Just a tenant.

So next Friday is the 31st of Dec, the last day of 2010, and we will have a guest coming over to stay at our place. Not one, but two to be precise. It's my mum's friend's daughter, X, who will be putting up at our place to end off her "farewell trip" with her "good friend". Now this "good friend" is a mysterious American guy whom X likes but has the disapproval of X's parents - someone whom we have never met. It's nice to know that mum is now more open to having strangers put up at our place right? Naturally, since one would think that might pave the way for when my friends who visit Singapore in the future? But, mum says that she will not allow for that because she doesn't trust strangers - yet she said she trusts X to make the right friends because she trusts her friend to have brought up her daughter well! She says she is only allowing this guy to stay here because she doesn't know how to say "no" to her friend's daughter. But she can say no to her own daughter, because "this is HER house and she has the power the make the decisions". I obviously, am just a tenant. 'Nuff said.

Search for the perfect one

Since we decided on a DIY wedding, I did a little research for the "perfect wedding dress". Dreams of looking regal and elegant in a tailor-made wedding gown...turned into this!!!Initially found it a steal at a tailor-rental shop, for just $150 for 72hours rental! But the more i looked at it the more i felt it too far off from my ideal dress - it was more cute than regal or elegant! The practical cheapo in me however, was resigned to this...

Until I met up with my makeup artist! :p She recommended we visit this other bridal studio whose prices were "reasonable". That was it. A "let's just take a look and see what they have to offer..." turned out to be full of pleasant surprises! :)

It was down to 2 unanimous favourites that we had to choose from. Tough choice! First up was this VERA WANG gown!!Can't believe I actually got to try on a Vera Wang gown in this lifetime!! >.< The skirt's simply dreamy huh? Simply love the back of this dress - doesn't the cut resemble one of my dream designs (left most)? ;)

But, in the end we decided on this more sensual, womanly look that I think my future hubby prefers :pHa, and doesn't it bear a striking resemblance to another of my dream designs (middle one) too? ;p

And there's more! Haha if you're not already bored of seeing pictures of me.. :p Again, I got suckered into wedding splurges with promises of cheaper packages, so we decided to just try on an evening gown. Just one. And we were hooked. I was skeptical initially because turquoise is not my usual colour, but we all loved it! It fitted me so snugly and even has a toga strap that makes it even more special :)

Finally... TA-DA!!Originally intended to get a cheongsam for the tea ceremony but came across this lovely set at the studio. Don't we look adorable? ;p

A great big thanks to Pammie who so patiently sat through it all =)

Case of the Ninja Auntie Brigade in Singapore

So we were happily queuing for tau huay at a slow-moving queue one day when suddenly, out of nowhere, an auntie had sneaked up from behind us and cut our queue! The service staff did not notice that we'd come first, and we let it pass since she was an old lady. Yet just minutes after that, another (slightly younger) auntie tried to sneak up on us and cut our queue again! Luckily this time the service staff AND another lady queuing behind us noticed this and told her to queue up :pAnd it happened again!! This time while queuing for ridiculously expensive yong tau foo at Food Republic, a woman in her 50s sneaked up from behind and shoved her bowl into the cashier's hands just as i was going to hand mine over...The cashier saw that i was upset, so she reminded the ninja auntie to queue up next time but still served her first :s Yet the shameless ninja auntie pretended as if she did not hear, or did nothing wrong!! :s :s :s If she'd at least apologized...

Happy Halloween :D

It's Halloween again, and time for a break! ;p Not that we care much about the tradition behind this festival. It's just a chance for us to let our hair down and have fun! ;) This year, i only found out about the party 3 days before the event because i am not on FB anymore, and have been spending most of my time these days doing labwork or checking FA results in the sequencing room :( But it turned out well in the end as i had a sudden spark of inspiration while taking the bus home:
Fortunately, i managed to find 2 other very sporting girls to join me (was already considering a Lara Croft outfit if i didn't manage to find members)! Here's our look:It might not be half as theatrical as the real thing but i think we pulled it off pretty well on a low budget ($2 x 3 tablecloths from Daiso and one pack of multi-coloured feathers from Spotlight. Most expensive thing was the lipstick!) ;) Good job girls! :D It was really fun coming up with ideas on how to make the costumes :))

Some other costumes of the night included Ben's "Coffeeshop Uncle" look which he pulled off pretty well:
The cutest outfit of the night had to be this cup of KOI bubble tea:Check out the super adorable koi hat on his head!! *eeps* Never seen such a cute hat!

And then there's the boy's new look :D Doesn't he look handsome??

Hehe actually the fringe was borrowed from Barbarella, who was looking for her ang moh boyfriend :p

Halfway during the night, a fight broke out between the knight and the cat, while the terrified pumpkin kid tried to flee from the chaos!

Fuzzy Science

Was introduced by 2 friends to this interesting Ig Nobel Prize recently - It is a parody of the Nobel Prize, that gives recognition to scientific research that makes people laugh.. then think?? Now since i've been off Facebook, there is nothing much for me to do online but read blogs and do workkkk! And more blogging too, since i sometimes have the urge to share things, like now ;)

When writing a paper, abstract of sorts, what is one thing that i consult so frequently? A thesaurus! For the lack of a strong vocabulary. :p Someone apparently does not know what that is though! ;p
http://improbable.com/2010/10/20/fuzzy-fuzzy-abstract/

Mental torture :(

Sigh. For those of you who don't know, i had another argument with mum again a few weeks back, and she is still really mad at me, totally ignoring me over what started as a small matter. Not again. Sigh. I think out of 365 days in a year, she is probably
- angry + cold war for 300 days
- angry for 45 days
with me!
Now we are at the first option. :( Seriously, i hate confrontations. And i hate cold wars too. I much prefer peace. Luckily i have a terrible memory (prolly getting Alzheimer's soon). Unfortunately for me though, mum has dedicated 95% of her memory to bearing grudges and can dig up horrible things i did more than 10 years ago (which i am ashamed to admit having done, but i have!). :(( And i'll say it here. Yes i used to argue alot with my sister and say mean things, but don't we all fight with our siblings? One incident i vaguely remember was arguing with my sis over the use of the toilet, and things got so heated up and i remember giving her a tight slap on her face because i felt she was rude. These are things i'd forgotten, but jolted into memory thanks to none other than my mother. And i really regret having done that..I am not sure if my sister still remembers and bear grudges against me for these things.. But, i am certain i am not the same person i was more than 10 years ago. Having gone through an extra decade of life, experienced the ways of the world (albeit my small comfy little shelter in Singapore) and being humbled by many people around me, why does she still harp on all these things that are already over? When will it be time to move on? :(

Each time she will write a very long reprimanding letter to me. And i dread reading those hurtful, nasty letters. These letters get me down really bad i tell you :( The last letter that i can recall, it started with "It's all your fault." Tell me, who in the right mind would want to read such a letter?? I read it out of curiosity, out of the fact that i wanted to know what she thinks so that we could resolve it. But it's so hard. Nasty accusations the letters are full of. What happened to all the things i did out of love and respect for her? Taken for granted or squeezed out of her brain by the 95% of resentment i suppose... Sigh. It was supposed to be a happy day for me, having finally completed 4 days of tiring fieldwork in a row and finally taking a break tomorrow. But now the thought of the letter is just such a depressant... :(((

Regardless of what she thinks, i have no resentment for her, and i still do respect and treat her as my mother. I think i am more tired to retaliate or do anything about it anymore because it seems embedded in her mind that i am a selfish, ungrateful wretch. Nothing i do now will appease her i guess. And unfortunately, i think our relationship has deteriorated to a state where there is very little trust. Add that to the daily friction because we are still living together and have such different views on life, and life becomes quite unbearable. Wish i had the guts to just move out to live like my sister. :( Will she only cherish me then when i'm gone, just like how she always sides my brother and sister now that they are far away from her reach?

Akan datang!

Just started on our new project :)
More on it when we have done more!