Bite my ego

Getting some sort of weird kick n high when things like this are made

Greedy for power

Domineering

Ownership-obsessed

LOL. 

I would be one of the worst people to work for.

shots

 my cheeky self 

vis-à-vis a pensive side

some day i would want a really good camera.
not because I can afford it
but only when I truly deserve it

Dream

Way out of our options and budget now.

but its the dream.. 

:)

how lovely

Dad&I

Last week, Dad called me

"oei my dear girl, u wanna come back for dinner?"

Nonchalantly, i replied " wat r u cookin?"

 "Hainanese Chicken rice!"

" Ahh okay good good good, i want"


"and abalone!" (proudly)

"hahaha wahhh such good food. Got sharksfin not?!"


"Sharksfin! hurh! (to Mother) she say she want sharksfin hor!"

and i just went "hahahhah"


And when we turned up for dinner, there was a pot of sharksfin ready.

This was the only person who truly loved me, even back when no one else did.

Love my Dad, loads!

I pray for your good health and safety and salvation, everyday. God Bless you Daddy!

FRENship Sonata

FRENship Sonata

Frens:
"where do you get this?"
"How much you pay for each?"
"how many did you order?"
"how many did you sell?"
"how much did you pay for the ad"
"how much did you earn"
(*repeats x 50)

Me:
I have no answers
I have no answers
I am only going to declare that i wont be answering business figures questions
You have asked me about blogging, set up, procedures
etc etc
and I have answered them all
and why did you expect more

Me:
In return I will ask you
Do you think I am not helpful?
As my FREN
Do you think I am arrogant if I dont wish to strip naked in front of you,
As my FREN
Did you expected to tell you everything about my business?
As my FREN
Can you ask yourself if you are truly happy for me or wish me well?

If so, why did you disappear, and have no other words for me after i declared not answering your questions?
Were those answers the only things you wanted from me?
and there is nothing else in this so called FRENship


I don't need your answers.

Me

Administrator by Day

Entrepreneur by Night

. I Like.
:)

Palette

Am very proud to announce that after a month of studying, clicking, editing, (silently screaming), testing, amending, asking, thinking, experimenting ... our very own dot com site is finally ready!



Like a dream come true, and rather unbelievably. Knowing myself. My certain characteristic traits and lack thereof.


Like getting my hand stuck in a mouse-box. that is something you dont need your web-architect (fancy names!) to do.


OK if you are a friend and have clicked the above link, you would have see my new artwork for the next launch - PALETTE!


I love this. Actually i love my artwork in a weirdly self-deprecating manner - each time I complete one, I ooh&aah about how fantastic it is, then I look at my previous work and go WTF was I thinking and doing.
Or maybe, I should think of it as an improvement.

Today Dad-in-law saw my site and he was really supportive. said it is a nice site and it is good for us to try this out for a learning experience, regardless of whether we are earning much from it now.
A 2nd surprise reaction from him on my part.
the first being us telling him about my job switch - knowing how practical and financially-wise he is I had braced myself for his opining that I should not have been a job brat and leave the job after building up a decent portfolio and salary. I knew it would bother me cos I really respect his opinions and advice. But he said it was a good move on my part and its always good to learn new things. When I told him the pay would not be as good but would not be any bad, he told me that it is not important, especially when i cannot picture myself doing the same thing for long and not learning anything more.

I am so so so grateful for such a lovely family.

Tata.. gotta rush out my next launch..
Chiyo n Emi here trying to por a guest at my in-laws, my cousin-in-law Grace!

well

Well, i guess there are always things worth smiling for, and that's God's promise.
But we just have to see it.

I think i have to be very very very thankful for the family I married into.

Knowing myself well, and some minor not-v-nice incidents with the ex's parents, i have always doubted my ability to be a daughter-in-law worth falling heads over heels for. For one, i am quite anti-social, and with my built-up independence away from being a mammy's baby, it could become a challenge for me to build close parent-child relationships to a second family after marraige. Or maybe I am just not the type to hold a mother-in-law's hand because my mother didnt held mine.

Credit have to be given to Dan's parents because they tried to see what is beyond the surface. of perhaps a girl who sometimes miss church service cos she is too tired, though her husband's parents are pretty well-known church members. of a girl who did not help out with the chores very much back when she stayed over. Of a girl who probably does not have sweet words at the tip of her tongue to say most of the time. Of a girl who cannot really cook. And a girl who was so protective of her dogs that she was prepared to fend off any pressure to give them up, ever. and a girl who is so not prepared to give them grandchildren, yet. oh my, on my part I am kinda the equation to in-laws clashing catastrophe.

But back in those days, my mum-in-law was the one who cooked porridge when I was sick. She was the one who initiated to hold my hand once when we were hanging out at a cousin's wedding. She was the one who always asked me if she can feed treats to my dogs n if its good for them.

My dad-in law was the one who was always there to listen to my stories and work problems, and always putting things in the correct perspective, to counter my rash and impulsive assumptions. And he was never stingy with sharing the things he know and the things he have, telling us to take anything from their home, ranging from toiletries to the racks he knew would help in our business. And he was the one fending off nosey relatives' unneccesary "must have kids" talk for us, then teaching us how to handle it.

And just cos last week, when we were awing over his new streaming tv device, I was commenting on how I wanted a certain old HK show which cannot be found in shops. looking back i could have said "wa that show really nice" so much I didnt realise it. And he went to find it and bought it and passed it to me today.

And back at home Dan very happily told me "see my parents really dote on u"

Indeed.
I cant say i have done much to deserve this, so of course i should do more. I know how lucky I am.

meetz

Anger. funny how anger seems to shadow every other feeling once it exits. So destructive.

I questioned myself on my understanding of friendship. I have very few, but wonderful friends. friends to die for because they were there for me when I was down in the dumps in past relationships. I remember this friend who rounded up the rest and rented a car, back when I had my episodes weeping in the park after terrible conflicts with the ex. Together they brought me to malaysia, cheered me up bringing me around to shop, talked all the nonsense in the world to make me laugh. And just becaused I said I didnt feel like going back to feel like I want to call the then-bf, they searched for a family hotel and we stayed the night, playing games and laughing ourselves silly.
2 years back remember this friend, driving Dan and I round Singapore and Malaysia to run a bazillion wedding errands, making himself the butt of jokes. And I remembered friends like this was one of the reasons we were still able to smile most of the time despite preparing for a customary wedding that both of us didn't want.
And this particular friend is a friend who ran off during my big day to get another bridal bouquet when my original one was dying. Which I actually didnt care about, but I still lost it at him on my bridezilla day for running off and not being around to help out before the banquet.

A great friend indeed, you'd say and yes i know.

I accepted the fact that each of us are different in nature, that we are different characters with different routes in life. While he was less down to earth, I choose to think at times that maybe with his certified higher intelligence than most, I wouldnt expect him to lead life the way I did with my undetermined level of IQ.

When I couldnt picture how a university student who does not have a rich family backing can afford to think that he need a car and think that he can afford to need one and it "really didnt cost much more than a bike", I voiced out in my usual bossy irritating manner, and only to give up giving advice in the end because of that benefit of doubt that perhaps he really could make it work. and that I should not impose my views.

In the process, I almost ended up being a co-owner of a car i could only afford half - oh yes the other half depended on trust in the other party to be able to pass me his share monthly. And long story short, i only have God and another friend and a very very ethical salesman to retract that signed contract and saved myself from years of financial trouble, because lets face it, we know where it would end.

throughout the years, I allowed many of my advice to fall on deaf ears. largely because I know we can never force advice on anyone, and a small part because I remember the good things this friend did and there was still a smaller part of me, as a friend, also hoping that he can make it.

I lent him money, i asked my husband to lend him money, and never asked for it back because he has been generous with us using his car.

I watch him not valuing a stable teaching job, and heard him speak of his forex dreams. I knew this friend always thought he was meant for something bigger. And when his dreams got too dreamy, I brought Shifu in for someone of high intelligence and high financial status, to deliver the words he needed to hear. that forex is for people with deep pockets

The rest and I saw clearly that a person should not venture into real estate with negative capital. The rest travelled to my ulu house specifically to talk him out of it. With our most fundamental knowledge that a person who has debts should take a stable job with any salary to manage the situation. not going into a job that only boasts potentially high income, possibly probably. but he was still so optimistic. and as usual, we gave up.

In my days of frustration watching him, i moved from lecturing vehemently, cursing in exasperation, to begging Dan to stop me from caring so much or slap me if I ever took it upon myself to scold a hey-esther-he-is-an-adult-and-he-is-older-than-u-so-he-has-his-own-life.

then another friend trusted him with an installment plan funded by his credit card. and he went into hiding while a buddy risks incuring a credit bureu bad record pending a wedding and house preparation. but concurrently, while I was out of the picture of this incident, I was shown a blog of a promising forex investor who was selling the idea of any one of us uninterested-in-forex-but-wanna-earn-money creating accounts, leave the funds and let him trade away. And I read the wise words and quote them as follows:

"Other factors that will lead to you trading profitably include good money management and self-discipline. Good money management will allow you to trade more objectively; you will be psychologically affected if the money you lost was meant for your car installment.

Of course, if you do not have self-discipline, you're bound to fail as well... Thus, I will dare say forex trading is easy, but it may not suit everyone."

those were his words. Concurrently with the mess he got a friend into. and when I confronted him when I learnt of the incident eventually, I was told that the matter was supposed to between the 2 of them.

i.e
its none of my business?
that i should oh, put what you did aside, and see your bright future as a forex trader, n perhaps even start and account with u or introduce others to, as support for a friend?
that i should, out of concern as a friend, trust that you have your life in order and you are ok?

Reading from the top, i wrote "friend" so many times. I dont wish to count.
And along with penning down the above, I have done all I can as a friend. and I should stop feeling guilty for giving up.

My dream , mine

.Mine.

its a dream finally taking baby steps to come true for me. So excited that I could not sleep. An of course you can say that I used a shopping platform, but I know how hard it is to learn all the attributes to set this up. did tonnes of studying on the reading material, making notes of the classifications i need to draft and adhere to so that the navigation can work.
And doing this with my very own hands certainly beats paying $4.8K for someone to do it for me.

I dropped the sweet flora feel and opted for a minimalist chic look
Will announce when it is ready.

Should Sleep now, its 4 am. funny how I am not tired at all though I have been at my computer for hours.

Lemmings

An Unfulfilled Lemming
Cos i kinda have a "I dont step on so much money" rule when it comes to shoes

So its expensive, but..

so colourful!!
I imagine it coming up to spritz some energy into our photoshoots!

Next paycheck.. maybe.. i dunno.

+ mat up +

Livejournal really eff-ed me UP last night during my launch time. Eff. with such a large collection I had prepared the post in advance, uploaded and arranged the pictures nicely, descriptions, updated the categories accordingly..

And at bloody 8pm, all our painstakingly uploaded photos went missing, together with all the active tabs.
My frustration was multiplied cos I had emailed LJ some time ago to feedback on the instability of their systems and how they are affecting BSs in Singapore. Ironically, we are paying them a monthly sum for our journals, but its basic functions failed while we could blog with ease on free platforms like blogger.
And they promised me that their engineers are placing the issue on top priority.

While i hold little faith in corporate promises, I didnt expect it to fail that badly this time round. And I could only helplessly submit support requests, conveying my disappointment. and frantically uploading the collection on facebook and sending notifications to mailing listees, replying email enquiries from those who did check our site and could see nothing.

That was when I had enough- I dont think my work principles allow me to be tHAT helpless about my own business & operations.

So I discussed with Dan and we are going to move to an e-shopping platform. Yes, with a shopping cart and everything on a stable supported platform.
Shall be using the month of July to do it, since I am planning to take a few weeks hiatus while waiting for our first manufactured pieces to be ready, hopefully by end July.

Its gonna be a lot of learning struggles for me cos i have close to nil computing and web set-up knowledge. Downloaded articles to study how about doing it, and I had to read it at least twice before i can even briefly comprehend the contents. Never felt stupider since studying molecular structure and sound waves.

So hopefully, 2 exciting things will take place on my shop in a months time.. Pls pray for me!

****
On a happier note,

Wore my Trapezium Lampshade skirt, in electric blue today!
to town for rubber stamp searching (failed), phone zhnging (succeeded), n catchup session


I opted to pair it with all-black, instead of colour blocking it. No whys, just another option open.
Saw it as a brightening touch to an otherwise all-black outfit

I love the cut, hips flattering. hide my flabbee blabee hips!

Notice the navy-stripe naraya pouch on my princess chair? its from dearest Bunny! I love it loads and its FULL OF FALSIES.. woo! also from her!



Get it in TEAL too!

Where?
Here, click!

I finally met up with my JC burst out laughing gang!
it was partially my bad as I didnt make it for the past outing. WHAT WAS I THINKING staying back late at work and giving up on fun times with them?

I have not seen them since Eras, mine and Huiqi's wedding.
though we are that shallow to only meet during weddings, once a year, but when we do see each other it really does not feel like we have not met for long.
Crap spews out of our mouths as greetings the second we met..

Contents of catch-up

1st half - Jokes about how rich Clement is. This went on for more than an hour i think. how many flats in Singapore need upgrading to get lifts but he already has lifts in his mansion, but still wanna upgrade dunno what. Automated ktv system in his house. Possibility of us being employed as valets if he starts selling season parking tickets to staff at mediacorp. next session is resort life at his palace so ya, wait for the pics, WAIT. thats how rich he is.

2nd half - Politics. Fengshan CC. MRT woes vs the economy debate. Ang Mo kio Pig. Shrek. Some gal whose bf bought a mini for her. Yes, from the intellectual talk to gossip.




and the session ended with some more pokes at Clement on his wealth.

I love this bunch of people! can't wait for the next session!

Correlation?

- RWS
- Security
- Furla
- NTUC
- NUS
- SIM
- Singapore Air
- Google


Link em up, folks :)

Look Far .Smile. Sweet.

Set aside Friday to bring Chiyo for her sterilisation- smooth and the operation scar wasnt very visible. Twas done by a great-reviewed vet I knew since Sugar days, at our clinic (Namly Animal Clinic). Poor girl was so groggy after that and was walking zig zag when we brought her home. Had to hug her to sleep cos she was figeting with the pain/discomfort.


While waiting we also dumped tiny one at the groomer's, so Dan n I got to roam TPY central on a lazy friday noon.. not much people out there and with free hands and in slack wear we went searching for a dimsum restaurant, only to discover that it was just one of the things that has disappeared together with ol' times and perhaps our innocence.

And with just a simple outing like this, we were reminded how simplicity in life can be very important, can be your happiness. And I shared with him a life lesson that I recently learnt, that we both should learn together..Perhaps I will write about it soon. A little tired now from being full time doggie-chef and butler.


Preview of our launch is already up on SP's blog, but here are just a little more.

Being unemployed/self-employer/on sabbathical/homemaker/taitai (quite an obvious identity crisis), on the days that I can't find anyone to bum around with during office hours, or am too lazy to go on the much-fantasized photo/soul walks, I have more days of having to dress up a wee bit for dinner sessions with Dan. Well he is damn tired after his long day of work now that he has transferred and has taken a much bigger portfolio, so i have no demands of long outings. No problem, rather happy with the little dinner explorations (found a homey little chinese food restaurant off taman mas merah with bittergourd soup -like) plus looking for ice-cream cafes after that.

The problem with such trips is that you need to dress up to a tricky level. Makeup is too much, yet you dont want to let yourself go completely with specs and undone hair. Outfit-wise, I really need some dressy tops that goes with shorts that does not scream early 2000 giordano.. Would still wanna look pretty, but casual. Which is why i love this..

PHILLY Crochet Chiffon Top
available in Navy and Cream

I was serious when I said no-makeup. Pardon much.

I like the willowy feel of the top and the crochet details. and it comes with an inner slip.


and pardon the 3GS shots. terrible. Make it look like i have a savanna of complexions- dry to the point of lifelessness lol

In Cream!
Im starting to like cream more.. thinking of grabbing one for myself too. Its a different look from navy

TRAPEZIUM Lamshade skirt
available in Electric Blue and Teal

While the lampshade skirt is not a new idea i know, but its pretty and I still want to carry it into SP, talk about stubborn. ha. I wanted to wear this out as I already had an outfit in mind and even bought pumps to match, but with my darling Chiyo as No.1 on my list now, it has not happened.



i like how the skirt hide hips and slim the above-knees .. important for me, personally;)

Remaining of the launch is up on our blog here.

tweee dee dee dum.. Galling asleep!

A day in a random

Sometimes, i really dont know if a blog entry should be coherent. In work, we have to sweat to write coherently. should we save ourselves the trouble in our private lives?

Shall not bother then. Tra lala.

Been busy with post-shoot work. Amendments made to the home studio have paid off and minimised the need for my lauya photo-editing skills. But we still need more trial and error moves with the lighting. comes with time; patience.



Pretty Laoshu..



My gals are so cute to have around when working. i like the way they always go up to the feet of the model and look like, like eager students...


Here is my pick from the next collection. Launching next Monday at 8pm!


JADA Strap-back Maxi
available in black and navy
measurements
ptp:15" to 18" when fully stretched
sth: 47"

Sorry that I dont have good pictures, but it was kinda love-at-first-sight for this minimalist classic strap-back maxi when I saw it. so i gathered more stock for it.

Wore it to tag-along with Bunny and RR on their day off. Yes i am a pest :)




The back is classically nice.. and the minimalist overall look leaves room for chunky accesorizing.
and the dress is made of strechy quality cotton, high freedom sizing.. i like

Comes in black too..


On a random note, bought blackish Jack D's chocolate for Dan as table ornaments.


lol
Jack D lady. Moron.

TRALEE Chiffon Front-Cap Top
available in black
measurements
ptp:15.5" to 19" when fully stretched
sth: 28"

And capes are so great in the now for layering while baking in our local weather.
And we brought in a front cape top that is all so comfy.

Laoshu in it!







Versatile again. Tying the cape at the back

Studio lights makes the chiffon part looks sheer, but its Much better in reality without spotlights:)

This piece definitely serves a broad size range too. and its so comfortable!

And some others..

TANIA Lace-shoulders Chiffon Top
available in pink
measurements
ptp: 22"
sth: 27"


A pink chiffon top with structured lace shoulders. Pretty and I think the design kinda grows on you... liking it more and more

ERIN crochet waisted shorts
available in taupe
measurements
waist :15.5" to 19" when fully stretched
tth: 12"


And this crochet-waisted shorts. the cut kinda elongates the legs. Laoshu said its pretty and she got a piece!

Will be back with more.. like i said, its a large collection..