Make A Difference

Many of you know I have a strong attachment to dogs. I love them! I feel contented bathing them, brushing them, trimming their coat every weekend. Currently, I have 3 dogs (Kobe, Barbie and Qbi) but No.5 will bring Kobe and Barbie back home at the end of the year. Knowing that Qbi will once again be alone at home, got me thinking that I should get a companion for her (Duh, obviously another dog). But... as expected I got a firm NO from my mom (T.T), cause she says its a huge responsibility and it is a commitment  for over 10 years. Lately, I have got a new idea! *Ding!* Instead of buying another dog....... I want to register to be a foster home for rescued dogs!!!! Under the SPCA regulations, each fostered dog will not be placed at your house for more than 1 month. So! In a way I am not breaking my mom's rule right?!?!?! RIGHT!!!! Plus! I am able to help 1 dog at a time!! Every dog deserves to be loved and pampered!! I hvn't discuss this plan with my parents yet *Cross my fingers that they will say yes!!* Anyway... they can't say no to me when I hand them my Uni Cert right?! Heh Heh Heh *Cunning Laugh*

The second thing that I have in mind for quite some years now, is to sponsor a child. I planned to sponsor a few children throughout my life. I would sign up for the first sponsor child when I get a long term job, that would be next year!! Can't wait! I can finally fulfill my wish for the past 4 years!! Sponsor a second child when I get married...... sponsor a third child when I give birth to my first baby. Thats what I plan to do, praying that I will be financially capable of doing so. I wanna share my joy, happiness and blessing with children who are less privileged.

Many people around my age, including my friends and I love to self-indulge. We, the girls, are willing to spend money on tons of beautiful clothes, beauty products, branded bags, shoes, technologies and the list goes on. I am not saying that it is wrong to be vain or to pamper oneself with your hard earned money. What I am saying is, once in a while, we should think of people or animals that needs our help. This goes the same for boys!! Take a break from trying to make yourself successful and wealthy. The only thing that flows in their brain nowadays are business, money, how to be a billionaire, business, money, how to be a billionaire and the cycle continues. Always love yourself but once in awhile share your love with people who needs help!

Ok, after the wake up call for people who needs it, I want to praise a few of my friends who are participating actively as volunteers and in charity events. My primary school friends who spend their weekends helping out in SPCA and my secondary school friend (YES!! A GAL OF COS!!! I went to an all girls secondary school) who donated ALL of her hair in a fund raising event, by all I mean yes she is botak! What they are doing for this community is admirable and I give them my utmost respect. I might not have the time to volunteer at SPCA every weekend or have the courage to shave my head bald but I will try to do what I can, to make a difference in this world. You should too.

Diamond

钻石是女人的最爱。 Many girls around my age are getting married!~ 要结婚就一定要有钻石戒指! So~ Here we go.

Although many girls love diamonds, they know surprisingly little about it. Many individuals tend to make mistake of buying the biggest diamond they can afford without taking into consideration factors such as color, cut, and clarity. I have seen some friends who are really happy and excited when their fiance give them a 1 carat diamond. Everyone would give comments like "wah~ Your diamond is so big etc." The thing is just because its big (Don't think its big now since quite a few ppl ard my age has a 1 carat diamond) doesn't mean its good. We must always remember about the 4Cs. Clarity, Carat, Cut & Colour. If the diamond is 1 carat but all the other 3Cs have lousy grading, the diamond is still crap.

Lets learn more about the 4Cs:

Clarity

BestLousiest

Loupe Clean or FL: "flawless" in that no inclusions are visible under 10 times magnification.

IF: "internally flawless" with no inclusions visible under 10 times magnification, only small blemishes.

VVS1 and VVS2: "very very small" inclusions that are difficult to see under 10 times magnification. VVS1 is a better grade than VVS2.

VS1 and VS2: "very small" inclusions and visible under magnification but invisible to the naked eye.

SI1 and SI2: "small inclusions" that can be noticeable to the naked eye, if you know where to look.

P1, P2 and P3 or I1, I2 and I3: "imperfect" and visible to the naked eye. For P3 (or I3), the inclusions are large and obvious and impact the brilliance of the diamond.

Clarity should take priority over color, as this is what gives it the diamond sparkle. Even thou IF is better than VVS1 by 1 grade, the price of the diamond is alot more expensive. Just like VVS1 is alot more expensive than VVS2. So you should get the idea.  

Colour

Well, I think the chart speaks for itself. Doesn't need much explanation. Apart from fancy coloured diamonds, absolute white (D colourless) is the best and rarest colour nature offers. Once again, although the naked eye cannot differentiate a Grade E colour from a Grade D colour, a grade D diamond is alot more expensive.

Carat

The heavier the diamond, the rarer it will be within the marketplace, however the other qualities must also be considered for it to be compared and than valued.  For example a 2 carat diamond with very, very slight inclusions (VVS) is rarer and more expensive than a 2 carat slightly included (SI ) stone. The carat weight should be one of the last decisions you come to when making your diamond selection. If your diamond selection is under .5 carats, you should probably choose color over clarity. Two carat diamond are not really twice as big as a one carat diamond, it just weighs more.

Cut

The cut is the most important element to control brilliance, scintillation and fire. The sparkling quality of the cut is to be determined by 3 separate factors:

1. Proportions

2. Polish

3. Symmetry

Proportions:

Too shallow and / or too deep cut diamonds will loose brilliance through the side and bottom. The result is a dull diamond with less brilliance, affecting the ultimate value in terms of quality and price! 

GIA (Gemological Institute of America) Proportion Grading: Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair, Poor or Unusual

Polish:

All facets of a diamond are carefully polished to eliminate all imperfections, characteristics such as abrasions, scratches, nicks and polishing marks on the surface of the diamond to give the mirror shine and the final beauty touch.

GIA (Gemological Institute of America) Polish grading: Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair, Poor or Unusual

Symmetry:

It takes into consideration of the balance and regularity / evenness of facets.

Facets are compared in opposing pairs, defined  as following: 

GIA (Gemological Institute of America) Symmetry grading: Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair, Poor or Unusual

When Proportions, Polish and Symmetry are graded as Excellent it is known as Triple Excellent. 

Nowadays, the most common cut we see on the market would be Hearts & Arrows. It is also the one I like most!!!~~~ Now! After this super long post, you should have an idea of how to choose your diamond!! One more thing before I stop writing. Although most diamonds comes with certificates, please ensure that the certificates are certified from a well established institutes. 

The Trustworthy Grading and Diamond Certificates are mostly from:

HRD – Diamond High Council of Antwerp World Diamond Centre (non profit!)

IGI – International Gemological Institute View

GIA – Gemological Institute of America

談情說案

Just finish watching 談情說案. 9 out of 10 dramas have Happy Endings for the couples. Guys who break their girlfriends' heart will, at the end of the day, realise they are wrong. Realise she is the gal of his life and he loves her so much, he is willing to change his character and lifestyle for her. No matter how many times she rejects him (because he had previously broken her heart), he will still be as determined to win her heart back. Once the guy has proven to the gal, his love is for real. They will live Happily Ever After.

Of Cos..... This only happens in Dramas. Somehow, even thou every gal knows this truth, we can't help but wish this is not just a Fantasy. Even if it is, we pray and hope that we can be that ONE LUCKY GAL who will meet a knight in shining armor. Are we gals Naive? Gullible? Ignorant? or Hopeful? Optimistic? Trusting?

LUSH

I walked pass this shop over a hundred times since I came to Melbourne and every time I have to hold my breathe because the smell was just too strong! Imagine the whole shop filled with scented products. It radiants with the "Please do not come in" smell. So, I have never bothered to walk into their shop, let alone look at their products. A few days ago, I happen to stumble upon some cosmetic reviews and LUSH is one of the highly recommended brands. I did some research and found many good reviews about this brand. Since this is a "go-green" company and their products are quite cheap compared to those currently in the market. I decided to give it a try.

Lush makes their products out of fresh fruits and vegetables, most importantly no animals are sacrifice in the process. They go the extra mile of buying ingredients from companies that test for safety without the involvement of animals/humans. Whats interesting is, all their products are handmade. Which is why LUSH stores are only located in Australia and New Zealand. They claim to be too busy to handle franchising (You can buy their products online, they do delivery world-wide). Unlike many products in the market, LUSH uses preservatives in as few products as possible, they use combinations of ingredients to stabilise the products so that they (the products) have a natural shelf life. Some of their products smells so good, its as thou they can be eaten.

Here are the products I bought:

Bubblegum Lip Scrub

It is labelled with the maker's name. My lip scrub is made by Josey~

The scrub is made with exfoliating sugar to gently scrub away rough skin. My lips are so sensitive, I often have dry/crack lips. That is not sexy at all *Yuck* Just tried my scrub, its awesome!~ It smells like bubblegum and is quite tasty too (Its not edible; a tiny bit of it manage to find its way into my mouth) My lip is so soft and kissable now ;p Anyone want a kiss???

Strawberry Feels Forever (Massage Bar)

The strawberry massage bar is made with fresh skin toning strawberries, cocoa and shea butter. It smells like strawberry, orange dessert, topped with geranium flowers. Thou it is a block, you need not worry about heating it up before your massage. Your body warmth is enough to start the bar melting. This is the first product I tried once I got home, need to ease the tension on my neck and shoulder. What I like about this massage bar is, it does not leave a sticky or oily feeling on your skin. Instead my skin feel supple and moisturized. Whats more, it leaves a "strawberry candy" scent on your skin! I smell so sweet, I feel like eating myself up.  

Soft Coeur (The Honeymooner) Massage Bar

Yep Yep it looks like chocolate!! Smells like one too. In fact, the brown bits you see in there are real belgium chocolate. It smells sooooo good, I had to buy one! Definitely need to take a bath right after you use this massage bar. Like the name suggest, its a MUST HAVE if you are going on a honeymoon with your dear beloved.

Baby Face

It looks a tad too scary to resemble a baby face.

The Baby Face bar is a solid facial cleanser that contains NO preservatives. It screams "I AM GOOD FOR YOUR SKIN!!!!" Like the massage bar, it melts on your skin. This product has had MANY good reviews and it also claims to be an excellent make-up remover. It did a great job removing my eyeliner (the only make-up I had on my face today). The final challenge would be the waterproof mascara. Hopefully, I will put on my makeup some time soon. Unlike cleansers I have used in the past, it does not leave my face feeling tight and dry. If you are one who likes your face to feel smooth and refresh, this product might not be suitable for you. After washing my face, my skin feels supple and moisturized but I do not find it smooth. It feels as thou there is a very thin layer of shea butter on my face.

Ice Blue Soap

This soap contains exfoliating sea salt and invigorating peppermint to tone and revitalise. Hope this will be "my cup of coffee" to keep me fresh and alert in school even when I miss a night of Zzzzz. Hvn't tried it yet, update you guys about this product in a few days time oki~

Rock Star

Hvn't tried this either but people who did says you will smell like a candy bar after bathing. Sweet~

Sex Bomb (Bath Ballistic)

I won this at the store~ Was suppose to roll a dice and if I have a bigger no. than the salesgirl, I was entitled to a free gift. When I got a 3, I was thinking "Oh well, just my luck"  BUT   BUT   Lucky me, the salesgirl's luck was worst than mine LOL LOL! She got a 1 WAHAHAHA. That sounded abit evil, forgive me, I rarely win such things, has always been one who is down on luck, can't help feeling excited when I talk about winning. Ah~ You must be thinking "This looks beautiful~ Whats it for?"

This will be awesome if you are one who LOVE to submerge yourself in a hot tub of water after a stressful day at work/school. Just fill your tub with warm water, throw in the Sex Bomb to allow it to release the exotic fragrance of clary sage, ylang ylang and jasmine. No idea what I should do with it now, since I have no bathtub in my house (T.T)!!!! It smells so good, I have the crazy idea of filling up the basin and cramping myself into it.

狗5搭8 Meeting

Was looking at some pictures from my cousin's "Damily Dogs" album on facebook and came across this picture. Everytime I read their comments I can't stop laughing. Its just hilarious. So I decided to share with my dear friends~~ You might not be able to get the joke if you don't understand cantonese but just give it a try yea.

Kate Spade

I have a friend who is a HUGE fan of Kate Spade! So~ Since I have nothing better to do right now, I decided to surf the internet. Look what I found:

Book Of The Month Clutch

Bow Art Spot Varnish Agatha

Bow Regard Small Agatha

Summer Bon Shopper

Starlight Amanda

Night Sky E.B

Canvas Small Coal Baby Bag

Kate Spade is so good with the colour contrast. It makes their product look young and vibrant~

Happy Birthday Singapore!!!

Today is Sinapore's National Day!!!!!! I have been missing the National Day Celebration for 3 whole years (@.@) Wanna be there for the National Flag, the Uniforms (No idea y, guys in uniforms are so attractive), the Planes, the fireworks, the excitement and anticipation! We cannot take this celebration for granted!! Must acknowledge all the time, effort and money soooooooooooooo many people have put into this. Some of you might wonder "You are not born in Singapore wat. Why bother" Thats true but I have been holding a red passport and a pink IC for Many Many years already~ So I do classify myself as a Singaporean ok. Plus, I Love Singapore Too!!!

Time in Melbourne seems to be crawling soooooooo sooooooo soooooo slowly. Many of you should be out celebrating and having a good time right now. Really wish I was there with you guys. Wonder how I am going to survive the coming months. I MISS YOU ALL!!!! MY BABIES (Qbi, Barbie & Kobe), FAMILY & FRIENDS! Feel so down, lonely and empty without Kobe and Barbie around.

A picture taken before they left Melbourne. Can you spot my Kobe boy on the right.

LOL He is so cute. Hahaha and Barbie always love to share my pillow!

Last but not least,

HAPPY

BIRTHDAY

SINGAPORE

!!!!!

Plane Etiquette

Well, I am back in Melbourne AGAIN. Hopefully, this will be my second last time (the last time would be for my graduation ceremony) having to set foot in this state for the next decade. Taking long distance flights are a pain in the neck, literally! I always end up with sore shoulders and a sore neck. The experience can become even more unpleasant if people sitting around you does not know basic plane etiquette.

Lets start with the one sitting directly in-front of your seat. Have you been in a situation where you were trying to enjoy a movie, when all of a sudden the person in-front decided to take a nap and adjust the chair ALL THE WAY BACK?!?!?!?! I know you are allowed to do so but how can one be so selfish to immerse oneself in comfort, at the expense of others? Think this is the worst it can get?

NOPE

Try having someone do that while you are having a meal. Trust me, you WILL feel like ripping off some of his/her hair from the top of his/her head, that happens to be staring right into your face. So, if you happen to land yourself in such a scenario what should you do?

Step 1: Adjust your seat back, back just a little, to make room for yourself

Step 2: Ask the person sitting in-front to adjust their seat back forward, ever so politely

If Step 2 did not work, please proceed to Step 3

Step 3:  Talk to an air stewardess to request for another seat

If there are no available seats, please proceed to Step 4

NOTE: NOT FOR THE FAINT HEARTED

Clause: Highly Not Recommended

Step 4: Since there is nothing else you can do, you may vent your anger and frustration at the air stewardess

Next, we will discuss about people who sit right next to you on the plane. During my flight yesterday, I was sitting next to an Indian aunty who was accompanied by her child/grandchild, a little girl (ard 9/10 years old). She (the aunty) KEPT resting her arms on the handles, elbowing me constantly, I couldn't even eat my meal properly. When the kid decided to sleep, things got even worst. The aunty placed the girl's feet on the arm rest. Yes...... My arm rest..... which means her feet was dangling just above my thighs. Wth is the aunty thinking?!?! I kept telling myself, its ok, its just a child, I must be more forgiving, think of my little brother, think of my little brother. Somehow, I dunno how, I managed to ignore that dangling feet and concentrated on my movie. Some time later, I couldn't help but notice that "SOMEONE" (Guess who) was staring at my screen. Please!! Some manners Aunty!! Some Manners!! This was definitely NOT a pleasant flight. I was surrounded by my utmost hated, in a confined space.

1. IDs   2. Provoking Kids   3. Crying Babies

So, What did I do to make my time there more enjoyable?? I took the miracle cure for MOST girls....

SHOPPING!~~~ Yep Yep~~ Shopping at the Krisshop~~ Wanna see what I got?!? All of my friends know I am a sucker for cosmetics and things that are purple. When you combine both of them together, I'M SOLD!!!

Dior Cannage Color Collection Eye Palette

This picture did not do justice to the violet

Look at the huge mirror and the glittery frame

Love them~ Love them~

Ain't the eye palettes beautiful. 

I love all 8 colours!~ Can't wait to put them on!!

Marc Jacobs Lola Solid Perfume Ring

Who cares if the perfume smells good when the Ring itself makes the money worth it ;p

(not saying that the scent isn't nice)

Did they manage to brighten up my day? YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS Love Purple! Love Cosmetics! Love Shopping!!

Lastly (FINALLY!! This post is making me lose my breathe, even thou I am just typing), some of you might think "What about the person who sit behind you on the plane? What actions are considered rude and inappropriate?" One, Never Ever rest your knees on the back of other people's seat! Its really really uncomfortable. Try having someone knee you on your back constantly, its irritating and annoying. Two, NEVER ever use someone else's head rest to pull yourself up when you want to stand up! NEVER!!!! A man sitting behind me during one of my flights awhile back, kept pulling on my head rest, in the process, tugging my hair!!! ITS PAINFUL OK!!! He did it Every Single Time he left his chair or came back from the toilet!!! Stupid man.

Why does such Inconsiderate Idiots exist in the society? Wouldn't life be alot more enjoyable if everyone learn to be more considerate. Maybe SIA should come up with a plane etiquette guide book so that ignorant passengers can learn about what they should and should not do.

Roach Crisis

Were you ever stuck in a cab with a cockroach?!?!!!!! I hvn’t, well, at least not yet. *Praying hard that it will stay this way* Recently, I had two bad encounters with roaches & cab drivers.

Scenario 1:

Around 2 weeks ago, I walked over to a cab waiting at the taxi stand. When I was going to board the car, I saw a cockroach resting peacefully on the roof, VERY VERY near the door I was standing next to. Deep down I was freaking out (!!!!!!!!!!) but I kept my composure (Not bcse I was afraid of how the bystanders might view me! I did not want to alarm the creepy crawly!) Anyway, the driver happened to be standing outside his car chit chatting with another taxi driver. So, I told the him “Uncle, there is a cockroach on your car”  Hoping that he would do something about it. His reply to me was “Nvm ah, its on the outside, not on the inside, nvm one” I was like………. …………… ……………. WTH *Speechless* In the end, I jumped into the cab (Literally) and prayed that the roach will not choose to drop on my head when I alight.

Scenario 2:

A few days back, I decided to take a taxi home from Jurong Point. Once again, I walked over to a waiting cab, opened the door, and saw a cockroach resting on where I was suppose to sit!!!!!!! This time, the taxi driver was EVEN MORE IDIOTIC!!! I was still standing outside the cab with the door opened when I said “Uncle your car got roach eh” The uncle said “where” and proceed to swiping the roach with his hands approx. 3cm infront of the cockroach. Some of you must be thinking “What?!?! Did Zita type correctly? How to swipe the roach 3cm infront of it?!?!?!” EXACTLY!!!!!! What did the taxi driver think he is doing! The roach reacted by hiding into the shadow. Then, the driver said “Its ok, just come in” (=.=)”””””””””””””””””””””””” YEAH RITE!!! As if I will get into a roach infested cab!!!!! So, I said “No!”, closed the door behind me and got into the cab waiting next in line.

What is the right thing for a taxi driver to do?!?! I am not sure myself BUT at least the driver sodn’t do NOTHING and expect the passenger to assume everything’s fine!!! Do Something!! Anything!! Well… Not Anything… Just Something!! Something that will crush/kill that pest!! You feel me?!?!