clarechow

I had an informal photoshoot this morning at Upper Peirce Reservoir. Before the model came, we did some test shots with the hybrid car Toyota Prius. It's a pretty cool car, and was so quiet I can hardly hear the engine purring to life.

...a little self pampering!

Got myself an SKII Christmas gift set and a medium size bottle of facial treatment essence!

Both promise a 'miracle', but we shall see about that. In another year's time, I'll tell you if my face becomes more translucent or emits an unearthly glow.



Actually, I fell in love with the box the products came in rather than the product itself. SK-II gave this sweet faux-leather box that is useful for storing my daily warpaint. Look how lovely the cosmetic fits in.


The box can't fit everything in though. You're only seeing 1/3 of what's all. Believe it or not, make up is more complicated than rocket science. It goes in an equation (make-up base + liquid foundation + concealer + concealer powder + liquid blusher + loose powder + powder blush + shimmery highlighter + eyebrow liner + eyeliner (brown) + eyeshadow (blending 4 different shades) + eyeliner (white) + eyelash treatment + mascara = I can now show my face outside).

It takes years to figure out which brand of cosmetic suits you best, which colours complement your skin tone etc. It is a skill not to be undermined, so to some of the guys out there, stop rolling your eyes when it comes to girls and our beauty regime. You stand to gain when we look good :)

And for now, 3 totally random cam whoring pictures.

21 years old is supposed to be the tipping point where you transit from teenhood to being an adult. It is the age where you've to:

• Think thrice before committing any crimes
• Stop leeching off your parents (Housing and food don't count)
• Contribute (however miserly) to 家用 (family's financial needs)

Now comes the big 22, and if I were to rate the past year of my life on a scale of 10, it would be hovering somewhere near 8. This past year has seen me:

1. Successfully getting a piece of paper (most often referred to as a degree)
2. Landing my first official job (I'm no longer a temp / intern)
3. Continuing a loving relationship

I've much to be thankful for.

This year's birthday celebration is a simple affair with family, ZY and close friends. It seems like there's an unspoken rule - the only time you're supposed to throw a party for your birthday is when you turn 21 (or when you're 1 month old, which doesn't really count). Any older, you don't wish to be reminded of your age. For women, at least.


( Celebration photos under cut )

I've been indulging in quite a fair bit of online shopping lately. One of the favourite dresses I've bought just came through the mail. It's a deceptively demure dress - plain black frock complemented with a sexy bare back (like practically half bared).


It's very similar to the one worn by Angelababy. But of course, the 2 people wearing the dress is as different as day and night. Kinda like comparing Brad Pitt and Jack Black. Birthday post next!

Step 1: Prepare the plunge (and sharpen your knife beforehand)


Step 2: Bring your plastic knife down. Hard.


Step 3: Wriggle it around to cause him a little more pain.


Step 4: Take a victory shot upon completion of the mission.


If you're wondering what the hell was I doing stabbing my supervisor to an imaginary 'death', that was for our Year End Function. The Mar Comms team had fun playing around before the rest of the guests arrive. Presenting to you the whacky Mar Comm Team of 3:

Not mine of coz, I'm referring to my cousin's wedding some time back. If you were to ignore my tai tai hairstyle for the evening (don't know what got into me), I pretty much like the pictures taken :D

I bought the new Cyber-shot DSC T90 to celebrate Halloween. Ok just kidding, the purchase was to replace my old Panasonic FX01, which I'm intending to sell away on Hardware Zone or something.

Anyway, like a kid with a new toy, the first thing I did was go snappy happy with the camera. Since yesterday was Mao Mao's birthday celebration, the Cyber Shot came in useful to capture some images. Most of the following pictures were taken in low light conditions (think KTV lighting) with no flash. A fairly stable hand is needed for this camera though, if not the resulting pictures would be too blur for comfort.








And this is what happens when you've unsteady hands...


Nothing like spending on a new camera to fuel the motivation for blogging again...

This is what I do to earn my keep...



P/S: Yeah I know the website is over simplistic but it's just a temporary one. We're working on a spanking new web!

If we were to visualize the great hierarchy on a Long John Silver menu, this is what we will get...


Sad to say, I think I only cost $3.99.. hahaha.

Despite buying 2 pairs of shoes, 2 dresses and a bag over the weekend, there's a lack of the usual buzz and satisfaction I get from retail therapy. Hmmm, perhaps shopping is fast losing its appeal. I need some good excitement round the corner to knock the mundane element out of life.

I went to the zoo some time back with ZY and it feels so nostalgic. It reminds me of the time when our primary school teachers would lug the bunch of us over and how the chinese / english essays would inevitably include the title 'A trip to the zoo'. My favourite section (back then) was the kids' world, where they had poor fluffy little chicks that were subjected to the curious prying hands of children.

Here are some of my favourite photos from the trip, all courtesy of ZY.

I've been having a string of bad food luck recently, and whatever I order seems wrong or unsuitable for my taste.

Case in point 1: Cafe il Lido

The above picture depicts the most horrifying pasta on earth, courtesy of Cafe il Lido over at Suntec City. It totally defies the definition of 'Aglio Olio' which by normal standard, means pasta tossed in garlic and olive oil. Sadly, the 2 key ingredients were missing and in their place were green parsley that gives the whole plate a tinge that was none too appetizing. Raw tasting clams peppered the pasta, and the weird sauce accompanying comes with a fishy taste. Makes me wonder if they boiled the clams in plain water and simply throw the pasta in. All in all, it was the worst pasta I've tasted. The carbonara that ZY order weren't any better according to him. And that's saying something, considering that he's definitely not picky when it comes to food. In the end, I left the entire plate untouched and went to Kenny Rogers for some good old comfort food. Wasted about 10 bucks on that inedible 'clams aglio olio'.

Case in point 2: York Hotel
Just a few days ago we went to York Hotel for a colleague's farewell lunch. UOB was having a 1-for-1 offer for 4 main courses. Because of my recent pasta cravings, I went on to order their Seafood Fettucini. Turned out the pasta was creamy, and all things milky and creamy is the bane of my existence. The only saving grace was the blue mussels, which were big, fresh and top with the right amount of nice smelling cheese. I couldn't bring myself to finish the pasta and had to pick out its ingredients while leaving the cream soaked pasta alone.

Case in point 3: Secret Recipe

Right after the Seafood Fettucini mini disaster at York Hotel, I went to Secret Recipe to have dinner with ZY. I ordered the apple crumble cheesecake, as the last piece was beckoning to me from the glass display. Perhaps because its the last piece, the staff kept the cheesecake in the freezer before serving it to us after our mains. Freezer and cheesecake apparently don't go well together, as the cake became stale and hard. Totally unsatisfying end to a mediocre dinner.

On a lighter food note, my family went to this Korean casual dining restaurant for dinner today. The food was great and we had quite a sumptuous spread. I especially love the stir fried kimchi with '5 flower pork' (aka wu hua rou or biologically speaking, pork shoulder meat) and cold tofu. The dishes we ordered covered the entire table.


However, the price is not really worth it for casual dining. Our bill totaled up to about $160 for 4 people. With that price, we can almost have a hotel buffet.

Just this morning I was woken up by a call and sms-es telling me about the coverage on ST Sunday Lifestyle. Let's just say I'm glad I weren't reading controversial classical romances with embarrassing cover (think suggestive picture of a savage looking muscular man together with his true love who inevitably has half of her boobs spilled out) or books meant for kids (I'm known to re-visit the classical works of Enid Blyton and Nancy Drew). I know chick lit aren't anywhere near the intellectual genre, but at least these are books that don't take themselves too seriously. Most importantly, the literary heroines in chick lit often hold considerable corporate power and control over their life. Women are no longer the passive creatures whose fate lies in the hands of men. Guys, time to take the backseat.

Thanks to Restaurant City, I now have over 7000 friends requests on Facebook from random people. A foolish move on my part - I posted my email on a Restaurant City forum to add 'temporary' friends for free ingredients. Before I know it, procrastination in rejecting the friend requests had led to this irreversible situation. The magical 'reject all' button on Facebook is unfortunately not working for some unknown reasons. What's more, there are probably some real friends buried in the mountain of requests. Urg.   

I've always love the berry cheesecake from Mac, but this has got to be the most special by far. The girl at the counter took a long time decorating it, and she proudly proclaimed to her coworker with a well uttered "This is a sun!".

Lately i've been feeling rather worried about the train of thoughts going through my mind. I'm plagued with the sense that I've taken a too myopic point of view on life. It may be a passing phase but I know that i'll never be happy, never be thankful of what i've if I fail to realize that there's much more to life than materialistic desires.

When I was young my mum used to tell me: "Its okay if you're slower than others in getting somewhere. They may have taken a car to their destination while you've to make do with a bus. What matters most is that at the end of the day, you would have reached your destination too."

Point and point again i've asked myself what do i value in life? I'll be lying if I say all it takes is the little things in life and the love to make me happy. Let's face it, we're all brought up in a materialistic world. We are TAUGHT to be competitive. Society tempts you and laugh mockingly in your face when you don't achieve what they dictate you to.

Just as I was writing this post, a blind man board the train. A lot of us are so much more fortunate than we think we are. "Be thankful", the little voice would urged within. We all know that, we do. Yet, I've not learn to manage my own expectations. And i'll never feel truly happy till I do.