Life Transformers 2

It's no secret i'm a big fan of all things Singaporean. It never used to be that way. Living in JB Singapore TV and mags were a part of everyday life. Back then Taiwanese shows were all the rage.But since leaving JB, i realized everywhere in Malaysia is not the same. No Singapore TV,radio, mags. Not everyone converses in Mandarin and even if they did there's a weird Malaysian accent. Sorry I'm not saying JB-ians speak better Mandarin or Singaporeans for that matter, it's just that I'm so used to it already. But on the other hand i don't thing i can ever stay in Singapore either. The fast-paced way of living just seems so foreign now that I'm enjoying kampung life in Slim River.

But of course i try to keep abreast of my favourite and latest TV shows via my mom, 8 days and of course Youtube. I would subscribe to Mobtv but it's not compatible with my computer.

So i'd like to share one of the more thought provoking shows yet, Life transformers 2. The gist is the presenters Chris Lee and Quan Yi Fong goes ans visits dilapidated flats in Singapore and together with volunteers try to change their lifes for the better by getting down and dirty cleaning their downright filthy houses and finding them a job/ social help etc.

The difference with this show is that a lot of it is do-able. No extreme makeovers, just simple cleaning and giving furniture that are donated by other kind souls.

Every time i watch an episode, i feel like cleaning my own house. Do take a look.(Click on the video  title if you want to watch it on youtube- may be faster)

So what do you think?

Chinese New Year clothes!

I've got lots of calls coming up for the next two weekends till CNY, cos then i'll be having 9 days off! Yeah.. can't wait. Even though i've got to many calls to do, still managed to get my CNY shopping done! Yes!Yes yes .. no more last minute CNY eve shopping for me haha.. But of course i can't show you the clothes i bought cos then it won't be fun anymore.. CNY clothes are new and never seen before.. the whole fun of CNY is to see everyone in their spanking new clothes or gleaming fashion ideas off my stylish cousins!

But i will say i've so far bought a 2 dress shirts to layer over one another( really cant be worn individually) from cotton on, and also spent the same amount of money on an office lady type dress from Sg Wang together with a belt, the mandatory short pants also from Sg Wang, and a Tokidoki T-shirt ! Thats quite enough for me i think. may do some last minute shopping on the eve of the eve just before flying back to good old JB..

Jh has been rather successful at his shopping too.. completing his mandatory once a year clothes shopping trip at one go.

While walking in Lot 10, saw something at the Ettusais counter that looked familiar.. OMG i've seen it before on Cheeserland's blog as something she bought on her Japan shopping trip. You can read it here. It's the Ettusais Lip essence.Wow so it's sold in Malaysia too! Was itching to buyit but one look at the price. Rm 40++ for a small tube got me thinking twice.. Hmm better check out the review before buying.. And it seems all the reviews are nothing but praises. Wow so this is next on my wishlist!

Dong dong dong chiang! The most wonderful time of the year!

Going to Desaru again.. this time Dan has booked the newly opened resort in advance yeah!

Keep Gallery photoshoot

So far I've only seen 20 of my pre-wedding photos and really the photography is great considering the awkward face shape, small stick thin physique and lazy eyes that i have.I'm supposed to go to Keep gallery to choose the rest of my photos around 10 days after my shoot. Of course we will need to call and confirm if they don't call us first. But really i have no time to go to KL these coming weekends cos i'm on-call the rest of the weekends till CNY. May need to go on a weekday. No rush though~I'd rather they take their time and make the pictures flawless.

Here are some of the photos that are ready. I've numbered them so please tell me which one is nice to be included into the album.Please also do not hesitate to tell me which photo should not be in the album for whatever reason you deem fit (ie: chin too pointy, too dark, too fat, too skinny etc.) Arigato gozaimasu.

# A

# B

# C

#D

#E

# F

# G

# H

# I

# J

 

# K

# L

# M

# N

#O

# P

Thanks for all your work guys!

Disclaimer: All photos have been  re sized and may compromise picture quality (a bit blurry). Original pictures are much sharper.

Updated: More pics added. Click on the tags or just click here.

My pics are ready!

Kudos to Keep Gallery! My photo shoot was on the 12th of January and today it is already up on Facebook! Cool.. Eugene Chew my photographer actually uploaded it all up on facebook and tagged me! And i love how the photos turned out! Vibrant colours and cool angles! I must eat my words though about the make-up.. Thick make-up is needed to show up in photos so thanks Cristy for a job well done!And thank you my dear friends who helped me allay my fears

Here's one which i love. My wedding is still months away!!

How my pre-wedding photoshoot went

Besides the initial scare of heavy make-up and sudden change of photographer, retrospectively i must say the photo shoot did go quite pleasantly.

Half an hour before the photo shoot we were told our chosen photographer Benny Koo could not make it as his wife had just delivered. Being in our profession we knew it is really quite unpredictable when a baby would pop out so we were quite understanding. We were given a choice of either changing to a new date or choose another photographer. As we had already taken so many days of leave, we decided to go for another photographer cos looking at all the pictures on the blogs of all the photographers, it was pretty difficult to see who was better as all their pictures were nice.There are four main photographers at Keep Gallery and all of them have a great portfolio.

So reached the Sunway branch at 10 am and i was greeted by Christy my make-up artist. She was really nice and bubbly and she gave me a kawaii look.But as expected the make-up was pretty thick but necessary for a photo shoot i guess.

My photographer was Eugene who was friendly as well. They also had a fresh out of SPM boy to take care of miscellaneous needs.

Jin Hui had to endure a bit of primping himself.. some light foundation, a bit of eyebrow trimming and some gel in the hair.Wa ha ha.. took less than 15 minutes.

He's not too happy bout it though..men..

Luckily the photographer had the foresight to anticipate rain and got us out of the studio and into the car for our first outdoor location.. an abandoned building in  Ampang.

Okie you must be thinking why this silly girls wants to take photos in some 'semak-samun' with abandoned building and mosquitoes galore. Well cos i really like abandoned antique looking buildings and jungle. So it was perfect for me! Plus me and JH are definitely too lazy to drive all the way to Malacca. I love the  beach too but obviously the lazy factor also prevented us from driving to Port Dickson.

The old abandoned building at  Ampang.

Looking at the pictures at the bridal shop, i always thought this place was in the middle of a secondary forest. Imagine my surprise when i realized that it was in the middle of town surrounded by loads of foreign embassies. Somehow among all those big houses lie an abandoned building and a 'mamak' shop in front of it. We were greeted by lots of weird stares and an old Indian uncle who did not allow us to shoot there. Damn him.. now he says. Apparently he used to be nice according to the bridal gallery crew. But somehow the photographer managed to persuade him and told him that it will only take a while.Not costing him any money at all right? Or was he perhaps subtly trying to extort money from us? Well too bad. Not going to pay you just to take pictures at an abandoned building. Sheesh.. why are people less and less tolerant of each other? And i'm not talking about my generation either cos this uncle is in his 50's.

I totally loved the place. There were butterflies and squirrels and all kinds of insects around. Plus it was nice and shaded too. The only problem was uneven terrain and slightly muddy ground.The MUA and boy (dunno his name) started smoking the place with Indian incense to drive the mozzies away. Luckily for us not many mosquitoes that day.

Being an old abandoned building there was some paint splashed onto it.. unsure why but made a good backdrop.This was my first look for the day. Love the dress, still cringing about my face (not used to heavy make-up) and depending who you are may or may not like my hair extensions.I'm guessing my mom will love it. She always wanted me to have long hair.

I'm supposed to look like a fairy lol :p

 

Love the frills on the dress.

Anyway Jh did not enjoy it at all cos it was not air-conditioned and he's really not a nature person.

So on to the next location which was Heritage Hotel right opposite the KTM station. All the hubbies are so kesian cos they have to chauffeur everyone around.

I had two dresses and 2 different hairdos over there. Had to fill in a form and pay RM50 to shot there. They even gave us a room which according to the photographer was lucky cos not everyone gets a room. The lobby was just next to the cafe. So as JH was settling the check in i sat at the cafe attracting lots of amused stares. It is mainly a hotel for foreigners. And as i was sitting there a big sized ang moh guy walked pass and looked at me. I looked up and saw that he was smiling at me. I knew it the next thing he said was 'can i take a picture'. Of course using simple plain English for fear i did not understand the language? But he was nice though. If i go to a foreign country i would want to take pictures of chance encounters with foreign brides with heavy make-up and over the top hair too.

And as we were waiting for the lift, he asked to take another picture. This time i asked him to send me the picture cos.. wth i wanna see how it turns out in full size. Mana tau it looks nice? And he gamely obliged. But i had to repeat my request 3 times, cos either my voice was too soft or he was half expecting me to demand money for the pictures like those Cambodian kids.

By this time we were really tired and hungry so after changing in the room we ate a bit of lunch and on to our work. The hotel is really rustic with those really old-school lifts.

The cafeteria..with Jh looking better not posing.

The room we got.Really simple room with all the basic necessities.

Once again i had a white gown and this time an up-do.There was another old white hair freaky looking ang moh guy who came and wolf whistled while we were shooting. We all just ignored him and pretended he was invisible. I think this must happen all the time so the crew hardly lifted an eyebrow.

I had to climb up and then lie down the whole time i was thinking which bone was going to break if i fell.

The next dress was a purple one but did not bother to take own pics. We saw another couple having a photo shoot there as well, Malay couple with their parents accompaniment!!Wa ha ha..

And finally we met a Malay uncle who followed us wherever we went. Sigh maybe he wants to be a photographer too?

And lastly we had a nice air-conditioned time in the indoor studio with my last outfit which was a really puffy fluffy white gown. I loved the hair for the last shoot the best ,a simple up bun! Loves.. Eugene and Cristal and boy were nice and made it a fun day for us. They even arranged to have photos taken with us as  a parting shot. Cool..

I'll just have to wait and see if the photos turn out well. Just as long as my pictures look like me, I'm happy.

Bridal photoshoot preparations..

Bridal photoshoots may look simple but they are most certainly not! It takes lots of preparation not to mention investment and a whole lotta luck. Here's how mine went. I had 3 days of leave prior to my photoshoot and as there were so many days to spare we went and had some R&R. It was not until the day before the photoshoot when i started getting an appointment for a manicure and pedicure as well as thinking whether to buy fresh flowers for the shoot or what props i needed.

Luckily i made a call to Sook May who gave me some really good advice and experience about her own photoshoot. Saviour! It was then that i realized that i had so much to do! So as to avoid other brides having the same Noob experience i'm sharing my own photoshoot ordeal/experience here.

1) Pedicure and manicure (necessity or luxury?)

A pedicure is definitely NOT a must. Who will look at your feet? Most of the shots will be of the face and sometimes background anyway so unless you request shots of your feet, no one's gonna notice.In fact a pedicure is nothing more than buffing away dead cuticles and dead skin cells at the sole of your foot and adding a layer of nail polish to it. You can just skip this part entirely. A pedicure is supposed to be a relaxing treat so why not do it when your relaxed and not just before a photoshoot. You have plenty of other things to do.

A manicure on the other hand should be done. And so please keep your nails nice and long so the manicurist can buff and shape the nails neatly and apply polish or whatever nail art you want. Mind you this is just to let your nails look nice and neat and shapely for the shoot. Once again unless you ask for a close up of your hands, no ones gonna even see the tiny flower or crystal on your nail in the photos.

My manicured fake nails.

I made the stupid mistake of clipping my nails just a few days before the shoot due to work commitments. With super short nails, the manicurist can hardly do anything about my nails. So i had to have nail extensions done. They had to glue fake nails once by one.. taking about an hour. And i had to have it taken off the day after my photo shoot cos i cant work with long nails! It's a source of infection.

I had my nails done at Nails Extreme in Taipan, Subang. For newcomers a mani and pedi is only RM58 which is really worth it. But cos my nails were so short, the extensions alone cost me RM60. Together with a french manicure and a pedicure, i ended up paying RM110. Mind you i had absolutely no nail art. The worst thing was, the removal of the nail extensions cost me RM 25 and very unsightly over-buffed and distressed nails.That's what you get for having nails glued on and then taken out 2 days later. All in all though the service there was great and the new members promotion is a steal. But since the shop is so popular you had better make an appointment in advance. It was full house on a weekday morning!

2) Hair colouring

If you had previously coloured your hair, chances are there is probably lots of regrowth now which will show up on the pictures. Don't expect the photographer to photoshop 200 over pics just to change your hair colour! I had half black half brown hair and assumed it will be ok cos they have colour spray stuff wat.. haha so wrong. Sook May advised to please go colour my hair dark brown or something cos she's seen pics with sprayed on colour and it looks very fake. Come to think of it i had purple sprayed on colour in one of my previous photo shoots and it looked like crap but i didn't remember about it till SM mentioned about hair colour. Yup so this is a must. Splurge. But if you have never had a hair dye done before and you look good in black hair then you can save loads here. Better to have a natural hair colour than a weird unnatural colour that you have to pay for.

3) Hair length

Now this will take months of preparation so prepare early to grow your hair long! They can do so much more hairstyles with long hair. You can even do short hairstyles with long hair. Of course they can always add extensions for you if you have short hair but it will only look natural if the colour completely matches.

4) Fresh flowers and props

No need to buy as they have fake flowers that look just as good. Unless you really want to splurge on flowers like tulips, dun even bother buying flowers especially roses.Waste of money. As for props, i know a lot of people like bringing balloons but it just looks cartoonish to me. Bring a dog or an antique car now that would be a good prop. Or if you're lazy like me don't bring anything.

5) Poses

I have a friend who has researched on what poses to do way before her wedding. Which is a really good idea cos chances are your hubby will be really awkward and have no clue about posing.It's gonna be a long day so at the end of the day it would be good to have lots a variety of poses. The photographer can only guide you so much.

6) Shoes

Bring a few you like. But make sure one of them is a significantly high heeled shoe. No ones gonna see your shoes under the long gown but it helps to add height. I say bring the high heels along but wear a pair of comfy shoes cos you might be doing a fair bit of walking depending on where your outdoor location is. Bring shoes that match your gowns.Sometimes the photographer might wanna take a pic of you wearing your shoes or maybe you might have chosen a nice short gown.

7) Facial

Yes, one week before the shoot! Then you have to take care of your diet, drink lots of water have good rest the day before yada yada.. but in the end it all boils down to luck.. and genes. If you're prone to breakouts like me you just have to pray all the effort helps. But don't worry the make-up is so think in can cover up imperfections and if all else fails there is still photoshop!

8) Nude bra

Yes.Makes the outfit fit much better. Most bridal shops sell it and you can also purchase it on your own.

9) Miscellaneous

Eat a hearty breakfast cos it's gonna be a long day. And bring a bottle of water and insect repellent if you're going to anywhere remotely jungle-ish.My photoshoot crew did not even want to stop to eat luch, cos they are used to it already. But we insisted and JH treated them to a nice lunch. Sustenance to last the day!

10) Fake eyelashes

We all know that bridal houses in Malaysia charge for eyelashes and ampules and what not. I'm lucky that my bridal house does not have so many hidden costs. My friend though was pretty unhappy worth her fake lashes cos it was cheap, unnatural and uncomfortable to wear.So bring your own just in case you dislike the ones they give you. In fact bring whatever make-up that you like.

11) Luck

Pray no breakouts, periods,conjunctivitis,fever, running nose etc. I had to pray hard as my auntie was supposed to come on my shooting day. If you have regular periods, you can plan your photoshoot months ahead not to coincide with your menses. You really don't want to feel crampy and grumpy or for the make-up artist to see your wings -_- But if you really are so sway.. it's ok la.. the make up artist i had said she's used to it already.


Yup and it really helps to talk to your gal friends so they can cue you in on what to expect so you don't get a culture shock! Discuss about the hidden costs with the bridal house sales assistants so you don't get pissed off on the day of the shoot. And make sure your hubby is ready for some eye-brow trimming and makeup plus lots of driving! Have a smooth pre-wedding shoot!

Wedding photoshoot

My photoshoot is over finally! And all i can say is that it was such a disaster form the get go. First of all my designated photographer's wife decided to deliver on the day of my photoshoot so i had to re choose a photographer. I don't mind the change actually cos i think all the photographers probably have the some level of competency for them to be called photographers but it's just such a blow to know that the photographer that you booked 2 months in advance can't make it half an hour before the photoshoot. But that was actually the least of my worries. I seem to have a face that once you slap on any kind of thick makeup transforms into a totally different being.

My God it reminded me of my disastrous photo shoot during my uni days in Seremban where i looked so different from my actual self. I thought perhaps it was due to the poor skill of the make-up artist but now i guess not. My make up artist was pretty good giving me a kawaii Japanese look and all but seriously i looked damn weird after the make-up. JH said my eyes were looked too wide set ugh.. And i kept telling myself thick make-up is needed for photo shoots. The crew was damn nice so it made the shoot rather ok and fun but now i dread to think what my photos look like.I don't want to look like another person!!

The worst thing was when the photographer saw my facebook profile picture.. he asked if that was me cos i look so different!! At that point i felt like i should just remove all my make-up so that i can at least look like me in the last few shots!!

Sigh..i think i need photoshop to remove make-up!!

Ugly!!

Look at it!! Wide set eyes.. weird balding forehead.. fierce crayon shin chan eye brows and ghostly pale skin!! And obviously over dramatic eye lashes! Transvestite.. argh!

This is me with very minimal make-up.

Totally different yeah?? Now all i can pray for is that the photographer is really top notch  and can make me look pretty.. prays hard for mad crazy photoshop skilss :p Imagine hanging up a wedding photo that doesn't look like you??

Jin hui on the other hand had it easy.. 5 minutes of make-up and he looks great! No make-up look. Ha ha but sorry can't put up his picture here cos he's really private.

I'm only watermarking the pics cos i don't wanna have my ugly pics on any other blog..

Does this look like me? I can't gauge any more..

I think i look better from the back.

Hai should do photoshoots without make-up.

Feb Japanese Magazines GWP

The latest Japanese mags for February will be hitting Kinokinuya stores soon and some may already have reached long ago..  even though it's barely into January. Compared to the January issues nothing really warrants me going all the way to KLCC to purchase. The only thing that looks marginally good is the In Red mag that comes with 4!! Jill Stuart products namely a mini blanket, a huge pouch and 2 key charms!! Wow.. and i love the pink zebra prints too! Can't get the actual pics of the gifts but just take a look at the top left or right hand corner for a look at the gifts!

Steady... after the lovely Samantha Tiara gift comes up with an abysmal beams canvas tote.judging from the video looks a bit flimsy.

Mini's gift a x-girl bag.. looks nice but to pay 40++ for an unknown brand in Malaysia?Pass..

Spring is with a Marc Jacobs Lola pouch.Worth it i guess if you're brand conscious and like alternative patterns on your pouch.

And cutie comes with a really cute Care Bear pouch and large vanity mirror. Sorry no pics but you can go check it out here.

Lei Cha

I've suddenly been eating a lot of 'Lei Cha' a traditional Hakka dish which translates to pounded tea. This dish was not typically popular in JB in my childhood and i only got to know of this dish when my friend Yee Yin 'ta pau-ed' it all the way from Ipoh for us to try back in my 2nd year of med school. What struck me most about this dish was how hopelessly healthy it was. Green tea broth with mint pounded in for good measure poured over rice topped with 8 types of ingredients (mostly vegetable) ranging from blanched long beans, preserved radish (cye poh) , cabbages,beans, diced tofu, toasted peanuts, and various other unidentified green vegetables.

It was nice but different. Certainly i though this dish was only popular in Ipoh as i could not phantom anyone my age willingly forking out money to buy a plate of vegetables.In Ipoh i ate it whenever i saw anyone selling it.Then i left Ipoh to work elsewhere. So that was the last of my lei cha eating days..or so i thought.

Going back to JB i found a hawker centre on the first floor of Holiday Plaza selling the stuff. Must be a fluke i thought. Then going back to Subang with JH , we stopped at the newly opened food court in Taipan! I jokingly said i wanted to eat lei cha, which was met with him rolling his eyes.

But waddaya know, at the far corner of the food court i found this!

The holy gruel for anyone going on a detox plan. But i am in no means dieting. I just love eating anything healthy. I hate feeling full and eating fast food makes me feel how oily and clogged up my vessels must be. I hate too much flavour in my food and love it when the natural flavour of food is not masked by ajinomoto.

And this meets my needs exactly. The best thing about this besides the obvious health benefits, is that it is make up of a cacophony of different textures. The crunch of nuts, long beans and cye poh, plus the softness of the rice and tofu is met by minty bitter green tea broth.

It is light yet is enough to quell my hunger.

It is no wonder "lei cha" is making a comeback in a big way thanks perhaps to the increase of health conscious people everywhere.

Yum yum if you haven't tried it, go have a lei cha today.

Chia Yee and Kok Lim's wedding

The couple whose romance blossomed while working as housemen would you believe that? Between juggling deliveries and C-sections they found time to find each other! And as a housemate and IMU-ian, it is with a happy heart to see that Kok Lim has found a soul-mate so amazingly well-matched everyone was surprised!

Happy marriage to Kok Lim and Chia Yee! Hoping to hear further good news soon!

City Square JB

Happy New Year people! But i can't help but think Christmas was way more fun! I counted down the new year alone in front of the TV watching..God i can't even remember.. cos JH was on-call. Not going back to JB this time cos i just went back Christmas ..and how fun it was!

Spent Christmas at the best (In my humble opinion) shopping centre in JB.. City Square! For the simple reason that it is not like any of your run-of-the-mill shopping centres. It's one of a kind and there are so many varieties of individual shops! No major departmental store of giant supermarket though but lots of things to buy for very cheap and not so cheap.

So made Dan drive us to City Square (CS). And what i lovely sight it is to have 933 on the radio! Stupid Mediacorp just had to stop free internet streaming. How does one overcome 933 deprivation?

Reached at lunch time and had lunch (priority) at Vivo's pizza. Where we had an excellent view of the Christmas performances!

Pretty young things dancing to 'Nobody' by the Wonder girls.

Not that many people watching initially.

Could have gone right up to the stage and snap snap~

Which is what i did~ they did sing some lovely Mandarin songs~

Reveal: Daniel and his sweet gf Chau Pei!

The crowd was rather small during the singing performances.

But when it came to the dancing competition the crows swelled!!And there were people cheering and wtf screaming! -_-

And there was this uncle who was damn semangat and flashing victory signs to the competitors!Wahaha rock on~

Too many people plus tired from all the shopping we decided to leave at around 5pm. And guess who i met!! Tuti (Shukrizah) who now works in KL but came down to Jb for the hols! We never ever meet in KL but meet in JB pulak where we come once a month for hols?!! Wahaha~ I can never say this enough but it truly is such a small world.

And she now has a 1 year old kid!

In the car park also can cam whore...

I hada short break in Jb but still managed to meet up with another SETA friend! Siaw Yen!Who is now practically my neighbour! She lives just a few roads away in her marital home.

She used to always come to my place for tuition and now she is gonna be staying near my place at her husbands place once she gets married! And she works in a school very near by too.. and would you believe it her next door neighbour was my coursemate in IMU.

She really is fated to stay in Kolam Air.. haha while i am stranded in Slim River!

And she gave me cakes cos she's getting married soon! I thought the cakes were just for relatives but i took it anyway.. haha no complaining.. the cakes and tarts were great!

Had a lovely lovely Christmas! Can't wait for Chinese New Year!!