MEME'S

The car design business is kind of similar.

Opel 2030

Vote and Have Your Say!

My current job has given me the advantage to be up-to-date with the insights in our country that do not get pass the censorship board and published/broadcast on mass media. Trust me, it is not pleasant to know too much; in fact, it actually stressed me up on many occasions last year especially when certain figures in this country made international headlines. No, I don't really care much about their image in the eyes of the world, but more of appalled at the stupidity and ignorance one chooses for monetary reasons. Yup, what happened to people before profit?

I can rant on and on about what I am not happy about in regards to how this country is becoming 'underdeveloped', not in terms of infrastructure - well, that does affect somehow. Yet, I will spare you (reading this) the long and whiny post and just share with you one very important thing.

I WILL CAST MY VOTE IN THE UPCOMING GENERAL ELECTIONS!!

Yes, and so should you. If you or your friends are not registered voters (remember, you have to be at least 21 years old in order to vote), then I strongly urge you to do so. I know I should have written about this earlier, but judging from my lack of blog updates, I really did not have the time to write. So, now, even though I am half asleep and struggling to stay awake, I am forcing myself to type out this post and make sense of what I am trying to say. Back to what I was saying...

31st March 2012 - the last day for you to register yourself as a voter for the upcoming General Elections during/after June 2012.

If you are wondering if your vote even count? YES, IT DOES! Imagine if half a kampung thinks like you, that's almost/over a thousand absent voters during the GE. On the month I turned 21, I registered myself at one of the voters' registration booths around the city. Since then, I have been updating my status on Facebook and Twitter, urging people who are of age to register too. That is almost three years of nagging - yup!

Why? Because this is important. There are clearly more than a handful of problems in this country, I do not need to list them down. Instead of going on with your daily ranting about how things can be better, do your part and VOTE! Simple. Does not even take much of your time, really!

So, what say you?

Let me quote from the music video embedded below:

"You say you love this country, but you haven't voted, not even once. So don't bother complaining when your rights get violated"

STYLO Fashion Week 2012

Last week was mental! It was a week of juggling work assignments, helping out friends in a video shoot, and dashing off for STYLO right after work. Seeing they were themed parties, I had to allocate time to dress up for them. My friend, Jimmy, generously gave me invites to this year's Mercedes-Benz Stylo Fashion Grand Prix - yup, you've guessed it, organised in conjunction with the F1 Grand Prix season. This is my first time attending Stylo, and boy! did I have a blast (although it was somewhat tiring having to work my ass off during the day and party at night with minimal sleep)

The themed nights I attended were:

RAPUNZEL IN PARIS OF THE EAST
presented by Kronenbourg L'Aperitif Fashion
20th March 2012

The night featured designs by Carven Ong, the only 'fashion' show that evening. Followed by sci-fi fantasy-like hair shows from Winnie Loo @ A Cut Above and Lois Lee. Gotta love Carven Ong's gowns, he is one of my favorite local designers.

Carven Ong

Winnie Loo @ A Cut Above

Lois Lee

Also bumped into a few familiar faces that night, whom I have not seen for yonks: (left) Linora, looking gorgeous as ever; and (right) Mun Yee @ Zana, we had crazy fun as prefects in high school!

 

The BBQ lamb served that night was SO GOOD!!! especially with the mint sauce that gave me garlic-breath the whole night. I should have gotten the caterer's number


HARRY POTTER AT THE CIRCUS
held in Carlsberg's Headquarters
21st March 2012

This was my favorite night of all. They transformed the whole backyard at Carlsberg's HQ into a carnival. There were stalls with pizza, chocolate fondue, popcorn, candy floss, BBQ, alcohol (!), and also had circus-like performers present on the grounds, including a fortune teller. Of course, it was also that one night where I can don something cheerful. The majority were dressed in black, because the dresscode mentioned 'witches and wizards'. I went with a more goofy, circus-themed outfit.

 

Oh, how tempted I was to kidnap the albino into my bag! One of the featured designs (out of recycled items) were from the Stylo Emerging Designers finalists.

Seeing I never had my fortune told, I sat in front of the 'fortune teller' and picked three cards out of the deck, as told. The first thing he told me was, "You are going to get married, TWICE" *eye-opener* continued by information such as I am going to have two kids, my life is going to be good, I will lead a happy life, I will be more successful as a singer than acting, etc..

I always knew I should take what was told by a fortune teller with a pinch of salt, but I can't help pondering about what he said. Though, I did question his deck of cards (regular playing cards with Carlsberg print) but thought maybe that's part of the company's marketing strategy?! Lo and behold, he is not a real fortune teller, but an event blogger! HAH! Nevertheless, I would still like to think that I am going to end up with a happy life! *positive thinking*

 

I invited my sister to the Circus with me, she was not free the other nights. I had a tough time browsing through my list of friends in my head, wondering who to invite, as not many of my friends are keen on dressing up. Sigh!

 

 

Left: Costume for the night (caged). I bejewelled the sides of my face too.
Right: The Jimmy Choo - 'nuff said


MAD HATTERS BALL
held in Thean Hou Temple
22nd March 2012

Seven designers showcased their pieces on the runway that night. It was one fashion show after the other. Bliss! I enjoyed myself, being inspired by such amazing local talents. My favorites of the night (in no particular order) are Edric Ong, Bill Keith, Jovian Mandagie and Khoon Hooi. We were told that Khoon Hooi's collection just debuted at the Paris Fashion Week a few weeks before Stylo!

Before the fashion show, models paraded the runway with Panasonic Lumix cameras donning dresses from each of the night's designer. Love the one second from left!

Bill Keith's collection opened with a 'ballet dancer' gracing the stage in a costume inspired by the movie Black Swan. Reason I used inverted commas is because I was not the only one doubting she is trained in ballet. Good performance to the start of his collection (also inspired by Black Swan) though. I love Bill's mix of feathers and kebaya tops. Love the sheer-black kebaya top with red embroidery, paired with a black corset-like feathered top.

Moving on... there were some people who were not fond of Edric Ong's design, but I love most of the pieces he presented that night. It is really Bohemian-Meets-Asian themed. He used different textures, prints, materials while crossed cultural touches in each piece.

As for Jovian Mandagie, his designs are amazing! So detailed, so inspiring.. but what attracted me most is his use of models. Throughout the whole fashion week, the only healthy-looking model I've seen is from Jovian's show. I overheard some people calling this girl 'fat' when she appeared on stage. It is really appalling how skewed fashion's perception is on the 'ideal' proportion of one's body, to the extend of endangering a young model's health. Forget about the whole 'Size Zero' thing, one of the models on stage was so obviously anorexic that she looked scarily bony and unattractive in the clothes. Koodos to Jovian for featuring one with curves!

 

Jovian's other collection

Khoon Hooi's collection is very fashionable ready-to-wear. I love every piece presented on the cat walk! No wonder he's a world renowned fashion designer.

I am trying not to overload my post with photos (as if it's not filled with them yet), hence I am only featuring pictures from my favorite four of the night. Of course, the after party photos follow:

Fun people are the ones who dress up!

 

MERCEDES-BENZ STYLO MODEL SEARCH FINALS 2012
held at the newly opened The Pool
25th March 2012

Theme of the night was 'Drop Dead Gorgeous', and I was not in the mood to put on something tight-fitting. Hence, I decided to don a saree, given to me by my best friend, Thasha years ago. This is something one can't wear on a regular dinner date without looking over-dressed.

With the exception of a few Caucasian models, the majority of the guests showed up in black dresses. I kind of stood out in gold!

So, they announced this year's Model Search winners - the girl I have been eyeing on throughout fashion week (not in a sexual way) took home the title! I knew she will win, she stood out among the rest in all the shows. Sadly, I don't remember her name (bad with Asian names, sorry).

On another quite irrelevant note, I did not wear heels that night, just flats. So, I practically felt like a hobbit, though I should not feel so as most girls present were in at least 4-inch heels! Hey, I am 5'4" - average height for an Asian!

Besides attending the fashion shows and be knocked off my feet by the creativity and talent of the designers, I also mastered the art of applying my make up in less than 10 minutes. Winner! haha! I also filled up my bag of used cotton pads, cleaning off the colors on my face each night. Sigh, the things girls do for fashion. I need to pamper my skin now after days of agitating it with make up.

Before I end, one last photo ...

Another photo opportunity with the man himself, how can I say 'No'

Old Ferrari stuff

OPEL

Just for posting something. Good news to come
Ciao

On the Trail with Google Maps

Trail Charts is a new Google Maps creation tool that allows anyone to create their own Google Map of trails, runs or routes.

To get an idea of what you can create with Trail Charts take a look at this map of the 2012 Olympic Torch Relay Route created with the API. The map shows the complete torch relay route, starting in May in Land's End and ending in the Olympic Stadium, London in July.

To create a map with Trails Chart all you need is a comma-separated or tab-separated text file containing your trail data. Trails Chart comes with a full API and allows for lots of customisation.

You can see an implementation of the Trail Charts API in action on MrHollister.com, which has used TrailCharts to map 99 hikes and trails in the USA.

Class Sizes on Google Maps

Class Sizes on Google Maps

Global News has created a Google Map of Class Sizes in British Columbi`. The map shows the class sizes in every public school in the province during the 2010-11 school year.

Red and green map markers are used on the map to show classes larger than 30 pupils and classes with fewer than 30. It is also possible to click on a school's map marker and view the average class size at different grade levels and overall for the whole school

Wedding Bells,moots, loots and campaigns

Spent my weekend rehearsing for Angel's wedding dinner. The J-Mobbers did a surprise dance performance for her at the dinner. All the hours spent rehearsing and sweating was worth it when I saw the look on her face. She was shocked, smiling and getting all teary-eyed throughout the whole performance. I sat at the table serving halal-food for her Muslim friends, and was glad I did as the caterer served the yummiest beef rendang I've had in a long time. I know, I'm supposed to stay Vegetarian; on certain occasions like this, I won't be too fussy over my dietary habits.

Photo from Koko

Photo from Kasumi

Photo from Kasumi

 

I wore the black dress given by my aunt a few years ago. Back then, I did not have curves and it looked awful on my body (the dress is pretty, just that I did not have the figure that's made for it). Would not say I've got a perfect silhouette right now either, though it looked better than when I tried it on when I was still in my teens.

We did quite a few K-Pop numbers during our medley. This is my first time dancing and performing K-Pop routines. Too many chest and hip thrusting, took me quite some time to get used to it. It was a lot of fun nevertheless. Hey! I scored a sauna session after our Saturday evening practice - 4 hours of non-stop dancing, resulted to aching body/feet.

My initial weekend plan was to head to Port Dickson with Thasha and Shaun. Lo and behold, we were happily walking back to her car on Friday night after supper at Patio @USJ9 when Shaun stopped and gasped next to the passenger's door. Her car window was smashed, glass everywhere. My bag pack was gone! Let this be a strict lesson learned, never ever EVER leave your bag in the car; and we were too careless in doing so too.

Even though I did not lose anything valuable except for my Fisheye2 and Chris' Holga, plus my clothes, makeup and toiletries, I still feel devastated when I think about my rolls of film in the camera. My photos! Urgh! May God bless that nincompoop who pulled such a stint. As usual, event that unfolded after that (one which involved the police) was pure daunting! *sarcasm*  Took her 2 hours to file a report in an empty police station at 1am. Great!

Killed my weekend mood. They wanted to carry on with the PD trip but I kind of depressed over my missing films *bitch* Thankfully all the dancing kept me on my feet.

Before the whole incident, I was just telling Shae and her friends about my two snatch thefts experience years ago. Shae was in Kuala Lumpur for the weekend. It was great catching up with her, reminiscing over our nights in Phnom Penh and comparing beer tower prices. $1.50 Beer Towers in PP, can't beat that, Changkat! We started at Finnigen's Irish Bar and hopped over to Baan 26. The girls then left for Zouk while I headed back with Thasha. Then shit happened.

Finnigen's Irish Pub

Baan 26 

New friends

My girl, Shae

Nevertheless, after being mugged twice THRICE, you will somehow appreciate life more than the lost items in your bag. I am just VERY thankful that I have all my valuables (ID, ATM cards, phone, etc) with me at that time. *bitch, my two film cameras* Yea, I still can't let that go .. I also feel really bad for loosing Chris' Holga, even though he said he is not using it anymore. Oh well.. everything happens for a reason. And, Karma will bite back like an aggressive PMS-ing bitch, mind you.

Other than that, life pretty much evolves around work and my after-work activities. This week's consist of: Scene Study on Monday, Ballet on Tuesday, Contemporary Workshop on Wednesday and Thursday, where else, I am still waiting for a phone call for Friday, even though I am not putting my hopes too high for that. Besides my day-to-day transitions, I am making some serious long-term life decisions. Age is catching up too fast! Paving my path and just hope everything will fall into place real soon.

Before I end, I would like to urge you (yes, you reading this) to help sign this petition HERE. Now, I kind of fell out of the whole current issue loop for a while due to my never-ending work, so if someone can give me a summarized yet detailed explanation of the whole "Stronger Features" legislation, I'd be very thankful for that. Even though I am not entirely sure how this affects the Indigenous community, from what I read briefly, it is similar to how the Indigenous People are being treated here in Malaysia, they share the same struggle. And if the government going to pass that legislation, boy, added disappointment towards Australia (demerits given after the whole migrant-refugee switch last year). The Aboroginals in the NT have every right to control their own future.

Here, watch this video:

Been jabbering too much in one post. That's what you get for the inconsistent blog updates. Okay, folks! Have a splendid week.

Customer Service 101

What most businesses do not realise is the core importance of good customer service. If they put 'profit' as their top daily business target, then they would not last long. This is one thing I've observed throughout my years working in the F&B and retail industry during my university days. Then came the discount voucher-BOOM! (eg. Groupon, Groupego, Dealmate, Milkadeal, etc..)

Frankly speaking, out of all the 'service' vouchers I have bought - spa, mani/pedi, waxing, hair, etc - I can only share less than a handful of good first-time experience(s) *most vouchers are for first-time customers* Most of the time I vowed never to step foot into that place again. What these businesses are oblivious to is how this perfect marketing tool will help garner new customers ONLY if they provide good first-time experience. This means:

•  no hard/force-sell of (unnecessary) products or packages, 
• don't put your trainee to work when the voucher specified "by a professional.." or "...with 5/10/15-years of experience", and
• PLEASE be genuinely friendly - not fake it just for the sake of scoring a few Brownie points on delivering 'excellent' customer service; because damn right we can tell the difference!

I am sharing this because this is a prevailing issue. 

Nevertheless, I have met a fair share of awesome people. Just this morning, I stopped by the Famous Amos outlet in Amcorp Mall. I used to go there quite often when I was doing my internship at one of the Amcorp towers. My supervisor introduced me to one of the guys working there and honestly, he strikes the most sincere conversations with his customers. Even after 2 years, I still remember him because he has left such a good impression.

Put a smile in a stranger's face. There is no harm in greeting someone and asking about their day, and truly mean it.

YOU

Been following The Pretty Reckless ever since they released their first single 'Make Me Wanna Die'. Here's another one of their latest releases that speaks my heart. Taylor is gorgeous, although I think she should cut down some of that eyeliner. I feel, every single word she sings:

And I, want you in my life

And I, need you in my life ....

And this?