Soc Med: the new ground for bragging

Ten years ago people would brag about the places they can visit for holiday. Then flying becomes cheaper and people find another way to brag, by showing up their stuff, branded bags and expensive mobile phones. Now, mobile phones becomes so cheap, and people opt for smart phones instead. With the birth of social media and the apps in our smart phones, people find a new place to show off : Facebook, twitter, my space, you name it.

People tweet about almost everything in my timeline: from what they do during the week, movies they watch, placed they visit, what they cook and stuff they buy. Some are informative, some are horrid. Pics of their lunches / dinners make me drool, but some also make me say"eugh!"

My friends' Facebook status always make me laugh too. From high school lovers missing their loved ones (yes, I do have some 'younger' friends) to ... online store advertisements selling bikinis!

Some tweet or put status that politely show off their exquisite purchase, like "Oh, this new blablabla powder I just bought is so nice to wear" while we all know that 'blablabla' brand cost 3 meals in a fine dining restaurant. Or "wow, surely this xxx shampoo/body lotion is worth the price" while the xxx brand is only available abroad.

One tweeple (twitter people?) posted not only the pics of the touristic places but also photos of her seat in the plane -which obviously not an economy class seat- and tweeted about how she always love the 'airport lounge' And all this, for a non business trip. Talk about bragging people!

Now, please excuse me as I need to tweet and update my status, I need to brag about this new blog post I made :D

Happy New Year People! Keep on bragging! (about the good stuff, that is!)

What a stupid article....

Check out this link, and read what’s inside.
(http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/10/20/live-porn-aboard-economy-train.html)

I’ll give you 3 minutes.
One, two, three...
Done?
I took me just 10 seconds to read this article before my blood temperature suddenly hit the high note.
The article was named: Live porn aboard an economy train?
It was about how in Indonesia, in the commuter trains in greater Jakarta, people breastfed their children in public, which the article said would make “.....the group of men ... enjoyed free porn that hot day.”
I think it’s sick to say that opening your blouse to breastfeed your baby would be considered as porn. For God sake, it’s an act of Love! Not porn!
The writer wrote,“How can a baby exploit their own mother’s privacy just to satisfy their hunger or thirst?” Again, she hasn’t done her homework. Don’t you know that that’s the only emotion that a baby knows? Babies are not born with database of emotions you know and of course she can’t TALK or find food on her own! She only knows that if she feels hungry, thirsty, wet, or uncomfortable, then she’ll have to grab her mother attention by... of course ,crying!
She mentioned that ‘guys’ kept watching the event curiously. Well, male commuters will always be watching this kind of incident, since commuter train in Jakarta is usually used by people from ‘that’ education level. We can ask the mothers to try covering up the breast, for example with some cloth, or bring some extra formula/breast milk on bottles. But, if these people could afford the luxury of having a breast-cover or a milk bottle, they obviously will take another mode of better but more expensive, transportation, not some low-key economy train.
Looking from the way she wrote this article, this person, whoever wrote it, has never felt the joy of breastfeeding your child, or maybe even worst, never felt the warmth of being breastfed by her mother.
I also believe that she probably never watched “real porn,” before she used this term in her so -called writing.
Please Mrs./ Ms. writer (yes, the name implied that she’s a woman), don’t be a mother , you’ll be ruining a generation or two by telling your daughter to breastfeed is to perform an act of porn. (Or maybe in fact, God had read this article and noticed that you are probably not capable of being a woman or a mother?). And do yourself your homework by watching Asia Carrera or Miyabi before using the word porn unwisely!
Shame on you, for thinking the way you think right now, and shame on Jakarta Post for publishing this article. Congratulation for creating such a low-quality, stirring up article!

The low Miss Low??

I just got back in Singapore and voila! The first thing on the paper I read - other than stories about Padang - is the blunder in Singapore Beauty Pageant results. Well, not the results, but more on the behaviour of the winner(s), especially the chosen miss Singapore, Ris Low.

She made headlines weeks ago after media found out that she has (on-going?) charges on credit card fraud. Then, when her colleague- the second place winner-made a remark about her support to Low, Low, instead of appraising her, made accusation that her colleague was the one who leaked the her cases to media.

Before that, Low also made stirred up comments during her interview, both during and after the pageant, you can see her interview here.

Not only that, recent news also mention that from now on, a judge on her fraud charges had ordered her not to shop alone anymore, because she had spent 8000 SGD on accessories, bags, shoes, right after her winning. Talk about being a material girl :p

What bothers me is not the quality of Low as a pageant winner, but more on the quality of the juries. I mean... contestants, of course, join the contest to be a winner and believe me, being a pageant contestant myself some 10 years ago; they would do ANYTHING to win. Including faking yourself in front of Juries for example, and I'm sure, this person is really good at that. A contestant certainly would try to conceal her weaknesses and not introducing herself like this: "Hello, I'm Ris and I love credit cards so much, I used up mine and other people's to splurge. I'm sure I can represent Singapore. No? "

Supposed a contestant shared an answer like this: "My quality? Oh, umm. Let's see... I'm easy going, I'm a quick learner and I always pursue my dreams and goals." Well, inexperienced jury might just eat the raw answer, but experienced judges would translate the answer to: "My quality? Oh, umm I'm a wild party goer, I cheat on my exams and I would do anything to win this contest as it has always been my dream." Only experienced and senior judges can differentiate this type of candidate from the real ones.

Then, as I mentioned earlier, how stupid can these Miss Singapore World juries can be? I'm sure she can fool one jury, but to fool a whole panel? It turns even crazier after I found out from the latest news that Low actually is suffering from bipolar disorder. How come the juries didn't get that from their interviews with her? Shouldn't contestant be exposed to at least a basic personality test? And her English.... man... even I can do better. And I started to speak English only when I was 10 or something (on my first trip to Singapore :p). There was also a blunder concerning the English ability of winner of a beauty pageant in Indonesia a couple of years ago. Miss Indonesia 2006 (or 2007), Nadine Chandrawinata came to Los Angeles for the Miss Universe Finale... and she didn't even know how to perform a decent interview. She called Indonesia as a nice "city", and her English was comparable to those of a high school's freshman. BUT, fortunately, physically Nadine is extremely, extremely beautiful. A 6 foot tall statuesque, brown eyes, big boobs, clear skin. And Ris Low? I can tell you she's extremely PHOTOGENIC- meaning she looks pretty after makeup and through the lenses only. But she's no beauty, both inside and outside.

So I presume, from next year on, not only the quality of the contestants should be improved but also the quality of the juries. In the mean time... I have 20 years to nurture supposedly, the future Miss Singapore/Indonesian and her name is Rania :p

Can't somebody tell me!!

CAN SOMEBODY TELL ME WHY I CAN'T UPLOAD MY PICTURES, EVEN FROM PICASA! HUAAAAAA!!!!

Connected and Disconnected at the same time

I just came back from my first family vacation with my husband and child. I've been to Bali several times, if not many; but this trip has been one of the most interesting. We stayed in a villa in Ubud, owned by my Distant Aunt and her Family, from Europe. It was a remote villa like 10-15 minutes from Ubud center, was located next to a river, a paddy field and a .... duck farm. The view was breathtaking. And it was properly prepared for enjoying the scenery: there wasn't any house phone, there wasn't any television (but it has a CD player), there wasn't any computer and there wasn't any phone signal when you need it. When I went there before, I got jaded and ended up asking someone to drive me to the centre for an internet cafe, everyday.

But now, I have a daughter, which means I can not jump on a motorcycle and hastily ask someone to drive me to find internet and leave my baby crying for her milk. So this time, before I arrived on the villa 7 days ago, I took a deep breath and prepared myself to do some 'digital detox' in my own way. The first couple of hours were the most difficult. Both me and my husband checked our phone so often, tried searching for a wi-fi connection, played with my daughter for a couple of hours and then got bored. And during dinner time in a Resto in Ubud Centre I cannot helped myself to search for an internet cafe. I sneaked out and checked my email. No important messages have arrived, but I felt good after doing it. I just felt connected to the world.

But after that, I continued my dinner and began thinking about it. How stupid I was? This was supposed to be a vacation, a place for relaxation? Why should I worry about the outside world? Why should I be worried about being disconnected to the rest of the world? And that moment I decided to get connected to the 'real world' and disconnected from the 'online' world.

Technology brings us closer indeed. I remember I used to send recording cassettes of my twaddle talks to my grandma via post mail, which could take a couple of weeks to reach her. Now, just five minutes after making video of my Rania's first steps, I could easily upload it to Facebook and my mom could easily watch the video in less than 10 minutes after it was made. Technology made us connected to each other easily, but also made us disconnected to nature and life as well. With the rapid movement of technology that surrounds our lives every day, sometimes we just forgot how life was like before it exists. So now, I'm gonna return to enjoying life before technology exists. I'm gonna smell the wind, gonna taste the food and I'm gonna see people, real people. So if you cannot reach me sometimes, well, just let me do my 'disconnected' moment for a while, OK?

 

The rocky boat of marriage

And as an avid TV watcher, one of my most favourite channels is E! Yes, like any normal woman in the world, I love to hear news of other people, err, celebrities I mean. And now that I have my own family the newest story that grabs my attention is the Gosselin family split-up. In case you don't know, the Gosselin family is the well-known family of the reality show "John and Kate plus 8." Yes, a family with EIGHT children: a pair of twins and a group of sextuplets. And you think you have such a huge responsibility hah? He he.

Anyway, the shows is about how the couple, Jon and Kate, that are trying to cope with issues of raising eight children. From the shouting, the travelling, the potty training to making new rooms for the kids. Kate shouted a lot to both Jon and the children especially during the last few episodes, but I guess that's what people do when they have to raise eight individuals in similar ages. Jon however cannot cope with the pressure of both his marriage and the family's TV show so he ended up having several so-called 'affairs'. I even found a picture of him with a young lady … and he's wearing earrings! Again, from the TV, I found out that Kate also did some 'naughty' stuff. She has a bodyguard (what for? I dunno) and the media portrayed her as a very bossy person which is why the family has so many 'ex nannies'. But I have no right to judge them. Life must be hard for them and I can tell from the show that they did everything they could for the children. I was just upset to hear about the splitting up and apparently the divorce.

What I learn from this kind of situation is that, at some point your 'boat of marriage' would hit rock bottom, storm or even tidal waves. Some of use survive, some don't. I have some friends who had been through such times and eventually split-up. There is this couple that split up because of financial problem. Another, because there are too many people involved in the marriage: the husband, the wife and the lover. I even found a marriage that ended because the 3rdperson instead of a lover is …. The mother in law.

Sometimes I wonder, is there such a mantra for having a harmonious family? I always say tolerance, but I guess patience is also a key. Before we got married it feels like eternity to wait for a call from our then-boyfriend. But after the lavish wedding party, we have to deal with not only the kissing and cuddling, but also with our spouse's bad breath, his habit of leaving the toilet seat up or the all too-spicy food. For me in the end, there's no perfect plan to split-proof our marriage. What we can do is to make sure that when the hard time comes, we have to put our common sense in our heads and work from there.

And oh, I guess having a dinner for two in the weekends also works. *wink-wink*

Honey, I really need a bigger closet, please…

I just made a blog entry about smart shopping, and boy… If I could only apply that to myself… on Fashion shopping. See, I'm so bad at fashion shopping, because I always think not once, not twice, but thrice when buying a clothing or any jewellery. And when I have made up my mind, it's either: a) they have run out of my size (which could be an M or XL or even XXL, depends on my body parts), or b) the items I want has just sold out. Or in other times when I don't think too much on something, I would buy stuff like a long glittery silver skirt that only looks good in the shop's mannequin but definitely will make my bum look one extra size bigger ( like my bum is not big enough already…).

A couple of weeks ago when I went to Bangkok (and boy, it was a heaven for shoppers), I went to places that were mentioned in shopper's paradise bible. But what did I buy? A pink rock-star-style shirt that's too short (again, not good because bum is not covered), 3 tights that are all too short or too small (those skinny Thai people!), 2 summer tops that are too revealing, and a gold summer dress that's too 'Goldie' (I didn't even dare to use it for a high tea event last weekend). Good buys? Yes. Wearable? No. To be part of unused-closet-collection and wardrobe closet filler? Definitely.

Have you seen this beer commercial where the homeowner shows her girlfriends a walk-in closet on her housewarming party? Well, if only I could have one walking closet like that then this problem will likely be solved. Because I could just throw in all my fashion items since I developed my fashion awareness 13 years ago, and I could have a huge collection of clothing that probably would fit an entire village in Malacca. Of course, if those villagers are willing to wear a 10-year-old extra-mini skirt from forever 21; or a 15 year old bohemian top from banana republic. Or, I can just make myself a personal fashion museum of unique-cum- weird and wonderful fashion taste. But anyhow, I have to live with the fact that there will be no walk-in closet , at least until the next 5 years -unless my cat's neighbour suddenly died and the owner becomes so sad he just left and leave his condo for me, THEN I can build my walking closet – the only problem is my neighbour doesn't own a cat.

So, instead of bragging about a bigger closet, or a closet filled with unused items, I'm thinking of to just be self-assured and wear them all, for the sake of 'reduce, reuse, recycle' concept. So next time you see me with a too-revealing top or a too-mini skirt, please don't be surprised, I'm just trying to force myself to be a smart shopper. (Blaaaaaaahhh).

Smart Shopping

In recession days like now, not only fashion-shopping budget needs alteration, grocery shopping too. You'll be amazed at how much you can save up. Some are tips I found on the net and some are based on my own experience.

1. If it's cheaper, buy non-perishable-every day-use items in bulk.
   

   This includes soaps, toothpaste, sugar, shampoo, oil etc. Even baby diapers. Some bathing items or toothpastes sometimes come in packet of several bottles/ tubes with of course, whooping discounts.

2. For meat, veggies, or chicken, (if you feel like it though) buy them in frozen form. I know a hypermarket than sells frozen chicken for 4.5 SGD…. For FOUR pieces of chicken! Yes the chicken is a bit small, but I think it's worth it especially if you only have a small family (and it's Halal too). Some hypermarket sells 1 kg bag of frozen mixed vegetable, I even found one hypermarket that sells frozen RAW SPINACH (though it's quite difficult to find them).
3. Why buy things in bulk and frozen state? To cut your (yes, I know you!) almost-daily trip to the supermarket. You see, each time we go to a supermarket we'll ended up with at least one item that fits into the category of so-called "useless buying." Like a pudding mix, or cake concoction that rots in the deep corner of kitchen shelf. So…. Fewer trips to supermarket, less useless buying … more savings. Capish?
4. Rearrange your kitchen shelf and food storage shelf to be observable. Once your food storage is visible and organized, you'll know which items you need to buy and how much. So you won't buy the wrong item, buy too much, or too little.
   
5. Need some household items but short of budget or just need some semi important stuff? Buy it in a two dollars store instead of a hyper mart and you will cut some cost. In Singapore, you can find this kinda store in 3 or 4 malls throughout the island. Yes, I know some of you will laugh at me when you read this.
   

   "Shopping in a two dollars store? C'mon! It's all cheap stuff!" Yes, it's true, it's cheap, but cheap doesn't mean it's not functional. Buy things here that are functional and unnoticeable. Most of the stuffs in the store are of good quality, but STILL you have to keep your eyes on. For example, you can buy some freezer bags in here but check for one with good material with more than 12 bags. Some boxes only contain 10 or even 7 freezer bags, but if you're lucky you can find a box with 20 freezer bags.
   

   Other stuff I recommend to buy here are storage or organizing boxes (see tips number 4), brooms and sweepers (but check the materials), and other organizing materials (cable and cords de-tangler, racks, small garbage cans, etc). But I don't recommend buying, for example, items of personal hygiene, like soap, toothpaste or face scrubber. For this kind of items, price talks honey.

Kaypoh Aunties and Uncle

When I first saw the Kindness Movement Singapore commercial on TV a couple of weeks ago - about a girl who saw people do small stuff that helps others- I put a smirk upon my face. First because I think it's a unique campaign which I have yet to see in other countries. And second, because I believe this movement comes up just at the right moment.

Forgive me for saying this, but other than Hongkong, I experience most of my 'ungracious manner' nightmare(s) here, in Singapore.

Yes, almost 99% of people I met here in Spore are nice.

Yes, I do have met not so friendly people in other countries that I've visited, even in my own, Indonesia.

But here, in Singapore, those unfriendly gestures came from people that are supposed to help you. Take for example taxi cab drivers. My goodness, I can ask 100 people about any incidents involving cabbies and they would give 110 stories instead.

Other culprit includes Bus Drivers, Food Stall workers, Guard House officers and just this afternoon, a bathroom cleaner just made it into the list! I couldn't not believe it. Just this afternoon a bathroom cleaner literally SHOUTED to a friend who brought her baby in pram to the restroom "BABY NO THIS LEVEL, BABY LEVEL 3, BABY LEVEL 3!" So she, of course, explained that it was her, the mother who wants to go to the bathroom. So the cleaner, blushed, instead of saying sorry, replied back : "THEN QUEUE, QUEUE!" Which was actually a very foolish statement. Because there was nobody else in the bathroom!

Well, I discussed it with my hubby what to do should we encounter this kind of behaviour. In conjunction with the Kindness Movement (blaaaaah), I don't think shouting back would be the answer. I think what's best is to show them educated behaviour, talk to them in crisp - and not broken- English ..... and tell them ( as what I always do) : "Don't shout and be angry laaah, we're no foreigners here so we know the rules laaahhh."

Again, I'm happy that most of the Singaporean that I met are nice and genuine people, and some silly kay-poh aunties and uncles won't ruin my wonderful days here! :P

Taken, Wolverine, The International: The review

April and May is actually the best time to go to the cinema. Because good 'not-made-for summer-blockbuster' movies usually come out at this time of the year. Typical of this kind of movie is an action or drama movie from big or semi-big studio, with somewhat well known actors. Taken and The International fall into this category. Wolverine however, fits into a 'pre-summer blockbuster' movie. Basically, it's a supposedly blockbuster movie, but isn't competitive enough to be released in the summer.

Anyway and anyhow, here's my review:

Taken

Storyline, OK. Actors : somewhat OK, Liam Neeson is the only famous actor in this film. The dialogue was in English and French, some also in Croatian and even Arabic. The story is about an ex CIA agent who searched for his kidnapped daughter in France, allegedly a victim of human trafficking. I vowed to sleep while watching this film - hubby tricked me into watching this one- because I generally don't like the idea of the movie, but in the end, the film had moved me. Not only that I was fully awake by the end of the film, my heart was pumping blood, hard. An OK background story, but nice Plot and twist. Good formula of action and drama.

Wolverine:

Talk about Franchise. The fourth installment of the X-Men Genre, X-Men has proved itself as a very powerful franchise. Meaning we know already what to watch and and what to expect from the movie, and yet, still willing to spend 10 bucks + booking fee to watch it at the cinema. The title of the film actually already explains like 50% of the story : it's the storytelling of the origins of wolverine, prior to joining X-Men. So we'll see wolverine in his usual charm, running around chasing bad guys half naked with claws coming out from his fists. Blah.

Storyline: predictable. Actors and acting: quite OK. Dialogue: cornish. But CGI, entertainment factor and all : Perfect.

The International

I really don't know where to start. Well, the story is about an Interpol officer joining forces with a New York Assistant District Attorney to bring down a powerful yet corrupt Financial Institution. Supposedly good, right? It's a conspiracy theory kind of movie, except that, it is lack of conspiracy and too much violence instead.

Confession of an economic hit man as background story : check. Die another day - James Bond attitude : check. A bad and open ending: check.

Even the big name of Naomi Watts and Clive Owen can not save this film from doom.

Advice: Watch Taken and Wolverine (or the latter, you can buy the DVD instead), avoid The International, AT ALL COST.

What makes a good mother?

What makes a good mother?

A stay at home mum? A mother who breastfeeds and changes nappies? A mother who always say 'yes' to her child?

What makes a bad mother?

A mum who works and has activities of her own? A mother who regularly watches TV and still has time to read books? A mother who didn't breastfeed her baby?

These questions have been running around in my head chasing each other's tails like crazy. And yet I couldn't figure out the answer. So I decided to rewind my memory just trying to seek out some 'aha' moments. (duh! I sound like Oprah don't I?)

Anyway, once upon a time, I had lunch with some bunch of girly mums. We talked and talked and reached a point of discussion of why my baby didn't like to be breastfed because I only produce so little breast milk. And out of the blue, one 'good' mum said that it happened because "You are not passionate enough in breastfeeding your baby." I of course, was left speechless with her statement. Other, told me how a good mother she is by not working and always brings her daughter wherever she goes, shopping, that is.

So a couple of week later, I joined again this group of mums for a shopping spree. I arrived at the scene to find a stroller with a crying –hysterically crying- toddler inside, while the mum – the so called good mum- was inside an fashion store, mix and matching some items. Then the procedure repeated itself in a few more stores. Mum saw a bargain / nice shoe / nice dress / nice earring; mum went in store, left the stroller till baby screamed; mom went to cashier, finished shopping, and strolled down with baby for a while. Then repeat. When I was about to go home, mum got shoes, dress and matching sets of earrings. And baby was in "temper tantrum mode: ON."

On a similar occasion, we, of course, discussed our recent days. I told them I am taking a writing course (stay tune for more stories on my writing course). Some of them became bug-eyed, like saying "what is she doing? Taking a course? In writing?" One of them told me, though, "a writing, a hand-writing course?" she said, "you should ask my daughter to teach you, her teacher told me she has a good handwriting." I again, of course, was IMPRESSED.

I saw moms who said she "did all things possible for her children, all on her own", and yet gained no respect from her kids.

I saw moms who stay home and do all the chores by herself and yet didn't have her words listened by her daughter.

I grew up seeing my mother doing tons of activities.

Some of my friends grew up watching her mother work from 9 to 5 and yet still be able to comment on her daughter's hideous outfits.

I know a mom who didn't breastfeed her daughter at all, but 15 years later spent a day off of work with her daughter to seek David Archuletta's autograph.

So what makes a good mum?

It's not merely about breastfeeding and changing diapers ONLY. It's not only about breastfeeding your daughter exclusively ONLY. It's also about what you "do" in your life and how she sees you as a person. Are you in a time warp that stuck on the day that she was born? Or are you developing yourself?

I guess it's about evolving. Yup, a good mum is an EVOLVING Mum. This means not only that you nurture your child while she grows; you nurture yourself and grow too. So one day you can answer her questions on herbivorous dinosaurs, instead of thinking that it's a new line of shoes by Todd Oldham. And growing and evolving, can only be achieved by being active, a process of learning and adapting. To go out alone without her (well, ONLY if you have somebody to take care of your child) is not a crime. That's what I call 'educated risk'. I don't' think you can do no harm going out once in a while, shopping with your girlfriends, take an art class, get that manicure. And even if you have nobody to take care of your baby, you can always count on the baby's father, right? For example, I know a mum who takes painting lesson during weekend when 'papa' is home.

A couple of hours a week will do, sort of having a lunchbreak from 'mummyhood'. I think it's better than pushing strollers down the shopping lane with a hysterical baby inside.

Pre-Summber Blockbuster I can't wait to see

1. Wolverine

Having seen all the series from the franchise AND had been a mad, mad X Men card collector for quite some time, I desperately longing to see the film. Searched the net for the so called ' leak' but couldn't find it anywhere. Anyway, I'd love to see the story behind the 'making' of a wolverine. Wolf serum? Adamantium skeleton? Let's just watch.

2. Star Trek XI
I'm a Trekkie. Period

3.Transformers II
Robotic Cars, animatic transformation AND a background story that comes from a nostalgic 80s Cartoon Show. All the contributing factors in making a good action movie and a box office, too.

4. Terminator: Salvation
Just love the connors and T something something - err I mean Arnold's character. Love to see HOW the story evolves. The last installment just told us the virus had made weapons to act on their own. Now we'll see the explanation of the time travel by John Connor's father. Hopefully.

5.Angels and Demon
Simple, watched and read Da Vinci Code, would love to see it transferred into moving pictures.

Titles I would like to see in the near future however:
1. Wolverine II : The wedding
2. Star Trek 23 : The search for Dr Xavier and Jean Luc Picard
3. Wolverine vs terminator : Battle for earth
4. Transformers VI : the time travel trek to the stars
5 Angels tranform to demons
6. Wolverine vs Terminaor vs Transformers : the battle begins
7. Wolverine vs Terminator vs Transformers II : between the angels and the demons

Things in life you can't change, even if you want to.

1. Your birthday (& funeral date)

Yep... Our births and deaths, along with judgement day, are waaaay out of our knowledge. And like it or not, 'He' had already settled it loooong long time ago, even before the making of the universe.

2. Your Parents and Siblings

There were days when we hoped we become part of The Osbourne or the Hilton clan. But, we merely regular people, so get real. Always respect your parents and your siblings, because just like you can't choose your parents, they can't choose you as their offspring.

3. Your Race

You can change the front cover of your passport, but can never change your heritage, or your race. It sticks with you wherever you go.

4. You Physique

Michael Jackson can erase his cappuccino -or dark mocha-pigments out of his skin and flattened his puffy nose. But people will always know him as "that black kid, the youngest of the Jacksons five". Sure you can straighten your frizzy curly hair, but your primary school friends will always call you "curly". The point is : accept who you are and what He has given you. Inacceptance will only lead to pointless unsatisfaction.

The biggest loser is the winner

The biggest loser. It's the name of a reality show in US. No, it's not about gambling - that's what I first thought too - it's about losing weight.
A bunch of obese contestants gather up in a ranch, work out and try to lose weight... the old fashion way. Yep right, diet and exercise only. Therefore no tummy tuck, no acai drinks, not even diet pills. And man, do they lose weight! Some of them only lost a couple of pounds ... but some of them lost more than 40% or 120 pounds!
But then again, the show is not about just losing weight. It's about effort, endurance, hard will and getting to know your own self.
It shows me that the best thing in life is not to be thin and beautiful. It's about to be healthy, happy with who you are AND what you have in life.

Truly, the contestant has inspired me... nope, they THINSpired me.

So, starting tomorrow, I'm gonna start losing weight and exercising....and eating healthier food....

(Of course AFTER I finish this full bag of Famous Amos cookies, PROMISE!)

Is friendster dying?

Welcome to the Internet era, where people all over the world, thanks to such social networking site can gather up and find long lost friend, relatives. Friendster, was my first social networking site that I opted. It was fun at first but then became boring after a year or two because updates were not that often.
So first there was friendster and now, we have facebook.

It was really fun to see the updates of other "facebookers" in real time. It was so fun, more people are joining it, not only young people and adults, but also seniors and primary school students! There are even some people I know who learned to use the net and laptop for the first time, so they'll be able to have an FB account to connect with their old friends.

In my facebook friends list for example , you'd find : My Auntie in Netherlands, my cousin in Borneo, a girl I met while preparing my Belgium visa, my long lost primary school friends, and my husband relatives whom I have yet to meet... and even my Mom!
I think that the status updates part was the most interesting part of facebook, because you can just see what others feel or think. I remember I used it once to deduct the relationship status of the ex boyfriend of my relative, how strange!
It was fun to see the updates, comments, and photo updates of your friends, but imagine, if you can do it to others then others can also do the same to you! Or in other words : loss of privacy. It utterly dismayed me when I found out that anyone on my friends list (remember, sometimes we accept a friend request just in the name of courtesy. Haaaa, I'm sure you do it too he he!!!) can comment in anything I do with my account. Like for example changing your status from married to "single" - a friend of mine has tried this by the way- and the whole world would try to figure out your whole story. Once, 10 minutes after uploading a picture, I found 20 comments on the recent update pic, which turned out was a conversation between two relative that has nothing to do with the pic, or with me : they were just testing their account, how silly!
Things can get a bit messy, like when your OLD pictures starts showing up, showing you in party(ies!) in which I look my best, or worst! (ehm, yeah right!), in primary school uniform (and yes, I look so damn SKINNY!) or in your high school uniform (wearing BRACES!!!). Especially when you don't want certain people to see them, like your future employer, your aunties, your in-laws, ha ha! That's what I mean!
But, all in all, facebook is the best tool for making and gathering (old) friends and family. At least now I know how my old friends would look in case we accidentally meet at the mall. And I can keep in touch with my distant relative in a distance. And at least I can use my status updates for anything. Like what I did just yesterday : begging for a free Jason Mraz concert ticket. Bwahaha!

Ps : I'm not analyzing nor questioning the dying of friendster. I'm just a facebookers. :p

Give me some choco please, it's valentine's day!

When I was a kid, I cherished Valentine ’s Day like every normal teenager would do. I would cry whenever I hear any valentine’s inspired songs. Cards, Chocolate and valentine emails. Ouch, so corny.
But as I grew older, I feel that valentine has lost its meaning. I’ve tried to look for the real reason behind the story of Valentine ’s Day and I don’t find the story meaningful cum romantic. Well, what’s so romantic about a priest or a saint who got beheaded because he helped young couples getting married and declaring their love? So later in life, I concluded that Valentine, the same as Halloween, is just a big conspiracy of major corporations that sell: greeting cards, candies and chocolates, balloon and flowers. And oh, Teddy bears and plush toys (FYI, I got one when I was 21, ha ha!).
But then again, now that I’m married, I look back and try to reveal what made me think that way. Was I just being skeptical, or being cynical? Because there’s a big difference between those two. Then after carefully investigating the attestations (d’oh…) I concluded that I was just being cynical. I mean, what’s so bad about giving cards and stuff, as a symbol of our extra attention? And you just don’t have to give it only on valentine’s day, you can give it anytime. And if you wanna give something extra on Feb-14, then go ahead!
Hence for me now, every day would be Valentine ’s Day. I don’t need any cards to tell my hubby and my daughter, others surround me, or even mother nature me how much I care for them. I can do it verbally, or by doing something valuable. In fact, we can only show your affection to Mother Nature only by ‘greening’ our routine. (Well, you can hug a tree or give it chocolate, but it won’t love you back, so there’s no use).
But in case anybody would like to give me a V-day present, I’d love to have chocolate. In fact I still love it, whether it’s valentine’s day or not. Hi hi.

The least we can do...

Just read a current post of another blogger's blog... she reminds me of doing SOMETHING instead of just CONDEMNING the GAZA situation...and writing it on my blog :P . Since the location and the situation over there doesnt allow us to do much and that I'm nobody but a powerless housewife cum mummy, the least we can do is to show that we care.

I'm researching the net now to find more useful links.  But for a starter there's a link of an organization that focuses on saving children - I got it from the blog I mentioned earlier.

Signing a petition probably wont do much, except for trying to gain a wider attention from the world - and the world leaders. But at the very least, we can do something.

I felt that I've done my part - by signing the petition. I hope you've done yours too. 

PS : thanks Mbak Nadia Febina for the inspiration :)

Still busy

Forgive me for the very ,very, very late post. I was *again* busy with my life these past few days, not to mentioned there are some *leftover* homeworks to be done. Hiks. Some interesting stuff happened also, so i'll spill it all later on, hopefully tommorow.

2nd chance for a 1st impression???

You never get a second chance to make a first impression. That's why women feel that they have to be well groomed, polished. To make a good 'impression.' I remember I have this friend who was nice, caring and very energetic, once you know her more, you'll like her. But talk about first impression? Humm, my first impression -and I'm sure other's as well - was not so good: she was nice and all, but how would you impressed by one if one's always wearing her hair down, wearing shorts and shirts, has oily skin and wearing sandals? Unlucky for her, people sometimes lok down on her. Lucky for me we became friends, for almost 2 years now.

Another friend of mine was another story. She's well groomed, well, a bit too groomed I supposed. Going out for her, even to buy grocery at FairPrice would be a 30 mins hair and makeup session. For a girls night out? A minimum of 100 mills of hairspray, tonnes of MAC makeup, one pair of earring, 1 set for fake nails, 1 set of fake lashes, 2 bangles, 2 belts and at least 1 unknown accessory will be used. Yes, she looks gorgeous and all, but once you take it all off, the beauty fades. FYI, nobody ever knew what she really looks like..

I've got a perfect example for that:

So what's the essence of this issue? Be natural, be your own self! I simply say that. Dress appropriately according to occasion. Don't wear short if you wanna go have fancy dinner, don't wear an evening dress if you wanna go late nite shopping to Mustafa. Yes, wear makeup but not too much. Get rid of that oily skin, but also get rid of those fake nails! No need those fake eyelashes, just rely on your natural figure, be it you own nose, even your own pimples!

You never get a second chance to make a first impression, so better make a good one.

Character Recycle in Hollywood??

These last few years the concept of “Reuse and Recycle” (but not to Reduce) was very famous in Tinseltown slash Hollywood. This concept comes in terms of: re-filming an old movie, ( Ocean 11, Guess Who’s (Coming to Dinner?)), remaking Hollywood version of non Hollywood movie (like remaking those 500 Asian Horror Movies), making sequels (from Bonds, Batmans, X-Mens, Madagascar 1-2 ) and also recasting old characters.

Some characters however, are too iconic to be played by the same actor (and also too expensive, you see actors tend to raise their paycheck after the 1st movie :P ) And when a role is recast, each actor who steps in carry their own personality in the part. So now, I’ll try my best, to choose which actor plays their character the best. And in case you didn’t agree, just shout in the comments box!

James Bond. My name is Bond, James Bond.
Aaaahh those famous line. OK, Bond was played by: Sean Connery – very suave and gentle; Roger Moore - too suave and nothing dangerous; Timothy Dalton – doesn’t he supposed to smile once and a while? Pierce Brosnan – too sophisticated for a 007, not to mention the strange name: to Pierce?; And Daniel Craig –dangerous, tough with a hint of sex appeal.
RESULT: Daniel Craig, no other actor can beat those freakin’ muscles, whoa!

Batman. To The Bat Mobile!
Michael Keaton – too cute to wear a mask not to mention to dodge crimes; Val Kilmer – not memorable; George Clooney – let’s say he better stick to play Danny Ocean; Christian Bale- psychotic and dark and those deep throat voice can be a bit annoying.
RESULT: Although his deep throat voice sounds too annoyingly made-up, he’s still the most heroic batman around, he took on the bad credit to protect Gotham’s believe in Harvey Dent. And he’s the only one who can play both Batman and Bruce Wayne as two separate entities.

Superman. It’s a bird, it’s a plane, its Superman!!
Christopher Reeves: the CHARISMA; the new guy (forgot his name)- good face, bad acting, less charisma.
RESULT: REEVES by default!

The Hulk/Bruce Banner. Don’t make me angry, you wouldn’t like me when I’m angry..
Bill Bixby-the nice and know-it-all Hulk; Eric Bana-the papa’s boy hulk since the film revolves around the issues with Banner’s papa; Edward Norton-the smiley Hulk with a too soft voice.
RESULT: Bill Bixby!!! Nothing more to say.

PS: most pictures are taken from Yahoo! Pls don't sue me for copyrights :P