A Mind of My Own

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I’ve been playing with the unused nail polish for the past few days. I now have O.P.I, Lo’Real, The Face Shop, Izu, Red Earth and Sally Hansen. I played with them, no, not on my nails and realised why the girls love O.P.I.

It has the smoothest application even if the surface is uneven. Oh boy. The worst to apply is unfortunately, Lo’Real. When attempting to reapply when the nail polish is still wet, the shade went lighter. The same goes for The Face Shop, Izu, Sally Hansen and Red Earth.

What makes O.P.I. so special? I have no idea except that I am breathing in too much nail polish despite my attempts to paint in a room with the windows wide open. At this moment, I don’t mind collecting unused nail polish (any shade is welcomed) and unwanted jewellery. I am trying to go green by mix and match. So, contact me and let me know what you are willing to donate. Thanks.

After watching Vicky Cristina Barcelona by Woody Allen, I have only one conclusion to make. Spain is vivacious. The people are passionate about art and enjoying the finer aspects of life. The beautiful buildings, streets and the lovely houses have made me want to visit Spain.

The movie is about Vicky and Cristina who were in Barcelona for a 2-month vacation. Vicky (Rebecca Hall) was to complete her thesis in Barcelona while Cristina (Scarlet Johansson) would tour by herself at times. During the art exhibition, both girls met Juan Antonio (Javier Bardem) who was recently divorced from a violent marriage. Cristina was instantly attracted to him and couldn’t help looking at him most of the time.

During dinner, Antonio approached them and proposed a weekend stay with just the three of them. Vicky was apprehensive but Cristina was raring to go. During the stay, Vicky was slowly charmed by Antonio but quickly regretted her passion.

As time went on, Cristina started to see more of Antonio and chaos began when the ex-wife, Marie Elena (Penelope Cruz) sought refuge with Antonio. The trio had problems at first as they were living in the same house but soon warmed up to each other.

I like the cute song that is being played during the start.

Trailer is embedded.

This would not have been made possible without Blog Aloud.

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The continuing saga of China’s poisoned milk has everyone in the world in an uproar. Parents are scared that they could be poisoning their children slowly with milk from China. In fact, everyone is frantically trying to get refunds from retailers when they saw the list of food that contains melamine. The problem? I have just ate 2 packets of the Oreo.

Milk is an important part of a baby’s life as it helps to build the calcium level since at a young age, the absorption is faster and retains until the age of 25 - 30. With so many babies in China, the distributors of milk would want to earn as much as possible and thus, the underhanded means to inflate the volume of the actual amount of milk being sold.

I find it disgusting. In order to earn more money, the milk have been falsified to inflate their actual volume. In order to earn more money, such dangerous tactics have been used and kept hidden from the public until 53, 000 babies are found dying from drinking the milk formula from the same milk powder distributer.

Due to the high number of poor in China, it seems that quality is never part of the plans since the people will not be able to for the standard. No one is willing or able to pay for good quality. As it seems that China is able to produce more milk than other countries, or is it because it’s cheaper, hence the products that are now being recalled are affected by the huge impact.

The cost of doing such an unscrupulous act is the deaths of babies, causing companies and retailers to go through the refunds and poor quality. Poor quality isn’t the first time China products is known for either. Is this what they want to be continued to be known for?

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It isn’t so easy as it looks when watching those Youtube videos about making beads from strips of paper. The beads are so pretty when glossed over after the glue has dried that I wanted to try the same thing too. Especially that glass bead lookalikes.

Hence, I found old magazines that cried out loud for new life. I measured and cut the papers of selected pages. Found some newspapers and toothpicks. And off I went to bead them. After they have dried, I used some gloss enamel for making them harder.

It took 2 days to be fully dried and I attempted to take them off the toothpicks. 20% of the beads were successfully taken off. The rest, I had to use force and my index fingers nearly got blisters. So, I tried with pliers. The beads were nearly deformed. In the end, I threw away my hard work and searched for help to prevent them from sticking to the toothpicks.

Ah ha! I found that all I had to do was to use Vaseline! Nice. Unfortunately, I have no such Vaseline for years since the smell wasn’t that fantastic. Hence, I used Tiger Balm. A very bad idea as I forgot that after using herbal balms, I can’t wash my hands. That was after I have washed away the white glue.

In the end, I have poked a tiny hole in my left index finger with the beading needle and cut the bottom of my right palm with a toothpick during the attempt to remove the needle from the bead. With a small plaster near the wrist, it looks like I have attempted to cut myself instead of doing something simple; making paper beads.

I like to travel. To visit as many places as possible while I’m still able to run, climb and walk. I have visited Bangkok, Bali, Batam, Brisbane and Genting Highlands. Ah ha! Finally a place where it doesn’t start with the letter B. Sounds like Sesame Street to me.

Living in Singapore, we may be exposed to various cultures but the atmosphere is different when you attend the Songkrat in Thailand, Mardi Gras in Brazil or buffalo fighting in Vietnam. Experiencing the festivals is a way to see how they live and enjoy life.

Watching buildings and sceneries is another reason why I like to travel. The skies seem to be bluer than in Singapore. The animals seem to have more land space to roam in the zoo. Trying to understand the language can be tricky as some of the places I have been to, the people may not understand English but it’s part of the fun.

I have yet to see the pink blossoms in Japan, swim with the dolphins, touch the Great Barrier Reef (unfortunately, it’s out of bounds due to pollution) and many more. Planning for holidays is half the fun. It’s the visiting and looking at the structures and experiencing festivals that completes it.

If traveling with tour guides isn’t your cup of tea, why not try Tiger Airways after you have planned your itinerary?

Tiger Airways is currently celebrating its 4th anniversary by having a special birthday fares starting from S$0.04 to various destinations.

Tiger Airways is Asia Pacific’s true low fare airline. It offers passengers not only one of the lowest possible airfares in the market, but safe, reliable and convenient point-to-point air travel as well. Tiger Airways now flies to more than 27 destinations across 9 countries in Asia-Pacific on a fleet of brand new Airbus A320 aircraft.

I truly wonder how the current economy in Singapore. My attempts to find jobs of similar positions have failed. Not that I am surprised. They prefer certified professionals rather than the supposedly degree. Sadly, that’s the case for IT. A degree just help you get that first step. It’s the IT certifications that help you broaden your prospects.

I can whine about their lack of experience. However, I was inexperienced once. I can whine about being unable to climb up the corporate ladder. However, I have never thought of climbing up such a ladder. I like what I was doing until I slowed down. I have never ventured out to seek other areas despite my ability to pick up skills fast.

I have been too comfortable in my zone that I like the stability and yet hate the routine. I got bored. I got angry at how bad life is and how stuck in the rut I was. I was blaming everything else but myself. I stopped learning. I wonder why. Was it because of the chase for that degree I was so desperate to get that time 4 years ago?

Was it because I was no longer studying that my brain cells have stopped functioning? Was I just obsessed with something else, that money can’t solve everything? I’m not so sure but I am sure of one thing now. I am finding my purpose in life.

During the chase and the aftermath of it, I lost my energy for everything. I just wanted to be out of that routine. I wanted to be my own boss and dreamed of it ever since I realised that the corporate world is cruel. Even if I have dealt with it.

I want too many things but I have yet to start on it except now. Now I am tired of trying to send out my resumes as I know I am not ready to go back to a 9-to-6 work. I want to slog it out. I want to force myself to take up the things I have been meaning to take instead of saying “I don’t think I am up to it.”

I am still learning how to take such challenges and changes. It’s a huge change from my previous roles. Something that not everyone will agree with.

So, how is the current situation with the economy in Singapore?

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Friday nights are for partying. Thus, ES called for a last minute night out. We had dinner at Sakae Sushi. My craving, apologies. After dinner, the four of us went to Ink Bar but it was closed off for a private function till 9.30pm. Since it was just an hour’s wait, we made ourselves comfortably at the entrance.

The lady serving the drinks didn’t even give us a menu or asked if we would like to drink anything. Within 2 minutes after JC had returned from the restroom, we went to Introbar. Goodbye to poor service. We made ourselves comfortable at one corner of the club, the door where ES attempted to open but failed to try the other unlocked door. A really face palm moment.

We ordered our drinks and enjoyed the ambiance at the place. Poured our work woes and about the cruel world of why working and looking for jobs can be horrible for women at certain ages. The obnoxious people who refused to understand a problem at work and people who sing different tunes in meetings when a problem is still unresolved and why budget seems to be bugging everyone.

Mainly, we shared our stories of how to overcome them and releasing the stress. CD arrived nearly 10pm. This was where the fun started because she was all raring to go dancing her heart out. She spoke of her dancing experience in Boat Quay or was it Clarke Quay; this guy is a dancing instructor and asked her for a dance. She agreed after the bar owner said he is a dancing instructor. She twirled around in Salsa style half the night. Getting giddy was the end result.

Since she wanted to dance her stress away, HF accompanied her and they went to Equinox. At 12.30am, they returned to the table and spoke of this guy dancing near CD and unbuttoning his jeans. He was dancing very close and was really excited about CD. His friend started to dance in front of CD and got pushed away.

I didn’t realise that guys just got hot under while dancing and needed to strip. I would have crushed the balls so that he can’t use them to bang any more. CD said her hands would have been dirtied. How unfortunate, it would have been good to crush those balls.

It is unfortunate that discos and dance clubs can’t screen people for stripping-compulsive-disorders-in-public. If anyone can come up with a clamp device for crushing balls, do share.

We were young once. We want to show the world that we are no longer kids and want them to acknowledge our presence. In our own ways, we wore Armani, Burberry or Moschino apparel, carried Issey Miyaki or Guess bags, and even perfume to school. We wanted to show them that we are capable of making decisions for ourselves and didn’t need any babysitter every minute.

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The boys would show off their powers by joining the big brothers who would say, “I look after you. Nobody bully my brother one!” They would often skip classes and sit at the coffeeshops or void decks and check out the pretty girls by wolf-whistling.

As time went by, they would get bolder, from stealing food to money. Each time, they weren’t caught, they broaden their “rewards”. The boys would also go to discos and Fire Disco was a popular place for seeing them dancing and playing with the girls.

The girls, on the other hand, would dress up and try to wear the shortest skirt that is allowed to school. Some would pull down the tucked in blouses as tight as possible into the skirt to show off their curves. Others would attempt to hide their hair highlights.

Yet other girls would continue wearing that threadbare blouse to show off what they were wearing inside. Or maybe it wasn’t to show off what they were wearing inside.

Those were The Days. I had the pleasure of viewing a Boi Kwong film made just for remembering those days. It is based on a true story about himself and his younger brother. It was a misguided attempt to ensure that his beloved brother would be protected that he pulled him into his world.

The movie captured the vulnerability of teenage years and their impression of being protected by the big brothers. Fighting and staring were often part of their lives. During the 1980s and early 90s, carrying parangs was part of protecting one’s life and to attack the enemy.

The Days opens on 11 Sept, 2008. The movie is just 100 minutes long due to cuts as it contains vulgar languages that were limited to the famous “Your father”. It’s a pity as I have heard far more colourful words being sprouted during my teenage years.

Stay tuned after the credits have rolled. To catch that handsome Zi Long a.k.a. Tai Zi, the cast will be at the stated places.

I have only one question for the director. How come Tai Zi wasn’t at the Cinema Europa one?

PS: This was made possible by GV Blog Aloud session. Thanks!

I went to Sengkang Swimming Complex last month. This is a long delayed post. Oh my. Well, DD wanted to go swimming, so, we went to this newly opened pool. It was raining heavily from 9am. I was so antsy as it may mean that I won’t have the chance to take a look around the new complex!

Thankfully, the Sun God decided that he had to take over and the sun shined from 11.30am onwards. On weekday, it is a good place to be with since the pools won’t be too crowded until you can’t do a thing despite paying the entry fees just to get in.

Indoor pool for swimming and teaching.

Kids playpool. Most of them love to play with the water pipes.

A round pool that I don’t understand what its purpose is. Yet.

The water slides. Way smaller than in Wild Wild Wet and other pools where space is bigger.

What I noticed is that the lifeguards were very busy with people who run around despite the floors being slippery, mothers who attempt to let their kids with arm floats or belly floats go into the adult pools, adults attempting to step upon the kids slides, etc.

My lifeguard friend said it is because of serious accidents that have occurred in other places, kids running despite being told not to and ended up with gashes on faces, some with bones seen after getting deep cuts even when told not to do dangerous stunts and more.

Overall, the swimming pool slides are for fun, thus, use common sense. If the recommended usage of the given float is pasted on the boards all over the pool, use. You don’t want to be sent to the hospital just because you didn’t listen.

I have been very happy to stay at home to find out what it feels like to do what I have been meaning to do. I may not be earning what I used to when I had a stable income but I feel way much happier. Although, my dear parents will nag at me to find a “stable” job. After having gone through unhappiness while working the same routine for years, I do wonder if a stable job is what I have in mind.

Yes, it does provide the money to buy things without having to worry about whether I still have enough for the rest of the month. During my younger years, I have learned to keep track of where my money goes to. I may buy things on the impulse but how often do I do that? I used to buy new mobiles every year but after the slate of disappointment with the mobile phones not performing to my expectations, I have since stopped that.

I want to try working from home but parents don’t understand and I keep hearing them telling me about Chines New Year is coming. Well, for a fact, it is coming every single year. So, what is the difference? Perhaps I may not think so after I have to be the one giving out the ang baos.

It is only a month. I have to prove to them that what I have always wanted to try is working. However, they want fast results. Will they ever understand that such things take time? I want to give it time. Those who have done it have may have spent 3 years just for the initial inputs to break even.

Money makes the world go round but it can’t buy happiness.