The start of this songwriting journey

If you know me well, you know that I have always thought I can't write songs. That's cos, everything I can come up with is cliche! Used and reuse. Then it wouldn't be a new song.

So recently, I was led by God to attend Hillsong conference 2013. What an amazing faith walk that was! I stayed and travelled alone for the entire week. Everyday, taking night walks home was a scary affair! But because of that, it stirred up greater faith within me.
I was literally praying non-stop all the way home.

At Hillsong conference 2013, something unexpected happened. The fire to write songs was ignited.
I came back and told a few friends who encouraged me on...

I remember on one DE group session before all of this, where Vicky suggested that tiff and I should write songs together since I have the melody and she has the words. We claimed it in faith.

Then recently, because of the Welcome Heaven project, it hit me that God wants to do something new in FGA next year. At one point, I asked God, "why don't we have new songs in FGA?" ... I sought God a lot.

Then during one of the practise session for Welcome Heaven, God brought to remembrance about a prophecy that was released during Prinsep days. A guest speaker was doing his intro and he suddenly singled me out saying, "You... Girl... Yes, you... Do you play music? Or sing? (I only started to sing in church recently then)" Then he said, "I see musical notes coming out of your head... " He then turned to Rhordan and said that he also has musical notes, but more variation.

I have always thought that it was just probably a prophecy about me singing for worship and bring praises and worship to God. Honestly, the reason why I can remember is because I get teased so much for it after that..

So anyway, I remembered that, and I went to God last Sunday and said "God, I believe that You have songs for FGA. I believe that there is a reason why You brought the prophecy to remembrance... Should I try to write again? Can you help me to write them? God, i refuse to believe that You have no songs, cos everything comes from You. I will start writing now and Lord, give the melody and lyrics to me... "

In two days, I wrote a song. But I want it to be tighter in concept and arrangement. Building a song from scratch is the most difficult for me. The arrangement is possible with melody and lyrics in place.

So last night, I decided that I have to move on if not, I would keep dwelling on that one song.
I prayed for God, and i got a verse and prechorus...

The funny thing is I can't believe how God gives the words that stirs worship within me as I'm writing it.
After writing, my soul feels satisfied and rested. It's exactly the feeling when you listen to worship music, but don't sing it, and God shows up wherever you are!

It makes me want to run back home and write more. It's so weird.

Whether the church sings it, is up to God. The mind of man plans his ways, but God directs his steps. I truly believe so and I've been holding on to this even at work.

I'm signing off. Believing for a whole nother level of worship in FGA!

The Coffee Daily review at Brighton, Serangoon

Happened to see this cafe when I had dinner at Sunray cafe a few months back....
Been wanting to try it... So I went today.

Had a Irish cream ice latte which cost me $7! I had a mini heart attack when I saw the lady keyed my order into the cash register!
Wattttt?

Anyway, it's not that nice. My favorite word of the day: forgettable. I really would have gone for a normal latte cos this is not worth $7.
I also understand that most cafes run on thin margins and sometimes go into reds due to the perishable food that goes to waste when it's not sold...

I wanted to look for a quiet place for my Saturday coffee nearby my place. Not so quiet after all.
I shall try the other cafe a few shops away called Jonathan next time.

Hai di Lao Steamboat

So I went to Hai Di Lao steamboat at Clarke Quay.

I would like to give my two cents worth on it.

What you can expect is:
1) fresh pot of delicious chicken soup - it slowly gets blander and blander cos after the first soup, they add soup that taste like water.
Unlike usual steamboat where the soup gets better and better, the soup gets worse and worse.
2) the ma la soup is wayyyy overrated. It taste more numbing than spice. And there is this smelly scent that comes with one of the herb. It was tooooo disappointing.
3) everything else was mediocre. We tried every possible dish (cos company pay), and it was forgettable.


Conclusion: the 1st mini steamboat at Novena we usually have is so mucho better.
Sorry, Hai Di Lao. Despite your manicure services, and other very sweet services like providing apron, providing ziplock for my phone, you didn't meet my food standards. :/

HK Trip & Tokyo Trip Coming Up

Just a quick update, i'm heading to HK this coming January and Tokyo this coming April.

For HK, i'm going to stay at a hostel with the mother. And an airport hotel. I've shared my views on how spending on hotels are total waste of money.

For Tokyo, my mum and i are going to couchsurf at a local's house! hahaha. How cool is that...
Will update when that happens!!

Exciting days ahead.

Perfect Brow House - My Honest Unsponsored Review

I have been thinking about getting my eyebrows done for a while now.

Like everyone else, I got mine done previously with Amy, yes, the one at bishan central. Very popular one.

I couldn't take the 2-3hours waiting for a 15min eyebrow embroidery job by Amy. The wait is ridicious. Oh wait, there is a 3 - 6 months wait before the 2-3 hours wait. She's not even that good.

She's just affordable and cheap. And one of the highly recommended people online.

There were mixed reviews for most of the other places like allure, erabelle, Diana from sengkang... I usually get turned off by the exhorbitant prices and not that good reviews.

So anyway, after searching high and low, I stumbled upon Perfect Brow house, owned by Kelly who used to work at Sophia brow house. She was also frequently recommended in forums. Just that the prices at Sophia Brow House then, wasn't cheaper than 1st salon at bishan.

So anyway, the good news is Kelly's eyebrow embroidery is only at $150. Cheaper than Amy too. And she is located at Toa Payoh central.

Kelly is now located at Paya Lebar Square.

Anyway, this is an unsponsored post. So I went with the intention to do eyebrow embroidery but ended up doing 3D eyebrow cos it was so much more natural. 3D eyebrow cost $480 with a free touchup and free cream. The price has increased since then. She will also give you your own blade, so that it's very clean and safe.

So here's a quick photo before I went to Perfect Brow House.




Me in normal pictures:






All my friends prettier than me. It's true.





So anyway, Kelly first did an outline, double checked, triple checked if I like it, if it was balanced, if I liked it thinner or thicker etc. I think she's quite a perfectionist too, which makes her great at what she does. Her attention to little details is crucial.

Moving on, she drew two different shapes on each side for me to choose.

One is slightly more arched and lifts the eyes more. The other one is what I've always had, straighter looking brows.

In the end, we agreed that the slightly arched one was nicer.



When she drew this, I was so afraid that it was going to turn out that thick, and I'll look like:




Haha. She did assure me that cos my eyes are relatively big, if my brows were slightly thicker, it'll look nicer. So I trusted her.

Cos the scabs will come off after a week, it will look thinner than what she draws for me. I understand how she sees it. She would rather do the first time Swee Swee slightly thicker so that your brows will look perfect after a week when the scab comes off.

Delayed gratification.

We all could use some of that in today's world.

So anyway, after waiting 20mins for the numbing cream to take effect, she started working on my brows. I won't lie to you. Initially it was fine cos of the cream and my highly seasoned plucked eyebrows. I could withstand the initial discomfort. But every time she applied the alcohol swab or something, it was quite painful. Like putting Qing chao oil on your open wound...


The process was quite long. So the pain wasn't a 5 mins thing. And your brows will bleed, that's why need alcohol swabs, to prevent infection too. If you can't take pain, she might have to leave the numbing cream on you for 1hour.

I started at ard 6.30 and ended at 9.30pm.



my brows (with scar cream) looks like this!





Upclose:





Can you see the individual strokes? Thus all that pain.



I'll update in a week's time to show the results.



Kelly did comment that sometimes, when customers get too picky, the more she change, the more uneven it becomes. Just one word of advice: it may look very uneven on photo.

Your best guide sometimes, is just to make sure that it looks even, when you look at the mirror, cos that's the image people see. ~ Cue Justin timberlake ...~It's like you're my mirror... my mirror staring back at me~

Don't make kelly change too much cos you have to trust her professional eyes. She has been doing this for ten years. If you think somewhere is shorter or longer, somewhere is higher or lower, ask her if she sees it too.. She'll change it if she sees it. I've noticed that my left eye is slightly lower than my right eye. We couldn't figure out if my head was naturally tilted to one side and my eyes are just uneven.

I paid $480 for the 3D eyebrows, and $50 to laser off a bit of Amy's handiwork at the tail end of one brow. I also signed up a facial package with Kelly cos it was $400 for 6 sessions including EPL and ampur. Which makes it ard $66.67. That's pretty affordable and i've been looking for a facial place for a while. And Kelly doesn't do shoddy work, so I can trust that her salon will do proper facial for me. Since I work at Toa Payoh and it's at Toa payoh, it was like a match made in heaven! I'll review about it after I've gone for my first session. In total, i spent $930. Oh gosh.

Anyway, in the meantime, I'm thinking about how to hide the thick brows this weekend. Maybe wear spec frames? Hahah.

Update: 9th Dec 2013
5 days after 3D eyebrow.
It looks so much more natural.



It didn't peel like what I saw on some other blog. Maybe cos I kept the scar cream on my brow 24/7. Kept it thoroughly moisturized all the time. Of cos, I couldn't escape the stares and teasing from my friends and colleagues.

Update one week after (11th Dec):



Pretty nice though some of my friends say it's still a lil dark. I think it's just nice. But I'm feeling like i shouldn't have signed up for the facial package. Oh well..

Update: about a month later. 19th Jan.
Some friends say it's still too thick.. Looks fine to me in pictures!
What do you think?

By special request,
Update on 6th Sept 2016: This is my latest eyebrow after my second touch up about 2 months ago. Natural looking still aye!

Riders Cafe at Bukit Timah Saddle Club

So today, I woke up at around 10am and was craving for some ME time. I really need weekends like these, where I have at least an afternoon of nothingness. Best if I don't have to work the next day.

So I texted ner and asked her to introduce cafe with good brunch food. She replied, "symmetry or riders cafe. Food good."

Since I've been to symmetry and it's usually crowded, I decided to try riders cafe.

So I drove there. I thank God everyday for my car. My car is called "blessings". Unmerited favour I tell you.

Anyway, I drove into this narrow road, it felt like another world... Like the countryside..



White fences on the right side... Old school speed limit of 30 km/h sign...

To cut a long story short, I got to riders cafe... It was quite packed with reservations. But cos I was alone, I got a seat by the window within 8 mins.






It was great, though slightly warm from the heat radiating off the carpark pavement. Slightly humid... I will not be here during May period, it would be insanely hot.







I ordered a ice latte cos it's very simple to me. When the place is not cold enough, and you need to cool off, drink cold drink. And the opposite if the place is freezing.
I ordered "The usual" cos I was starving and in the menu, it had the longest sentence to describe what is in the dish.

It was great! A great place to have reflection time... I was brushing up on my offering message for service at 5pm later, and spending quiet time with God. It was perfect cos God was there.

By 3.30pm, I left with a full tummy, satisfied heart and nourished soul.

Cafe Wok Inn Fish & Chips at Toa Payoh Lorong Something..

Honestly, Toa Payoh area is too confusing. When i have to refer to food places to my lunch khakis, i'll usually go... "THERE, that one... the very dope teo chew mui... remember? but a bit expensive one..."

So that's how my conversation usually go...

Anyhoo, i brought my friend to the Fish & Chips at 21, Toa Payoh Lor 7 the other day... I just realised it's called Cafe Wok Inn. Pun intended. Cafe Walk in. Ahh... I smell some cheese...

It looks like this...

 I have tried the fish and chips here once but i'm not a big fan cos they serve it with Peachy Malt Vinegar... And let's just say, i love mayo a LOT!

Fish & chips that my friend couldn't wait to devour before i took a photo.

crispy chicken with pasta.

 My friend likes malt vinegar, so she kinda liked it. But i thought it was alright. The pasta was al dente.. I mean, it's surprising cause you can't usually get al dente spaghetti at a western food stall in a kopitiam. Maybe i wish the batter had more flavour...

But it was cheap. Fish & Chips for $5 (i think). Mine was $5.80 (i think). Sorry, i hadn't plan to post this. thus, everything is a little fuzzy. ahhaha.

Food Glorious Food - Saveur - Great French Cuisine

So the other day, i brought my colleagues to Saveur and they loved it.
I promised that i would introduce them to cheap affordable fresh cuisine... By affordable, we are still looking at 20 bucks per head, with two sides and one mains. A missing picture is the potato gratin. I was busy eating when it came.... ahah.

Bottomline: they loved it tooo!!!

Saveur Pasta - a MUST TRY! But i look at the dried shrimps and it reminded me about what Chef Lee said during my BKK cooking class (prev post)

Duck Confit, mash potatoes, grilled mushrooms and some tangy oranges. SEDAP!!

Chef Leez Cooking School Bangkok Review

Everyone was very surprised that i chose to do a cooking class in BKK.
First reaction: So exciting!

Yes, indeed.

How it came about was just by googling Top Activities to Do in Bangkok on tripadvisor.com. Guys, aint no rocket science.

So anyway, the group class was from 10am to 1pm. It was FUNNN. One of the main highlights of the trip.
I took a cab there at 9am, and it cost me ard 97 baht. The jam was ridiculous due to protests going on nearby and people were still going to the temple to pay respects to the monk who passed away 2 weeks before i arrive.

To cut a long story short, when the other 2 of my "classmates" arrived (an australian couple who recently moved in Singapore a few months ago), we headed out to the market nearby to do our ingredients shopping.

Chef Lee imparted her knowledge to us... I was rather surprised how a lot of processed foods, don't contain what they claim to contain.

Below is a picture of a bottle of lime juice with a star burst labelled "100%". Chef Lee said, "if this bottle of lime juice is 100%, the real lime juice from lime will be 200%". She said, sometimes, they just use vinegar, chemicals and colouring to make lime juice with no lime.

On the right is a picture of 3 types of dried shrimps. The darkest in colour is the cheapest and the lousiest, contains a lot of colouring. The second darkest in color contains slightly less coloring than the first, but equally lousy. So we bought the lightest in color one!

They usually mix the low quality with high quality, thus color difference.

Straw mushrooms that don't look like straws. Messing with my mind!

Fresh old coconut - old coconuts are good for cooking, cos all the juices has been infused into the meat.

2 Types of Egg Plants!!!

Teh Limau Ice Please!!!

The color of the egg depends on the natural color on the chicken's neck.

I love egg tofu. But chef says egg tofu got no egg!! Just put colouring! Imagine my disappointment.

Chef said be careful of the sotongs in thailand. If it's without skin, it may have been dead for a long time, but soaked in formaldehyde. The chemical will perserve the sotong to be like a fossil, and it will make it bigger and puffier... Bigger means they can sell more money. You want?

Does this look like a disgusting pot of bugs? It's just tamarind as known affectionately as assam! Best! Assam makes my world go round!

Our first dish: Red Tom Yum soup and Clear Tom Yum soup. I love the red Tom Yum soup more cos it has fresh coconut. But when i got back to Singapore, I made the clear soup (cos market had closed) and it tasted AMAZING! Clear soup is so much easier to cook. We also made Mamasan Curry, but i didn't take a photo of that cos i didn't really like that curry.

Next up, we made Pad Thai! I tell you, it was SUPERR NICE when we made it.

 But when i tried reproducing the dish, it was a COMPLETE failure. I had deviated from the recipe and i went mad with the fish sauce, palm sugar and tamarind... So the dish went into the bin.

 Then, we made green curry. It was OUT OF THIS WORLD... Haven't tried to reproduce it, cos it's a lot of work. Mainly cos i can never wake up early to buy fresh coconut. Too lazy.

 Lastly, we made mango sticky rice. It was so good, but i don't think i wrote down the precise steps on my recipe. I failed when i tried making it last Sunday. Failed terribly that i had to comfort myself with two mangoes!!!

Pratunam Market vs Platinum Mall - Which is better?

Being a regular shopper at Bugis Street, $10-$20 is what you'll usually expect for Bangkok fashion.

So, imagine my surprise, when I found out the prices at Platinum Mall are also around $10-$20 SGD. 

I'm very practical. It doesn't make sense to pay $300 over bucks for airtickets to get clothes at the same price. Just doesn't. Sure, you could say that the fashion there is newer. Really, new Bangkok fashion is not worth $300 of airtickets.

So i went to look for Pratunam market (they distribute to shops in Platinum Mall, i think). It's slightly more uncomfortable and warm... Most shops will want you to buy at least 3 pcs of the SAME design. But there are shops that will allow you to mix 3 pcs of different design.

pratunam market

 I bought most of my tops, bottoms and dresses at below 150 baht, which is $6. Savings of at least $4. I bought about 60 pcs of clothing. which means a total savings of around $240. Now, that makes sense to me.

Hope that helps. I can't say much cos when you are shopping, you go into hunting mode. Ain't nobody got time for taking photos or blogging. hahah.

Bangkok October 2013 Shopping Trip - Boxpackers Hostel Review!

Helloo...

So i decided to restart my blog and my first post will feature my Bangkok 2013 Trip alone...
Yes, i travelled alone to BKK.

The common first reaction is "Why!"
My common first response is "Why Not!"

I was free to do whatever i want. Plan my own day, do stuff, have quiet time... It was just a great getaway. Sometimes i think i'm just too comfortable doing stuff by myself. OCS much, Only child syndrome.

So anyway, i took Airasia which got me to Don Mueang (DMK) airport. The airport is around 1 hour away from the city and it's actually really expensive for a solo traveller to cab around.

When i land at DMK airport, i didn't know where to go. In the end, after some walking around, i stumbled upon a bus that was headed to Mo Chit. I thought to myself, "as long as it brings me to a BTS station, i can figure my way to my hostel!" So i hopped on, wide-eyed... looking lost.
Anyway, it was an alright bus ride... Throughout the journey, i was enjoying the moment... The moment of doing the unplanned, the unexpected... :)

It took me around 1 hour to get to Ratachathewi Station. After asking a few people, i found my hostel.

I stayed in a 4-female share dorm at Boxpackers Hostel which i booked around the same time i booked my flight. I figured that since i was alone, it wouldn't hurt to have some human interaction. Just get to know new people. Pretty exciting for me. As i grow older, i love the unexpected, unknown, unchartered... Spontaneity! Love it!

Honestly, the hostel is AWESOME. At least my room was. I had my own space, could draw the curtains if i didn't want to be disturbed, could spend quality quiet time in my box!!! It's actually pretty spacious and comfy.

In the afternoon, though, the airconditioning is all switched off... and the place is quite stuffy and hot. So i try not to go back. If i had to go back to drop stuff, i'll stay in the lobby area for a while to cool down before heading up.

Oh, cos i stayed for 4 days, 3 nights, i think i paid around SGD90 for my entire accommodation. For me, I don't have to stay in a hotel, as long as the basic amenities are there... Just close your eyes, and start dreaming! hahaha. But for real, i'm not one who believes in splurging in accommodation. I did a calculation once. Airticket and accommodation used to take up more than 3/4 of my travel expenses. It doesn't make sense to me. Even before you spend a single cent in a country, you already burst half of your budget... Comfort is relative. Anything more than a hard wooden floor or cold concrete slabs, is comfortable. Aircon is a non-negotiable for me though, especially in South East Asia.

So anyway, i'll continue with the Cooking Class i did in Thai, what i discovered about Thailand Shopping etc in my next post.