First (and last?) Flea Ever!

Yes, as the title has stated, I had my first flea ever last saturday with a few of my friends!

It was the first time any of us had a booth at a flea market so we were all pretty much inexperienced. I thought we were well-prepared with a rack, tablecloth, construction paper for price tags, hangers, plastic bags etc. BUT I WAS WRONG! 

The crowd was mostly aunties and foreign workers who are here for cheap buys. By cheap I mean <$5!!! Wow, I never knew items at a flea were so cheap?! Those I've browsed are always around $20 or $10 for pre-owned. So we were given 1pm-2pm to set up and the flea starts at 2pm. However, these aunties came down at 1pm while we were setting up to swoop up stuff! They just grabbed our bags of clothes and emptied it on the table. After a while we (or maybe I) gave up trying to arrange the stuff and just let it pile on the table. Too bad I didn't take a pic of our humungous pile!!!!

So being the shopaholic that I am, I bought some stuff from my friends too. And cos we're friends, I got to try the clothes before buying! :D

Top and Cardigan both from Yiyun! Got them both for $7 only!!!! I was also Yiyun's first customer of the day lol!

Got this top from Mao at $3?! The reason I bought this top was because there was this demanding girl who grabbed this top and just rudely said "$3" when Zeslene had ask for $6 (I think) because it was BRAND NEW?! And from lovebonito somemore!!! I was so pissed I just said "$3 you might as well sell to me." So I bought it! (Ok, actually Mao traded it with me for a dress hehe) It's a leopard print top and I guess it's hard to go wrong lah. Just wear with jeans and heels and you can go clubbing or dress down with shorts and slippers for a casual weekend date. Omg I sound like those blogshop descriptions...

That was all I bought from them! Afterall I'm supposed to earn and not make a loss right!!! Mao also got 2 dresses from me lol. I think next time we should gather a group of friends and exchange clothes!!! So much more worth it than having a flea. I rather get a new piece of clothing than $3. 

Having said that, the flea was a fun experience! Friends came to visit, we sat around and gossiped, took pictures, tried to sell stuff and look/laugh at each other's clothes! The reason I said laugh is because of this top of mine which I bought when I was 13 and Yiyun and Mao both said it's damn fugly :( No one told me that then!!!! :( So I got dared to wear it and since I was bored and I don't believe that it's that fugly, I changed into it...

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NOT THAT BAD RIGHT!!!! HAHAHAHHAHAHAHA. Anyway this pic is hilarious because for some reason the hair at the top of my head is flying LOL!!!! Tell me it's not that bad! Or rather I choose to think that I can pull it off *flips hair*

Ok lah, at the end of the day no one bought it  even though I was selling it at 50c. :( Even the maids and aunties also don't want :( BUT I REFUSE TO BELIEVE IT'S FUGLY ON ME! RAWRRRRR.

And here's the top that I really wore to the flea...

Another thing! I was spotted for some online fashion thing and they took a pic of me in this outfit... Apparently they'll tag me on FB but until now they haven't! I'm starting to think it's a scam, maybe that girl was just doing a school project...SIGH. Thought I can win stuff :'( Either that or they got my email add wrong. 1.olivia.ng@gmail.com. People always tell me that the "1" is confusing and some people have accidentally left it out when they email me sigh. 

BUT IT'S OKAY! I'M GONNA BE POSITIVE. GOOD THINGS ALWAYS HAPPEN TO ME AND WILL CONTINUE TO HAPPEN TO ME! :D

Now, I'll just end off with a pic of my friends of 8 years of friendship! Thank you for all the fun and laughter we've shared together and for always being there for me :') Here's to being friends forever!!! 

Christianity And Other Religions

Religions. I have nothing against it - so long as it's not forced upon me. Despite saying that, I must admit that people who don't practise what they preach seriously irk me. And this applies to religions too. In today's post, I will be focusing on Christianity, because it is usually the Christians who evangelise. Very rarely or perhaps never, do you see a Buddhist or a Muslim proactively "recruit" others to join their religion. At the very least, it has never happened to me.

On the other hand, I have been approached by (self-righteous) Christians many times, preaching to me about the greatness of God.

Incident number 1:

As a frequent go-er of Somerset, I have met this old man outside 313 many times. He would stuff this small booklet in my hand, demanding me to read it. The first time it happened, I took it unsuspectingly and realised it was a book on how Christ died for us and all that. That was okay, no big deal. Just some informational booklet...just read and throw away lor.

BUT. Here comes the ugly side of the story. Because my yoga place is at somerset and I go for yoga at least 3 times a week, I pass by 313 very often. The second time I met the old man, I declined his "good intentions". To my shock, he (presumably a Christian) demanded that I read it and be saved or I'll go to hell. I'm sorry, while it may be true that I'm not a holy person and not believing in Christ may send me to hell, I don't see how reading it will help? Just because I read the booklet doesn't mean I'll believe in Christ, and it doesn't mean that I will be a better person. Also, telling someone they will go to hell is not exactly the right way to convince someone that Jesus is the way to heaven.

Subsequently, every time I see the old man I just ignore him. If I end up in hell because of that...then I'm really damn suay lor. All those murderers and rapists don't go to hell because one day they passed by the old man and took the booklet so they end up in heaven, right? Then suay suay I have to pass by that old man so often and refuse to read the same booklet so I should go to hell lor.

Zzzz

Incident number 2:

I was on the internal shuttle bus of NUS when this girl sitting next to me gave me a tract to watch a Good Friday play. The act itself was acceptable to me and I said something like "Ok thanks." But she had to go on and on about how good Christ is and asked me whether I'm a Christian and why not...So when I replied "Oh I'm not interested.", she went on asking me if I'm ok because I look pale... I don't know but I thought I made it damn freaking obvious that I wasn't interested in talking about Christianity or making friends with her. I just wanted to rest...because I spent the whole night rushing an essay.

While I applaud her courage for approaching a stranger on the bus and trying to "reach out" to "less fortunate" others, I hope that more Christians would have higher EQs.

(The pastor at a church I attended before said that Christians should reach out to others who are not as fortunate to know Christ, hence the apostrophes used.)

Incident number 3:

I'm sure most non-Christians have been approached by friends to go to church. Inviting friends are fine. I've invited people to church before too. But if your friends have rejected you a few times already, persistently bugging them to go to church is just plain annoying. If this is what all Christians are like, why would I want to go to a church full of them? Come to think of it, these people are like those salespersons, especially at beauty salons, who will keep "hardselling" to you till you agree. *rolls eyes*

Incident number 4:

The most recent incident that happened to me was simply the most disgusting incident. This guy is the kind of Christian who goes to church every week and also posts bible verses on FB, proclaiming the love and goodness of God. So if you just visit his FB, you'll think he's a damn holy man. But recently, I found out that he cheated on his gf. To begin with, cheating is a damn shameful and despicable act that I can never accept even if it's not committed by a Christian. BUT BEING A CHRISTIAN MAKES IT WORSE. What's more, a seemingly staunch Christian. Isn't there a commandment in the Bible that says "Thou shalt not commit adultery"? To be honest, one does not even have to be Christian to know that. Couldn't you at least have the decency to break up with your gf before you get to know the other girl better??? It is simply unfair of you to hold on to her while getting to know the new girl. It is, for a lack of a better word, damn disgusting. 

AND YOU KNOW WHAT? THE GIRL FORGAVE HIM WHEN SHE FOUND OUT. Like wth?! Forgiving him is totally condoning his action. When he does cheat again, are we suppose to pity her? This may sound harsh, but I'm less likely to pity her. Because she has made the decision to be in a r/s with him,  being fully aware that he has cheated on her. 

If you think that it is bad enough that a seemingly staunch Christian cheated on his gf, behold what he posted after his gf forgave him:

"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us out sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

To be fair, it could be referring to anything that happened in his life. But the timing of the post and the reconciliation with his gf, I cannot help but to think that the 2 incidents are related. While it may be true that God is a great and forgiving God, the way this guy makes me feel is that: It's okay if I cheated, God is so great he will forgive me. See, he forgave me! My gf forgave me leh!

Like seriously, how can anyone not be grossed out by that?! And how do you expect to reach out to non-Christians like that?! Because if this is what Christianity is about, I wouldn't want to be associated with it.

So, what's my point of writing all these? Am I anti-Christianity or am I an atheist? Well, I was baptised before when I was about 9? But I have stopped attending church for more than 3 years now. Yet I still wear a cross around my neck every single day because it was the very first gift that I remember my dad giving to me. When someone asks me if I'm a Christian, I always hesitate to answer, because while I believe that God is real, I feel that saying yes would ruin the reputation of other Christians, just like those I've mentioned above have. What I want to say is that, it is fine to have a religion, in fact religions are good because they have helped many people to carry on with their lives with something to hold on to and to live for. However,one should not impose their views on others, especially if they don't practise what they preach. 

Egg White Mask Review

I'm a skincare junkie. When I hear something good for the skin, I try it almost immediately, as long as it's within my budget. So recently my bf brought up the topic of using egg white as a mask for beautiful skin. He doesn't describe skin as "radiant", "glowing" or "brightened" but he simply said that after his grandma used it, her skin became very "nice and smooth".

I then remembered that not only have I heard this before, I've seen my mom do it when I was younger. So a few days ago, I decided to give it a try.

How you do it:

1. Get yourself some eggs! Apparently the fresher the eggs, the better. Quite logical right. And when my bf said fresh, he meant that when the hen first lay the egg because his grandma reared hen(s)! Obviously I don't have a hen so I went to the supermarket and bought the freshest eggs I could find. If it's organic, even better! But I'm damn cheapo so mine wasn't organic.

2. Separate the yolk from the egg white.

3. Whisk the egg white. (This step is optional. Some people say it's better some people say it makes no difference. Obviously since I'm given a choice I skipped it)

4. Slather it all over your cleansed face.

5. Leave it on for 15 mins. You will feel your face tightening within a minute as the egg white starts to dry...

6. Wash it off with warm water.

THAT'S IT! 

So if you're curious about the results, I'm posting my before and after photo below:

Okay, the angle of the pictures is slightly different, but I assure you, they're both me. I'm not sure if it's obvious to you guys, but my pores were minimised instantly!!! To begin with my pores were not huge, so you may not notice a huge different, but I scrutinise my face everyday and I can see a difference!!! My skin also looked brightened and was seriously damn freaking smooth!!!! Too bad photos are not 4D whereby you can touch them as well! Imagine the day we have that technology... then people can post photos of shit and people can touch them...or maybe smell them! That will be disgusting...Imagine you open a website and there's a picture of a pile of shit and you got no choice but to smell it!!!! Ok I digress...

So to conclude this post...here are some pros and cons of the egg white mask:

Pros:

1. Cheap! I bought my box of 10 eggs at like $2+! So one mask is like <30cents!!! Only used 1 and the rest can be used for cooking! You can also cook the egg yolk and remaining egg white if you want... 

2. Easily available. Need I say more?

3. Minimises pores instantly!!!

4. Brightens the skin!!!

5. Smoothens the skin!!!

6. Supposed to balance out the oil of your skin... (not sure if this happened because I can't tell if the oil is balanced!!!)

7. Supposed to reduce the number of white/blackheads (but I don't really have blackheads so I can't tell)

Cons:

1. Skin may feel uncomfortable when tightened. I looked like I had too much botox or something. Should have taken a photo!!! My skin was so tight!!!!! 

2. Smells bad.

3. Super unglam mask that you shouldn't do when your crush/bf/fiance/husband is around. Sex appeal = 0

Other than that, this mask is super awesome! I will try again when I finish cooking the eggs and need to purchase more eggs! Because remember, the fresher the eggs, the better!!!

Also, I read some beauty forums that said you should not leave on the mask for more than 20 minutes as it can cause breakouts if you do so. Not sure of the reasoning why cos I was too lazy to read but I applied for 15 mins and the results was fantastic!!! So just leave it on for 15 mins! Hope it works for you guys too!!!!

Summer 2012

Can't believe it's already May 2012!!! Time seems to fly by this year. Summer has arrived and I don't have much planned, except for maybe trips to Batam, Bintan and Sydney. Most of my friends have internships and jobs planned out, and so did I, but not anymore...

I started my internship at K_____ (self-censorship ha!), an international marketing and events company, on 7th May. But within 3 days, I quit. It was a horrible experience. On the first day, I realised that the people were really snobbish and unfriendly. They did not bother talking to me even though I smiled and nodded at them. There was simply no acknowledgement at all! In addition, they were really bitchy and 2-sided. As the office had an open-seating concept, it meant that anything that was said slightly louder than normal would be heard by the entire office. And whenever someone leaves the office, the rest would start bitching about that person. They didn't even bother to conceal it or keep it down when they knew I could hear EVERY SINGLE WORD. Goodness knows what they said behind my back. 

And maybe this is how it really is in the corporate world, but i refuse to believe it - this woman who gave me work to do claimed credit for the entire thing, in front of the boss and in front of me. LIKE SRSLY, WTH?! 

But the last straw was on the 3rd day of my internship, when the admin staff passed me a contract and said to me, "Because your school can't provide us a letter, we can't consider this as an internship. Therefore, please sign this contract as a contract staff." I was offered $600/month for a contract staff that works from 830am - 6pm, 5days/week. $600 was initially agreed upon between us for an internship, because I know internships don't pay much and it's all about the experience. But seriously, $600/month for a contract staff?! That is insulting. I will earn more from working at mcdonalds, and even get free meals pls. 

At this point in time, you may wonder, what's the big deal? It's just a change in title, I'll still get the experience that I was looking for when I applied for an internship. Well, here's why:

1. This other contract staff holding an SIM diploma was getting paid $1200/month

2. It's a matter of principles. They conned me into taking up a job that's usually paying $1200/month. This was not what I had agreed to. I agreed to $600 as an intern, not as a contract staff. That is why. 

So, to sum up, here are my reasons not to work at a big firm:

1. The people are most likely snobbish.

2. The bigger the firm, the more office politics there are

3. The work assigned to you at a big firm is MEGA UNCHALLENGING. You seriously don't need a degree to do them. 

However, I guess if you're willing to slog it out and go against your principles, be a 2-sided person like the rest of them, you can make it big. 

But I'm sorry, I'm not one of those. In fact, this internship has made me learnt that I will not enjoy working in an office, and this has made me even more determined, to work towards my goal of being a yoga instructor. So I guess my internship has served its purpose, I have learnt something.

For now though, here's a shoutout to all who have one off event jobs for me. While I may have decided not to work in an office and cannot afford to take up an internship now due to my holiday plans, I still need the money to finance my holiday trips!!! So if you do know any one off event jobs that's paying at least $7/hr, do let me know!!!!!