BR: Wish you were here

I completed my second book from the little black book dress series.

Written by Phillipa Ashley, this book is about star-crossed lovers rekindling the old feelings they have for each other and having a happily ever after.

Ex-lovers Jack and Beth reunites after 8 years in a company that organises outdoor tours. Beth furious and heartbroken that Jack had left her after proposing to her 8 years ago, was not looking forward to working with Jack all over again. But desperately in need of a job and money after her dad’s accident, Beth decides to take up the job.

Months later, after working together as pure colleagues, a company tour and a hot spontaneous kiss threw both Jack and Beth off balance and rekindles the buried feelings they have for each other. And like all fairy tales, Jack and Beth married and were happy.

I personally preferred the first book I read for its interesting way of writing. This fit-for-a-tv-drama-series story was a little cliche to my liking. Having said that, it is still a sweet book to read when you are on a holiday whilst hoping to land yourself a prince charming.

Fruit Tv died.

My faithful fiesty hamster of 2 years, fruity tv passed away today of presuming old age.

For a very long time, I felt as if fruity tv was the reincarnation of hammie (my first hamster). But, I really don’t believe in reincarnation. So, that only leaves me being absolutely lucky to have owned 2 hamsters with great fighting spirit.

Singapore Biennale Part 1

As promised, here are my pictures from the Singapore Biennale South Beach complex. You need to pay $10 for 2 of the Singapore Biennale venues, but it is worth the money. Just a short selection of some of the more outstanding installations that caught my eye.

First up, my favourite installation of them all. The Hair Salon by Leandro Erlich. This installation is totally AWESOME! 2 adjacent rooms are altered to mirror each other. I’m stuck in the glass image. It’s totally cool because everything is in reverse (magazines, dye packaging and clock included). Just standing inside the room made me feel like I was trapped in a doll house.

Next up, a free standing wall with the words “One Hundred Years of Solitude” which is derived from a book written by Gabriel Garcia. Short and simple.

Thereafter, one work that wowed me was this work by Felice Varini. This art work spread across an entire hall’s ceiling. It’s just amazing. From one angle, the image looks 2 D. From another angle, the image appears 3 D. I loved that the art was painted in bold orange.

Now this work was simply funny. I liked that the artists played around with the idea of “boxes” and filling them with personal items like dolls, tv, bunnies, books, radio. There was no real “boxes” though, the artist just made it such that visually the items fit nicely in a box format. Apparently, this is how some garung guni (2nd hand item collector) kept their items at home.

The upcoming installation is made from elastic, steel and fabric. Stretched across an entire room, the dancer is “pulled” to its limits with its hands on one wall and the legs on the opposite wall. Kids might just want to look at the front view of the Dancer though, for the back view is an exposed bum. Even so, I thought that the piece was created with beauty.

Now onto one installation that is filled with happiness and colour. Starburst! Sounds like the fruit gummies that I love. Upon seeing the installation, I just couldn’t resist doing the SMU (SMU started marketing itself to be different from other Singapore Universities with ads staring students & professors alike jumping). If you are thinking why is the floor filled with black namecards? That is because this is a continual installation of another piece which I forgot the name but it’s along the line that says I Hate Me or something. The name cards are really slippery.

The next installation shown here is called September Sweetness. Modelled after a Burmese pagoda, this solid structure is made from sugar. It is suppose to detoriate as the art festival progresses. According to Straits Times, this structure is a tribute to those who lost their lives in Myanmar last september. I thought that this art work was cool, but I was a bit creeped out by the bees that were flying and the ants that were stuck in the sugar delight.

The other art work that you see here, is called Fei Zao or soap. I love it because it makes the whole place smell nice.

There are other art works that are worth the time. Private moon, which is a visual poem about a man and a moon. Swing, which is a isolated swing made from neon light that speaks about the fragility of time. Beauty and the Beast, is a remarkable photography collection that applauds the chewing gum. And The Tuning Fork of the MInd, which is an interactive art display that humours your brains or no brains.

The story of the girl and the windmill

A girl held a windmill in her hand. She blew and the windmill turned with glee.

A moment later, the windmill was stuck into the ground. The windmill turned with the natural breeze.

When would the girl know it is time to put the windmill down on the ground? Or how does she really know how when the wind will come? It’s so difficult. The wind is unpredictable.

I wonder.

Greece: Santorini

Yes! Praise the Lord, my travel insurance claim got approved. The sum sure comes in handy at this point in time.

The deal was due to bad weather our Flying Catman could not sail out to sea. As a result, I got stuck on Crete with my 2 other friends for a full day. It was really sad because we missed out enjoying on beautiful Santorini.

A little bit about this gorgeous island. Santorini is located in Greece and it belongs to the Cyclades group of islands. In order to travel to this island, one needs to take a ferry (I shall comment more about the elusive Greek ferries another time).

Just like the other Cyclades island, Santorini is splattered with square stone walled houses that are white-washed and accented with brilliant blue. The houses are build this way as they have to withstand strong winds, harsh winter and sea salt. Simple, practical and functional. But it is this very nature that wows you. We stayed at St George’s Hostel. The owners were really nice and accommodating. We stayed in this awesome apartment that over looked the sea.

Must dos on Santorini include: 1) A visit to their black pebble beach for eye candy(we went to Kamari). Black pebble beaches are said to be unspoilt natural beaches as compared to sandy beaches.

2) A visit to Ia to watch the sunset (though, I would suggest watching sunset at Mykonos instead as it is a crazy affair squeezing with the entire island worth of tourists & dogs just to snap a perfect photo of the sunset).

3) A stroll along the shop houses. The shop houses retail plenty of things from bangles, to books, to magnets. From artistic to touristy.

American Apparel V Neck Jersey

I should so ban myself from heading out of my house. Or I should not bring my wallet out of the house.

I recently purchased an american apparel v neck jersey from ecleciticism in basic black for SGD29. This boutique features mid price range clothing which is sad to say most of the time out of my budget. So I was decently surprised when they brought in the classic collection from American Apparel which is affordable!

The jersey t-shirt is made out of 100% cotton so it’s really comfy. The sleeves are purposely made to be slightly longer than your regular tees so that your arms won’t look bulky. A great staple to add to your closet for lazy sundays.

I love helis

All thanks to my dad who kept on bringing me to aerospace shows and national day parades, I have a fond memory of air crafts.

My favourite “air item” is a helicopter. I have always loved helicopters. Yes, helicopters and not F16s or fighter jets.

They are slow, and they look like goldfish in the air. But I still love helicopters. This picture was taken in the Singapore Biennale 2008. I would upload more of the artsy photos that I snapped a little while later.

A new cousin!

I just cannot believe it.

I have a new cousin! 23 years difference, but nonetheless a brand new cousin! Yea my uncle is a cool 49.

And yes, Gwyneth who is only 7 months has an uncle who is 1 day old.

Born Siew Kang Jun, weighing at 3.10 kg and at a length of 49 cm. He’s really really handsome.

The moment he was wheeled in, he looked all ready to receive all the attention he could get. He even gave me this cool look when I whipped out my camera to take snaps.

Welcome to this world little one.

BS: Burt’s Bee to the rescue!

I have sensitive skin and it’s such a chore to find suitable products to use. When I was in Junior College I broke out in acne and pimples due to using the wrong facial products. As a result, I am pretty brand loyal and do not buy facial care products on a whim.

I have to say though that my lips suffer the most. I have not been able to use pretty lip-glosses from brands like stila, lancome, or even use vaseline (yes, how queer ain’t it?) and lip-sticks are a big no no. My lips were so sensitive to the ingredients that I was prescribed some medical balm by my dermatologist to nurse it back to good health.

Boy, am I glad I finally found the answer to protect my lips! Burt’s bees beewax! This lip-balm is made from 99.6% natural ingredients including beewax. The company also prides itself for being environmentally friendly by using recylable plastic for the packaging.

I begun using their balms 2 years ago, and I’m happy that my lips are happy. They have a range of lip balm, shimmer and gloss. The shimmer is too shiny for my liking, but I’m in love with their balms. I use pomegranate for that tinge of red. Honey tend to soften in tropical climate but is good for winter climate. Mint is really awesome because whatever you drink thereafter taste like peppermint.

A pity though, because burt’s bees is difficult to find in Singapore.

BS: Buzz the fuzz

Be initiated. Be fuzzed out.

I finally garnered the courage to go for my first ever Brazillian wax. After many months of procrastinating and pondering to do it or not, I decided to march into a Strip Esprit salon 3 days ago. Enough is enough, if you never try you never know why some people praise about it and others just dread it. Though, I decided to try the vanilla white chocolate wax from Strip as it will supposedly ease the pain. The delicious smell of chocolate aroma is a plus of course.

According to wikipedia, B.W. is apparently the most extreme form of waxing in which you remove all the hair down under. There are of course other forms of of waxing like bikini wax, american wax, french wax - which are I guess more for beauty purposes. I decided, let’s just go all out. Go Brazillian!

When one thinks of B.W., a few things pop up: 1) painful! [think Sandra Bullock in Miss Congeniality]. 2) embarrassing [think showing it to a stranger]. 3) Kinky, kinky.

The good news is, 1) it’s not as painful as what it seems to be. At least I thought that having an upper lip wax was way much more painful than stripping down under. Yes, I’m odd. But that could jolly well be because I’m on AHA and thus have ultra touch-me-not facial skin or I had an awesome waxer. The other good news is, 2) you are the one in 35,000 people these professionals have gone through. So there is nothing to be shy about. The last good news is, 3) Please ladies, it’s really a regular process that most other ladies go through. Rid of the fuzz is good for your health - no more home for the bacteria that lives down under. Your doctor will give you the thumbs up.

The more worrying part is of course, the after care. Ingrown hair is just such troublesome little things.

But in general, it feels great!