Marketing Internship

Heya!

I know it's been a long time. I've been really busy and the year just flew by! SO I'm currently doing a Marketing Internship with TotallyHotStuff and I love it there. My boss (Luke) and colleagues are extremely friendly. I love being surrounded by all the cute merchandise and planning their social media posts as well. Just today I took a really nice photo of one of our newest products, the Totally Motivating Coaster Set. :)

My office is located at Bukit Batok and I'm really glad about that because it's very near my house (although I have to change two buses). I've been lucky in getting jobs that are convenient to get to. 1) When I was an admin at NTU 2) my editorial job at Star Publishing and 3) this marketing internship.
My internship at TotallyHotStuff feels really fulfilling because I have already been complimented and my talent has been acknowledged by my boss and colleagues more than once. They've complimented both my copywriting skills as well my photography skills. :)

Sometimes I don't realise how lucky I have been.

Also went down to OCBC's headquarters at Cecil Street to get my cheque for the final instalment of my education loan. Can't believe I finish my degree next year and then it's WELCOME TO ADULTHOOD.

Life kind of feels like one big question mark right now. I know I am going to succeed in life but I'm not sure by doing what. I have a general direction and I am trying different things but I don't know which of these will work out.

On the brighter side, I'm kinda excited for school to start again because one of our modules will be scriptwriting - that's something I have always wanted to learn!

Other noteworthy things include me attending Fashion Week 2016. I still can't believe I got to go two years in a row. And now there's no stopping me. See you at Fashion Week 2017!

Adventure Cove date and Grub with friends

So it was the second monthsary with the boyfriend, and although we don't really have to celebrate every month, both of us wanted to go to Adventure Cove together and so we decided to time it with our monthsary. I've never been to Adventure Cove, even though I go to USS and Sentosa a lot. I am afraid of water rides (or at least used to be) because of my inability to swim. Going with him somehow made me feel safer and we tried almost all the rides. I went for a high-element rope course thing alone though, because heights make Derrick queasy.

The rides were super fun!! And it was a good way of getting out of the heat. Poor Derrick got sunburnt though (fair skin problem).

The next day, Derrick and I met Brielle, Wendy and Jovan for dinner at Grub. It was an introductory meeting. Brielle and Wendy are 2 of my closest friends, so I thought it's only appropriate that they meet up and get to know each other.

Derrick and I have been doing country flag quizzes together. It's actually fun (we're so nerdy). I used to be SO GOOD at this...six years ago. I used to remember everything. Rusty now but ah well. I am glad my boyfriend enjoys things I enjoy as well...things like memorising capitals of countries, and shapes and flags. I guess we are pretty compatible. :)

It's been a good March. I'm having holidays now. :) Life is good. Hope April brings more good times. Here's to love and friendship!

Well, it's my birthday (belated post)

So on the 21st of Sep last year, I turned 21. The birthday day itself was pretty boring, with my day starting at work and listening to a friend's problems at night.

Meanwhile, for a month, Brielle, Wendy and I had been planning my birthday bash at Furama Riverfront hotel. I invited my closest friends (some of you didn't turn up, I'm still sad about that). So finally it was 2nd October, the day of the party. The theme (Greek mythology) had been decided, the customised cake was ready, and we were good to go. Wendy and her boyfriend Jovan were there at the hotel before me as I was coming straight after work.

I made plans to meet Brielle at Commonwealth and then go to the hotel with him. We alighted at Tiong Bahru MRT and as we were waiting for the bus, a few of my friends were telling me that they were gonna be late. We had a bit of trouble finding the right bus stop and had to go to NTUC to get some mixers and chips.Wendy told me that no one was there at the hotel yet. I began to panic and started wondering if I would be celebrating my birthday with just Wendy, Brielle and Jovan. 

On the bright side, me being early meant that I could help set things up. When I actually made it to the hotel with Brielle, and we were at the lift, Brielle started taking his phone out to Snapchat something. I thought he just wanted to record the part where we were going into the room. When we opened the room it was pitch black and I was wtf? because Wendy and Jovan were supposed to be already there so the lights should be turned on.

When I walked in, suddenly, BAM the lights were turned on and ALL of them were already there. Even the people who said they were going to be late. This came as a really big shock to me because all along I had known about the party. It wasn't meant to be a surprise! LOL

Then Judy came rushing towards me with a pink sash that said "Princess" and Wan Ling was putting the crown on. I really did feel like a princess then. I didn't know that they were all there so I was wearing my work clothes, which I was embarrassed about so I quickly went to the washroom to change into something. And Mazi helped me with my eye makeup. (Thanks babe)
After the Pizza, it was already 9 and most of them had to start heading home. So we decided to take group pics and solo shots as well. Here's the group pic!

Thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone who rushed down to be there on time, despite whatever commitment they had, just to surprise me. I felt so much love for them that day - and still do.

We had pizza, and then cake, and most people who couldn't stay overnight left.  Then we were left with the people who would stay overnight and go clubbing with me. The club we had decided on was Alta Ego (because of Pavi, hehe). And Jovan had managed to get us on the guest list. Here's the shitty part though: while we were playing drinking games, Brielle jokingly dared Wendy to drink a shot that wasn't mixed yet. So she drank the whole thing and got drunk. I'd never seen one of my friends drunk before and it was...interesting.

She was all red, and saying cutesy stuff, calling Jovan cute and all. XD And she couldn't stand straight!! I literally had to hold her from the back to make sure she doesn't fall to the ground. This girl ah. *shakes head* So in the end, Jovan decided that it was too unsafe to bring Wendy to the club and EVEN THOUGH WE HAD LOOKED FORWARD TO THIS DAY FOREVER, she couldn't make it.

So while she tried to sleep it off, Judy, Saqib, Brille, Fuxuan and her bf, Wan Ling, and I got cabs to Alta Ego. We met up with Ezra and Pavi over there. Alta has three different levels. The basement is a very chill place. There are less people there, more space to move, and people seem to just groove or sit around there.

The 2nd floor is where the party really gets started. Over there, you literally have no space to move. And the rooftop is the bar and food area, where there is no dancing at all. So after experiencing the chill of the basement, we went up to the 2nd floor for some hardcore dancing (actually I just grooved, can't do hardcore dancing). Brielle and Pavi were the best dancers of the night man.

Not gonna go into anymore details but it was definitely one of the most fun and memorable nights of my life so far. The best part was having all my friends in one room together. <3 nbsp="" p="">
LOVE ALL OF YOU and hopefully I celebrate my 25th too, and get all of you together again. :)

*****

Also, from the fact that this was such a late post, you can probably tell that I got really lazy to blog. So here's just a quick summary of what I've been up to since the birthday bash:

- Worked at Star Publishing as an Editorial Assistant till late November.
- Started uni in Dec (studying mass comm)
- Got a boyfriend (Derrick, hehe)
- Started working with the boyfriend (in advertising)
- Also writer for Scribe Project, and now Editor
- MAY go into freelance writing. Maybe. We'll see

So that's about it for my life right now. Been very happy, and it all seems kinda unreal. :) But I'm definitely not complaining.

Bring Me Some Diamonds

Before I go into talking about the twenty-first birthday bash, let me update on some other interesting things that happened in the month of September!

Firstly, I DID manage to get a photo with the author of Before I Go To Sleep, S.J. Watson. I remember feeling so happy and telling Fuxuan "We're actually in the presence of a New York Times Bestseller!!" Not only that, his book had been adapted into a movie. Now the ultimate wish is to meet J.K.Rowling. Let's keep our fingers crossed.

NEXT: LADY IRON CHEF

I also attended an event organised by Lady Iron Chef, a.k.a Brad Lau, where I got to taste awesome food. It was my first time trying sangria. I quite liked it :) The photo above is the main dish that we were served. I loved the fresh prawns and scallop. Went really well with the wine. The restaurant is called RessRoom and it is located at Changi City Point. So East Siders, you may want to check this out!

P.s. The title is completely unrelated to this post. I'm sorry if I disappoint xD

The fashion-intern Insider scoop

Hey people! SO I finally got the time to sit down and write this post. I've alwaysssss wanted to be involved in the magazine industry. My love of magazines started in secondary school. I would often bring the latest magazines to school and some classmates would borrow them from me. I started with Seventeen Magazine. I loved the fashion, relationship advice, etc. My love for Seventeen may also have started due to the fact that America's Next Top Model winners often graced the covers of the American version of the magazine. And I was a huge ANTM fan.

After Seventeen magazine went out of print, which I felt devastated about, I graduated to Cleo magazine. And I think I have a 3 year collection of Cleo in my storeroom. So when I saw the Instagram post asking for new fashion interns, obviously I applied immediately without thinking. Then I went for the interview, and I got in. I think as long as you have some mass comm or fashion design background, you can make it in.

The first week of my internship was okay. It involved me writing quirky captions for our Hot Looks section, finding images (both street style and runway) for the 'From Catwalk to Cleo' section, etc. Second week onward, all hell broke loose. I found out that product sourcing is the most tiring thing in the whole damn planet. (Okay I am exaggerating but you get the point)

Product sourcing basically means going out to shopping malls, mainly in the "7th Heaven of Shopping" areas such as Somerset and Orchard, and loaning accessories, clothes, shoes, etc and bringing them back to the office. We then have to take pictures of these products in the studio. Our two resident photographers are in charge of that. These high resolution pictures can then appear in our magazines and they will appear scattered all throughout the fashion pages.

The week leading up to our photoshoot was probably the most physically tiring week of my life. When we go and borrow clothes and stuff, we take one of those 30kg luggages with us, and we go from shop to shop. My day typically went like this:

Pick-Up Products:
- Taka
1. Charles and Keith
2. On Peddar
3. Love Moschino

Return-Products

- ION
1. Topshop
2. Bershka
3. Pull & Bear
4. Warehouse
5. Stradivarius
6. G2000

- SMRT
1. F21

- Wisma Atria
1. Miss Selfridge

- 313 @ Somerset
1. Levi's

I got tired just typing all that. When we borrow, we don't just borrow one thing. We borrow LOADS. So that 30kg luggage is usually FULL. And there was this one day when I was going to the Agnes B storeroom and I had to drag the full luggage up 2 flights of stairs. No escalators. No lift. Somedays you're so fed up you just want the ground to open up and swallow you.

And I actually did overtime many times. Despite the fact that I am an unpaid intern. Normally the day should end at 6pm, but the latest I left office was at 10pm I think, that was the night before the photoshoot. Guys, you need to realise that I am not complaining. I am really just giving the insider scoop. I could pretend it's all glamorous and shit, but it's NOT.

There were some perks: I got free liptstick, concert tickets, got to hang out with international models, got discount at H&M, etc. And the perks definitely helped to cheer me up when the day was just too tiring.

The Big Day of the Photoshoot

Casting for the photoshoot had been done, my fellow fashion intern and I had got in crazy hauls from all over Orchard and we had got the big boss's approval of the selected pieces.

In the picture above, this is what we prepared, with a total value of at least $10k. 3 racks of crazy expensive clothes, shoes, bags, etc. From these, we narrowed it to the selected pieces for the photoshoot. 

The models arrived at about 5pm, as well as the Makeup Artists, and together we headed to Kallang Stadium, which was the location. We all got Burger King for dinner and then started the photoshoot at about 8pm. It was a night photoshoot :)

The models were in thick fur coats, and I don't know how they managed to look so flawless and composed when there was barely any wind. It was quite hot! I saw two pairs of bare boobs. HAHA. Boys would have liked to be me. Then at 1am, I had to drop off a model, Luiza, at her apartment and then I headed home, reaching at 2am. What a tiring yet exciting night. 

And I finally ticked something off my bucket list. Be part of a photoshoot. :)

So now I'm out of there. I treasure the experience but I am glad that my stint as an intern is over because it was frucking tiring. 

New Style Inspo - Chiara Ferragni

OMG I am really excited about this woman. While looking for photos of her for the magazine, I realised that her style sense is freaking AMAZING. I'm talking about Chiara Ferragni. She's a blogger, fashion designer, and has been employed by Guess as spokesperson/model. Just look at her outfit below. Simple, yet powerfully feminine. Abstract prints and flattering shape ftw!

With Au Naturel makeup

She is so pretty!!!

Look at that cray necklace (insert heart-shaped eyes)

Loving the boots and dress combo!

On a more personal note, I'll be attending a "World Lit" event. S. J. Watson, the author of Before I go to Sleep is going to be at The Arts House and I managed to snag a pair of tickets. The novel was also turned into a movie, which played in cinemas just last year. I'll be going for this event with Fuxuan, since I haven't met her in too long and she was also a literature student like me. :)

I'm so excited about this!! I hope I can get his autograph on the hard-copy of the novel! I decided to wear a dress and boots combo too, like the one Chiara wore. Also, tomorrow is the last day of my internship. It's going to be bittersweet. But all in all, life is...kinda good right now. Meeting new people, doing new things. I could get used to this. Hopefully I didn't jinx myself. 

The Human Repeller

Have you guys heard of The Man Repeller? If you are into fashion you probably have. She's a really cool blogger with a really unique, kickass sense of fashion. She's like the Xiaxue of Fashion. 

"Good fashion is about pleasing women, not men, so as it happens, the trends that we love, men hate. And that is fantastic." - Leandra Medine

Leandra is the founder of the blog www.manrepeller.com and it all started when she realised that certain trends that serious fashion-lovers are into, such as acid-washed pants or enormous shoulder pads, are man-repelling - men don't like to see women dressed in such things. They generally prefer women to be dressed in more feminine pieces. And she is one of those women who doesn't care. She would rather dress for herself. 

This is her trying to NOT repel men. 

This is one of her wackier outfits that men may find weird

I personally love her style. There is a reason why she was featured in Forbes's "Top 30 Under 30" as one of the year's "most influential trendsetters in 2012. 

However I had this random thought, and thus this post, that crazy fashion is not only a man repeller in Singapore, it is a HUMAN repeller. Try wearing something that's on the runway on the streets in Singapore. Aunty, uncle, little boy, taxi driver, foreign workers...anyone and everyone will stare till their eyeballs drop out of their sockets. This is the feeling I get when I wear an all-red ensemble. But when they wear it on the runway, of course it's okay. Gahhh. 

In my humble opinion, life's too short to wear boring clothes. So go read her blog at www.manrepeller.com and wear something wacky out for tea today. 

Ciao,

Jaslin 

Echosmith Concert & Other random stuff

So I went to the Echosmith concert at Hard Rock Hotel! :) I believe it was their first time being here and I feel glad that I got to catch them. Cabbed down straight from work (I did overtime till 8pm) and was just in time. Went with one of my guy friends. I love concerts man!

 *

I think I am getting better at my job as an intern. Beginning to finally get it, and feeling more confident about myself. Funny thing is, I can't seem to bond with one of the interns. I consider myself an easy-to-get-along-with person and I usually make friends easily so I find this strange. Sometimes I think it's me not trying hard enough and sometimes I think it's her that doesn't know how to get close to me. Or it might just come down to a clash in personality. 

There was a new intern and this girl got close to her in one day. I'm like whaaaat? I've been here for 2 weeks and literally sit beside you everyday. Also it might be me. I'm too tired to try too hard in life to be anyone's anything. LOL. Friend, lover, whatever it is. 

I'm super independent these days. I can go for lunch alone and not feel lonely. I can cafe-hop alone and not feel lonely too. It's not that I don't have friends. I probably have too many. LOL. But sometimes I rather do stuff alone. Be with myself and my thoughts. I think if you don't learn to be independent at this age, you will never learn. And you will end up always depending on others for happiness. 

I can do activities alone and yet why is it that when I have no one to text every second of the day, I feel lonely? Why has texting someone the whole day become a NEED? Just because I used to have someone to text everyday? Judging myself. No relationship should begin with a need. It should begin with a want. "I'm okay alone, and yet I want you." But somehow I feel like humans suck at being alone. We all jump from one relationship to another. We crave companionship, and love. 

Ok I'm totally rambling. 

Koko and Thet Ngon came to my house just now to get the Herbalife protein! :) Yes, I'm still selling them. Koko has shaped up so much after NS!! So proud of him!

Anddd I have a job interview this coming Monday. I'm planning to work (like, a real job) after my internship ends. Wish me luck!

A Hard Look at my Media Habits

My most used social media platforms are undoubtedly Facebook and Instagram. Call me backwards or outmoded but I am not a very Twitter or Tumblr person. Ooops. Blogger would be the third most used social media, followed by YouTube. 

Facebook

Facebook is probably the oldest social media account I have that is still running. If I remember correctly, I created it back in Secondary 1 or 2. I feel like Facebook is a really good cure for boredom and somehow I end up spending way more time on it than I should. You have people sharing videos of a Japanese lady eating 3.5kg worth of Chow Mein and an extra large bowl of rice in one sitting , which leaves me amazed - and here I thought I was the one with a bottomless pit for a stomach.

Even silly things like the picture above is entertaining to me (and it actually works). My phone's name is Lei Yi. What on Earth?

And then there are funny original videos from Kelly (one of the WellnessXperts coaches). It's quite funny, please watch. It's called "Watching TV with your Mom" and very accurately portrays the awkwardness that ensues when a hot, steamy scene is on TV. 

Basically Facebook to me is for sharing mood-lifting or uplifting videos, messages and what not. And of course, to update your friends and family/acquaintances about what's going on in your life in the form of pictures or status updates.

Facebook is also a platform I may use to share posts from my new website www.themimieffect.net.

Instagram

I know some people who only follow a select few on instagram or the kind who insist on following less people than the number of followers they have. For me I follow not only my friends, but also radio stations (987FM and the likes), talent agencies, magazines (Elle) etc. I also follow celebrities or accounts dedicated to fashion so that I can get some inspiration from them. I follow people who work out so that I feel guilty after seeing their pictures and decide to work out myself.

I definitely follow more people than I have followers but I don't think that's something to be embarrassed of!

YouTube

YouTube used to be the thing during my secondary school days. Now I only use it to keep up with the latest music videos of my favourite artists, but even that I do it rarely. Just today I listened to Hilary Duff's new single "Breathe in, breathe out". It's nice! And her new album is out. SO nice to have an old favourite back in the market! Hope her album skyrockets to the top of the charts! 

Tumblr

I only scroll through Tumblr when I am feeling blue because undoubtedly there will be some post about love, loss, heartbreak, etc which I will be able to relate to. Luckily, for the past 1 month or so, there has been no instances where I had to resort to that. LOL. All's good now. 

Blogger

My blog went dead for some time but I have decided to raise it up from the dead by blogging about random stuff (such as this random post) and also, I created a new website www.themimieffect.net to blog about stuff that could give people ideas on things to eat, things to do, places to visit, clothes to wear, etc. Will be uploading a new post every Saturday! 

Already Gone

I want you to know
You couldn't have loved me better
But I want you to move on
So I'm already gone

A Community I Love

So about 2 weeks ago, a bunch of coaches and contestants gathered at 73 Circular Road for the "Got to Move" party. Basically they are moving to a better place just down the road. This place holds a very special place in my heart as this is the place where I lost 11kg and my life sort of changed. I met the most hardworking and inspirational coaches who have helped hundreds of people to lose weight/gain muscle and basically obtain the best body and health that they can. 

This is the place where I grunted and groaned with other contestants as I sweated it out, pushups, Russian Twists, you name it, we did it. The catered food (I think it was Indian) was sooooo good. And alcoholic beverages were provided too. I drank my first shot of Jagermeister. I had never heard of it before that day. I learn something new everyday. Apparently it is 35% alcohol by percentage, which is pretty high for a non-drinker like me. But I believe I took it well. 

After dinner, we had a limbo contest and the losers had to sing karaoke in front of everyone and it was pretty hilarious because some of the coaches totally didn't know the words to the lyrics. 

Overall, it was a good day. :)

Ps. I know you can't see me. But I promise you I am in the photo. HAHAHA

What Makes Me Happy

A lot of things make me happy...singing, music, dancing, watching funny shows, cuddling with my mom, visiting new places, trying new things (food, activities), even working out.

But I have realised that what truly makes me happy is making other people happy. It could be through a gift just to tell them I that I love them, or just being there when they need to rant, or saying stupid things to make them smile or cheer up.

I really need to become financially independent soon so that I can make my grandmother happy before she passes away. She has high cholesterol levels and diabetes so I worry about her lifespan. I want to bring her to Britain to see the Buckingham Palace. She has an obsession with Queen Elizabeth just because her name is also Elizabeth. HAHA.

So...Britain, I'm coming with my grandma. Soon. :)

"30 Rock" Rocks

Despite being a lover of the West and everything related to it, I don't normally watch American television shows. Their movies I love to watch, books I love to read. But I just never got around to watching shows during my teenage years. I used to love Charmed, Smallville, Summerland and the likes when I was young though.

So this year I finally felt like I must be missing out. I picked an American series randomly and immediately fell in love while falling off my chair laughing. I'm talking about 30 Rock. It's been around since 2006 but I only just completed watching Season 1. I am at a point in my life when I need things that make me happy and this show is perfect. Every episode is freaking hilarious. I love you Tina Fey!

I think another reason why I like it is because it's based in New York City, the city of my dreams (I'm visiting you one day New York). I love Alec Baldwin too (I think he is really handsome for an old man).

I did a Buzzfeed quiz called "Which 30 Rock character are you?" and I got the dumb but pretty blonde. LOL. I REFUSE, I obviously have brains. I am obviously Liz Lemon (Tina). HAHA. I think it's pretty cool to write for a television show. (potential career path maybe?)

Okay so time to start watching Season 2. 

Also, HAPPY MOTHERS DAY. My mom has made so many sacrifices for me and I love her more than I can ever put into words. I will do whatever I can to always keep that smile on her face. :') Love you mummy. 

Bittersweet torments indeed

My love story: Boy came into my life. I left boy. The end. 

Girl Problems (explicit)

Warning: I'm gonna be talking about the agonies a girl faces every month until she hits menopause. I'll talk about the agonies of menopause one day when I get there. If you're a guy please still read this so you can laugh at our miseries or if you're human enough, bring us hot water bags when needed. Ps. Highly explicit content that I may regret posting once life is back to normal 5 days later.

Thoughts that go through my mind when I'm having cramps: 

1. This womb is on fireeeeeeee. 

2. Is the world falling apart? Or is it just the walls of my uterus? 

3. I am being punished for something wrong I did in my last life right? I AM SORRY OKAY? I AM REPENTANT. Geez. 

4. I can't even sit upright for the next 2 mins. I should be given an award for sitting up and typing this post. 

5. I got the perfect excuse to curl up in bed with a large tub of Ben & Jerry's (that one flavour that I haven't tried yet). But then My Fitness Pal will scream at me for ruining my diet. *flips table* 

6. MY PERIOD TRACKER APP (yes boys, these exist) SAID THERE WERE 2 DAYS LEFT. BUT IT CAME EARLY. I WAS ENJOYING MY LIFE. WHY U CHEAT MY FEELINGS? 

7. I acknowledge that you're a human but do not TALK to me, do not TOUCH me, do not LOOK at me because I don't have the energy to peel my lips apart and form an answer, lift my finger to touch you, or turn my eyeball around and look at you. If I open my mouth, it will be incomprehensible whiny alien noises that will scar you for life. Although when my mom said something I did manage to get out " Mooooom why are you making me talk?" and I am quite proud of this achievement. Considerable exception: cuddling without talking. 

8. Where's my hot water bag? Oh wait I don't have one. WHAT KIND OF GIRL DOESN'T HAVE A WATER BAG? *gets angry at self* Should I go to Guardian now? Oh wait, I'm incapable of walking anywhere except to the washroom. Totally considering the option in the picture below. 

9. I know you've heard of Bloody Mary but have you heard of Bloody and Cramping Jaslin? She's not a very happy girl, that one. 

10. Can I write about period problems for my Journalism exam next Tuesday? Like "How to deal with periods when you're on a crazy deadline" or "Things to bring with you when you're a girl and going overseas to cover an event; No.1: Sanitary pads. 'cause you don't wanna do an interview with a stain on your skirt."

Whoo that was explicit content. I think I'm done. Ciao.

***

Come and hug me and I'll be fine~ 

Two Special Saturdays, Back to Back

Okay so last last Saturday (20/9/14) was very special. I'm going to stop here.

And yesterday was also very special, thanks to my two dearies Wendy and Brielle. They treated me to North Indian food at Zaffron Kitchen (@Westgate, Level 1), to a movie, and then even got me a fabulous dress.

The food was amazing. I'm not being biased okay, Brielle said he really liked it too. I think it was a tad bit too spicy for Wendy though, oops. Haha. The ambience was great too! :) Brielle got the Tandoori Chicken set, Wendy got the Butter Chicken set and I got the vegetarian set. And we all got Tea, mine was ginger tea, I think it was called Teh Halia. So basically food was really good.

You may drool, I won't judge

And then we went to catch Babadook, which was actually not bad in terms of creepy-factor and edge-of-your-seat moments. And there was actually a happy ending, which is quite rare in horror movies. But I found the concept of Babadook stupid as hell. Who came up with that? Poor Wendy was so scared, pulling on my arm and all. HAHA. Sorry Brielle and I forced you to watch it. 

THANK YOU FOR THE WONDERFUL DAY GUYS. :)

Friday was also a special day, Brielle graduated as Sergeant! I can only imagine how hard NS life is and Wendy and I are extremely proud of Brielle for fighting through! Woohoo!! OK now for pics.

Proud Dad

Ran into Priyanka at the grad parade!

After the parade was over, Wendy and I went to eat at Ministry of Food (MOF). Food was awesome again. I got the Salmon Bruschetta with Mushroom Frittos. YUM. Need to go there more often. 

It's always a good time Babe 

I would so go back for that

OK that's all for now. Been a good few days. Hope things continue this way. So much inertia when it comes to studying for my exams. :( It was the last day of lessons last Friday, here's a pic with the class lovelies! 

***

Can I have a cup of "I love my friends"?

So what have I been up to? Watched the Maze Runner with Mag and Sora. It was one of the better movies that came out recently. Always love a good sci-fi adventure movie. Plus cute actors are a bonus. Everyone's fangirling over Dylan. HAHA. WHY YOU SO CUTE DYLAN? Can't wait for the next movie now. Also watched Blended and Jodi Breakers at home. Blended is so freaking hilarious!! I kept laughing at almost every scene, it's such a feel good movie. Loved it.

Sora on the left and Mag on the right :)

Also met up with Judy after ages. It was so nice catching up over frozen yogurt. It was my first time trying IIao IIao (apparently pronounced Lao Lao) and I quite liked it. :) I tried to go as healthy as possible with my toppings, choosing Dark Chocolate over White Chocolate. Can't wait to meet Judy again. :)

Judy and I, me unglam face

Also, met up with Reetz, who is going off to study in Oxford in Oct. Gonna miss her man. Thanks for being such a great listening ear always friend. And you have always been my health motivation, continue to be healthy. We'll be #Teamfitness together, focusing on the fitness rather than just the looks. Let's keep a look out for each other so that we may never forget the real reason why we watch what we eat - for health. Like the song "All About That Bass" said, boys like a little more booty to hold at night. Hehe. 

And I have been reading Life Without Limits, written by Nick Vujicic. I'm sure you all know him right? Nick never fails to inspire. Just seeing the cover of the book is enough to inspire me. A guy born without any limbs, but yet he is smiling cheerfully in all his book covers. Hey, if we got functioning arms and legs, shouldn't we be smiling as well? Something to feel blessed for right? In other news, I got new glasses. One of those black nerdy frames to declare to the world that I am a bookworm. HAHA.The question here is, can I pull it off? Of course I can, I can pull anything off. (Where did this shameless Jaslin come from?)

Featuring my rainbow tie-dye shirt

My eyesight got worse though. It's 650/550 now. Calvin Klein glasses though, thanks mom for splurging on me. Love love. I'll try not to drop these glasses as often as I dropped my previous ones. Coincidentally when I was reading Life Without Limits in the washroom this morning (too much information?), I came across a story of a woman, an award-winning photographer who is legally blind.

"Laid off from her job of twenty years, and all but blinded by failed surgery and a hemorrhaged retina, Glennis could not be blamed for despairing and giving up. You might expect her to grow bitter and angry. Instead, she was grateful to soar higher and farther." How inspiring is this? So I shall be grateful for my eyes, no matter how bad my eyesight is, I can see. I can dance, I can sing. I am alive.
I actually have a classmate in MDIS who has really poor eyesight and he told us that he may even turn blind one day. I heart broke when I heard that. I'm not really close to him but I always say "Hi" and "Bye" with a smile before/after class. He seems socially awkward and reserved but a group of my classmates actually included him in their group, made him a part of them and that's really commendable. Usually people don't bother interacting with the quiet ones. So kudos to them for being so nice, really. :') 

As I turn 20, I only have these wishes: To really grow in maturity, wisdom, to understand and empathise with people more, be a better daughter and friend.  Oh and Shah Rukh Khan. Another one of my wishes. HAHAHA. 

I want to learn to be selfless

And wait let me panic for a while. I AM GOING TO BE AN ADULT. NOOOOOOOO. Who else is freaking out about becoming an adult? Adult by age, child by nature. Yep, that's me. Next few weeks are going to be hectic. One presentation, one assignment to be submitted, followed by four exams. Wish me luck. That's all for now, need to prepare to go out. :)

P.s. Also met up with Wan Ling and Zhiqi, it was lovely girls. :)
P.p.s. This post was written in a rush and so I apologize for my grammatical and spelling errors. Peace.

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"I can take a lil bit of pain for you"

My Thoughts on Relationships

Relationships scare me. If you like/love someone, you want to be in a relationship with them. But at the same time, there is always this fear. What if it doesn't work out? What if it ends in tears and unnecessary heartbreak and drama? If you were friends before, what if it destroys your friendship altogether? But then again, if you don't try how will you know?

If you have been scarred by previous relationships most likely you'd be scared to take the plunge again. Also, there will be this constant pressure on your shoulder. "I mustn't make the same mistakes I made in my previous relationship." These kind of thoughts may make us wary of every statement, every gesture we make towards the new person in our lives and may prevent us from just being natural.

One thing I learned from my past is that being possessive is a bad idea. What I mean by possessive here is not over-reacting when you see your boy with another girl. What I mean is that I think we need to respect the other's space, know that they may need some alone-time once in a while. Girls can over-think it sometimes, interpreting lack of replies as him not being interested anymore. I have been guilty of having such thoughts. But I guess that's where self-confidence and security comes in. I think it's important to be confident in yourself and think that your boy won't leave you for someone else so easily. And knowing that he will reply you eventually. The insecure ones will fret over such things the whole day while the secure ones will have more peace.

I was on elitedaily.com and I came across this article. I quote: "But working relationships — the type that really work — all share something in common: The two people involved are rarely — if ever — possessive of the other. They understand the need to live freely and to belong to themselves first while also belonging to each other.They’ve given up on the popularized definition of romantic love and have created a three-dimensional relationship that focuses on ideas and beliefs rather than emotions alone."

I think what is said above is really true. Yes we have a certain amount of right on the other's time but we can't expect them to be there 24 hours. Maybe at marriage level, yes. But not at our young age, where everyone is busy finding themselves, carving out a career for themselves, ticking things off of their bucket list, etc.

I think for me though, on a very busy day, just saying "Good morning" and "Good night" at the bare minimum is something one can do to let the other person know that even when he or she is distracted by other things, their other half is always on their minds. It's similar to how you don't see your parents the entire day but you see them in the morning and wish them a good morning and see them at night and wish them a good night. That's just how I see things. 

Then there is this thing where people talk about their future together. Wise? I think not. This is the part where romantic old me gets all practical. I mean, we all do it. But does it not set up unrealistic expectations? And imagine the amount of pain you may go through if you break up and you think of all those things you had said you would do together. I mean yes, it feels special to talk about your future together but even the surest of couples break-up sometimes. I mean look at Naya Rivera and Big Sean, they were about to get married and they just canceled their wedding last minute, for what reason I do not know. So I guess what I am trying to say is, yes it's okay to talk about next month, but try not to talk about five years later. I'm not saying that you can't have faith in your relationships, I'm just saying that one ought to be mature and not give the other crazy high expectations.

Next, the issue of intimacy. What the heck is intimacy? Dictionary.com says that it is "a close, familiar, and usually affectionate or loving personal relationship with another person or group." I saw something on Instagram that really struck a chord though. 

But the annoying thing about this is that girls and boys view intimacy differently. SO while a girl may think that they boy is being intimate by sharing his problems with her, a boy may feel that he is being intimate by holding hands. The male and female species are rarely on the same frequency after all. I guess the key is to strike a balance so that both parties are happy. 

I am actually doing my graduation project on the subject "Interpersonal Attractions and Close Relationships" and I guess that is what is making me reflect on such things. With that I think I come to the end of my ramblings for today. Till next time. :)

Trials, Tribulations and Tests

After such a long break from blogging (no time yo), I don't even know where to start. Okay, as promised in my previous post, my transformation picture:

Last year vs This Year

Soon after my previous post was written, I found out that my mom has a tumor. My mom had actually gone for a blood test in January at a clinic just as a routine checkup. After my dad passed away, she decided to be more careful. And it was probably the best choice she ever made. The blood test revealed that my mom had really high platelets count. As such, she was referred to Singapore General Hospital. Over there, we found out that the reason for her high platelets was actually a tumor. It was called a Gastro-intestinal Stromal tumour (GIST), which is cancerous most of the time. However, they did not inform us that it was cancerous as they wanted to do a biopsy on it. 

But first, we had to remove it via surgery. May and June were two really tough months. My mom kept worrying that she might die because of the surgery while I, being more practical, kept thinking about what's going to happen AFTER the surgery, if it turns out to be cancerous. Aunty Lay Leng, Mabel, my aunt who had flown in from Bangladesh the night before the surgery, and another uncle followed my mom and I to the hospital on the day of the surgery. 

It was a nerve-wracking 2 hours during which the doctors were taking out a football-sized tumour from my mom's stomach. I am not kidding, I have a medical report and a photo which the doctors took and sent me to prove it. Shall not post it here because one may vomit. So glad that my soul sister Mabel was there when I was bawling my eyes out in the washroom. After she made it through the surgery, my aunt and I had to sleep over at the hospital some nights (on sofas or four chairs put together) to give my mom some moral support and also because you can't count on the nurses to give the patients 24 hr service. 

After the biopsy, we found out that it is cancer and then had to wait for a nerve-wrecking week before we found out what stage it is at. Thankfully, thank God, it wasn't at a very bad stage due to its localized nature. So now she is on medication and will be on it for the next 2 years at least to ensure that the cancerous tumor doesn't grow again. She is okay now, no hair dropping, no weaknesses or other symptoms. I just never thought any of my family members would be affected by Cancer. :( I cried so bad when I watched The Fault In Our Stars because I could relate in a way.

****

Now to less bleak topics. It's already semester two in school. Time flies so fast. I must admit I wasn't really in the mood to study for my Sem 1 exams due to mom and also because I was having a friendship problem at that time. I get affected by things easily. But luckily I did not too bad. Time to buck up this semester. Ok time to meet my gang in school:

From left to right: Teeq, Pavi, Sora, me

 One of them, Mag isn't in this picture, I'll upload a pic of us later. :)                            

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Back to Blogging...missed me?

So I took a 4 month hiatus from blogging. Let's just say I was too busy to blog. "So busy with what?" you might ask. Busy getting fitter. Hahah. While I was still working at NTU, Mabel told me that she got a flyer from this thing called the Singapore Fit Challenge. She said registration fee is only $35 and that they have Zumba. I wasn't particularly attracted to it but I joined for Zumba's sake (I like to dance) and for experience's sake. 

         My first zumba session was awesome! I was totally in love with Betty, the Zumba instructor.          She always looks like she is having so much fun while she is dancing. For anyone who does

         not know what Zumba is, it is an aerobic fitness programme featuring movements inspired by various              styles of Latin American dance and performed primarily to Latin American dance music.  But usually                nowadays we don't just use Latin American moves for Zumba. We dance to all sorts of pop  

         songs and have all sorts of dance moves. Let me share with you a Zumba video from 

         Youtube that I find pretty cool. 

         

        So I joined that fit challenge. And I got addicted to it. Someone who hated exercise all her life.

        I got addicted to the atmosphere, the coaches, the people I met there and even to the                     exercise. Hahaha. I'd really like to give a shout out to this fit challenge because I lost 9kg.               Thank you to my Coach, Liz!! I never thought I'd lose so much weight EVER.

        

        

The next thing I knew, my coach approached me to ask me if I wanted to be a coach just like her. My immediate response was to go "HUH?!" because at that time I was probably 58kg and still feeling and looking fat. But Liz told me that it's ok to be a work in progress and a coach at the same time. So because I really liked the jobscope, I got signed up. License and all. Haha. And I am currently a coach, with my own small group of clients that I am helping. I have a wide range of people that I am helping. From people my age to people in their 50s. 

This really is a fulfilling career prospect for me but at the same time I still need a degree just to be safe. I did not do really well for my A levels so I have decided to go to MDIS and have already started school there. Fingers are still crossed that NTU or SIM gets back to me though. Didn't apply to NUS or SMU. Although if miraculously I get accepted by NTU or SIM, I will miss some MDIS peeps. :(

Finally I am studying something that I like: Mass Communications. I better get all As. Cannot afford to screw up anymore. I must say that the people at MDIS are really interesting. We all come from diverse backgrounds and some of them have really interesting stories. We have people who do DJing at clubs after school, we got people who can sing, people who can dance, people who teach art, people who ran away from home...hahahah. Oh and there are a lot of foreigners! For once I am not the only one. Hahaha. And the Russian girls look like supermodels. I swear. 

OK what else? I guess I am excited for the 17th? Organising a mini outing for WellnessXperts people and some fit challengers. :D TO USS. I need my healthy adrenaline rush. Haha. Also excited cus the Herbalife Extravagenza is coming to Singapore this year!! One needs to be at least a supervisor to qualify. Which I am not. So I can't attend. So disappointed. :( 20,000 Herbalifers from around the world are coming down to Singapore for this event. Next year it will be in some other country. Missed my chance :( Hope mom lets me go next year. I will definitely be Supervisor next year. 

I see so many potential coaches in my MDIS class. And since WellnessXperts is expanding, we do need more part time coaches. Hope I can get some peeps from my class to join as part time coaches :)

I am also super grateful to find out that one of my classmates, Zahara, lives a few bus stops away from me. At first I was just like "Yay, we can go home together on the train." But turns out she drives back and forth to school. So now I get free rides. THANK GOD. I HATE TRAVELING BY TRAIN AND BUS SO MUCH. This Zahara is God-sent I swear. Hahaha. Omg and she sings damn well. Gotta learn a thing or two from her. And she is like super cool and down to Earth. :) I am going to try really hard to not post a link to her soundcloud here because I already shared it with so many people. I don't want her to kill me. Ahahahaha.

Ok in my next post I will share my Before-After picture. This is my motivation. My awesome coach.

Shall leave you all with this funny video called "You are Single for a Reason".

I think they are trying to say it's because you don't get hints. Hahaha, funny nonetheless.