Prayers¬

(*¬o¬*)

Monday creeps up upon us again. I'm sure we all sincerely hate the certain individual who came up with our system of a week. Order is what a good society submits to. bleh. Governments can only do so much. Music can move an entire nation and all it takes to break something is a bad rumour. Humans are complex creatures and that is our biggest flaw yet brilliance. We never appreciate what is given to us yet we selfishly keep asking for more. Glee has evolved into a cancerous show and no I do not mean it is  anywhere close to being addictive but just complete SHYTE. I do give them credit for their music covers but thats roughly it. Last night, the singing quarter back found his God on his burst cheese toastie. It gave him hope and joy to many things in his life. I do not believe in one God nor do I solemnly pray to anyone. If I needed a label then I am an ex-Christian. However, I do believe there is some kind of higher being in this world and if he is up and running at the moment, I would like to pray to that higher being and really believe for once in God. Please, look over my grandpa who is dying of cancer this very moment. Grant him the luck to not feel any pain and the luxury to finish his last wishes. God bless him please. 

 I'll take this opportunity to pray for my family and friends who need some prayer during this period whether it is for their work, personal life or financial state. Or any other worries they have in life. I feel silly typing this out on an online diary but it does have some kind of consolidation even though its a mere containment. Found this emoticon online which reminds me of high school days. Gotta end on a sweet note !

 

{emoticon taken from http://www.anikaos.com/0040-cebollita_animated_onion.html}

Thoughts get blown up and still end up being futile.

What if life came down to this>? 

You want to help but you just know you really can't. 

Its so hurtful that its ironically beautiful. 

True emotion is valid. 

Using kids to gain sympathy is monopolization from the elites.

Life just continues. 

Gotcha Catch Them All !

No its not Pokemon, Digimon, whatever new generation of little illusional (but cool) creatures. Who would think they still sell this>let alone someone playing it ! What am I talking about> yes, thats right. 

<<< TAMAGOTCHI >>>

Complete madness that this is still in our generation! This is what we used to play in what, 4th grade?! Everyone had one. The little buzzer acted as our little digital pixel pets and we would have to feed them every few hours. Usually risking it during class time. I remember the teachers usually would have a drawer full of them by the end of the day. So by the time we leave campus, they would've all died. Eventually tamagotchi got on the banned items at school list with the yo-yo, barbies and such toys. Good days when we all didn't have our dream pet yet. 

P.S. damn the brilliant Japanese !!! They have them in fully colour resolution now!! And with adorable covers. (X.X) Pricey for such a little thing. <$62.00>

Tart off !

[Apologies for the over exposure for these photos. I'm still working out my new cammie]

High tea at The Berkley London. Ahem, yes they have a good theme going with the whole Fashion in Season menu which they charge at 41 pounds per head BUT aesthetics and taste do need to go hand in hand together. THEY DO! 

This would be my second visit to The Berkley hotel and I guess I can strongly confirm it is my last time too. I brought my best friend here with another friend for they both wanted high tea but mainly because they had also seen the photos from my previous visit. The cakes are 'fashion inspired' which are explained on a glass little block. So a Christian Louboutin shoe would be made out of a chocolate biscuit with icing on top¬silver glitter and red paste for the reknown sole. A Hermes bag would be represented by a little icing miniature version. Got the drift yeah>? 

Anyhow, for the 41 pounds, you would get a tray of savoury sandwiches which are not up to Tesco's standards, an array of sweets and small appetizers and a pot of tea. There are tasty bites within the lot but overall, the taste is appalling for what you have to pay. The design of the cakes are also not fantastic for what people can do today with modern day technology and plain skill. The China is authentic Paul Smith however the fact that most of the plates and handles of the cups have been used over and over, the gold has worn off and I believe its acceptable to say that its unreasonable to serve such ware at a 5 star hotel. Service is also another thing which needs to be brought to attention. During my first visit, we were served by a troupe of French men who were very prompt and proper. Very satisfying. Service will always be remembered and is a HUGE contributor for ratings. However, this time round, we were served by a troupe of women and they gave attitude which was completely unacceptable. When a customer asks politely for you to take a photo, you try your best to take the best photo possible (even if you have no photo skill what so ever, you can point and shoot without unfocusing the camera aka hold your breath). The lady did not look like she wanted to help us take a photo and she handed me back the camera proudly saying 'will do this *walk away' and I am left with a photo where one person in the group is completely distorted. I understood high end places like to explain things on their menu properly and fine, we'll listen intently with some regard to being interested however, the lady who was serving us clearly had a strong accent and 99% of the time we did not understand a thing . I understand it is hard to change an accent to suit another language and no I am not asking her to switch but when we asked her to repeat what she said, she refused to. And no I am not being racist but even if you have a strong accent, you should not abuse it to your advantage. We understood her English but when we asked for something, she would pretend to not hear us and just ignore us when she clearly and obviously did hear us. Asking for the bill was the easiest thing to do. Sigh. 

Fendi and Hermes bag displayed in cake forms

The fashion inspired icons

Paul Smith 

Just reminds me of Marc Jacob's Daisy perfume. 

Confidence is the true key to being beautiful

Liu Wen, Top Asian model > Absolutely brilliant and not to mention gorgeous. This spread was taken from Vogue and the focus is the absolute freedom that is felt from them. Dont you feel how free spirited she is here with no cares of the materialistic world. Ha, ironic when shes wearing all that branded stuff. Yes yes I know, but for argument sake lets just say its all tribal wear. Actually flaring like this in branded stuff is pretty darn cool too. Down the streets of Manhattan? Hell yeah! Ok, the point of this entry? Basically, I believe we (as in males and females) need to be more daring and FREE in our relationships. Yes, love relationships. A friend of mine has been talking to me for the past few days about this girl he is madly in love with and he absolutely wants her but he just isn't bringing himself to do anything about it. Okay he doesn't sound that pathetic. He has made the usual moves, hes already made her confess she has feelings and I'm sure they've already slept together. Boy wants to be with Girl but Girl has confessed that even though she likes boy, she will probably end up hurting him. OKay, so after boy hears this, he is like 'oh fck, thats the end of the road from here on'. W-T-F. No it isnt! Why do guys give up so easily?! Seriously! Even if things get tough, rough it out and work it out! Little wonders, we girls don't have that much hope in you boys anymore ! But ironically enough we are still madly attractive to you lot. The world doesn't make any sense. My suggestion to boy in this scenerio is that if he is truly madly die hard 'I WANT YOU TO BE MINE' over her kind of mode, then boy should really get his ass moving asap. Since the confrontation of 'the talk' has already kicked off, girl (being the smart one of the two) probably knows what she wants and doesn't want (aka perhaps a committed relationship). So, if boy really wants girl, then he should do something memorable one last time if he doesn't done so already, let her go away for awhile to think what the hell is missing in her life which makes her feel so comfortable and that warm fuzzy feeling or maybe sexual rush AND then she'll knocking at boy's door at 4am in the morning. Maybe 4.25am. Who knows. xp
Either way, when it comes to playing or chasing love, we can't take it too seriously either. We need to have fun with it, we need to be free and beautiful like the tribal dances which highlights confidence and elegance WHICH then in turns attracts our mate. Love shouldn't need to be difficult to obtain. If two people are true to who they are and if they like that or even try to accept that of the other then thats the affirmative to a LONG and most likely healthy relationship.
However, boys and girls, always remember, when things don't work out, your best friend is always waiting for you on that couch with the tub of ben n jerrys with friends playing on the tv. =) Good stuff.

It isn't the end of Winter YET.

Yes, it is the month of January but that still makes it the winter season here in London. And yes it is still BLOODY cold. There was a glint of hope for some warmth a week back but it looks like Feb will be our coldest month once again. DAMMIT.
Winter break is over and we are all recovering (most of us suffering) from the winter festive treats we had back home. For those who did not go home, I am truly sorry. SAVE UP FOR A TICKET HOME.
So, of course we would all need something to make ourselves feel better. Ice cream would be an immediate choice for many but from yesterday onwards, two of my best friends here in London have made a pact. We have decided to give up till March, 6 things.
1) ice cream
2) soda
3) chips
4)white bread
5)fried food
6)laziness

Laziness should help with my attendance at school. (x.x) Either way, we've been good so far.
We had a sweet craving the other night and we couldn't turn to ice cream BUT then we thought of FROYO. It is a real shame we don't have Sour Sally here and I do wish it did come here. All we have here is SNOG, Yuforia, Frae and one more which doesn't earn any recognition. Frae was one we all hadn't tried yet and there was a chain down at Notting hill gate. Its a cute little place with cosy wooden stools and white jasmine for the floral arrangements (but they are withering ever so fast) and the concept is just 'organic'. They charge the same as everywhere else but their froyo tastes as good as Yuforia but not better than Sour Sally. You know good froyo when you keep going back for more when you don't even realize it! Anyhow, its a good healthy alternative to ice cream and is almost guilt free =)

Height isn't everything

1-Altitude was the place to go tonight. A new chic splash your cash past time > on top of a roof top. Yes, Altitude is on the 62nd floor of 1 Raffles place with a 360 degree view of beautiful Singapore. Entry fee is 15 dollars and it comes with a complimentary free drink of your choice from the given menu. The venue and idea is brilliant since the atmosphere up to the clouds is breath taking. However, tonight just did not hit any 'wooo' factors from the crew. It was pretty and all up there but the lighting and interior arrangement or perhaps the too soothing music just didn't match the rooftop bar's potential. The clouds were shady tonight though and it did just rain before our arrival so that may have been the downing point. A stunning starry sky always is a natural woo factor. Anyhow, snaps from the view> not brilliant but that is most likely due to my unprofessional photography skills.

Lets end the night with a chibi star ;)

Hello Sour Sally

Sour Sally is hitting all the major malls and cities ....in Indonesia ;D 

Not just your everyday frozen yoghurt venue, their original flavour is puzzlingly addictive as well as their other flavours of strawberry (pinkalicious) and taro mint-yummy! Yes, froyo is such a modern thing and there are many different chains in every country. Red Mango dominating the states and Snog claiming London. (However, Snog tastes like ass cheese-literally). I happened to notice Sour Sally during a short winter trip in Jakarta Indonesia. I had seen it before 5 years ago when I last went but did not bother to try it even though their store looked very inviting for I believed it was just 'another' froyo venture. I decided to try it this time and boyy was I wrong. The taste of the yoghurt itself was a tad more sour than what normal froyo tastes like but then it goes down just the same with the right amount of sweetness. I ended up having two medium tubs. VERY addictive. During my time in Jakarta, I had it everytime I went out to a mall (yes they are EVERYWHERE) and so far there has been no disappointment. According to their flyer, they are opening in Singapore 'soon' so who knows, Sour Sally may just pop up in the Ion Orchard soon enough ! =D 

On the left, Original flavor with browine and mixed mochi toppings (the mochis are amazing, not too chewy or plain tasting-perfect consistency of rice flour) and on the right, Original flavour with brownies and crushed oreos.

 Original with taro mint twist and peach with mixed mochi toppings

 Original with just mixed mochi !!! (Yes, the mochi is totally worth it !)

Their mascot is rather cute too no? It is rather quirky but the whole image sells well. Thumbs up for Sour Sally!

Click here to follow her at their own established site :)

Bling me up > Kawaii style !

Painting nails will NEVER go out of trend, most ladies either paint them a single shade or do a classic french. Throughout recent years the desire to stick sparkly gemstones (usually always swavoski nowadays) on our petite nails has grown and grown to the masses. Why? Well lets face it, the kawaii Japanese girls flaunt it in reality and on their ViVi magazines so isn't it natural that we would want them on our 10 fingers too? (ah excuse me, some people do their toes too-i know!) Shiny stuff attract magpies naturally and that goes for humans too and NO girl can say she isn't drawn to a sparkling bling. Nowadays, gel extensions have been implemented into the cosmetic market and instead of just having shiny stones stuck on our nails, ladies are having nail EXTENSIONS (yes fake substances to act as a longer nail) before having the stones carefully arranged on top. The process is simple but it seems easy for many nail parlours to get it wrong. A friend had hers done in HongKong and it took her 4 hours whereas when we did it together here in Singapore, it only took 2 hours. These little buggers make us *ahem our fingers pretty but it does come at a price which many young ladies would think twice before splashing. Hygiene and safety is important so bare that in mind but that is common sense, if the place looks dodgy-DONT BOTHER. However, there are always anomalies for 'Nail Status' at Far East Plaza at Orchard is in a rather 'dodgy' building (as compared to the rest of the malls on Orchard) but the quality and service as well as result there is a definite A*. This has been proven through years of going there, being their loyal customer and happily watching their small business grow bigger and bigger as they have recently made it into local magazines. Go Nail Status! They usually get crowded real easily so book in advance to avoid disappointment ! I paid SGD 204.80 for the gel nail extensions there and my bestie who came too paid roughly SGD 200.00 too. Pricey but totally worth it > after you get used to taking out your contacts without poking your eyes (x.x) 

 Navy blue gel tip with royce gold as a double colour, various gems across with ceramic ribbons on certain fingers. Roughly SGD.200.00

 Black gel tip extenstion with silver double colour layer, various pink gems (Ring is Swavoski Spring 2010 Collection)

Close up > it isn't so pretty up close but I wanted you to see that the gel is not applied right to the rim of the nail base for then the nail is allowed to continue to grow naturally. In order to remove these, most would think, 'ah I'll just rip them off' or 'nail remover will do'. WRONG. These will not rip off your nail, please don't try for you will ruin your nail dramatically and any sort of remover will fail. Ladies, you would either have to go back to a nail parlour and get them to remove them for you where they will file the entire chunk off or there is always home DIY which is oh my lord, SO TIRESOME. When you are ready to part with your lovely nails, grab that ugly (or pretty one if you have one) file and file away until all the bling is gone. Dont try to file away the gel extensions. You will have to clip them off as if they were your real nails and you were just clipping your nails normally. This may take a few weeks but allow the nail to grow and ever so slowly the nail extensions will grow out, you clip them and before you know it, your nails are JUST your nails again! What a tiring process right? But SO MANY ladies do it> why? Pure Vanity. And you know what, I'm proud of it. Who doesn't love being a girl?!

Follow Nail Status's blog page here ! !!! : http://thenailstatus.blogspot.com/2008/03/new-shop-found.html

HK ? HK!

This winter holiday also brought me to the Azn shopping city which never sleeps > HONGKONG.
Land of dimsum, shopping and loud loud people. My dad is Cantonese but my Indonesian mother always seems to be louder than him. However if both vocals combined, you're in for a dangerous typhoon.


Hongkong is still the same>the people dress the same (meaning they are still following the latest korean and japanese trends) and so is the culture ( meaning nobody thinks about anything else but themselves first). So is it a big surprise that the food is still the same? No-I LOVE IT. Tradition should stay as it is. Not like some China vendour who has recently gone about selling fruity flavoured xiao long baos. (=.=)"" !!! The Nerve!! Yes, well it will appeal to the 'younger' crowd who will try it once or twice but the original will always be the best. (the typical capricon in me is coming out xp)

Anyhow, without further adue I present some snaps of HK =D

 The hustling scene from causeway bay

 Crazy art installations are placed around the city throughout the year

 XMAS cakes > it is SO hard to find western desserts in HK!!! but of course the local desserts are to die for too. =D

 Bubble tea! Taiwan style! AKA BIG ASS SIZE (hard to finish the pearls)

 Dim sum at 'Serenade'

 BIG BUTT HAR GAO

INFAMOUS MANGO PUDDING with unnecessary hair liked decor (was actually cotton candy)

Winter treats in Niseko***

This winter's holiday was to Niseko Japan and the following are a few photo highlights from the treaty trip. What better than to start of the trip with the infamous vending machines which dominate the entire country!! This one was right outside the airport at the coach point>even looks appealing in the snow doesn't it?  

  We had two choices when it came to accomodations, Hilton Niseko Village and The Green Leaf Hotel. Basically we booked too late so alas Hilton was booked out for the ENTIRE year so we went for Green Leaf. (We did check out other places too but they either were too faraway from a ski point or appeared dodgy from their websites-The Landmark was a viable service apartment and also a choice but since non of us were capable of the native tongue and after hours of google mapping the area, we decided Green Leaf was better suited for our incompetence. It was a 3 hour bus ride from Chitose airport to the hotel and once we arrived at the destination, we realized we had to drag all our bagagge up a snowy hill to get to the hotel lobby. At reception the staff warmly greeted us in their stereotypical Japanese manner and kindly explained that the snow at their round entranceway made it difficult and dangerous for buses to maneuver to the front lobby hence guests had to walk up-fine-acceptable. It was a good choice ending up with Green Leaf rather than Hilton for GL had just been newly renovated and the place was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. A cozy front lounge with a fancy fireplace and bar overlooking the snowy landscape was impeccable. Above is part of our key and the hotel had a 'kawaii' selling point of how each room had a different cute animal design such as shown above. The number and animal as well as colour matched our lockers in the ski/snow boarding lounge too. The rooms were modern and clean, the large windows exposed a view of Japan which was completely breathless. [Totally worth 500 quid a night.]!!!

 The bathroom was of a maroon red tiled shade which put me off but the combination of the uber tech japanese toilet seat (with its numerous confusing buttons and god knows what functions) with the complimentary SHISEDO products for daily use just blew my vain head away. Never before have I washed my hair with such sweet smelling shampoo GIVEN FROM a hotel. However that was also the last day I took a shower in the bathroom for when I discovered the onsen downstairs, I was sold for the rest of the trip. There was an outside and inside onsen, both spectacular. Obviously it was traditional so it was divided males and females so everyone was in the nude. Seeing the ladies with big bouncing breasts made me feel like I should actually consider breast implants for awhile but after one foot into the onsen, all those foolish thoughts floated away. It was absolute heaven. Note to self>have an outside onsen and the japanese styled personalize bathhouse in my future house.  I could babble on forever about the trip but I only wanted to give a brief insight, the following are snapshots of bits and pieces but if anyone is planning a ski trip to Japan, Niseko is definitely on your list! They cater ski and snowboarding lessons (night snowboarding is a must), horse riding in the snow, snow trekking (ya on foot with beaver liked shoes), snow motoring and various other activities. There is something for everyone hmmm but except perhaps the modern shopaholic>but then again they could splurge on the oh so delicious Royce Chocolate products. 

 View from the lift > morning sunrise !

 View from the hotel lounge>this is the beginner slope!!

 Beautiful view from snow trekking around the place. Hard work but well worth it!

 The snow is like powder, you would WANT to keep falling and falling and just sleep there....it does eventually get abit cold xp

 Ka-re at the hotel restaurant, impeccable standard 

 Omu rice at the Hilton buffet > part of their XMAS menu haha, feeling jolly?

 Huge butt salmon which was INCREDIBLY fresh and tasty aside the buttered scallops. This was at 'Crab Shack' next to the hotel. Staff was very friendly, at the end of the meal I asked for the dessert menu and the lady said sorry they didn't have any desserts but after a few seconds she returned asking if ice cream was okay and being the ice cream gobbing monster I am, of course I said HAI ONEGAIIMASU!!!

 The all famous tuna trio > worth every penny and caloriesss

 Very famous and highly recommended bakery called A-Bu-Cha >MUST TRY. Even if its a snowstorm, TREK THERE.

 Adorable shop at the airport>full of seal characters which fluttered my heart

 Aren't they adorable???....or borderline scary??

 They really tried hard to manipulate the seal into everything> look-Jal Airline (O.O)

 Kinda cute though

A family of seals with a loving couple which is the last treat for this XMAS 2010. Japan is a fav on my love lists and it isn't all because of the stereotypical stuff portrayed (ya well okay most of it) but I admire the preserved traditions which they have proudly maintained and perhaps because I am a Third Cultured Kid, I have no sense of belonging so I am attracted to a rooted tradition>maybe? However, for certain I know I'll continue to eat sweet treats (until my doc diagnoses me with diabetes), find the love of my life (won't get a modern day divorce OR marry a Japanese) and have tons of babies (like these seals). Its extremely late but Happy Hols for a Wintery 2010 XMAS. !!! <