Botanics

Hey! :) Here are the pictures that came from my trip to Botanic gardens with Ethan and Ai Ling yesterday! :) I didn't blog yesterday cause I came home from mime practice for the session today really late :( But here's my blog post nonetheless! I'm really glad that we're having a long weekend this week~ there was only 2 days of actual academic lessons and one day of National Day celebrations and holidays! :D 

The three of us went to Botanic Gardens to chill, hang out and just relax with our cameras and sketchbooks :) its really nice to take a break from the hectic city life and just immerse yourself in nature ^_^/ Its so quiet in Botanic Gardens its really cool! Its almost like you're not in Singapore anymore! 

<3

I brought out my Black Bird Fly film camera that I bought like 2 years ago and havent used in so long. Mainly because I forgot how to rewind the film, and only remembered like a year and a half later while fiddling with it. I wasted a whole roll of film because I didn't load the film in properly and it jammed up :( Its not going to waste tho! Because Ethan is going to use it in his upcoming Media arts works! :D

White Zara Basic Tank top
H&M Teal short-sleeved cardigan
Topshop High-wasted jean shorts, MOTO
Necklace was gifted to me from a friend in Church :)

My outfit for the day was pretty simple :) I suspected it was going to be really warm so I chose something more summer appropriate? Haha, I really like the teal short-sleeved cardigan :) it coves you up, but is still light and floaty! 

Afterwards we walked through the Garden and to Burger Shack! :D which has the best burgers ever <3  and it was Ai Ling's first time eating from there! :)

<3 

After Burger Shack, we headed over to its sister branch, Island Creamery! I didn't get any ice-cream cause I was so full, but I still pinched some off Ethan and Ai ling~ Hahaha 

All photos credited to my very good friend and pro-photographer Ethan :)

I really had a lot of fun with them yesterday! :) And I ate so much food yesterday, I went out supper with Theo after mime practice! I think I probably gained like 10kg... HAHA I'm eating another big dinner tonight with my cousins and the family! :D 

Expect more pictures soon~

dreaming and drowning~

Photo Credited to Me and my Integrated Arts group in SOTA

Got the film from my underwater-dance-integrated-arts photo shoot that my group had about 2 weeks ago :) the shoots turned out pretty nicely so I decided to share! :)

The concept behind it was to explore the physical body against another body, which is the reflective surface of the water. I think they came out pretty well! Even though these are like a few out of 200+ shots... 

The images are currently unedited and we're going to edit them and print them out next week! :) Really excited for our works to be put up around school.

PS. Expect more photos soon! :) going out with Ethan and Ai ling tomorrow for a photography expedition! 

Manners

I honestly look at some of the juniors in my school and wonder if their parents have brought them up properly.

I know I shouldn't jump to conclusions and generalize because that is a fallacy, and personally I believe in the good of others, but it's just one of those instances, like today, that I really question how my generation is being brought up.

Just today as I was queuing up for food since it was break, I got insulted by a group of juniors two years younger than me that I don't even know personally at all. I was standing in between one of the girls and another pair and had probably my typical sleep deprived look (I got 4 hours of sleep last night because I was up talking to Andrew). And out of no where when I was about to order and get my food, one of the girls behind me just says quite loudly, "I feel so tall now!"

And in my head I was like, "what the shit...?"

Obviously she wasn't talking about anyone else in the vicinity, and definitely not about her other friend because she was taller. So I deduced that it was about me, the only one who seemed to be the shortest one in the queue. It did not help that her other friend in front of me in the queue stepped back to measure her height against me, laughing as she did so. 

Okay, I know I'm really short in stature. I'm only 1.5m, and I honestly have nothing against my height at all. I get teased for it quite often by my peers, but I've already resigned to the fact that I'm never going to hit 1.7m, much less 1.6m.

What bothers me most is that these girls have the gall to do this to me when I don't know any of them personally at all. 

It doesn't bother me that their younger than me, because I really can pass off as a Year 1 or 2. But it really irks me to see them be so rude to someone they don't even know.

It wouldn't bother me at all if you actually knew me personally before you made a jibe at my height because that is very uncalled for and seriously unbecoming.

So of course, pissed as I was, I went to tell Clare and Ching Yi about it, who were in the line next to me. And Clare (who is quite short as well) responded with quite harsh comments about how they have no respect and other things that were equally as funny but I've forgotten at this point.

Funny thing is that they walked away without even looking them in the eye. One girl even bumped into me and shuffled off before I could apologize for bumping into her (see I have good manners). 

After this I went to rant to probably ever other person I knew to tell them how rude and disrespectful they were. And of course most of my peers asked if they just mistook me for a junior, like them, cause of my height.

Its not a matter of respecting your elders, or anyone older than you, because I firmly believe that respect should be earned, not just an entitlement. But this is having the common decency to be mindful of other people who clearly have nothing to do with you and have not offended you in any way at all.

I honestly don't think it was right for them to do that, probably to them it was just a harmless joke and they never meant it to be malicious in any way.

But honestly, do I really know them? I don't. And do they know me? I don't think so. Therefore should they take a jab at someone who has never done anything to them in their entire lives? Absolutely not. And I definitely do not condone such behavior because it is childish, uncalled for and absolutely rude.

It doesn't reflect well on you as a person, and it definitely does not reflect well on your parents' upbringing. And if they're so conceited to think they'll get into anywhere they want with that kind of attitude, they are sorely mistaken. (PS. Yes the girls were dancers and this is a view not just shared by me, but by their dance seniors who think that they need to sort out their attitudes)

Because if there is anything that my parents have taught me it is to have basic manners and not to offend others despite their physical appearance or status in life. And if there is anything that I should be respectful to people even when they sometimes do not seem to commandeer my respect. You don't see me rolling my eyes at teachers when they're giving me a lecture, do you?

No, because I have basic manners. And my parents have brought me up properly.

ugh 

Simple days

I hope all of you had a great weekend because I know I did! :) 

First up this was what I wore to dinner yesterday and forgot to snap a photo of! :) 

Outfit Comprises of:

• Basic Zara top in Cream 
• Ellysage Fann Mazi Skirt in Teal
• Peachy-pink blusher my mom got me from Korea 
• ZA liquid liner
• Golden Ray-Ban Aviators (I had them on before it got dark)

I brought my sketchbook along with me too because I'm always either doodling in it or checking my phone! haha :)

Then today, I had Ippudo Ramen with the parents! :D Super good food once again! :) 

Sorry its super blurry :(

Meant to be eaten with the ramen! 

The food was really good, but my parents said for that price not really worth it :( Granted Ippudo is quite pricey...


Then I went to my baby God-brother's baptism! :) It was at St Joseph's church, which is quite far out from where I live. The compound for the church is really huge! Even bigger than St Alphonsus at Novena! It really felt like I wasn't in Singapore and was in Malaysia! haha

Mother Mary's Grotto

Very pretty flowers used to pay respects to our Lady

I really like Koi :)

 While I was there I saw something that really struck me so I snapped a photo of it. Its a quote from St Augustine, which really is quite apt for me at this time!

I didn't get to hold the baby Jerome this time 'round cause his grandmas kept fussing over him and literally death glared me when I asked... :( but I did get a really cool torch light from the uncle! :D its a dynamo powered torch light that doesn't reacquire batteries! It'll be super useful for when I go to Cebu for Overseas Service Learning!

Afterwards we headed home and I studied for about 3 hours before I went to go meet Joanna at NEX for Ding Tai Fung! :D I'm really glad I got to meet up with her again before she flies off to HK and then Malaysia and then back to Canada. I probably won't get to meet up with her again before she flies off... But I had fun this evening! :)

Joanna!

"I see a mirror, I'm going to fix my hair!" 

Sigh, why so pretty I'm jealous...

She snapped a photo of me! I really don't like my hair now :(

Veggie Dumplings!

Pork xiao long bao! 

Crabmeat XLB

 Joanna introduced these to me! They're the red bean dessert dumplings and they're super good! :D

After dumplings we headed over to Sogurt for Frozen Yogurt! :) and we got lost for a bit because Joanna couldn't remember the way and I've never really been to NEX even though I live in Serangoon and its like 5-8 minutes away from where I live...

I didn't snap a photo of what I was wearing cause I was dressed quite casually with just a red, navy and cream striped dress, a red hairband and silver and blue havaianas. And my outfit is honestly not worth a   pic! 

We walked around for a bit after Yogurt and we saw a couple of really nice clothes but Joanna and I both agreed that most of them won't really last :/ Sigh I really want to go shopping but clothes are really expensive nowadays and I really should be concentrating on my upcoming tests and end of year exams... Its okay! 2 more months and I can have all the fun I want! :) 

Hope you guys enjoy my photos! I'm really tempted to start a food blog on tumblr, but its probably going to be a lot of work and I really need to concentrate! 

Toodles~ 

p.s I added a koi widget down below because its super cute! :D

Liquid Sunshine

Hi everyone! How's your weekend been so far? :)

I'm kinda bummed that I didn't get to go for fireworks eventually :( my mom wanted us to all go out for a family dinner at 6.30 so in the end I couldn't watch Sam, Gwen and Aqilah perform :(( sigh... I guess there's always next year! :)

We went to the Bistro at Shaw for dinner :) its one of Les Amis's restaurants and they serve really good French food :)) they had the best mashed potatoes and stewed beef :) haha I had such a major food baby afterwards :p then after dinner we headed to the newly opened wine and coffee bar that replaced the Italian place La Strada. I really miss La Strada :( and all the really friendly wait staff. They moved to different locations nowt and some were at the Bistro and came by to have a chat with us for a while :) they're all such great waiters :)

Since the reservation was at 6.30, my mom went to cut her hair at Debbie's :) it's my mom's first time going to a more professional salon! She's always been really cheap about her haircuts and treatments. And since Auntie Maggie's at Gardens is closing down, my mom figured she needs to find another place to do her hair. So while my mom got her haircut my dad and I walked around town. We got his hiking shoes and then we went to Kinokuniya to get books :) I got about.. 6? :/ including a Frankie Magazine! Which I literally died when I saw on the racks! I've always wanted to get Frankie Magazines! And now I know where to get them :)

At Kino I got:

• American Gods, Niel Gaiman
• Rapture, Lauren Kate
• Seraphina, Rachel Hartman 
• The Iron King, Julie kagawa
• Veronika Decides to Die, Paulo Coelho
• Frankie Magazine, issue 48

I am pretty much set for the rest of the year :) these are enough books to last me a while!

The wine and coffee bar is really amazing, the decor is really tasteful and the concept behind it is probably really good too. It's like the calm chill atmosphere and drinks without the loud blaring music of clubs. Kinda suits my introverted family! Haha :) My dad has always been pretty chill about underage drinking the waiters were quite appalled. My dad's logic is that he would rather we (my brother and I) drink in front of him than go behind his and my mom's back and drink. Only my dad thinks up of this kinda thing! Not that Andrew and I are complaining ;) haha

In the end we ordered 2 glasses of reds, for the guys, and sweet wine for my mommy and I :) which my brother calls 女人酒, which is lady's wine in Chinese, cause its really sweet! Haha

Other than my instagram I don't have any other visuals for you guys to see :( I can try and recreate my outfit and get my mom to snap a photo tmr but it's kinda late :( so I'll try and bust out my Nikon out tmr and get some nice visuals for you guys! So there'll be a balance? I guess. One super wordy blog post and another with a lot of pictures! Haha

I hope all your weekends have been good! :)

Toodles!

Home

Spent the day at home today, came down with a viral cold again. This has probably been the third time I've gotten sick this semester :( so I spent the day lazing about, trying to clean my extremely messy room, albiet failing miserably :/ I sort of made the mess worse...

I ended up busting out my much abused Nikon to snap some photos, since the lighting was really nice after the rain and I just, well, could :)

White Topshop Sundress 

White Topshop Sundress and a Black Asymmetrical Formal dress  from F21

My ever growing cupboard wall art 

Nikon Lens Cap
10 dollar shades from the Scarlet Room
Gifted Mother of Pearl bag from Claud <3

View from my room 

Window

Winnie the Pooh Vintage Tea Set my mom got me when I was 5 

I wish I could update on this space more, but I honestly can't find the time/ I think my life is pretty boring and I don't have much to share right now...

But I am going for Fireworks Action, which is a school event where we get to sit around and have a picnic on my school's rooftop and watch the National Day Prep Fireworks :) It's my first time going even though I've been in SOTA for about 4 years :/ So i'm kinda excited to go :) also since my friends are performing :) hopefully I get to snap some wonderful pictures to share :)

And I'm going out with Joanna again for dinner on Sunday :) I'm going to miss her when she goes back to Canada :( and Emma too :(

I guess I'm also quite nervous right now about giving a session to the youths at Our Lady Star of the Sea (OLSS). I'm giving one with my other community member Nigel, but he's currently busy with prelims so I'm doing the slides. I guess I'm scared that I won't be able to give a good session on Community to them and that I'm also scared that my other community members will judge me for what I'm going to say OR the fact that I seem to be doing everything on my own again. And I know that I'm not supposed to think/ feel this way but I'm currently finding it hard to well, talk to them/ connect with them. This has probably got to do with the fact that i'm in the IB programe and they're in the mainstream O'level school system and I can't seem to relate with anything they're going through now...

And I'm currently finding them hard to please lol

I'm also scared that Mel (my formator) will kill me while QC-ing my slides :( partially because I don't know what else to add in and also because I don't seem to be able to think of anything else to add/talk about/ I don't want to call the shots because I'm really really scared... sighh what to do~ 

Although I had a talk with my brother Andrew and got other people's view points on this. I still feel quite lost...

But I'm infinitely grateful for and to Andrew for sharing with me something very meaningful :)

People are often unreasonable, illogical and self centered;
Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies;
Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you've got anyway.

You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and your God;
It was never between you and them anyway.

-Mother Teresa

<3 :')

Hope you all have a great weekend <3

Elaine