Mazel tov Monday

Uneventful weekend.

So, on Saturday I went out briefly by myself in the wonders of self-therapy shopping.

It wasn’t without reason, however; you will be able to unravel the secrets within the next few months. Out of curiosity, how many Australian readers do I have who follow this blog via bookmarks/ any self governed way? If possible, leave me a comment stating where in Australia you’re from and what your interests are (Beauty, Fashion, Fitness, Music – whatever – or perhaps why you follow this blog – for Freaky Fridays or Mazel tov Mondays or anything random in between). Don’t be shy – I know of maybe one or two – but if you choose to be shy, that’s okay too Just wondering, tis all I’d be interested in knowing who is Australian, following this, and not from Sydney – but anyway, it doesn’t really matter all too much as long as you’re all having fun. Cookies to you all out there

Sunday was even worse – stayed at home and thought to myself that I’d start doing work – instead I get out my drafts, start blogging, and doing meaningless stuff like wallet-searching on ebay. I know, it’s a really bad habit. But I’ve been meaning to buy a small messenger bag (by small I mean 25cmx25xm at the very least)/ swing / sling bag. Mum will not let me buy something as small as a wallet sized bag. I weep in my sleep. (But I figured even if I did buy it she wouldn’t be able to stop me – hurhurhur)~

Pic/ Discovery of the Week

Sorry for the photoshopped image (removed the background and I did do a few tweaks here and there – but the outline tracing is all pretty true to the original pic, so I didn’t cut more background out to make myself look skinnier – dude, I have integrity, okay – but I did get rid of a few yucky bumps I forgot to smooth out – fabric only!), but I had a lot of stuff in the background I didn’t want to show in the photo. I figured it’d be neater like this. Clothing is washed out, too, because I tried to get the photo close to the colour of my actual skin LOL. I am petty like that.

FYI I do not use magic wand. I use the pentool to extract the background. Comes with years of making anime desktop wallpapers – oh Photoshop <3

Reason for posting said image is that I’m happy to announce that I can now fit into clothing one size smaller than usual!

HELLS YEAH.

I noticed my clothes were getting a bit loose lately. I was forced to buy a size smaller (thinking that it’s better to buy something smaller than bigger – I know, bad thinking – but I have friends who are small and can wear it ) and ooft – I can fit into it. Photograph is deceiving, it looks alright like that – side view is another story, because said dress is a bit short for my liking. I’ve been neglecting my hula hoop so I decided to give it some love on Saturday. Cannot wait to lose more inches here and there. Happysauce.

For those who are curious, I usually wear a size 10 (ie. size small/ S). I now can fit somewhat comfortably in a size 8, but I still have a lot of work to do!

So I’m now quite stoked – I can tell people I’m a size 8 But I don’t really care about that still. There’s still no way I’ll fit into size XS though. I’ll most likely still buy size 10 anyway even though it’s on the slightly loose side. I’d be gutted if I continued to lose weight and eventually be too small for size 10 – all my clothes would be too big! Not gonna happen any time soon, but hey, it’s possible! Worst case scenario is if I buy all size 8 and then gain weight – that’d suck big time!

But anyway just thought I’d share with you all. C has been saying she thought that I was a size 8, and I was adamant I was a size 10. Well, you were right girl! So to all you dieters out there, this is why I keep saying you shouldn’t overdo it – I think that I’m borderline overdoing it at the moment – I just wanted to slim down; I didn’t expect to or want to drop a dress size. I’m very happy already if I can look nicer in my usual size. I think I can still keep going for a bit more though, but my 10kg weight loss thing I think is a bit too ridiculous considering I haven’t even lost 5kg and I’ve dropped a dress size. Most I am considering is 7kg now, but of course, I have to lose my 5 first. Don’t overdo it!!

(PS: For those who think I’m a hypocrite telling others not to overdo it, put this into perspective – my measurements are still much more than those girls who say they want to “slim down” or tone up, and my BMI currently is 20.4. Methinks cutting down my BMI to 20 will not hurt; anything below 19.5 however is getting towards underweight and I am NOT going to put myself in that range. My message is directed to those people who are already borderline underweight or have tiny measurements and still want to reduce more.)

…and the weight is…

I won’t be disappointing you guys! I did weigh myself this morning!

So for 2 entire weeks I dodged the scales. My weight bounced up I think, but not by much. I’ve only done 2 hula hoop sessions in the past week (actually, make that 1.5 sessions since I only did 30 minutes for one). I don’t know what I’ve been doing – because I honestly haven’t been doing much at all. I’ve been eating icecream at Passionflower and I haven’t even been drinking stuff like green tea for metabolism. I have, however, been eating spicy foods maybe 1 in 3 meals. And I’ve been walking a great deal, too.

My weight dropped – I’m now only 0.3kg away from hitting my 5kg weight loss target. This has been the lowest I’ve weighed since I started my diet/ exercise routine. I beat my lowest weight by 100 grams so far. I’ve lost a total of 4.7kg, and that weight is here to stay OFF since my weight has been dancing around those numbers for the past month or more. YAY.

I also did my measurements again – my waist is JUST maybe 1/5 of an inch more than 26 inches – I honestly haven’t done anything much to reduce it! I think next week or the week after I’ll be able to already hit my 26 inch waist target.

You may ask, what next after that? Of course, aim for 25 inch waist. There’s no harm in that. But I’ll get to 26 first, even though it’s already almost as good as 26.

My leg measurements are still the same no matter what I do. But then I haven’t done any jumping exercises at all – if I did do them, I’d get faster results. So far though, they’re just firming up. I approve 8D

Hung Parliament? Facepalm.

I wish that they’d make a decision already/ announced a winner. AUD is going down because of the uncertainty of Australia’s Government – so if you wanted to buy something, I suggest you buy it either today or after the announcement and hope that the dollar goes up. Sucks.

However, this video effectively explains everything about the Australian Election in just one minute and thirty seconds.

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Alright, it’s going to be another post cut short – sorry for that. But I ordered a lot of stuff in so I’ll be writing about that when it comes…

Here are the posts coming up this week:

• Tuesday (tomorrow): Gakkenflex Bling
• Wednesday: Eyebrow pencil comparison; Christian Dior and Etude House
• Thursday: Unknown (will think of a topic then)
• Friday: Freaky Fridays

Enjoy the start to your week – I have my fingers crossed that I can do something productive in the next few days!

Freaky Fridays

Okay, this Friday really sucked for me.

I was originally not going to blog, but I thought it’d suck more if I made it a promise (and I don’t even have anything due in) and not blog when I’m supposed to. I can’t skip!

This is gonna be a really crap post -  I apologise for that in advance lol – but then the post I did last night makees up for it, I guess? Food pics always make people happy. I think Also I retweet some amusing things in my Twitter anyway – so I guess you all can be occupied with that if you need, lol.

Song of the moment

It’s so damn hard for me to let you go… T_T??

Currently pumping this on repeat. I really love this song for its ballad and its gradual build up. Don’t ask me why, I just tend to really like songs like that. Also describes a lot of what I’m thinking about too, unfortunately.

And for those who haven’t noticed, BoA’s back in the Korean music scene. I know I’m a bit late myself, but just letting those who didn’t know know anyway. I used to really like her back in high school because of her song “Duvet” for an anime named Serial Experiments Lain. I thought it was such a beautiful song lol.

Australia goes to voting polls this Saturday, 21st August 2010

Well for Australian citizens over the age of 18, it’s your chance to vote! Well not really a chance since it’s compulsory.

Who are you going to vote for?

I’m not going to say who I’m going to vote for, because I’m not convinced either “large” party is that great or better than the other.

Be prepared for your mainstream TV to be full of really boring counting vote news – it’s a bit like staring at the stock exchange. Well okay, if I put it that way it’s not that boring – but I used to always think that just one channel is enough lol. I want to be like, watching The Simpsons or something instead if you know what I mean.

Need to dig out motivation!

This week I am seriously doing to do a lot of work! No more distractions! I’ll do my hourly daily exercise! It’s been a few days since I touched my hula hoop (Monday, in fact – or perhaps Tuesday was the last time I did it…) – I miss you hula hoop! I shall give you my love soon! xoxo

PS:

• Gmarket gave me my voucher (YUS) – now what to get. Navy-coloured jacket vs heel of some sort. It’s a toughie.
• My dress hasn’t been shipped yet!!!!! RAWR – I will chase that up soon U_U Wtf – shouldn’t take this long.
• Thanks again for the recent comments – I believe I’ve answered all of those. Keep any questions coming!

Email and comments

Comment reply speed

Sometimes when I get a blog comment I actually reply via email, however I don’t check my email all that often (the one that I use to contact you peeps anyway) – if you’re needing a reply from me and fairly urgently, I encourage you all to just post another comment on my blog (anywhere) so that I get a notification in the email that I’m always logged into.

I just had to post this because I realised I neglected an email all the way back on Wednesday and it’s Saturday today so I’m super sorry about that :S

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Also, if you’re commenting in the same time zone as me, usually I reply your comments within 10 minutes of getting them. Yes, that’s how often I lurk. If I’m busy however it’d take me up to a day. Just letting you all know that if you check back in a few hours’, most likely I would have already answered your question  – so perhaps that might help things speed up a bit.

So yeah – thanks for comments and questions – remember if you want anything answered, feel free to drop a line at any time. I’m more than happy to help answer your questions – as long as they’re sensible ones. Usually I can answer a variety of random questions mostly about Sydney or anything I do really.

Stupid comments of course, will go ignored. But that doesn’t happen too often, lol.

Masterchef 2010

CONGRATS TO ADAM.

And everyone who went on the show is famous now lol.

Tis all 8D

Sunday

Hmm – well, today was the Camera Markets but I didn’t go since I just bought a camera and don’t really have the spare money to buy anything. Last time I went I didn’t see anything in particular that caught my eye (only the DSLRs did, but I’m not interested in them any more) so I passed on it.

However I still went to the city because I have nothing else to do at home anyway, and I really needed to get out of the house.

I sat at Starbucks Coffee for over an hour drinking my sorrows away with a green tea frappucino – by the way, it’s AWESOME. If you love green tea icecream, green tea, or green tea latte from Takeru or something, GET A GREEN TEA FRAPPUCINO FROM STARBUCKS. It was by the far the most surprisingly good green tea drink I’ve had.

I was joined by L who came from the Aroma Festival down at The Rocks that I had no idea was even on lololol – and she showed me all the cool and awesome cameras she got from the markets – BARGAIN! *cringes with jealousy* But also, good job girl! You rock for snapping up those awesome deals – can’t wait to the see the shots that come out of those babies

Decided to have lunch at Takeru and P turned up (he missed the camera markets – better luck in October) and I was so stuffed I couldn’t finish even just a salad :\ But this time I ordered the Takeru salad, which is kinda almost similar/ comparable to the Poporo salad only with teriyaki-ey chicken rather than grilled chicken. Still awesome nonetheless – I just couldn’t finish it after drinking the awesome green tea frappucino!

L left and caught her bus (glad you got there in time <3) so it was just aimless meandering around the city looking at various random crap after that LOL.

It started raining at 6, and that was when we both went home anyway – I waited about 20 minutes for my bus Well, what should I expect from a Sunday bus timetable anyway? At least I got a seat and the inside was clean without people coughing inside.

I bought 2 dresses today – one of which I really want to take a photo of! I don’t own a tripod yet, but I’m so anxious to take it soon and post it up online somewhere because I need to return the SD card tomorrow at 2pm >_<  I also need to take photos without looking stupid and having my mum walk in on me thinking “wt….f…”.

*rawrs*

I’m gonna have lots of fun in the remaining days of my holidays – cannot wait! I’ll post up some photos soon – hopefully tomorrow *fingers crossed* – no guarantees though

And little did I expect it’s already 10:12pm already. Wow – how time flies.

By the way, P “kindly” linked me a news article about girls sitting down for 6 hours a day dying sooner than those who don’t sit down as long. Thanks a lot for the encouragement – I know I’m going to die some day, and probably sooner thann others, thank you very much.

And also he linked me this ridiculous video:

Don’t do this to your girlfriends. It’s not nice.

I’ll see you all tomorrow for the weekly weighing and measurements – I am not too optimistic because I think I’m a bit bloated. But oh well.

Until next blog!

港女

I think I’m going to write a post that’s slightly different today. I think I’ll file this under “News” anyway.

Curious title, yes. 港女 translated word for word basically is “(Hong) ‘Kong Gal.” It’s an extremely popular buzz word that is used in Hong Kong to describe (modern) females in Hong Kong. What on earth do I mean by “modern”? Girls who are elites or have achieved academically, found high paying jobs (or set up their own successful businesses), are usually anywhere up to the age of maybe 40 or so and seem to display snobbish behaviour. The term is also applied to any rebellious Hong Kong girl displaying snobbish behaviour and having some form of success (for example, a teenage girl of 17 can be a 港女 if she appears to be smart, good looking, but has a rather sharp tongue and even sharper attitude).

Hong Kong culture IMO is quite distinctive and I don’t think there’s another culture that’s quite like it. I haven’t set foot in Hong Kong for years (a quick count tells me about 6-7 years), but each time I go back I find it difficult to understand what’s going on in television programs because Hong Kong does strange things to the Cantonese dialect. Probably every 6 months a new slang or set of buzz words are pumped into the public realm and somehow merge into the official speech. During my last visit, I had to grapple with what the heck a “ju hak wor” was (I was sitting on the bus and watching a lady explain what it meant, and I think from memory it was something like something that you encounter that makes you scratch your head). During my time at university (though buzz words are easy to catch onto) I’ve gotten “dai B/ low bee”, “HEA”, and now “港女” flung at me.

港女 is a special one because I was actually called a 港女 by someone I know. I never particularly thought of myself as one, but seeing the recent influx of “港女” this and “港女” that, it made me wonder why 港女s are so abundant in society today.

Hong Kong was always a competitive society. There is a snarky attitude and I’m not really ever quite sure where it came from – but back then, Hong Kong was indeed the Tokyo of China. People flocked to Hong Kong hoping to gain their riches, and people still do it today. I’m not ever sure if the British rule over Hong Kong made any impact on the creation of the 港女, but I’m assuming it did to an extent. In the 1970s-1980s immigration from Hong Kong to other countries such as the UK, US, Canada and Australia was extremely popular. If you thought that competition in Hong Kong wasn’t strong enough, think again – if you immigrate anywhere overseas, you’re already a winner as you’ve proven to successfully immigrate to a sophisticated country. You can flaunt to all your friends and relatives that your children can speak in a foreign language, and furthermore will enter a prestigious educational institution and roll in the dollars once they enter the workforce.

Not to mention it was also around this time that popular culture in Hong Kong started to have a huge influence (moreso around the 1970s when television started to pop up in existence), and this influence has not subsided one bit – if not, the influence has risen even more. Magazines are easily bought and at rather handsome prices. You have the media on television and you can even watch variety shows when you’re on the bus. Billboards are everywhere. You see more magazine stands on the streets.

There’s no argument, that the “strong sharp tongued” female protagonist is very popular in dramas, movies not just in Hong Kong culture but anywhere around the world. Hong Kong females are respected somewhat, and I think this contributes even more to the making of the 港女.

So let’s just think this through – competition (from relatives, parents, peers), success of overseas education (or education in Hong Kong, doesn’t really matter, but going overseas speaks louder), the ability to speak a foreign language, sophisticated tabloids and media to influence fashion and image, a preoccupation with hygiene (I don’t think I’m wrong by saying that this is particularly evident after the SARS scare – AND the Hong Kong Government started to issue fines for littering and spitting I think around 2002), advanced technologies and to top it off, successful careers. And even if you were a younger person without a career but had an excellent education, upbringing and kept a well maintained appearance, yes, you were predicted to become a 港女 because people judge you to be better than others.

What’s the problem with 港女?

Well, the fact that more than half of the girls are now tagged with that title. I watched a documentary interviewing a new species of male in Hong Kong similar to an otaku (I think this was also the time when the term 港女 first popped up). These men are finding it hard to find a girlfriend because they like their girls to be timid, kind and soft – a bit like an anime character. However as you may know, 港女 are quite the opposite - they are generally blunt, direct, and do not like their patience to be tested as they generally expect things to be done correctly (admittedly, this is a bit like me).

港女 are not willing to accept any males seemingly worse off than them (males must have the same salary, if not higher, be taller, handsome and Mr Perfect, as portrayed in the Hong Kong media). This is hardly much to ask for in their opinion, as they have worked very hard to get to where they are.

Whenever I think of this topic I think of Koyuki/ Iwaya from Kimi wa petto in the scene with MatsuJun/Momo/Takeshi:

Iwaya: Only men with elite educations, higher salaries and taller heights than me can be able to talk back to me.

Momo: But Sumire….

Iwaya: How  tall are you?

Momo: 169cm…

Iwaya: Well I’m 172cm so be quiet and be content with being a pet.

The term 港女 has also been applied and further extremified with a series of videos posted on the Internet, firstly beginning with a lady at the airport who found out that she missed her flight.

After this video, the perception that 港女 are uncontrollable and rather scary was added onto the list of positive made negative traits.

Soon afterwards there was an influx of fake videos, in the order of the Sharkfin soup lady (fake, rehearsed and staged), the 港女 girlfriend chucking a fit at Maccas because she found out that her boyfriend has AIDS and she was sleeping with him (most likely fake) and recently a 港女 who bumped into her ex-boyfriend at a restaurant and starting to verbally degrade his new girlfriend (people say this is fake, but I can’t tell).

In a way, 港女 are bred from the recent social history of Hong Kong and a construct of the Hong Kong media. The term won’t disappear, I’m pretty sure it’s here to stay (as is the same with terms like hikkikomori and otaku).

Are you a 港女, or know someone who is?

Until next blog!

Start the day off with a sneeze!

Nah, I don’t have hayfever, but I’m sensitive to masses of dust in the air. My mum wanted something she thought was in my wardrobe, so I pretty much pulled everything out and threw it onto the bed – and then I sneezed not long after 3 times. Now it’s a mess of runny nose and WTH-ness first thing in the morning. On the other hand, my wardrobe is now pretty again – we didn’t find what mum wanted though. Speaking of which, I talked about the jade face roller about a few weeks back. I found it! I didn’t throw it out after all – but yeah, it still makes the annoying creak sound like how you try to sneak into the toilet late at night to pee, and not make any noise, just to have the door joint creak. A bit like that OTLL

UPDATE/ Great. My mum found it in HER wardrobe -_-

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Gmarket refund whatthehuzzle

So last night I wrote almost something fangirlish about the joys of spreeing on Gmarket, and then got a reply from someone saying their refund went straight into their GAccount. This morning I checked and member K pointed out that the notice probably only means they will refund your PayPal if your item is out of stock. That really sucks Y**a Balls… so I guess I won’t be buying from Gmarket any time soon. Or at all, since everything is going to be cheaper if I bought them retail here (depending on the item, of course – for example, Konad nail polish is about $6AUD each – it goes for $2.50AUD per bottle on Gmarket, but even if you keep ordering in bulk and reuse your refund etc, it’d end up being about the same price anyway due to ridiculous shipping estimates. Plus I don’t need to wait for it to come.

So, though it was a shortlived glimmer of hope, I think we all need to turn to wholesale again OTLL

Sad

But anyway, most people who order from Gmarket claim that it’s cheaper to buy in bulk. I’ll have to disagree because the more you buy, the more shipping you pay, and the more of your cash will be turned into virtual GCash. For those who shop on Gmarket frequently, it’s not a big deal, but for me, I don’t like that idea. Well I suppose it’s the “overall” price (product + shipping) that matters so it depends on each individual preference. I personally would just rather pay a little more and leave no money behind so I don’t get pulled into a neverending cycle of “but I have money in my GAccount.” That’s what happened to me before, only it was with my PayPal balance. Nowadays I pay via debit card (so I have $0 in my PayPal balance) - so much easier, neater and less brain stabbing over spending money.

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Search: overnight whiteing [sic.] mark [sic.]

The most common overnight whitening mask I know people actually use is the Lancôme overnight sleeping whitening mask. I don’t know the exact details, but I see it constantly advertised in Chinese magazines and I know someone who uses it. I suppose it’s quite good? Then I’ve never tried Lancôme products (I love putting the hat onto the little o, keyboards these days amaze me). There was another popular choice and they got Tang Wei to be the spokesperson – ah, Ponds (<3 Google). But yeah, Ponds is a very Asian choice for skincare, I must say.

If you don’t mind if it’s overnight or not, there are 2 masks I know that should work: (1) Etude House whitening mask (I can’t remember if it’s an oxygen one or not) – you put it on and then wipe – voila! (2) Missha Super Aqua Oxygen Mask (this product I have a sample of. This product has also gotten positive reviews – more than the Etude one).

Which one is better? Most people who try the Etude House mask say the results last for a few minutes. The Missha review I’ve read claims that the results last for a week or so before you need to do another mask to keep the fair complexion.

Of course, there’s also probably a bunch of other products out there: Chanel has a whitening line, Estee Lauder does (and probably there’s a mask in there somewhere) – practically every brand has a whitening line. If you’re into whitening, ask yourself if you’re actually catering to that need – because you will need to use a whitening skincare line, and masks regularly to keep the whitening effect. So firstly find a whitening line that suits you, and then figure out the masks last – I think this is probably the best way to go because whitening is not about spot whitening – it has a lot to do with maintenance.

EDIT: I also got a search for “soompi homemade whitening mask”

Doing a search on soompi itself would be better than searching on google (or so that’s what I think).

But from the top of my head:

- Cucumber masks work
- Taking in Vitamin C or applying it to the skin (in appropriate amounts) contributes to whitening
- The egg white mask more or less helps to whiten
- Anything to do with milk will help – including drinking it.

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Cutting up perfectly fine clothing.

http://www.soompi.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=326271

The article posted is about H & M cutting up unsold garments and throwing them out, rather than donating it to charity as their website suggests.

My thoughts on this?

Simply speaking, it was unnecessary. It’s a completely waste of resources and the majority of replies are correct: the clothing could have been given to communities or places (even if it’s an obscure country) where people can get clothes to wear because some people frankly struggle to have any clothes.

HOWEVER – I can understand why the particular store decided to do what it did.

When I was young, I would donate all my clothes - old clothes, new clothes – clothes I wouldn’t wear, even extremely worn items. It was because I always – ALWAYS was under the impression that these clothes I donated would be given and distributed free of charge to those people who didn’t have clothes. So regardless of whether or not it was worn, I thought, hey, crappy is better than nothing.

A few years back we then discovered that these clothes were actually NOT distributed to the needy, but in fact recycled and sold at op shops at low prices but to the general public.

I don’t know what you people might think, but to me, I gave good clothes away hoping to help the needy, but instead they turned into bargain buys for people like me, who actually live a comfortable life.

Anyway, my solution was that they should have just removed the H & M label on the clothing. There was no need to destroy the clothes beyond wearability. That’s an appalling waste of resources especially when there is so much talk about sustainability and recycling.

If the store removed the  label, it didn’t really matter if they donated or threw them out. People would scavenge for wearable garments (but in the article it appears that it’s 2 homeless people – the general public probably wouldn’t do something like that), but it’d have less meaning and have zero sellable value because there is no label to determine its worth. In fact I don’t even understand why they were thrown out by the store – usually you would send the clothing back to the warehouse – or at least that’s what I usually assume.

Still, probably not the best option, but it seriously beats having to turn a bunch of perfectly good clothing into useless cloth.

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I’m done for now. My H & M reply was probably a bit too simplistic in my forum post,  but bleh, who cares. I think I got my point across in this blog entry ;D

Until next post!

Rapidfire Vomit time!

First things first, NAILS!

So, these were my uber glammed up forest green tips, which may or may not have been coincidentally appropriate for Christmas.

I loved the chunky glitter. Seriously, it’s like having rhinestones without having to worry about them fall off. The only downside is, CHUNKY GLITTER IS AN UTTER BRAT TO REMOVE. It took me about half an hour JUST to remove the glittery tip parts! And this wasn’t using nail polish remover, it was using a nail filer, because the remover wouldn’t really remove it. Or rather, the glitter kind of fluffs up the cotton wad and it becomes a complete mess. I love the effect, but I’m not sure if I love having to remove it.

White nails. With lots of top coat. I love the fact my nails have never looked so fake before, and I love it. And yes, weird shot because white is hard to capture against light surfaces.

Because it took so long to remove that glitter, I opted for something simple. Pure white nails. Surprised that it looks so plastic and acryliccy without having it look like I painted white out onto my nails? The biggest problem with white nail polish is that it tends to look like white out. I did not use white nail polish. I actually just used a $2.50 very link pink pearly base which contained some gold highlights in it. The aim of the game is to buy a sheer (as in, easy to apply, but requiring several coats kind of polish) nail polish that isn’t white – but very light pink. Because of the skin colour (I can reassure you that photo isn’t my skin colour – I hate taking photos at night time -_-), a light pink will easily look white in comparison. Very proud I achieved the white nail look without having to feel like I have white out on my nails. \o/

I opted for something simple also because my nails are ridiculously long and I really want to cut them. But because I took so much effort removing the previous design (which I could have kept for longer if I had realised I was  going to cut my nails), I wanted to just paint them or do something – but nothing too elaborate. I also like the clean white look, just in time for new year – a bit like starting afresh

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So, today (well rather, last night) I decided to go Campsie for exploring and there are a lot of goodies there for sale. I won’t write down the ones I told C about because we need to keep some secrets about the place you know! But let’s just say, it’s a HEAVEN for makeup, beauty (including nails!) and clothes. LOTS OF CLOTHES.

The day started off with me meeting Ian – thanks for having me over on your home turf! She kindly took me around Campsie and we went into just about every single $2 store that exists – and let me tell you, some of the stuff in those places are really cheap- like, you can get a set of mini-drawers – 4 drawers for just $14 or something ridiculous like that. In the city they will sell it for at least $30! I saw some nice furniture (this glass tiered table – like one of those things you put when you enter the house to drop your keys at) and it was $40! There’s seriously so much to look at and the prices are really not too bad.

Anyway, we went into one $2 store, which had a LOT of good nail stuff (tis a secret between me, Ian and C currently – huhuhuhu), and then we went into a store with makeup.

This one I can let you all know on. The store is named Lovely House and they had 50% off Etude House products. I just went for it because it’s so ridiculously cheap. I got an Etude House eyebrow pencil for 5 bucks. Plus it comes with a metal cap, which makes it doubly sexy.

I insist you MUST watch this clip. You would have never felt so intrigued and jealous at the same time. I love PSH though, damn they are hot together.

Above is the commercial featuring Park Shin Hye and Jang Geun Suk, which is for Etude House’s VIP GIRL line of lipsticks.

I loveeeee the commercial and I am also very much in love with the makeup they had in YB, so I did some searching on ebay and found them going for about $8 each. I was going to order a PK007 once the exchange rate improved, since it looked the nicest pink out of all the colours.

Today I found them on sale, and they were $9 after a half price discount. RIDICULOUS OR WHAT? I WAS SO GIDDY AND OVER THE MOON. I LOVE THE PACKAGING.

Anyway, I ended up getting a PK003, because the PK007 was very pink – like hot pink. I actually have hot pink from an Estee Lauder gifttime. I’m really after that milky pink. PK003 is very sheer and similar to PK002, but Ian commented that PK003 looked less flatter than PK002. They all have a bit of shimmer in them, and the packaging is just too cute. The formula is also quite wet, meaning it won’t be drying on the lips. It’s like a solid gloss. YAY! I also managed to buy the last PK003 they had in stock So that means it’s a popular colour! I really like the peach colour that PSH is wearing in the commercial though – but whatever

This is ridiculous – they even gave me an Etude House plastic bag – I’m really impressed!

Look how freaking cute that lipstick is on the far right. That’s toooooooo damn cute to say NO to! And besides I got to swatch and play around with the testers – if I really did order PK007 I’d be annoyed that I ordered a dupe >_<

For $14 I got a lipstick and an eyebrow pencil by Etude House. SAY WHAT??!?!?! She even gave me sunscreen samples and some emulsion and toner from something. Either way, WOW and thanks! I wish they had more Etude House stuff though. I was considering their nail polishes, but the only price I saw was $3 for those that used to be testers. They sell them for about $7 in the city, but I think I’d better stop with the nail colours. I have too much nail polish and I do too little nail art.

We kept looking through stores and though I didn’t buy anything, there were just ridiculously cheap jackets at $10 (winter ones at that) and I was gutted this awesome green jacket looked stupid on me I loved the colour (reminded me of T.O.P’s jacket in IRIS lololol) but the buttons were just weird. Probably because I wasn’t wearing something good to begin with. In other words, I don’t think it was the colour’s fault – it was the design’s fault? Too many buttons on it. It was only $10 but I didn’t get it. Sad.

It was a lot more turquoise than T.O.P’s jacket as above (sexy colour nonetheless), but still, that scene in IRIS made me a happy girl. Episode 7 guys, episode 7!

Note he doesn’t have stupid buttons or a “double breasted” look to the jacket? I love his hair in this scene. Probably the only scene where his hair isn’t drenched with petroleum jelly and slicked back HAWT.

Anyway, Korean food is really nice (LOTS of side dishes) and we ventured into more $2 stores.

I got a tissue box cover for $4 at a random store – it had flowers and it had lace on it! I’ll take a photo… one day. I really want to turn my room uber girly on one side and really sleek the other (for those who don’t know, my workstation is very hardcore – black desktop, black laptop, black multifunctional printer – it’s serious stuff). I also found a shelf using suction cups for my mum so she doesn’t have to bend down to grab soap in the laundry. $3.30!~ they sell the same thing at Peter’s of Kensington for $12 on sale >_< So it was reallllly cheap. And I found one of those random sales like the one I came across in Parra selling the Sham-ezee cloths. Only this time they happened to be selling my toothpaste so I bought 2. It was really random, but it was fortunate,  because nobody buys toothpaste for me. I’m running out (even my mum knows) yet she didn’t buy any for me. Luckily I did today or else I’d run out D: Meanie U_U But it’s all good because it is cheaper than a supermarket. Not by much, but good enough and for the convenience.

At Campsie they also sell loads of bbcream, and just lots of stuff! The Korean boutiques are a bit pricey though, as usual. Overall the clothes are really affordable and you can find something nice if you search for it. I think the Chinatown boutiques are probably better quality than the common stuff in Campsie, but then the stuff in Chinatown is like WHOA massive markup $50 for a cute looking top. But then again, if you like unique pieces, maybe you are better off spending $50 – up to the person. But there are some REALLY cool things in Campsie – I just can’t pull them off.

I also got a mobile chain accessory for $4 – it’s an Anna Sui black rose looking mirror! Of course not real Anna Sui, but it’s a real functioning mirror. Beats having to spend $27 on a mirror and extra money on a phone accessory. I kill two items I need with the one buy!

I might get the mirror though - one day. The brush stand is very tempting still – I just want it to put my pens in it though lololol.

Anyway, Campsie is a lot less harsher on the pocket than Parramatta is It was really fun though! Definitely will go back some time

The funny thing about Campsie is that I hear wayyy too many people speaking in Cantonese or Mandarin (they speak in Mando to me o_o) – do I look mando? D: In any case, I’m not. I’m starting to understand Korean just sitting at restaurants now. I watch too much Korean drama. But I still don’t know how to put the sentences together >_> Just bits and pieces. Rawr. (But hey, if I continue to keep watching at this rate, maybe another 10 series later I can actually say a few sentences? )

-*-*-*-

I got home and my parcel arrived!

Believe it or not, this small parcel was plastered with stamps. It is also worth over $100AUD. *gulps*What’s inside? It’s a secret! I’m not telling anyone

-*-*-*-

Train and bus fares are increasing from Sunday 3rd January 2010. Better stock up!

-*-*-*-

Seriously, watch the commercial with PSH and JGS in it. HAWT

News

Not as in the Japanese boy band, but as in news you read.

Rarely do I talk about news, but I do regularly read it. I guess I’m not bothered enough to comment on everything I read, and actually blog about it. Anyway, soompi is my source of news since it’s an accumulation of particular news articles from the web. I like to read it like that so it’s all condensed, narrowed down and filtered, rather than read everything that comes my way.

I usually like to read the quirky news, but anyway, here are two pieces of news I’ve read in the past few days that have gotten me raising eyebrows or throwing my hands up in despair.

A Ukrainian student has been killed by exploding chewing gum, according to reports.

The unnamed 25-year-old from the northern city of Konotop was reportedly killed while sitting in front of a computer at his parent’s house on Saturday night.

“A loud pop was heard from the student’s room,” Ukranews reported a police source as saying.

“When his relatives entered the room they saw that the lower part of the young man’s face had been blown off.”

The chemistry student from the Kiev Polytechnic Institute reportedly had a bizarre habit of dipping his gum into citric acid before chewing it.

Packets of the acid as well as a unidentified explosive material were found on his desk — raising speculation he accidentally dipped the confectionary into the wrong substance.

SOURCE

It’s a really horrible way to die But I couldn’t help think that this would be a really crazy idea in a horror movie. I had no idea that having some sort of chemical in your mouth would make it explode – probably it reacted to the gum or maybe the heat of the gum if he chewed rapidly – but citric acid has a very particular taste to it. I’m wondering what compelled him to continue chewing even though it tasted so different. Maybe he didn’t want the piece of gum to go to waste? I don’t know… it’s a very strange piece of news. Condolences to his loved ones.

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA – A 20-year-old college student who sought a medium’s help to end her streak of bad luck ended up having to sleep with the man.

She approached the medium, known only as master Choy, in April on the recommendations of her friends as she was worried about her well-being.

The 50-year-old medium told her she would not be able to get rid of the bad luck unless she had sex with a married man.

After some persuasion from the man, who is married, the girl agreed to have sex with him.

“He told me I had to sleep with a married man to get rid of all the bad luck,” she told a press conference at the MCA Public Services and Complaints Department here yesterday.

Before having sexual intercourse, the medium told the girl, who is pursuing a degree in nutrition at a college, to strip naked and pose for some photographs.

She realised that she had been cheated a few months later when her luck had not changed and worse, she had contracted a sexually transmitted disease from him.

She went back to the medium and threatened to expose him but he slapped her and warned that he would post her nude photographs on the Internet.

The girl claimed that the medium issued a death threat against her should she decide to lodge a police report.

“I am getting a lawyer now to file a case against him,” she said.

MCA Public Services and Complaints Department head Datuk Michael Chong advised the public to be wary of bogus mediums.

SOURCE

Now this piece of news really made me shake my head and want to OTLL.

I’m very aware of what people would do when bad luck happens- actually it’s been like that for me for the past 2 months or so, and only things are improving about now (cept for the money part, I need to somehow replenish my money supply since there are a load of things I want to buy before uni starts). Going to a medium is not a new idea, but the fact that she trusted a medium to that degree really appalls me. She probably would have been better off praying at a temple and burning some incense or going to a church or whatever.

I feel really disappointed that a medium would actually abuse his power and knowingly transmit an STD to someone because he had the power to manipulate them into doing so. He knew she was vulnerable, and he took upon that weakness for his sickly desire. That’s scum right there.

I feel sorry for the girl, but at the same time I have to really be critical. She’s a University student and doesn’t know to use some sort of protection at least? Who would engage in any sort of intimacy without knowing the health history of their partner? Well, at least, use some protection. But gosh… it’s terrible news… but I can’t help but say this… she’s such a noob D: I can’t believe it took her that long to even realise that the medium’s words were a lie until a few months down the track when her luck didn’t improve. Seriously – if a medium suggested to have sex, I’d dial to an authority straight away. Then again it is a suggestion would could lead to “purification”, but seriously. That’s just ridiculous.

Ugh. So be careful everyone – don’t let your emotions or frustration get to your head. Think logically when you get a chance, and don’t believe everything you hear. TAKE CARE!

Until next blog!

This deserves its own post. Because I spam.

Well, mostly generated from Lingy’s awesome comment about what I am looking for in a relationship. I’m not trying to defend myself or anything x_x you’ll probably see when you read

At the same time I am being specific about what I envision the next relationship to be, I really have no idea. I know I’ve specified a few parameters, but other than that, my mind is still open. I change my mind all the freaking time, and that’s what annoys me sometimes – being a little too open even though I slam my hand onto the table and go “that is IT I will only date…..”.

It happened the last time, and I don’t want it to happen again.

I hate sounding so closed minded, but it was like, I had a natural tendency to believe in a particular thing, went against it, and then ended up having to think “why on earth did I ignore my own advice?” Surely, nothing’s all that bad that comes out of it (well maybe, it just depends), but I hate the idea of undermining myself. I don’t know why I bother to stress myself out when I knew what I hoped for at the beginning, went against it, and was like “meh never mind, love prevails” and then end up messing myself and everything else up.

Perhaps I am sounding a little cynical But I’m very scared of failure at any rate, and I’m hating myself for not listening to myself. I mean, why the heck would I listen to someone else even though I know that most of the time, I’m probably really absolutely ultimately unanimously right? I dunno if I’m even making any sense at the moment.

I guess for the meantime, I know what I don’t want. Unfortunately, what I do want is probably either not achievable, or humanly possible (ha… ha… ha good one :\), and when I see something I like, I want to turn it into something that I want. I just need to stop being a control freak. At the same time, if I want something more than not wanting it, I’ll take it as long as there’s nothing else better and I know it’s the best (because anything I like will defiinitely be the best in my eyes- it’s the same for everyone else).

It’s a bit like saying, “I don’t want to eat chocolate but I want to eat something sweet” and getting a bag of m and m’s. The colours deceive your eyes thinking that it’s just yummy candy, and when you eat it you realise that it’s in fact chocolate – but you finish the rest of the packet anyway because you don’t mind it that much after all.

I think it’s a little bit like that – I know what I don’t want, but at the same time, hey, if I get offered something pretty damn good (even though there are things about it I don’t like), I’ll be more than happy to test drive it (or nom nom the m and m’s).

That, my friends, is the biggest awesomeness thing about me (taking m and m’s even though I don’t want chocolate), and my biggest problem (easily sucked into temptation and tolerance levels are too high, settling for something less or not as desirable as initially imagined).

I should really stop with the lame touchy delvy analogies, but it’s the best one I can think of at the moment, and believe me, I’m not proud of thinking of such a stupid one

But perhaps, it is the only way to describe it? Hahaha.

Either way, I’m just going to let the stream take my little rafter wherever. And when it finally lands somewhere beautiful and tranquil, the rafter can stay there until whenever appropriate – maybe a few hours if the land is occupied by cannibals, or even a lifetime if the land is covered with magic shrooms and dancing unicorns.

ANYWAY – nothing is going to happen any time soon, I’m not 100% interested in anyone at the moment, I’ll just keep my eye on desirable celebrities and wish that they’d pay me a personal visit one day.

On a random tangent but slightly related…

… has anyone ever wondered for example “why the heck are movies so damn romantic, and NOTHING ever happens in my life that is remotely similar to that”?

Because recently after rewatching HYD and starting on BOF, I’m starting to really question this, since the romantic encounters are soooo unrealistic and far fetched that it has become the “ideal” situation for ordinary young girls looking for love. Don’t you think? I mean, any time, I’d love to think of meeting a handsome prince who would dance with me and then later on pick up my shoe and perform a nationwide search for its owner (probably using DNA tests since I’m a contemporary person – poor poor Cinderella back in those days – she’s lucky that villages only stretch for so far).

The likelihood of anything remotely romantic happening is like ZERO and I feel kind of sad.

Once I had a dream where I was talking to someone online, but then my phone started ringing. When I picked up, I heard nothing but someone playing the piano. I remember the dream so clearly because it made me smile. When the music stopped, I knew who it was, and we started talking. Obviously, the online conversation somehow translated into a mobile phone serenade, but it made me a happy happy girl.

Things like that don’t happen in real life, at least in mine anyway. That’s just something to always leave to your own dreams and imagination. But you know what, I’d be so so happy if just ONE single Valentines was spent in a good fashion (I don’t really know what it means or what I even expect to happen on the occasion,  but at least something nice) and a small surprise visit during any of my classes with just like a cupcake with a candle stuck into it even if it’s not my birthday to confuse the hell out of everyone else. I’d be grinning like mad.

Even simple things like that don’t happen in my real life. Either the guys are really really douchey or they really have no sense of romanticism.

In conclusion, more guys need to watch chick flicks.

PS: Guys, please exercise with caution and in moderation – I would not be impressed if a guy would flirt/ flatter me every single day or second, because it’ll just spoil me rotten and I’ll nag and nag and nag and nag. Read this if you’re not convinced about my warning: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-08/10/content_11854698.htm

Enough said.

3 things 1-8-09

3 things that made me unhappy:

- Some people don’t do their jobs.
It’s ridiculous how much prejudice there is in this world. I hate it how people go into a profession and say something like “I am doing this because I want to help other people”, when the scope of people they want to help is so narrow. I don’t like how people will put in less effort just because you look different or clearly will have communication problems. Whatever the reason is, it shouldn’t be a reason.

- Yet another day of procrastination.
Man, I was going to shoot an email asking what should be done… then I think I’ve got the answer to my own question: I’ll try to figure it out tomorrow. That’s right, I’ll do it tomorrow, and I’ll try to figure it out. I just hope that things get sorted or something, because I haven’t done anything really. I just don’t really see how we can do much…

- The gutless people post is getting to me.
Of course I didn’t write that post without a reason. There was a very good reason why I did.
Just seriously, people these days don’t have the guts to tell people really what they think, and when they “do”, they do it behind the scenes to other people. I mean, are you people really that sadistic and take pride in knowing that something bad has happened to someone you don’t like/ have a grudge against? I mean, you know, that person might be having a really hard time, but deep down is a really kind person who volunteers and donates to charity – whatever. And there they are, sitting at their computer desks facebook-ing their glee over the fact that someone they don’t like has been feeling down lately.
Honestly, karma is going to kick you back one day, and I don’t know what’s more sad: the fact that you take pleasure in something totally unrelated to you, or the fact that you have to do it secretly and when approached by people, vehemently deny it.

3 things that made me happy:

- Watching Superman Returns
Hey, he was pretty hot!

And if anyone was wondering what was under that suit, yes, it is the muscle. He was NOT wearing a flak jacket or something under that latex suit.

It’s REAAAAAAAAALLLL. REALLLLLLLLLLL MAN MEAT.

I know almost nothing about Hollywood, but seriously, he was pretty cool. I’m not the type to like macho guys, but I’ll add Superman to my list of secret crushes.
He’s gotta be the coolest guy on and not on Earth, right? *corny*

- Mmmmmm Chicken and spring onion soy sauce.
I LOVE SPRING ONIONS. The bulb type.
I eat them raw, too.
It’s like yummmmmmmm.

- Of course there are the downs, but I’m happy that I can like check out guys. Lol.
For those who know me well, I don’t do it. I don’t check out guys (and admittedly haven’t for a long time).
It’s more like the liberty is making me happy. What I see isn’t necessarily making me happy
Because the only things making me happy are either celebrities, Superman, or non-existent in my life so far.

Random trivia: 2 days ago, Miyavi and melody. gave birth to a baby daughter

Damn, Miyavi has sure grown up from the “Miyavi. MIYAVI. Miya-VI desu”!

For those who know, Miyavi and melody. married a few months ago upon the news that melody. was pregnant with Miyavi’s child. Many fans have noted that it was a strange couple, but most have concluded that regardless of that, their baby will be beautiful anyway.

Miyavi started out as a guitarist and background vocal for the Japanese visual kei band, Due le Quartz.
After it disbanded, he ventured out as Miyavi (previously, Miyabi) and went on to release many albums and a movie named Oresama.

melody. is a Japanese pop artist who went into almost instant fame after having attention brought to her during the release of a collaboration between herself, m-flo and popular R n B / pop artist  Ryohei. The song was named “miss you” and is probably one of my favourite m-flo songs.

She went ahead to release an album and at least a single, which was used as a theme song for a Japanese drama.
After that, she recorded another collaboration with m-flo in their COSMICOLOR album, “Stuck in your love”.

After announcing her pregnancy, melody. declared that it was the end of her career in the entertainment business, and Miyavi also removed his piercings in the hopes of being a good role model for his child.

Congratulations to the two~!

Sounds like they are a really sweet couple, and I’m very proud that Miyavi took the responsibility for the child Hope they have a really great time together and the child will be very beautiful <3

 

EDIT

After I hit *post* and looked at the image under the Superman part, I wanted to just clarify that what I meant by “man meat” was strictly his pecks and his arm muscles. Cuz in the scene where the doctors rip open his suit, you can see that he is quite built up! So my point was, he is muscly.
NOTHING ELSE OKAY. I SWEAR. D:

Gosh, if I could I’d crop the image to show just his torso up, but I can’t be bothered -.-

People are gutless these days

I was watching The 7PM Project one night (I forgot which), and there were claims that the children these days have gone all soft, with soft grounded playgrounds and all sorts of measures to keep children safe and unhurt in the slightest way. Are the children of the future going to be a bunch of bubble babies, scared of pain, soft at heart?

Today’s discussion isn’t entirely about that, but it’s linked – consider this: there is no doubt that in our current state, capitalism is on an all time high, the economy isn’t going all too well, and there is a high level of competition for the same job across a wide range of people. If we consider our era to surpass “modern”, certainly after ”postmodern”, then what is it right now? Some have called it “contemporary” in the case of architecture, however I’m not too sure if it’d be the best idea to use an architectural expression to name the current world state.

Anyway, given that there is a high level of fist fighting (mentally and according to recent studies, less so physically due to “softness”), I’ll assume that the people of our generation are going to be described as somewhat soft in the sense that they are scared of pain and being hurt physically (and of course, mentally, if they don’t get their way) but also mentally strong in the respect that they need to have the capacity to compete against others.

Having said that, are people gutless these days?

There seems to be a growing trend no doubt with the use of technology making the transmission of information so easy. You don’t need to speak face to face, and you can say pretty much anything what you like, whenever you like, to whoever you like – or at least, this is the general idea of the Internet. Of course, in reality, the Internet does not grant you immediate permission to throw slander around at various people you know in real life (or not). It all boils down to dirty tactics – what you say in cyberspace, can easily and will easily have as much effect as you say in real life. Sounds really macho, right? Like, you can be a superhero online, and it’s equally as believable in real person. The catch is, most of the time what you say online are things you’ll never say speak in words in real life.

Gutless, much?

People these days seem to still be so frustrated and full of angst for wanting to do certain things – normal things, like getting back at someone. Revenge. Spreading rumours. Hoping to outcast someone you don’t like. All of these are normal and legitimate – they have been around for centuries. But you know, back then when the Yuwen family warned the Yang emperor that the Li family (aka Tang) were getting a little close to comfort, they didn’t use the Internet. They did it in person, and it wasn’t exactly a mystery to the Lis.

I know what I’m saying is basically futile because it will always be a trend when everyone is behind their computer screens, protected in their own little “playground”, but if you have anything negative to say about something (that’s not done in tasteless humour, and is blatantly a lie – and a lie only) then my advice is that you should tell it to the person to their face.

I don’t really understand the use of saying bad things about someone behind their back to other people in the hopes of getting other people to dislike them. I mean, of course, people can say slack things about others, but if it’s done in good humour and there’s a very obvious hint of sarcasm to it, so be it. But making stupid lies, calling people names and doing other cowardly acts just isn’t cool.

I have probably mentioned it somewhere, but I very much rather prefer to say what I think about someone to their face. I try my best to obviously do it so that the comfort zones are as ideal as possible, however if the person really pushes it, I don’t really care if they feel embarassed say in front of their friends.

I tried my hardest to find the bit where Yankumi does it best, but I couldn’t find it. I was rewatching Gokusen and in Episode 5 she has a heart to heart talk with her grandfather. The conversation goes along the lines like this:

In the old days, one on ten meant one person defeating ten people, didn’t it? But kids nowadays are different. A large group of them gang up on one person, and they don’t think it’s shameful or anything.

(Credits to SARS translation)

As the quote suggests, if you have beef with someone, have beef with someone. Don’t include other people and whisper nasty things behind people’s backs. It is shameful.

As a disclaimer, ranting about people is fine, or asking a close friend for an opinion about someone – but there’s a difference between ranting about the truth, and shameless spreading of false information to bring down someone’s reputation.