Reminders to self

1. There's a place for who we are, what we do and where we're from. Enjoy that and never wish that you're someone else
2. It's better to be hated than love love loved for what you're not--Marina & the Diamonds
3. Never compromise and don't doubt your gut feel
4. Give, but never give others something you don't want
5. Be thankful for the warm comfort of your own bed
6. Give and show respect only to those who deserve it and not because of their ranks or social statures
7. Never make excuses for those who treat you badly. Give energy and effort to those worthy of it
8. It's okay to be skeptical but never lose hope in the fact that there ARE some good things in life and your fellow homosapiens
9. Never lose the child in you and don't ever lose sight of things, no matter how small, that make you smile and excited
10. Everyone makes judgement but do not criticize and condemn. We're all human and we're all the same. To quote my grandma "We all poo the same poo, everyone's poo smells like shit and nobody poos rainbows"
11. Maintain a sense of equinimity. Be thankful of what you have and enjoy them but also be fine if you lose them too
12. Don't bother wasting energy and time in being fake and plastic. It gets you nowhere
13. Pride is not about maintaining a strong front and brave facade, it's about knowing what's best for you even if it might make you seem weak and appear vulnerable to other people
14. Never force yourself to feel what you're not feeling. If you're moody, be it and don't pretend to be happy just because others say you should. Pretense of all forms breeds misery
15. Sometimes, to progress, you have to take a step back
16. Trust that there's karma
17. When it's time, let go. You'll know when the time is here. Just go with the flow
18. When you decide to help others financially or otherwise,don't doubt whether the person's trying to take advantage of you. Skepticism has no place in genuine kindness
19. Eat well and treat yourself well. You'll need to use this body for as long as you're alive and there's no spare
20. Live up to the potential of what your resources enable you to and never short-change yourself and what the universe gives you
21. Sometimes you need to kiss a thousand frogs to realize it's actually a whale that you've always wanted
22. Shit happens to everyone and statistics show that majority of them survive. Try not to whine too much, it's unattractive
23. No matter how big you feel, always remember you're  nothing more than a tiny speck in the universe
24. Being loved and having love are not a given. Be thankful of all forms of love you receive
25. Say what you mean but mean what you say

Kitty Lab!!!! Kawaiiiiiii

So I went to the Kitty Lab!! Yes, I shamelessly love Hello Kitty. I know a lot of people hate her but I don't care. It's a big part of my childhood and it's here to stay. At least I'm not one of those freaks who's got the whole apartment full of Hello Kitty everything!

But before I even got there, my right shoe LITERALLY fell apart. Not just broken, but it FELL APART. Split into parts. Destroyed. Yes, it's that dramatic and my cousin who happened to be selling Mac Book at Hall 6 witnessed the shoe crisis. I haven't worn this pair of glam diamond skull flats for a looong time and the glue has peeled and there, it split apart while the moment I reached Singapore Expo and it looked like THIS:

I LITERALLY could NOT walk cos all my toes were jutting out and the damn thing LITERALLY came apart. Yes, LITERALLY. And the fact that Expo was so freaking crowded didn't help cos you constantly need to dodge people. John Little was having some crazy sale and the IT fair was a nutcase. So I had to go buy new shoes and luckily there's some branded shoe sales and I had to buy a pair of Adidas sneakers that I don't really fancy for $70. I'd rather spend it on food cos I don't need another pair of sneakers...bwahhh...

 Check out the cool booth. The kitty is Dr. Kitty, Kuromi & My Melody are her minions. Kitty's hair's curly cos there was an explosion in the lab and her hair got fried

Okay then off to Kitty Lab Pei Jun & I go and there's no photography. Supposedly. But we obviously didn't give a damn. If they made us pay $38 to get in, I'm taking pictures....

This bit still allowed photography but anything else after, they had staff in hello kitty lab coat telling you "Sorry, no photography please, thank you!"

Oooohhh, Chanel inspired Kitty 2.55. There's no way I wouldn't take a picture of this!

 

The central clock tower and yes, as usual, picture taken secretively. The one on the right's the kitty lab map

 

It's the Kitty Cafe!!! Only that it's not a real cafe and the cakes in there are all fake...all the booths are for games really. I was hoping that it's for real...

The candy-colored Kitty Boutique, again, it's for games, not for real.....

 

Wanted: Kuromi's tricycle gang members (left)   Doggy statue outside the "Police Station"

 

And some random shots along the "streets" in Kitty Lab

Honestly, the exhibition/lab wasn't as big as I expected. It's rather small and we probably just spent 40 minutes there. It's a bit pricey for the tickets ($38 bucks) cos we only got a hello kitty lanyard, a card and a pin as souvenir. We were a bit peeved cos photography wasn't even allowed.....It's more suitable for younger kids really but then we strangely saw grown men, yes, two grown men, happily playing all the kiddy games in there and totally amused and they don't look gay to me. It's kinda cool. Despite feeling a bit ripped off, it's still okay...well, it's a childhood thing after all....

 

 

I'm not a robot

"You've been acting awful tough lately
Smoking a lot of cigarettes lately
But inside, you're just a little baby
It's okay to say you've got a weak spot
You don't always have to be on top
Better to be hated than love, love, loved for what you're not

You're vulnerable, you're vulnerable
You are not a robot
You're loveable, so loveable
But you're just troubled

Guess what? I'm not a robot, a robot
Guess what? I'm not a robot, a robot

You've been hanging with the unloved kids
Who you never really liked and you never trusted
But you are so magnetic, you pick up all the pins
Never committing to anything
You don't pick up the phone when it ring, ring, rings
Don't be so pathetic, just open up and sing
Guess what? I'm not a robot"

- Marina and the Diamonds, I Am Not A Robot


Love this song......

Top 10 All Time Fav Beauty Essentials (not in order of preference)

1.     Tiss Facial Cleansing Oil. Removed all traces of make-up and even unplugged blocked pores. Better than Shu uemura…Have to buy overseas too but the closest to get it is Malaysia Watsons

2.     Balance Me Rose Otto Body Wash. It smells heavenly and it’s organic without harsh chemical. The only catch is, it’s no longer available in Singapore L And you gotta get it from UK cos the only shop in Palais Renaissance that used to sell it has closed L

3.     Clarins Bust Beauty Firming Lotion. Keeps things perky

4.     Palmer’s Cocoa Butter Body Lotion. Smells divine with a chocolate scent and it moisturizes perfectly, doesn’t feel greasy and evens out skin tone! Cheap and good!

5.     Bliss Triple Oxygen Mask. It’s foamy, it’s quick (5 minutes only), and it brightens your skin. Perfect!

6.     Ettusais Tinted Color Eye Essence. It’s a concealor WITH treatment essence and the color is pretty damn good with decent coverage

7.     Aesop Parsley Seed Anti-oxidant Serum. I’m blessed with decent skin and most products don’t really show much difference on my skin but this one DOES!

8.     Burt’s Bee Lip Balm. I cannot live without it!

9.     Za Cutie Curl Mascara Volume. Look, I’m a mascara-phile and I’ve tried 93847037483798 different ones and THIS one works the best. Lengthens, thickens and stays put without smudging. I’ve tested drive it surfing in Bondi, Sydney and the crazy waves didn’t even wash it all off (okay, it comes off a bit obviously but still!)

10. Bourjois one-second nail polish. It’s got a fan-shaped brush that makes application relatively fool-proof and easy. It’s the easiest I’ve used

 Pssssst....I'm going to the Kitty Lab tomorrow!!!!!! Tickets booked and super excited! They said no photography but I don't care! Will upload pictures soon!

How to get a loooonger shampoo head massage from your hair dresser

Okay, so I went to cut my hair yesterday and the hair guy cut my fringe too short....horror cos now I have to wait for 2 weeks before I'll get what I originally wanted. I dunno which part of "long choppy grown out fringe" did he not understand....BUT yes, there's a but. BUT, the hair wash was super orgasmic!!!! And after numerous trips to the salon, I now know the knack of making your hair guy give you a loooonger, better hair wash sud massage! And here's how:

• It always helps to choose the opposite sex (depending on your sexual orientation of course) when it comes to the hair wash person. A little flirting goes a long way
• When the sud massage starts, say "oh, head massage is so nice, that's my favorite part of salon visit!'. Now this makes the hair person feel a bit more obliged to give you a better one
• Next, every now and then, say "oh this is so nice"...now make the hair person feel even more obliged
• Then, you say "Hey, you're quite good at this, you know not everyone gives good hair wash massage?"...now this praises the person and makes the person feel good and pride will prevent him/her from giving you a shit massage
• To really make it work, you recount how you got a shit one another time at some other salon. You say something along the line of "The other time I had such a bad one, the person's got such long nails and it scratched my scalp. It was painful and I wanted it to stop asap! Today's my lucky day cos you're good!"...now more doses of pride and the competitive edge in everyone will wanna outdo the crappy hair wash you describe
• When it's done, compliment! So the next time when you're back, you'll get a good one again!

Now try this cos this really works. My hair wash yesterday was almost 25 minutes!!!! And I've never gotten anything less than 15 so there you go! Try it and let me know how it goes!

Dating Advice from the Wise

“cute’s good. but cute only lasts for so long, and then it’s, who are you as a person? that’s the advice i would give to women: don’t look at the bankbook or the title. look at the heart. look at the soul. look at how the guy treats his mother and what he says about women. how he acts with children he doesn’t know. and, more important, how does he treat you? when you’re dating a man, you should always feel good. you should never feel less than. you should never doubt yourself. you shouldn’t be in a relationship with somebody who doesn’t make you completely happy and make you feel whole. and if you’re in that relationship and you’re dating, then my advice is, don’t get married.” – michelle obama, glamour magazine december ‘09

Christmas???

It's that creepy time of the year where everywhere you go, happy shiny X'mas tunes attack your ears and brainwash you so much that before you know it, you're whistling to "Let it snow" and then you stop and then get freaked out that you're in fact, whistling to "Let it snow"....

That got me thinking...How the hell did Christmas end up being celebrated all around the world? Considering the fact that there're more Muslims among the world population than Christians! It does smell faintly of White Supremacy to me to be honest! Clearly I'm not complaining about having nice holidays but I do wonder how it would be if the Chinese or Asians rule and make the whole world celebrate The Birth of Buddha instead of The Birth of Jesus. It would be rather intriguing because:

• All Christmas deco will be replaced by Buddhist deco
• You wouldn't be whistling to "Let it snow" in shopping malls but instead, humming to tunes with "Namo Amitabha" and "Om Mani Padme Hum" as lyrics in different musical arrangements (possibly performed by the "Four Heavenly Kings" of Hong Kong Canto Pop with their "holiday "namo amitabha" album...Mariah Carey who? All I want for Christmas? Never heard of that!)

• No more Santa Claus inspired headband, you get Lotus Headband now! Cool!
• No more Roasted Stuffed Turkey...Try tofu turkey with vegetarian meatloaf
• Goodbye Christmas tree, hello altar with joss sticks burning!

Hmmmm.....

Top Three Annoying Cab Ride Conversations of Late

Number 3

Bought food (MOS Burger), got in cab and taxi uncle said

“Wah lao, what’s that smell? So strong you know? EEEE! Your food’s gonna stink up my cab loh! Aiyoh!!!!”

What's the big deal? Nothing winding down the window a little can't fix to get rid of food smell. And thanks uncle, that stuff that stinks up your cab is my dinner and yes, I need to eat that stinky stuff after I get off the cab, so thank you very much.

Number 2

Got in cab, sinus attacked, blowing nose with tissue and taxi uncle said

“Eh you don’t anyhow throw the dirty tissue paper I warn you! Don’t stuff it in the back pocket or that slot on the door hor! You all people very ‘lup sup’ okay, so inconsiderate! And I got to clean for you all you know?”

WTF??? Excuse me? I didn’t throw it in your taxi so shut your trap and stop accusing me of things I didn’t do!!!!! So yes, I'm SO gonna chuck that snot-laden tissue wanton into your back pocket! You watch me!

And The Winning Entry, Numero Uno

At vet, called cab, Mr Bond in cage, got in cab and bloody driver said:

“Eh put that cat in the car boot!”

I said “No! You can’t!”

On the way and bloody driver banged on the steering wheel and complained:

“Haiyah, you know come and fetch you is super troublesome for me can? I must make so many U-turns okay, then go all the way there! Si bei mafan can! I saw the on-call screen wrongly that’s why I pressed then too late! Wah liew, if I see properly and know it’s at Mt Pleasant Animal Hospital, I wouldn’t even come and pick you up ok! KNN! Hai...mafan ah!”

WTF???? You douche bag! You’re going to hell to scoop kitty poo for eternity for demanding me to put Mr Bond in the boot! Somebody call PETA pronto! I called cab, you picked up the call and I paid for it, so shut your pie hole and don’t take your frustration on me! It’s not my fault your wife didn’t give you last night!

 Better Cab "Carma" next time........... grrrrrr

Things that changed or happened during my blog hiatus

1. I've started working out 3 times a week with a personal trainer. At Verve Studio. Powerplate rocks!
2. I can now do push-up like a guy and according to my personal trainer, I do it better than most guys..muahaha
3. Gotten much fitter with a super healthy body fat percentage of 17% (smirk smirk...that's the body fat percentage of athlete..heehee) as of now, down from a high 27%
4. I'm working in a hospital now
5. I've gotten 4 new tattoos
6. My sinus problems were gone cos I had surgery to fix my deviated septum and it was a bloody surgery...for once, I can really breathe now!
7. Have strangely developed asthma due to a bad reaction to the general anaesthesia for my septum surgery. I now need an inhaler on & off
8. I've got Trigger Finger on my left pinky thanks to over-practicing cello...had to go for acupuncture to fix it. It sometimes recurs :(
9. Had a pretty bad concussion from passing out after having too much to drink
10. Am pretty sure the role of Meredith Grey in Grey's Anatomy is written for me. I AM Meredith Grey
11. I've picked up surfing and now loves it
12. Picked up cello but have been very lazy about it
13. Had some magazine appearances. 2 interviews with Harpers Bazaar and 2 for Cleo
14. I live alone now. My sister has moved to Hong Kong for the time being
15. I'm now single again
16. I've crashed and burnt 3947398793 times
17. Have got my heart broken a few times
18. I've been cheated on a couple of times
19. Experienced the death of a very close friend who died from a rare lung conditions at age 29. RIP Jac, I miss you and you've been and always will be an inspiration
20. I've amassed a collection of nice handbags. Woot...
21. Am now a Mac user with my macbook, I hate PCs
22. Developed a love for G Shock and am now collecting
23. Downsized my wardrobe a hell lot, threw out lots of old stuff and became very selective in buying clothes
24. Now owns some pretty damn nice egyptian cotton sheets of 1000 thread-count
25. Am still in love with Hello Kitty and proud of it
26. I've also amassed a lot of debt and got out of it thanks to my dad...I'm totally not proud of it (some things don't change I know)
27. I'm a recovering "taxi-holic" and "tabloid-holic"...once you get comfort, it's hard to live without it...and tabloid, I've cut down from my weekly purchase of Australia "New Weekly" to occasional buy
28. I STILL have zero savings
29. I've got to know an asshole whom I've been on & off with for 2 years now and I think I'm about to cut him off totally
30. I've learned to cook quite a lot of different dishes...I'm pretty good with pasta these days
31. My cat, Mr Bond, has lost both his balls...he got neutered last year so he doesn't spray everywhere anymore
32. My cat, Mr Bond, is now known as Fatty Bond Bond cos he's since gained a lot of weight and now weighs a hefty 5.6 kg
33. Have learnt how to give a fat cat injection on my own with no help
34. My hair has gone long and short a couple of times and black to brown and then brown to black and brown again many times
35. Have gone on Lexapro and off it and on it
36. Have slacked off yoga a lot
37. Have gone back to eating some bit of meat, but mostly fish cos need the protein to build muscle
38. Have amassed more books...more and more
39. Have got new close friends and got rid of some long-time old friends
40. Experienced super major office politics that warrents TVB script and a show of its own
41. Am now in my big three-O
42. Even more jaded now but still light-hearted
43. Started smoking, quit, smoke, quit, smoke and the cycle still hasn't stopped
44. Have become a damn good counsellor, specializing in relationship issues
45. Have finally learned how to type in Chinese

November Muse

Reading: Fountainhead by Ayn Rand....Ohhh, it's one of my favorite books and I just have to re-read it to be inspired....

Watching: Grey's Anatomy Season 6...after so many seasons, it still hasn't lost its mojo unlike Gossip Girl...

Listening: 1)Ingrid Michaelson "Be Ok"...old album but still her best 2) Lily Allen "It's not me, it's you"...I'm STILL listening to it after so long 3) Rilo Kiley "Under the Blacklight"

Wearing: J Brand ankle grazer jeans, Juliet Has a Gun Miss Charming perfume...smells a bit like Stella McCartney but well, cool name, cool packing..., good old Tommy Girl Perfume...just suddenly like its freshness all over again

Using: Ettusais Eye Zone Massage Essence & Eye Zone tinted color essence

Eating: 1) My very own pasta! White wine cream sauce with clams, mushrooms and capsicum topped with freshly grated parmasen cheese...yum! 2) See's Gourmet Lollipop..simply divine! Pity Singapore doesn't sell it!

And exactly what's so bad about me???

Insecurity....they're like some seriously bad flu....you get it every now and then, and you feel horrible, struggle with it and wait for it to go away or you do something to make it go away.

Lately, after the latest crash and burn saga with the Austrian hunky dory I dated, I got hit by this nasty flu. Big Time. It bruised my delicate pride and ego so much that I could feel my sense of self-assurance and confidence getting sucked out of my body. Feel-good factor hit rock bottom. Self-image went down the drain. Self-worth plumaged. *cue xanax and prozac*

But Why? Because he picked some skanky girl over me. Excuse me? A skanky girl? I would feel less upset and insulted if he scandaled with someone a wee bit more decent and with more class. But a skank?

To me, I'd rather not know who he had gone after but well, this time, I did and I could see who she is. So as what most people would do, I went into her blog and snooped at the chick who took my man and there...it robbed me of whatever confidence left..not because she's so damn great that I feel like a nobody next to her but because I really think he down-cheated.

I'm not saying this because of jealousy cos I'm pretty much over him and I have objective friends to vouch for my judgment, but the other girl is just...is just...not there...not adequate! She's cute yes but she hasn't got much substance. Bad tacky sense of fashion (typical skanky type), supposedly some English teacher but has bad grammar and English, bloody fake accent depending on the race of the man she dates, attention-seeking media whore, doesn't have much sense of a humor and doesn't have much taste in music and arts. And no, they didn't sleep together when I called it quit so you can't say that she's better in bed (I don't think it's much of an issue considering HIS "short-coming", literally)...

So now I really don't know why he chose her over me....yes my friends will tell me that he's got bad taste but then what happens when you genuinely thinks that you're a better catch but yet still feel bad and insecure? I wish there's a magic pill to make the bad lousy feeling go away...

I don't feel much of that these days but today, somehow I'm reminded of that feeling and at its full-fledge mode some weeks ago, it ate me up inside...but still, I fight it whenever it attacks me. Thankfully, I've regained my sense of balance and poise finally and I could feel my mojo seeping back in.

But somehow I had the last laugh cos guess what? The skanky girl dumped him and went back to her ex-boyfriend...perhaps there really is karma police after all.....or is there?

Back in Business

So I'm back....my last entry was in October 2006 and that's a good 3 years ago! So much has happened and yet quite some things have remained the same...

First up, I've crashed and burnt 2438934793749 times and I'm still a singleton. The last crashed and burnt account happened in 1 October whereby some very hot Austrian guy I dated was caught lying and he was actually dating other girl....in a way, I'm relieved in retrospect though at that point, I was totally horrified...at least now I don't have to put up with his erm, short-comings....yes, literally...go figure....But now, after weeks of moping around, I'm quite happy being single. Been on couple of dates but well, they've been as bland as warm water passing off as soup. But I'm quite at peace now...so yes, the crash and burn track record of mine has remained unchanged...still crashing and burning since 1998!

Everything else more or less has changed a bit. I've switched 2 jobs since and now relatively happier...now I'm back to living alone again now that my sister has gone back to Hong Kong for a bit...and the most unwelcoming change is probably the fact that my lovely boy Mr Bond has developed recurring urinary tract infection :(

In fact, he's sick now and he was rushed to the vet at night last Thursday and it was a quite a happening vet trip with a hysterical husky with a bone wedged in his mouth, a loud-mouthed white chick who later passed out and knocked her forehead on the floor and had to go to human hospital....Well, Bond hasn't got better that much and yesterday, again, was taken to the vet but was sent home after getting a subcutaneous IV drip and he's still the same today...I'm super worried now....

I hate to say this but I worry more about Mr Bond than my own grandpa when sickness is concerned. With animals, you really don't have a clue how they're feeling cos they can't talk...human's different...I would gladly give a year of my life in exchange of his recovery cos I don't want to live that long anyway...

The funny thing is that, medical bill for animals are so much higher than that of human kind. Mr Bond's emergency (after hours) consultation alone cost $214 bucks and the whole bill came up to $328 on Thursday night and yesterday his bill was $49.50...If it's me who got Urinary Track Infection, it would have cost 30 bucks, a couple of cranberry juice and 1.5 day for full recovery... oh well....

Oh...I forgot to say that another thing that's remained unchange is my bank account status...I'm still as broke as before....