:33:00.005+08:00

Finally an update after neglecting my blog for almost 3 months. I was overseas the whole of June, and only updated my travelblog, though I have still yet to update it with photos. In fact, I logged into Blogger feeling stunned by the change in layout! Ugh, I need some time to get used to this...

Anyway, if you are on my Facebook, you should probably know that I am currently working at Kraft Foods Singapore as a Management Trainee in the Marketing Department.

Work has been pretty okay so far. It started off pretty slowly because we needed to familiarise ourselves with the business and the products before actually doing the work. The past two weeks have been kind of crazy, because it was the start of the planning process and there were so many things to rush! But I'd rather be busy than to have nothing to do.

Oh btw, if you do not know, the office is located in BOON LAY. Yes, I know, I get that same look from anyone whom I mention the word BOON LAY too. It is really far for me...I take about 1hr 20mins to get to work. Though if I drive, it only takes 30 mins max. Argh. Moreover, I chose to work from 8 to 5, which means, I wake up extremely early every day. I don't really mind...except that I need to psycho myself to sleep earlier. Before my face rots.

I am glad I am not the only new fresh grad new hire at Kraft. There's Huiyi, who is a fellow management trainee. Surprisingly, she's from NUS Business specialising in Marketing too, and I have never seen her until 1st July when we started work! There's also Eunice, who is the marketing exec, who has already worked for two years at her previous company. Because there were three of us, and our boss, Allan, is a male, haha, we were thereafter nicknamed "Charlie's Angels".

I am currently handling Oreo. I am sure everyone knows what is that. So...BUY MORE OREOS OKAY! I will let you know when there's promotion. And don't buy from Valu$ if you are my friend. I'll smack you. Hahahaha :p Oh, it's best if you make more Oreo Cheesecake. So buy Oreo and Philidelphia Cheese (also from Kraft), thanks.

On the first day, we sat through lots of inductions from the various departments. It was kind of information overload. Especially during the introduction. I could barely remember anyone's names! But I think the best thing about Day 1 was the "Welcome Pack" which we received :p

I gave quite alot to my extended family. So there are lots in which I have never eaten before! I really like TNCC though. Fruit Salad is AWESOME :)

During mid-July, we also had a company bowling event, where we were randomly grouped up. So of course, the three of us were split up. I don't mind though, I think it is good to know more people. I learnt it the hard way in NUS I guess...where I didn't know much people... And because we had temporary seats for the first 3 weeks, I got to know people in the CS dept, such as Janis who was my neighbour :)

Huiyi, Eunice, Me

with Joyline who drove us there...and was also in my team :) she's a pro bowler!

with two other team mates: stacey and...okay, i apologise, i forgot her name, because it's a chinese name :s

At Jurong Superbowl. I didn't know Jurong had a bowling centre. Like I mean, it's JURONG. where birds do not lay eggs...

I bowled quite badly as compared to last time in JC. Haven't bowled in a very long while! And I didn't know bowling is so expensive these days. I mean, it was expensive previously, but now, it is CRAZY EXPENSIVE.

But the best thing about the event was...

The GOODIE BAG. Hahaha...yeah. But it's abit troublesome if you were going out after that. Too many things to carry!! And as usual, I gave away most of it to my family.

Honestly, I don't snack alot. In fact, I don't snack at all, except for potato chips. I am extremely lazy to go to the fridge just to take food. So I rather not eat at all. But then again, now with my work desk filled with food, it is abit hard to resist since it is within arm distance...

Despite work having started, I still had time to go out with my friends. Which I really like! I think I kinda have work-life balance :) And because I end work at 5, by the time I reach town, it will be around 6pm, just nice to meet people for dinner or movies! AWESOME!

And hopefully, this balance continues. So, date me pple :)

The New Criteria

2011-05-12T12:59:00.009+08:00

Met up with Elyn, Evadne and Dots last week because Dots came back over the weekend for her friend's wedding. It was great catching up! I think we meet like once a year, or sometimes even less! We talked about almost everything under the sun!

But the highlight was: FINDING THE ONE.

Do you vaguely remember the criteria list that Elyn and I came up with in 2005? You can read our crazy, immature criteria here.

But 6 years has passed since we came up with that criteria. In this 6 years, we have matured after being through a few relationships.

And thus presenting...

THE NEW CRITERIA

(in no order of importance)

Disclaimer: it gets abit more ridiculous as it goes on, cos...well, we love fairytales :)

1) must be humorous

2) must not have moustache (tracy)

3) must be taller than us in heels

Small inside joke:

Evadne: "must not be taller than 108 can already"
The rest: "HAHAHAHAHA!!"

well, good luck

4) must be willing to drive around

5) must look older and be older than us

6) cannot be gu niang, tofu or beefcake

Okay, I have a slight bias towards 2AM's Jo Kwon. I think it is because of my Adam Couple obsession. But... I love his abs. He is not overly muscular, the slim sort (i like!).

Take a look at these pictures!

*drools*

Okay, it is fine if you don't have abs. Just don't be too flabby :p

7) must look fit (refers to above picture)

8) must have a career

9) cannot be boring

10) must know how to strike a convi

11) must be sociable

12) must be able to cook (elyn, evadne, dotz)

13) must be willing to spend $$ on me (elyn)

14) must not be too mcp but also have his stand

15) cannot be mummy's boy but must have filial piety

16) cannot be balding

17) cannot have long hair (elyn: it is okay if he has style)

18) must not be a music idiot or tone deaf

19) must be able to sing to elyn

20) evadne: must play piano or drums

21) tracy: must not have piercings

22) must have dress sense

23) age gap must be 10 years or less (tracy: 5 years)

24) must not be younger

25) tracy: must be a singaporean chinese

26) evadne: korean, jap, singaporean

27) must like to travel and travel w me

28) cannot be arrogant or yayapapaya

29) must be able to strike intelligent convis

30) must like and want children

31) marry before 30

32) can have arguments, but accommodate me in the end

33) cannot be over-possessive

34) must not be a house husband

35) must not be scared of insects

36) no smoking, no alcoholism, no gambling addiction

37) no maggie mee hair

38) must be full of ideas (proposed by elyn...)

39) must have a surprise at least once a month (elyn)

40) must be romantic at times

41) can enter the kitchen, can exit to the living room

42) cannot be insecure

Since we couldn't think of anymore criteria, we decided to move on to brainstorming on more stuff. I think this part...well, for me, I think I exaggerated, I don't need that much. It's just...a dream.

And as you can see, we are pretty detailed ;)

Pre-Wedding Plans

Photoshoot:

Elyn - disneyland america

Tracy - maldives

Dotz & Evadne - anywhere is fine

Wedding dress:

Tracy - long train, off shoulder, simple

Elyn - princessy, elegant, tiara

Dotz - cannot be pong pong one, no corset, off shoulder, spag strap, taylor swift Lovestory style

Evadne - want corset style

Wedding ring:

Elyn - tiffany for proposal, cartier for marriage (all 1 carot and above)

Dotz, Evadne, Tracy: aiyah, whatever la :p

Wedding Plans

ROM:

Elyn, Dots, Tracy: Small one, venue should be out of ROM

Evadne: more specifically, beach

Wedding dinner:

Evadne - shangri la, ritz carlton, big yacht

Tracy - ritz carlton

Elyn - fullerton, royal carribean can already

Dotz - anywhere is fine

And we decided that we will have a yearly review on this criteria. Perhaps to lower our expectations and slowly strike off.

Perhaps by the time we are 30, we will just have one criteria left:

MALE

I hope this day never comes. NEVER.

So now that you know my criteria, could all you nice people help me find that missing jigsaw puzzle in my life?

I will be eternally grateful to you.

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Nuffnang Movie Contest: Pirates of the Carribean - On Stranger Tides

2011-05-11T23:27:00.000+08:00

We first knew about Pirates of the Carribean in The Curse of the Dead Pearl (2003). After a three year drought, Dead Man's Chest (2006) dawned upon us. We didn't have long to wait after that, where At World's End debut on May 2007, yet again, another box office hit.

And after a four year period,

the fourth film of the series is finally here - Pirates of the Carribean: On Stranger Tides

Finally, we get to see Captain Jack Sparrow in action today! Somehow, I feel like Johnny Depp has totally morphed into Captain Jack Sparrow, especially in Alice in the Wonderland. I felt like he was totally Captain Jack Sparrow with a Mad Hatter face!

This time, he meets Angelica (played by Penelope Cruz), a woman from his past. Both are in search of the Fountain of Youth in this adventure. This time, aside from possessed zombies, he has to overcome mermaids too, in order to reach this Fountain.

To stand a chance to win tickets to the gala premiere, head over to http://facebook.com/AllAboardSG and complete the "All Abord" contest on Quee Anne's Revenge! There are also games on the Fb page, such as Pirate Yourself, Battle Galleons or Skull Creator.

I played the Pirate Yourself game, and here's how I look!

Okay, from this app, I can tell that moustaches are really a no-no for me (._. haha). You get to choose hats, facial hairs, jewellery, makeup, and accessories when you Pirate Yourself. Go check it out!

I can't wait to watch Pirates of the Carribean!! :)

“Catch Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides movie starting from 19^th May 2011 and join the official Disney Studios Singapore Facebook & Twitter page!”

So I Finally Voted...

2011-05-07T15:03:00.003+08:00

Yes it's my first time voting. I am in AMK GRC, so I don't think there is much of a dilemma. Then again, even if I were in other constituencies, I wouldn't even be in much of a dilemma. I am extremely pro-PAP. Yes, I have bravely said so, slam me if you want. Somehow, PAP supporters are getting slammed excessively this time around. I cannot understand why. Even when they have already tried to end the conversation with "to each his own", the opposing parties just keep lambasting back.

The worst scenario I heard was when someone actually put his arms on another person's throat (i.e., strangling) and said "if you vote for PAP, I will KILL YOU".

Eh seriously, I wanna vote for them, YOU GOT A PROBLEM HUH?

Don't boss me around.

This GE has definitely brought out the worst in people. I cannot understand the demands/complaints of some people. They demand that the government provide them with a good education, good job, good retirement, blah blah. They don't owe you a living okay. Despite them being civil servants and that they are SERVING the people, don't treat them like your foreign helpers (i.e., maids). Not that you should treat your maid badly, but I do think that most people treat them as a lower being. In fact, I seriously dislike the facebook note which has been spreading around about "which maid to choose".

And since there has been some analogy obsession (think driver, co-driver, co-pilot, whateverrr), I have my own analogy of the situtation at my estate.

27 April: Nomination Day

28 April: PAP posters were up

4 May morning:

my daddy drove me out for my pre-employment examination in AMK Healthlink Clinic. As we were leaving the estate, I noticed that there were only PAP posters up on the lamp post. Hmm, where were the RP posters? I don't even know anyone in RP, except that there are 23/24yrolds in it. In fact, there isn't much news about them either. I only notice ONE tiny article about RP in AMK GRC in The Straits Times (and I don't think ST was bias or what, there probably wasn't much to report about).

4 May afternoon:

As we were driving back, EH! something new and yellow on the lamp post - omg, it's the RP poster!! Fresh and new, only appearing 3 days to polling day. It has not been exposed to all the heat, wind (okay, not so much wind) and rain which LHL's face has endured over the past days. In my heart, I was like WOAH. What an apt representation of the current situation.

4 May evening:

Suddenly, the clouds overshadowed the sun and it just poured and poured. Flash floods occured around the AMK and YCK area. I wondered - will the posters be able to withstand this heavy downpour?

5 May: sadly, I didn't walk out that way and I could not see whether the posters were still around (I went via my back gate instead)

6 May: As my family was heading for my grandma's house, we drove past the lampposts again and... EH! RP's posters were on the floor, all tattered and torn, while PAP's posters were still tightly secured on the lamppost. The posters seem slightly older, but it was still standing strong.

Accurate eh? I have never heard of RP nor do I know any of them. Then suddenly during this elections, they pop up and want to seek our votes. But nope, they have not come to my estate at all. There is seriously no reason for me to vote for them, and I don't get why others will want to do so. Opposing for the sake of opposing? I disagree with that. Voting for RP so that they can hopefully get back their deposit? Sorry, I ain't so kind hearted.

My estate was previously under the nee soon south ward, under Lee Bee Hwa's (i hope i got the name right) care. When the North-South Expressway was announced, she came to have a minister's talk with the residents (though I did not attend it). According to my mummy, monthly updates are also sent to residents so that we know what's going on. Not bad eh!

So today, my parents and I headed to Anderson Primary School to cast our votes. As we did not want to meet any car park problems, we decided to walk instead. I estimate that it is about 2km away.

And since I was walking and not in a car, here are some photos of PAP and RP posters:

Awwww....

After that, we noticed the difference was in the cardboard backing which the PAP posters had. A strong backing and a strong foundation. Oh my, the analogies...

Don't tell me that RP has no money. Yes, they probably have less, but if they were a good team and were able to convince residents to vote for them and support them, they could perhaps have gotten more funds or donations. Don't say it's not possible.

Polling took less than 5 minutes in total. I barely stopped for 3 seconds throughout the way. Showed my polling card, barely stood in queue before I was directed to the tables. I did, however, paused awhile before putting my X. Haha, machiam taking exam, abit scared. Had to look really carefully. And I didn't know how big to put my X.

And this marks the end of my voting experience. I will most likely be staying up tonight to see the results. I hope the PAP do well :) and that FB / Twitter will move on to other topics after today.

(cos I am not really bothered about politics - call me close minded, but I have told my friend to 'wake me up' when something really turns out to be wrong)

Nuffnang: Yun Nam Contest

2011-04-30T22:52:00.000+08:00

I have always had long hair, save for when I was a baby and in Primary 4. I love having long hair, I somehow find a sense of confidence when I have long hair. And I feel that it makes me look pretty la. Like duh right, why would I want a hairstyle which makes me look horrible?

My hair at its longest. It was almost past my butt! But, despite the apparent "lushiousness" which people seem to infer from this photograph, I suffer dreadful hair loss. Perhaps it is not that obvious because I don't really see a bald patch yet. But I drop ALOT of hair each day.

This is just after one brush! Argh. As you can expect, after I fully comb my hair, there is this whole spiderweb of hairstrands. Perhaps if I collect all of the strands for a month, I can make a wig out of it. SERIOUSLY not kidding you!

Look at these pictures!

I will never experience the "boyfriend runs fingers through girlfriend's hair lovingly" scenario. Because one run through and he will see many strands of hair on his hand. UGH. abit NOT ROMANTIC YEAH! :(

Haiz. And I have really frizzy hair too. I know rebonding helps, but after awhile, it just frizzes out again! I just think my hair is really "weak" in the sense that it is super brittle! Machiam glass eh, touch only it will break!

Other than that, I have a really oily scalp which sometimes leads to dandruff. Horrible max. Really unsightly when I am out and sometimes spot some white flakes near my scalp. But I guess it has significantly improved from when I was younger.

So my main concern is my brittle hair. Me wants luscious, healthy hair. pleaseeee? :(

Signing off, There are always solutions with Yun Nam

One Year of Madness

2011-04-17T22:42:00.003+08:00

As you may have known from my Facebook...

YES I HAVE SUBMITTED MY THESIS!

Like finally...I finally can GET BACK MY LIFE!!

To sum up my thesis journey:

1 year of madness

2 days where I did not sleep at all

3 bottles of BRANDS chicken's essence

4 types of experiments done

5 sessions of subject pool conducted

6 cans of Redbull downed

7 days of extension (though I only used 4)

8 pple who helped me judge students' creativity

9 sets of drafts done

10 mins madness during submission

Thanks to everyone who have helped me in one way or another, or even simply to give me the encouragement and motivation that I need to carry on. Honestly, I wanted to give up a few times because I felt so stressed over it, but I am glad I didn't. It isn't like me to give up anyway. I couldn't include everyone into my one page of acknowledgements, but here are some people that I wish to thank:

The last 10mins before the submission for the undergraduate paper competition (on 8th April) was total madness. The script was due at 5pm and I edited all the way till 430pm!! I hoped I edited correctly though, because it was really rushed and I had problems with the computer. After printing, I was still wondering about binding...end up, I merely clipped it (my prof's instructions) and then ran all the way down to the corporate development office to hand it in. I was super worried that they will make noise about the lack of binding, but everything turned out alright, thank goodness!

Over the weekends, I was still able to read through and make some minor edits as my actual thesis submission was on 12th April, a 7 day extension! But I am glad I got it done much earlier, because binding takes some time too! Good thing I had a Monday to do the binding at Queensway before submission on Tuesday. Thesis binding cost me S$45 in total, because mummy had a 5% discount since she knew the vendor at Ultra Supplies. Hard binding is crazy though; if you wish to collect it in less than 24 hours it cost S$50! So I made an extra trip down to collect it 24 hours later, because the cost is almost halved to S$28!

It was seriously a year of madness; in fact, the madness escalated 1 week before the competition deadline. I had a super bad bout of SUAYNESS! I really felt like the most unlucky person on Earth...

What happened?

1) My laptop screen spoilt!!!

2) The 3-5 days service time extended to 2-3 wks because of additional problems

3) and on a completely unrelated note, this company sent me an email for an interview but I didn't receive and thus missed the slot!!

I really felt like shit for those days. Like what did I do to deserve this? I have always been very hardworking, why isn't my hardwork recognised???

I nearly cried when my laptop just white screened. The NUS IT COOP wasn't much of a help. And the person beside me when it happened was totally unfeeling. I mean, if your friend beside you just had a laptop that crashed, do you just say that u dunno what to do and go back to looking at your own laptop???

Worse thing was we used to be more than friends...

But then again, you acted the same way when my old laptop crashed...

But well, it was not all that bad...

1) daniel helped me retrieve a few files and uncle peter lent me a laptop

2) somehow the service time got reduced and I managed to get back my laptop a few days befor submission

3) I went for a walk-in interview instead. Though I was completely unprepared, I managed to get into the second round, and eventually got the job.

Hopefully things are turning for the better. Even my mummy said she needs to get a good luck charm for me to ward off all these bad luck!

This year of madness can also be reflected in the state of my study room (yup, I migrated to my study room instead of mugging in my own room...). Wherever it is possible to stack papers, I will stack them there. Even the piano was not spared!

Worst still was my desktop - it was crazy! filled with many research papers, and in fact, I already cleared my desktop a few times! Clear as in create some folder and dragged everything in just to make more space. It's crazy thinking how many research papers I have actually read just to complete this thesis. Out of which, I think 70% which I read wasn't used in the final copy of the thesis.

Though thesis has ended, I must constantly remind myself that I still have 1 exam left. Though I just need to study 'just enough'...but I know I will still try to do my best.

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So I got my Closure...

2011-03-24T12:11:00.001+08:00

I initially wanted to blog about my closure. But I think it is too mentally exhausting for me to put down all my thoughts in this post. In fact, I only told two people about it, and I feel that I cannot bring myself to say it anymore for now. So I deleted what I had initially started writing...

Yup, I did get my closure. Not because he read my previous post on relationship closure, but because I asked him. I didn't intend to do it so soon, but I couldn't handle waiting one more month till the end of the semester. I cried so badly when we had that last conversation, for like an hour until I was so tired and I couldn't do any work. I even sent a farewell letter kinda to explain my feelings throughout the event.

Now that it is over, I think my heart has totally hardened. Thinking about what was said and done, I think I should be relieved that I have gotten back my singlehood.

Because until the end, I decided for you.

We are really poles apart, he is not someone that I can understand. I put all my feelings on a plate and deliver it to him. He says he don't talk about his feelings at all, no matter what. You know, I don't believe that at all. If he really were this way, he would have never expressed your feelings 3 years ago. It depends on how much you want to, or whether I was of any importance at all. Don't lie to yourself.

Perhaps you should be more honest with how you feel.

Admit it, you didn't like me for a very long time.

My female instincts felt this ever since SEP. Perhaps I should have trusted my instincts more and ended it off earlier instead of always trying to talk about it to try to work things out. Because it will not work out if only one party actively seeks to rectify the problem. His mentality is to just keep quiet and not say anything...will that solve anything? I don't think so.

I don't think a couple needs to be totally similar to be together. Opposites attract; it depends on how they work together to overcome their differences. I don't think my parents are totally the same, but they somehow manage to work out their differences. My mummy is not the most active or outgoing person, totally different from my daddy. But my daddy brings her out to play games, do sports, and soon, she gets into it as well. Though they are apart most of the time, but they are still always there for each other...

So now, it is really time to move on. I am really sorry for lying to everyone, for telling them that I was okay. You know what, I was never really okay.

Until today.

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Student Interviews & Surveys

2011-03-23T22:37:00.003+08:00

Who to interview?

I dislike projects where I am required to interview someone. It is not about the lack of confidence or what not when conducting the interview, but it is really difficult to SECURE an interview with some high flyer industry professional. Because most cannot be bothered!

So how? Connections lor...sian max.

This was the first time I asked my parents for help. They are not high fliers or what not, but they did try to best to contact their friends, friends' friends, etc. I really appreciate what they did, though I felt my daddy got abitttt over-enthusiastic with it, asking me about it everytime I pop up on MSN. In the end, I asked my ex-dhl colleague xin lin for help. I haven contacted her for a super long time, but I am so glad that she helped! :)

Next time when I go out to work, I will do my own CIP. I will do one or two student interviews every month. Good right? I can't possibly do ALL interviews, but at least I can help some (esp if they are from my alma matar, I practise favourtism this way, sorry NTU and SMU :p). Hopefully what I do may spur my colleagues to do the same too. Because they should have experienced such difficulties last time, so they should know how it feels...

But I don't think many people cares. Take surveys for example. Many people put survey links on Facebook - do you participate in them? If you have put a survey link on fb, and then some random person put a link too...do you participate in their survey?

I do all surveys on fb if I fit the criteria for it. They don't need to be of surveys of close friends - I do all survey links which appear on my newsfeed. Because I know how hard it is to generate ample responses. I realised this ever since my group conducted focus group in Year 3 and it was so hard to get people!! Ever since then, I almost never ever turn down surveys, even roadside surveys. I mean, they are just doing their job right? If my 1min can help them, why not?? But if they get too pushy, then that is another story...

I do not expect a reward for doing these surveys. But many people do. Look at all the prizes which NUS are providing...ipads, ipod nanos...etc. What is so difficult about sparing a few minutes to help them??

(With that said, I was quite annoyed with a recent NUS survey which claims I will not take more than 10mins to finish, but I took more than 30mins, wth???)

Look at the subject pools...previously the reward was course credits. But many students couldn't give a damn. So now, profs and thesis students have to offer monetary rewards instead. Haiz. But even then, students do not care. Some thinks that the monetary rewards are fake. And some still give me rubbish answers...

Can't they stop and think for a second: "what if this is MY OWN survey?" How will they feel if they receive nonsense or insults? Even though last time I do not do all surveys that I encounter, I definitely do those few surveys properly...

These people...I hope that no one will do their surveys, subject pools or focus groups. Perhaps they just have to learn it the hard way.

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ANTM Cycle 16 Episode 3

2011-03-12T13:02:00.000+08:00

Yay, time for my favourite episode...MAKEOVERS! :D

It is super amusing whenever the models cry, especially when the makeover really helped them to look really stunning and high fashion. Of course, tyra doesn't always get it right. Sometimes the makeovers are a DISASTER! And no doubt, this Cycle's worst makeover award has to go to Molly's. It was really painful to watch that woman sew that disgusting weave into her head. And she's such a pretty girl! But I think she handled the situation really well. She did complain of course, but she didn't act all diva and wail and moan like, ahem, Alexandria.

My favourite makeover has to be Brittani's. I don't usually like short hair but this haircut really brought an edge to her! Superrr high fashion, massive loves!

Makeovers:

Hate that diva attitude of hers!

LOVING THIS LOOK!

erm, yucks?

can't stand her voice!

Poor molly and her DREADFUL makeover!

This sexychick is kinda getting on my nerves...

She's gonna be eliminated soon, confirm!

This week's photoshoot was a couture photoshoot. I love the extravagant dresses! But it's something meant to be seen, but not worn. I LOVE HANNAH & MOLLY! I think they really rocked the shoot, and I love Hannah's dress with that gloves. Super edgy! I should try something like that one day, dress with tough leather gloves... please don't stare at me on the streets, thanks.

They had to shoot in groups, and the challenge was to outshine the other person:

Brittani & Hannah. LOVE BOTH OF THEM! But Hannah really stood out for me

Dayla, Jacyln, Dominique (eew!!!)

Kasia & Molly. Not a great pic, but Molly rocks!

Mikaela & Sara. This has got to be the worst photo ever!

Monique & Alexandria

(Pictures grabbed from http://community.livejournal.com/topmodel)

Callout is as follows:

1) Alexandria

2) Molly

3) Brittani

4) Kasia

5) Jacyln

6) Hannah

7) Monique

8) Dayla

9) Mikaela

10) Sara

Eliminated: DOMINIQUE

YES, SHE IS FINALLY OUT! There is seriously nothing modelly about her, and I feel so eew whenever I look at her! Alexandria got best picture because she upstaged Monique in the photo. But she is still a bitch, and Molly should have been called first!

Actually, this cycle is really disappointing. Hell, did anyone not see Ann Ward in Cycle 15? I think Vogue should be super happy that Tyra discovered this gem who will definitely make it in high fashion (perhaps not so much for runways though). There is NO ONE here who photographs as well as Ann nor is as high fashion.

Period.

Relationship Closure

2011-03-11T22:47:00.002+08:00

...do you need it?

I have been suffering from a lack of closure. This has adversely affected my emotions, which perhaps follow the scale of a 10sin10x - 10 graph. If you understand that, then you will know that my mood has been fluctuating between depression and neutrality (okay, I hope I got that equation right...)

There are days where I feel that I can talk to you normally and not be affected that we are no longer together. But there are also days where I can't seem to face you or string words together. There are also times where I just wonder...what happened? How can emotions just die down just like that? Don't you give a damn at all? How could you act normally?

The worst thought passing through my mind is: was there someone else?

You may think I am crazy for running such thoughts through my mind. But it is really because of this lack of closure. I just can't help it! When I see you in the library, I wonder whether you are with anyone. Most probably yes, I guess. But I resisted the urge to go check.

Because we are no longer together.

I have no right to say anything.

I guess I cannot totally use the lack of relationship closure to account for my current state of emotions. Another reason is that I have never totally felt a sense of security being with you. You don't tell me much about your friends except for ww/grassy/teng. Whereas I tell you everything. Suddenly when you tell me you are going for supper with this girl that girl, of course I feel uncomfortable right?

I know everyone should have their own social life, have time to themselves, etc. But shouldn't you include your significant other in it too? There should be some balance right? But apparently you have been like that all your life, from what I heard from your past, something in which I have never told you before.

Right now, my emotions are a mess. I wish for a closure.

Will you grant me my wish?

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Interviews...to say or not to say

2011-03-08T23:05:00.012+08:00

I think this is a major challenge for me: should I say what I really feel? If I did, I imagine that I will insult alot of people. Or lose job opportunities.

Showing the real you never works for interviews. I mean, imagine a question asking you what you like about the previous company. Well, I can't say things that I like the colleagues, I like the pantry or...say that I totally hate that place. So how? You have to fake it through...and I think I need to work on that. I am quite sure the interviewers could see the look of displeasure on my face.

The worse thing is to ask about why you choose the company. Of course it is easy if it is a company that you really reaaallllyyyyy want to work in. The passion can be seen probably the moment you open your mouth. But what if you are not really passionate about working there, but you just apply because having a job is better than having no job?

Of course it is always best to do what you love to do and what you really want to do. But do we always get what we want? Nope. Thus, it is important to know how to fake it. I think my mum will really disagree with this. She thinks that one should do what she really wants, and then opportunities will arise, so don't jump into something that you are not completely comfortable with. I think that is really optimistic and totally idealistic.

I think I really need more luck for job hunting. Sadly, I do not really have strings to pull.

*sigh*

Combining with my previous Lessons Points from Interviews:

#1: Always read up on job descriptions beforehand

#2: Think of at least 2 qns to ask employers (1 doesn't seem enough)

#3: No matter how the interviewer treats you, remember to plaster a smile on your face

#4: Master the art of faking it in a believable manner

#5: Pray and do whatever superstitious stuff in order to improve on your luck (okay, kidding :p)

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ANTM Cycle 16 Episode 2

2011-03-05T23:18:00.000+08:00

Cycle 16 is getting dead boring. Odd and boring photohoots - are they like out of budget?! And I don't see anyone who can deserve to be on Vogue Italia. Perhaps Hannah, Mikaela, Monique or Britanni. But even though I like them, I can't really see anyone of them in the same light as Ann Ward (Cycle 15 winner) or Nicole Fox (Cycle 13 winner). It was very clear that Ann BELONGED in the world of high fashion and Vogue Italia. She just looks so exotic and photographs super well! I hate it when the judges kept using personality to critic her - hell, Versace said that they will book her, so take that! And I wished Nicole had joined ANTM later...imagine Nicole and Ann in the same cycle, that will be a real fight! Then again, Nicole is short (or rather, petite), so it's doubtful whether she will even make the first cut in a regular cycle.

(with that said, I think that Ann's Vogue Italia spread doesn't look very impressive. Was really disappointed with it, to be honest. Will post the pictures when I have the time.)

In this episode, the girls went through an acting class. Everyone found out that Ondrei just lost BOTH her brothers three months ago, one in a car crash and another was murdered. Seriously, I don't get how she can be here and still appear so calm. She should be in trauma! And should probably spend more time with her family, you know what I mean?

The photoshoot involved jewellery and bees. Erm wow. Beauty shots btw. I think this is the worst beauty photoshoot in ANTM ever?! I don't remember feeling so appalled after a photoshoot! I don't get what's with the weird lines they draw on the face. It just looks...eewwww.

During judging, Ondrei asked to be sent home. Because she realised after the acting class that she cannot handle being here and that she should go back to her family. Good choice! In fact, since she has appeared on national TV, she probably wouldn't find it so difficult to get back into the modelling scene, should some designers take a fancy to her look.

However, she did not have the worst photo of the bunch. Hence, there was another elimination.

Photos according to call-out:

Hannah - I think this is a good photo, not WOW though

Britanni - I prefer this, it's a really strong picture!

Monique - okay this should be best picture!

Mikaela - what weird lines! But she is really exotic!

Kasia - dislikes

Dominique - YUCKS

Sara - definitely gonna be out soon. No stunning pics, no personality

Alexandria - if the eyes weren't so dead, she would be called earlier!

Jaclyn - eew?

Molly - I don't know why this was called so late?!

Dalya - when a closed eyes pic is taken, this is NOT GOOD

ELIMINATED:

Nicole - it is sad that she has an old face, else it isn't THAT bad

Ondrei - asked to be sent home

(photos from http://community.livejournal.com/topmodel)

I was hoping that next week's photoshoot will be much better. However, photos leaked on the topmodel website suggests otherwise...it is on couture - sounds promising right? I just think the girls cannot deliver! Put Ann there, put Nicole there, and you will see sparks fly! Oh, and it is makeover week in Episode 3! I LOVE makeovers! I think my favourite makeover was Kayla (Cycle 15)'s hot red hair. It really elevated her to high fashion!

Here are the youtube videos for ANTM Cycle 16 Episode 2:

Recruitment Talks

2011-03-04T12:03:00.002+08:00

I have been attending recruitment talks since last year, though I am attending more now as it is 40+ days to end of semester! And I am still without a job! *sigh*

Job hunting is really tiring. The time spent to apply, think of essays, go through assessment centres, etc. And when you are rejected, it is really a sucky feeling. It is like your ROI is zero, or even negative! Of course others will say that each application and each interview is an experience which I can learn from. But when you are time strapped, it is really difficult to think so positively.

Of all the recruitment talks that I have gone for, some have been good, some have been not so good. What do I mean by not good?

A Good Recruitment Talk

- Entertaining

- Allows the audience to feel the passion of the staff

- Allows the audience to feel the staff bonding

- Gives brief overview of company

- Focuses more on the graduate programme

- Sharing session of past recruits

- Brings the relevant dept or even the ceo down, not just HR

I think #2 and #3 are hard to achieve, but I have been through 2 talks which I definitely experienced it. As the years past, I have re-evaluated what I look for in a job. Previously, my top priority was always money/salary. But I think money is not everything, and that I should do something I like instead. Like if I had wanted money, I'd have aimed to do finance. Here is the new list of what I look for when job hunting:

1) Pleasant office culture

2) Career advancement

3) Training

4) Opportunities to be involved in real work right from the start

5) Overseas opportunities

6) Staff benefits (eg. Compensation, leave, medical benefits)

By 1), I am not saying that everyone must be nice. But the general vibe of the company should not be of one that is stuck up and bitchy. You can feel it when you step into an office. Within 5 minutes, you can probably have a pretty good impression of it. Because if the management is of a pleasant attitude, the workers will be too.

Of course this is not to say that salary is not important. It is definitely important, especially when everything is getting more expensive now. It should be at least reasonable. Else how will I support my family?!

With that much said, I am not so bothered about my criteria now. Please just OFFER me some job first!! No no, please just call me up for an INTERVIEW first! I promise I will work really hard...just HIRE ME PLS! :(

*words of a desperate girl*

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ANTM Cycle 16 Episode 1

2011-02-28T18:15:00.003+08:00

And it is yet another new cycle of ANTM! Caught it last night and I was contemplating whether to do screenshots...nahhh, it was quite late at that time and I was really tired :( Cycle 16 premiered on 23rd Feb and I had been trying to search for it ever since. I watched the previous cycle on TV Dome, but they seem to have stopped uploading any tv series/movies!

I did not want to use funshion because I didn't want to download the software nor the video itself. I just want to stream it! After much searching, I actually found it on Youtube last night -.-" ughhh I thought it would have been taken down because of copyright issues, but it is still there!

Cycle 16 continued on with the HIGH high fashion, with the winner landing a cover on Vogue Italia and a contract with IMG Models. Hmmm, I haven't seen Amy's Vogue Italia cover yet, should start searching for it. I believe she will be gorgeous!

Tyra started Cycle 16 with a rude shock to the girls - by bluffing them that they are rejected and have to go home. She wants to let them understand the feeling of rejection, but I felt that there wasn't much time for rejection to really sink in! What is more cruel is the other batch of girls who thought they were in, but actually out! Couldn't they just separated both groups and tell both that they are rejected???

Model house isn't looking that WOW this Cycle. Perhaps the models have destroyed too many houses and cwTV have incurred too much expenses! Anyway if they are really models that are starting out, I am sure they will have such luxurious accommodation...

The first test was on runway, where the girls had to walk along a 12inch wide platform in a bubble (like those zorb ball style). It looks pretty ridiculous to me, I don't see how the jewellery can be seen by the audience with all that conffetti flying about the bubble! Britanni totally rocked it, I don't know why there wasn't a prize for her though!

The photoshoot took place before runway, some sort of a candid backstage shoot kinda. SUPPOSEDLY candid, the girls still had to pose in that sort of effortless manner. I think Britanni and Molly totally rocked it.

Pictures in order of call-out:

Molly - this is totally ad worthy!

Brittani - this is awesome, her walk is awesome, SHE IS AWESOME

Alexandria - This rocks too, but her personality is blwahhh

Mikaela - I can imagine that she will go very far

Dayla - NOT GOOD

Hannah - Should have been called out earlier, she really stood out!

Ondrei

Monique - I think this is really good!

Nicole

Kasia - not good, super unflattering

Jaclyn - not liking this, not liking her kiddo voice

Sara

Dominque - this is super awful!

ELIMINATED:

Angelia - this photo is not good, but it isn't worst that dominque! just cos of that personality issue AGAIN!

(Photo credits: http://community.livejournal.com/topmodel)

I cannot understand what the judges see in Ms Freckles Dominique. She looks like an amphibian of some sort with patchy skin! Eeewww...some of the girls look really normal though. Britanni looks normal, but I think she will last pretty far...and not win. I predict that Mikaela and Molly will get somewhere at the top!

Check out the ANTM Cycle 16 Episode 1 here:

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The End of Recess Week

2011-02-27T22:00:00.001+08:00

In 2+ more hours, Recess Week is going to end... my last recess week EVER!

Remember I was setting out to do several stuff this Recess Week?

I only did #1, #3, #5, #6, #7... and #1 is not settled yet, nor have I completely finished #6 and #7. UGH! :( I did do my best though, except during the weekends when I felt kinda burnt out.

And my desktop is exploding with research papers. I usually put it into folders, but because I want easy access when doing my literature review, I just downloaded all of it on my desktop first.

Desktop as of 23rd February:

Still looking decent, I still can see my wallpaper

Desktop as of 27th February:

MADNESS!

And it's not as if I download them just for fun. I read through all of them, though not the entire paper if I find that it is not of relevance. But still, I think I'm going bonkers! Initially, I tried to read on my laptop and just highlight from there... in a bid to save paper and ink. But it is really tiring! I don't get how people can survive with e-books. I still like hardcopies!

Hence, I printed out everything, and I am currently struggling with it as I blog...

Yes, I printed 4 in a page to save paper!

It is 36 more days to thesis submission. I still haven't finished my literature review and there is still alot to do! Plus, I have another subject pool on 17th March. I am quite sure I am the only thesis student who have done so many subject pools! I really hope my efforts pay off... I'm not intelligent, but I do put in hard work.

Can hard work pay off for once?

Somehow, it never really does though. As compared to intelligence. People who are naturally brilliant have it easy in life. While sloggers like me... just slog throughout. HAIZ.

On another note, how do you like my new blogskin? I finally decided to add a background instead of leaving it all white.

Emo enough?

I just combined two deviantart pictures together. Need to credit them soon on my blog, but I'll do it another time when I'm free. I wanted something even more emo than this, but I couldn't find suitable pictures. Oh well.

I will work on this after 36 days.

Borders Massive Clearance Sale

2011-02-26T23:00:00.002+08:00

It was the second day of Borders' Clearance Sale today and I decided to drop by Expo to check exactly how good it is. Mummy drove to Ikea Tampines where parking was free. We then took the shuttle bus to Tampines and then a train to Expo. Yeah, it is a hassle but at least...

1) Definitely guaranteed a parking lot, no need to wait

2) Free parking!

With the NATAS travel fair happening during the same period, you can just imagine how crazy the queue is! I reached Expo at about 1045 and the queue to get into NATAS (Hall 4 and 5) had already stretched to the MRT area...it is CRAZY!! I would have also liked to visit it and book those free & easy packages...but I don't have a job yet :(

The Borders Sale was not very crowded. All the good books seem to have been sold out on the first day. I had wished to get Harry Potter, Jodi Picoult and Nicholas Sparks collection...but none were available! Then again, perhaps all these famous titles are not even on sale!!

Other than fiction series that I like to collect, I normally will not buy fiction books. Can always borrow from the library what! So I will usually buy travel books. I know...travel books do get outdated, but at least I get to 'travel' in my bed (when reading). I love the DK Eyewitness Travel and Insight Guides series.

Next time, my house will have a mini library, where I will have a collection of all the classic books, some popular ones like Harry Potter, and the whole set of Eyewitness Travel. I have to be super rich though...one Eyewitness Travel book costs about $50!

My damage for the day: $52. Got a $10 voucher and I wanted to use it immediately...but cannot! I actually wanted to get a Malta travel book. Mummy kept saying...when will you ever go to Cuba or Malta?!? Well...one fine day la!

My travel books collection so far:

I can't wait for the next NLB sale! But it is really hard to get nice Eyewitness Travel books there...

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First Job Interview

2011-02-25T12:59:00.000+08:00

Okay let me first clarify the blog title: it is the first PERMANENT job interview.

I think it didn't go well though. I forgot what was the detailed job description! Haiz. I knew roughly what the job was about, but not specficially the tasks that I had to do. But every interview is an experience. And I am going to learn from it and think of what I should have done instead...so that I can improve for the next interview!

Learning Points From Interviews:

#1: Always read up on job descriptions beforehand

#2: Think of at least 2 qns to ask employers (1 doesn't seem enough)

#3: No matter how the interviewer treats you, remember to plaster a smile on your face

Hope more companies call me up for interview! But for now, it is time to do the mini project for the company which needs to be submitted in 3 days time...

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Black Swan: totally possessed

2011-02-24T23:50:00.000+08:00

Today was a pretty hectic day for me. Woke up at 730am, which is amazingly the LATEST time in which I have woken up in this entire week. Yes, I have morphed into a mugger-tron, I am perpetually in hssml doing my work.

Went to fetch my aunty jaq for chemo today. Actually I wish they were not so courteous about it; we are one family and we should be there for each other! :) It is just a small gesture and if it can help in the treatment (ie. Prevent her from catching germs on public tpt), then why not! Her treatment lasted super long today though, almost 6hrs instead of the supposed 3hrs! But okay la...all is fine I think :)

After fetching them home, I parked the car at home, printed stuff, and was about to head out when...IT POURED! It was like the second or third flash shower of the day! I know I will confirm get drenched going out in that weather so I stoned for awhile at home. Eventually, I decided to just head out with my pooh bear umbrella! I really love it! :)

Headed to The Cathay to meet some STEERies (amanda, aziz, shufen, natasha, zilun, shannon and me!) for a movie. Everyone was late except shufen. Sorry ar, made you wait alone :( good thing aziz came early and accompanied her at Popeyes!

Okay so we went to watch Black Swan after that, and as my blog title may suggest, I think it is totally possessed! I think it is a good movie, like there is a good plot and lots of hidden meaning, but it is really quite disturbing!! I was kind of prepared for the disturbing scenes because I read The Vigilant Citizen's occult interpretation of Black Swan previously.

Check it out here: http://vigilantcitizen.com/?p=6223

If this is what the music industry is doing, it is quite sick actually. And I think...yeah, that is what they do! Everyone is getting possessed...

Actually, if you think about the movie in a very straightforward sense, the message sent is quite warped. It is like to be free of restrictions and to really live life instead of being robotic, then pls go touch yourself (ie. Masturbate). Okay righttttt. It was shown like 3 times I think...super awkward if you are watching with parents. And then that lesbian scene...it was cut by alot though. Singapore censored the film by 4 minutes. Original movie is 108mins while the Singapore version is 104mins.

Initially, I only used one hand to cover my eyes...towards the end, I was using two hands and closing my eyes at times. FREAKING DISTURBING!! At the end of the show, we were all traumatised. And we happened to see the Justin Bieber Never Say Never movie poster. Hahaha, we were talking about how we need to watch it to cleanse ourselves.

After that movie, we kinda kept poking fun of it...I think everyone was quite shaken by it, even aziz and zilun. Dun fake that you were not! :p zilun was saying that the movie fits into many genres, like horror, sci fi, soft porn...hahaha! Some of us didn't know that the movie had been censored but according to aziz, it was super obvious!

Quote: "Quite obvious with all the gaps in between the panting. It makes you wonder what is going on between the gaps eh..."

Hahaha! Well, go download the uncensored version then.

Thanks amanda for the postcards! :)

Had ice-cream at macs before heading home. Upon reaching home, I got quite afraid actually. Like...WHY IS MY LIFT FULL OF MIRRORS??? There are mirrors on 3 sides and even on top! Ughhhh...freaky!!

Update:

I couldn't take it, ended up crawling into mummy's bed to sleep. And I couldn't sleep well either! :( The last time I watched a horror movie, I slept in mummy's room for months I think. And after I finally moved back to my room, I had to on a nightlight.

Then again, when I was a kid, I had a power rangers nightmare too...ugh.

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Togi Korean Restaurant

2011-02-22T23:34:00.000+08:00

As usual, I camped at HSSML to work on my thesis. It was a pain getting to school today. Not sure what is wrong with the bus system, but there was a bus drought at my house - not a single bus for 15mins! And there are supposed to be 6 buses plying through that area! Ugh... and I can only take 852, so I waited for 30+mins before I finally got on the bus. In the end, I took 2.5hrs to reach school - it must be a new record! Haiz, busing woes...

I realised that I am having much difficulty writing my 80-page thesis. I didn't expect that; I can usually write reports pretty well...for some reasons, words just flow out! I am pretty good in crapping eh ;) must be due to blogging for 5.5yrs! Well, I hope that I can quickly string all my thoughts together...I am hoping to finish the literature review and findings section by this recess wk! I think I will need to camp in sch over the wkends if I am really determined to finish it :s

Anyway, after a crazy day battling with my thesis, I met tiara, francine and daniel at Chinatown for Korean food, recommended by Tiara! I am glad we are still meeting up...in fact, this is the only project grp that I keep in contact with! Haiz...I should have put in more effort to keep in contact with my uni grps, then I may feel that uni is more fun :(

We had dinner at Togi Korean Restaurant and it seems really authentic! Well, the owners are definitely Korean who knows only basic English. That is definitely one indication of its authenticity right? The restaurant is pretty small, so we had to queue for awhile.

Food that we ordered:

The side dishes, not sure if it is complimentary

Bibimbap - we ordered the chicken and beef one...chicken is nicer! :D

Chicken bibimbap

Ginseng Chicken Soup

Kimchi Soup

Pork & Squid - out of my food categories, but apparently it is nice :)

Grilled Saba - nice!

It is definitely worth the wait - the food was awesome!! I especially liked the Ginseng Chicken Soup!

The meat was so soft and tender and the soup was not overly herby, it was just right! Now I feel revitalised and all ready to battle my thesis again tml!

The bill amounted to $95.40 for 4 of us, so about $24 each...quite okay considering how much food we ordered! After that we walked abit and ended up at Macs for icecream before heading home.

I can't wait for the nx meetup...let's try to meet once every month at least kz! So far we are on track! Haha, cos we met at Nex in January! Next time we can go do something...how about minds cafe? Or ktv?

Haha, francine can show us all her Korean hiphop moves!! :p

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Recess Week Battle Plan

2011-02-21T11:16:00.001+08:00

Today marks the start of Recess Week - my last recess week ever in NUS!

Recess Week is just pure ironic - what recess? what break? It is simply self-study week! In fact, I think I will be in school everyday this week because there is just too much to do! In fact I've foursquare check-in so many times at HSSML that I've finally ousted the previous mayor! HAHA, CHEAP THRILL!

Thank god I am not bugged by midterms. In fact, I don't really have much projects to handle too. RE project has not started and I am not sure if I wanna bother leading in the project. I am going to s/u it anyway! DSC project is currently at a halt because companies refuse to reply me. Hate this man, I know companies are busy with their work, but it is not as if you will not benefit from the interview? We are providing you our entire analysis and evaluations leh! UGH! Why can't everyone adopt Elim Chew's (77th Street's founder) mentality? She willingly helps students with their projects during weekends! When I go out to work next time, I will do the same - students who email me with a good proposal will be granted an interview!

It is always good to write down what you want to complete. I do that on a weekly basis actually, so that I know I will definitely finish all my work. In fact, my organiser is my life - I note down all appointments and deadlines inside, so I will not forget anything!

Doesn't seem like much? Well, 7) and 8) are enough to kill me already. And 3) is pure depressing for now. I've an interview this Friday, so that's the only upside.

Without further ado, I shall dive into my sleep-inducing readings and hope that I do not end up in dreamland...

MFPS Outing

2011-02-20T22:40:00.002+08:00

I went to meet up with some of my primary school friends today. Potato organised it on fb, but we kinda forgot to invite some pple to the event. Oh no! Nvm, nx time we will rmb everyone!

Somehow I think I still can rmb the 6A class list (in order somemore)! I am not bragging k, I PROVE IT TO YOU!!

MFPS CLASS 6A'2000

01) Belinda

02) Emma

03) Jessie

04) See Man aka Cheryl Chiu

05) Wenxin

06) Melissa

07) Lily

08) Lilian aka Andrea Khong

09) Kerrin

10) Sze Wing

11) Mei Jie

12) Calista

13) Jasmine

14) Seh Kai aka Jazreel Lim

15) Fengru

16) Cai Leng

17) Sarah

18) Nina

19) Siyun

20) Tracy

21) Feng Yi

22) Simin

23) Yvonne

24) Whee Theng

25) Dorisa

26) David

27) Alvin

28) Samuel

29) Kannan

30) Yan Wei

31) Zihao

32) Syful

33) Yu Xiang

34) Nigel

35) Wei Jun

36) Vinnie

37) Sehsha

38) Ming Feng

39) Xing Hong

40) Guanjie

Okay, I am damn amazing right? CALL ME PRO!! I can only do this for my pri sch class though, I can't rmb for my sec sch or jc classes!!

Anyway, the people today were mel, sarah, szewing, whee theng, zihao, guanjie, weijun, zhanseng and kaykiat. Kiat and Seng are not from 6A, but we were in 3A together! Mrs Chong's class - a legend that we will nv forget!!

We had dinner at Oriole Cafe & Bar, my second time there! I ate the same thing though, capellini crabmeat. Usually if I know that smthg is especially nice there, I like to stick to the same choice whenever I am there. Kinda boring, but at least I know I'll eat something that makes me happy!

It was the first time that we were meeting up with Whee Theng. I have seen her in school two years ago I think, but haven't seen her recently. Haha, I was kinda concerned initially because I didn't know what to say to her! But the guys are quite smooth eh, lots to say! Shit... my anti-social streak is sinking in again :( I need to get out of this phase!

After dinner, sw left to go back to hall while the rest of us headed to Eskimo at Dhoby Exchange. First time I drank Eskimo and... I think it is okay la. It is not something that I will have a craving for! Mel and Sarah left to go home at that time...while the rest of us headed to SMU's health & wellness clubroom or smthg.

It is super comfortable la! Unfair!! Why NUS don't have such stuff! Even VJC had leh, minus the massage chairs though. vj had this playstation/darts/dvd/pool/board games room which was free initially. Subsequently had to pay a small fee to use the facilities. Well, at least there are still available facilities! What does NUS have? NOTHING! :(

The room had like 7 massage chairs and many comfy sofas! There were many board/card games too! And also books! So relaxing!! We ended up playing Monopoly Deal with 2 decks combined. Left after awhile because zh had to leave for his friend's house and the room was getting stuffy as the aircon is not on during the wkends.

It is nice that we primary school pple still keep in touch. Actually last year would have been our 10th year homecoming, but no one organised anything and I was too busy all holidays!

How about a 15th year homecoming/student reunion? 4 years later...I think we would all have income for something slightly more lavish right?

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Eugene's 16th Birthday

2011-02-19T23:34:00.000+08:00

After my grandma's birthday celebration, my mummy and I headed home for a short rest before going to Eugene's house. It was his 16th birthday and we gave him a surprise (or perhaps he had already known earlier) birthday cake!

I have looked after this boy since he was a baby and staying at my grandparents' house. You could say that he is the closest thing to a younger brother for me. My mum have always been v concerned for this family, not that she is not concerned about the rest, but she just wishes that Eugene and Ian will do well in their studies and succeed in life.

I am glad that our family is relatively close. Because we know that we can always depend on each other. My aunt jaq is going for chemo soon, and I hope she has a speedy recovery. Previously, she discovered a lump, and even though it has been removed, the doc is afraid that the cancerous cells may have spread.

It is times like this when you suddenly feel: health is the most important. Stay healthy, everyone :)

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First Vegetarian Buffet!

2011-02-19T18:40:00.002+08:00

~~~ UPDATED: with photos! ~~~

I have been so busy this week that I haven been able to blog! So I have to resort to updating on my mobile whenever I can. Bad thing about mobile updates is that there will be no photos in the post. Not because the app does not support photo uploads, but because I seldom take photos with my mobile. (UPDATED: added in photos when I got home)

I just went for my first vegetarian buffet at Lingzhi, a restaurant under the Tung Lok group. Why vegetarian? Because my grandma is vegetarian! I was initially kinda apprehensive about it; what is there to eat at a vegetarian buffet???

Apparently, a lot!

It turned out to be pretty good food actually. Very little selection, but it tastes good! There were alot of fried food though, good way to fill up our tummies. Drinks were payable, even water was payable ($1!). I guess that is how they earn, because the high tea buffet was pretty cheap - $14.80++ pax!

After high tea at Novena, all 20+ of us headed to Udders at Goldhill. My er gu is quite hip, she also know about Udders! It is quite amazing, like one big congregation moving towards United Square. Give us some drums and trumpets and we are a marching band!

I was too slow in capturing this picture, but we were filling up the entire escalator!

Finally at Udders!

Udders was too small to accommodate all of us, some of us had to stand around outside. Er gu and Uncle Pingkok treated us to icecream (actually they paid for Lingzhi too!). Actually I quite like it that we go out as a big family. Perhaps I need to interact more, I think I am too quiet amongst my cousins.

Then again, I am extra quiet these days. I don't talk much - I am so quiet amongst the STEER group and Nuffnang bloggers. Compare to when I am with my pri/sec/jc friends...omg so different!

I have no idea why I have become so anti-social in uni :(

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Bon Voyage Bobby!

2011-02-17T23:19:00.000+08:00

Some of the Steeries met up for dinner at Adam Road Food Centre to say farewell to Bobby before he leaves for his exchange programme in Sydney. Steeries present were Shannon, Natasha, Bobby, Philip, Zi Lun, Makmur, Camillus, and Aziz who joined us later. I didn't realise that it was the last day of cny and that some people had reunion dinners - until I saw Ryan's post on the wall!

It was my first time eating at Adam Road Food Centre despite its proximity to my house. Last time, I will just go to Island Creamery for icecream. Well, nowadays I don't go anymore because of the lack of company :( Anyway, there wasn't much food to choose from. Apparently the Nasi Lemak is nice...though my mummy strongly disagrees. She thinks it is nothing special! I ate my favourite stingray and I think it was not bad, just that it was too small to fully warrant the $12 that I paid!

Aziz not in the picture because he came much later!

After that, we headed to Island Creamery. I like Island Creamery because it is cheap and good! My favourite flavour is Reverso because I love such chocolately stuff, never mind it being sinful! If you have eaten Swensen's Topless 5 with me, you will know that everything I choose will have some chocolate in it...making it a massive brown mountain!

We talked about many random stuff until Philip came - then we began 'tormenting' him about his date earlier. Natasha spotted him in a movie with a girl just hours ago!! Hahaha, it was really funny though, because Philip was so panicky!!

But I think the most epic moment was in Aziz's car. He gave me, Yew Ming and Philip a lift home...so niceeee! Nice Aziz who cuts apples for us :p Okay anyway, Philip was pondering about how to reply the girl's sms (which he has left hanging for an hour plus) when suddenly, there was a ringtone and the girl replied first!!

Philip's reaction was EPIC, I was like rofl-ing! He was like "OH NO OH NO!!! GG!!" with lots of F punctuating it. Super hilarious! Hahaha, I didn't know guys panic so much when sms-ing a girl! I don't think I panic nor exclaim so much when replying a guy's sms...a guy whom I have feelings for.

Hmm, maybe I did exclaim abit, haha, can't be totally no reaction right! Just that I can't seem to recall it now...

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First Mobile Update!

2011-02-15T17:56:00.001+08:00

This is the first time that I am updating my blog using my mobile phone. Wonder how it will turn out in terms of its formatting and stuff.

I changed my phone during mid January - got a Samsung Galaxy 551 White. It looks pretty much similar to the Galaxy 3 except that it has a slide-out qwerty keypad, which was just what I was looking for! I think I sms really slowly on a touchscreen phone, so having a keypad will speed things up for me.

Then why not get a Blackberry? Well, other than the cost factor, i think the Bold's screen is too small and I think it is much easier to navigate websites with a touchscreen phone. Yes, I know the Blackberry Torch matches my wants, but it is too expensive for the mediocre specs.

On the other hand, my Galaxy 551 cost $0 with Singtel's 3G Flexi Lite Student Plan - and it is totally worth it! i haven spotted much problems with it, except that sometimes there is a blue hue over the screen when i unlock it. I have to lock and unlock again and it'll be fine.

Also there is the battery life. I can't seem to separate myself from my charger now :s but after a few tests (ie. Deleting certain apps, switching off gps), I calculated that it can last 16 hours with data plan enabled and moderate usage. I think that is not that bad right? The gps is really a battery sucker; sometimes I forget to off gps after using foursquare, and I realise that the battery drains really fast!

Perhaps a problem in time to come will be the small internal memory of 160mb. For now it is still working fine. I don't download games anyway, I just have apps. Guess I have a boring phone that no kid will grab from me, cos there are no games!

Okay, I can't wait to see how this post will turn out! Pls don't let there be weird formatting!

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Valentine's Day with Natalie

2011-02-14T23:55:00.000+08:00

I celebrated Valentine's Day with Natalie this year! :) YAY! *Muacks*

I have never thought much about Vday - I think it is a pure waste of money. If I were to have a date, I wouldn't mind celebrating it earlier or later, so as to escape all the evil valentine's day set menus. I rather save the money to go travel next time! It does feel nice to sometimes receive gifts or flowers, but heck, must it really be on 14th?! Any day is fine! It is the thought that counts - and the little things that make the day sweet. There isn't a need for extravagant stuff!

We went to watch I Am Number Four premiere, tickets courtesy of Nuffnang. We shared popcorn and coke - what a romantic couple we are! ;) I think I watched half the movie behind my hands because I was quite afraid of looking at the evil aliens. But I think the movie is really good! Plus of course the male lead was DAMN CUTE PLS!

Then we headed for dinner. Wanted to eat at Paradise Inn but it was closing! So we went to Marche and Nat treated me to dinner. Aww...so sweet! Thanks bf :)

I am so glad that nat is still in NUS, though of course she is not happy being here still. She is not only my subject pool master, but also one of my main companions in school. Now that me and gh have fallen out, I feel very lonely in school actually. But I can always count on nat to eat lunch with me :)

Yes, I am still feeling lonely in school. It is not easy to get over it so quickly. Nat was telling me how after she broke up, she suddenly realise that there is no one to sms too. And I totally agree, I sms so little these days! Haiz. I definitely have not had a proper closure yet.

And I think it is because I had no answer from you. I still wonder what happened. Perhaps it is that the two of us just do not click, but I just want to hear a reason from you. But I have no answer. When Nat told me that she met you on the bus earlier, and that you mentioned that you were going to meet your friends at vivo, I couldn't help but wonder, what friends? It cannot be grassy/ww, because they will be out with their gfs. So who? I always wondered (and friends have always asked me), was there someone else in the picture...?

Nex with Cedar Percussion

2011-02-13T23:11:00.023+08:00

After visting xf's house, I went home for a rest before heading out to meet Cedar Percussion'04 people at Nex. Regina and Silin could not make it because they have some hall rehearsal. Aww..too bad! Else the entire Perc'04 will be present!

We specially met up again before Julia flew back to Australia to complete her last semester. She will be back in July this year, I can't wait to have another outing again with everyone present! :) We met at Nex, and it is actually really convenient for all of us as we stay pretty near that area. Actually only Silin stays really far away from Nex!

We had dinner at The Ship based on my recommendation - but this time, it was a really bad time to visit The Ship! Because it was a day before Valentine's Day, The Ship already started having valentine's day meal sets and shrunk their original menu so as to accommodate more to the Vday crowd. Ugh. I wanted to eat their seabass set dinner la! :(

After our dinner, we walked around Nex for awhile before heading up to the Skygarden. We played a few rounds of Monopoly Deal there, where Julia totally owned. It was so funny that she keep having Just Say No!s and Shuyan kept wasting her Dealbreaker on her!

And after Monopoly Deal, we took photos for about 30mins! Love taking photos with them, because we are all so retarded and just love taking photos! :)

I was complaining that my pictures were mostly blur because of movements when my double flash was at work. Hence, they all gave me my first valentine's day kiss...

HAHAHA! And in line with the valentine's day spirit, we took alot of HEART pictures! :)

I am really glad that somehow, we all still remain in contact and still can go out with each other comfortably. Hopefully we meet up more, especially after Julia comes back! :)

CEDAR PERCUSSION FTW!

CNY Visit: Xf's House

2011-02-13T15:43:00.045+08:00

We visited xf's house for a mini gathering. I usually do not visit friends' house during CNY because my CNY is just way too busy! And usually daddy will be home, so I will accompany him most of the time. But this time, CNY was extra long and Daddy left on the 5th day of CNY.

We had potluck at xf's house. To me, potluck means cooking and bringing all to one person's house. But us young generation can't do that eh - buying is the way to go. Sometimes I can't understand though...if buy, then why not just go to a restaurant to eat?!

I am always very apprehensive about having certain events with my generation. This includes stuff like bbq, potluck, steamboat...stuff in which we need to prepare by ourselves. Because, let's face it, we are a bunch of useless youngsters with not even half the skills which our parents have in preparing such stuff! Everytime I go for a bbq, I am always mentally prepared that I will not be full at the end of it because of all the burnt/uncooked food. And I think being hungry is no fun at all!

(that is not to say I never have fun at bbqs. I think bbqs with cedar perc is super fun because it just turns out ridiculously funny!)

Perhaps I am too used to having my mummy prepare everything nicely. Like previously when my friends came to my house for bbq, she will help to prepare some cooked food and pack the bbq stuff to bring downstairs too. I feel very assured when my mummy or like the older generation is around. Last time, we have bbq at my er gu's house pretty often. All the food turned out awesome - because my aunties/uncles were the ones cooking.

And with home-prepared steamboat/bbq, there is always the hassle of clearing up after that. Super troublesome really. And youngsters do not always help with that...nor do we really know what to do with all the stuff. Haiz.

But anyway, the potluck at xf's house did not turn out so bad. There was alot of food because charles/michelle bought sushi. SUPER alot of sushi! In fact, I think this is a very expensive meal... I think charles/michelle spent alot especially! More than if we had just eaten out! But lohei was a disaster because they bought those lohei which you need to DIY the veggies. Haha, obviously never help out at home before eh! Or perhaps their family always buy yusheng.

I think buying yusheng is super expensive! Can always just diy and buy those additional ingredients what! That is what my family do every year, and it tastes awesome. In fact, now i still have yusheng in my fridge and my mummy and I will continue eating it next week as a salad. I quite like it :D it is really healthy, though cannot put too much of the sweet syrup.

We played 终极密码 to finish up the food and then played blackjack. I am super down on luck at xf's house and lost like $9.55 there! UGH! But it's okay la, my overall net loss for blackjack for CNY 2011 is $0.55. So... small money there!

CNY Visit: My Babysitters

2011-02-12T22:36:00.001+08:00

Visited my ex-babysitters on 12th February at their house. They took care of me since I was a one month old to about 4 years old. Every cny and birthday, I will visit them to catch up with them.

However, I feel that I am not doing enough.

I think I should do more for them, and visit them more often. They are quite old already... I don't want to regret one day when it is all too late. But it is kind of funny if I suddenly start visiting more often right? And I don't want them to start cooking and preparing so much when I come. Moreover it is also difficult to explain to my mummy why I want to visit them more often. Well, actually it is not that hard to explain, it is just that I don't want her to feel obliged to come with me too.

Perhaps when I start working, I will visit them more often. And of course, must pay them back for all the care and love that they showered on me last time, and even now. It feels very heartwarming whenever they do up videos of all my baby pictures and give me a cd. They are not highly educated, and have no idea how to use a computer, but somehow still manage to do up a video just by using a dv camera and their dvd player!

After visiting for about an hour plus, I headed out to causeway point to meet my uncle peter's family. Talked away before I left to meet fj and db for dinner. It has been a long time since we met up because of those two busy accountants! But well, I shall stop laughing at them, soon my time will come, and perhaps I may end up even busier than them - and have to eat my words!

Nuffnang Movie Contest: I am Number Four

2011-02-12T13:10:00.000+08:00

First Nuffnang Movie Contest in which I am blogging about for the year! I think I havent watched a movie with Nuffnang for a super long time. Somehow, it always clashes with my schedule!

Stop having movies on wednesday nights leh, I not free! - a tiny plea from a small fry

The latest Dreamworks movie to hit the screens is...

I am Number Four - a science fiction film based on a novel written by Jobie Hughes and James Frey. And there are big names working on this film too. Nope, not the actors, I've no idea who they are. But the producers! The film is being produced by Michael Bay and Steven Speilberg, costing over $50million in production fees!

The movies talks about 9 infant aliens, who do not look like aliens but resemble humans instead. They are hiding on Earth and escaping from their nemesis, the Mogadorians. The Mogadorians wants to wipe out these aliens, and they must do so in chronological order. So far, Number One, Number Two and Number Three have been killed.

So Number Four is on the run, because he knows that he is going to be next. Acted by Alex Pettyfer, he disguises himself as a high school student, and (omg shocker!!) falls in love with a sweet Midwestern girl. So I guess, everyone knows how it is going to end eh! I don't believe there will be a shocking ending.

(Information extracted from Wikipedia)

Why should I win a pair of movie tickets for the preview?

1) Alex Pettyfer is a cutie

2) and because I have promised my Valentine's Day date that we will be going to the movies that night!

Yup, that's right, I've a date for V-day! *winks*

Catch I Am Number Four Movie starting from 24^th February 2011 and join the official Disney Studios Singapore Facebook & Twitter page!

Nuffnang G+ Lo Hei Dinner!

2011-02-11T23:54:00.001+08:00

Had dsc lesson today which I was massively tempted to skip because it was about Newsvendor Model yet again. I think this is the 3rd or 4th time that I'm learning about it, though this time it is slightly different. And I definitely made an impression in class - prof can remember my name and called it like at least 5 times? I believe I have secured my class participation marks already ;)

I was contemplating whether to go Orchard to shop before meeting the Glitterati+ bloggers. Good thing I ended up going home first to rest and watch Playful Kiss, because it poured so badly once I reach home! Brought my winnie the pooh umbrella out after that to cheer myself up despite the gloomy weather... and it stopped raining like 10 minutes later -.-" ANNOYING!

It has been a long time since I met any Nuffnang bloggers. Except for stephen, whom I met during new year's eve. Wasn't able to make it for the event in January because I was having reunion dinner at that time. It seems like G+ has changed quite abit. Not the same members anymore! I wonder how the change come about, and who selected the nominees for p and vp. I was shocked that my name was in it (but I didn't turn up for the gathering) because...I don't know much people?! Not popular at all leh!

Yeah, odd.

But anyways, back to the outing.

We met at Novena Velocity before heading to Cafe De Hong Kong located at Balestier. It is a tiny restaurant tucked away in a row of shophouses. And it was really packed - with old people. We were definintely the youngest bunch of people there!

Alot of celebrities came here before! Famous food blogger, Dr Leslie Tay of ieatishootipost has also been here. I read his post before visiting the place, so I kind of had high expectations of it.

Before we started eating anything, we must take photo!

Verdicts of each dish (don't know the name for all, shall wait for Thiang to send to us!):

Tofu with spinach on top was quite nice! Loved the silken tofu, the accompanying sauce was good too!

I have no idea what are the ingredients in this, I know there is abit of prawn, and other stuff mixed together. It was...okay. No idea what I was eating. But it tasted alright.

Normal, not much to talk about.

Wayyyy too dry! I like the crispy skin (I know how la, just dip in egg white mahhh, i watch enough foodie shows with Mummy to know :p) but the meat is like juiceless! Usually the wing is quite juicy, but this chicken has no juice la!

Pork item, out of my league - i don't eat pork, so i can't give a verdict!

I liked the shrimp roe rice alot! I finished it in a jiffy. Then again, perhaps I was hungry. The food portions aren't alot. Like one tofu per person, one brocolli per person, wthhhh.

This is definitely my absolute favourite. I love love love prawns! The meat was damn solid somemore, not those nua nua lousy sort! There was too much salted egg yolk for my liking though, makes it abit too salty. But at least, can tell that they do not scrimp and save on their ingredients! which is good! :)

The ambience of the restaurant is somewhat weird. Kind of kiddish looking, but it doesn't fit the crowd nor the food?! I don't really get it.

Terence was very late, and we were so kind to leave him some food...

like the front and back of a chicken! hahaha, it was quite funny la

Towards the end of the dinner, we had our lo hei session. Normally lo hei starts at the beginning of dinner, but we were waiting for Terence, so we decided to move it to the back. This is the FIRST time that I'm eating lo hei in a restaurant. All my lo heis are eaten at home!

First time I see someone saying all the auspicious stuff while preparing the yu sheng! Usually, I just put everything into the plate, without saying anything. Because I have no idea what to say!

And my verdict for yu sheng... homemade yusheng is still the best! This was so little and so expensive! Didn't taste very great either. The sashimi was freaking small too! I don't eat sashimi anyway, so I've no either whether it taste good or not. The past few days, mummy and I have been eating yusheng too, because we just treat it as salad, and eat it together with our dinner :) taste GREAT! :D

Total bill amounted to about $270 for 9 persons. At $30 a person, I guess that is alright for a restaurant, izzit? To me, the food wasn't totally amazing and worth the $30. I'd rather go to some zi char store, but that's just my preference :)

It was nice to finally meet up with G+! I think I am getting more and more quiet around them though, hmm. Different frequency ba! I will... work on it somehow I guess. In fact, not only just with them, I am getting more quiet in general, except with very close friends.

This is not good :(

Oh, and as you can see, I am trying to blog on a more regular basis (aka everyday if possible). But seriously, it seems to be taking quite alot of time! Maybe because I have quite alot of thoughts which I wish to just pour out.

Cafe de Hong Kong

586 Balestier Road #01-01 Eastpac Building Singapore

+65 6255 3865

Opening Hours: Tue–Sun: 11.30am–3pm, 5.30pm–12am (Closed on Mon)

Better call to make reservations, the place seems quite full!

Updates...after a 2 month hiatus

2011-02-10T22:56:00.000+08:00

This must be the longest that I have gone without blogging - 2 months! I was away for most of December, and I was really busy updating my travel blog once I came back from Middle East. And then came school.

Yeah, excuses excuses.

Somehow I seem to have deviated from my main motivation to blog. I blog because this is my memory bank.

Let me illustrate...

I was packing my room a few months back and I found a Casino Royale ticket stub. Somehow I couldn't remember who I watched it with! So I accessed blogger and searched for "casino royale". And viola, memory refreshed - watched it with NUS friends.

This is why I keep a blog. Perhaps one day when I am old and senile, I can read through everything and reminicise about all the happy (and unhappy) events that happened in my life.

These days, I know - I have become too commercialised. I tend to blog more about food or events which people may be interested about. Or when I have photos (which I spend quite some time editing, albeit not very well). Then again, to say that it is totally commerical is not right too. Because I am not earning much (not popular enough laaaa). So, I am neither here or there. I am in a limbo!

It is time to break out of this limbo. My blog should be more about my feelings! Heck the photos. Heck the hits. Because my blog should be about me. It is not that I will not write on events and stuff like that, but that should be like a side dish and not the main course.

well, anyway, here is a very brief photo update on what has happened to me in December and January.

NUS STEER Trip (8 Dec - 27 Dec 2010)

I went on a school trip with 24 other business students where we visited Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi. It was really an enriching experience for me. And we are really a privilege bunch to go into Saudi Arabia - how many people have you heard of who went to Saudi for a holiday?! A group of us extended 10 more days and explored Dubai and nearby areas in Oman.

I had a really great time, I love all STEERies! :)Thanks to shufen, seline, aziz, azhar, philip, and bernard for the company during the extended trip! it was AWESOME!

you can read more about my middle east trip in my travel blog: http://flyingoverpinkclouds.com/. I did manage to almost finish blogging about Saudi Arabia - will continue again when I've the time!

New Year Eve @ Marina Barrage

A purely random and rebellious outing for me. I was feeling pretty annoyed before that, and decided to organise an impromptu outing to Marina Barrage. Like everyone did not know each other (except for me of course).

zh (Penguin): primary school friend

Bobby: from nus, met during NUS STEER trip

Stephen: blogger friend! met during Nuffnang events

RANDOM ANOT OMGGG!

Didn't have a good view of the fireworks, but it's okay la. Better than not seeing anything at all! Next year I'll go to skypark!

The most crazy thing was the traffic. It took 1 hour to get out of the carpark because of the massive jam. I was really really tired! Mummy was also super worried about me driving - aiyoh don't worry la, I very safe one!

Meet up with Amanda (1 Jan 2011)

The first person whom I met in 2011 was my roomie! :) we bunked together in Saudi in the wonderful CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL! Amanda is a really awesome person and I feel like I can tell her just about anything! And she was so sweet to give me a bottle of sand that she collected from Dubai. We talked for 3 hours non-stop that day, till we almost forgot about the time!

Meetup with NUS frens (2 Jan 2011)

we had dinner at this place in Liang Court and it REALLY SUCKS LA OMG! I will never go back there again. I know it is really cheap but I'd rather eat Astons! reasonably priced and tastes good!

We then headed for Nectarie at Clarke Quay - super expensive place! I felt that the dessert was just...okay. It's just a nice place cos of the ambience. I felt like I haven met them for a super long time, and it was nice to meet up! :)

STEER Gathering @ MFM Central (3 Jan 2011)

YAY! love STEERies! :) We just parted not long ago in December and we start to meet up again! loveloveloves!

Meetup with JJ &ZH (4 Jan 2011)

Went to eat ippudo for lunch and then watched Little Fockers. It was such a terrible show! Couldn't believe it because I really liked Meet The Parents and Meet The Fockers! What happened to the director/producers?! After the movie, zh went back to school while jj and I had dessert at Ji De Chi! I love that place, but the PS outlet serves really little as compared to the Liang Seah Street outlet.

Meetup with Qiuxuan (5 Jan 2011)

Met rk's sister for awhile at amk hub to give her some advice on honours year. I don't think that I have a really sound knowledge of it, but I am willing to provide any help that I can :) And she has finally made her decision, so I am happy for her!

Meetup with Asian Markets Group (5 Jan 2011)

Met Tiara, Francine and Daniel at Nex's The Ship for dinner. We haven seen each other for such a long time! I really cherish this group alot - we were randomly assigned together and yet, we manage to keep in contact! In fact, this is the ONLY project group that I keep in contact with. And we are going to meet up soon again in February!

Langkawi Trip (7 to 10 Jan 2011)

Flew to Langkawi on my first asian budget airline (Air Asia). Langkawi is not as nice as what website paints it out to be. Perhaps because

1) we are too poor or

2) Dubai was too awesome and nothing can top that!

Okay, I think it is both, haha. Went with zh, sw and sw's bf - munhong. I'll blog about this in my travel blog after I finish my Middle East updates (which I'm not sure will be when...)

BACK TO SCHOOL (11 Jan 2011)

Had my first lecture today - Real Estate Finance! Was late for almost 45 minutes because of the heavy rain and the traffic, ughz. But it was okay, many people were late too!

Japanese Hotpot lucnch (15 Jan 2011)

Gh brought me out for lunch at Tao's restaurant's neighbour: Hokkaido Hotpot. Both are under the same management though. It was kinda pricey but the food was fresh and good! It is quite a large portion though.

Thanks for the treat :)

Meetup with Cedar Perc (15 Jan 2011)

Later in the evening, I met cedar perc'04 people for steamboat. Yes, I ate steamboat twice in a day! We chanced upon this steamboat at Liang Seah Street and it was really AWESOME! free flow of crab! I think I ate more than 10 pincers! and it was all for $19NETT! It was great to meet everyone, though silin and julia were missing!

Bizad Charity Run (16 Jan 2011)

Amazing, I actually joined a run! Well, we kind of walked throughout actually, except for the start where we acted enthusiastic, and whenever there were cameras. I guess the MAJOR highlight was when I fell down after I told nat/gh/wy that "let's go to macs for breakfast!" ughzzz. They keep laughing at me, IDIOTS!

Lunch with Nat (18 Jan 2011)

Actually I lunch with nat pretty often, like...definitely once a week? Just that this day, we wore exactly the same colour and type of clothing! What a coincidence! :)

Lunch with jj (19 Jan 2011)

Went to Far East Plaza with jj and told her many funny stories, hahahaha. She laugh until the whole chicken rice store stare at her! Well, but that's normal la. Walked around but did not buy anything. I regret not buying this red bag! It was like $23 if I'm not wrong - CHEAP LA!

Lunch & facial with sw (20 Jan 2011)

Met sw and zh for lunch at FEP (again!) and ate chicken rice (again!). After that zh went back to school while we went for our facial at Liat Towers. I was really impressed by their face scanner thingie which analysed our skin. I'm having really bad skin!! :( I think it is getting worse and worse - SIAN! I didn't think that the service was very good there though, not very comfortable nor skillful!

Sean's 21st! (22 Jan 2011)

My uncle/aunty threw Sean a grand birthday party at Tower Club located at Republic Plaza. It was initially supposed to be at Straits Bar, but the venue was not suitable or something, so we had it at another room below. It was grand enough la, food was excellent too!

Happy Birthday Cousin! Don't forget the free accommodation in Oxford ya! ;)

Kite Flying @ Marina Barrage (23 Jan 2011)

This is the second STEER meetup of the year! Alot of people didn't turn up though :( oh well, it's okay la. We flew bobby's ENORMOUS $70 kite! I didn't know kites were so expensive la! Ivan brought his small smiley face kite too. Bobby and I baked cakes too :) After that, we had dinner at Old Airport Road Food Centre before heading to Kallang KFC for monopoly deal. aziz had such beginner's luck! :p I kept stealing his cards, but still died in the end - omg KARMA!

Yay, that's all for my updates!

But I guess the biggest update will be this...

Gh and I have broken up. This is the first time that I actually used the word "broke up". People have been asking me whether I am okay. Thanks for everyone's concern, I am kind of okay.

Though I'd have really wanted to know what happened. Why did you reply "I dunno" to everything - did you really not know? What is on your mind?! Did you want this over a long time ago? I just wish you say something, I've no idea what is wrong. Did you not think about it at all? Did the feelings just disappear? How could you appear to have no emotion...

Sometimes thinking about it throws me into a mixture of feelings: sad, hurt, anger, confusion, Haiz.

You know, I fear alot of things in this world. Like insects, little animals, heights, rollercoasters, the dark, etc.

But now, my greatest fear is....

being left on the shelf.

Sinfully, Max Brenner

2010-12-08T12:53:00.002+08:00

Dear Tracy,

Congratulations on finally taking your first step into my chocolate heaven.

I wish you a FATastic time at our Esplanade outlet.

Yours Sinfully,

Max Brenner

After the BMW World at MBS, we headed to Esplanade because gh wanted to bring me to Max Brenner. Haha, I was quite shocked actually. Because gh is a health freak. Last time when I ordered some chocolate pudding thingie, I had to finish most of it by myself! He just took a few bites and that's it. Haiz.

I have always wanted to go Max Brenner because of all the raving reviews about how good their chocolate is. And I have seen it alot on ladyironchef's blog. Problem was, I couldn't remember what he had ordered! When I flip through the menu, nothing looked like what he ordered. So I just anyhow order some truffle to share with gh.

And after we ordered, gh showed me a placecard on the table, where the back shows the Chocolate Soufle. I only saw the front, didn't think i need to flip to the back.

Noooooooooo! I desperately wanted to change order, but to no avail. Because they have started doing up my truffle :( mad upset, but never mind. The truffle looks good too!

However, I think I had overly high hopes for it. It was good quality chocolate, but it wasn't WOW. And I think I am really too low class - I have no idea what to do with the vanilla sauce! Should I pour it over the chocolate? Or dip it? Or eat it separately?

*sigh* low class me :(

JOY IS BMW

2010-12-07T12:52:00.000+08:00

Start of my back logging entries again since I've some time now while conducting studies. So on 13th November, after gh's horrendous Week 13, we went out (after a very long time!) and he brought me to BMW World which was held at Marina Bay Sands.

I remember when I was in secondary school we always compared:

Would you rather have a merc or a bmw?

and most people will choose BMW because the merc is like some uncle car and most ah pehs will all have it. So being young, hip and cool, we must choose BMW instead! Well, as you can see, that is really quite a long time ago, now Mercedes Benz does not look that uncle-ish anymore, much more sleek and well, cooler.

My dream car is a BMW 6 Series. When I take the shuttle bus from my house, I will always pass by this landed property which owns a black BMW 6 series. I saw it a few times before at the kinda "common" exit that we have out of our estate. COOL LA PLS! And at least it is a 5 seater, so it's not a selfish car. I call all 2 seaters as selfish car. Don't know why people want them (unless it's their spare weekend car).

It wasn't that sparse, it was quite packed actually. Difficult to take pictures of the car without any people!

Here are the old vintage cars:

I don't know why it is all in red. Seriously, I don't see much red BMWs around? Red is like the colour for ferrari, anything else is just...pretentious?

There was this one tiny section of BMW bikes too. No idea why they create bikes, I HATE BIKES please. Can't believe my daddy used to drive a bike. Mummy REFUSED to take it though, she say she will take the bus, while my daddy follow behind in a bike (and thereafter, he sold it). Bikes are a menace on the roads, don't try to convince me otherwise.

Okay, one picture, that's it. Back to the cars.

And this was the STAR of the show. BMW's concept car which can change shape. Shit, forgot the name. Shall go ask gh and then update again. It was like 1 month ago can, of course I cannot remember. Too bad we didn't get to see it change shape though. It was basically there for show. It looks super fierce!

And my dream car was also on display! I don't know why they put it so far behind, so there wasn't much people around.

CHEATED! this is not a 5 seater car pls, the back got so little leg space!!! put what, dog ar. wth.

Other than car displays, there are other displays to showcase more about the bmw engineering,

and there was also a lounge area to relax (dare not buy anything, sure v ex!)

and also an area to put your little kids while you go in search of what car to buy,

and other BMW collectibles,

gh seems to really want this

and cute cars for your kids!

There were amazing alot of people at the BMW World. Well, main thing was because of its free admission. Free, who won't go right? So there were lots of little kids and aunties who don't potentially look like they are interested in cars and want to buy.

Some last pictures before we left BMW World:

High tension at the Korea border: not a second war, please!

2010-11-23T22:15:00.001+08:00

Black smokes arising from Yeonpyeong island
Photo from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11818450

I do not usually do this. By 'this', meaning to blog about something which is so highly prolific. I don't know much (or perhaps even nothing) about political clashes, previous North Korea and South Korea incidents, etc, so many comments below are based on my own (shortsighted) perspectives. It's not that I want more hits (please, I am not that superficial), but I am really riled up by this incident.

A very brief summary of this border clash:

North Korea (NK) claims that South Korea (SK) were conducting military exercises which exceeded the border - a border with South Korea abides by, but not NK. So NK not happy, dropped 50 shells at Yeonpyeong Island which is near the disputed border. This killed 2 SK soldiers and injured other soldiers and civillians. So SK retailiated by dropping at least 80 shells.

Despite all the finger pointings here and there, I think it is quite certain that the majority of the world would think that NK is the one who provoked the attack. Logically thinking about it, SK has so much to lose if they are in a war, while NK... well not that much on their side I guess. I mean, does it have an economy? does it have tourism?

What made me really riled up was after reading BBC's Triggers for Attacks, where BBC analysts thought of some reasons on what caused this attack, which to me was seemingly unprovoked. Here are 2 points which was mentioned:

Aiding Kim Jong Un's Succession - by giving him some military 'success'

Seriously, this is such an old-fashioned school of thought. It's as if we are living in the Qing Dynasty or the dunno what dynasty, where army generals have to win wars, before they are the overall general in charge of the troops. Or rather, it's like Hitler. Lead some troops to war, win, and then gain control.

Lack of Economic Aid to NK from SK

I didn't know this before - North Korea relies on aid to feed its people. Well done to the rulers, you have no money to give your citizens RICE but you can built all that nuclear power plants to potentially cause havoc in the world?! What communism seriously? I wish I can throw thousands of copies of "Animal Farm" into NK (korean version of course) for them to read and retaliate. And now you are biting off the hand that feeds you just because Lee Myung-bak says aid will only be given based on progress of deneutralisation.

Perhaps one day, your people will all starve to death and do not have the power to run your nuclear plants. And you can self detonate together with your precious plants when they go hay-wire.

I also read another report about how NK is appearing jealous of SK's G-20 summit, and they do not wish to be viewed as the "younger child" or something. But I can't seem to find the link again.

Someone seriously needs to knock some sense into NK, before it goes out of control and start releasing its nuclear power everywhere.

On a separate note,

To controversialists who claim that there is so much hype over this Korean border clash because of Kpop... Well, duh. Naturally you talk more about things that you are familiar with right? But I don't think that everyone is being superficial and to support South Korea just because of the Korean pop stars. Most people are probably sincerely hoping that there will not be a war because innocent lives (not just of Kpop stars) will be lost. And to compare it with the Iraq war is like comparing apples and oranges.

#PrayForKorea

Nuffnang Movie Contest: Rapunzel - A Tangled Tale

2010-11-19T22:25:00.001+08:00

Disney is releasing a whole lot of films this year, one of which will be in cinemas next week!

Presenting,

I am sure if you have somewhat of a childhood, you would have heard of Rapunzel, a classic written by Brothers Grimm.

"Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair"

Does that sound the least bit familiar to you?

The movie is somewhat similar to the classic, though with a twist. It follows the same plot of how the king and queen stole from a witch to restore the queen's health. In return, they have to surrender their child once born. The witch then locked up this child, named Rapunzel, in a tower. In the original story, the prince comes to her rescue (well somewhat). But in this Tangled tale, Rapunzel meets with a thief instead. And the story goes on about how she escapes the evil witch and heads back to her kingdom.

Did you know that Mandy Moore is the voice of Princess Rapunzel? Haven't heard about her in quite a bit, not in movies, not in music. I still remember her Walk To Remember movie which I loved and bawled like mad when I watched it.

Like Rapunzel, I always had long hair. If you look through all my photos, you will definitely never come across a picture of me in short hair. There was only once where I had short hair, and that was in Primary 4. A drastically big mistake - in which I will never ever ever make again.

Short hair just doesn't suit me; long hair is way more fun anyway!

Like for example, I can tie it into a bow...

My first try. It is supposed to be like the ribbon hairdo that Lady Gaga had in Poker Face, but this is a massive failure. Probably need a hell lot more practice. I really like it though, it is cutsey :D

Other than bows, you can easily convert long hair into short hair. Well, you can do it the other way round too, but that will involve costly extensions or wigs!

I am not sure what I did. It was like around 12+mn when I took this picture, and I was abit woozy at that time. It turned out okay actually, not that bad!

And you know the scene where Rapunzel wraps up Flynn in her hair? I realised that I can do that too!

With long hair, you never know, you may just catch something in your hair! Well, hopefully it's not something nasty like bugs ._.

Woah, I feel pretty amazed with my own hair. That is a porcelain Precious Moments Figurine and it actually did not slip off my hair! I didn't hold on to it at all, but I did put abit of styling gel into my hair.

There is a lot of things that you can do with your hair, and there is a contest now where you can style your hair in anyway you want, upload your photo, and you win when you get the most Likes! Here are my three styles, what about you? Bring your hair to life now at http://www.magicalhair.com.sg/.

Catch Rapunzel: A Tangled Tale Movie starting from 25th November (3D only) & 2 December island wide and join the official Disney Studios Singapore Facebook & Twitter page.

Reeds Cafe after MKT3412 Final Presentation

2010-11-15T14:41:00.027+08:00

1st November marked the end of MKT3412 for my group. FINALLY! Then again, I think we did not spend a crazy amount of time on this project, basically we split up, do our parts, edit, and then it was done! Quite efficient actually. I like!

We were the first group to present on Monday, I think we did alright. Should have rehearsed though, because we really exceeded the time limit by quite alot, even though we allocated specific time for each parts. Next semester, I will definitely make sure that I have rehearsals for everything. If I'm not wrong, previously, I had reherasals for all my presentations, unless it was those finance tutorial presentations.

Picture grabbed from Wy, subsequent pictures too

After the lesson, gh, wy, grace and I headed to Reeds Cafe for lunch. Patricia left earlier and did not stay for the other group's presentation. It was my first time eating at Reeds, I never wanted to eat there because of the expensive (relative to canteen) food. I was also apprehensive that it will actually taste acceptable. And I think the name and decor of the place is definitely a thumbs down too.

My eyes looks amazingly big here, I like :p I did not edit it!

But the food turned out not so bad, quite nice actually. Wy had the barbeque sauce chicken while the rest of us had mushroom chicken. So wy wanted to try the mushroom chicken, and asked us to cut a piece for him. As Grace was cutting for him, I think I was totally overwhelmed by Adam Couple recently that I was saying that she should just feed him. HAHAHA! Okay, it wad quite paiseh because grace has a bf, but it was just for good fun and laughter.

wy's totally 'shiok' face

HAHAHAHA! Looking at wy's face just makes me laugh. It's totally spastic! Then wy said that gh and I should do so too, but aiyah, it wasn't natural at all :(

Gh looks like this is super dots while I was just laughing. Haiz, upset. We are super not romantic, not like Adam Couple. *upset*

The semester is coming to an end soon, but to me, I already felt like it has ended since I am enjoying now! Technically, I need to use this time to catch up with my thesis, but I am still waiting for my prof to give me a reply regarding my results. I really need to start doing it before I head off to...

Middle East!

Da Capo 2010 - I wanna join band too!

2010-11-13T14:40:00.002+08:00

Picture taken with the Marist people

On 17th October, I went for the Da Capo 2010 concert at UCC. Gh didn't want to go because he was very busy with work, so I just tagged along with bj and his friends. I don't know all of them, but a few of us used to study together in JC. I remember that we went to some Bishan Reading Room before, and then at the nearby Macs. Then in JC2, waiyip, benjamin, jinyan and I joined the same Econs tuition at Bishan too. It was great fun last time :)

I have been super out of touch with band stuff ever since 5 years ago. Then again, I never thought that I was really into band stuff... hmm. But I was glad that familiar songs like Carmen Fantasy and Riverdance was played at Da Capo, because I totally get it, since I played it before.

And that was when it struck me, I really miss band.

That is actually a totally shocking statement if you know me from before, because I tend to complain about it when I"m in it. But after watching Da Capo, I realised that I miss performing, I miss the music, I miss the concerts, I miss the percussion section (which I dunno why, is usually quite bonded. Maybe because there are always long breaks between parts, so we will talk and stuff at the back). In fact, I still keep in contact with cedar perc people.

Wy says that I can join NUSWS in my last semester, as it will be the last chance to do something different. I totally agree with that, but I do have some concernts.

1) I haven't played for 5+ years, I don't even know if I still can play (okay, anything mallets should be fine actually :p that is hard to forget, because I haven't forget piano yet)

2) I am afraid of being left out. Even if there are new year 1s in band, they would have already bonded this semester, so I am scared to be left out. That will totally defeat one of the purpose to join band, which is to know more people.

According to wy, my worries are unfounded. But still, I am of course concerned. He mentioned that there will a pre-semester band session in December, and I'm afraid that I might miss it because I will be in Middle East. And that may make me lose another bonding session = more left out, possibly? In fact, I seem to have lost the ability to socialise as I grow older - and especially in university. I don't know what is wrong with me, or is it because I can't find people of the right frequency to click with. I envy the days when I was younger, like in primary/secondary school, where I have so many random friends out of my schools that it shocks me now to think of it. We don't keep in contact anymore though.

*sigh*

TenDollarKtv at Chinatown

2010-11-12T12:08:00.046+08:00

Since Elyn and Rk were both back in September, we headed for KTV on 27th September! This time, dawn ho joined us too, since she tagged on elyn's wall. I was a tad bit surprise that she came, considering she didn't know everyone. I think she hasn't seen elyn for at least 5 years!

Elyn, zh and I met earlier at Chinatown for dinner, ate at the hawker centre nearby. Elyn was mentioning how she could probably be coming back to Singapore for good next year, if she successful get the job at JTB (which she got, so she will be back in April!) Then after that, sw and dawn joined us (while rk was late as usual, WHAT IS NEW!)

I love tendollarktv these days, because it is cheap! free flow of drinks is a +++ for me. They give a bowl of shark's fin too, but usually it sucks and I wish they just drop it from the menu. I don't think anyone comes for their shark's fin anyway.

Last time, I used to prefer Kbox, because it is more convenient. There is a Kbox almost everywhere! But now, the kbox system really sucks, you cannot find singers by jumping to the respective alphabets, some singers are categorised under the 偶像 part, while some under the normal singers section. Worse thing was when Fann Wong was categorised under the 偶像 part while 张韶涵 was placed under the normal singers.

WTH?!? - condemns kbox forever-

Tendollarktv is really updated with songs anyway, not just chinese songs, but also English songs. This time, we sang quite alot of English songs (perhaps because dawnho eat potato one). And recently, I am listening to 987fm, so I suddenly know more English songs than Chinese songs. Rk was still infatuated with his jpop. I think if I had chosen any kpop songs, he might just roll his eyes until it goes to the back. ditto for xt and zh.

Here are some photos that we took:

zh totally STUNNED us when he started rapping Love The Way You Lie

I guess once elyn is back, we will definitely be going for more ktv sessions! We can meet up once a week for zi char session too, I am on the hunt for the best stingray in Singapore! or crab :D and on a side note, I just love flash photography kz, don't you think that the pictures are so sharp and the colours just POP!

I like :)

Bimbo Treats Part 3: Cotton On, Mos Burger

2010-11-11T22:23:00.013+08:00

After dessert at Sugar Granny Cafe, we left the outram area and headed to town where we did abit of shopping. Sw was looking for undergarments, and we ended up at Cotton On because they had $10 bra sale! I bought one too though, because it was cheap! I also bought a longsleeve sleep robe, but I didn't buy the inner sleepwear because I thought it was too expensive for such rough quality! I can easily buy something cheaper online or even at bugis street to match with my baby pink sleep robe :)

After that, we headed for Mos Burger where sw had her dinner. I stayed for awhile before heading home because I had to go to my grandma's house.

This marks the end of our bimbo outing - I am really in need of a shopping trip though! Lots to buy to go Middle East! Haiz, need to find acceptable length clothing, both for cold and warm weather. I really hope temperatures will be at around 15degrees and not increase to 25degrees, else I will melt in long sleeves!

Perhaps I will buy my first maxi dress too - time to go Cotton On again!

Bimbo Treats Part 2: Sugar Granny Cafe

2010-11-11T10:29:00.000+08:00

So after our mani/pedi session at Wen Luxe Spa, we headed down the road to this cafe in which we walked past earlier, called the Sugar Granny Cafe. When I saw the name, it felt really familiar to me! After I came home and did a search, I realised that I saw it on The Simplest Aphrodisiac's blog.

I didn't really take much photos at Sugar Granny Cafe as I wanted to, because I was impaired with wet nails! Ughhhh. I felt like an invalid without hands, everything had to be done so carefully, I had to take out my wallet so carefully, I had to snap these few pictures so carefully... :(

The ambience at sugar Granny Cafe was quite olden, with some new technology infused together. The Cafe is filled with those posters all over, and there is this scooter near the cashier too. I think the overall ambience is nice, and it feels really cosy! There were sofas too, but it was already taken. We were there at about 3pm, so it was shocking that there were actually some people there.

Ordered Mango Sago and Durian Sago (both S$3.50 if I'm not wrong). I think the Durian was really nice! Both were more like a soft slush sort of a texture. Given a straw, I think I can slurp everything up in a minute. The Mango Sago was okay, but the Durian Sago really shined for me.

I think I really need to go back there and take better photos, who is with me? :)

Sugar Granny Cafe

No. 5 Teo Hong Road Singapore 088323

Tel: 6224 9368

Email: Food@sugargrannycafe.com

Opening Hours: Sun–Thu: 1pm – 11pm , Fri–Sat: 1pm – 1am

Bimbo Treats Part 1: Wen Luxe Spa

2010-11-10T22:17:00.063+08:00

On 24th September, I met up with szewing to go for a manicure/pedicure session at Wen Luxe Spa which we purchased on Deal.com.sg at only $28! And it is a classic manicure/pedicure, so the price is reall worth it. And despite being 22 years of age, this is my FIRST TIME going for a manicure or pedicure. I always felt that such things are a waste of money - but sometimes, it is nice to just relax and be pampered :)

Wen Luxe is located near Outram MRT, about 10minutes walk up a hill to find the outlet. I didn't take any pictures of the entrance, but it looked pretty disappointing and not luxurious at all. Not like what it was portrayed on its website (which I am not going to hyperlink it since I don't like it). When we got there, we were led to the manicure/pedicure area, which is just after the counter. There weren't much conversation with us, hence I did not feel welcomed at all.

We were asked to sit down and wait. Then two staff attended to us - one of which was a trans. Hmm, I thought I will be totally eeked out since he/she attended to me and I have never been in such close proximity with a trans before. But well, I felt pretty normal actually. No eeky feelings at all. In fact, there was another trans at the counter, whom sw say was more trans-nish, since he did a boob job. Erm, I didn't really notice so much details...

Anyway, here are some pictures taken while we were doing our pedicure. Obvious reasons why there are no manicure pictures taken (if you ask me why, please go check your IQ).

A pretty clear shot of him

It's pink with silver glitter! Can't really see the pink here though

The manicure area

And here are the end results of our manicure:

My nails - Dissatisfied :(

Sw's nails

I had to go for round tip because I chipped my nail, and he had no choice but to cut it short. I think he lacked some expertise though, because he always ended up applying on my flesh, and then using his nails to scrape it off! I don't think it should be like that, right? *newbie who doesn't know much about manicures*

Moreover, when I closely examine my nails, there are bubbles in it! I'm not sure about toe nails though, i don't exactly put my feet right in front of my face. And at the end of the whole process, it just... ends. That's it. Of course they tried to sell the products, but it wasn't very enthusiastic anyway (not that I wanted to buy). And when I accidentally ruined one nail as I was putting on my sandal, I went back to ask him to touch up la. I think he was kind of annoyed, since he was heading out for lunch at that time. Haiz.

Perhaps the Spa experience is better at Wen Luxe (considering their pictures on their website, though I doubt so) but if you are thinking of going there for your mani/pedi.... please do not go!

...finding colours, love and you ♥ `

FOREX with GK Goh

ANTM Cycle 17 All Stars

Harajuku Street Style 2011

One Month at Work

The New Criteria

Nuffnang Movie Contest: Pirates of the Carribean - On Stranger Tides

So I Finally Voted...

Nuffnang: Yun Nam Contest

One Year of Madness

So I got my Closure...

Student Interviews & Surveys

ANTM Cycle 16 Episode 3

Relationship Closure

Interviews...to say or not to say

ANTM Cycle 16 Episode 2

Recruitment Talks

ANTM Cycle 16 Episode 1

The End of Recess Week

Borders Massive Clearance Sale

First Job Interview

Black Swan: totally possessed

Togi Korean Restaurant

Recess Week Battle Plan

MFPS Outing

Eugene's 16th Birthday

First Vegetarian Buffet!

Bon Voyage Bobby!

First Mobile Update!

Valentine's Day with Natalie

Nex with Cedar Percussion

CNY Visit: Xf's House

CNY Visit: My Babysitters

Nuffnang Movie Contest: I am Number Four

Nuffnang G+ Lo Hei Dinner!

Updates...after a 2 month hiatus

Sinfully, Max Brenner

JOY IS BMW

Sponsored Review: Eucerin DermoPURIFYER 3-Step Kit

High tension at the Korea border: not a second war, please!

Nuffnang Movie Contest: Rapunzel - A Tangled Tale

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Da Capo 2010 - I wanna join band too!

TenDollarKtv at Chinatown

Bimbo Treats Part 3: Cotton On, Mos Burger

Bimbo Treats Part 2: Sugar Granny Cafe

Bimbo Treats Part 1: Wen Luxe Spa