My New "Shoe" ...

I bought a new shoe today! Yes, shoe, as in one shoe, not a pair of shoes.

 

Why only one shoe? Because I could not resist buying that shoe! I came across this darling shoe today while at one of our local hypermarts :

Pardon the image but I had to do some editing to capture only the shoe. Other than the "jagged" edges, the shoe is pretty lovely, is it not?

 



Except the shoe cannot be worn! Because it is actually ...

Yes, it is a Scotch Tape dispenser! Disappointed? Or intrigued? I fell in love with this the moment I saw it! The Shoe Tape dispenser also comes with four refillable tapes! Pretty worth buying!

 

There is also a small write-up at the back of the box :

 

This is the cutest stationery I ever saw, and makes a really wonderful display on my own study desk!

A Dog Spa?

Since my maid is away, it is my responsibility to take care of my dog. I have always been taking care of my dog, but since she is away, I have to do it full-time on my own. Today was supposed to be his shower day. I tried to get him to shower, but he ran away two times.

 

Finally I called out to him and brought him to the bathroom downstairs. He wanted to escape again but I shut the bathroom door. I started rinsing water all over him. After so many years, he knows the proper procedure, so he just stood quietly while I rinsed him all over.

 

Then I applied his shampoo all over him. Yes, dogs have shampoo too, for their coat. I had to apply the shampoo all over, starting from the top, going to the bottom, and especially his paws. After that, I had to rinse him out thoroughly, and he started shaking away the water, splashing onto me, after I finished rinsing.

 

This is not the end. Next comes the conditioner. Like humans, the shampoo is to help clean his hair, but the conditioner is to help make it soft and shine. I applied the conditioner, and massaged it all over him. After applying, I went to massage him again, all over his body, starting from his back to the sides to the front to his tummy.

 

All throughout, he just stood there quietly, knowing the procedure. I then waited a few minutes, then started massaging him all over again. Finally I rinsed him out thoroughly again. This time round, after rinsing, he shaked all over again and went to the door, indicating that he knew that was the end of the shower.

 

I did not use a towel to dry him though. He would run around and rub himself all over on the floor mats, intending to dry himself. A few hours later, after rubbing and shaking, he was almost completely dry. He smells so great and his hair is so nice, soft and silky!

 

Seems that the massage really works! Even a dog has a spa, now who can do a spa for me?

Going To A "Clinique"

I went to a makeup class organised by Clinique earlier on. For the price of S$30.00, I got a hands-on demonstration on skin care and natural look makeup at a posh studio, complete with snacks and drinks, with a free tote bag and a matching pouch.

I have attended other makeup courses before, but this is different in that the procedure for skincare seems more complicated, whereas the procedure for makeup seems easier. Other courses will only go through the normal skincare routine of cleansing, toning and moisturising, then go straight into the application of foundation, powder, blusher, eyeshadows, eyeliners, eyebrow pencils, lipstick and lipglosses, spending more time on the makeup demonstration.

 

For this workshop, more time is spent on the skincare demonstration. According to Clinique, they have different makeup removers - one for eyes and lips, the other for the whole face. Which means we need to use two different kinds of makeup removers, before the actual cleansing begins.

 

After the cleansing, we use the Clarifying lotion as an exfoliator, by using a small round exfoliating brush to massage all over your face. I was told it is good to exfoliate the face everyday instead of just once a week or once a month.

 

After the exfoliation process, there is another lotion for toning, and then a moisturiser, followed by a sun cream. The eye cream is last. In applying the eye cream, one need to use the ring finger to tap the eye cream on the lower lid, then tap onto the upper lid, then massage the whole eye in circular motions, using both the ring finger and middle finger. Massage until the cream is totally absorbed into the surfaces around the eyes.

 

The way to remove makeup and cleanse is to dab the cream on the cheeks, nose, forehead and chin areas, starting from the cheeks, massage in an upward motion towards the nose bridge, the nose, the forehead, then to the upper lip area and the chin. Repeat the massage two more times. This is the same process as the makeup remover, cleanser and clarifying lotion and exfoliating brush.

 

Hence in other words, if one is to follow Clinique's beauty regime faithfully, they would probably need to spend an hour or so just on face care alone!

 

After the cleansing routine, we went on to the makeup demonstration. First off is a concealer. We were told to use two kinds of concealers - a brighter colour and a nude colour. The brighter colour is to hide all the eye bags and the nude colour has to be the exact shade of our skin so as to offset the dark circles.

 

How we apply concealer is to stroke three strokes on the under part of the eye lid, then use a concealer brush to blend all the strokes together, before going around the eyes and towards the upper eyes. It is not as simple as it looks as I found the more I blend the concealer, the more the colour went onto the rest of my face. :-(

 

Next step is foundation. Clinique did not use a liquid foundation; rather it goes straight to using a powder foundation. The trick of using fonudation is that the colour must fade exactly into your skin, which means we must get the shade as close to the skin colour as possible, to avoid any visible demarcations or make it seem as if one is wearing a mask. The powder provided is smooth and natural that I look as if I was not wearing any powder even after application!

 

Next comes the eyebrow. Since my brows are arched, we use a brow brush to apply the colour. The trick is to apply from the arch, as in from where the arch is, apply towards the ends of the brow, blending into the end. After that start from the middle, then sweep across to the front of the brows.

 

The eyebrow colour application is a technique that many people, myself included, have never been able to perfect. No matter what I do, my brows still look thick. How I wish I can have perfectly arched brows for once!

 

Eyeshadows go next. Since this is a more natural look makeup, the eyeshadow colours used are more understated. Because I am not that fair a person (in complexion), the colours I was given were more towards the earth tones of beige and coffee.

 

We were told to use a highlighter brush (the bigger brush) to sweep the lighter colour all over the eyelid, until below the brow bone. After that, we use the contour brush (smaller brush) to apply the colour until just above the line of the lid. Which means if one has prominent double eye lids like me, the colour should go just slightly above the line of the double eye lids.

 

Some other cosmetic companies will say it is best to apply the contour eyeshadow first, then the highlighter because that can blend in better. Different strokes for different folks I guess. To me, as long as the colours work well and blend well, it does not matter which one to apply first.

 

As a deviation from other cosmetics companies where the lips always go last, Clinique does the lips first after the eyeshadows and before the blusher and mascara. Because the look is supposed to be a natural look, instead of using lip liner and full colour, we were given a coloured gloss and a coloured balm.

 

Using a lip brush, we applied the coloured gloss all over our lips, then the coloured balm only on the centre of the lips instead of the whole lips. Each person got a different colour according to their skin colour. I was given a shade of honey (more muted brown pink) for the gloss, and a nude pink for the balm. Those with fairer complexions were given brighter colours like coral and sweet pink.

 

Next up was the blusher. We were given two shades of blusher, a brighter one and a more nude shade. The nude shade was to apply to the whole cheek, ie from the apples to the tip of the hairline at the side. We had to smile to know where to apply. Apply the blusher at the plumpest part of the cheeks.

 

After that, use the brighter shade on just the apples of the cheeks alone, then blend the two colours together to create a light natural flush. I must say the effect of the blusher is really good, although I think I did not do a thorough job blending.

 

Finally came the eyeliner and mascara. We were using liquid eyeliner, so we had to draw the liner as close to the edge of the upper lid, sweeping from the edge of the eye to the inner corner. We were asked to start from the middle of the eyelid, sweep towards the outer edge with a little uplift at the end, then sweep towards the inner lid. For this look, there was no need to draw the lower lid.

 

For the mascara, we were told to look down, then sweep the mascara from the bottom part of the upper lashes up two times, then use the top of the mascara wand to stroke the lower lashes. The effect was pretty good, although I was puzzled they did not use eyelash curler. I was told because Clinique does not stock eyelash curlers, hence they did not use it for the demonstration.

 

Finally the look is complete. When I took at look at myself in the mirror, I could not see much difference in me. Maybe that is the effect - a no makeup look. Hmmm.... or maybe I am used to seeing some actual colour after applying makeup, and not so understated.

 

At the end of the course, we could go buy some products from the booth. Since we had a S$30.00 voucher each, it could be used to offset any products. However, the promotion was on the face powder, if we get the face powder, we could also get a travel size lip gloss, lip stick and mascara for free. No colour choices though.

 

I decided to buy the face powder as I really like the natural effect it had on my face. It was just as if I was not wearing anything on my face. The powder comes in a classic metallic box that also acts as a mirror on top. The case itself costs S$20.00 and the powder (refillable) costs S$52.00, making the total S$72.00. After offsetting the S$30.00, I still had to pay S$42.00. Most expensive face powder I ever bought!

 

The face powder case (it is supposed to be a metallic mirror case, not sure why the photo makes it seem white on top)

 



The face powder

 



The free gifts of mascara, lipstick and lipgloss

 

And this is me, with all the makeup after the class. Seems like I did not do a good job with the concealer, eyebrows and blusher.

 





 

Overall it was a useful course, at least to pick up tips which I have not known, and to refresh tips which I have already known. I guess the trick is to just keep practising until I get it to look almost perfect, if not perfect.

Interesting Restaurant Name

I went to a restaurant with an interesting name for dinner today. The name of the restaurant is called Rabbit Brand Seafood, serving, well, seafood.

 

Why did I say it is a restaurant with an interesting name? For a place called Rabbit, one would conjure up images of cute things and some place quaint right? Just like the White Rabbit with its Rabbit Hole.

 

However, this Rabbit serves dishes like Buddha Jumps Over The Wall, Abalone and Shark's Fin. For someone who refuses to eat any sharks' fin, obviously I did not order that, but I do understand there are still people who feel there is nothing wrong with shark's fin. To each their own.

 

What is great about this place is that these "luxurious" dishes are being sold at very affordable prices. For instance, a set consisting of Buddha Jumps Over The Wall, with rice and a dessert, plus free flow of tea, costs only S$10.15. An abalone set costs S$9.15. There are others that are all around the same price range.

 

Where can you get such affordable luxury food anywhere else? The food is good too. For a complete review, please refer to my food blog.

 

For those looking for cheap and good seafood like these, do give Rabbit a try. The place has been around for a very long time, although I only found it out recently.

Being A "Housewife" ...

My family maid has gone back on home leave for three weeks, and my mum took this opportunity to bring my maternal grandmother back to visit her hometown. Hence for the next two weeks or so, it will be only me, my dad and my brother at home, which means I will be the "housewife", taking charge of the household, doing the chores, serving the men and picking up after the men.

 

My mum left yesterday, so today is my first day at being a "housewife". I woke up extra early just so to boil water, put the clothes in the washing machine and let my dog out for a walk. These men really take things for granted. I would think that with no one around, they would take the initiatve to at least help out.

 

But no! They left their clothes all over, and I had to run around picking up their dirty laundry. Socks were downstairs, shirt upstairs, pants in the bathroom upstairs, more socks in the kitchen. Why can they not just bring everything down and put them in the washing machine? It would make my job so much easier.

 

They used the plates and whatnot and just dumped it in the sink without washing, leaving the dirty dishes overnight, and I had to wash up this morning. Even when they ate fruit like mango and banana, they just dumped the skin and seed into the sink, without even bothering to throw inside the trash bin which is just next to the sink!

 

I had to pick up their dirty leftovers and throw it into the trash bin. Because everything was left overnight, they were starting to give out a smell. Then I had to bring out the trash and dump it into the big trash bin outside, where the environment people would then come and pick it up.

 

I had to ensure all the windows are closed when I left, just in case of heavy rain, otherwise I would find everything soaked and wet if I come back. What makes everything worse? My dad and my brother can sleep in, as my dad is semi-retired, especially if he is back home, and my brother does not need to go to work until eleven since he works in an eatery.

 

I am the one with the full time job here and had to wake up early! Yet I still had to do so many things while the men sleep on! Yet to most people, this is considered a norm, that the men can just sleep in and leave their things all around, and the women have to be the one doing everything else.

 

This is my house, and I do not mind helping out when my mum and maid are both away. But I just wish my dad and brother, and the men in general, that they can also take the initiative too. Even if they do not wish to help out with the housework, at least make the woman's job easier by not being so messy. Afterall, it is their house too, is it not? Is it too much to ask they at least throw stuff into the trash bin and put the clothes in the washer?

 

These are just minor chores. I still have the entire house to clean during the weekend. I really salute my friends who can go to work and still take charge of the house at the same time, doing the housework and cleaning up after their men! I do not know how I will actually cope with this if I ever do this full time!

One Of The Best Invention Of All Times?

I finally got this!

 

The all-in-one breakfast maker, consisting of a coffee maker, oven and toaster, and a pan for frying eggs, bacon and sausage on top. Now I never have to worry about not having a full breakfast while on the go anymore!

 

Most importantly, when I get married, this will be the perfect equipment to use to surprise my man by serving him breakfast in bed!

 

This is by far one of the best invention of all times! Women will like it for the compactness and convenience, and men will like it for what it can do. Perfect gift for both genders!

Wardrobe Overhaul, Yet Again ...

In light of new things I bought, I went for another wardrobe overhaul tonight. This time round, I threw out all the older but still wearable clothes, which I do not intend to wear anymore. Things like skirts, blouses and some dresses.

 

Each time I spring clean my wardrobe, I am always amazed by the number of clothes I have. Sometimes, I cannot even remember where I got this item, and that I actually had a certain item! Sometimes I would suddenly think of a piece of clothing I wanted to wear, but for some reason could never find it in my wardrobe, only to discover it was hidden in between some other clothes that I have overlooked, but I did not manage to see because I have too many clothes.

 

I think every woman can understand my plight. After throwing out so many items, I still have no space in my wardrobe! I thought after throwing out so many items, there would be more space right? But there is still not much space! I still have so many dresses, tops, skirts, jeans, pants and T-shirts, not to mention sweaters and belts!

 

Looks like I really need a much bigger wardrobe, and for that, I need a much bigger room ...

Free Travel For Early Birds?

Last week, the "big" news floating around is that come late June, those commuters who managed to tap in and out of the train station by 7:45am will be entitled to free rides. In other words, the government is encouraging people to take the train earlier so as not to jam up the trains during the hours of eight and nine.

 

It makes me wonder, will people really find this appealing? Personally, I rather have my sleep than to wake up so early and reach office so early. As it is, I am already reaching office earlier than everyone else, even if I reach aronud half past eight in the morning!

 

The thing is, people being the way they are, will most likely grab hold of this opportunity to have a free ride everyday. I can understand that. Imagine if you spend S$1.50 travelling to work everyday. S$1.50 means S$7.50 a week, totalling to around S$30.00 a month. S$30.00 saved a month could buy a week's lunch, or some groceries, or just accumulate aside for a rainy day.

 

Hence, in the long run, it is pretty appealing, where dollars and cents are concerned. However, due to this, the trains will suddenly become very jam-packed during the hours of the free rides. Then suddenly the "peak" period will no longer be between eight to nine but seven to eight instead. In which case, people are going to work earlier yet still staying later, which is totally not in line with the family friendly and worklife balance policy the government is encouraging lately.

 

Furthermore, it still does not curb the problem of trains being jam packed, just that instead of after eight, the trains started being jammed much earlier. Due to this, more trains have to come at shorter frequency to cater to the massive jam during those times.

 

So does it really solve the problem of curbing the massive jam during peak hours? This is not a permanent solution though. This solution is only on a one-year trial, which means after the year, this solution may or may not be continued. Maybe if they feel the solution is working out, then perhaps it will continue, otherwise may be scrapped totally? Who knows?

 

I will definitely welcome any solutions to our transport problem. And the government is aiming to increase the population even further. Unless our country's land mass gets bigger, otherwise I really do not see how to solve this overcrowding and overpopulation in the near future.

Amazing Facts About Malaysia

Some time ago, I came across Julie's post on amazing facts about Malaysia. I was intrigued and decided to order the book. The author Venkat Hari also promotes his book on this blog.

When I first came across the book, I thought it would only be sold to Malaysians. So I dropped him an email and he actually replied! He was willing to send the book all the way here for me. He even told me the amount in my currency, including postage, which is pretty cheap, S$7.00 in all! And he kindly gave me a local account number for me to transfer the cash to. What a nice chap!

 

I do not regret getting this book. It has pretty interesting trivia about Malaysia. For instance, the state of Perlis has no McDonalds at all. Pretty cool is it not? Imagine if I do not know this and I ever get to Perlis, I may be wondering where I can go to get a quick bite!

 

Also, does anyone know that famous shoe designer Jimmy Choo is also a Malaysian? I never knew that! His shoe designs are classic, comfortable and nice that even Princess Kate wears them! That is why he is entitled to charge so much!

 

For any Malaysians out there intending to know more about your country, this is an interesting and knowledgeable book to get. For a complete review on the book, please refer to my book blog here. Perhaps in light of the upcoming elections, it may be useful to know more about your country?

Tribute To International Youth Service

Recently, I came across a Facebook group called "People Who Used International Youth Service To Find Penpals". This brought me back to my secondary school days where I used this service to find penpals around the world. Even though I have lost touch with most of them, it was a pretty fun hobby. The excitement of receiving a letter, sending a letter, awaiting the pretty envelope and the stamps, these are things that we do not do nowadays.

 

International Youth Service finally closed down for good in around 2007 or thereabouts. From a very popular service where every youth in the world utilised, it was no match to globalisation, technology and social media, where one can contact someone instantly through a click of a mouse. Hence, writing letters started to phase out.

 

It is unfortunate that this service is no longer around. Kids nowadays have no patience to write letters on beautiful stationery, slip into cutesy envelopes and attach a nice stamp. People want convenience and instant communication nowadays.

 

The days of writing letters are gone. What a pity, as those were one of the most fun things I did during my younger years!

Tribute To A Great Actor

Yesterday one of our greatest veteran actors passed away peacefully after battling with cancer. I was shocked upon reading the article, because I remember growing up with his shows. He acted in local classics like "The Awakening", "The Bond", and other shows. I saw him age gracefully on screen, although he never seemed to age that much.

 

He is definitely someone who would be sorely missed by the local entertainment industry as he is very well-respected amongst his peers and colleagues. Older actors take him as a close friend, and younger actors take him as a teacher, a mentor, an adviser, someone to emulate.

 

For me, I will miss seeing him on television. Even though I have not watched any local shows for the longest time now as I feel the quality is not on par as older shows, without his screen presence the scene makes a difference.

 

Hope his family will be able to tide through this difficult time of losing their husband and their father. Rest In Peace, Huang Wenyong!

A Handmade Notebook

Yesterday during the weekly Friday Women's prayer group, one of the ladies gave each of us a notebook she got from her recent Thailand trip. This is what I got :

Is this not just pretty? This notebook is handmade by the tribes in Chiang Mai. The stitching, lining, appliques and beads are all hand stitched and made intricately. The notebook looks so pretty that I would not bear to use it or write anything on it, in case I deface any of the pages!

Praising And Worshipping ...

Tonight at the weekly Woman's Prayer Meet, we touched on praise and worship, which means the singing and praying and raising up the hands and speaking in tongues. I am no stranger to praise and worship, but it is still a strange concept to me.

 

I first got introduced to praise and worship in my first relationship. I just finished my 'O' levels, and entered a new school. I studied in a convent, with four years of cathechism, and before that, my cousin brought me to a Catholic church, hence at that point in time, the only kind of church service I knew was the Catholic mass and the Catholic way of praying.

 

Then I got to know a guy, a fellow schoolmate, who is the son of a pastor in a charismatic Christian church. He brought me to his church, and that was the first time I came across praise and worship. I was so overwhelmed then as I did not know what everyone was doing. All I remembered was strange gestures, strange language and people falling and shaking all over.

 

At that point in time, I thought I went into a cult with the devil possessing these people. Yes I know, I was ignorant, and for any Christian out there who wanted to fire me off, please bear in mind I was not yet seventeen, and first time I experienced something like that, so the experience was scary and overwhelming.

 

Furthermore, the church service was draggy. Sorry for using the word draggy, but that time I really thought it was! The service would start around eleven in the morning, where there would be singing and all the "chanting", which would last for around an hour or so. Even the singing I was not used to it then, as the Catholic was was the traditional solumn hymns, whereas the singing there was more to rock music.

 

After that would be the sermon. The pastor was really charismatic and brought the message across. That would last for another hour. Then more praise and worship, and the "chanting" began again. This time round, the pastor would call people with problems out, and these people would be prayed over, and then they would start falling and shaking on the floor. This would last for another hour or longer.

 

Hence, the entire service averaged three hours. It was the longest church service I ever attended! I was really not used to that so just as well things did not work out between that guy and I as I was really not comfortable with that kind of intensive praise and worship.

 

Two years back, I attended a Conversion Experience Retreat, conducted by our newly ordained Archbishop. Of course he was not the Archbishop then. All the time I was a Catholic, I always thought Catholic masses are traditional and more solemn. But when I went for the retreat, there was massive praise and worship. The choir was singing like rock stars and there were lots of speaking in tongues, and the priest went around to each and everyone, put his hand on their heads, and most of them just fell.

 

For some reason, maybe because I am much older, I found this experience refreshing. Even though I still find a long praise and worship session too intensive for me, I am now ready to welcome it into my prayer life.

 

Hence when today's session was on a mini praise and worship, I was actually receptive. And I found I could speak in tongues more easily, even though I still could not understand a single word of what I was saying.

 

Hopefully I can start incorporating praying in tongues and praise and worship more into my own prayer life. Then perhaps God can talk to me for once?

End Of "High-Class" Slimming

Today is the final session of my "high-class" slimming treatment under Groupon. As usual, the therapist concentrated on my tummy areas, so she gave me a tummy and thigh massage, slimming mask and cream, and a wrap to make my silhouette slimmer.

 

I also had a chat with the dietician, and she told me I should not skip breakfast or dinner. Most people think that by having only one full meal they should be able to keep their weight in control, but she advised against this. She said if we skip meals, that was when the metabolism rate gets lower, because the body would have to store the fats and energy to make up for the lack of food, hence one gets fatter.

 

In order to really keep the motabolism in check, one should have three full meals, but at a lesser rate. Hence, if we eat carbyhydrates for lunch, then we should still eat for breakfast and dinner, but cut down on the carbohydrates for the other two meals. Further, we should not eat after eight at night. Hence no late night suppers.

 

Well.. it is not something I do not already know, but still, sometimes I think it is hard to keep that in check. I admit I am not a very disciplined person in the first place, so I guess I have to try even harder to keep to that.

 

Overall this two-treatment package is pretty good, considering the brand name. Which is why I grabbed the voucher when the deal first came up, as the price is unbelievable for this salon. The staff is nice too, no hardselling and they really serve to please.

 

Given a chance, I would definitely sign up a package with this salon on my own, but that is after I manage to struck a million dollars. Meanwhile, I have to stick to the "traditional" method of weight loss which has not much effect on me so far.

In A Dazed Haze ...

The dreaded haze is back again. The past couple of days I have been smelling nothing but smoke and smog, and my eyes are getting all dry and teary. My face is starting to itch and my skin is starting to feel dry again. Even with the rain, the haze is not being dispersed and the smell still lingers. If this goes on, I will be living in a smoke bomb, if I am not already in one!

Achieving CLARITY ...

I first heard of Clarity through a friend whom I confided in. Even though he is my parents' age, but he has been involved in helping mental patients and know about mental illness, hence I sought him out to talk about some stuff. So he recommended me to speak to someone at Clarity, and told me to do it quick if I intend for someone to seek help.

 

So I booked an appointment. The person my friend recommended me to is the Executive Director of Clarity when it was set up. She told me to come down today. I wanted an after work slot, but she said unfortunately the first appointment has to be during office hours, but subsequently if I need anymore help, it can be done after office hours.

 

I went down today and had to fill in a psychoanalysis test. After that the session began. The one who was "counselling" me said he is a psychotherapist who works with the psychiatric department of one of the hospitals, so if need be, he will refer people to psychiatrists for treatment and medication. Also I have to bear in mind that whoever needing treatment for mental health, it will be on a long term basis, and the moment the person stops the medication, everything else can relapse.

 

I came away from the session feeling a bit less confused. Even though my knowledge of mental health is still very limited, at least I know when some people do something, it is because they have a problem that make them do it, and not because they want to do it.

 

Obviously what they do is not justified and to most other people, totally horrifying, but with treatment and help, things can be better. Just that most people will immediately judge and ostracise these people if they so much as do something out of the ordinary without considering the deeper issues behind it.

 

I do agree with my friend that more ought to be done for people with mental health issues and that the general public should be educated more on this subject so they can start being more caring and understanding.

Second New Facial Treatment

I had the second of a three-package facial treatment today. I just realised that this particular facial place was set up by a former local actress, whom I have grown up watching her shows. Even though she had never been in any lead roles, I remember her as a pretty versatile actress who could handle any role she was given, hence she was mostly in those major supporting roles.

 

When I reached the facial place, I saw her sitting at the counter. I did not recognise her at first because well, one just looks different on television than in real life. Besides she looks older now. But when I indicated I recognised her, she acknowledged and gave a big smile. Even though she is the boss, she still did everything almost on her own, like calling clients to remind them of their appointments, serving customers, talking to her staff. No airs at all!

 

The facial treatment was okay. I have had better. There was extraction but not that thorough I think. Even the mask was not placed on any gauze but just thick gel direct on my face, although I like what the therapist did to my eyebrows though.

 

My final session is next month, and after that I would be "relieved" from the package. Hopefully the final one will change my impression of the session for the better.

A Day Of Errands

Today I took the day off as I had things to do. First up, I met a friend from my Friday Woman's Prayer group for lunch. After that, I went for the second of third facial treatments from my Groupon voucher. Finally I went to meet up with a psychotherapist at Clarity, a Catholic counselling centre for the mentally disturbed.

 

To clarify (clarifying Clarity??) again, I am NOT mentally disturbed. I am a normal, working adult female. Maybe I am quirky and "wired" wrongly somewhat, and with "Hannibalistic" tendencies, but otherwise I am just as normal as everyone else.

 

However, I know of someone who is likely suffering from mental illness and needs help, hence I went there to see how help can be given, which I will eleborate more on my next post.

 

By the time I reached home, it was close to eight. At least I have had a fulfilling day. How I wish I can afford to take more time off just for myself and to do my own things!

Ode To Boston Bomb Victims

Today the first news I heard when I woke up is the bomb blast at the Boston marathon event, leaving two people dead and dozens injured. Now the death toll has reached twenty-three, at last count, including an eight-year-old child.

 

This is so sad! The President of the United States has labelled this as a terrorist attack and the government is trying to trace who the mastermind(s) is. Whoever who did this ought to be punished severely! Anyone who can play with anyone's lives like that ought to be executed! Why can they not leave children alone as well?

 

Due to this, suddenly Dow Jones plummeted and the Euro market went down as well. Luckily my investments are still safe. But I really wonder, who would want this to happen? Apparently, after the twin blastings, the library nearby also caught fire, but it is uncertain if these two incidents are related.

 

To mourn this event. the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra has cancelled their concert, and the Boston Red Sox has cancelled their game. People over the world have probably known about the news and mourning together with those victims.

 

I really wonder who did this? And what is the purpose? What satisfaction can anyone gain from seeing people dead like that? What is the message the person is trying to get across? But whatever it is, one should not claim innocent lives like that, is it not?

 

My heart really goes out to the families of the victims. They must be all so devastated, especially to the parents of the poor child. There are also others who got their legs blown off yet still alive. It must have been a horrifying sight and experience!

 

To all those who died innocently, may they rest in peace. And I truly hope and pray that the mastermind(s) will be caught soon! Those who mess with people's lives just deserve to be shot on sight!

Transport Across The Causeway

When I was young, whenever my parents wanted a family trip to Malaysia, we would always drive up, or rather, my dad would always drive up. Sometimes there would be an extended family trip, so I would follow in my uncle's car.

 

I remember driving up to Genting Highlands (twice), Fraser's Hill (once) and Malacca (twice). The rest of the times we went by plane, coach or train. For instance, that time when we went to Cameron Highlands, we took a train from the old railway station, then someone came by to pick us up and brought us up the hill.

 

When we went to Penang, we took a plane and then a coach. The last time we went to Genting Highlands, we also took a train then a car. And the last time we went to Fraser's Hill, we took a coach ride all the way as there were four families in all.

 

After I got older, ironically I did not go to Malaysia for a very long time, until a few years back when my mum's company organised a day trip and she brought me along. After that I did not have a chance to go, until last year, when I had to go to Kuala Lumpur on transit. I took an overnight coach ride all the way.

 

The same thing happened when I went to Malacca last year. It was another night time coach ride. Recently when I went to Redang, I took another overnight coach ride to Kuala Terangganu, which was fine but my poor back was aching after that!

 

This time round, when I went to Johor, I took the express bus. The coach I took to and from Kuala Lumpur was called Starmart Express Air Asia Liner. It has the most regular services to and from Kuala Lumpur. In fact, there are coaches leaving every hour or so back and forth. I boarded the coach at Golden Mile Complex, and it brought me direct to Berjaya Times Square in Kuala Lumpur.

 

The coach I took to Malacca was called Delima Express. It is one of the few coaches that gives regular services to Malacca and back, one in the morning, one in the afternoon and one at night. The coach would leave City Plaza and go all the way to Malacca Sentral bus terminus.

 

The coach I took to Kuala Terangganu is called Transnasional. So far it is the only coach that goes regularly to Kuala Terangganu and back, with regular schedules, one in the morning and one at night. The coaches leave everyday as well, from The Plaza all the way to the Kuala Terangganu bus terminus.

 

So far all these coaches have comfortable seats, air-conditioned and the rides are pretty smooth, no jerking and shaking of the bus. Hence I managed to get quite a good sleep on the bus despite the journey and long hours of sitting.

 

This time since I would just be going across the Causeway, I see no sense in booking a coach. After all, there are public buses going to Johor Bahru. Intially, I thought of taking a public bus there, but it would not be express and would stop at every stop. So in the end, I decided to take the Singapore-Johor Express, which would go from Queen Street Terminus, direct to JB Sentral Larkin.

 

So I took the express bus around one in the afternoon. The bus has quite a regular schedule, it departs everyday and the interval is every fifteen minutes to half an hour. One has to buy tickets first before boarding the bus, but the whole system is an old-fashioned system where you buy the ticket from a booth, then you show the ticket to the driver and you are allowed up the bus.

 

It is on a first-come-first-served basis, no seats can be reserved. There is no standing on the bus too, you just take whatever empty seat you find. Once the bus is full, the bus would leave. When it reaches Woodlands, we get down to go through customs, then go up the bus again by showing our ticket. After that the bus will reach JB Sentral and we would then get down to go through the JB customs, before going on our way.

 

It is pretty refreshing taking the express bus. Since it goes direct to Johor Bahru, we were able to reach there in less than an hour. What I like about the bus is that it still issues the old-fashioned type of ticket that I used to see when I was very young, but has since phased out when I reached upper primary or so.

Who else can remember this kind of bus ticket?

 

A pity I did not take buses that much when I was younger. I was one of the "priviledge" ones who got driven around by my parents. If only I collect them, now I think these should be antique collector's items already!

 

So for anyone wanting to shuttle across the causeway and do not wish to drive, the Johor-Singapore Express is a great way to go there in the shortest time possible!



Lego Magnets

During my day trip to Legoland, I went into the gift shop to check out what is on sale. Surprisingly, I came across a few fridge magnets. There is a set of three fridge magnets featuring the Lego figurine of Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy and Severus Snape. There is also the Pirates of the Caribbean fridge magnet collection, as well as the Star Wars fridge magnet collection.

 

Unfortunately, because these are special characters, the collection is also sold at a very "special" price, so special that I cannot bring myself to afford it. Besides, only the Star Wars collection looks nice, and even that do not have my favourite characters. In other words, no Darth Vader, no Luke Skywalker, no Han Solo, and no Yoda. There is only Princess Leia, R2D2 and C3PO.

 

So I gave it a miss. Then I came across another set of fridge magnets at a cheaper price, but they are just Lego bricks, nothing outstanding. I was about to give up, when I came across a button magnet featuring Legoland, and it does not cost that much too! So I bought two of that, intending to give a friend.

 

Here is the fridge magnet I bought, which made my trip to Legoland satisfactory and complete :

Weekend Theme Park Getaway!

I am back from across the causeway, tired but safe and sound! I bought a two-day one-night package from Groupon that includes a night's stay with breakfast at Bayu Marina Resort, and a one-day Legoland trip, complete with two-way shuttles to and from the hotel.

 

Since I was only due to check in at three, I took the express bus around one. I reached Johor Bahru in less than an hour, and took a cab down to the resort. A studio room was booked for me, but because I requested for a water view, the receptionist told me they ran out of studios so upgraded me to a two-bedroom service apartment with a water view at no extra charge! :-) Kudos to their service! I have written about the hotel here.

 

After checking in and checking out the room, I left the hotel. The receptionist called me a cab to bring me to KSL Mall, where I started wandering around and watched the Chinese movie "Conspirators", starring Aaron Kwok.

 

After that, since I had some time to kill, I decided to hunt for A&W since I was craving for that. However there are only two outlets, one at Jusco Permas Jaya, and the other at AEON Bukit Indah. Since I am more familiar with Bukit Indah as I had been there, I took a cab and asked the driver to bring me there.

 

AEON Bukit Indah is quite far away from KSL. In fact, the cab took about half an hour, and it was nearer to Hello Kitty Town and Legoland and the second link. Still, for A&W, it is worth it. I ordered the chicken set with two pieces of fried chicken, curly fries and root beer float. I wonder how come the root beer float does not come in a mug anymore?

After the satisfying meal, I went around and watched two more shows - "Oblivion" and "Olympus Has Fallen". It was past midnight when I came out, and the roads were practically deserted. I was wondering how to make my way back to the hotel when a cab came by and the driver was nice enough to pick me up. Luckily he was able to bring me back to the hotel. Some drivers would just say no. How nice of him!

The next morning, I woke up at eight and had to quickly wash up and pack up before going for breakfast. I had to check out by noon, so I brought all my things down to check out, and left my bag there in the hotel before going into the shuttle to Legoland, which I had written about here.

 

The shuttle brought us back at six, but there was a massive jam going towards the causeway, so the shuttle took a different route and brought us back to the hotel later than intended. It was past seven by the time we reached the hotel.

 

I quickly took my bag, and the receptionist called a cab for me to bring me to the customs. At the customs, I met a guy who is in the business of driving people across the causeway and back. He was willing to take me and a few other passengers for a small amount. The price of S$20.00, including passing the two customs and dropping me directly at my doorstep, is pretty worth it!

 

Although I think I will never do that again, as it is a big risk to get into anyone's car like that. But I was so tired and just wanted to get home as fast as possible so I just went along. Thank goodness nothing happened! But these are just some experiences that makes travelling more interesting. Although I shall try not to compromise on my own safety again!

Shuttling Across The Causeway

I will be shuttling across the causeway this weekend (again!), this time for an overnight stay and a day trip to Legoland. Will update when I return. Have a great weekend everyone!

Multi-Colour Nails ...

I am running out of nail polish, so when this deal came up, I grabbed it immediately. The package arrived last week, and I am pleased that all twenty-four nail polish colours come in a small handy box that is small enough to bring everywhere with!

 

All the colours as shown are included. There is a clear polish that can be used for topcoat, a pale pink and white polish for French manicures, and even darker shades for feet or that very special occasion. Essentially I am now able to have matching nails for anything I wear!

 

I guess it is deals like these that make Groupon so popular and useful. I am definitely looking out for even more deals of this kind!

Farewell To An Iron Lady

Baroness Margaret Thatcher's death shocked the world. Well, I guess no one is immortal and she did die an old age. But I do believe everyone my age or slightly older onwards will know who she was. She was Britain's Prime Minister for about eleven years, longer than even Tony Blair, and to date, still the only female Prime Minister.

 

She rose up during a time when people were still more conservative about having women in politics (despite having a Queen, but then the Queen was the rightful heir so no one could dispute that), during a time when women were still seen as wives and mothers and homemakers.

 

When I watched the move about her life last year, I remember one scene that stuck with me. In that scene, the young Margaret Roberts was wooed and proposed marriage by the young Denis Thatcher. He asked her to marry her across the table in the campus cafeteria.

 

She told him, "Denis, I will not be the kind of wife you like. I want to serve the people, I want to be the leader of the Conservative party, and I won't be stuck at home taking care of the children. I'm not going to die washing a teacup!"

 

And Denis' reply? "That is why I'm marrying you." Is that not just so sweet and pure?

 

And he supported her throughout her career, her political career, even as Prime Minister. To me, she was one example of what being a woman is all about - a wife, a mother, a powerful and successful woman, and yet with a man who loved and supported her througout. She was one of those women who really had it all - career, family, power (not in any order).

 

She was feared by men and respected by women. She made a real difference to her country and her people. She was the epitome of womanhood, and one of the few people I truly admired. She was an inspiration to all, particularly to women everywhere. She was the iron lady.

 

Rest In Peace, Mrs Thatcher. May your legacy continues on.

Gifts Galore!

My parents were away in China and Hong Kong last week to pay respects to my grandparents for the Tomb Sweeping Festival. My mum just came back on Friday and she bought me so many things that I am utterly grateful and speechless!

 

In the clothes department, she bought me a blue and white retro looking knee-length dress, complete with an electric blue belt to match. That is my favourite as I really look as if I was transported back to the sixties, except for the beehive hair.

 

My second favourite is a black evening dress that is shapeless and drapes on my body, but the look is completed with accessories and a metal belt. She also bought me a black chiffon top, a multi-colour knit dress, and an orange striped dress.

 

In the bags department, she bought me a black Coach tote, a Louis Vuitton and a Hermes. In the shoes department, she bought me a pair of pink pumps to match my pink Coach tote. I guess the things there must be really cheap, as Hong Kong and Shenzhen are known for being a shopping paradise!

 

I feel so happy and loved! Now I have even more things to add to my already enormous collection!

Lighting The Light Of Christ

Today I had a very fulfilling lesson with my Cathechism kids. Before Easter, we introduced the concept of the Paschal candle, and the children had a little hands-on session on making the paschal candle.

 

Today's lesson was an interactive one where we were lighting up the light of Christ. First we changed the prayer table, switching the cloth from purple to white. Then I placed the Paschal Candle in the middle of a tray, and asked one of the kids to light up the candle.

 

Next, I got everyone of the kids to take a tealight candle, light it and place their tealights next and around the Paschal Candle, while the song "Christ Be Our Light" was playing in the background. That was a solemn time as the kids were excitedly but quietly lighting up and placing their own candles.

 

After that I told them the significance of the candles - to light up the house and welcome Jesus into their lives. Jesus had resurrected and He would go to save them from sin. Okay, I know I sound too preachy now.

 

Then we turned to our bibles and read Matthew 28:1 to 7, on the empty tomb of Jesus and the coming of Jesus to his disciples. I explained the meaning of the verses, and then told them to do their journal reflections, on what does the lighting of the light of Christ mean to them?

 

Surprisingly, most of the kids gave very good answers. Their reflection was really spot on and they actually understood the gist of the whole lesson. I am really impressed and happy!

 

The end of the lesson, we had a closing prayer, and I got them to snuff out their candles, including the Paschal Candle one by one. I think the kids really love this lesson as it was interactive, and because they got involved, they were able to absorb the lesson more.

 

Not just them, even I. When reading their journal reflections, I also learnt from them, that how they felt when lighting the light of Christ, and how they felt Christ meant to them. You really have a lot to learn from kids! That is why I enjoy being with kids so much, as they really perk up one's life.

Hello, Kitty!

I went on a day trip to Hello Kitty Town today. The package includes a two-way coach ride, entrance to Hello Kitty Town, and a dinner at Lat's Place, bought via Groupon.

 

Hello Kitty Town is situated at Puteri Harbour. The place is in a building next to Trader's Hotel that resembles a factory building. When we enter, we turn left and it is Hello Kitty Town and Little Big Club on the left, and Toys R Us on the right. If we turn right from the entrance, it will be Lat's Place.

 

I took the coach at half past nine in the morning, and reached the place close to eleven. It does not take that long to reach. Since I was starving, I decided to take a bite first before going into Hello Kitty Town. Since it was a kiddy place, even the food is mini size for kids.

 The front entrance

 The cafe

 

 I like the tables and chairs!

 

 The ceiling of the cafe

 

 Even the napkin is cute!

 

My order of fried noodles with chicken

 

After eating, I went into the theme park proper, which I have reviewed here. I did not expect the place to be so small. I guess for people with kids, it will be more fruitful as the kids would be able to do the activities. But since I have no kids, I only explored the place without participating in any of the activities. Hence I was in and out of the place in less than two hours.

 

It was only half past twelve when I left the place. The included dinner was at six and the restaurant was just next door. Since I had so much time, I decided to take a cab to Johor Bahru town to hang out at City Square Mall. I caught a movie (Saving General Yang) and ate a waffle as a snack.

 

After that, I did some window shopping before taking a cab back to Puteri Harbour. When I arrived back there, I decided to go down the stairs to the ground level promenade, and was surprised to see a marina. It seems that the whole factory-like building is built behind a marina, with nice looking yachts!

 

 

Incidentally, the place seems to be very popular for wedding photoshoots. I saw at least three couples taking their wedding shoots around the vicinity.

 

After exploring the marina, I went to Lat's Place where I had a very unique fine dining experience, Malaysia style.

 

It was an interesting trip, but I think I would have enjoyed it more if I have kids as the whole place is very kiddy. Perhaps when I have my own kids I would bring them back here again.



Yearning For Motherhood

For the past two days, I would drop by the hospital next to my office to visit my friend who just gave birth. Her baby is so adorable! I can look at her for the whole day and not get tired! Today, I had the priviledge of seeing the nurse teaching the parents how to shower the baby. Tender loving care needs to be taken into account when handling a baby. It is really not easy taking care of a baby, besides carrying the baby for all those months.

 

After seeing this, I can finally understand my mum a lot more, on how much she did for us, how she took care of us, how much she had to put up with. Imagine you give birth to a child, take care of the child, raise the child, and the child later turns around and be rebellious and upset you. As a parent, it can really be very hurtful.

 

As a parent, one really gives the best to the child, especially in terms of education, religion, values. It makes me wonder why did some people give birth only to abandon their own children, or neglect the children? If I have my own child, I would want to spend all my time looking at him, teaching him, taking care of him, and worry about him.

 

Seeing the new parents with the adorable baby, it really makes me yearn to have my own child. Now that our government is finally letting single, unmarried women who got pregnant for whatever reason and who wants to keep the baby, go on maternity leave, I am just so tempted to have a child of my own. So even if I do not get married or if I get married and for some reason he is not able to give me children, I can still have a child of my own.

 

But who am I kidding? My mum will kill me if I even think about having a kid out of wedlock. Our society (as in this country) will turn its nose up at me. I will be judged and ostracised because it is still taboo for an unmarried woman to have a child out of wedlock, even though this is so pronounced in a lot of other countries. Not to mention it is against my religious values.

 

I guess I have to wait until I am married then. But by then can I still conceive? As in will I still be biologically able to conceive since I am close to the age of higher risk? I really do hope so, because I really want so much to be a wife and mother, and I truly hope and pray that God can at least grant me this wish!

"High End" Slimming Session

I went for the first part of the trial slimming session after work today. This is another trial bought via Groupon, entitling me for a fourteen treatment package consisting of two friction massage treatments, two herbal body cream therapies, two signature fat breaking massages, two revitalising hydrating cream masks, two contour body slimming wraps, two detailed body mass BMI assessments, and two nutritionist guides to healthy eating.

 

Even though the treatments sound like a lot, as with any other slimming treatments, these can be combined together, so only two sessions are needed. This is offered by one of the higher end slimming salons here, and the moment I entered, I could feel the classiness. The receptionist gave me a cup of warm water, with a cold towel, complete with an orchid for decoration.

 

After that, a consultant measured my body mass index, which, well, although worrying, I shall refrain from revealing the actual results. After that I was brought into a room to start my treatments.

 

First, herbal cream was rubbed and massaged all over my body, concentrating on the problematic areas. Then the staff massaged the problematic areas thoroughly. After that, a heavy cream was rubbed all over the problematic areas, before wrapping them in a plastic wrap. I had to wait for around twenty minutes before the plastic was removed.

 

All these treatments lasted for around two hours. I did not see any difference, but then again, how different can it be after just one treatment? One thing good is that the consultant did not try to hardsell me anything. Or maybe because it is the first session. I shall see after the second session which I will be going next week.

 

Unfortunately the dietician was not around, so I was not able to get any nutritionist's guide to healthy eating. She will be around the following week, so I would be able to get the guide from her. Let me see how the next sesion will be like, and if she can tell me any miracles to get me slim without doing anything that I otherwise already know.