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Wednesday, July 24, 2013

My amazing fall

Ever seen someone get over 19 wounds by cycling? Well, I did. Actually, I fell while cycling, so there's a slight difference. =P


Here's what happened: we were cycling downhill, and I was carefully utilizing the back brakes to keep the speed in check. I let go of the brakes for a while to gain a little speed, and being not used to the strength of the brakes, I pumped the back brakes a little too hard and (according to 'expert' opinion) the back wheel skidded and I landed generally on my left side... on tarmac, for about a meter or so.




And the awesome thing is even my head got it, but thankfully, it isn't serious. A couple of deep but short gashes at my brow, scratches on my left temple extending all the way into the hairline, almost to the back of the head.


Basically, I'm really thankful that I didn't have to end up mummified in the ICU, and just walked away with multiple (painful) skin wounds. I think the trip to the clinic was the funniest time in Jasmine's life LOL. Who else laughs like a retarded hyena (and verbally fucking everything) when she's getting her wounds cleaned? Me. Hi.


Everyone was saying "how the hell did you manage to fall?", and "how the hell are you not bawling your eyes out?" I mean, it was painful, don't get me wrong, but it wasn't really THAT excruciating that it would summon tears. And besides, laughter releases hormones in your bloodstream that acts as painkillers! =D


Am recovering now, though showers are beyond excruciating, and I only can sleep on one side (partially comfortably right now). Almost every movement hurts, but I'm still thankful that I didn't pump the front brakes, and I didn't land in the ICU. And I can officially declare that the love of my life is Jasmine~ =3

Sunday, July 14, 2013

Michelle Phan

*A lot of links in this post links back to a Tumblr page dedicated to Mish.

Source.
The most subscribed person on YouTube, and the biggest name in the beauty guru world. Vietnamese Michelle was more or less the catalyst to my interest in make-up.


From using a webcam on her MacBook, to getting HD videos with professional lighting done and professionally editing them, she's gained a lot of fans, subscribers, and of course haters.


From the girl next door, she's now the founder of ipsy, a beauty network which provides subscribers (US and Canada only) with Glam Bags every month for a fixed price. Inside the glam bags are exclusive, full-sized beauty products, which are worth much more than the fixed price.


Now some loyal fans (nicknamed the Michelle Minions) are happy with her, supportive with everything, and is always melting at every word Mish says. Then there are those who have fallen out of the fandom for various reasons (to be addressed later). Some are like me, who just watches some of her videos (usually just tutorials or relevant DIY videos), but is a bit wary of her style now.


Not to say upgrades are bad, but she's lost the general "Michelle style" that she used to have. I remember her older videos always had Late Night Alumni or Kaskade music, or Wakeshima Kanon music. That kind of defined her for me - a good mix between laid-back American girl-next-door and gamer otaku.


Now she's like superficially narcisstic. I am happy for her, that she managed to fulfill her dream to buy a house for her mother, and be sponsored by so many different brands, and have such a dream-like boyfriend (Dominique Capraro Thoeni, whom she met in Paris, which inspired the Rouge in Love production).


The thing that really bugged me, though, is that the people she collaborates with just vanish into thin air after a while. Remember when she tried to branch out to fashion and hair, and brought out Chriselle Lim and Krista Bradford and were so close with them? Well, Chriselle seems to be doing quite well now, but Krista just kinda melted into the rest of the world.


She also recently did a video with Swoozie, but the last time they appeared together was... god knows when. Daven Mayeda too. They just kind of fizzled ever since they stopped appearing in Mish's vids for like until now.


Oh, yeah. And she used to have the iqqu Acne Serum, and also her iqqu brushes. Those kind of went missing too...


There's also the assumptions about her chin. It's really obvious, even to some loyal fans like me, that something happened to her chin. Just look at her old videos, and watch her newer ones. You would have to be under some kind of voodoo to not notice it. And her claim about the Invisalign being responsible for the chin change... I would buy it, IF the change wasn't so dramatic.


I mean, I still love her, and I love her (older) videos, it's just that her videos now are like... quite random. I miss the old Mish, transforming herself into Nana and doing creative looks instead of sticking to contour shadows and winged liner.


People change, I'll admit, especially that her life is so successful. But it would be nice to see the old her once in a while. =)

Sunday, July 7, 2013

Lines and connections

Relationships aren't as simple as you thought they were. As a child, our mum and dad are married, our aunts and uncles are married to each other, and that's that. Even when your much-older-than-you cousin gets a girlfriend, it's just him and her. How complicated could it be?


As you grow up, you start to realize that relationships aren't linear - they are a web woven by a demented spider. Practically everyone is connected to everyone. You first notice this in kindergarten, when one of your friends tell you not to be friends with another little girl for whatever reason, and you're standing there dumbfounded. Should you listen to her? Should you defy her? Or should you try to be the peacekeeper and continue being friends with both, but somewhat secretly?


Slowly, you realize there are real friends, and fake friends. As well as boys who want you for you, and want you just for your sex. You start to realize there's so much gossip and bad-mouthing behind backs of people you see are best of friends with each other. You realize that drama is everywhere, even with those people who say that they hate it.


The clear connecting line you used to draw in kindergarten to connect people in your family tree doesn't really exist with people outside of the family tree. They might suddenly fuzz out, or go in a completely different and unfathomable direction.


Friendships start to become something like buried treasure, that you stumble upon, and keep if they're good, but at any point of time, someone could just come up to you and take it away by force. People around you start saying "friends come and go" as you share your worries with them about other friends who suddenly distanced themselves from you.


Now enter the thing that all music people make music about - LOVE. I mean, it's a hormone released by the brain, big deal. NOT THAT SIMPLE.


Strange thing, love. And for that matter, boy-girl relationships in general. Referring to the example I mentioned, or just use Sleeping Beauty as your referring example. Boy meets girl, they get together, happily ever after. This shit is rare to say the least. Human behavior is the most unpredictable - the most predictable people can do the most unpredictable things.


You know that girl, who says she loves her man so much, and has made all the promises, all the plans, everything. Two weeks later, she's bought new lingerie for her new date. The guy who's been loyal to his girlfriend for over 10 years, wedding bells already just days away, and suddenly there's another one added into the equation.


It's not unheard of, and it's a particularly nice twist of events that drama producers like to add in just before they slot in a damned commercial. Either it's because it's a common thing that happens in real life that the producers use that story line, or the fact that people have come to want a movie-like life so much that they're grown accustomed to adapting drama story lines into their lives, no one knows.


This is the most confusing thing I've encountered. And there exists such a thing as to confusion of feelings, at least, to oneself. You fall in love with a girl, even if you spend more time apart than together, and you suddenly find other girls you've never noticed before, who might be able to offer you more than your love. You don't love them, but you relish the attention showered upon you. When really, you're just another human craving for attention, weak when faced with new experiences. Your heart really is still with her. And hopefully, her heart is still beating and craving for you.


A temporary desire is never a match for something you've been fighting to keep alive for months. Think carefully. By all means, do as your heart desires, but watch before you fall. Don't be like me - a wreck of emotions.

Monday, July 1, 2013

Spending on Sunday

I haven't had a Sunday out with friends in a long time... We headed to Mid Valley at around 14:00 to get some event info for our assignment. And we did, and that was the most mundane part of the day, which took a maximum of, what, 10 minutes? We just needed a couple of photos...


We found Evan and Jeanna in Bershka, and before that they were in MNG. Overall, I'm not a shopping person, especially if a T-shirt costs over MYR30 in a single boutique (and most of the boutiques we visited in that day were expensive places). Which is why I'm partially bitching about my stupid examination timetable which placed two papers in one day, and the exact time when my mum and sister planned another shopping trip to Bangkok...

I had a choice between red, pink, salmon, gray, white, this baby blue, and black. Cropped T-shirt with folded sleevelets from Bershka - MYR18.90 (on sale).
ANYWAYS, I found multicolored crop-tops on sale at Bershka, and I was like "I NEED DIS SO MUCH". My wardrobe has not really been tailored to my body mods yet, so I'm trying to stock up on more cropped pieces. =P The next thing I've to do is to figure out how to wear this...


I discovered that Topshop make-up is pretty inexpensive, especially when you compare it to The Face Shop. (my opinion LOL) Perhaps that'll be my stop the next time I need to restock on cosmetics~ Miss Selfridge, ZARA, and F21 didn't hold much of my interests.


And my hunt for new oversized aviators is still on - my manliness in handling my bags broke my loyal pair from Nichii. F21 and Vincci Accessories had some I wanted, but over my price budget (I'm a freakin' cheapskate) and not really what I'm looking for (I liked the ones with pale pink metallic frames, though).

Plan b.'s menu - a stack of printed papers attached to an embossed wooden board with thick rubber bands.
We had some sort of a late lunch at Plan b. (a place I've never eaten before this, as with a lot of other places). The stuff was ... expensive, but not bad. Service was alright, quality and taste was good; it's just the price that pretty much puts me off - something like dining at Delicious.

Moroccan lamb meatball (spagehettini) - MYR24.00 (subject to service charge and government tax)
I ordered a spaghettini with lamb meatballs in Moroccan style. I can't exactly pinpoint the taste profile, but it had a very nice, smokey, Middle-Eastern spice flavor throughout the pasta. The meatballs were... perfect. The entire dish was complimented by grilled eggplant and grilled cherry tomatoes. Overall: not too oily, not too saucy, but not too dry, either - a perfect balance.

Italian iced coffee - MYR10
The coffee was a rip-off, though... "Italian Iced Coffee". There was no ice (there's a different between a 'cold' drink and an 'iced' drink), and was bitter for my taste. So I took Jeanna's unused simple syrup meant for her lychee lime frosty and sweetened my coffee. Sorry if I killed any coffee-drinking traditions here... =x

Win Aun's Caramel Banana Chocolate Cake.
Win Aun randomly ordered a caramel banana chocolate cake. It just sounds so... calorie-heavy. It looked kinda pretty, garnished with various caramel-coated nuts (almond, walnut,and macadamia, I think), but I didn't have a taste of it.


We spent the rest of the day watching Jeanna shop. Yeah, that's pretty much it. I'm now enjoying a nice dose of Davide Sonar tracks~