Walked into Westgate's Typo outlet on a random day and was inspired to make this post after seeing a notebook for recording one's bucket list experiences. This post came out of nowhere, I swear.

Things I'd like to do before I kick the bucket:
1. Travel by myself
2. See the Aurora Boraelis
3. Go on a stargazing trip with someone or a group of friends
4. Date a guy with a British accent
5. Learn skateboarding
6. Start a business
7. Try edibles
8. Write a song
9. Get married, have kids
10. Go to one of the biggest EDM music festivals in the world
11. Visit a country with snow everywhere
12. Learn a European language
13. Learn an instrument (Guitar :D)
14. Live in Japan for a while and pick up Japanese
15. See one of my favorite acts perform live
16. Learn how to cook

Damn. Watching Kinoshita Yuka on youtube brings back memories. And I wanna recreate those delicious moments of my cooking. I MISS JAPANESE RICE ;_; take me back pls.

I wanna make this ramen egg again it was SO GUD.

First, I'd need to get me some legit Kikkoman shoyu so the taste will come out right as the way I remembered it. Chinese soy sauce just won't do. I've tried... and failed.

This post is really personal and a bit graphic. You've been warned (read: go away if you feel like you shouldn't be reading this).




For the past few weeks, my old friend eczema made its return. Every time it acts up, I feel like an addict of sorts. The momentary euphoria I derive from rubbing the side of my hand against whatever surface nearest to me is exchanged for lasting results of hardening, cracked, bleeding, flaky skin. Next time, I think to myself. Next time, I won't scratch. I swear. Easier thought than done. It stings upon contact with water. I've been putting off my hand-wash laundry for later, and even later. I've been shampooing my head with only my left hand. I've been applying toner to my face in awkward motions. I've tried applying a Nexcare hydro-colloid bandage to cover the affected area, but my habit of frequent hand-washing renders it ever so temporary.

My best friend is a tube of QV Cream, which I apply liberally (every time after washing my hands) and it soothes the sensitive skin for a while. It is perfume free and pH balanced. Super relieving, albeit temporarily.

Sadly, it's not just my hand. The skin around my lips too are plagued with itchiness, and I have to resist the urge to scrape at them with my teeth. And the newest development - I cannot fathom why - is the inner corner of my right eye becoming irritated. It feels really dry, but applying moisturizing eye cream does not work. There hasn't been drastic changes to my makeup/skincare routine so I don't understand. Why??

I think it's the hot weather coupled with the rainy season which brought humidity levels up to max. Plus the endless sweating inside the serving booth of the holiday part-time job I'm doing. Maybe it was the stress from finals too. I don't know. The only things I know are that I need to drink loads of water, keep my right hand away from irritants, and stop scratching completely.

Bright lights shining in the distance
On this sled fast approaching town
Rushing, rushing
Feeding off the excitement
Many days later, I arrive. (0:58)

The snow falling silently
It is cold, so cold
But not far away the warmth is calling out to me
I know, all I need to do is take a few steps
To get closer and find the
Peace I had been looking for
Not too long now. (2:36)

Step by step
I inch forward
The light engulfing me in its soothing embrace
Amid trepidation
My footsteps pick up
Now I'm striding quickly
I'm running
Running (04:06)

Despite all the aches we've gone through
Satiated to just be sitting next to you
These feelings well up and well --
I drown.

Can I just say that I absolutely adore this cover and I'd love anyone who teaches me how to play like him.

 Caught the Above&Beyond mix on Youtube, was reminded of this gem. Best. Version. Hands down.

Show me what you wanna see
You're keeping secrets you don't need to keep
You've been running out of time
You've stepped over a line.

I know you think you're wonderful
But if I could really give it all
If we started out blind, I could make you mine
Girl, I know you'll take me down, down, down.

Before we fall to pieces
Before we fall to the ground
I want you to know
Girl, I know you'll take me down, down, down.

Last night was my first ever Poptart, but it was the last one to be held at the current Zouk. Speaking of which, Zouk is the only club I've ever been to (thrice, might I add) and this has left me with some curiosity as to what the other clubs are like, e.g. Kyo, Bang Bang, Attica, etc. Perhaps I shall venture through more events to find out. Not alone though, never by myself.

My accomplice for the night was none other than my fellow Kendo girl Simin, who was as excited as I. She brought some Hoegaaden Rose and vodka, which we had before hopping into a cab for Jiak Kim Street. Unfortunately, we arrived later than we'd expected because the 7-11 we wanted to get mixers from was momentarily locked (the only storekeeper was on restroom break). After one and a half hours of queuing in the guest list line, we were informed that guest list entries had been cut off. For the next five minutes or so, we were queuing to buy tickets and our moods gone half-sour... until I spotted my friend working as the entry bouncer! Thanks to his offer, we managed to get in the club right away and begin the night proper. The rest was history.

Since this was my first real clubbing experience outside of university events, there were several things which I learned:
1. Be early to popular events.
2. It really pays to maintain contacts.
3. If you look a guy in the eye and tell him 'no, go away', he will go away. Phew.
4. Things can get really heated on the dance floor.
5. (This one I'm suspecting, but without concrete evidence.) If you are enjoying yourself like nobody's business, you appear more attractive and will hence draw more attention.
6. I have no idea how to react when a guy gives me his hands and offers to dance together. Isn't it easier to dance to your own tempo?
7. Maybe those guys aren't there for the music.
8. Some girls are okay with being held by strangers, and there's nothing wrong with that.
9. It is harder to hail a cab at 4-5am on Sunday morning because taxi drivers change their shift at that time and they usually only do jobs which are near their house.
10. Man, all the fun I've been missing out on so far.

An optimist has streaks of idealism in her. She used to be more naïve, but with age and the accumulation of wisdom, this naïviety is tempered. She believes in great ideas, that people can focus less on hurting one another and more on fixing the problems in the world today.

An optimist sees the many wonderful things that can be done, gets distracted easily by random articles on the Internet, exhibits ignorance and perceives the possibility of making it on time despite leaving late.

An optimist falls easily, often piecing bits of information gathered from disparate sources to form a delusional image of the next unsuspecting victim. She then sets off making decisions on this basis -- sometimes getting it right by a stroke of luck, other times making a mistake. When things go awry, she shakes off the dust and tries to tread more carefully the next time round. She constantly reminds herself to form impressions of people from real interactions, rather than from social media snippets.

An optimist may sometimes procrastinate. She believes that spending all of one's time on work is not the way to go. Being productive is. She goes on to indulge in hobbies, in miscellaneous readings, in seeking inspiration for better, or for worse.

An optimist is spontaneous, open to new friends, and hungry for adventure. And at the end of the day, gazing in the mirror is where she sees her own favourite reflection.

I'm kind of lazy to write so I'll just leave this here.

https://thissydneylife.wordpress.com/2012/08/07/thomas-jackson-photographs-emergent-behaviour/

So I've been living with kinda messy hair for a while now, and while browsing through various blogshops I stumbled across a look that I really like. Though I'm not 100% sure that I can pull it off. Disclaimer: I don't own the following photos, got them from the lazygirl.co website. Which by the way, you should check out because they have a super versatile and laid-back collection.

Well, my main gripe with going back to bangs is that I risk having breakouts on my forehead again. But bangs are so cute. Sigh. In Japan it was easier to maintain due to the low humidity.

*Inserts random photo of pretty flowers taken by yours truly*

Have also been eyeing this skirt for a long time now.

She's so pretty and cool *A*

Meanwhile, I shall continue looking at random models' hairstyles for more inspiration.

Hey ho! Decided to update my blog because I've been slogging my guts out on schoolwork and frankly it's starting to become a tiring routine. The month of October flew by like a Japanese rapid train. Yes, I still miss you Japan! Before leaving your sacred soil, I went to scale your tallest mountain with seven of my Singaporean friends and it was definitely one of the craziest yet most fulfilling experiences of my life.

Someone helped to book the highway bus tickets waay early on. That same someone had previously climbed Mt Fuji once, and he was back for his second time! Haha sick. But thanks to him, all of us felt much more reassured that we were gonna survive. So we each prepared around 3L of water, plenty of snacks, enough layers of clothes to stave off the cold, extra pair of socks in case of wet weather (which there WAS), and at least ten 100-yen coins for the toilets.

It was an arduous twelve-hour ascend because we took many breaks in between, and had to eventually fork out more money to stay overnight at one of the log cabins because we'd otherwise freeze to death in the outdoors. It was around 11pm at night I think, when we checked in. We were fortunate enough that there was a whole sleeping area vacant and able to fit us all (I was even more fortunate to sleep in right in the middle where it was the warmest and furthest away from the walls). During the climb, prices for food and water steeped together with the altitude. I was so so thankful that I had packed a couple of onigiris, energy bar-like biscuits, oreo cookies, Pocari Sweat, and some nuts. We shared our supplies with each other too - it was truly a bonding experience like no other. Trust me, you'll never be as grateful to someone for offering you some of their food as when it happens on top of a volcanic mountain where the winds are crazy. Also, huddling together like penguins when it got cold. It later took us around 5 hours to descend, using a slippery loose ash/smashed stones slope that went in a zig-zag fashion. Occasionally, we'd see people trying to run their way down the mountain only for some of them to fall and scrape themselves hard on the rocky road.

Honestly, the most important part of this climb was the mental strength to go on (besides having some physical training). How you viewed the obstacles and difficulty you faced played a very big part in your physical capability. If you stayed optimistic, you would be able to find the strength within you that you didn't know existed before. I was cheery most of the way up, but after the short two to three hour nap at the cabin, I was losing faith in myself near the top. The panic translated into some difficulty breathing, and I had to stop several times to breathe deeply using the oxygen tanks we had purchased at the Fifth Station stores. It was a last minute decision to buy them, and thank goodness we did. I'd say it wasn't so much of the aches in my limbs and the grogginess in my head than the mental block, that feeling of incompetency which began to terrify me. My friends were extremely encouraging though, and I really think I would not have been able to go on without their support. Thank you guys :')

After we returned to Shinjuku, most of us went for a hearty meal to reward ourselves at Ichiran Ramen. Needless to say, t'was one of the best meals of my life.

P.S. There's an exclusive group photo of us at the peak where everyone is smiling and I'm the only one with a scowl-y face. . . I'm not particularly proud of it but just making it to the top with my own two hands and two feet was a great accomplishment in itself.

Here's to our tired faces after the climb

The girls' team looking all radiant and eager pre-climb. Check out that SMU swag y'all.

And if that's not enough, we got the flag too.

I'd have to hold on to that belief firmly. Being such a romantic, it's easy to drift away into ideals built on pink fluffy clouds -- especially by being super selective of traits I see in people. Coupled with adoring the music they're into? That's one recipe for a self-concocted expectations disaster.

I have to let go and see people for who they are, not what I think of them to be.

For me, it's not about doing reckless things without consideration for the aftermath. Rather, it's about trying new experiences, learning new things, meeting new people, and treating those already in your life with more kindness and benevolence. Today, I woke up with a sudden urge to learn the guitar in an effort to improve my vocal pitching. So I picked up my brother's guitar and learnt two chords (A and D) successfully today! Tried to pick up E, but my index finger can't manage the 3rd string in 1st fret for some reason. Oh well, I'll just try again tomorrow.

PEACE :D

While working on some write-ups for my coursework, I decided I needed to get some of my idealistic dreams for the future out here.

Imagine what our ideal world will be like in 2050. It will likely be a cleaner, more efficient place to live in, with never-seen-before harmony among all the diverse groups of people. There will be no conflicts between countries, because the only kind of interaction we want are constructive, positive ones which contribute to the progress of mankind, so that life will be better for all. We will be very sustainability-conscious, for the sake of itself, for the sake of protecting and preserving the planet's wonders. None of that political agenda bullshit. Not for generating profits which will only end up held and locked away by the minority elite. Most of our jobs will be done by robots because technology would have advanced far enough to take over even those jobs you thought were too sophisticated for robots to handle. What will we do then, with all the newfound free time? Would humans be doomed to idle away their time feeling worthless? No, I say. I say we'll be able to enjoy all kinds of intellectual or hedonistic pursuits. We could make more music, make art, create beautiful or crazy things and feel a real sense of achievement for making something for the sake of it.

The way most of us are living now is in no way conducive if we want to have that kind of future. Think about how much you really need most of the stuff you buy. Do you really need to change that bag because the colour is out of season but it's still in close-to-new condition? Do you have to grab a brand new plastic bag for your groceries, or can you reuse an eco-bag many times over? Could you write on both sides of the paper before placing it in the recycling bin/trash? Most importantly, why is 'new' and 'more' > 'durable' and 'less'? Why produce so much goods and then try to sell them off, discard of all the damaged and wasted/unsold extras?

We need a change in mindset. We need to reset our priorities. Instant gratification is not everything. Money is not everything.

On the third day of my Kansai trip with Klins, we walked to a McDonald's outlet to meet Dru for breakfast before heading for Gion Matsuri. It was a quiet morning, perfectly pleasant weather for strolling. Along the way, we passed by a shrine of sorts.

This guy was probably tired from the heat and exertion.

Us sneaking a photo in the backpack shop while taking a brief respite from the heat outside

Two graceful obasan

Super premium leather backpacks for elementary school children

All in all, I would say that Gion Matsuri was more of a solemn procession because the observers were largely acting in a refined manner.

Klins bought this houjicha soft serve to try. It was really fragrant!

Tenmangu Shrine

The Gion procession caught up to us at Nishiki market. We wanted to wander off elsewhere, away from the crowds. So we went up the streets to find the Tsujiri honten which I was really excited to try. Looking back, I am very grateful to have had Klins and Dru accompanying me to the places I wanted to go.

Was fascinated with how archaic this building looks

Display of the delightful desserts at Tsujiri

I've come a long way from discovering it in Taiwan, settling for it in Singapore, and finally! The KYOTO FLAGSHIP.

Klins got an ice-blended milk shake drink (left), while I got the super rich matcha latte with azuki and shirotama

More from Nishiki market. Look, it's wasabi

Our next attraction was Nijo Castle. The main thing I wanted to experience was Ninomaru Palace, because of its nightingale floors - they squeak when you walk on them. It mildly resembles the chirping of little nightingales.

Karamon Gate

The zen garden

Had a lot of fun getting sprinkled by these mist showers

One photo of the station sign for nostalgia's sake

Our lucky find in Nishiki market. 洋食for under千円

One of the last two spots we visited that day was Gion, the famous geisha district where expensive restaurants line the road in the form of traditional wooden merchant houses.

Forever undecided between thinking they're cute Pokemon trainers or annoying (actually it was only because I was frustrated I couldn't play too)

Kyoto tower in the back

Very expensive shinkansen ride okay. Must document through photos properly.

Me feeling really sad to leave Kyoto, and to leave Klins behind...

On the bright side, I had Lawsons bento to keep me company

Thanks for the safe ride back to Tokyo

Cherish all your days... you never know what might happen tomorrow.