Supermom

A former colleague is in austria to do her doctorate. She’s a young mom with a young son and another baby on the way. What’s amazing about her is that she’s doing it all alone there — studying, going through her pregnancy — sans husband and son.

She recently wrote a very touching entry in her blog and I feel compelled to share with her this anecdote.

Not too long ago, I interviewed a woman deputy vc. We were talking about her new post and somehow the topic deviated to children and working moms. I think it started when she asked me if I was married and whether or not I had children.

Well, anyway, she told me that one of the hardest things she has had to do was leave her family to pursue her studies. This was probably in the late 80s and her daughter at the time was below 5. She told me that she remembered being incredible guilty about it, not to mention missing her family like crazy.

But her little girl is now all grown up. One day, as she was helping her daughter clean her room, she found a card she had sent home to Malaysia when she was still studying. The card brought back all the memories and she started crying.

Seeing her cry, her daughter said: “Mommy, it’s okay. I’m all grown up now. It’s okay”.

She thought her daughter would never forgive her for leaving. But the truth is, her daughter didn’t even remember that she had gone for that long.

I have only respect for Che Sabb. She’s setting a good example for her children. She’s showing them that women in the 21st century can do it all – become a mom, pursue their education and careers etc.

She’s doing it all for herself and her children’s future. Think of it this way, how many people can say that their mom has a PhD? From Austria, no less?

So, hang in there Che Sabb. Dani’s going to be fine and you’ll pull through and come back to Malaysia with the initials d and r before your name :)

Of curling irons and tolerance

I’m beginning to discover major flaws about my straightener. It’s not only too thick but also doesn’t clamp well. It’s grip is so loose, I had to put pressure with my own hands. Not impressed!

This makes me want to go out and buy a thinner flat iron. Maybe when my husband is not looking :P

Anyway, yes, I’m still obsessed with youtube video tutorials. I just realised something though — most of the tutorial givers on the subject of curling hair are Asian girls. I’m sure there are girls of other ethnicity too but the ones I happen to click on are by Asians.

It’s amazing to read some of the comments youtubers leave for these girls. I’m talkng about the hateful ones. OMG, you wouldn’t believe the racist things they can write. Sometimes you wonder what the girls did to even deserve those comments. They were just teaching people to make their hair look better!

One of comments read something like this:

This (insert some derogative word to describe Asians) doesn’t know what the hell she’s doing. She might as well go back to Japan and plant rice.

And she/he was talking about a girl who gets thousands of hits and heaps of praises for her videos. Some people are just too much!

He or she doesn’t even know for sure if the girl is Japanese or not. Even I can’t tell! It’s not like she had a Japanese accent. She spoke perfect American!!

I bet the one who wrote that is a fellow American.

Speaking of Asian-haters, a girl (whose blog) I read regularly has also been the target of racist comments.

I have a lot to say about this in Asian people’s defense but I’m not going to write them here, lest I be seen as racist too.

Anyho, who would’ve thought that youtube videos on how to curl your hair can spark a discussion on tolerance huh?

‘tis the season for partays

Late December is a season of parties. Earlier today, I had two parties to attend: one was a Xmas party thrown by my colleague at he residence and the other was a birthday bbq of my 6-year-old niece who lives near my place. Since I’d bought my 10-in-1 multistyler set and I’d been watching all that youtube tutorials on hair and makeup, I decided to put my knowledge to the test.

So at close to 6pm, I put my laptop on the dirty clothes hamper in the bathroom, played my favourite youtube tutorial, and directed the fan towards me — the bathroom can be a sauna sometimes and I don’t want to ruin my hair and/or makeup.

The result? Success! And it took only one try!

I wanted dark brown smokey eyes and beach-y waves so I followed Judy’s videos. She’s a 22-year-old Asian American girl and a very talented makeup artist. I find her tutorials easy to follow and her instructions clear. It helps that she’s cute and has really nice, glossy hair :) She reminds me of Mariah Carey in some of her videos (such as the one below).

Anyways, I had to improvise a little to get my smokey eyes since I didn’t have some of the colours she used. So my eye makeup was a mix of grey, peach/pink, purple, black and blue. Despite using different colours to achieve a similar result, my eye makeup turned out alright (if I do say so myself). I don’t think anyone could tell that I threw in some pink on my eyes :P

My only complaint about this video is that there were too many products and colours (more than 4) involved. So I had to simplify it and make it my own style.

As for my hair, I only realised that my straightening iron was not as thin as the one she used after I took out mine to use for the first time. So I think my curls ended up a little bigger than hers. But nevertheless, it curled my hair and I could preserve my curl –- which frizzed a little because I didn’t wash my hair from the styling the day before but no matter — for a good number of hours using a spritz of hairspray. And I have pictures to prove it! (Not that I’m going to post them up here…maybe on facebook).

Tomorrow, my husband and I may go for a karaoke session with some friends from uni. Dah lama tak nanyi sama-sama. There was a funny story about us going to the same karaoke joint on the same day and around the same time but never bumping into each other at all. So this time, we’re making sure that we’re going together and getting the same room :)

And I think this calls for another primping session tomorrow evening, don’t you? A repeat performance of beach-y waves and smokey eyes is definitely in order!

 

Got curls?

I’m obsessed with curls. It’s weird because normally you don’t have what you’re obsessed about. And that’s why you’re obsessed with it. But I have curly hair just not the kind that I like.

I’m obsessed with the idea that with a little help, my curls would be perfect. I think I have found the right formula for making my curls more defined but I discovered that the wash, leave to dry and don’t comb trick doesn’t always work.

So I decided to get help from the curling iron.

Yes, I went and bought my own Philips Salon Multistylist 10-in 1 the other day. This all in one product is meant not only to curl your hair but to straighten it and everything in between. Big waves, loose curls, ringlet – you name it, you got it! At only RM172 (inc. warranty of RM7), I think it’s a good bargain.

So I have been diligently watching youtube hair-curling tutorials and memorising them. I even experimented this morning before work. I’m still learning so my curls didn’t turn out to my satisfaction.

For some strange reason, my hair always ends up straighter than before I curl them. It’s as if all that curling makes my hair straighter and more voluminous! Like right now, my hair is hardly curly and it’s poufy.

So, yeah, I’m still trying to find and experiment with different techniques to see which gives me the best result.

To be honest, I think curling hair with a flat/straightening iron is much simpler. So I’m going to try that the morning after (the next time) I wash my hair, which is probably Sunday morning. One technique gives you beach-y waves that’s very OC and The Hills. Another technique involving a 1-and-half inch-curling thong results in Mariah Carey-esque curls (and you know how obsessed I am with her!). V. nice!

After I have mastered all the tips and tricks of curling hair, I might just offer my services to people who need curly hairdos for parties. (Haih, asyik nak buat duit je :P) Any takers?

Post-Penang

For those who didn’t know, I was in Penang last weekend. I was on a holiday with my husband and the family-in-law. We drove all the way from SA to Penang.

I was lucky because the bonus came in just a day before the trip. So for the first time, we had some dough during a trip :P So apa lagi, shopping lah!

I didn’t plan to shop (much) but of course I ended up spending more than I planned to. But instead of my usual clothes shopping, I decided to get handbags. I admit, they were knock offs from the night market at Feringgi :P But they’re nice and don’t scream “designer”, which was why I purchased them. One is a yellow/brown/orange chanel quilted bag which looks something like this one (the strap is not as thin though and there is no annoying entertwined c logo)

 

but in this colour

The other bag is a red salvatore ferragamo similar to this one:

 

We were told that we didn’t bargain enough for the bags. I’m not gonna tell you how much I paid for them but I don’t think I overpaid. The point is, I’m really, really happy I bought these bags because I know they will last me for some time. I know that I’ll probably fork out more than how much I did for no brand bags that aren’t even knock offs. So because these are knock offs, so at least the shape and design are okay.

And then I bought two pair of comfy, flowy pants from the Thai showcase at the mall next to our hotel for RM29 each.

It’s funny how we skipped all the touristy places and decided to hang out in shopping malls. We spent a few hours in Queensbay Mall while waiting to check into our room for the second night. I don’t remember buying anything there but I absolutely loved the fact that I could see the ocean from the mall. It’s so surreal – like a mall by the beach or something.

We stayed in a hotel along Jln Burmah but lepak-ed at Bt Feringgi two nights in a row. The second night, we lepak at a bar by the beach after an hour of shopping. The others chatted while I sat quietly updating my facebook on my mobile phone. Ah… the wonders of mobile internet :)

But the highlight of our trip would be the detours we took en route to and from Penang. We stopped at (near) Parit Buntar (to Penang) and also Taiping (from Penang) to walk down memory lane. No offence to Taiping folks but I was shocked that there was a Starbucks! I haven’t been to Taiping in ages (more like two decades) and I thought the taman tasik was absolutely beautiful. Too bad it was raining heavily, otherwise we could’ve stopped to take some pictures and maybe go down the slide. But we did have the famous cendol in town. You’d be surprised to know that it’s listed on the map installed on our gps device. (Yes, gps makes road trips all the more fun). I saw a few (yellowing) articles posted on the wall of the shop. One of them was written by a colleague IM when she was still with nuance. Funny how for a shop that’s really busy, there were only two people manning it. The almost didn’t have time to prepare the pasembor for us. But then the crowd subsided and we had our pasembor and went home full and satisfied.

So that was my holiday to Penang. I’d love to go there again some day. Maybe next year? We’ll see how that goes.

‘tis the season to start anew

Firstly, Merry Christmas everyone!

I spent last night proofreading some files for my freelance job while listening to Christmas songs from Mariah Carey, Aly and AJ, Hanson, *Nsync and more. (Yes people, my proofreading services is still available. Anyone who needs their English essays, abstracts, or thesis proofread, give me a buzz!) I love to listen to how these artists interpret old and favourite Xmas tunes. Mariah does a mean (read: good) job with O Holy Night and Hanson really rocked singing Merry Christmas Baby. Taylor’s voice is divine!

Anywho, the Christmas season is a time where a lot of people go on leave to enjoy the holiday season with their loved ones. For me, it’s a time to take stock of where I’ve been and where I’m heading (thanks in part to the assessment exercise where you have to write down your accomplishments this year).

I’ve been thinking a lot about things which I didn’t do so well in 2008 which are managing my finances and starting a family. I’ve been thinking about getting back on the exercise wagon too. Although I was relatively successful in this area, I have managed to undone half of the good/hard work that I’ve put into getting healthy and in shape. Darn those Dove chocolate bars!!

Just before I went to HK, I managed to start a savings plan. It was working well until I went to HK and blew it all :P But I don’t entirely regret it. At least I managed to bring back souvenirs for the family. I used to not bring back a lot of gifts home because I would go on my overseas work trips broke.

Thanks to the recent contractual bonus and claims that my husband and I got, we managed to settle our bills, debt etc and also do a bit of shopping.

The best part is, I’ve managed to save in my kitty again. So yeay for that!

I’ve been really inspired to set aside an additional 10 per cent of my pay towards a savings plan. The other 11 per cent, has of course, gone into my retirement fund. I’d love to set aside another 10 per cent on a second savings fund but I’m not sure if that is entirely practical.

Say I earn RM5000 (which I don’t!) a month. 11 pc of RM5000 is already RM550 (=retirement fund). That leaves me with RM4450. Ten per cent of this amount is RM445 (savings fund A). So that leaves me with RM4005. A 10 per cent of this is RM400.50 (savings fund B).

If I were to follow this 11+10+10 pc plan, that means I would have to fork out RM1550 every month. That would leave me with RM3450 to pay my bills, rent, car installment, meals, etc. I’m not sure if that’s enough in this time of recession.

Thank God I’ve got my 11 per cent retirement fund covered, duly and automatically deducted from my pay every month. It’s the other 20pc that’s a bit of a stretch. Frankly, saving even RM500 a month is tough with the recent economic situation. Thank God also that I already have a small amount deducted from my account every month, so I just need a little more than RM500 to meet my monthly target on my own. That’s like saving a little over RM100 a week. Boleh lah kot.

Next on my agenda is baby making. I really need to schedule a check up for this. No putting it off anymore, missy!

As for my workout plans, like the rest, this one requires self-discipline and motivation. I have to manage my time REALLY well because with the “revamp” next year, I’mma gonna be really bizzay!

I may even have to work on (alternate) Saturdays. I have been assigned to oversee the youth pages (all four of them) apart from contributing to the pull-out as per usual. Looks like I’ve got my work cut out for me in 09.

The bummer part is that I won’t be able to claim for working on Saturday because it would be part of my roster-ed schedule. But I get a day off on (most probably) Monday.

So keeping healthy and fit is even more important in 09. I’m going to be busy so I’ll be needing the stamina and energy. I’ve signed up for a “Bikini Body in 4 Weeks” plan from Fitness magazine. Hope that helps, even a little. It’s not the bikini body that I want (it wouldn’t hurt of course) but rather the workouts, diet plan etc.

Well, that’s my 2009 blueprint, then. So, how do you reckon your 2009 is going to be like?

Curly Sue

I seriously have no idea on what to write. But I hate the idea of having “And 10,9,8….” as my most recent post.

So, I guess I’ll talk about the D&D. A lot of people wanted to know how my D&D went and whether I pulled off my rockabilly look. Well, let’s just say that things didn’t really go according to my plans.

First, I didn’t have a flat iron to curl my hair with, nor did I have a round brush. So my husband had to twist my curls with his fingers and set them with hairspray. The end product were curls that weren’t much different from my daily look.

But it didn’t really matter that I couldn’t recreate the 1940s bombshell look that I wanted. After seeing a picture of Kate Perry in a magazine donning a very cute Alice band, I decided that it was a more achievable look. So for all of you who didn’t know, I went to the D&D as a pseudo-Kate Perry :P

As for my makeup, I memorised the youtube video that I saw and did the best that I could. Initially, I thought my makeup was bordering on garish. But, when I went to the ladies later that night, I checked out my reflection on the mirror and decided that I didn’t look too bad (if I do say so myself). In fact, someone said that I look adorable. Mind you, this is someone who doesn’t dish out compliments often. So, if she thought I looked adorable, then I must have :P

The funny thing is, I didn’t take a single picture using my own camera. I had to take my own picture at home. Sad right?

As far as the lucky draw was concerned, I wasn’t extremely lucky in that department either. I got a pensonic rice cooker — how exciting is that?! But I guess I shouldn’t complain. At least I came back with something. Some people didn’t win anything at all.

But I think my lucky streak is coming back. Last night I went to the british council media night and got a 1g pen drive. Ok, that’s not terribly exciting but everyone could use an extra data storage device right? Today at my kumon assignment, I got two 2g thumbdrives. How cool is that? Plus they served us tempura set in bentos!! I love Japanese food. I couldn’t believe my luck!!!

Besides that, I think my curly hair totally rocked today. The secret? Shampoo + conditioner + Ellips hair vitamin + sunsilk damage repair leave on lotion + no combing = natural “thermal wave/curl”. I swear by Ellips hair vitamin.

I started using it when I was looking for an alternative to my regular conditioner for my trip to HK. My sister-in-law liked it a lot so I decided to try it myself. Bringing it to HK sounded like a good idea because I wouldn’t have to worry about it being confiscated because I had excedeed my 1 litre liquid in my hand luggage quota.

Picture courtesy of starlightfusion.livejournal.com/

It comes in capsules that look like ‘blisters’. The content is greasy but when you apply to damp hair, the greasiness goes away. When your hair dries, it becomes conditioned, not oily or lank. It’s good for my curls especially when I pair it with a leave on conditioner. It makes them very bouncy. Best of all, 1 “blister” capsule is enough to cover my thin, medium length hair.

I think this product has won Cleo’s best product category at least once before. And a lot of people who have tried it liked the result they got. It’s quite cheap too — only RM4.75 for six capsules. But I think it’s more economical to buy it in bottles.

I think I’ll buy the bottle after I finish the six capsules. I think it’s available at Watsons and Apple Green pharmacies.

As much as I love my natural curl, I think I could use a curling iron. I saw a few youtube videos on how to curl your hair and I’m convinced that MTV-type curls can only be achieved with a curling thong. So, that’s going on my Xmas/birthday wish list :)

And 10,9,8,7….

In a few minutes it’ll be Friday. Oh wait, it IS Friday. D-day. Or should I say, D&D day :)

My get-ready-for-D&D plan changes almost every hour. I know that earlier, I mentioned that I’ll be going to the hairdresser to get my hair curled. As of a few hours ago, I have decided that I will leave the fate of my hair/curls to my husband who will “attempt” to curl my hair for me before we go to work. Why? Because I haven’t really the budget for a “blow out”. It’s cheaper to buy a few hair products and to follow tutorial videos than to pay the hairdresser to do the job. Besides, if it turned out horrible, I only have myself to blame. But if it turns out fab, I can take the credit for it :P

I know what you’re thinking. That it doesn’t sound like such a bright idea. A sweet notion yes, but not necessarily a smart one. But I’m pretty useless with my own hair, so having someone else does it is better than doing it on my own.

So yes, he will be my hairstylist of the day and he will be guided by a video from youtube. Honestly, thank God for youtube and the good people who, out of the goodness of their hearts, had decided to educate clueless people like me.

In fact, my makeup for tonight is also inspired by a few videos on youtube. I’m still sticking to my 1940s, pin-up girl, retro-glam look. It’s just that my hair will be 2008-curls. At least that is the plan.

Anyway, I’m happy to report that my dress still fits. The dark stockings that I bought in Ipoh fits and I bought a few accessories from Bonita earlier for under RM32 (3 for RM10 earrings + a RM22 rhinestone-puppy Alice band). So I guess I’m all set for tonight.

Have fun everyone. Here’s to a great time, good food and amazing lucky draw gifts!

Another D&D inspiration

I can’t believe the D&D is two days away!!

When I saw this poster the other day, I knew that this was the look I wanted to copy. I know that my hair is a little short to pull off this look right now but I’m not about to let length (or the lack of it) stop me from trying!

As it turns out, I can’t wear my red shoes because my dress has blue trimmings. So I’ll have to go for blue shoes and bag instead. But I’m still doing the red, glossy lips and wavy hair. False eyelashes is also a definite must to complete this look.

My plan on Friday is to run to the hairdressers during sembahyang jumaat, somewhere out of bangsar preferably because I know I’ll have to compete with god knows how many women from the office if I were to go to my usual “haunts”.

Then I’ll get husband’s colleague to help me put on the falsies and eye makeup before I leave for the dinner. How’s that? Sounds like a plan eh? Well, hope it works!

Dinner and dance

Tis the season to be jolly…falalalala-lala-lala. And at the office, everyone is pretty much on a festive mood and discussing – well, mainly the girls – our d&d next Friday. The theme is red carpet glamour and everyone’s cracking their heads over what to wear.

One girl told me she’s probably wearing a dress that she can twirl in because she loves “twirling” :P

Me? I thought it’d be easier to think of a theme and taking it from there. A Youtube hair tutorial had inspired me to try the 1940s poster girl, Rockabilly look.

 

After studying numerous videos and photos, I think I have a clear idea of what type of clothes, makeup and hairstyle that I would need to pull off the look.

Just to give you an idea of what modern Rockabilly is like, then look no further than to Gwen Stefani who was very Rockabilly, especially during her No Doubt days.

 

Dita Von Teese is part burlesque and part Rockabilly, IMHO. Check out her hair on the pix above, especially the fake bang/fringe!

I think I’d like to mix a little bit of Gwen and a little bit of Dita for that dinner and dance.

As I was doing my research on authentic Rockabilly dresses, I panicked a bit when I saw a lot of classic halter neck gingham dresses. I think I can handle a little decolletage but there is not way am I going to expose my arms and pits!

So, I was happy to find a picture or rather illustration today that looked very close to a dress that I already have. Perfect because I wasn’t planning to buy a new dress for the D&D.

All I need now is a red thick belt for that cinched-in waist, a red huge clutch to store all my personal belongings and red lippy. I’ve already got the shoes, so that’s settled.

To make sure I really pull it off, I have asked a girl from the office to help me with my hair and maybe even makeup. I just need to show her the Youtube tutorial videos on Tuesday as a guide. She seemed game for it.

So, I guess that’s settled then :) I’ll keep you posted!