Royal Carribean Jan 2014

I was on Royal Carribean from 16th to 20th Jan with my company. It was a good relaxing trip.

Note: the swimming pool is salty. the drinking water is slightly salty. the bathing water is slightly salty. So at the end of the trip, you will feel dehydrated, or get uclers despite drinking loads of water. Think about it. If you drink salty water, it dehydrates your body while giving you basic hydration. The more you drink, the more salt accumulates in your body, the more you'll feel thirsty... and the more you drink. The cycle continues.

 Fine dining with a medium rare steak on the 1st night that looks RARE to me. But on a side note, the 3rd and 4th night's steak was much better.

 Escargots were the best.. My colleague could easily eat 5 plates of it. really good.

 BBB - Creme Brulee with Banana and B..... I can't remember. not bad..

 I love the towel art that they put in our rooms...

 Docking at Langkawi, but we were so wasted and drained from the partying the previous night, we just stayed on the boat.

 The view from our room... It's really serene... I really could use such getaways whenever i feel stressed. No facebook, no 3G, no SMS. I thought i won't make it, but i did. And i enjoyed the break from all of that.

 Reflecting on how Peter must have felt when he had to step out of the boat when Jesus called. If i were Peter, i don't know if i would have done what he did, unless i'm absolutely certain that i can see and hear Jesus and i believe that He is God.

 I spent quality quiet time with God on the boat..

I spent quality time with these people that i work with day in day out... Thank you God, for this trip and this season in this company.

HK Jan 2014 - Apple Hostel, The Peak, Macau, Shenzhen, Disney

I was away in HK for around 1 week in Jan and the following week, at my company retreat on Royal Caribbean.

Here's my unsponsored honest review of my hostel in HK. I stayed at Apple Hostel at Chungking mansion. If you are the type that needs the basic feeling of safety and you don't like being harassed by touters, it's not the place for you. This mansion has tons of hostels and a long queue to go back to your hostel. But for the price, i was willing to rough it out.
Apple hostel is one of the most highly reviewed hostels at Chungking mansions. This is how it looks. The rooms in HK are generally small, but i'm 1.52m tall, so that's not a big issue for me.

I shall keep it short and sweet. I love the Yee Shun Milk pudding at Mongkok. Try it. I think it's one of the things that is very Hong Kong and not westernized or popularized globally.

 Some people love The Australia Dairy Company which offers the same thing, but i prefer Yee Shun. Below is proof that i had it. It's sweeter and more jelak after a while..

Of cos, every tourist needs to take the Star Ferry.

 And the Peak, even though i've been there before...

 8 out of 10 tourists will usually pay HK $75 for the Peak Tram Sky Pass (The Peak Tram & Sky Terrace 428) to go to the top of the peak - Sky Terrace is claimed to be the highest 360° viewing platform in Hong Kong. But i did some research...
You should just pay HK$40 for the Peak Tram (to save time) to get to the open area and find this lift.... It will take you to a very nice open area with equally great view which is FREE!!

 

Here's the view from there:

 I prefer the view from the general public area... Walk straight down from this road....

 NICE!

Then, we also went to Disneyland. It was fun! Not going to spam pictures.

 Just one note, bring some bread and stuff if you are on a budget. This was EXPENSIVE. Definitely not what i would call value for money.

 

Next Stop: Macau. UBER BORING. I changed HK100, and i didn't even spend 1/4 of it. 

 Koi Kei Bakery's egg tart. Didn't have time to find Lord Stowe or Margaret's egg tarts cos we went quite late... I thought it was good. But then again, i haven't tried any portugese egg tart in Singapore to have any frame of reference.

Last and BEST decision ever: SHEN ZHEN. I actually was contemplating of not going cos the last time i went HK then Shen Zhen, i went to Luo Wu Commercial Centre and it wasn't a pleasant experience. After doing some research, i decided to go Dong Men, despite reading reviews of it being dangerous (pickpockets all around). Anyway, i took the HK MTR straight to HK-ShenZhen Border and it was easy to navigate but it takes time cos there's always a queue.

 Remember to fill in this card when you get to Shenzhen immigration. For Singaporeans, no visa required, just fill this up.

Once you get through Shen Zhen borders, find this sign to the Metro. Just outside... 

 Get a ticket to Dong Men for 2 yuan.. so cheap.

And you have arrived. Of cos, i went into a SHOPPING FRENZY... Thus, my photos literally stopped here! Hahah.. 

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!