Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

 

A huge thank you for Samson (insta: @7braidstrong, web: www.7braidstrong.com) for the Christmas themed photos! It is always a delight to be photographed by you.

Hello! I can't believe the year has flown by and it's Christmas again! I'd like to wish you and your loved ones a very merry Christmas! It's likely going to be my last post for 2016 so it's time to give a little thanks...

I'd like to give a shout out to my friends and family - thanks for putting up with my weirdness and grumpiness. I know I can be challenging with my bossy nature and intense need for order, so it's not easy dealing with me but I hope it brings you some consolation knowing that I couldn't have gotten through 2016 without you and you make my world brighter by being in it. 

To my enemies, a pox on you! I'm kidding. If I've offended anyone this year, sorry!! I hope we will mend whatever's broken, hug it out and become routine fist-bumpers. 

To the strangers, what are ya waiting for? Let's be friends!

Anyway, I'm off to stuff my face with more turkey so I'll sign off here. I hope you enjoy your holiday season with your loved ones and look to 2017 with anticipation because I have a feeling it's gonna be a good one.

Thanks for reading! 

Season's greetings!

DAAAAYYYYUM my friend Samson makes me look good. Check out all his amazing work at www.7braidstrong.com or follow him on instagram @7braidstrong.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS! I absolutely love the holiday season for all the shopping, lights and decorations, Christmas tunes and FOOD!

My sister, her husband and her baby will be flying back to Singapore for Christmas, as will my two favouritest cousins and I'm excited for the reunion! There's really just so much to be happy about and thankful for, so it's hard for me to indulge in my usual snarky 'tude. Is it super old-timey that I referred to "attitude" as "tude"? GAH.

Before we get too caught up in the festive season, do take some time to think about the less fortunate. I hope you will be stirred to take action to help those in need. Even if you don't have much to give, don't forget that kindness is free. Treat people with respect and courtesy, and stand up against hatred and injustice. Okay now that I've gotten the preachy-ness out of the way...

WHAT'S UP FRIENDZIES!?!

Speaking of doing good, I'm totally heading into brag town today but it's adjacent to actual-message city:

I was at the gas station buying some milk, when a young boy, maybe 8 years old, wearing dirty ratty clothes with holes in them, comes up to me and asks if I have $2. I reply "yes" and he asks me to give it to him. So I say "ok, but why?" to which he responds, "I'm hungry". So I give him the $2 but think, what could he possibly buy with just $2.

So I walk up to him, I ask him if he's been fishing in canal and he says "yes, but never catch any fish, that's why I'm hungry." Feeling unusually charitable, I offer to buy him a sandwich. He gladly accepts, then asks if I'll buy one for his friend. I agree. Suddenly 1 boy turns into 3 boys and each boy wants 2 sandwiches because I guess they are hungry and growing. I buy the 6 sandwiches. In the meantime, they are choosing the sandwiches like "hmm eww this one is fish, I'll change it for chicken". I think, 'beggars (not that they are beggars per say but he did ask me for $2 right?) can indeed be choosers.'

I go off on my way, having spent $20 bucks at the gas station on 6 sandwiches and a carton of milk. I feel good but also a little silly for spending so much. Plus those kids kept calling me "auntie". Amazing that I didn't just throw their sandwiches on the floor and say "AUNTIE?!? I'll show you auntie!!!!"

However, the kicker is that I saw them again recently - they were fishing by the canal and as I walked past, I glanced at their fishing rods and gear. That stuff looked high-tech and pretty fancy! And they were fishing with a guy I assumed to be their older brother who most certainly didn't look dirty, ratty-clothed. They most certainly weren't beggars as I had so quickly assumed. So the moral of the story is, while it's nice to buy sandwiches for the less fortunate, it is also really nice to not be totally punked by some hungry free-loading kids with amazing fishing gear. Also, I guess 8 year old boys' clothes will get dirty and ratty and holey because they are 8 year old boys after all.

Happy holidays and thanks for reading!

Presidential

Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii! I've taken quite the hiatus from posting because I've lost my photographer, but I met up with dear Samson who I forced to take some photos of me and I gotta say, I LOVE HIS WORK. Not just because it's of me. Check out his stuff at www.7braidstrong.com or follow him on insta @7braidstrong.

So okay, so much has happened and I've really missed writing so this may come out kind of long and rambly.

I was watching the U.S. elections like a hawk, I pretty much devoured any liberal leaning news (yes, I like my opinions to be validated by like-minded news - totally biased!) so as you can expect, I was disappointed when HRC wasn't elected.  I had hoped the U.S. would elect its first female president, and also because the civil rights causes that HRC champions are near and dear to my heart - Women's rights, equality for the LGBTQ community, and rocking pantsuits. Like come on, GO HILLARY! I actually teared up quite a during the 3 days post-election but life goes on!

Over here in Singapore, our parliament just passed a bill to amend our constitution with regard to our presidential election to propose racial representation. It seems a little forced to me, considering we're a meritocracy but I do believe in fairness and equality for all. And since I think our President tends to be a symbolic figurehead, k whatever. However, I can't wait to see the bill evolve into ensuring women are also equally represented. How about it eh?? WOOO GO CRAZY ANGRY FEMINIST!! Maybe I could be Singapore's first female president. VOTE FOR ME! My slogan will be "I'm with her (because she has pizza)".

So speaking about potential jobs for me... My dear friend Char suggested I start a vlog to talk about stuff I'm good at - like cleaning, being insane about dogs and being a strange dingbat. How fun would that be? Me droning on endlessly about cleaning products and how difficult it is balancing having a dog and being Singapore's first female president... SMASH HIT BABY. Unfortunately I don't think it's likely to happen since I'm bad with technology and I don't think anyone I know can bear following me around and videotaping me for long stretches of time without going batshit cray. But one can dream I suppose.

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I put that line in between because I'm now totally jumping to a new thought because it's kind of past my bedtime (10pm, yes I am a baby) and I'm feeling like there are a few things I have to just talk about.

1. I had an epiphany today and I think it's super valid and important - We women may all be one half mermaid - the top half! Slap on some shell bras and be your best half mermaid self my sexy lady friends.

2. If your name was Frank, would you use the phrase "I'm gonna be Frank with you" before dropping some truth, and would you smirk each time?

3. I am supposing in this scenario that you, like me, say 'excuse me' to the people around you when you sneeze. When you're alone, let's say in a room by yourself, maybe your dog is there. And you sneeze. Do you say "excuse me?" Asking for a friend.

4. Have you ever trolled a scammer? I had my first experience doing so. And it felt great after the fact. Apparently there are these scams going on where you get some call from "UPS" or "DHL" or some delivery company and they ask you to maybe transfer money or give them your kidney or something. So what happened was I receive a call from what appeared to be a local number, I answered and one of those automated voices come on and say something about a package and press 1 to be transferred to an operator. So I press 1 thinking "hmmm maybe I bought something I don't remember?" and some dude answers in crisp China style mandarin. He says a bunch of words and I say "I can't speak Chinese, can you please put me through to an English speaking operator" to which he responds "No" and hangs up. I was like WHAT KIND OF SERVICE IS THIS??? I wanted to call back and yell! Then it dawned on me. How annoying, what a waste of excitement over the fact that I might have been the recipient of some drunk online shopping I may have forgotten buying (it happens).

5. Did you know that I have magic words? I wrote this post on 2 July and it was dedicated to my sister who was pregnant. She had told me she was due between then and 10 July. And guess what? Less than 24 hours later, she went into labour and gave birth to a super cutie. I'm not saying I'm amazing or anything, but I may have the power to induce labour. I should most definitely be President of something.

Okay, thanks for reading, if you've made it all the way here, congratulations and what's wrong with you? Love yewwwww.

Handmade

"Jewellery takes people's minds of your wrinkles" - Sarah Phillips

I have a lotta wrinkles. Not featured - necklaces, brooches, bracelets

Who is Sarah Phillips you ask? I have no idea, but the lady is onto something.

When I was younger, I once told a boyfriend that I would never leave the house without at least a pair of earrings on (which is not to say I would go out with only earrings on. Not a nudist. Just to be clear here). This was in the days when hoop earrings were all the rage, and I had several pairs in different colours, some shiny, some matte, some metallic, some in cool shapes like stars and hearts. 

A fraction of what I used to have!

I'm still totally into the large chunky, shiny look for earrings but whenever I want to act mature and fancy, I channel my sister's style and select pieces I think she would wear - semi-precious stones with a slight boho vibe to them. 

Boho vibe. Not my sister. Pic taken from here

Recently, I connected with my sister's friend, a Singaporean jewellery designer Tsu Yinn who lovingly crafts unique and affordable pieces of jewellery. Her stuff is exactly what my sister would wear (lots of semi-precious stones in a variety of colours) and basically the opposite of my hoochie-mama-chic so get ready for some fancyness! 

She only makes a limited number per piece I think which sucks because most of the ones I like are sold out but these turquoise ones I got are basically the height of fancy ladyness dontcha think? 

They say ladies turn into their mothers but I'm turning into my sister

She's also made this new one which I also love so I'm guessing turquoise is my jam now. 

More fancyness

I'm also loving the maple wood series she's doing now. Particularly this rainbow necklace. To my boo: HINT HINT.

Anyway, you can buy her stuff here and check her out on Instagram (@Handmadebytsuyinn) to see all her new stuff. 

Thanks for reading!

Shopperholic

Dress: Shein | Shoes: New Look (Similar here) | Ring Jessica Buurman (Similar here)

Once again, a huge thanks to Samson aka @braidstrong (instagram) | braidstrong (website) who takes lovely photos.

Hello!

So I've been trying to save money by avoiding online shopping but it's been pretty disastrous. But I've managed to get some really awesome not too expensive things from Aliexpress which is basically like the version of Taobao that caters to people who can't speak/read Chinese but still want cheap stuff. I love Aliexpress but shopping on the site requires patience because there's a lot to take in and go through. Plus you have to read the reviews and because there are multiple vendors selling the same things, you have to make tough decisions with which vendor to buy from. Overall I've had mostly pleasant experiences, although I've had cheap phone covers not get delivered before. But overall I'd say the percentage for that happening is pretty low. 

Anyhoodle, I just wanted to share some of the cool stuff I've bought recently, bearing in mind though, that it's actually not that recent since it takes bloody forever to ship. But that's just one of the drawbacks if you want cheap stuff. 

So you know how I've really been into these Fitness Blender workouts yeah? So I usually put the video up on my iPad, and for the longest time I'd borrow my mom's tablet stand. Well I decided it was time to be a big girl so I got my own. And I think it's awesome because not only did I buy it for US$2.49 with FREE shipping, I also think it's perfect for travel since it's so compact. I am mighty pleased with myself. 

On top of that, you might have noticed that little white thing in the last picture above, that's an audio amp which is just like a little plastic shell that you can attach to your iPad to amplify the sound. I didn't get this from Aliexpress, but rather, from Amazon. I had originally seen a product like it called Sound Bender that was featured in the TV show Shark Tank and I needed it because my iPad 2 speakers are really bad. I wanted to buy the Sound Bender cos of the cool name and the inventor but I needed it to be shipped pronto so I signed up for the Amazon Prime membership free trial and found that Audio Amp was eligible for the fast shipping, but not the Sound Bender. I had it shipped to my godma in the US who then brought it to Singapore to me as she flew in a few days after the delivery was made. Thanks godma, love you. Thanks Amazon, I love you also. Although you don't really always ship to Singapore (Boo) and your stuff can be pricier (double boo). 

The boo tried using the audio amp on his iPad (which is maybe a 3 or 4) but it's a bit too slender so it slides off. Anyway, his iPad speakers are better than mine so he doesn't really need it. I like it because it's so portable and it really does amplify the sound quite substantially. Don't expect THX movie quality sound obviously but sound that's loud enough to be heard over my panting as I exercise.

Moving on... Because I'm an action packed woman, I decided to be extra action and buy these weighted glove from Aliexpress. I'd been looking through Amazon but couldn't find the right weight (and also the look that I liked) that would ship to Singapore. I managed to find these babies which are awesome because they only cost US$5.30 but I've just realised I paid like $17.54 in shipping but ok it still comes to only $22.84 which is cheaper than the ones sold in stores here so I guess it's still a win. They each weigh about 0.5kg which seems little but I'm pretty sure I'm going to be aching after using them. Get ready to see my big guns BANGBANG!

Lastly, I decided to replace my existing lunch bag (yes, I'm a kid who brings a children's lunch bag to the office) because I wanted a lunch bag that I could sling over my shoulder (I often carry a lot of things to work so I need this extra convenience). My existing one was getting kinda mucky and only has a top strap. I also wanted one with a zip because I felt that the one I had often opened up because the velcro wouldn't hold. I ordered this on Aliexpress and have zero complaints because it's SO CUTE and it's exactly what I wanted - insulation material within, shoulder strap for easy carrying, cute pattern, right size to carry breakfast and my afternoon snack. Anyway, this purchase drove me a bit mental because there were SO many options and I really had so much trouble deciding. Multiple vendors were selling variations of this bag with different patterns and styles and also slightly different prices but I just went with the one that made me go 'aww' the most.

I'm so happy, you guys. But now I'm basically back to being addicted to shopping and as I type this I have Aliexpress open and ready to make another purchase - a makeup brush holder (I NEED THIS OKAY?)

Thanks for reading!