Hello Stranger!

2 strangers came up to me and my friend as we were heading to our gym yesterday in Sunway Pyramid. They were each wearing an orange T-shirt that said 'Hello Stranger'. They stopped us and below is the conversation between me and one of them.

KS: Hi stranger!

Stranger:  Oh you know about the gift day?

KS: Nope, I just saw your T-shirt.

Stranger: Oh, today is actually the International Gift Day, and we have gifts for both of you!!

From a huge plastic bag, they took out a small box wrapped in a wrapper and handed it to my friend and took out another gift for me. They took our picture with the gifts and left. This had totally made my friend's and my night!

We opened our gift when we reached our gym. She got a mug that says 'Good Luck' and I got a blue cushion with a Subaru logo on it. The Subaru cushion looks kind of cheap but I really like it. I hugged it to sleep last night because it is so nice to be hugged. :)

All these little things that I get in life make me want to give more than I take. I would love to make someone else's day or night and add smiles on more people's face. I hope all of you feel the same too.

Sephora KLCC Grand Opening + Haul

Yup, I am finally not having exams and am having a break. And yup, I was there in Sephora KLCC for their grand opening! I was so excited that Sephora is finally in Malaysia. Crashing Sephora was one of the things I put in my after-exam-to-do-list, I am so glad I did.

Before I went there, I was expecting some crazy discount but there wasn't anything like that. They had makeovers, manicures, smokey eye workshop, etc. The event lasted for the whole day but unfortunately I had to rush to my friend's birthday party so I only had time to buy some cosmetics.

Sephora is like a supermarket for cosmetics, heaven for me! I walked around in the shop and could still even find something fascinating after I checked out and was gonna walk out from the shop. I have to say that the stuff there are not cheap. But as the saying goes, cheap things not good, good things not cheap, so I think it is worth it.

Lip stuff

 

Body stuff

Bath stuff

Eye stuff

These are not all. Imagine, Make Up For Ever, Dior, Clinique, Lancome, Calvin Klein, Urban Decay, Smashbox, and all the famous makeup brands are in there, I can't just walk around every counter to take a picture of it.

Picture Wall

The opening starts at 11am. The emcee for is a beautiful lady, and she is really good at hyping up the atmosphere. There are also a few male models there, giving out candies and samples. I have to admit that I really like those models, they are smoking hot.

Makeover

Hair station which is not open yet

Okay, so here are the things I bought from Sephora.

  Sephora Waterproof Khol Eyeliner Black

RM39.00

 Urban Decay All Nighter Long Lasting Makeup Setting Spray

RM109.00

Sephora Mini Funnel

RM8.00

Make Up For Ever Eye Seal

RM90.00

 

 Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer

free sample

 They also took a picture of me and printed it out for me for free!

I am really excited about trying all these products out, especially the Eye Seal. I have read a lot of good reviews about it.

Alright people, I gotta go. Have a nice day!

My country, my home, Malaysia

I asked my dad that day if he had ever thought of migrating to another country.

"You have the money to do so?"

"What if money isn't a problem?" I asked.

"Nah, I think Malaysia is not too bad of a country. Though there are a few corruptions here and there, we live quite harmoniously compared to in some of the other countries. Though we Chinese do not get to enjoy the privilege the bumiputeras get, we are being treated quite well in this country. I am happy in Malaysia."

There are times when I really feel like leaving this country and think that the grass is greener on the other side. Here are some things that I don't like about Malaysia.

Climate

This is something I really really dislike about living in a tropical country, the climate is so HUMID. All you have to do is just step out of your house for maybe 5 minutes during the day and you will be all sticky and sweaty. Your makeup doesn't last, your hair frizzes easily. People with straight hair may not have this problem, but you will know what I mean if you have curly hair. The more humid the weather, the frizzier your hair will be. Besides making you look like crap, the climate also forbids us to do a lot of things which can be done very comfortably in a country less humid.

Transportation

I have friends who live in the US and UK and they enjoy walking to college, cycling, strolling in the park, having picnic with their friends, taking a 30 minutes walk to go to the town to get some groceries, going on all sorts of outings, because the weather there is just so fine! If you ask me to WALK to college, or take a 5 minute walk to the 7-11 behind my house to get something, no, I won't do it. If you think you can cycle to work in Malaysia, that's only possible if your work place is just a stone throw away from your house. Literally a stone throw away.

In Malaysia, if you don't own a car, you are like a disabled man, stuck at home and can go no where. Yeah, we do have public transportation, but walking to the station is such a torture! Our buses are like moving ovens when the weather is hot, mini water parks when it is raining. I have seen really really really rude bus drivers and a few fights between passengers and bus drivers. We have very long train platforms but you will surprised when the train arrives, because its length is less than half of the platform. Don't dream of traveling comfortably especially during peak hours, you're lucky to even be able to get into the train.

There are so many roads with no footpath for the pedestrians, even if there is, it's probably in a very bad condition.

Politics

I don't know much about politics, but I know there are a lot of people, including my parents, who are unsatisfied with the government. It hasn't affected me yet, but it will in the future.

Censorship

I get so annoyed when I am happily singing along with the radio and suddenly the lyrics of the song is blurred, for I don't know what reason. Ok, I understand if the word is like fuck or really obscene, but beer? Whiskey? Cigarette? I really don't think it is necessary to censor words like these. What negative impact will these words have on the young, innocent minds? All these efforts on blurring the lyrics are very redundant.

I don't mean to defame my country. There are some things I love about my country.

Multiracial

I like how we live together harmoniously. Though we don't share equal privilege in buying house, paying taxes and whatnot, but we are not being treated as immigrants here. We live like a big family. The Malays they have their rules that we don't have to follow, which makes it kind of equal. Also, the people here are very understanding and friendly, especially towards foreigners.

Food

Malaysia is a multiracial country. That being said we have a vast variety of food here! Nasi Lemak is an iconic Malay food in Malaysia. I love to eat it with Chicken Rendang. Roti Canai is one of my family's favorite food for breakfast. Dim Sum and Bak Kut Teh used to be some of my favorite food before I became a vegan. Ais Kacang (aka ABC) and Cendol are our favorite desserts. Besides local cuisine, we also have Japanese cuisine, Western cuisine, Korean cuisine, etc which are really good, sometimes even better than those they have in their own country. I can go on with the list of food forever, but I won't. It is endless.

Tropical forests

It may sound a bit contradicting here. At first I said I hated tropical weather, but now the tropical forests is one of the things I like about Malaysia. I am just really proud of the high number of species and high levels of endemism we have in Malaysia. Our wildlife are some of the most diverse on Earth. About two third of Malaysia is covered in forest. Malaysia is definitely a biodiversity hotspot, and because of this, many bird watchers and hikers travel all the way to Malaysia every year to spend their holidays in our forests. Though logging has devastated part of the tree cover, our government is putting a lot of effort into conserving the forests.

Disaster-free

We are free from earthquakes, blizzards, hailstorms, volcanic eruptions, which makes Malaysia a very safe place to live in. We don't have to worry that our houses will be blown away by a tornado, or part of our forest cleared up by wildfires. Flash flood does strike the low lying areas during the rainy seasons but I strongly believe this problem can be overcome by improving the drain system.

That's all I could think of for now. I would add on to the list when I can think of anything else.

In a nutshell, there are pros and cons living in Malaysia, I know there are things that are better in other countries, there are still a lot of room for improvement for Malaysia. If I was given to migrate to another country, I would love the cleanliness of the place and the efficiency of the transport system, but Malaysia is where I was born, where I grew up, where I belong, where I call home. I love Malaysia (not every much though, but I still do).


PS. Comment below and tell me what you like/dislike about Malaysia, I would love to know what you think about this country.

Just a random note.

Chester: Dog lice

*Gasp* Chester has got dog lice infestation!

Chester has been scratching himself a lot lately, I thought he was just allergic to dust or something. When I inspected his skin, it was just a bit flaky, there were also some dry wounds, so I assumed he was just scratching himself too much, too hard. The scratching got worse to the extent that he couldn't sleep well and had problem focusing. I tried to look for ticks on his body but to no avail (usually ticks are very easy to be spotted). I looked harder and this is what I found.

My previous dog had not been infested with this little thing before, so I had no idea what it was. I looked up in the Internet and found out that this thing is actually a dog louse!

Dog louse (Credit: Google)

Dog lice are really tiny, but big enough to be seen by a naked eye. It has a brownish black head which looks like a speck of dirt on Chester's body. Looking for the dog lice is quite a challenge because its body colour is so close to Chester's.

Size: 1-2mm

There are 2 types of dog lice: the skin chewing one and the blood sucking one (which is much more irritating). The dog lice that infested my dog's body are the skin chewing ones, hence the flaky dry wounds. Luckily dog lice do not infest human hair! Chester sleeps on my bed sometimes.

I bought this spray to kill the dog lice and a cream to heal the wounds. It will take some time for the dog lice to be eradicated but this spray seems to be working. For the time being, Chester is not allowed on my bed even though I won't get those lice from him but I don't want to sleep with him when he has pesticide sprayed all over his body!

I am sure Chester will be fine soon. He went for his first grooming session yesterday. When he came home after the grooming session, looking sexy and all, I took some pictures of him playing with his favorite rubber squeaky ball.

Omg, he is so cute! Ok people, I gotta study now. 3 more weeks and I will be a free bird. :)

Sigh.

I am sitting on my bed writing this blog post. I have no idea what this post is gonna turn out to be like, I just feel like unloading my feelings here. So if you're already bored, don't read this post. You will die of boredom.

I don't know why I am so emotionally unstable lately. I feel weak and easily defeated. I miss the days when I was strong and optimistic. I start to blame the people around me for being unthoughtful. it's their inconsideration that causes all my emotion breakdown.

I remember those days when my dog used to sit beside me when I was sad, listening to my rant about the bad day I just had. He was not an obedient dog, always peeing and pooing around the house, but somehow, he always knew when I was sad and needed someone to talk to. Whenever I was depressed, he would sit beside me and let me cry my heart out. Sometimes he licked off my tears as if he was trying to tell me that everything would be okay.

Animal's love is so selfless. My dog loved me, he just did. I didn't have to do anything fancy to impress him, nor did I have to always look pretty for him to love me, nor did I have to be super smart to be respected. He never hurt me. All I had to do was just be his owner, and he would love me, unconditionally.

I miss him so much and I feel extremely sorry for not being a good owner. But I wish he knows that that was nothing I could do. Jealousy strikes me sometimes when I see Chester getting so much attention and love from my family, whereas my dog had to live outside the house like an abandon stray dog. Why is it so unfair? He was such a smart and beautiful dog.

Why didn't anybody bother to see all the tricks he learnt to do?

Why wasn't he considered as part of the family?

Why did he have to be alone?

Welcome Chester the Poodle!

I had always wanted a puppy, or a kitten, but I never asked my parents to get me one because I thought I'd only get it when I am financially independent so that my parents won't need to worry about taking care of another baby at home.

On the other hand, my 6-year-old sister had been demanding for a poodle since she was 4 or 5. She was really persistent, my parents finally gave in and said yes.

So yesterday, my sister and I followed my uncle (who will be sponsoring all the expenses this baby needs) to the breeder's place. One the way there, I asked my sister what she wanted to name the puppy and she said John. I was like 'What? John? Why John?' My uncle suggested the name Zombie, haha.. And then she said 'Hmm.. I think we should name him Chester.' The first thing that came into my mind was my friend's sister's boyfriend whose name is also Chester! Haha. The next time I see Chester, the boyfriend, I would think of Chester, the Poodle!

When we reached the breeder's place, I thought I would be able to give my opinion on which puppy to take home, but I found out that my uncle had already brought my sister to this place and had chosen which puppy to bring home a few months ago. My uncle and sister actually had a plan! So we waited for Chester to finish his last dinner with his sibling and then we picked him up and brought him home.

Name: Chester
D.O.B: 29-3-2011 (this is not the exact d.o.b though)

Breed: Toy Poodle

Gender: Male
Colour: Cream
Loves: To sleep and shit and pee and cry
Hates: To be kept in a crate

Chester has been behaving okay so far, he is undergoing housetraining and potty training. As it is still a baby, it sleeps 90% of the time. I can't wait for him to grow up and start playing with me.

PS: This is my first time dealing with a poodle. Do you have a poodle? Any fun experience with your poodle you would like to share? Drop a comment below!

Final Exams

I know it's been a while since I updated about my life. Other than preparing for my final exams, I am really not doing anything interesting. For those who are wondering, I am currently doing my A Levels and my final exams are in a few days time. I deactivated my Facebook account just so I can be more focus on my studies. To be very honest, I never felt this unprepared before. I think I need a lot of luck here. So people, wish me luck!

Mind-or-Heart

I am sure many of you have come across one of those situations where you have to make up your mind which step to take next. You ponder for a few days and you still cannot make up your mind. Your mind asks you to do this, your heart asks you to do the other. You have a burning passion for music, on the other hand your father has a company for you to take over, should you pursue a music degree or a business degree? Your boyfriend is a commitment-phobic, but you love him so much you want to be with him forever. There is another guy who is after you who is a much better person, you're touched by his personality. Should you leave your boyfriend and give his guy a chance? You have a job offer with better pay, but it is not what you enjoy doing and requires you to be far away from your family. Should you take it or not?

Every decision you make is determined by a combination of your logic and emotion. If these different elements that make you who you are happen to conflict, you will understandably feel conflicted. We wouldn't be humans if we didn't have either one of these elements, without our mind, we would be driven by our emotions and do things blindly and get hurt. Without our heart, we would be like robots, doing things without emotion.

Decisions would be easier to make if one of them speaks louder. Heart whispers no, mind shouts YESS!! But what if they speak equally loud? Following your mind breaks your heart. Listening to your heart is just irrational.

In my opinion, when it is a mind-or-heart situation, the heart should win the game. For some really simply reasons. Our mind is often selfish, it asks us to play safe, choose the easier way, give up things we love. Don't disagree with me. Think about it. It is true.

Your heart tells you what YOU really want inside and that's where our dreams come from. It is the fuel that keeps us going to reach for our dreams. As long as you don't choose to give up there is always a chance for your dream to come true. The road may be tough, but hey, that's what you want. If, IF it doesn't work out in the end, at least you have tried. Don't be put off by the challenges ahead of you. For something you love, it is worth the fight.

I am trying to say that heart should always win the game. Under certain circumstances we need to be more rational, that is when your mind speaks louder than your heart. But when there is no harm following your heart, why not?

Life is all about making decisions. I hope you will make the right one for yourself.

Happy Birthday Princess Gurnemeh!!

It was Princess Gurnemeh's birthday yesterday and I was asked to be one of the princesses to be in her party so I put on my glass slippers (I don't literally have one) and went to Hotel Impiana to attend her party.

The kids there were so adorable. I never really liked kids. For some reason, I don't really have a lot of patience for kids. But I have to say I had a lot of fun today. Some of them thought we were real princesses. Some asked if the other princesses were coming.Some asked if that's the only dress I have. Lol. I dressed up as Cinderella by the way.

Simren, Harpreet and I in our full costumes

Beading station

Body painting station

Gurnemeh and her cake. Yes, cake!!

Oh my god, I have to tell you all about this boy. He is..5 years and 11 months old. That's what he told me. He asked me if I was the real Cinderella. He asked for my number because he wants me to be at his birthday party next month. Before he left, he even gave me a kiss on my cheek. He is so adorable!!

If you wonder what we did in the party, we just walked around, stopped and took pictures when we were asked to. It was actually quite tiring, but I had lots of fun walking around like a princess, talking to the children, posing to cameras. At some point, I did feel a bit embarrassed when people in the hotel gave me the weird look, they must be wondering why's a grown up dressing up as a princess. Nonetheless, it was a really memorable experience.

Lastly I want to wish Princess Gurnemeh and happy princess birthday and may all her wishes come true.