...

2012-01-28T07:30:00.000-08:00

When you tell someone you love your results is improving,

when you tell someone you love you got a pass with commendation for your internship, when you tell someone your teacher praises you for your well written reports....When you have to do your projects till 5am in the morning, and you need to get up at 8am the following day. You cant help but oversleep. When you have to juggle part of your mum's business burdens, runs errands timely, and responsibly.

I don't expect appreciation, I dont expect a word of thanks because i do all of these for myself, and i did all these on my own accord.

But really, if you think my best, doesnt equate to your sky high rocket standards, not even reaching good, fine.

You totally diminished my joy, and my only free day with your hurtful words.Words which i know were spoken on impulse, but i will never ever forget them.

I know you love me, i love you too.

But my respect for you has went down the drain.

2012-01-22T10:02:00.001-08:00

Posting it here, storing in my archives because i want to constantly remind myself of this.

2012-01-20T07:56:00.000-08:00

So disappointed at myself for being so insensitive, yet again.

I really have these issues of being kind. Seriously.

2012-01-18T11:04:00.000-08:00

http://www.facebook.com/weday

It's very easy to make someone else's day, or maybe even future better.

You just have to follow the steps here. It'll only take 2 seconds of your time.

1. Click on the link abv

2. 'Like' the page

3. And if you don't mind, spread the word by pasting this link on your wall and encourage your friends to join in the cause too! The more the merrier! ;)

So... what is this all about?
Actually, I don't really know the full details . Recently, i just kept seeing this on bus-stop adverts, and apparently by liking this page, some sponsors would donate $1 for each 'like' to the less fortunate. Maybe it's a trick to elevate their branding and instill good perceptions of consumers towards their brand but the thing is, these sponsors are not magnified in anyplace/where. I don't even know whom these sponsors are. I'm wondering though...
So i don't think it's actually a marketing gimmick, maybe it's purely because some people out there genuinely wants to give back to society, which is very heartwarming :)

2012-01-14T23:06:00.001-08:00

Doing some research on Starbucks, & came across this blog - http://peopleofstarbucks.wordpress.com

It records the funny encounters baristas come across, or funny conversations with their customers.

"A guy walks in an orders two Americanos. The barista asks jokingly, “are both those drinks for you?” The guy replies, “one’s for me and the other’s for the Mistake I made seven years ago."

"I’m diabetic… I know that drink has a lot of sugar in it… I’ll just take more insulin."

"There’s a guy who comes through our DT several times a week who is SO NICE he borders on creepy. I can’t tell, and I’m usually pretty good at telling.

Today he called me Sweet Potato.

That’s right, I’m a Sweet Potato. I’m gonna see if I can get Dear Hubby to start calling me that."

"Thank you for letting me know you are BREAST FEEDING. I am always curious to know why my customers choose decaf."

2012-01-10T07:35:00.001-08:00

Painfully aware of the very little sand left in the hourglass of my polytechnic life.

& through each minute, each grain of sand symbolizes the friends I'm going to lose, the acquaintances I'm going to forget, the memories which will fade alongside with time, but hopefully it will not symbolize grades trickling down gracefully.

//Yes, I still have time to eat lots of amazing food and to take pictures of such amazing-ness and blog so amazingly because like downhill skiers, I have pretty okay control over the gathering momentum though the end is manifestly near.

(Even though my face is on a pimple strike. One reflecting agony, the other demanding sleep, and then there's this one screaming for ...)

It's 11.49PM, and I need to sleep. I mean, it's healthy to sleep early right?

Good night world ;)

Oh Mr Erich, you underestimate the human spirit and soul. We can take pretty much reality. It's just minimal reality we can't take. In fact, human kind are conditioned to be faced with reality. Does death encompasses minimal reality? Does it? I hope so. If not, we would be invincible. Kinda.

I find it amazing how the amount of work I have has got a direct proportionate relationship with the amount of junk food I feed into my body.

When one increase, the other increases too.

So when you see me gaining weight, greet me with a 'Hey! I see you have been doing alot of work recently! Good job Jacqy!'

Appreciate that ;)

Mmmmmm!!!!! YUM!

Taking a break off reports

2012-01-07T10:00:00.000-08:00

Yum

I'm a little sad, I miss hanging out with stitch & J, & the many things we used to do before reports and projects started dominating our lives.

On the brighter side, it's only a handful of weeks left.

For now, just gotta face it LIKEABOSSSSSSS!!!!

2012-01-07T06:46:00.000-08:00

When is it my turn to vrrommmm vrrrom vroooooooom?

Coming Feb is my BTT re-test, would i be more streeeeeeeet smart by then? *sigh*

I'm such an idiot when it comes to street signs, and directions. No wonder i was NEVER a geog student. Damn. The last time I read a map, i had two motorcyclists spinning around the same area in circles.

Rushing reports through the night proved fruitful, leaving me some time for reading ;)

Had a spontaneous overnight session with white; she was reading, i was doing school stuff. Smuggled into my mum's office. Wanted to feed our brain cells with some pizza, went to the 24 hours NTUC nearby and grabbed some from the frozen food counter. Went to Cheers to borrow their microwave oven, much to their disapproval. At that moment, it seemed like the frozen pizzas, wings and radiation were the most interesting things ever. We kept staring at them & tried to stifle our awkward giggles.

Coming Monday, the list of things gotta churn up would lessen by a little, to

1. FYP &

2. 3 reports

Treasure

2012-01-02T09:08:00.000-08:00

My family recently returned from Philippines. Their main purpose was to

visit my housekeeper's family and to attend a wedding. Alongside with the luggages filled with their clothes full of an overwhelming odor, they brought back some stories to share too :)

My housekeeper has been with my family ever since my brother was born, & that sums up to a good 17 years. (Or 18 if you're factoring in the fact that 2012 is here!) And the 18 years she spent serving my family also equates to the fact that she was deprived 18years of time with her children, her grandchildren, and her own parents.

She spent 18 years in a foreign country which slowly with the long duration here, became less alienated... Yes, she's like family. She was given the authority to scold, cane, reject requests since I was young. To me and my siblings, she was close to a parent figure.

In Singapore, everything is served on a platter for us. We're always the ones being served, and not serving. And then we complain so much and kick a big fuss when the littlest of things doesn't come our way. On the other hand, in the little village about 2000 kilometers away, the people holds the word 'satisfaction' close to their hearts, live life simple but happy, and make everyday counts.

It's so heartwarming to see the family reunited, everybody with big grins on their faces.

P.s/ the lovely lady in grey is my housekeeper, & the one beside her is her mum :)

Les Amis

2011-12-30T08:31:00.001-08:00

Hafiz invited me to have dinner with his sister and a friend at

Les Amis; #translated to english: with friends

It was my first time dining in a Michelin awarded restaurant. Such an honor to feast on the gourmet delicacies presented by Asia's 19th best restaurant with top chefs and sommeliers from France.

We were presented with a 5 course menu, all of which are chef's signature dishes. Not only did they serve distinction quality food, the way they present the food is akin to consuming art.

When the food is served, the waiter will explain how it's cooked, and the logic behind each visual presentation.

Homemade pasta with white Alba truffles (Truffles; the objects of desire)

Poached Maine Lobster with sweet corn dressing
Thyme ice-cream; with cookie crumbles, meringues and lemon drizzles

Chocolates

We also had Mushroom Cuppa-chino (This particular dish has this name because when it's served, there's a thick layer of foam on the top of the soup with coffee powder sprinkles), baby monkfish - served with Maitake mushrooms (it tastes like lobster!!! Best ever )

What a gastronomic experience I had ;)

Thank you once again to Hali & Hafiz Yusof :)

2011-12-30T08:29:00.001-08:00

Here we are once again, at the bend of 2011’s calendar, ready to depart into 2012. This is the perfect time to recall, recognize, reflect and at the end of it all, give oneself a pat on the back, for the year we’re going to part with. In 2011, I was constantly narrowing down friends. When I was younger, I was spreading a lot of attention to a huge group of friends. But now, I am only focusing on particular friends I feel who are on the same pathways as me. Pathways in terms of thoughts and lifestyles. I am thankful and blessed that the friends who mattered to me in 2011, still very much does. In fact, I got closer to some people whom I’ve a feeling, is going to stay in my life for a long time. Hello Edmund! And thank you Yion, Clovie, Xiaoqian, Rifhan, Fizzo, Denise & Jean for being so wonderful. Thank you Katrina for making me look up to you for being the lady you are. Please, continue to be a part of my life.

And then there are opportunities which required a big leap of faith, but in the end brings you only goodness after goodness. It’s like hijacking into a rainbow and crashing into a big pot of gold. Going to shanghai and being away for some time made me

1. Someone who is more conscious of her finances (budgeting skills)

2. Reflect, reflect, reflect about life/what I want to achieve and where I want to be

Also, it made me foster a better relationship with my dad. It’s the first time he sent me a message which contained the words “I” “miss” and “you”.

The word ‘materialism’ has also opened up a whole new meaning and insights for me. I actually think I am becoming a victim of material pleasures, luxurious suites and villas and fancy restaurants. But thankfully, I am also effectively cultivating this particular trait called SELF CONTROL.

In 2011, I took up an appreciation for aromatherapy, an interest in golf and pilates and became a fan of M Scott Peck.

2011 is the year of which I realized where I envisioned myself to be, the standards I want to push myself towards, and received family support. Two years before I will be stepping into the land of THE BIG APPLE - NYC!

Most importantly, 2011 made me love life and my family even more.

Resolutions for 2012:

- Get a good end semester GPA

- Achieve my driving license

- Earn 4k a month

- Stay physically active

-Network, network, network

- Read, read, and read (be passionately curious)

COOKOUT!

2011-12-30T07:03:00.001-08:00

Had an absolutely amazing time catching up with the old clique! We don't usually get together as a group because Denise studies in Aussie so... it's only during her summer vacations that we get to see her. All of us went grocery shopping together, picking up the food we want to fill our tummies! Ed kept walking off by himself to grab stuff (which kept getting crossed out by me awww...) I'm sorry nobody shares the same tastebuds as you do, but I promise the next time we have a steamboat again, I'll chuck what you like in the cart ;)

The rest of the gang kept asking me if I have eggs at home. Hello, who doesn't have eggs at home!!! They were doubtful of my answer and wanted to buy a tray back.

I. have. eggs. at. home HEY GUYS PLEASE!

And then we got into a semi confused state of how many boxes of pork and beef we should buy. We decided that buying more wouldn't hurt. So, we kinda over bought stuff.... *guilty face*

Left to right : Ed, Me, Jason, Denise, Niko, Madz, Nic

xxx

Had another round of steamboat with another group of friends! This time round it was with Peck, Solo and Kai! Weibin joined later. I guess I love organizing steamboats because it's healthy, cheap, and it's in the comforts of my own home ;)

And the best thing is, everybody will help to prepare the food! And i think grocery shopping is fun when it's with the right people ;) I love tossing food into the cart!

xxx

Wenqin came over, and we prepared Beef Bolognese Spag together! I insist that it's yummy! Heh! ;)

Click the play button and get amazed.

2011-12-22T23:41:00.000-08:00

Bukit Timah Saddle Club

2011-12-22T22:07:00.000-08:00

Fizz's been golfing recently, so when he invited me & Jeremy to join him. I thought, why not try something new? Went to the much talked about Rider's Cafe. Their pancakes are actually pretty awesome, served with generous fresh authentic berries and honey drizzles.

It's nice to see people trotting along with their horses on a wide, seemingly endless patches of greens. It's a very beautiful and peaceful sight :)

No wonder golf's a social sport, you can actually dock yourself in nice clothes and work out at the same time. Might consider doing this weekly/fortnightly. Pretty effective for toning arms (I know, cuz my arms are achingggggggg!!!) I love muscle aches, cuz the pain would reap my body some good :)

When stitchy's back from HK and when we finally find some free time, we're gonna try squash and tennis!

2011-12-21T15:27:00.000-08:00

8 more weeks of school5 written reports &1 major project
C'mon... Focus.

2011-12-19T08:44:00.000-08:00

I seem to like staying in my room a little more since these pretty little things started sitting on my table ^_^
Maybe I'm mellowing and embarking on zen living. I'm beginning to take interest in stuff like aromatherapy. So far, lavender's tops the list for me ;)
'It helps to balance the emotions, is calming and uplifting.'
Check, check, check
Sadly, my comfortable cocoon nest would be invaded soon by someone called the SISTER who is coming home in a 3 days. *sigh*

Ca ca ca ca capeeeeellaaa

2011-12-18T23:29:00.000-08:00

Amazing place to hold a christmas party. A big thank you to bar bar's bosses for being so generous. Lots of food, turkey, chocolates, music and alcohol... They probably bought the entire bar stock here, resulting in people being thrown into the pool, flooding the entire suite. Chaos. It was nice to spend some time with Peck, Farid & Wb though ^_^ Gonna have another christmas dinner later at Shangri-la. This time round, it's gonna be the exact opposite. It's gonna be serene and peaceful. Thank god for that :)

For all the broke and poor students who loves Karl...

2011-12-18T02:05:00.000-08:00

Karl Lagerfeld is launching a new, affordable womenswear label, entitled Karl, which is expected to go on sale in January exclusively on NET-A-PORTER.COM Prices for the rock 'n' roll-inspired collection start at €60 (£52).
"It's my today's taste and style and a reflection of how I think a great number of people would like to be dressed now," Lagerfeld told WWD. "I just want not too expensive clothes that people may like and perhaps want to wear. That was my concept for a long time, but my business partners in the past wanted to be like Chanel or Fendi without putting behind what is needed to be like that."
The 100-piece range will feature evening and daywear, including timeless black dresses with plunging backs, silver jeans and vest tops. Although the collection will launch initially online, there are plans to open dedicated Karl Lagerfeld stores and temporary boutiques.
"We are thrilled and proud to be the exclusive partner for the launch of KARL," said said NET-A-PORTER.COM founder and executive chairman Natalie Massenet. "From the moment we saw the collection we were hooked and we can't wait to introduce this to a global fashion consumer for whom Karl Lagerfeld is an icon in his own right. The collection will speak to every woman who wants a bit of the inimitable fabulous street chic that Karl Lagerfeld is known for. And given Karl's fascination with all things modern, this will be a 21st Century launch - globally available, in-season for instant gratification and harnessing the power of the digital media and social commerce. It's truly an honour for us to collaborate with Karl and his team."

CATVERTISING

2011-12-16T12:33:00.000-08:00

Whhhaaaattt??

2011-12-15T02:11:00.000-08:00

Can you imagine this brand

in this convenience store?

Well, I kid you not. The impossible has happened. Consumers are purchasing Gucci from the convenience store in Seoul.

Questions running through my mind: Is this a publicity stunt? What is going to happen to Gucci's branding? Is it cheaper in 7-11? The consumers who purchased in 7-11 are happy with the level of customer service? (I mean, after all, it's a luxury product right?) How do they actually display the Gucci merchandise?

Let's take a look at the news article printed.

"Sixty years ago, war-torn South Korea was one of the poorest countries in the world. Now it is the world's 13th largest economy and

a magnet for luxury goods, prying open the wallets of its wealthy people as well as tourists.

Indeed, the country's appetite for high-end labels has led to the christening of a Louis Vuitton handbag as the

"three-second bag" for its ubiquity, with one spotted every few seconds on the streets of the capital Seoul.

A survey from management consultants McKinsey & Co. shows South Koreans are less bashful than other Asians about

flaunting their bling. Only 26% of those surveyed said they felt guilty about showing off luxury goods, compared with 49% of

Japanese and 38% of Chinese respondents.

Now, the fashion conscious in this country of 50 million people will be able to shop for designer items alongside instant noodles at

their local Seven-Eleven convenience store during the New Year's holiday season.

It is not the first time Seven-Eleven, whose familiar green and red facade is on every street corner, has offered luxury goods.

The chain stocked Gucci shoulder bags and wallets during South Korea's Thanksgiving festival in September and sold a third more

than expected.

"It was a big success, and we are thinking of expanding our luxury gift line to other accessories for the New Year," said

Seven-Eleven marketing official Cho Yun-jung."

FITNYC

2011-12-14T05:38:00.000-08:00

I have a new habit while reading books or flipping through magazines.

I take pictures of quotes and images and contribute it to my personal visual dairy to remind myself of what once inspired me, what once made sense to me, of what once I could relate to.

And this is something which I snapped, while reading The Teen Vogue Handbook

Quoted by Alexander Wang:

The other day, we were sending my sis off to somewhere in rural India to help revamp a library.

The ability of SMU students to plan, negotiate, source and churn up an well-thought itinerary solely by themselves makes me applaud. I don't know how they do it but they seem to have pretty good ties and relationships with airlines, financial policies, and strangers 2,200 miles away.

So anyways, my family (minus my dad. *sigh* work is stealing him away from us) took this opportunity to have dinner together at the airport. My mum asked me about my plans after polytechnic life. And it led to this conversation

Me: I have been doing research on my part and I have already decided on a particular university. It's in New York though. (And then I told her about FITNYC, credibility, school fees and living expenses,

Mum: Why not study in local or private unis?
Me: Because I want to be where the opportunities are. When I say opportunities, I am talking about networking, people, jobs, course structures and the fact that New York IS a fashion city.

You have to be where the opportunities are, and you should only learn, and study from the very best.

And guess what my mum said?

My mum later, uttered these words, which has since been became my source of motivation for doing almost anything and everything.

I am starting a new service line for the company, and I am hoping you will be able to help me out. You just have to collaborate with me, and we will work together for two years.

And two years later, i will make sure you are in New York.

However, I'm keeping a mental note that anything and everything can happen in the premise of 'now to then', but I'm hoping, that this will eventually and ultimately iron itself out. With consistent effort and passion on my part, of course. Not forgetting the big 'D' i have to tuck daily into the left pocket of my shirt.

2011-12-10T16:35:00.000-08:00

A song which channels me into the right energy and mood in the first part of my day ^_^

Made a little pact with myself to try and wake up early in the morning everyday because I realized I am wasting so much time by sleeping in till the noon!

Gonna head to the country club for some working out plus breakfast!

Good day ahead sunshines ;)

2011-12-09T22:50:00.000-08:00

Just came home from my Sat morning lecture.

A few directors of established companies came to speak to us about entrepreneurship.

After the forum session, I went to approach the director of PropNex.

Me: Hi sir, can I ask, how do you cultivate self discipline?

Mr Ismail: Let me give you an example. Would you want to lose weight?
Me: *nods*
Mr Ismail: If i can grant you three wishes, whatever you'd like them to be. It might be a million dollars, or whatever. But I have a request, and that request is for you to lose weight. And I'll grant you the three wishes. Would you lose 10kg in 3 months for me?

Me: Sounds pretty tempting.

Mr Ismail: There you go. Discipline people usually have a driving force behind them. You have to find the driving force for yourself. You need motivation, but you don't cultivate it, you FIND it.

Makes sense. Makes alot of sense.

TOMS for Tomorrow

2011-12-09T01:00:00.000-08:00

(Credits to The teen vogue handbook)

Posting snippets of the interview. This is too beautiful not to be shared :)

What was the inspiration behind TOMS?

Mycoskie: I was in Argentina on vacation In Jan 2006, and I noticed that a lot of local farmers and polo players were wearing these slip-ons called apargatas. I bought a pair and really enjoyed wearing them. Around the same time, I met some volunteers in the area and they told me about a shoe drive they were running for the local kids who couldn't afford shoes. I heard stories I will never forget- one was about two brothers and a sister, and they had only one pair of shoes, so the kids would alternate every third day to go to school. I thought, this is crazy. As an entrepreneur, when you see something that seems broken, your brain immediately goes to "How can we fix this?" The name TOMS come from tomorrow - the idea is that you buy one today, we give one to a child tomorrow.

"If you can find a way to use some of your profit margins to do good, your customers will really appreciate that."

2011-12-08T19:52:00.001-08:00

Best, ever.

2011-12-08T08:04:00.000-08:00

Ahhh, I almost forgot how refreshing the night air can be. It was a beautiful night with perfect weather for my skin to be glowing with sweat.

I was showed a new running route (which I will be sticking to!)

Hougang -> Sengkang -> Punggol.

The longgggg stretch of track is beside a canal which ultimately leads to the new reservoir. And beside the reservoir there are stretches of al fresco dining, little kids running around with sparklers on their tiny little hands and plants docked in purple lights. The finishing point seemed like a beautiful image to run into.

So ... I ran 10km today!!!!

I love the fact that my pores are opening, contributing back to the entire water cycle my sweattttttt ^_^

(I know, not exactly the best image to form in your head..)

Had awesome dessert with an awesome individual too.

And now, it's time to recharge myself. Long day tomorrow. Nights sweethearts! :)

2011-12-07T08:36:00.000-08:00

Chanel's Pre-Fall 2012

The colorful culture of India meets Paris. What a beautiful equation isn't it?
The unique culture and religious annotations of exaggerated jewelry, headgear, nose piercings, and the symbolic gold hue is brought one notch higher. It's comforting to see Karl Lagerfeld retaining the original structure of the traditional costumes of India. Love the emphasis of using voluminous metal, excess chains, and draping them across the face, giving it a slightly more edgy and street look. Maybe Indian couples who are getting married can consider buying some Chanel. Seems perfect ;)

2011-12-05T07:56:00.000-08:00

Ah, accessories...

Finally, I am able to look at all of you goodies at one glance. Tossed away are times digging through endless knots and frustration.

What I need for my table now is a Moroccon lamp, speckled seemingly fragments of colored glass which resembles the inside of a place for worship to complement my accessories and to give my room a little more mystique vibe.

Some fresh white daises too, to fill the insides of an empty Dolce & Gabbana perfume glass container. It seems like it would serve it's purpose as a little vase well.

2011-12-04T05:03:00.000-08:00

I don't think I deserve something so beautiful.

Thank you for your effort, and love :)

Adverts

2011-12-03T22:33:00.000-08:00

There's this thing about the big O....

2011-12-03T10:27:00.000-08:00

Opportunities doesn't always come dressed exactly the way you fantasize it will

2011-12-03T09:36:00.000-08:00

To: You

You probably won't be reading this but I'm holding on to the slightest glimmer of hope that you will. I will try to make my sentences less corny because i know you will be rolling your eyes in disgust because in your eyes, I am a hypocrite.

I admit, I am, because I have no courage to face up to certain things.

Do you know in Shanghai, when I spoke to you, it was because it was egged on by my brother? I told my brother I missed you, missed the times we had, and that you are one of my biggest regrets in life? I was very afraid to click on your name. Talking to me has became very awkward hasn't it? Especially after what happened to our families. I try to stop thinking about the good times we had but you treated me so genuinely, and that, is so difficult to forget.

Anyway, the main purpose of this post is from me to you, telling you how proud I am of you. Comparing the you in the past, and the current you, I can see a difference. And you know what that difference is? You are finally living, for yourself. You are more fulfilled now, aren't you?

Your adventurous spirit has found its way through, around the planet.

I am very happy for you, genuinely, from the bottom of my heart.

I hope your Mount Everest trip will be a success. Please remember to keep yourself warm.

Lovingly, Me

The curve of forgotten things

2011-12-03T01:16:00.000-08:00

Overgrown la lang plants bouncing off sunlight.

Mmmm. I can almost smell the musty scent of memories.

Lastly, the thirteen year old protagonist is such a pleasure to watch because she's just plain stunning.

2011-12-01T10:51:00.000-08:00

So, I heard... H&M next collaboration would be with Marni.

Now the question is, When will H&M have an alliance with Givenchy?

2011-11-30T10:07:00.001-08:00

Http://www.veloursocean.blogspot.com

Of everything visually pleasing. Express yourself through your fingers.

SUPPORT!

2011-11-29T07:13:00.001-08:00

Very very upset and disappointed.

Everytime I finish crying, I grow a little harder inside.

And i thought, i was just beginning to be a little humane.

2011-11-28T09:18:00.000-08:00

Eleanor Amoroso's creations are simply amazing. I dont know about you but when I first saw this collection, I was amazed by

1. the anatomy of the human skeleton depicted. Very morbid. Beautifully morbid though.

2. how much it reminds me of Givenchy's haute couture

3. symmetrical structure

It's a plus point for the fact that she uses ropes in her collections too. I love the idea of ropes on skin.

The strangeness wasn’t unpleasant, just unfamiliar. As if I’ve suddenly moved to the rainforest after living in the desert.

What i'm trying to say is:
It’s another kind of beautiful.

IMHO, I think she's an uprising star. I, personally am going to start tracking her works ;)

2011-11-27T07:25:00.000-08:00

Currently playing: Wake up by The Ditty Boops

I’m currently on the plane, 1 hour before I land on sunny little Sg. To be honest, I’m a little afraid to go home. Afraid because I will have to see my grandmother in a degenerating state. The night before I left for Shanghai, I went to say goodbye to her. I could see from the way she spoke that she didn’t want me to leave. My grandmother is from China, she left her hometown for Singapore when she was little. She told me Shanghai is for successful people. She said the people there are rich. She told me to work hard and not get bullied. I laid on bed with her and took a picture so that I’ll have a picture to gaze at when I miss her. I know that things would be different when I knock onto the bronze metal gates today. I’d be looking at a pessimistic old lady, bounded in a wheelchair. A lady who shouldn’t be confined in any way, because independence and the ability to move around freely is very important to her ego, confidence and psychological health. I don’t know how to face that. I can tell you the exact scenario which would happen. I would look at her, tell her how much I miss her, tell her I think of her all the time and give her my biggest smile while putting my arms around her because human touch is always valued amongst older people. And then I would have to brace myself and put on the emotional armor simultaneously because I only have to accept things how are they because all of these are part and parcel of life.

To be honest, I’m so sick of sitting on planes. I love traveling so much that I can say it’s my passion. My soul reaches out to what the world on the other end has to offer. But, I’m so sick of the entire plane-sitting -to-get-to-another-destination process. The only comfort SIA gives me is the hot towels, and the free flow of Baileys (which I sadly, have to abstain from). Maybe 3 weeks later, I would be on my way to Philippines. But maybe I would choose not to because of some commitments.

Anyways, I thought it would be interesting to share how we live up to the ‘retail student’ name. The 5 girls came with a total of 10luggages and guess how many luggages we lugged back? About 25. No wonder we’re in a course which grooms mainly aspiring merchandise buyers. We’re au fait in shopping. We have no self control even though we constantly try to drill this quality which is out of reach amongst one another. Whenever we tell one person to stop shopping so much, it’s like giving ourselves a slap in the face. And yes, all of us got held up while checking in. We got fined really badly for our excess baggages too. Really, really really badly. We could have bought any 4 Aigner watches.

Goodbye Shanghai, and when I say goodbye to Shanghai, I’m also bidding farewell to the outrageously high spending power I have there, restaurants, cheap food, the comforting weather, going for massages at 11PM, hairwashes at 10PM, sleeping with Angel & Cheryl, living under the same roof with Sunran, Jieying, Angel and Cheryl, our messy apartment, getting judged whenever I wear slippers, speaking Chinese 95% of the time, daily cab rides, metro line 2&4 espicially, leatherwear, layering of clothes, scarves, Phebe, Taobao, the smell of flowers everywhere (maybe Shanghai should be known as a garden city as well), Xiao Jia, Shan Shan, Tang Yu, Yao Yun, Liu Gang, Xiao Pan, 85 degrees, Coco Bubbletea, and the free spirit I had when I was there, and so much more.

I thought a lot about what I want for my life in the future as well. And I think I came up with a conclusion. I’m already beginning to plot things out, and marking steps as I move ahead. The people around me in Shanghai made me think of how I could improve myself as a human being too (:

2011-09-09T10:35:00.001-07:00

Even before looking at these adverts,

I've already conditioned to pair Volkswagen with the following status : 'a company with brilliant marketing'. Why so? Because whenever I study for my papers, the marketing and branding textbook would always cite their campaigns, videos and advertising material.

Friends have always been posting their videos on Facebook as well.

Volkswagen's ability to attract attention, arouse interest and create a desire in my opinion largely stems from the fact that

01. They have the ability to gather iconic figures to advertise for them. We all know that Karl Lagerfeld is a very pardon me (anal) man with sky rocket standards. He will never amount to advertising for a company because of the few minutes of on screen glamour and monetary returns because he already has too much of a surplus of both. Volks's history of good branding made the big shots want to work with them. In addition, these figures starred are also the epitome of goodness in their respective fields. E.g. Karl Lagerfeld = Fashion & Style. John Mayer & Slash = Music.

"Karl Lagerfeld is like the Einstein of high fashion."

— Abbey Lee Kershaw

02. Volks emphasizes on different aspects in their different commercials. They allow consumers to veer and garner their attention to the unique selling points of their cars. They do not plonk everything in a shot to their audience. Volks way of doing things allow consumers to digest the information, and retain these points in their memory.

o3. Sometimes, Volks advertising does not have a direct linkage to their products. It allows consumers to think what the intended message should be. It might translate to many different results but that's okay but at least it ENGAGES the audience. It's something like the, Cadbury eyebrows advert some time back. It's so impactful I'm sure you know which I'm talking about. If you don't, it's time for you to get out of your cave...

Such adverts encourages parodies as well, which might be negatively viewed but hey, it helps generate people to talk about it. This viral nature will ultimately positively impact the company because of the amount of people reached.

Allright, enough of my advert talk.

I'm gonna go drink a cup of hot milk and HIT THE BED

2011-09-09T02:47:00.000-07:00

I exclaimed in glee (and tried hard to stop myself from grinning too much) when I chanced upon two steals from Bras Basah. The book's really torn and tattered, but what matters is the content right?!
<3 <3 It has the old school musty smell. <3 <3 !!!!

Kat introduced this book to me which I went to reserve from the library and immediately got HOOKED on it. However, I’m only about a quarter into the paperback novel and I thought I’d have to put it on hold because I’m flying to Shanghai in less than 48 hours. I absolutely looooveeeee the book and have already listed the author in my mental shelf with the tag ‘Genious authors’. I am constantly fascinated at how he structures his sentences and it seems that the author is a living vocab book. Definitely food for the brain. Best thing is, each book is only $0.90!!!! It's like, I give the person two gold coins and still get change in return! Goodness gracious me...

2011-09-08T09:39:00.000-07:00

Managed to catch up with some old friends dating way back to secondary school in recent evenings. It’s nice to have conversations with people who have seen you grown- literally, mentally and emotionally. What’s really pleasant is the fact that people are forking precious time out of their busy lives, to gather for a bit and play their part in sustaining the intangible bond. It’s heartwarming to eat and chat, reminiscence and laugh over the memories we had. Hearing about the paths people have chosen, courses they decided to dedicate themselves to, big leaps one have taken – giving up medicine for theater studies.

‘I just, really, CANNOT imagine myself doing something I dislike.’

Wouldn't settle to be one of the busy worker bees reporting to some phantom queen. Hey, don’t you think this sound exactly like something which will come out of an ATC-ian? We live to do and pursue careers we find joy and seek pride in. We live to be happy, and money is only one the factors for choosing a career. I’m proud to be an Andersonian, and I’m proud to be from the Anderson Theatre Circle and I’m proud to have taken drama as my O level subject because I know the people who have came out of this all emerged out to have generous minds; and we are never afraid to do things which are not deemed as conventional.

I think I tasted yet the best chicken rendang too! And lovely meringues which tasted a little like nougat.I got my first green packet too! Yippie!!! :)

xxx

Anyway, I just left two of my childhood friends. We were on our yearly quest to visit our tuition teacher who has taught us from kindergarten to primary school! We were constantly pointing items out which seemed familiar from our childhood. I'm so proud of my friendship with LY & Jeff :)

2011-09-07T09:19:00.000-07:00

Meet Dumbo!

2011-09-04T03:59:00.000-07:00

Trying out a pair of salmon pink jeans provided both of us a convenient excuse to stay a little longer and snap a few shots. Thank god neither of us tumbled out of the fitting room enclosed by a curtain. I think we missed that by a thin margin.

So anyway, EXAMS ARE OVER. I can safely say that I’ve channeled in quite an amount of effort on my part and thank god luck was on my side because I did selective studying and what was predicted turned into reality! Thank you Kaye! Pretty confident I’d do well. Let’s hope this paragraph of words doesn’t jinx it.

It was a fruitful weekend, running errands and ticking boxes off my checklist. Now it’s down to insurance and vaccinations. Urgh, I’m such a baby when it comes to long needles. Besides that, I’ve been on this National Geogrpahic video marathon. It’s amazing how much general knowledge I’ve acquired over a span of 2 days!

Went on a brisk walking trail with my dad. The 6km we covered made me gain precious insights in the business workings, tactics and how I should go about if I eventually decide to settle for an overseas university.

Anyway, some stuff from books I've been reading which has stuck in my mind

'Humans have this tendency of short term thinking which has gotten many into trouble'
'What may be logical for many might be madness for the few'

2008 stats

One in four mammals
One in seven birds
One in three amphibians
70% of plant life
are endangered

2011-09-02T03:18:00.000-07:00

02. You can dance crazy and still look good in Lanvin.

2011-09-01T06:40:00.000-07:00

The sky's so beautiful.

The moon looks like a curved sword tonight :)

2011-08-29T11:20:00.000-07:00

2011-08-28T07:56:00.000-07:00

Kat's over in town for the weekend! It was pure fun shopping with her! She's such a disciplined shopper, she won't buy repeated colors, and designs. Combed quite a few areas, quite a loot she's bringing back I would say! And it's only the first day of proper shopping...

It was nice gushing and browsing through my picture collection of countries together. Shared our favorite titles, and designers. We have an uncanny resemblance in these areas.

M Scott Peck is still quite unheard of I'd say amongst friends our age. Both of us got excited when she actually knew who I was talking about... :P

Anyway, I am going to continue my exercise regime after exams, and finally, prepare for my Shanghai trip IN DETAIL. There's this particular movie I am going to catch as well : The Bucket List. Book next in mind: The Doctors by Erich Seagal.

Anyway,

Shangri-La ; Rose Verenda !

It's been a really long time since I last enjoyed tea, so it was quite a comfort to hold the warm porcelain cup in my hands :)

Am gonna wash up and study a little before hitting the lovely bed!

Have a good Monday ahead sweethearts ;)

2011-08-26T08:51:00.000-07:00

Dinner @ Shangri-La, The Line (22/8)

Lunch at MBS, Todai (27/8)

Kite Flying at Marina Barrage (27/8)

Freddy Frog high up in the sky~

xxx

Studied for 6 hours straight today, so worn out.

Gonna go drink a warm bottle of chicken essence and get prepared for tomorrow's studying battle.

Good night sweet hearts <3

2011-08-18T07:48:00.000-07:00

Everybody loves the idea of bagging BIG value.

Oh yes, CLUB 21 SALE STRIKES BACK!

What a visual galore Club 21 offers : Balenciaga, DKNY, Calvin Klein, Marc Jacobs, Armani, Marni, Dolce & Gabbana, Diesel, Jil Sander, ALEXANDER MCQUEEN etc.

Sale's from 18-20 August 2011, it'll be open to public tomorrow!

Let's just say me& Fizz got lucky :P

When we entered the sale area, both of us were like : WHERE SHOULD WE START?

(And then we kinda, like, lost one another)

Dolce&Gabbana heels. Golden stilettos.Selling for only $150 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was initially suspecting that the tag meant $750 instead, double confirmed with the associate, and HELL YES, $150!

But luck ran low when there wasn't my size, I was THAT near to bagging it.

Fizz got lost in his world of blazers.

Alexander Mcqueen, Dolce, Armani, Balenciaga blazers are THE BEST. Structured, emitting a powerful aura, classy, elegant AND AT THE SAME TIME, simple.

Timeless.

Bought a DKNY shimmery dress for myself, Calvin Klein pencil skirt for mum, & Calvin Klein's thin leather belt for sis.

And my total damage?

$100.

ULTIMATE WIN.

Alongside with my loots I got a zara dress too, at 70% off retail price.

Ah wait, I thought the Great Singapore Sale was long over?

Mentally thanking the rising of competitors in the retail world, consumers, SCORE!!!!

Gonna hit the bed early tonight, got a site visit in MBS tmr EARLY in the mourn(ing) ^_^

XXX

Random pictures!

Peppery taste <3

BAHHH KUTT TEH!!!

Marketing Collaterals for our MM project

2011-08-17T08:53:00.000-07:00

Haute Couture with a mix of the ancient Chinese element

2011-08-16T09:07:00.000-07:00

1. I wonder what the designer's mood-board comprises of when he was chartering up this collection. The first half of the clip portrays minimalism, the very basics of garments & colors, yet gravely hiked up to meet subtle elegance by the use of the gold plates .

Or maybe I'm just biased, towards somber colors with gold elements.

2.In my humble opinion,

Everything is so perfect, except the white boots.

2011-08-16T03:56:00.000-07:00

'All you wanted to know about Asylum but were too shy to ask'

Waaaaaaait, hold on.

This book's about branding and packaging! And weeeeell, with a really quirky twist.

When i was flippin through this book, I admit I was quite amazed at the designs and the concepts behind it. If the author behind this book aims to garner the attention of readers, I would give him a round of an applause, followed with a bow of respect.

Anyway, the book's collation is based in Singapore!

However, i'm scratching my head in utter confusion. What exactly is the Asylum company behind? Is it an independent local design company or?

xxx

XXX

Thought this was ingenious! It says 'Up to 50% off'; Promotional tool.

2011-08-14T06:01:00.000-07:00

I was having dinner with Ed the other day, & he told me about some of his bunk happenings which I find quite shameful. No offense to any NS men, I'm just sharing what I heard.

(Digressing, we had Thai food!!!)

Okay anyway,

His particular bunk are made up of boys (I won't say they're men) mostly in their 20s.

He told me that in his particular bunk, there is this Indian recruit who is always being left out/ discriminated by the rest of the pack.

Judging from his tone of voice when he said 'Indian', one can easily sense the negative connotations related to this minority race.

Ed claims that this particular recruit will react very inappropriately when friendliness is shown towards him. Such as, when they had some rifle shooting practice, that particular recruit actually pointed his gun at him.

Sigh, socially awkward individuals.

No surprise he would actually react this way, but keep in mind that this particular reaction is stem-ed from the reality of his minimal interactions with people. They are unable to leverage themselves to meet the acceptable standards of communal behavior, because they simply do not know how to.

Why can't we be kinder to these people?

Do you know how much of a hard time they're having?
I say that, because I know of such people, and most of them are usually very appreciative if you actually just, TRY to be nice to them, which is really, the basic of being human.

They know for themselves they're repulsive, they do not need to hear other people's laughters and taunting to re-confirm that.

It's nice, always nice to laugh with your friends, but at the expense of someone else?

What a warped sense of humor you have there.

Ed said he doesn't understand why that particular guy is always tired, how he would always head to bed when the rest of the bunk mates would gather to play Monopoly Deal.

Well, that's because the rest of the mates have already formed an identity, a 'clique', something he's unable to relate to, no matter how much he tries, because his actions or reactions would probably be deemed as 'weird' anyway.

The worst thing is, they would do things like, putting 5 ladders around his bunk bed (double-deck), to 'trap' him in.

Shall not comment on their level of maturity.

This reminds me of incidents which my brother went through when he was in secondary school. His classmates would do things like, throw his pencil case away, dump his bag somewhere, leave his bottle hanging on the highest corner in the classroom. I never got to know about these happenings till he told me years after it happened.

I remembered feeling sad, angry, and fiercely protective.

But I was silently proud of his ability to withstand such bullying, by being patient and tolerant.

He has already triumphed over his classmates by expressing these qualities.

2011-08-09T09:56:00.000-07:00

Run wild.

Run for your Celine, Givenchy, Hermes, Yves Saint Lauren& Louboutins.

Run for your quest to land your feet on every 196 country marked in the globe, conquer every continent. Leave your prints.

Run with knowledge, reading and expanding your great capacity for thought.

Run for the adrenaline rush; jump down cliffs, trek mountains, swim in waterfalls, swim with fishes, dive in caves, & enjoy the scenery with your body dangling on a string.

Run for love; Make sure the qualities you fell in love with is able to sustain & tide through a long long journey. & make sure this attachment is strong enough to forgo differences. Embrace the big 'D' with understanding & forgiving arms.

xxx

I mentally drop kicked Ed when he said ' Oh, I don't read books which pages are turning yellow.'

FUCK YOU!!!!!!

'Chronic dissatisfaction, that's what you have.'

Anyway...

*shrugs* what's with the excitement over fireworks?

I never understood the fascination over them. To me, it's something so standardized. You seen them once, you seen them all. No?

From Min Yi's blog:

"When you learn from the best, you get inspired by them all, and it makes you have a distorted sense of reality and raised standards so that you assume Great is Good and Insanely Awesome is Great ."

Agreed to.

2011-08-06T10:56:00.000-07:00

Timecheck : 2.09AM

Just got back from Kovan Macs, studied for abit, got a pretty interesting encounter.

My brain's pretty groggy from absorbing too much, so I put aside the textbook & went on to some light reading. Pretty much the second best choice I've got at that point of time.

It's this book discussing about the psychology of evil (People of the lie) by the very lovely Dr Scott Peck. Sidetracking, whenever I read this book, the contents and thought processes reflected always strikes an uncanny resemblance to my own. It's pretty worrying at first I guess. But my traits are more of the subtle less pressing ones, it can be described more of a flicker than a full fledged flame. I suppose everybody would have these 'symptoms' as well, I would like to think that it's innate...

After all i'm a pretty decent individual, or so I propose.

Anyway I think it's alarming because the word 'evil' was used in the text. If a different word was adopted, I guess it would have a more spongey impact.

But thats probably not the intention of the author. Mmm okay.

Back to what I wanted to say.

There was this old man who sat next to me, and probed into the books on my table.

Shared with him the title i was reading, plus the ancient looking International Marketing textbook on the table. (which is almost decomposing lol.)

He asked if I was alone, I nodded and he went on to sing praises about Singapore's level of security...

(Which I agree to the fullest extend. Okay sidetracking again, this reminds me of a conversation I had with Jacq Choo. She asked me the other day the factors I hold dear to when looking for a country to settle in... And I must say, security is something almost every Singaporean is taking granted for.)

Back to the topic again...

He asked me why I'm reading a psychology book & i said that bla bla bla it's relevant in life, love to hear other people's perception on why people do, bla bla bla...

And then he asked me... if i believe in God

My answer : Oh yes of course I do. I believe in a higher power.

He replied, asking ' So which religion are you in?'

My answer : 'Oh, I'm not in any religion. I don't believe in an organized religion. Guess I pretty much follow my conscience'

He said something along the lines of do not trust the conscience too much, because it is flawed.

Errr okay, then... Mr, next best option?

We don't have a tangible manual to decide what to do, or what not to do. So we're given this gift of moral judgement.

Everybody's conscience is working, it's just that some people choose to work AGAINST their conscience. They IGNORE their conscience, or that they come up with 1001 excuses to dismiss it, but the 1001 excuses, are only working along their own selfish lines.

And then he said that I'm still young, and that probably when I grow older, I'd have obvious spiritual needs, & I'd start my quest in finding the truth.

I was thinking at that point of time, that if he knew my family's background, he'd have taken his words back...

But mmm okay, we'll see about that.

Then he left, asking if I want his chips.

....

xxx

I bought eucalyptus, lemon grass & greentea + lemon aroma oils!

Eucalyptus reminds me sooooo much of Adelaide... Smelling the woody-minty scent painted memories of me crushing the plant's leaves in Kangaroo Island...

Miss Adelaide so much...

Sigh..

2011-08-04T10:06:00.000-07:00

Ah...

My supposed quick dinner extended to a 'let's-have-dessert-too' to complete the entire Thursday evening dinner palette. So i ended up having the pleasure of indulging in Bakerzin's macaroons & a slice of cake which seems too pretty to be eaten. Layers and layers of visible hard work from the pastry chef. The slice of goodness isn't only aesthetically pleasing, it was quite some delight on the tongue too!

After dinner, went home to accompany my sis to mark out her night cycling route. My brother followed as well because he's the human, walking GPS :P

Tmr's a self proclaimed holiday ;)

Afternoon's for Peck's! Then evening's for the books!

2011-08-04T09:58:00.001-07:00

2011-08-01T07:48:00.000-07:00

Mum's company is actually seeking for a new employee to replace the old because of her negative work attitude. Sat through the interviews with three possible candidates. Quite an experience I'd say. There's this section of whereby they're required to write a passage of whatever comes to their mind. Apparently, it's a reflection of their ability to grasp the English language & a possible frame to determine their personality.

Interesting.

Aunty Tina's over, Kat will be coming to Singapore for awhile in late Aug!

Something to look forward to ;)

Gotta finish my 5 page write-up.

Saw J's shout-out on Facebook 'If you walk today you,'ll have to run tomorrow.'

My interpretation : If you keep running, you'll have endless tomorrows for strolling.

<3 cherry juice with honey. *slurps!!!!*

2011-07-31T04:01:00.000-07:00

How lovely, lying on the bed with two other friends, with another sitting by the bedside sharing quotes, trying to decipher the deeper meaning of each. Sharing thoughts, thoughts, thoughts.

Morning came, & off we trotted, to surprise someone. Breakfast on bed, with a stalk of sunshine.

Gonna grab some thai in a while ;)

Dickson's 24th

2011-07-30T05:34:00.000-07:00

Yion gathered the help of friends who're closer to Dickson to help plan a surprise for him! Actually, all of us agreed to help because we don't see him as a friend's boyfriend, we see him as our own friend and we genuinely wanted to celebrate his birthday for him.

I remember the first time I saw him, I felt intimidated to talk to him, possibly because of his implants, and tattoos. Plus he doesn't really talk so he had this really untouchable cool outlook. Buuuuuuuut i know that i have to make the effort to be friends with him because he's my best friend's boyfriend!

Pretty soon, a friendship blossomed.

Im sure all of Yion's friends will know how awesome a couple they are, a good looking, retarded, unglam, funny & sweet couple at that lol.

So,here we go!

Card for him.

Lightsticks

I was constantly texting so that we know where they are, how far they are from the place & when to light the sparklers.

I was DAMNNNNNNNNNN kan chiong please.

Heart shape from lightsticks!

Sparklers in a 'D' shape!

Birthday boy

The birthday boy had in his hands = cake, balloon& flowers.

xxx

Then it was dinner! @ Wavehouse!

Did you realize everybody was wearing black?!?!

HAHAHAHAHAH

BYEEEEEEE

NEEDA STUDY.

2011-07-29T22:07:00.000-07:00

My academic calendar :

1/8 : IMR presentation
5/8: RPB's proj submission
8/8: IMR end sem test
10/8: Mall Mgnt end sem test

15/8: Mall Mgnt's proj submission

*chokes*

2011-07-29T20:47:00.000-07:00

Carl Jung puffed on his pipe. "Believe in God?" He mused out loud. Well, we use the word believe when we think that something is true but don't yet have a substantial body of evidence to support it. No I don't believe in God. I know there's a God.

The evil of compartmentalization

Human beings have a remarkable capacity to take things which are related to one another and place them into separate airtight containers so they don't rub up against each other and cause too much pain.

For example, we're all familiar with someone who claims that he/she is a frequent church go-er, he/she praises God all the time, believing that the individual loves God truly. But that same person, for example, has no trouble submitting to his company's policy of dumping toxic wastes in the local stream.

Compartmentalization.

Easy way to operate, but integrity, it is not.

The word integrity comes from the same root as integrate. It means to achieve wholeness, which is the opposite of compartmentalize. The latter is easy, the former is painful. Integrity requires us to be fully open to the conflicting forces and ideas and stresses in life, and take a stand.

- Further along the road less traveled

2011-07-26T10:07:00.000-07:00

Ah, thank god my tutorial's at 1 tomrrow so I'm able to fork some time out tonight to relay my thoughts into words.

Have been thinking about this for quite some time.

My closer friends will know that I'm someone who needs to have a particular distance from everyone and anyone. I don't relish the idea of having to account for somebody's emotions, even though this is so difficult to avoid in life.

But this doesn't mean I don't value friendship, or love. It's just that I do things in a very different manner. Of which many will misinterpret, and sometimes, on bad days, even I myself get very muddled up in my own stand and logic. I get so frustrated with myself, with how I choose to handle things.

My defense mechanism when this occurs would result in me taking a step back, or doing things which will result in the particular other party taking a step back.

Sometimes when I don't really understand something, or when I'm trying to understand myself, I take note of my conscious thoughts and reasoning, and also, probe as far as I can into my sub conscious thoughts.

Still, no satisfactory answer.

Anyway, for the past few weeks, I've been really horrid to a really close friend of mine. I don't know if it's my defense mechanism coming out to play, or whatever. She felt the difference in the way i spoke, my actions and the impatience I've been showing her. I know, I'm horrible. But deep inside, I know, this particular friend of mine, she's a keeper. She's a gem, she's precious.

Every single time I show my stupid attitude towards her, I will go home and feel bad about it the entire day. The worst thing is, she has never showed me any signs of impatience. She totally kept intact the loving side of her.

I've been thinking of Jacynda as well. It doesn't matter if somebody who knows what happened between me & her/ my family & her family reads this and scoffs. I've been feeling very regretful recently, and funny how this regret only kicked in a few years later. I am regretful of what our friendship could have been, but I am definitely not blaming myself for my thought processes at that point of time because I was being truthful to myself. We all have to grow up, make choices and learn from them. I do not think that my decision to leave the particular organization was wrong, neither was it right.

It wasn't wrong because everybody has the liberty to do whatever they want, it wasn't right because to a certain extend, by doing that, I am being a hypocrite, a liar, I was being someone who didn't know how to stick to what she believed in, I was constantly waivering.

But thought processes, as we are exposed to different circumstances in life, changes.

The friendship could have sustained something if I wasn't so cold at that point of time. It was so clear she was making effort, and I was just taking a backseat.

But I know, whatever it is, I have betrayed her trust. Not that I did anything wrong, I just did not live up to what she expected of me.

I'm not sorry for that, neither am i proud of it.

I told myself that this can't happen twice. I cannot let someone I treasure deeply make the effort while I enjoy the ride behind. So, I did what was necessary, talked things out and apologized.

The best thing was, I told her the entire chunk which I just typed. It warms my heart to understand that she understands, is so straightforward about the entire situation, and takes me as I am, even if I am not exactly the sweetest friend on Earth.

xxx

I secretly think blogging has the same effects as counting sheeps.

I feel tired already.

Or maybe it's just the time, LOL.

Sweet dreams, sweethearts <3

Givenchy Haute Couture Fall 2011

2011-07-25T20:42:00.000-07:00

(Click to enlarge)

RAOUL

2011-07-25T20:40:00.000-07:00

2011-07-25T03:09:00.000-07:00

Just bought an Accessorize fringe bikini at 70% off! I just had to exchange a red & green color note for this lovely piece!

Stocked my house up with Marks & Spencers confectionery as well. Am a die-hard fan of M&S. Love these UK savories. So affordable & good! Yumm yummmmm!!!!

2011-07-23T22:48:00.000-07:00

I just read from Cleo magazine that the average woman cries 5.3 times a month?

Ah, seriously? Mmmmmm.

Ah... yesterday was my official last event with Freemansland.

Am so gonna miss this chic, trendy & friendly working environment (& crew of course!!!)

But it's inevitable that one must move on, to bigger opportunities & the more important commitments in life. I'll still be helping out as & when I have more spare time for sure.

Even if i'm not in the team anymore, still have this certain emotional attachment lingering on...

Can't wait for my internship @ Shanghai! Got allocated to the Visual Merchandising department, which is really a blessing because it's a livelier job which will enable me to travel around the busy town instead of being stuck in a certain office all the time.

I'm certain this job will push me to have a sharper eye for details, for sure!

Will be working for this company : http://www.sierli.com/

Will be there from Sept to early Dec, the period of time when summer's transiting to autumn.

Can't wait to embrace the lovely weather & different shades of brown.

And not forgetting, the outfits which'll go alongside with it ;)

In autumn when the trees are brown
The little leaves come tumbling down
They do not make the slightest sound
But lie so quietly on the ground
Until the wind comes puffing by
And blows them off towards the sky.

2011-07-20T08:54:00.001-07:00

Michelle Phan.

2011-07-18T07:27:00.000-07:00

September.

Please come soon.

Lovingly yours,

Jacq

2011-07-17T08:32:00.001-07:00

Before you assume, learn the facts. There are so much more hidden and bottled inside.

People don't change overnight you know.

Before you judge, understand why.

Before you hurt someone, feel.

And before you leave, please, think twice.

Sometimes you think the other's leaving, but in actual fact, you're the one doing so.

2011-07-16T09:12:00.000-07:00

I think the forces of nature is trying to teach me a lesson.

2011-07-14T10:32:00.000-07:00

I am truly a blessed girl.

I feel blessed because there are friends around me who will actually make the effort to constantly make time for me, making sure I am remembered, loved and appreciated.

My closer friends, they are either working full time, or currently in the midst of grappling with their final years, or busy with their university preparation.

It's nice that at some point at their busy lives, my friends whom I genuinely care for occasionally stop in their tracks, and do small stuffs which shows me that the friendship is a two way flow.

It's comforting to know that despite the hustle and bustle of life, at some point of time during the day, my friends are actually thinking of me, & vice versa.

I mean, receiving texts like

'Hey sunshine, how's everything with ya?' , 'Sup Jac! Having a great time with your projects?', 'Hope you welcome thursday with your arms wide open, love.'

really, really really brightens my day up.

I feel really appreciated, despite not being the great friend I am supposed to be. My flaws trickles down the list on and on. I feel blessed, for the fact that despite being an individual whom has lots to improve on, my friends truly accept me for who I am.

I'm someone who has very high expectations of the people around me to be honest. I expect my friends to be independent, would appreciate if they have far sighted goals, etc etc. But many times, I tend to be overly critical, and lose sight at the fact that not everybody is wired the way I am. Different people live their lives differently, different people has got their own definition of happiness. Edmund is someone who is very very very different from me, but he is also someone whom i can talk about EVERYTHING and ANYTHING and he will never be judgmental.

He's very easily satisfied and this allows me to slow down my pace of life and learn to appreciate the finer things in life.

So thankful I have such an awesome friend in my life.

Anyway, met up with Jeff & Lingyu with dinner just now, was talking about how much we all have changed from 10 years ago. Our haircuts, personalities, academic achievements, passions, zest in life, etc etc. Sidetracking lol, we were never in the same secondary or primary school, we didnt have such fortunate linkage, the fact that we're able to sustain our friendship speaks aplenty ;)

Jeff & Lingyu kept making fun at my childhood sport. It was quite a rare sport back then. Still not very popular with Asians. My mum introduced the sport to me & my siblings. Baseball. Besides catching, blind men buff, rollerblading, & nonsensical games I make up myself, I used to play baseball alot with my family (and other kids who would pester to join HEHEHEHE)

Imagine a 10 year old whom barely reached the 110CM mark dragging her bat across the field.

Now i wonder, where is my lovely wooden bat which smells of grass & soil?

Jeff was a very dim kid, he was constantly being scolded and caned by our tutor. I remembered being the bully in our tuition center, I was constantly asking people to show me their pencil cases (lol i was very fascinated with stationary). And i would ask them to give me something which catches my eye. Nobody would ever say no. LOL. Cuz i was like the teacher's pet or something, I was a very ba(4) dao(4) girl. I kept poking him cuz i'm sitting on the second row, he was sitting on the front. Kept poking and poking and poking him, and demanded he give me his stationary LOLLLLLL!!!!

Lingyu, is always my partner in crime ;)

It's like, I always have her back, and she will always have mine.

Lol, so now, fast forward 10 years after, many things have changed, circumstances in life which has molded us for who we are right now, our strive to do well in life, to be successful, to never settle for anything we deem as second has again, bonded us in an entirely different manner.

BUTTTTT

The two will never FAIL to remind me of how much a tyrant I was back then. Lingyu thinks it's funny how a bully could be fitted in such a small frame, behind the geeky oval spectacles I had. Not forgetting the hairstyle I sported - MUSHROOM HEAD till MY EARS.

HA HAHAHAHAHAHA.

Ugly is a compliment to that seriously. Even photoshop wouldnt have made me look better.

Now, when I'm climbing with Jeff (Lingyu will be joining us - HIP HIP HURRAY!)

He will always set difficult routes for me while bouldering, and while climbing high walls, when Im stuck midway & in a desperate attempt for him to belay me down, he will say something like

'Last time .... i was always bullied by someone... So....'

All in all, I'm so so so glad, my two friends here are doing so well in life.

Continue to strive, and continue to be the awesome people you already are.

I'm so so so proud of you two :)

xxx

Pictures over the past week...

LOVEEEE YONG TAU FU!

Espically when there's lots of golden mushrooms and cheese tofu with chinchaluk!!!!

2011-07-13T09:11:00.000-07:00

Hi Jacynda,

if you are reading this (which I have no reason to think why you should even bother),

I would just like you to know that, I am thinking of you.

That's all.

Good night.

2011-07-12T08:49:00.000-07:00

A wise man told me ...

'Life is not about the next best option when the going gets tough.

Life is about the best. So hang on there.'

I'll always mark your words :)

The 3rd final year race is getting a little tiring.

Besides the heap of projects which is an infamous trait of the third year, there're tests sprinkled here and there, events, revisions and exams.

It really is a test to everybody's determination, focus and endurance.

The entire cohort is in this with me, so I gotta lift my spirits up and run this last race well.

I have to remember, this is a marathon, not a 300M relay.

And in life, there are many many many other marathons to run.

Run well jacq :)

A secondary four teacher told me this once before,

only the strong survives

We will leave no regrets, only when we have tried our best.

And the best shouldn't be determined by anybody else, except yourself.

No one can bring you down, if you don't allow them to.

2011-07-11T03:32:00.000-07:00

've been hearing/seeing very good reviews about this particular title - The Kite Runner since years ago, but never really got down to reading/watching it because honestly, the title doesn't appeal to me. But after watching it, I understand why it's top listed in reviews, and why it is an award winning film. My heart went out to the characters involved. Such a tear jerker.

Damn, even after watching, my heart still feels heavy.

Aaaaaah, craving for some Pizza Hut's Pizza!!! Yummy chewwwwwy dough.

Mmmmmmm

2011-07-09T12:00:00.000-07:00

7/10/2011, 3.02AM

Sis's out for night cycling, which means, I have the entire room to myself!

Love this temporary personal space.

Switched the air con on, Enya's CD is playing, & after typing this, I'd be reading a book by Dr Scott Peck, discussing about the many grey areas of euthanasia.

I love his books!!!!

YIPPIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2011-07-03T07:03:00.000-07:00

Summarizing my past few days...

Wasn't feeling exceptionally positive & spirits were kinda low after a phone call plus a fusion of other occurances. Exercise got back to routine (phewwwww!!!!), and my mind was practically racing alongside with my legs. Talked to reese about some of the things which serves as a personal baggage, and through his advice, I managed to look at the issues with a broader perspective, and get things sorted out. Thank you reese, thank you for always being such a precious friend. Thank you for helping me to take a step back, to look at the bigger and fuller picture I fail to see. Everything is so simple, humans complicate the entire system.

Also, revisited some places with Ed I never wanted to, & 've always been keeping close to myself

Pretty pleased with my exam results, hard work really pays off.

Can't wait to finish this final leap, this final year.

Can't wait for 8 weeks later.

My week ended in beautiful rays, with perfect company, awesome movie, home cooked dinner, two slices of cake, homemade chocolates and a little pouch, filled with love.

Feeling a tad tired, gonna snooze in a while!

This song is so relaxing, I can listen to it for hours.

Life is really, so beautiful.

2011-07-01T05:35:00.000-07:00

" Your house smells like sunlight on sheets"

"Isn't a smoking section in a restaurant like a peeing section in a pool?"

XXX

@ Kids section, SK Lib.

Look at the shoes this pretty little fairy has.

Nike !!!!!

2011-06-29T04:31:00.001-07:00

It's funny how Hotel California reminds me of Lombok, & how Tokyo Drift reminds me of Thailand.

2011-06-27T23:19:00.000-07:00

Some interesting articles which I came across & would love to share ...

1. Fitness First Busstop Scale Ads

Fitness First's idea of putting on weighing scales on bus stop seats.

Embarrassing much?

2. Charles & Keith & LVMH has became sole mates.

Charles & Keith, is own partly owned (20%) by French Luxury giant Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy (LVMH)

Some brands under LVMH: Louis Vuitton, Celine, Givenchy, Tag Heuer, Fendi, etc...

Okay surprisingly, Sephora is also under LVMH.

Mmm, food for thought.

Anyway, some pictures of Charles & Keith's posters and advert materials ...

And now, take a look at Gucci's & LV's ads...

Don't they portray a striking resemblance in terms of the image of the brand?

3. Do you know that in France, sales promotions are only limited to two months?

Specifically, January & August.

If retailers are to hold sales promo in other months besides these two, it'd be considered illegal.

4. Stop eating Chicken Mcnuggets.

Read this :

http://www.naturalnews.com/032820_Chicken_McNuggets_ingredients.html

2011-06-27T04:18:00.000-07:00

Much love to my new batik kaftan like top!

Allrighto! Gonna go for a short run, before heading back to get a project done!

2011-06-25T23:57:00.000-07:00

Listening to classical music while doing individual assignment.

Hopefully this will stimulate some of my brain cells.

Guess who got hold of the latest Jodi Picoult novel?

;)

2011-06-19T09:11:00.000-07:00

Christopher Kane must have a really colorful soul and brains, (maybe his childhood snack was fruit loops), transforming and compacting colors of the world, swirling them together to create a perfect mix.

Everytime I see a piece of his creation, it reminds me of a natural disaster, taking a disguised and beautiful form, almost pushing me to believe that the destruction of volcanoes are worth this amazing visual impact. Meteors, Galaxies, Star bursts, Eruptions, Smoke, Ash.

Nature and tragedies portrayed in an absolutely different form.

I believe you can actually frame his creations and sell them as artworks.

He must have brains like this:

Stunning. Every piece is stunning by themselves.

I don't like the shoes though, not much of a personal liking to furry stuffs.

2011-06-18T12:57:00.000-07:00

I have no idea why some people feels so comfortable flirting around.

Do they gather a sense of self welled pride when they do so?

Do they feel good?

I really do not understand.

Fuck, if i say anything which has to remotely be associated with romance, I must really have feelings for that someone. I have tried to flirt before, but I felt damn bad. Not because I am leading someone on, I felt bad for myself. I felt extremely disgusted and annoyed. At myself.

These are the people who drastically lowers the initial meaning of certain words, or the impact of sentences or words which -90% of the ears should hear, or hearts should feel.

Words become so bloody cheap because of people like you guys.

Words become so worthless till Chris Medina came up with 'What are words' to slam them in your faces.

Like... this scenario

Male: *passes me a chocolate*

Me: Thanks

Male: *passes me another chocolate* No, this one, I feed you.

Can i feed you?

Me: ..... What the fuck?

Or like, people who isn't even close to me texting me, saying they miss me.

Fuck off.

Fuck very very far away from me.

These are the people who probably have a group contact called, maybe 'People I flirt with'. And under this group, they probably have like, 30 names, and when they feel lonely, or bored, they will mass send a text which says something like.

'Hi... How are you? I miss you. Do you miss me?

AND THESE ARE PEOPLE WHO I DONT EVEN KNOW THEIR SURNAMES

Gosh, please, start to be true to yourself.

Anyway, on a much much much much much much much lighter note,

I think i.... am starting to ....

It's 4.40AM & I gotta wake @ 8AM to meet Jeff to rockclimb.

Now the question is.........

CAN I WAKE UP?

2011-06-17T20:54:00.001-07:00

Every bad experience will eventually turn out to be the best experience.

2011-06-16T08:30:00.000-07:00

Lusting for Zara's green heels. It has gold stilettos. GOLD STILETTOS. Mmmm.

But sigh it's so costly, more expensive than my entire outfit put together.

Impulse shopped @ MAC while waiting for my tall tanned gorgeous babe. Bought a mascara. The lady had beautiful makeup on. Fucking good color combination and blending of the eyeshadow. Gorgeous.

Bought a pair of red stilettos, & my sis just gave me her Aldo's black ones which she hasn't even worn before. Great, it'd be perfect if I have a shoe cabinet of my own.

Eyeing this particular Zara's white silk top & orange dress.

Effortless.

xxx

These days, I think i 'm going to die from an overdose of satisfaction.

too much heaven.

I think I'll need to stop work for awhile after this week, and after I'm back from my comm trip. I need some time for my friends, for getting my exercising route back on track (Rock climbing & blading I'M BACK FOR U!), and some time for myself, to chill in bookstores and libraries. Miss that. Need some time to restore myself.

I think I did pretty allright for the final interview.

It helps that the interviewer's really friendly, and we were actually laughing throughout the half an hour.

*crosses fingers*

Please.

2011-06-14T08:29:00.000-07:00

Whenever I hear this, it reminds me of morning because ...

this is my alarm ring tone.

But it's a good tune to wake up to isn't it? ;)

2011-06-14T05:10:00.000-07:00

The song I love to put my ipod on replay till it annoys the shit out of peck.

Guess she'd know.

The few songs i will actually listen from start to end.

while watching the gorgeous view outta the train window, single details of train cabins and train tracks as we zipped from one city to another.

Orange yellow rising sun.

Mmmm.

Grandmother just got discharged from the hosp today, heard from aunt that she created drama in the hosp ytd night. Because she just got a hip op, nurses wheeled her to the aisle so that they'd be able to cater to her needs and look after her better. My grandmother was very displeased because she finds it improper to be exposed to the patients and people walking to and fro while she's sleeping.

There was some miscommunication problem as well, and she punched the nurse, and walked back to her bed by herself.

Other patients wont be able to walk independently after a hip op.

She could, and she's 82.

Amazing.

O.O

'When's your birthday?'

'I was born in 1977'

'When is it?'

'I was born on a Tuesday.'

'....'

2011-06-13T06:46:00.000-07:00

The best way is to look around, consider your options, then do the thing

which gives you the biggest knots in your stomach. Notice what scares

you most, then grab life with both sweaty palms.

Please excuse me while i chase my dreams.

2011-06-11T22:12:00.000-07:00

Cycling, down streets.

/ Gonna head for my fav ban mian! Time for some facial too, clearing away the evidence of stress I've been facing for mid sem test week ;)

2011-06-10T08:32:00.000-07:00

Good evenin' darlings!

Lemon Tree's tune is stuck in my head right now,

such a spirit lifting song ;)

Cleared my wardrobe, gave away 1 pair of slingback sandals & a pair of Adidas amongst many many many clothes to my younger cousin who was over from Msia for a visit.

As I was digging my shoe rack and closet, I uncovered many many pairs of heels I bought when I was in secondary school. Was very into the strap details, not anymore.

And I questioned myself, why was I so into strap details?!?!?!

Because it looks complicated maybe? O.O

I have 11 pairs of heels, frequenting only 2 or 3.

That's weird, why do i have so many pairs of heels when I'm always in slippers?

I should have 11 pairs of slippers and 2 or 3 pairs of heels!

I guess there's a satisfaction when there is mass, numbers count, (pun intended LOL)

Bought a red maxi skirt, to do some colorblocking.

Bought some fanciful paper and some glue as well, am preparing to make a card for a very special lady. I never had the artistic genes in me. When I draw, people scoff and laugh. Trust me. But I hope this wouldn't end up too bad :\

Grandmother's going to stay with my family, I'm pretty excited to talk to her more often, and take care of her :)

2011-06-09T09:35:00.001-07:00

My life might not be perfect,

but the people around me are ;)

2011-06-08T09:44:00.001-07:00

It looked like spikes of ice in the cold, lost frozen sea.

Now it looks like grass, in the plain wilderness.

I love having quality conversations.

Yet another round, with my uncle & my brother.

I have always known milk as a great agent for relieving gastric discomfort. But today, I understood how it worked, and that it serves as a short term relief, and that the first batch of milk from cows expedite the healing process.

I always thought chicken legs contains clumps of fat, but it's actually full of collagen.

And cartilage against cartilage is 10 x more slippery than ice on ice.

Bypass surgery harvests leg veins O.O

xxx

Package of love.

Anyway, was studying in the lib and there was this crowd of students sitting beside me.

And i thought it was alright for them to discuss their work so long they do not disrupt other people's thought processes by keeping their volume down since 90% (beside that 10% of annoying oranges) of the people there were either reading or studying.

But their voices got louder and LOUDER AND LOUDER.

and there were more people, and more people AND MORE PEOPLE joining their orange gang.

They had notes on their tables, and they were discussing crap, like imitating how their teachers talk for like 5 minutes, then back to their notes for 3 minutes, then their nonsense for 5 other fucking minutes.

I seriously don't give two bloody hoots if they wish to disrespect their teachers, or even if they end up discussing about their friend making out with their friend's boyfriend.

Or maybe they saw some fucking UFO or a cow with wings.

Discuss all these stupid things and continue your bitching ways in maybe, Starbucks, and not the library WHERE SILENCE IS GOLDEN.

I was reading my notes,

'appeals to price sensitive consumers and SHE TALKS LIKE THIS, CLASS, I NEVER GOT A B FOR MATH, appeals to price sensitive consumers *inserts alot of laughter* price sensitive consumers.'

I bloody hate people who teh too much, i mean it's okay to act cute and teh with your boyfriend once in a while because guys have a certain liking for girls who does that SOME OF THE TIME.

And there was this girl who kept going like

'Eeeeeeeeeeeeeee, I dont know howwwwwwwwwWwwww to do thissSSssssssssss. HoWwwWWwwWwwwww?'

I tell you how want?

Go fuck yourself.

2011-06-07T19:54:00.000-07:00

Distilled Water >French Alps

Window seat girl ;)

2011-06-07T07:23:00.000-07:00

Had an awesome conversation with a guest at my place, we were discussing about fashion, reality TV, books, opportunities overseas, degrees and love, with her mother who is my mum's business partner chipping in some of the time making us laugh our asses off.

I exclaimed at the pile of shoes she bought. Yes PILE. And judging from her looks, the way she dresses, and interests, I expected her to be skewed towards the Arts when I asked about the degree she's taking. And guess what, she's actually in Medical school, & she's a scholar, top 3 in Medical school.

Anddddddddd I was likeeeeeeeeeee,

Babe, are you fucking kidding me?

All rounded pretty doctor with a sense of fashion. I always admired people who are intellectually inclined.

Respect.

And, her boyfriend's a lawyer.

I think they belong to the elite group of elites.

AND SHES NICE.

Fuck, that disables me to HATE HER THATS THE WORST PART.

Okay drifting away from this,

it's only the second day into the week and it's already a hurricane.

Received 1 good news, & 1 bad news.

And both news has the potential to make or break me.

Been consistent in putting in effort to study, been quite disciplined and this I guess will pay off.

Let's see how everything turns out to be.

But right now, I'm chill ;)

2011-06-04T04:32:00.000-07:00

As Rif says ' i know my worth.'

;)

2011-06-03T08:40:00.000-07:00

I cannot fully utilize my blogspot because I am unable to share a very significant amount

of things which I'd rather choose to keep private.

Would opt for the traditional pen and paper, even though literal writing doesn't really appeal to me.

Will continue to blog in this space though, but would only share the more general and non intrusive parts.

This week has been a crazy week. Fair share of good and bad things happening, neutralizing the mix. Those tears which I shed, I would like to label them as tears of strength.

This emotional breakdown reminded me of how much I want this golden opportunity,

but whatever it is, however the results might reflect, I'll always keep in mind that there is a greater scheme of things, and everything happens for a reason.

If i fail this time round, it will only push me to try harder.

It will only push me to prove myself to people and more importantly, myself.

It will only act as a catalyst for me to grow, for me to set my goals in view.

2011-05-28T09:49:00.000-07:00

Foccacia Bread, Parsley(LUVVV), Baby Carrots, Bagel w cream cheese...

How many seemingly best & unforgettable days of your life took a twist & actually turned out to be your worst?

Love wearing platforms, but I seek pleasure in the comfortable good old slippers any time.

Opening packages are like giving yourself a surprise, because most of the time, you

forget what you buy. My 2 pairs of platforms just arrived, waiting to collect my babies :D

I hope they're comfortable...

'Why does this milo popsicle taste funny? It's a little bitter.'

'*whispers* I added vodka in, wanna make the bosses drunk'

Whiskey was poured on my head by a boss. Gingerale, soda water, sprite was dispensed and

sprayed in the entire bar to the delight of customers who joined in the water/beer/wine fight.

I was thrown in the ice bucket.....

My legs were numb....

A customer hugged 3 bottles of wine and ran away...

Free shots given to the crew by customers.

90% of the crew was drunk (except for me,azri & yeemay)... Glasses were smashed, dropped because most can't walk straight...

More happening than full moon party in my humble opinon.

Converse was definately a good buy, the smile and excitment couldnt be faked.

I just hoped I bought the correct size :\

But the best thing is,

a little toddler came up to me and say

'You'd be my most favourite person in the world if you give me that balloon.'

Which I did :D

3 more weeks, to diving.

FUCK YEAH BABY

xxx

p.s/ did someone just say 'Can you please laugh seriously?'

Whuvvvvvtttttttttttttt?

2011-05-25T07:44:00.000-07:00

I think I'm very fortunate...

to have such a spread for breakfast.

& a best friend who understands and tolerates me...

I think i might have the next few years of my life planned out.

I think, my life's pretty on track :)

2011-05-24T10:04:00.000-07:00

Which idiot fails her BTT & walks into the wrong cinema theater?