Birthday 2013 Part 1 - USS

It's a belated post and there're things I'm bz with, but I think this year's birthday is blog-worthy. It's better late than never. :) 

I used to look forward to my birthday every year when I was young because it's one special day of the entire year where you get exclusive (but short-spanned) attention from all your classmates, relatives and family. Apart from me being just a tad more attention-seeking, I think anyone out there would love to be cared for, to be showered attention and love on. Attention aside, we would expect birthday presents and thoughtful surprises when we were young and materialistic. Of course la, who doesn't fancy freebies! The more friends you have, the more freebies you get on your birthday. ^^

But well, I wasn't a top popular kid in school, so, very sadly I don't receive many bday surprises and presents. So, I grew up and learnt how to be satisfied with the blessings from people who bother to wish me well for my day, my career, my life, my looks and my future. Not only that, I also began to not feel so gian about bday presents anymore because I don't seem to lack anything after becoming self-sufficient and more independent. Lol, i'm not exactly self-consoling as I did grow to have a super thoughtful boyfriend and a hell lot of close friends who love me so much and would plan birthday surprises for me, send me long sincere messages, bring me out for yummy treats and buy me presents and shopping vouchers. I REALLY APPRECIATE THESE THOUGHTFUL GESTURES. I LOVE MY FRIENDS AND BF. However, I tend to observe that birthdays are no longer like before, at least not as shallow and forgettable anymore. Right now, I'm in a love-hate relationship with the upcoming birthdays from this year onwards. It's liberating to think that you are finally mature enough to earn a living for yourself and buy whatever you yearn for when your age begins to start with the digit '2' and onwards. With an older age, comes great responsibilities too. Studies are history and you step out into the world notorious for its politics, stress, deadlines, mornings, traffic jams, fatigue and what-not. Yea, birthdays don't sound as innocent and joyous as before anymore. 

Honestly, those words above are my true sentiments on the meaning of birthdays and how it has evolved through the years. But of course, every year I STILL ENJOY MY BIRTHDAYS IMMENSELY LA. :D 

With my optimism and enthusiasm about life, I highly doubt that I'd overly burden myself with the negatives of growing up because I am one who EMBRACE CHALLENGES AND WOULD LIVE LIFE TO THE FULLEST. ;) Have y'all read enough? Time for pictures? I'd say AYE! ;)

This year, I turned 23. It's the biggest number under the 'Age' section that I've seen on my own application and registration forms, as well as in my resume. O.O Actually, i have to say that Leonard, the bf was very sweet to have planned something very special and different from before. What I was told was that he researched and reserved a table at an exclusive and expensive fine-dining restaurant to give me a treat. To date, I've yet to find out which restaurant it is. BECAUSE I WAS SUCH A LOUSY GF. Instead of feeling all appreciative and fortunate, I made a fuss about the money that wouldn't be justified having spent on a meal. Frankly, I THINK I WAS OUT OF MY MIND. :/ I'm so bloody curious now about where he'd wanted to bring me. D: 

I must be really cray to have requested for a USS roller coaster day as opposed to the atas expensive dinner. I had really intense craving for adrenaline rush during my birthday week and pestered Leonard non-stop to maximize our day by fulfilling the birthday girl's wish. 

End up...

Lunch at Loui's NY Pizza Parlor.

Bee looking really cute and pleasant despite his ah beng hair color. 

Hawaiian pizza cum tiramisu predator ;)

USS is currently Sesame-street-themed. Look at the cute cupcakes! :)

Slightly more pricey than the retail cupcakes cost, but then again it's USS. 

After lunch, Leo and I each carried a bloated tummy and went for the mummy ride, transformer ride, treasure hunter ride and Shrek the 4D movie while waiting for the food to be digested. As lame as ever was the mummy ride which we had taken 573189354 times before, so we posed for the photo snapshot at the drop by kissing. I loved the effect of it actually because as others were shutting their eyes tight or screaming at the top of their lungs, we were posing shamelessly, aloof of the short freefall drop. :p The transformer ride was still breathtaking. ^^ Treasure hunter was lame and we got sprayed at by the donkey's sneezes 4 freaking times at the Shrek movie. -___________- 

What's worth mentioning is this........

MONSTER ROCK LIVE ROCK MUSICAL! :)

Oh gosh! I cannot believe that after heading to USS for (again) 5962878785964 times, I haven't watched this awesome bombz before despite being so curious of what it's showing at the 3 fixed daily timings. O.O
For those who haven't watched, there's live singing done by a hyperactive and talented group of 'monsters' who'd be dancing while showcasing their impressive vocals. I really enjoyed the R&B theme for the musical, as well as the visual effects we were exposed to. The experience was indeed rewarding.

So after the musical, we thought we were ready for the best ride in USS, Battlestar Galatica. There was no queue at all even though the timer at the entrance of the ride shows that we gotta wait up to 5 to 10min. The moment we reached the end of the non-existent queue, we were ushered in to waiting area just before we can board the ride. SUPER FAST I TELL YOU! I managed to open my eyes at both the crazy freefall drop for both the Human and Cylon rides when i didn't dare to prior to that day. Many have been curious which one is the "scarier" ride. In my opinion, both are not, but i'd say Cylon gives me stronger adrenaline rush due to the 3 360 flips. Super awesome! I remember taking it at night during Halloween 2012 and I thought to myself that Singapore should have a theme park that operates till late night! Shiokkkkk x10000 were the 2 instances when the blue carriage enters the cooling mist zones in the dark. You don't expect anything, you don't see anything. Just feel the wind and fly. <3

Yups, so when we THOUGHT that we were ready to challenge in the Galatica, I emerged from the exit feeling nauseous. -________________- max. I blame the hugeass slice of pizza. -.-


We became victims of tourist pricing at USS. Look what I've gotten below.
A $4 bottle of apple juice which hardly quenched our thirst. Still, it was refreshing amidst the crazy sun.
The afternoon weather in Singapore really spares nobody. We perspired so much. :/ 

My thoughtful boyfriend who smuggled churros into our rest point, Starbot cafe located just beside the transformer ride entrance. To my disappointment, the churros was overdone and was too tough to munch on. It's freaking expensive, about $3-4. So much for craving for it the moment I stepped into USS that day. -.-

After a few more rounds of roller coasters, we found ourselves playing "scissors paper stone" on the rides.

Yea, the adrenaline rush dropped exponentially every time we re-board the rides. Finally, we got to the point of wanting to leave the theme park even though we had initially wanted to fully maximize the entrance ticket by staying till it closes. 

Pretending to be tourists just before departure. 

I'll continue blogging about Marine Life Park and SEA Aquarium for my birthday part 2 post! :) 

THANK YOU LEONARD MA. 

I CAN FIND NO BETTER GUY THAN YOU WHO SUITS ME SO PERFECTLY. <3 

Birthdays are overrated. Yet, I can't help but enjoy them. Thankful.

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One of the coolest advertisements: Samsung Eco-bubble

There is something very interesting which i'd came across recently that I'd love to share with the fellow family-oriented friends and readers! ^^ I ain't no housewife quality but i do care about whether my family members enjoy the comfort that they deserve to experience in their daily life. 

Normally, I hardly give a second look at the household electronic products that I have at home, neither would I pay much attention to my family's decision when buying electrical appliances at Courts or Harvey Norman. However, this very special video advertisement managed to grasp my interest and brought me to look it up online. It came to me as quite a surprise to learn and understand about the recent advancement in technology in our household appliances, of which a popular example would be the air fryer. The science has become so advanced that you need not add any amount of oil to have food that tastes pan-fried! 

Today, I'm going to introduce to you a new electronic product which doesn't require any amount of water to have your clothes washed! As you know that the resources of the world are depleting at a rate too quick for the water renewal rate to catch up. It's not very visible to us but we all know that this issue is something dire to be taken notice of. Samsung, one of the leading companies with the best technologies and a large community of loyal supporters and product users, recently came up with a new washing machine that demands great attention on. 

Do not belittle this washing machine.
Instead of the conventional water usage in the common washing machine, the unique ecobubble technology creates thousands of tiny bubbles that envelopes your clothes in a foam of cushion and therefore penetrates your apparels more thoroughly and efficiently up to 40 times the effectiveness of other washing machines. 

What's also worth the applause is the energy-saving concept the designers embedded in this remarkable electronic appliance. A 15°C ecobubble wash gives the same results as a 40°C cottons wash, giving this machine an impressive A+++ energy rating. With less electricity and energy consumed in your daily housework, you also get to save a huge sum in your monthly bills. 

Another perk of installing this high-tech appliance at your home is that it is quiet, thanks to the Samsung Quiet Drive system, whereby the motor is fixed straight to the rear of the drum, such that there are less moving parts and less noise. Finally, you get to enjoy your afternoon nap without the annoying and loud spinning movement in the washing machine in your kitchen. I know right. 

I'm sure many of you spend a huge amount of money shopping for pretty and top-quality dresses and apparels. I do care about the sustainability of the fabric quality of my dresses and clothing too. Instead of hand-washing your clothes, this ecobubble washing machine features the unique Diamond Drum technology that minimizes wear and tear and keeps your fabrics safe from snags, while creating the perfect environment for gentle but effective washing. It's such a joy to have lasting limited edition clothes staying in your wardrobe for a good few years isn't it? :)

Now now, this is the part that captivated your attention to this particular blog post - 

the video advertisement. 

Watch to find out how a huge bear surprised the advert photoshoot crew near Manning Park, BC!!

Definitely one of the more exciting video ad i've watched. :)

It's nice to have everyone play a part in sustaining what is left of this earth - be it the scientists, designers and the household appliance consumer. It'd be a wise choice of purchase for any energy-conserving family unit. 

Save the planet, enjoy the bubbles. ;)

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#1 - Fast way to lose fats: Sprints

Hmm life has been a lil more chillax for me these few days. Realised that i'm really someone quite hard to please cos i complain whether or not I am busy.

 

Anyway, right now I'm trying very hard to fight the lazy monster residing in every part of me. So far so good because I just went for sprints and runs for the past few days, in the afternoon somemore. Even though the distance covered isn't very wow-ish or impressive, I managed to come out of my own comfort zone of running long distance to doing sprints, of which all my bros, guy friends and boyfriend are telling me that it's the most effective way of losing fats. Initially, i didn't push myself to due to lack of motivation and fear of time wastage. But alright, advice heeded and damn it is effective. Honestly, it's not as mentally-tiring as long-d and the aches you get are much more satisfactory because you really strain yourself. I am already enjoying the soreness in the muscles all over my body, especially at my non-existent-but-slowly-forming abs area and the thighs, calves and shin areas. :) Fellow friends who are dissatisfied with their body and love exercising, should totally try doing sprints.

 

The routine for my next few weeks would be to do 10x100m sprints + 2x400m run at least 3 times a week! :) It'll only take you about 30min including rest time between sets. What I did:

 

1. 2 rounds on the track to warm up

2. Stretch adequately and fully every muscle that was strained from neck to ankle

3. Get the playlist of your itouch/phone ready

4. Sprint a distance of 100m at your best speed, imagine that you're competing in a competition

5. Walk 100m back to your starting point, following the tempo of your music to keep the momentum going

6. Once you reach your starting point, re-sprint the set 4 more times. Your speed will drop after each set, but just keep doing it till 5 sets are completed

7. Rest for 3 minutes, drink water and hydrate yourself

8. Finish up the last 5 sets. Remember to push yourself to sprint at full speed even though you're already perspiring like crazy

9. Lastly and most importantly, STREEEEETTTTCCCCHHHHHH fully and adequately from neck to ankle

10. Go home do something productive and enjoy the muscleaches the following day! ;)

 

As the set will take you around 30min plus minus depending on your own sprinting speed, it's not very time-consuming so I'd advice you to keep to this weekly routine 3-4 times a week and give yourself 1 day to rest for the muscles to recover before resuming the sprints. The time of exercise that I'd suggest is btwn 8-9am before the merciless morning sun hits you or 3-4pm when the sun rests its rays for awhile or 6-7pm before the the sky turns dark. I did my sprints on the running track to be aware of the distance.

 

Unfortunately, I'm aware of 1 area of concern on this exercise: the impact on the knee. My advice for this isn't professional, but it might help for you to take more milk and calcium to boost your bones cos I drink a lot of milk and never had knee issues. Secondly, you can cushion your knee by wearing knee guards if you're already concerned about old age problems. It's never too late to start taking care of your body. ;) Well, I don't think you need to worry about getting stubby legs, because the hope of you attaining a toned butt, a pair of hot and firm legs and leaner overalls makes it worth trying out.

 

Just a short post on something else I'm passionate about - fitness. :) Hope it's helpful!

Do update me if you reap any significant result from doing so! I'll keep my blog updated on my side too! :)

 

Stay active and healthy all!

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[Sponsored/Ad] BRAND’S® InnerShine® Marine Collagen Essence Strip

[Sponsored advertorial]

Are you coincidentally a lazybum + vain, have a sweet tooth, love pink packaging and would spend on facial products to protect your skin like me?

I've got a treat for these people today! :D 

Ir's a treat to your knowledge on an alternative healthy skincare regime that doesn't require you to smear cream all over your face externally but repairs your skin from within by just taking a snack!

The first time I heard the name of this product, I was skeptical about it because a "collagen strip" totally sounds like another type of mask that is meant for conscientious people who bother to take the extra 15min and effort to have the mask on while multitasking. When i work, I am super focused such that I don't like leaving my seat to put on mask or cream or lotion and what-not. But, i do snack while working.

So here's the thing:

As you have known, the skin is the largest organ of your body and a huge percentage of it comprises collagen! I bet some of you don't know right cos initially i also didn't know even though I hear of the word collagen so many times in advertisements. The presence of it is crucial in maintaining the suppleness and elasticity of the skin.

The bad news is that the collagen level of our skin begins to drop at an annual rate of 1.5% when we've reached adulthood. Together with the daily stresses on the skin from the UV radiations in this environment hit by global warming, from smoking, alcohol and pollution, the damage of collagen in our skin escalates. Which also means ageing skin!

I've tried and tested it myself and I'd LOVE to share it when you my friends and readers! :)

The new BRAND’S® InnerShine® Marine Collagen Essence Strip stands out amongst many other collagen
products because it's plush, potent and portable. This collagen strip is in fact a mini packet of consumable jelly in the size of  a 3-in-1 coffee packet. Do you remember your childhood favourite jelly snack? It tastes something like that. Childhood relived! haha..

Anyway, if you're diet-conscious, you don't have to worry about gaining calories here because it's only 12Kcal per strip. The recommended dosage is 1-3 strips daily. Even if you're not home, you get to bring these beauty treat on-the-go because they're so light and convenient to bring around!

LOVE THE DELIGHTFUL KYOHO GRAPE FLAVOUR!!

 Definitely perfect for young, urban and beauty-conscious people who desire for a delicious, fuss-free beauty boost! :) YUMMY WAY TO YOUTHFUL SKIN! :)

More information

* Country of manufacture: Japan

* Ingredients: Vitamin E and Vitamin B3

* Where to find: Exclusively in Watsons

* Retail price: Only $30!

For more updates, promotions, giveaways and fun activities: 
http://www.facebook.com/BrandsInnerShineSG

Psst: Get to win Brands InnerShine hamper just by participating in testimonial reviews!
Check out their facebook now!

 Even the bf likes it! :)
(Sorry for the blurry pic, we were snacking on it on-the-go! ;D)

Take good care of your skin and youth before it's too late. ;)

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[Ziwei's cover] I knew you were trouble - Taylor Swift

[Ziwei's cover]

I have to write about this because firstly, i dedicate my song covers to friends every time i successfully upload one and secondly, this is my first song cover of the year and lastly, TODAY IS MY BDAY!! :D

The reason why I picked this song is cos previously i tried Taylor Swift's Safe and Sound and noticed that the notes in her songs are quite compatible with my range and style. I had been doing slow draggy emo songs for forever and I am sure year 2013 is a good time for a refreshing change. Not only am i going to try new song genres, I'm going to publish songs in "collections". With that, i've been planning for the past 2 weeks about how to conceptualize my covers in the midst of "soul-searching" in search of my own style. 

This "season" for the next 2-3 songs, I'm working on more upbeat songs, be it sad or happy ones. I knew you were trouble is a very deep song. I'd say so cos it took me a relatively longer time to figure the song out. Its melody and tempo are somewhat bubbly and jumpy, which resembles those of a cheerful song, yet its lyrics are portraying a girl realizing that she had been toyed by a guy whom she thought would make her life better and she ended up feeling like a fool and blamed the guy for adding ruins in her life. That's Taylor Swift for you. We all know that her albums are packed 100% love songs. Nothing wrong with that actually, and maybe to attract attention, she's been writing songs that induce people with ambiguous feelings. Frankly, if I became famous singing self-composed love songs, I'd find it hard to deviate away from it.

In this current music video, i included 2 colour themes, blue and red to signify different types of emotions - blue for devastation and red for joy. Furthermore, I kinda injected a slight sense of humour in the video for fun. BECAUSE IT'S MY BDAY AND I DO WHATEVER I WANT. MWAHAHAHA.




Special thanks to DJ Ervin Indigo, one of my Bestbrosforlife for imparting some audio engineering expertise to me even though I've yet to transform into an expert like you. My sound quality did improved right? ;)

Special thanks also to the love of my life, Leonard Ma, for forking time out to do the filming of this MV. I really appreciate your support you gave me even though your interest doesn't lie in music. <3

The most important dedication is to my family- Daddy, mummy, Jun and Li.
I have been freaking bz for these few weeks working on new songs and meeting fellow musician/producers to discuss about future collaborations. I'm sorry that I couldn't be home much to spend time with you all. But, i'm really looking forward to end of Jan and CNY to have no other reasons to leave the house to spend quality time with yall. Oh yea, springcleaning first. <3

I'd very much love to dedicate this song to the GentingGirlies - Amanda, Jessica, Juli, Diana and Jayme~
You girls are such a hyperactive bunch. I'm always always looking forward to upcoming meetups even though I'm not extremely active in group chat. Every outing is like reliving the good old reelity showdown memories! Don't disband please! hahahaha.

Thank you all my friends - T1 juniors, same batch uni mates, powerpsych girl, val wee, misc bball brudders, gentingAP and bbfl for all the love and bday wishes. Not forgetting, those on fb who remembers my bday or bothers to write on my wall. Thousand thanks to have all of you in my life in one way or another. I'll put in my bestest to improve as a singer and keep my passion burning to not disappoint you all! Thanks for being my pillars throughout.

Music updates: I've got 2-3 song collaborations on hand and the people I'm working with are very experienced in their field even though they haven't reached the professional stage. They will soon though!
Look out for a Valentines' day MV in Feb kk! <3

I'd request a small small bday pressie from every reader pretty please? 

Share the MV on twitter and fb for me! 

I would love to spread my hard work to a bigger audience. Thx~

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Day trip to JB, City Square with Genting girlies!

The Genting girlies of Reelity Showdown Season 2 went for a day trip into JB, specifically City Square just last Thu! I got to know of a few more activities that we could do there with the expertise and knowledge of Juli and Jayme. 

Bunny clips loving time :3 So honoured that Jess thought of us when she saw the clips! <3

Nothing much new on the foodie side in JB because I've always known that the food will still be as awesome and cheap. During my first day trip to JB, we had steamboat teppan at Seoul Garden and spent only S$10 for 3 hours of stuffing ourselves with the free flow of buffet food. This time round the genting girls had steamboat again but it's in a personalized steamboat style instead. It's like the concept of Singapore food court's personalized hot pot which you can find in koufu and kopitiam. Super hygienic and I'll talk more about it later with pics ok! 

The new store additions which i realized, include (compared to my first time there) Inglot, Cotton On, Starbucks, The Bag Shop and so on. We didn't really explore the shopping mall much because the 6 of us were stuck in 2 shops mainly - Cotton On and Inglot, shopping for S$12 dresses (vs Sg's S$30) and relatively cheaper and high quality makeup products in an awesome makeup store you can't find in Singapore. 

Also, I didn't realise that City Square has got a Cathay Cineplex too! Each movie ticket only costs less than S$4. Compare that to Singapore's movie ticket cost, it is actually be worth the time to travel into JB for  a 2-3 hour movie, lunch, dinner and some shopping. Initially, we wanted to head to the KTV but decided not to because we were short of time for all those activities we had in mind. So we ended up catching Jacky Chan's CS12 because none of the rest had watched it except me. Eh, I guess I was quite unfortunate because I was seated at a really unpleasant smelling moldy chair whereas the others didn't find anything queer with their own seats. :/ 

After the movie, we shared cabs and headed to a spa nearby 大马花园 Taman Sri Tebrau hawker centre for massage before heading to the hawker centre for dinner. Anyway, I need to elaborate more on the massage. My masseuse was a middle age lady whom i could feel was very experienced. She practically cracked every single joint she could find among my stiff bones and also used different massage methods that made me feel so nua and totally enjoying it. Of course, I didn't stupidly ask for hard massage again. The cost of a 60min full body massage is reasonably priced at about S$30 for its quality service. :)

All out to attract customers and the girls fell for their beautiful floral exterior.

We weren't allow to snap any pic but we didn't care when it comes to camwhore. ;P

Zen Shabu Shabu is the place we went to for lunch! 

Lunch place was suggested by Jayme because she is a frequent visitor of Msia. 

Honey Jelly that was half-priced! 

Tastes exactly, if not better, than Sembawang Baimifen's lime jelly dessert drink! <3

Fried cheese balls!

My lunch set which includes a soup broth, food and carbo sides, of which I got the tunghun.

While the others can better tolerate spiciness, they ordered the signature spicy ma la milk broth as the soup base and i got myself the high-calcium milk broth. No regrets absolutely. Diana and Juli chose the herbal soup, which turns out quite yummy too! 

The liao/ingredients that come together with the set is super colourful isn't it?

Anyway that's not the point. I love the wide variety of vegetables, mushrooms and meat that makes the meal so healthy with all the important vitamins well fed to us. It's really cheap and not sinful at all. ;)

For dinner, we headed to 大马花园 Taman Sri Tebrau hawker centre because Juli claimed that eating there will give us the "feel". Of course, we didn't doubt her at all and true enough, when we reached the destination I immediately felt it. Haha. Anyway, it's not of walking distance from the customs, you gotta cab down. Just tell the cab the name of the hawker centre. :) 

The place is very much like Singapore's hawker centre except that the environment is quite unpolished. Nonetheless, it's still bustling with satisfied diners. I was one of them and am absolutely returning to this hawker centre. :)

The girls followed Juli's advice and ordered all the zi char food like...
Sambal kangkong. 

Dou miao

Tie ban dou fu. Hotplate tofu with runny egg. 

Salted egg prawns! I LOVE THIS AND ITS CREAMINESS. 

Yellow mee as carbo.

THIS WOULD BE THE TOP RECOMMENDATION -
Mai pian crayfish!
We ordered a generous portion of 6 whole crayfishes, of which most of them have egg roes! Super love.
Each and every of them were deep fried to an optimal crispiness and the mai pian ~~ I could eat any fried seafood with mai pian from now onwards! <3

Juli's favourite! Lalaaaaaa~

THE HUGE FEAST!!! 

:D 

I'm definitely heading back to JB before Chinese New Year for some CNY goodie shopping! :D 

Don't hesitate going in if you're looking for some nearby destination for a day trip! :) 

Thanks for reading! <3

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