keep in contact - penpal from the past

Today i spend a good portion of my time idling & surfing through blog
feeling out of sort & unbalance, especially jealous when others boast about their well spend holiday.
Media has become the new sort of gossip partners we share secrets with
except you can still put on a smile on your face as you secretly hide
the pathetic pain of jealousy you experience knowing fully well your friend next to you had just return from the best holiday ever.

I am not the only victim of  injustice that ultimately, was brought upon by myself,
the post was first brought to much familiarity by another blog i had been following
It's a miserable feeling of addiction having to log onto blogspot, livejournal, wordpress, instagram or facebook
to scroll through pictures after pictures of amazing foodie, brunch outings & holidays you haven't been to,
but knowing fully well your other friends have just rejuvenate herself over the weekend.

Yet if you, unlike me, had bother to think deeper into the pain that comes with the preparation of this beautiful pictures,
then perhaps you'll feel much much better,
which brings me to my next "The Secret" mission - to realize i can have the same post goodness if i had took painstakingly effort to "zng" my picture so they look equally look.
How many of us truly bother to think deeper into the prepartion to posting pic of that beautiful cup cake she had bake from scratch?

It takes more than a pretty table cloth & some pic-art to beautify, it involves taking the morning off,
waking slightly earlier (skipping work if you hold a job), baking, putting the batter into the oven &
constantly watching over the baking, beating the fondant, cream cheese & decorating each cupcake differently till they look like they were match make in heaven.

Also, how many of us realize behind all this hardwork, a good batch of 12 cupcakes fresh from the oven could be dumped into the trash because the decoration didnt fit the bill?   If we also take into consideration the cleaning, grims & dirt from the cupcake thereafter the baking, then perhaps you will think twice to mimick the same you can find off blogs (credits to Shiberty Sweets, she made awesome cakes!)_

I trust that while i am feeling miserable on days when i envy the others doing their thing, 

there are certainly the days others woud feel the same about me. 

i really wish we could relive the past one more time, 

just a short while, 

dumping the phone, carrying a phonecard & making free call to 1777 for the most accurate local time

do you remember this phonecard, 

i use to have so much fun collecting them with different pictures. 

but the $2 value barely last me 3 weeks, 

i would use them to call mum at work when i've forgotten to bring my homework

needless to say back those days, we can forget about getting such assistance from our parents

they would rather we face the punishment for forgetting our homework,

therefore the phonecard did not bring me much good memories back in Primary school

These huge gigantic standalone public phone, at school we use to have a long queue out the 

tuck shop, as everyone held on to their phonecard and make the phonecall during recess time, 

mainly to whine about their terrible days to their mummy or

to seek help for forgeting to bring their homework

some of us (myself for e.g) simply join the queue to play secret code (do you know we use to be able to make FREE call by dialing a 4-digit code before dialing the targeted number... i think the code was 0159 thou i can no longer remember this... it works like magic)

we can make a phonecall without a phonecard, we were popular & have schoolmates (a.k.a fan) swamming to witness this... 

Our poor maid then was a victim of phone answering, i didnt have anything to tell her, i just wanted to show off this little talent.. 

Then we would dream all day about going to Orchard Road (now we casually call them town, but in the past, "Orchard" sounds way cooler)

We will arrange to meet 2pm SHARP at the CONTROL STATION inside orchard station. 

Then struggle to reach there on time. 

but we HAVE to be on time, there was no phone, no pager or media communication of any sort to tell your mate you'll be late. 

Once i had to wait for a classmatess for 2.5hrs, and was pissed beyond my bones when she show up, till today (a good 12 years later) i still tease her for pissing me off that very day. no one enjoys waiting for anyone. 

i've probably never mention this, 

but letter writing use to be the biggest hobby of  my childhood

i had met penpals via Teenage magazine (there is a section we could make penpals... but it was later removed because some dirty men starting using them as a platform for grooming sexual victim)

i probably have 2 very stable penpal, and no they didnt come from Teenage Magazine

One was a far-relative , she was the grandaughter of my grandmother's sister

we met once when we were very very little and starting writing to each other. 

i enjoy saving my pocket money to buy really nice letter pad so i can write in them

her parents also encourage her to reply my letters & so the trend continued. 

We've since met maybe 3 times this lifetime? but never once spoken. 

She remain as a very special penpal of mine. 

Another penpal was a girl from my primary school that i use to hate

our friendship blossom behind the letters we wrote and frankly, 

she was the only girl i idolize through my secondary school life

she went to a good school and had a pretty face, 

but i felt really special because she had bother to reply every single of my letter

receiving a letter from her in the mailbox was the biggest gift back in school. 

we would share secrets thoughts about our lives & deeper thoughts on our ambition

I have her on my facebook friend now, and she still is one of the girl i idolize alot

although we had long stop penning down our thoughts becuase we lost touch

she is probably the only one special friend i would never forget, 

no matter the distance. 

oh! and she knew i was a huge fan of Spice Girl & SPEED (japanese band) back then, 

so whenever she had some collectibles from them (postcard, pencil, posters)

she would be sure to scan me a copy (my greatest honour).... 

those letter are really really special to me, it's a virtual possession i now hold 

 i miss her.... 

did anyone does this too?

back in school we use to have 2 shifts, 

the morning session students will forget their stuff & leave them behind so by the time the afternoon session use their desk there would be a pleasant surprise

thou not all surprise at pleasant!!

i use to reach my desk only to find wrapper containin chicken wing bones

and had to write a nice/fierce/threatening notes to the person in the morning session

to watch his hygience

Surprisingly, i always receive reply, it was fun, most time you dont know who you are writing to

some will reply nasty, but others just likes the secrecy

i enjoy leaving behind special notes to my friends, 

most time we write encouraging message & gossips about someone else

most of them are still my closer friends till date

i guess some bond never die :)

~Sweet.Silly.Stinky.Sleepyhead~

Foodie: Prawn Noodle

Earlier over lunch today i had a debate with the colleagues
we spoke about how the guys, when attempting to do things the girls enjoy doing, might excel it better than the girl could do

Then i pop over to the pictures in my folder on my personal laptop and saw the yummy dinner cooked by bbbb months back, 
and i felt defeated over my arguement, 
the prawn noodle was absolutely tasty.... 
Guys can excel in delicate job indeed. 

Location: Rodman's Mum personal kitchen, we got our permit :)

Date & Time: on a random day when he was exceptionally inspired to prove me wrong

This was the first i took of my boyfriend getting his hands dirty in the kitchen

if you notice

his knife-menship is very delicate, 

he use to watch alot of variety shows on youtube

when he was studying abroad

and mostly end up watching Taiwanese chef whipping up delicacies

bbbb chopped up all the ingredient,

all this while the broth is boiling, 

Then the afternoon sees him calmly placed the utensils to be used
on both side of the kitchen stove, 
all set to set the kitchen "ablaze" with his prawn noodle frenzy
bbbb;s mum was the one who feared the most
she was constantly popping into the kitchen offering to help
so did i, but to bbb's strong rejection
a chef does the job by himself, or so he claims

As a final measure, bbbb check all the ingredients 

& look over flame once more

Once he was assured the broth is ready to bring onto the noodle

he start his business

The tasty broth, 
with all the ingredient neatly soak inside for at least an hour

The chef at work, serious business haha

Caught by surprise at my camera snapping away, 

this look is classic, 

i've honestly never seen him this blur-face too much hahaha

Each special guest (that's me! & his family) gets a 'fine arrangement of the prawn & fish cake, before the soup is pour on top of it

 Some final touches as the noodle is now cooked
and the soup is poured over
the nitpicker ensures the asthetic of the food served is look-able

 bbbbb's mum who can no longer stand the anxiety and pops into the kitchen
against his strong will, 
she was adament at ensuring he does not burn the kitchen down haha
Look how serious he maintain his composure !~

Preparing the second bowl of piping hot Prawn noodle so we can eat together

"when a man cook, they need only the finiest equipment" - somemore how i consider how serious bbb's mum has taken to his cooking, 

she even got him a professional noodle siever, 

i dont see that kind of siever in many household

kudos to his mum, really!

dinner is served :P

A pipping hot bowl of prawn noodle served with the finiest shallot so carefully fried in oil

the deshell prawn is also tasty as the fragrance & taste of the lean meat combines in unison to provide a sweet tasting prawn noodle combination that will leaves a tangling taste that keeps you wanting more... 

The replacement of noodle to kway teow served its purpose well as it blend with the soup nicely concentrated with the essence of spare rib & prawn shell. 

i had to resist the temptation not to head for a second bowl, and to leave just enough for the rest of his family to taste this bowl of magic. 

Thumbs up for a man's determination, 

A maximum effort man placed in cooking will wins a woman's everyday cooking, but dont excpect such miracle to happen too much, 

because as an example (myself) of a girlfriend who had experience this miracle, 

i advise you against pushing your luck by asking for too much (or just a teeny weeny bit) to have him head to the kitchen again anytime soon. 

The guys prefer to impress [themselves] behind the computer desk

and i am secretly relieved i have this prawn-noodle experience to think back on if i had to remember his cultery talent :)

~Sweet.Silly.Stinky.Sleepyhead~

Gifting..

I have been acting all intellectual today,
deepening into thoughts about my life, future & the plans i have ahead.
it dawn upon - once again- to be thankful for the life i have
the man who had picked me out fo the million others,
the job who had selected me out of the candidates who had been shortlist
the friends who sees my importance, value & the joy we can have together
the parents who had no other choice but to learn to love the child they are gifted

today for once, i feel that the best gift  in life are the ones we cannot choose
i'll take our parents as an obvious example,
i talk about trying to customize my kid (i love mix blood face, brownish eyes, sharp nose & v-shape face)
but the truth is my parents didnt get to customize me,
many times we took it as a joke to blame each other for the "breed" we were given
i am 1.52m eldest daughter while my baby sis, who is 8 years younger is at least 1.71m
my mum would shift the blame onto my dad,
who is helpless and i would shift the blame on their egg/sperm
our family is large & the topics we talk about are extensive.
just the road trip to melaka last week might sent a shock wave to bbbbbb
as he tries to drive patiently from Melaka --> SG while my siblings and i
engage in a discussion about cannibalisation, cult & religion.
you wouldnt think too much about it, but wait till you hear the details,
personally i am not too proud of it, but we have our own bit of researching done
and altgr, i concluded my brother may very be the next KKK / Children of God cult leader
he has a way to psycho our mind & has sucessfully create his own followings & belief... eerie max.

Anyway.. ( i am trying so hard to stay on track.. the topic on cult gets me carried away)
today entry is about the gift i've recently send to Phyllis, a.k.a Mee pok.
you see, we hardly meeet and with her flight schedule, it is near impossible
but, whenever we can, we will attempt a short dinner, some gossips done
and it'll all be worth it.
i remember my last session with her, she gifted me a keyring from Coach
it's really pretty & intrinsic, and she explain this was to made up for my belated birthday,
then comes the recent dinner where she gifted me another lunch box- Hello Kitty theme from San Fransico
i almost went berserk in bewilderment, i was staring at the lunch box, checking out each & every lock,
i am fancinated by Hello Kitty, i must be metally 8-yr old.


i dunno what others impression of a gift is, i recall somethng my cousin once told me
we had been bugging him to choose a range of present so we can buy him one for his birthday
and he made is straight to us "dont get me a present, because if i dont like, i feel like i am being force to use it"
this isnt something you can expect to hear from your friends, but from true friends, it makes so much sense
Or it could be just me, who agreed with both hands how i am its compulsory for me to put on
the things that are gifted to me, in order to utlize them & feel treasured by the sender.
but i haave been extraordinarily lucky, i never dislike gift from my friends .

which brings me back to this deep haunting memory of receving a GIANT teletubbies for my 10-yr old birthday party years back,. 

it was GIANT because i was relatively small for a 12 year old. Well, i never fancy much about Teletubbies but back then it was the craze & seeing others with Teletubbies plushies is just pushing my luck.    so we(my siblings and i) placed the giant on top of our double-decker bed & let it stay there........ till one fine day... we heard all the strange stories about teletubbies..... one of the darker ones include them coming alive at night to speak to you.. 

i honestly think this is a true story.. haha.. Teletubbies are so dark that beneath those eyes they look creepy.... and there are those that speaks pre-recorded message as you push the button on their arm, legend has it that they speak non-recorded messages at night & kids are said to translate their messages & work to their command.... 

i dunno what went into my sibligns & i, but we got too frighten of Mr Tinky Winky for it to hang around the upper bed no more... we finally hand it to the nursery in one piece so the kids can play with it in daylight... that was probably my worst experience with gift. 

My friends like to present us with accessories as present, i vividly remember all the Sinma earring in 925 silver i would receive from my school friends and would put on at least once each time. Truth is my ear is highly sensitive to alloy content and i always wind up getting irritation, but it was important to be seen putting them on, so your friends knows you'll wear something they hand pick for you.
So yeah, i' seem to have receive present from Mee-pok on both our meetups and they are both lovely
i can see myself feeling guilty if i have to receive another one..
but i am thankful above all that gift, that we still share a special bond, non-replaceable with material goods
dont get it wrong, i do not count on gift to judge a friendship,
rather, i might in turn be extra thankful if i did not receive a gift when i meet my friends
because it is a gift we share a affinity to actually voluntarily meet while tied up with other commitments
a Gift on meeting is a extra responsibility that i would have to return,
and i am not complaining :)

i remember my most cherish gift from my primary school friends are the music box i receive on my 10th birthday
amazingly, i kept them all till i turn 26, when i try to remove them from the storage we have pile while looking for a house, they have mostly spoil
but i still adore each & every one of them because they use to be my most preciuos pocession,
i finally bid them goodbye in november 2012/.

my precious pearl handed from my Mum is also something i really really cherished,
i use to see my Grandma put them on when i was younger,
and my Grandma is the sort of generous grandma who would buy a few sets of the same pearl
to be gifted to all her daughters
needless to say, when i finally started wearing accessorries, i beg all day for Mum to let me wear her set of pearls,
and i did the same during Chinese New Year, the next CNY and the next and the next
eventually, she could tell i was genuinely certain i was going to treasure it dearly,
and she gave it to me... i now only put them on for CNY or special anniversaries :)

My grandma use to put me in the trolley she use to market, and bring me to the wet market
there, i will learn how to choose the correct pork, vegetables & chilli to make dinner
then after the trip to marketing, she will reward me each time with a gift at the beads shop
the bead shop was my paradise for as long as i can remember anything about my grandma
we would choose 2 packets tiny beads, then she will grant me a fish-line and i would tread my first bracelet,
my grandma made amazing accessories with her beads, i was amateur and my bracelet end up in the dumo after i grew up.
Now, whever i walk past a bead shop, i'll never fail to walk in,
look for a pack of beads & imagine myself making them into necklace again.
The gift from my Grandma is a lifetime memory that i can re-enact as and when i want to, by beading

My boyfriend isnt the sort to surprise me much
during our courtship he buys me present that are pretty predictable (haha) ..
as long as he sees, hear that i fancy it.. . he will make a mental note to get me that for my birthday, anniversaries  & christmas.
but if there is something i am thankful to have him for,
it would be the hardest period that we woman suffer every month.
i get cramp so badly it is isnt to tell with my moodswing & dressing ( i tend to dress in darker colors)
Then without fail, he will present me some chocolates, my favorite kind, the ones with fruits or nuts,
and psychologically it works wonder
Actually, i did a research on this once,
chocolate does indeed helps to heal the cramp & keep one calm
so i am thankful he remembers his duties to take care of me & my health :)


you know you are bliss because you are bless with great people that makes you happy
Everyday i try to find a reason to feel bliss & i found them
most time i am thankful to be alive after all the health scare
but most importantly, i am thankful that i wasnt alive but unhappy
i was alive & filled with so much happy stuff, happy people & happy thoughts.
It is easy to sink back into that black hole anyone had once be,
i sometimes go to bed fearing i might wake up being depressed ,
but then this part of me feel i wouldnt, because i have been gifted a life to live
and previuosly, had i been living in the sink hole, then a life wouldnt matter, its only a life
now, i want to count my blessing because i cannot help feeling sorry for the old Kristal who did not treasure what she had, and only look upon what she doesnt.

i dont despite my old me, becuase i am proud of she eventually become - ME! :)

~Sweet.Silly.Stinky.Sleepyhead~

curl- straight - pompom

Hi Guys
i've been reading alot of articles online lately and most of them are amazingly good read. There were stories of ordinary you and me in their everyday life and the things they did to make it somewhat different. 

Here's one i would to share, about an above average intelligent Singaporean who hits his ambition of becoming a lawyer, a job not many of us can get, only to quit it completely after experiencing in what he describe as "different from the movie" kind of job scope... if you have the time do spare some time to read this --> http://www.edvantage.com.sg/edvantage/features/people/1819854/It_took_four_years_to_learn_I_m_no_lawyer.html

So if you have been following me on instagram you might probably have already seen pictures of my new hair. I have also given it a name "Pom pom" as a true significance of the effect it has brought upon my head... As a guideline, do recall my mission to look somewhat like Ugly Betty... i do think i am achieving it pretty well... 

see! ive brought my vision to life..... amidst being called a "crazy" number by my friends who knew me too well..

The Tigress in me have only just been releaesd... the hair is... very unkempt.... and i appear to be ... untidy most time.... What's even worst was how i had to drag my feet out for a long run last night... only to have my hairband stuck somewhere inside my HUGE tress... 

ahhahaha.... needless to say i went ahead with the run and the "missing" hair band... 

well... it finally decided to reveal itself after the run but got stuck in bundle of entangle hair that got me so frustrated (especially after a 10km run.. u tell me) that i frantically try pulling it out..... 

no luck.... it FINALLY came out after i pour some conditioner on the damp hair & lubricate them.....    #seriouslyDamagedHair

ah-hah! Bet at this point you must have thought how i hated my hair... on the contraversial..... i love it!!!
and i love trying to keep my hair within the frame of selca i was trying to capture.... #BigTimeFail

and to emphasize on the huge contrast of my new hairstyle.. let's recall my last visit to the salon

sorry for the mis-rotate,.... hadnt found one with the right rotation.... 

i've seen so much potential to pom pom and am arleady imagining photoshoot that shouts flower, white, flower wreath headband, sunshine... here's are some inspiration i've googled
\

(credits MirageFloweres)

My hair is till in messy shades of grown-out brown & those original black...i am hoping to finalize the hair color at my basic jet black but fear the dye will damage the already dying hair.... afterall, i took so much pain to revive them from the last perm

pictures from the last perm,sorry i just had to .. haha

this was the point where my hair was pretty much dead, and breaking up on every finger-comb-through & split ends... i had to resort to chopping them off after the whole entourage was over.. but man... i love them so much... 

The change was adamant, i cannot stick to the same old curls so i had to get pompom done... No pun intended people, an aquaruis stays a aquarius... they embrace the decision they made.... and i love pom pom wholeheartedly now... just wait you'll see... Pom pom is super useful for my identity...

anyway.... pom pom gives me good mood enuff to dress up for work in the day... 

and by night i had so much fun playing dress up... in particular to Ugly Betty's inspiration

LilSis gave me this idea... she find i look like the character off Brave.... haha.. i kinda of like that... 

and LilSis has more creativity juice because that fatty actually also associated me as her NEW POODLE (toy poodle lah.. she was kind)

that's my hair she's holding... it earn her 6 likes on facebook.. and a bit more in instagram.... why she so mean!!!!!!!!!!!   -.-

If you are still not embracing pom pom yet.. let me just bring you back to the crazy 2 hours i sat at the salon, "hearing" the TV playing some HK sitcom inthe background and resisting the temptation to look up into the screen

hmmm. the image rotation on Picasa Web is a little kuku today..ugly compressed photos...

so please consider & give pom pom a chance.. and not too soon you might consider getting YOUR perm done... 

on a side note.... do mark my words by heading to old-school-salon (like the one picture above) if you are looking for a permanent perm, so far none of the perm i've done at the expensive highend saloon i went to last (i am not bias, i have been to quite a handful of salon for perms that cost me AT LEAST $180).... they last me for 4 months and that's it... 

Old School salon perm are WAY CHEAPER... (cannot reveal here cos i need to avoid ppl trying to tell me you cannot buy free lunch on this earth)... yes yes the damage done to my hair is definitely greater than the high-end salon... but the point is they last!!!!

my last perm done for the UK trip in 2010 (i have done a lot more perm in between but they didnt last long enuff to make an impression)  last me till 2012... the curls are to-die-for even though it practically kill my hair (because i dyed the curls the next day, and had highlights streaks on it the next next day)That curl only cost me $100...... you tell me worth it or not?????

~Sweet.Silly.Stinky.Sleepyhead~