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Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Random faux pas

I don't mean to discriminate, but these are just a few things that I feel are unforgivable at times...


1. Driving slow on the fast / overtaking lane

In Malaysia, this is the right lane. On certain highways, the left-most lane are for motorcycles, the middle for the slow, then the right-most for, well, those who like it fast. The things is, there's a system for a reason. So if you're planning to texting, or wanna take things slow, move over and don't be a road hog!


2. Driving slowly in a fast car

You've seen them: Audi TTs, Toyota Estimas and Alphards, going at a steady 60km/h (on the fast lane). Why the hell did you buy a fast car if you plan on driving it slowly? Get a luxury car if you really have to spend the money!


3. Keeping the price tag on the bottom of your heels

Really, honey? No one needs to know how much you got those Jimmy Choos for. Just peel the price tag off, even if it comes off horrendously.


End of random list. I needed to rant. =D

Sunday, April 21, 2013

Procrastination

Perhaps I should change my blog name back to Journal of a Procrastinator, because I'm seriously procrastinating way too much at an inappropriate time. I have like 2-3 more pages of a textbook to summarize (again, I shall leave the slandering for a much later time, if it's necessary at all), then I still have to make the slides for it. And this is what I pay RM3k per subject for: a lecturer who only wants us to read from the textbook and slides, and nothing else.


I've been going through a medley of fattening stuff the entire day - Nescafe with extra cream, mee siam with a fried egg for lunch, finished up the soy milk, had some delicious sinful chocolate, mango ice cream for dessert at dinner, and now I'm slowly polishing off an entire bottle (1.5L) of Ribena.


And I told myself when I first registered for the gym membership that I'd never let myself go anywhere near 60kg ever again, and here I am, 58kg. And I was about 55-56kg a couple of weeks ago. Dilemmas... THEY'RE FUCKING EVERYWHERE! Even when I'm deciding which flavor of ice cream to eat. =__=


On a completely unrelated note, check out my friend Maira's cover of Lee Hi's Rose. She's an awesome babe with an awesome voice! She has a SoundCloud page too, I think. Give her your loves!!!


Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Garlic ketchup chicken?

I will leave the slandering for another day, because my day ended in a pretty fun way (rhyme, one of the no-nos I learned in class today~).


We had a morning session of badminton, then rushed in just a little late for class (sorry, Mr Winston!), then sat in for a tutorial that wasn't hours (which is the main source of why I want to slander). And recently I've been cooking.


Nothing too elaborate, though... Just sliced chicken breast, marinated, then basically pan fried.

  • 3 pieces chicken breast, skin & fat removed (if desired)
  • 1 tsp tomato ketchup
  • 1/2 tsp garlic salt, or substitute to taste
  • light sprinkling of black pepper
  • 1 tsp light soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp plain flour
  • [OPTIONAL] one medium clove garlic, minced

Slice/chop the chicken into equal-sized pieces, and place them in a bowl. Cut against the grain for a more tender texture. Put in everything else, then toss to coat with the marinade. You could add more or less of anything you like, actually. Leave to marinate for about 5-10 minutes.


Heat up a pan until it's smoking, turn to low heat, put in a little less than 2 tsp oil, put in the chicken, then pan fry until the chicken develops a light golden crust, flip it, then stir fry when the chicken stops sticking to the pan (I prefer to use chopsticks).


Just thought I'd share this very random recipe I literally threw together within 30 seconds. Why the ketchup? I guess I learned a couple of things from Cooking With Dog and RunnyRunny999. =)

Monday, April 15, 2013

Of cakes and macarons

The thing is: we skipped class. Excuse me, but we didn't pay you to read from the slides. And if we're not supposed to take notes while you're reading off the slides, then WHAT'S THE POINT IN ATTENDING CLASS?! I could very well read the slides at home by myself without having to listen to you recount your youth for the 1358th time, thank you very much.


Back to the point: a bunch of us went to Bangsar for sort of a food adventure, I think? I didn't know what the main item on the itinerary was, but I think I'll just call it the Bangsar food trip. =D


Quinie and Sindee gave us a lift there (6 persons in total), and we first visited the First Impressions Beauty Salon for some *ahem* brow threading. The process was an eye-opening experience, since I've never seen it before. It's basically the same as using tweezers, but faster, and a little more dangerous (risk of cutting the skin).


Nirvana Maju was our destination for lunch. For those of you who don't know, there are only certain mamak restaurants which serve banana leaf rice, and it also depends on whether they make good banana leaf rice.

I had my rice drowned in dhall curry, with two extra pieces of radish. The condiments from left: deep fried battered bitter gourd, pumpkin mash, and cucumber salad.
Basically, the rice and condiments (curry, deep fried battered bitter gourd, etc) are served on a cleaned sheet of banana leaf, which adds to the flavor of everything you put on it. For an even better eating experience, ditch the cutlery and use your hand (traditionally, only the right hand is used)!


We walked around some outlets, with rejected Burberry, Calvin Klein, Juicy Couture, and other branded items. Just not my kind of shopping. As it is, I go to point A to get item A, and get out, usually missing out a lot of other awesome stuff.


High tea has never been included in my itinerary throughout 20 years of my life, and while this doesn't constitute as a proper high tea (comparing with information I got from friends), the cakes were delicious. Some people may know the popular (but expensive) patisserie called Les Deux Garçons (Google translates this as "two boys"), which is popular for their delicious macarons.


The display counter offered a variety of cakes, mousses, and pastries (I saw different varieties of eclairs), as well as a pretty display of French macarons. Four cakes made it to the table...

From the mint green one clockwise: wasabi macaron, vodka lime, green tea, salted caramel, truffle, and all topped with a cherry macaron. The truffle macaron has some gold dust on it...
Macarons never really made it to my favorite foods list, but the macarons from LDG made my list... Crispy, fresh, delicious creamy filling, and all without getting too chewy.

Gold flakes. On a cake. Which costs RM14 a slice... Most luxurious cakes I've ever had...
The cakes were awesome, too... Too bad they're so expensive, but you pay for a decadent dessert experience!

Cover: 曲婉婷 - 我的歌声里

By right, I should be typing this in Chinese, but I haven't found the language bar yet. Bear with me! =D


So, previously I did a super-emo Japanese rock song cover (SCANDAL's Namida no Regret) and uploaded it to my SoundCloud page (I HAVE A SOUNDCLOUD PAGE?!). My voice isn't like Kelly Clarkson, or Adele, so it got understandably cold reception.





Just for the fun of it, I recorded another cover at 1.00am in the morning, on an impromptu thought. Wanting's track has been very popular since, boh?, mid-2012? Jasmine and I have been singing to it ever since, but it's only recently that I actually fathom the lyrics, which is why I decided to cover it (while leaving my "duty" to film a make-up tutorial behind).


I did a translation of the lyrics, and I basically just Googled an instrumental for the track (which comes with a small window with the Chinese lyrics), which brought me to a Chinese website. I recorded the track with my Galaxy Note, in a confined room, which kinda explains the static in the background...


Not the best cover out there, but enjoy!!!

Sunday, April 14, 2013

Flooded

I've come to realize that I'll be blogging much less in the near, foreseeable future. There's just too many assignments, and too much activity going on in university that really demands my complete attention. I used to be able to multitask, but really, I think my bad sleeping habits during my 3-month semester break just killed most of my brain cells.


And I kind of take back what I said about the better lecturers this semester. They're not bad, per se, but they rub me the wrong way. And to be honest, there are a lot of ways to rub me the wrong way. =D


Here's a jumble of random updates, though...


I've had my first time singing at Loudspeaker in SS15. The prices are freakin' insane (RM10 for 2 hours, inclusive of one meal and a drink), and the quality was not bad. Variety was awesome too (lacking in some areas, but so many Gackt tracks?!)

Melted smiley face to mark the peanut butter and chocolate tang yuan.
Finally made tang yuan. For those of you who don't know what tang yuan is, they're glutinous flour balls usually served with syrup or soy milk, with various fillings. A traditional dessert served during Chinese festivities, I think. Anyway, my sister and I made chocolate-filled tang yuan in soy milk. Definitely more chocolate the next time!!!


Food post the next time I blog, if I don't find anything else worth blogging about... *sheesh*

Acer Aspire V5-431-1007

At long last, I have a new laptop. And many thanks to those who got it for me! So far, apart from the fact that I'm still discovering how to use Windows 8, IT'S PERFECT!!!

This was how I found my laptop, after getting caught in the rain on the way home. I WAS (AM) SO HAPPY!!!
I found the desktop, but still not knowing how to get the apps to run without it going into what I call the Windows 8 mode - back to the app layout, where it just fills up the entire screen and the entire taskbar is gone, and I can't flip through apps without going back to the start page. At least, I haven't learned how to.

Say hello to my new baby! And my Japanese T-shirt. LOL
So, the Acer Aspire V5-431-1007. It isn't "the" model of laptops out there, nor is it like super powerful or anything, but it works good enough that it fits my requirements:
  • 500GB HDD
  • 4GB RAM
  • Acer Crystal Eye HD webcam
  • Intel Celeron 1.5GHz

And I shall officially name my new baby Aoko. In Japanese it's 青子, meaning "little blue" (although the kanji character means "green" in Chinese). Do I really have to explain why "little blue"? Anyways, this is my first "baby" which has a name. Well, my car and mobile device has their own names, and I can't imagine calling this baby V5. Nope, Aoko is cute. =D


Yes, I know, not the best model ever, but it costs originally only RM1,299, which is pretty much of a bargain for me given that I've reviewed so many other models from other brands that cost more than this baby, and the specs are pretty much the same (Lenovo was the most expensive).


As for the graphics... Well, I don't do much activity in regards to video and/or audio rendering. The most editing I'll do is photo editing for the blog, and that doesn't really need a super advanced video card. And I've given up on MapleStory.

Somewhat better than other Notebooks? Works well enough for me, anyway =D
At just 2.1kg, it's a pretty lightweight laptop, not to mention quite slim - 30% slimmer than conventional notebooks, but it still retains the quality of a good laptop (a bit knobbly on the actual keyboard, but sturdy all around). The perfect screen size? 14" - big enough that you can see most things without distortions, yet small enough to not be an obnoxious piece of machinery.


Did I mention that it comes in different colors? Mine is in BLUE. It's a freakin' beautiful metallic BLUE!!! In contrast with the black base, keyboard, and battery, it's beautiful...

I can't find any visible speakers on the device, but the sound seems to come from under the keyboard.
The plus is that the audio is awesome. Equipped with Dolby Advanced Audio Virtual SurroundSound, you can actually listen to music and feel like your listening to it via a surround sound system! The first track I played on this baby was Davide Sonar's Natural - it was BLISS!!! And you hear a lot more audio detail than with usual speakers!

1. the port where you stick in the dual-port cable (read below) for internet and projector connections
2. HDMI port
3. USB 3.0 port (much faster file transfers than the normal USB 2.0s)
4 & 5. 2x USB 2.0 ports
6. audio jack
The device comes with 2 USB 2.0 ports, and one USB 3.0 port, plus an HDMI port as well. The multicard reader is located at the front left of the device. While my old one used a push-spring method to take out the plastic piece designed to keep out the dust, you might need to tilt your device backwards to pull out the plastic thingiemajig with your finger.

The special 'cable' that allows your V5 to connect an ethernet cable, and also a projector cable.
And there is no RJ-45 jack, nor is there any jack to connect a projector - these two come in a separate cable. Which is a pain, somewhat, because you have to bring along a complete separate cable if you want to connect any of these two cables.

Insert a small pointed object, then pull following the arrow's direction to release the battery.
The battery made me do a double take, though. Putting it in was simple enough, but there was no typical "pull-me" lever visible on the underside of the laptop. At close inspection, there was this small crevice, with a small hole in it - this is the lever to release the battery. Simply pull, the battery will be released, and a gentle pull will release the battery completely.


At first glance, the laptop is a sleek piece of beauty - with a sleek design, coming in different colors, and with pretty good specs, but upon closer inspection, some parts of the device look a bit flimsy - unsanded plastic edges, and a somewhat (to me) off-set trackpad (loving the size of it, though).


But overall, it's pretty, it's useful, and above all, it serves it's purpose, even if it's not the creme de la creme of its range of laptops (I've seen a lecturer using a similar model, and also a classmate using a 15.6" model from the same series).

Monday, April 8, 2013

First rant post of 2013

I need to rant again.


A lot of people seem to want to say a lot of unnecessary things recently.


I follow a lot of make-up pages on Facebook, and they update their albums regularly with photos of make-up looks that others have posted up, so as to share inspiration and ideas. If there is no variety, there will be a high chance that visitation numbers will be 0. And make-up is another art altogether, hence, there is wearable, and creative make-up.


Creative make-up looks are more rare, because there are fewer people with the kind of creativity and patience to put the look together. But when they do, it usually comes out as a beautiful work of art, and anyone with any sense would know that this was done to satisfy the need of creative output (you could wear it out, if you're daring enough).


Why do you feel the need to open your big fat mouth to say that it's ugly? It's freakin' gorgeous, unless you have a completely different psychology.


And after so many years of reading Xiaxue, of writing posts for my own blog, that I wouldn't know when and when not to say things, and also what to and what not to post up? Here's my excuse: my inner Libra compels me to make things public - some things. And it's not like I'm slandering: I'm just stating an honest to God fact. It's not like I'm making fun of him, I just posted a picture of him. I know the consequences of slandering people online, and of course, I wouldn't want to be the subject of ridicule and embarrassment online. I will not do to others what I want not done to me.


I know better than that. And this is my blog - the first reason I wanted one was so that I have a place to rant. Believe it or not, not many people care. And writing in a small, private book isn't satisfying enough.


Rant over.

Sunday, April 7, 2013

The start of semester 3

Well, university has started again. The classes seem to be less fun and more work now, because we're starting to get bored - already. At least, I can only speak for myself. But I guess I could say for now that we have pretty good lecturers as compared to *ahem* some past semesters.

One group for each subject, regardless of whether or not they're official.
The first thing I would like to mention: I have 5 subjects this semester (should have had 6, but they f**king dropped me out of Japanese class on the "first come first serve basis" more on this later). We have a different Facebook group for each and every subject. SRSLY?! I have no idea how to keep track of things now. (Thankfully, I've finalized the decision for my laptop, and now we're just waiting for C.O.D)


Keeping track of classes and whatnot would be hell from now on... But in a way, it's better, because now it's more hands-on, and you're forced to take initiative. *shrugs*


Now about Japanese class. I believe I've blogged about it before (I have the memory span of a fish, now I understand Dory from Finding Nemo). A lot of people were dropped from the class, because there's a certain limit to how many students can enter, and enrolment follows the first come, first serve basis.


But for some s**tty reason, many people who registered for the class first were dropped. My group of friends, all of which who registered for the class the moment registration was available, we all rejected but one. And they weren't kind in letting us know: just a Word document, with a crappy "you're rejected message", and a list of our IDs. Not even any glamour that Taylor's documents usually have.


And the documents I have to download? Well, gotta get used to it, and also trying to get used to shorter blog  posts. Fellow friend Brian See seems to like short posts more.


I'm still contemplating whether to renew my gym membership, though... I ditched the thought because I wanted to cut down on my "expenses" (repayment for my Galaxy Note, and for 50% of my new laptop), but I seem to be losing control... I stepped on the scale just now: 58.8KG WTFF! MOSQUITOES! Y U NO SUCK FAT?!


Till the next time I find something else to blog about!

Thursday, April 4, 2013

Yadah Bubble Deep Cleanser

A facial cleanser was the first thing I was taught to use when I was about 10 years old, when I started breaking out like crazy. Milk, gel, regular, scrubs, etc. I've used the lot. But this foam cleanser is something really on its own.


I first came to know Yadah when I saw a few of my blogger friends write about their experience at an event that involved Yadah products. And I took a stroll of their Facebook page, and became interested in their line of products. Coincidentally, my current cleanser (L'Occitane's Angelica cleanser) has run out, so it was time for a new one!

Made in Korea. One of the best cleansers I've used.
I introduce you to Yadah's Bubble Deep Cleanser. Available at Stage, Stage Asia, and SaSa outlets, for RM49 (150ml bottle with a foaming pump). Click into their Facebook page for more info~ The thing about Yadah products is that they contain natural ingredients from plants and herbs, the key ingredient being opuntia ficus (something), which is a rare type of cactus with beautifying properties.

Mine came free with two tiny bottles of Vitamin Emulsion and Vitamin Toner respectively! I've yet to try them out, though...

The Bubble Deep Cleanser says:

Amino-acid surfactant originated from plants makes an abundance of bubbles, cleanses the skin effectively without irritation. The extracts of Pountia Ficus, Purslane, Magnolia keep the skin clean and moisturized, control the pores, blackheads and excess sebum.


I find that the keyword here is "help". It doesn't say that it will eliminate blackheads and clogged pores, but will help control them. And I have to agree with that: ever since I've used the Yadah Bubble Deep Cleanser, my problem with clogged pores have not become even more serious like it usually does over a few days.


What I mean to say is, my blackheads grow day by day, until there's an unsightly bump where the blackhead is, and it doesn't disappear until my fingertips get tingly and I pop it out. But using the Bubble Deep Cleanser, they don't grow any more - like the product says, it controls the blackheads and clogged pores.

Super-dense foam. This amount is enough to wash the entire face and neck!
On to the product itself: the bottle comes with a foaming pump, which turns the liquid in the bottle into foam as you pump it out. And these aren't the quickly-disappearing, sparse bubbles that you get from some other foaming cleansers, but it's thick, dense, and fine, which is excellent to get into the pores to get rid of the clogged sebum, oil, and whiteheads!


It's also lightly scented - a light, somewhat citrus-y scent to the foam, which makes cleansing your face with the foam feel like a complete luxury! And no, I'm not exaggerating. I bought the product myself, and I'm writing this because I actually do feel that this is a rather inexpensive, yet somewhat luxurious facial wash!


So down to the pros and cons:

Pros:
  • quite inexpensive, compared to products from L'Occitane and The Body Shop
  • cute packaging - basic white bottles and tubes, with cute cartoon characters
  • easy-to-open, hygienic pump
  • small amount of foam is enough to cleanse the entire face
  • "durable" foam bubbles that don't disappear after a few seconds of massaging
  • pleasant, but somewhat strong scent
  • actually does as it promises
Cons:
  • relatively limited
  • is quite expensive if you're on a limited budget
  • most information on the bottle is in Korean

All in all, I do find that this is a good product worth investing in, and when used in conjunction with substantial other products (toner, moisturizer, serums), and regular scrubs and masks, near-perfect, clear skin is achievable!!!