Spring Cleaning! - Destress Therapy

For the past two weeks, my room went through some serious spring cleaning which I think was desperately needed and about time. There were dusts on the table, unwanted clothes piled up in my cupboard, used and unused stuff cluttering in my cupboard, worn out shoes downstairs... just beh tahan liao. I'd take a picture but it would be to embarrassing to post it up anyway. Haha.

The last time I did it was probably the year my sister got married. I don't know. Just an educated guess because last year (Honours year) was just too busy for me so it was mostly impossible for me to have done anything domestic. Heh heh...

So yeah, unwanted clothes piling up in my closet. I have been looking for places to donate my clothes to for months. There were a few boxes in my neighbourhood where, from what I heard, you can donate anything you want and some people come to collect from those boxes during the weekend. I am not so sure where those go to, so my mom said NO GO. But I did manage to find someone looking for donations on the Malaysian Babes forum.

Off to sort out clothes that I still want to wear, and pack into bags clothes that I don't want to wear or don't fit anymore :)


The two skinny bags at the side contain my clothes. The
two fat ones are a combination of my mom and my sister.
Do you know how good it feels after sorting out and cleaning up? This high is way better than what any drug can do!!

Not like I did drugs to know how it felt -_-"

After I was done with that, I went to arrange the clothes in my closet. I don't know if you girls (and guys) know this about me... and I don't know if I'm one of the very few in the world with this strange fetish... and I think you might find this odd and extreme. Here goes. I have a habit of arranging my clothes according to their categories (e.g. pants, jeans, tops, dresses, cardigans, spaghetti tops) and within their categories I have to arrange them according to colour... Haha, yes you read that right. It just looks much nicer this way. Plus it's easier to find the clothes I wanna wear when they're arranged this way.

Oh yeah, shorts and pants are two different categories.


Observe the middle section (tops are my biggest collection):
White > Yellow/Beige > Red > Purple > Blue > Green > Brown > Black
Kidding NOT.
I had a thought of uniforming the colour of my hangers but I guess that that would be too extreme and a waste of money. Next time when I live on my own, then you'll probably see uniform-coloured hangers. Next time, next time.

Also cleared up my cupboard. Found stuff from my primary school days! OMG, my artwork. I may be creative when it concerns fingers and piano, but I totally have zero talent when it comes to fingers and artwork.


The misai man looks more like a man with a double chin screaming for
help. Should have coloured the misai black eh? Oh look, chicken's tail is
BIGGER than its body.


Some art project from Primary 5, music project in Primary 6.
I have a thing for flowers, don't I? Flower here, flower there.


Lo and behold, past exam papers! Now I realized that I used to be quite smart,
but not quite perfect. One thing that's never changed, Moral was and is my worst subject.
ANYWAY. After all this, I actually feel like I can breathe easier because space is open wider and not stuffy. I also sleep peacefully knowing that there're no more less clutter in my room. I do find cleaning up my room a form of cheering me up and very effective de-stressing therapy. Especially when you have music blaring from your speakers. It's so refreshing!

Was just at Midvalley this afternoon to watch Body of Lies and went browsing through MPH (while waiting for someone who FFK-ed me in the end anyway) when I saw The Last Empress was selling for only RM29.90!! Hardcover version some more. I did a double triple take at the price. I thought I overlooking some digits. It was really selling for RM29.90! How can I not buy it???

New Camera!!!

Went to the PC fair yesterday at KLCC and yesh, I got a new digital camera!!! Haha. Ta-da! My new camera - Samsung L100!


I just realized that I've been purchasing Samsung techy products. First was the handphone, now it's the camera. I know it's not the most terra punya product. Or a high end brand. But I don't need brand name, I just need a good enough camera that can take good pictures, offer a good deal and will not bomb my bank account.

Besides, Samsung booths are all over the place. The other brands like Olympus, Canon and Fujifilm have humongous booths that are right in the crowded area. I mean, how would you like it if you're trying to ask questions and listen to the promoters while people keep bumping into your butt every few seconds??? Not good right? Besides, their promoters were too pushy. Samsung's people were friendly but not over the top.


They had this camera in pink, blue, silver, black and red. Silver? Wayyyyyyyyy too common. Pink? Ya think my brother will agree to pink? Hahaha. Blue? Nice but a bit too boring. Black? Just didn't stand out... It was sleek but... didn't seem quite right. Red? Stands out, not too dull, not too girlish, something different. Just right. And hey, good colour since CNY is just around the corner :P And, they're limited edition colours. Meaning not too common. Meaning good.

Camera specs:
+ 8.2 Megapixels
+ 3x optical zoom
+ Face detection
+ 2.5" intelligent LCD
+ Self potrait mode
+ Digital image stabilization
+ Battery life ~130 minutes or ~300 shots (fully utilized)

Now, a side-by-side comparison with my Samsung SGH-E950 3.2 Megapixel camera. I promise you, I never photoshop the pictures. Except resizing and adding the borders. Both taken without flash, under the same lighting at the same room by the same person within 2 minutes of each other.


Handphone camera: Not bad but the colour not so good right? Also lack sharpness.


Samsung L100 camera.
It retails at RM699 but I got it for RM559 thanks to the sure-got-bargain-one PC fair. Plus, it came with two 2Gb memory cards. And a towel (haha). And it's slimmer than my dad's already-kaputed fat digicam which you can't just carry in your handbag or slip into your jeans pocket. I say it's a good deal.

A cup of coffee

Over a cup of coffee, each person gathered in seats around a table exhausted for one-too-many reasons. Love. Life.

Although some did not fancy coffee or did not anticipate late night chatting, all somehow felt a mutual understanding that today the cup of coffee was needed for reasons that did not need to be spoken or asked.

Over a cup of coffee, frank opinions about different topics were heard in the initial conversation which gradually progressed further and deeper.

Over a cup of coffee, those now going through emotional turmoil shared their stories while the others listened attentively knowing that all that was needed were their ears to spare.

Over a cup of coffee, heartaches and bruises were felt by the others even when they did not go through what the person went through.

Over a cup of coffee, amusing stories in love-hate relationships from the experienced ones in were told candidly and laughters heard.

Over a cup of coffee, all concluded that there is no way to understand the opposite sex. But you can understand yourself and you must never sell yourself too low.

Over a cup of coffee, tears flowed freely as when they came. Hugs were offered and received graciously. Shoulders wet.

Over a cup of coffee, candid remarks offer a source of laughter and humour.

Sitting in our cars driving back home from a cup of coffee and a conversation later, burdens were not gone but at least lightened somewhat. Some were happy to let them all out of the system while the others were happy to just be there for them.

Just a simple cup of coffee with a conversation late into the night, friendships grew closer.

To perm or not to perm?

My mom burst into my room, wanting to ask me something. But as soon as she saw me in my wet hair, the first thing she did was a double-take and the first thing she said was "WAH!! So curly ah!!". And she forgot what she wanted to ask me.

THAT'S when you know you have curly hair. Not straight. Not wavy. Curly.

My mom has not seen me in my natural curls, neither have I. It's just so hard to take care of them and make sure the curl curl at the right place to look nice. So I usually just blow-dry my hair to make it wavy. Easier to manage. Now I have a new set of problems called frizz, hair-loss and too much energy put into maintaining hair.

Close friends around me (those with natural curls) and my sister, one by one, permed their hair. One said that her frizz problem reduced a lot after perming her hair. The other told me that her hair is not so dry and so much easier to manage as compared to when she straightened her hair. Another said that with her permed hair, she looks styled when she's casual and formal, thus no need to go to saloon to set hair.

One even told me that hair perm would be worth it for me because the curls would hold and last longer due to my natural curl. I personally have witnessed my own sister's hair looking better after perming for a year. Her hair no longer looks dry and frizzy. Damn, now I am really really tempted... seriously contemplating getting a perm.

You know during my mother's hey days, there was only one type of perm and perm only meant one thing - curl the entire hair. You only need to tell them whether you want big perm or small perm. Now when I surf the net and read various forums for "inspiration" (yes you must do your homework before you go do anything drastic to your hair), there're soooooooooooooooo many types that my head's spinning trying to read up on their differences.

Digital perm, Japanese perm, cold perm, hot perm, ceramic perm, tight perm, loose perm... Why did they have to come up with so many?? Sweat. I don't want and I don't need to know the differences.

The most important is the end result right? Whether I look good or not in the perm. And whether my money is well-invested.

Perms I don't want


This one will probably make my hair look drier than it actually is.
And I want something with less frizz. This does not look any less frizzy.

Yes I am a big fan of Melina Kanakeredes because I think her character in CSI New York is so cool, sexy, smart and strong with a good sense of fashion.

But I definitely don't want this kind of perm.
Don't think I would look good in that.
Ever.

Perms that look nice & am considering


Style #1: Permed long hair with bangs. I don't think I can keep that kind of bangs
though unless it's straightened. Even that, I think bangs will make my face
look even rounder than it is.


Style #2: The fringe in here, I think, looks the most ideal for me...
even though I prefer the curls of the first picture. The curls in here start
further down the head.


Style #3: This one looks sweet and cute. But sweet and cute is not my style.
* Photos and hairstyle taken from Gabalnara. They have many other cool hairstyles on their website. Just click on the link if you want to take a look but to warn you, the website's in Korean.

My hair is now three inches below my shoulder. I probably need to grow inches more before I perm my hair. That means I'll have time to think until then. Yay! Haha.

I'm thinking about going to a new hair saloon as well because my hairstylist in my current saloon retired and I don't like the way the others cut my hair. While one blow-dry my hair sooooo straight that I look like a tomboy, the other one cuts off 4 inches when I specifically said 2 inches. And God, don't get me started on the difficulty of communicating with them. I spoke Mandarin, not even English! If I have to use sign language, I might as well I go to a Japanese saloon.

Anyway, any idea or remedy to quicken hair growth? If I want to perm or do anything with my hair, I'll have to do it before CNY season because that's when prices will hit sky high.

Wearing black to weddings.

My knowledge on traditions is pretty limited but I do know for sure that black and white are (or were) the colours banned on guests in weddings. Black is classified as a no-no by Chinese tradition because it's associated with bad luck, depression and sadness. White is also a no-no simply because the colour white belongs to the bride and the bride alone on her wedding day. Wearing white would be like upstaging the bride, which equals to disrespectful.

I attended two weddings of my childhood friends in the past one month. One trend I noticed was increasing was people wearing black to church ceremonies and dinners. I guess the modern mindset is taking over. As long as...
(1) they turn up for the wedding,
(2) look good and presentable
(3) there's angpow.

But wearing white to weddings is still a no go :)

I wore a dress I bought from Treats, Midvalley branch. It was grey. Nearly black. Haha. I still don't dare to venture to wearing black dress to wedding dinners, although the little black dress can never go wrong and makes one look very classy. But all black is quite boring leh. And for the fear of offending the parents and grandparents. Friends sure won't mind but their parents, you don't know.

But hey... There're so many other colours out there, why not wear them instead?

Discovery of BB Cream

Only just recently, I've incorporated BB cream into my morning skincare. After seeing so many threads in Lowyat Forum selling BB cream, my mischievous self did not allow me to sit quiet quiet and not go check it out.

Excuses... Yah, I know. I'm just saying that to make me feel better, can or not?

Anyway, BB cream actually stands for Blemish Balm and, as you can tell from the name, it's a cream. According to what I've read, you can use it as a foundation base before applying makeup, (2) conceal all your dark eye circles, ugly zits, big zits, small zits, blackheads, whiteheads pimple/acne scars, uneven skintones and improve complexion, and (3) it also has healing properties as a blemish balm and it lessens or get rid of zits.

So if you wake up in the morning and discover that you have a horrendous zit, what better option is there than BB cream? You can just apply it all over your face (by patting, not rubbing like moisturizer) AND conceal the ugly zit AND heal the zit. Better than applying the other blemish gels which have zit-healing properties but no zit-hiding properties. Better than risking the risk of worsening your skin condition by wearing foundation which has zit-concealing and skin-hazard properties.

Oh, while foundation cakes at the end of the day, BB cream doesn't. To read more about it, click here. Oh I love this product.

So far I've tested three different BB creams because there is no ultimate BB cream that will work wonders for everyone. You really need to try them to see which one suits your skin the best. Recommendation can only go so far. Seeing positive results is way better than just hearing this and hypothetical statements. Just like science :)


I admit that I was a bit skeptical to try out different products like this because I believe that you'll be murdering your skin for trying too many different things at a time. And I still stand by it. Different products contain different chemicals. Then if you're trying too many at once, too many chemicals would be involved and that'll be too harsh to your skin. That's just my belief lah. I don't know whether this is scientifically proven or not.

BRTC Perfect Recover Balm - Bought this from someone online for about RM90++ for 30 ml. This is a higher end product manufactured by a pharmaceutical company (and I think has medicinal properties) so it'd be a bit pricey. The coverage was pretty awesome and it gives me a warm undertone. The texture was pretty thick for my taste but it seemed to blend in well with my skin after a while. Am not too sure about its oil control though it specializes in oil control. Still have to blot once or twice a day.

Skin79 Super+ Pink BB - Got this in sample size, which can also double as a travel size. So far I love this one the most. The texture was more liquidified than BRTC Perfect Recover and easier to apply. The coverage was good in my case. Not as great as BRTC but will do. The oil control seems to be better, and it gives me a healthy glow. One bonus point about this one is that it also contains SPF 25 which BRTC Perfect Recover does not have (you'll have to buy the Perfect Protect for sunblock). With its slight pink tone, my skin looked very natural after application. I might just stick to this one.

Skin79 Super+ Gold BB - This one differs from Super+ Pink that it contains gold and caviar extracts which apparently sooths and moisturizes your skin. The coverage was more or less the same as the Super+ Pink and it also has SPF 25 which is awesome cuz I like to minimize the amount of stuff I subject my skin to daily. Because this is more suited for dry/combination skin, the oil control was practically non-existent. So this is a no go for me.

Honestly speaking, my complexion has improved quite a lot since I've started using BB cream. I find my skintone now to be more even and less weird when I look at myself in the mirror. It also gives a glow to my skin that looks healthy and less oily. I have oily/combination skin, so that's my main concern when I choose facial products. I don't wanna look like I have enough oil on my face to deep fry a Garoupa.

I don't have problem with acne but I do have pimple scars... sigh. My pimples (when it comes) seem to be blooming at my chin area for some mysterious reason. Once upon a time it was at the forehead. Then it was my temple. Now it's traveled downwards to my chin. Maybe I should STOP TOUCHING MY FACE!

Oops, went off topic. So yeah, after applying BB cream, I find my scars hidden and out of sight PLUS my scars even became lighter and are healing more rapidly after using it for 2 weeks. God bless the person who invented this! The inventor is one smarty pants. I know I sound very commercial-like. Sorry, but it's really works! Good things must be shared right?

Did I deserve it?

4239687289357 things you gave me to do while you were away, I got two mixed up.

I'm sorry that I got them mixed up.

I'm sorry that I didn't execute all the 4239687289357 things you asked me to do perfectly.

I'm sorry that I am not a perfect daughter as you wished me to be.

I'm sorry that I screwed them up.

But do I deserve to be called stupid just because I forgot 2 things?'

Do I deserve to be reminded that I forgot those 2 things and be called stupid again and again?

I'm sorry I burst out angrily at you the last time I heard "stupid" from your mouth.

But I couldn't take it anymore.

Why couldn't it be "Aiyah.. why are you so forgetful?" or just "Ask you to do few simple things also can't get it right"? Just like that.

Of all things you could have called me, it was "stupid" instead?

Why did I have to be called stupid?

I wanna know coz it hurts, 妈. It really does.