A-Z Book Challenge Update

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Here is the quarterly update on my A-Z Book Challenge. I would say that I'm doing pretty well. We're halfway through the year and I've read 13 out of 26 books. Right on track. Haha.

A: Asunder by Jodi Meadows Review

B: Beastly by Alex Flinn Review
C:
D:
E: Endless Knight by Kresley Cole Review
F: Frostbite by Richelle Mead Review
G:
H: Hush Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick Review
I: If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch Review
J:
K:
L:
M: Monsters Of Men by Patrick Ness Review
N: Never Fade by Alexandra Bracken Review
O: Out of Breath by Rebecca Donovan Review
P: 
Q:
R: Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier Review
S: Something Strange And Deadly by Susan Dennard Review
T: This Is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith Review
U:
V:
W: Winger by Andrew Smith Review
X:
Y:
Z:

A Day Of Relaxation

Everybody needs a break at some point, otherwise we'll go crazy with the stress from school, work, or whatever it is we're dealing with. My dream break is to travel overseas, but that's not something that can happen as and when I want to take a break. So I've found other means to relax.

This is my checklist for a relaxing day at home.

Candle: Summer Wish by is far my favourite candle. It's said to be a floral scent, but to me it smells more like something clean and fresh with a hint of muskiness. It feels like being in nature and has a very calming effect on me.

Book: I'm currently reading Unhinged by A. G. Howard. It's the second book in her Splintered trilogy. This trilogy is a retelling of Alice in Wonderland, but instead of following the adventures of Alice, it follows that of her supposed descendant Alyssa. I can't even begin to describe how much I love this trilogy; it just pulls you in right from the beginning.

Tea: Any tea will do, really. I have yet to find one that I can call a favourite.

Music: I'm someone who is very easily distracted and therefore needs to read in total silence. However, that's a luxury and it doesn't come by often. So I'll listen to music to block out outside noises. Only instrumental ones though. Otherwise I'll be belting out to the song instead of reading my book.

What I Got For My 21st Birthday

These are a mixture of presents from my secondary and polytechnic friends. Unwrapping presents is my favourite part of receiving presents. There's always elements of excitement and surprise because you don't know what you're going to get.

I must say that my friends really do know me very well. Hello Kitty is my favourite cartoon character ever, but I'm not the kind of person who is willing to spend my money on such stuff because authentic ones are pretty expensive. So receiving them as presents is just mind blowing. I'm not afraid to say that I cried whilst I was opening them. I was so touched.

In my birthday wishlist, I stated that I wanted a Marc Jacobs watch. I think my friends couldn't find that exact model so they got me this Sovil et Titus one which I love even more. This design is nicer and the size/fit is perfect. Furthermore, Sovil et Titus is my favourite watch brand ever.  

On top of the books, my brother also got me this Armani Exchange watch. I'm so in love with rose gold accessories at the moment.

I wanted a pair of black Topshop Leigh jeans because they're the most comfortable kinds jeans I've ever tried. My aunt is just such a lovely person to give me three pairs plus an abstract-print blouse.

I'm so happy to receive an Ipad mini from my uncle. I'm a huge reader and is therefore carrying a book with me everywhere I go. An Ipad is going to be so useful because I'll be able to have a ton of books with me without having to lug around dead weight. The chosen Hello Kitty cover is so beautiful.

Apart from presents, all the adults in my life have also given me cash.

This was given to me by my mum which was in turn given to her by her mum. Can you call this a family heirloom? Haha.

My friends know how to crack me up.

I'm a firm believer that people are not expected and really don't have to give me any presents at all. Every single thing that I've received is a show of their kindness and I'm really very, very, VERY appreciative and grateful for them. To me, the best part about celebrating birthdays is not about how many or what kinds of presents I've received, but the fact that I'm still alive. I honestly believe that being alive is the best present I can ever have. As long as I'm alive, I can spend time with the people I love, I can do things that will make others and myself happy, I can fall and get back up again, I can control my own destiny.

P.S. I have one item from my grandparents which I don't have with me at the moment because it's still being custom made. I think I'll make a post once I've received it, sometime in June, because that item means a lot to me.

21st Birthday Book Haul

The Harry Potter box set is so beautiful!!! Quite a few versions have been released in recent years and the particular one I've gotten is in celebration for the 15th anniversary.

Part of my ever growing book shelf.

I really appreciate the books that I've been gifted by my brother and cousins. These books mean a lot to me, especially The Lord Of The Rings as it is the series that I grew up with. I remember during my primary school days, my family would set aside Saturday as movie night and we would watch The Lord Of The Rings. My dad would set up the projector and speakers so that we can pretend like we're in a cinema. And since its a very long movie, I think we actually took a few months to watch. That's one of my favourite childhood memory ever.

21st Birthday Cake

Time flies! I can't believe I'm now 21 years old and I'm having mixed feelings about it. It's really scary to think that I'm now officially an adult in the eye of the law and I need to be held accountable for every single one of my actions. I can't even begin to fathom the day when I need to live on my own and be responsible for someone else other than myself. At the same time, I'm also really excited as I'll soon be starting a full time job doing something that I really love and hopefully save up enough money to do some travelling.

This Or That Book Tag

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1. Audio or book in hand?

Book in hand, definitely. I've never tried listening to a book before actually. I cannot imagine doing that because I'm sure I won't be able to comprehend anything and that it will just go in through one ear and out the other.

2. Soft cover or hardback?

No preference. Although I must say that whenever I'm reading books with soft covers, I find myself having to tilt the book in all sorts of angles when I'm trying to read those words that are near the spine. I cannot stand having cracks in the spine of my books.

3. Fiction or non-fiction?

Most of the time fiction. I usually only read non-fiction when it is about children with special needs.

4. Fantasy world or real life issues?

This is so difficult. It really depends on my mood. But I find that most of the books in the fantasy genre do touch on issues relating to the real world to a certain extent.

5. Harry Potter or Twilight?

To be honest, I've never read any of those two series.

6. Kindle, I-Pad, or other?

I would much prefer being able to read the physical copy of the book. Otherwise it would be an I-Pad.

7. Borrow or buy?

Borrow. I don't really buy books because I find that it is not worth my money since I usually get rid of them pretty soon when (a) the spine is cracked or (b) there are folds in the book or (c) the pages turn yellow.

8. Bookstore or online?

I don't really buy books but when I do I will buy from a bookstore. I like to make sure that the copy of the book I'm buying is in tip-top condition and that there is no price tag sticking anywhere on the book.

9. Tell me one time or total trilogy?

Ooh. Another difficult question. I don't really have an answer because I haven't read that many standalone. Most of the books I read are either in a trilogy or a series.

10. Monster read or short and sweet?

What is the definition of a monster read even? The books I read are usually about 400-500 pages long.

11. Starry eyed romance or full of action?

It really depends on my mood. But I like books that have a good mixture of both.

12. Curl up in your snuggie or bathe in the sun?

Curl up in a snuggie. Why would I be reading in the sun when I could be doing some kind of sport?

13. Hot chocolate or latte?

Can I choose tea instead? I don't want hot chocolate or latte especially since I don't really drink milk.

14. Read the review or decide for yourself?

I will read the review but how I rate the book will ultimately depend on how I feel after reading it.

A-Z Book Challenge

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In January, I typed out a post about my New Years Resolution for the year 2014. In that post, I mentioned that I wanted to read more books. So some time in February, I set myself the specific goal of reading 70 books by the end of the year. I've now decided to take on another challenge called the A-Z Book Challenge.

What this means is that for each letter, I need to read a book which has a title that starts with that particular letter. There is no order to follow for the letter sequence as long as every one is being covered. I'm not sure if there are any rules to it but I'm pretty sure that whilst books can be from the same author, they cannot be from the same series. I think I might have some difficulties with certain letters especially those at the back. These are what I have read so far and I will post updates for this challenge on a quarterly basis.

A: Asunder by Jodi Meadows Review

B: Beastly by Alex Flinn Review
C:
D:
E: Endless Knight by Kresley Cole Review
F: Frostbite by Richelle Mead Review
G:
H:
I: If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch Review
J:
K:
L:
M: Monsters Of Men by Patrick Ness Review
N: Never Fade by Alexandra Bracken Review
O:
P: 
Q:
R:
S: 
T: This Is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith Review
U:
V:
W: Winger by Andrew Smith Review
X:
Y:
Z:

Nelson Mandela

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Went out with one of my polytechnic friends today to watch the Nelson Mandela movie. It was very powerful, very intense, and evoked a lot of emotions in me. I'm not sure how different is the movie as compared to his actual life story so whatever thoughts and opinions I have here are based solely on the movie.

The movie has a running time of 147 minutes. Before going into the cinema, I was telling my friend that I might fall asleep since its such a long movie. But no such chance. Right from the beginning, I was immediately captured into the story. I watched the whole movie wide eyed and trying to absorb everything. It was just so amazing. There was such a good balance between the abuse, violence, sex, and touching scenes that made the movie well-rounded.

This movie follows the life of Nelson Mandela where he first started out as a lawyer, then an activist/freedom fighter, then his imprisonment for more than 20 years, and finally as a politician. During his time, and even before that, the Whites have always dominated the Blacks and treated them very unfairly. Over the years, tensions obviously formed between the two groups of people and the Blacks want to fight for their freedom. Nelson Mandela believed very strongly in everybody having equal rights and did all he could to move towards that, which landed him in jail for the destruction he caused. 

Whilst I do not agree with the use of violence as a means to solve problems, I do believe that at that point in time, it was the best decision he could make since the Whites will not give the Blacks a chance to talk peacefully. The violence is kind of a wake-up call to the Whites to let them know that something has to be done. But it can be seen that violence is not something Nelson Mandela wanted and when he was released from prison, he made a statement to say that he want peace and freedom for his people but definitely not through violence. He wanted his people to put their trust in him and vote for him during the elections so that he can change things in a civilized way.

Nelson Mandela himself is a very inspirational person and with him as the main character of the movie, it made me think and question about life. When you translate the many obstacles he faces into your own life, you find that its actually not that different. His many years in prison can equate to a setback that we might have. But what makes him so inspirational and successful is that he does not see himself as a victim, even when he was being abused. He continued fighting for his people even in prison and as he aged. That made him a leader. As a leader, you should posses nothing because everything that you have should be given to your people. He has done that. He has given his life to his people. He has dedicated his life to make a positive change for his people and the generations to come.

I think peace is something all countries struggle with and its only a matter of to what extent. For some countries its verbal fighting and for some countries its war. There's always a rationale behind everything, but who is to say what is right and what is wrong; what is good and what is evil? I think its human nature that when something is in your favour you support it and when its not, you fight it. But remember that in every situation, there is this group of minority that can never fight for themselves. And when it happens, who is going to help them? Who is going to be fair enough? I don't really know where I'm going with this because my thoughts are in turmoil. But I totally agree with what Nelson Mandela said towards the end of the movie. He said that nobody is born to hate and love comes more naturally to us. I know its an ideal, but can you deny that when everybody is able to love one another, there will be peace in the world?

Power makes people greedy
War makes monsters of men

Birthday Wishlist

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Hmm... I've never had to come up with a birthday wishlist before and this is proving to be more challenging than I thought. As a child, there's always some toy that I want and it's easy to just ask adults for it. When I'm older, people tended to give me cash so that I can either save up or spend it at a later time when I have something I want to buy. Now that I have to come up with a wishlist, I'm not too sure what exactly I would like. These are just some of the things I would like to get for myself but haven't got around to doing so. So I guess it can be considered as a wishlist right? At the end of the day, it doesn't even matter whether I get any of these things or any gifts at all. It's always the thought that counts.

Books

1. Beautiful Disaster and Walking Disaster by Jamie McGuire

2. Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

3. Harry Potter Box Set by J.K.Rowling

4. Hopeless and Losing Hope by Colleen Hoover

5. The Edge Of Never and The Edge Of Always by J.A.Redmerski

6. The Hobbit & The Lord Of The Rings Box Set by J.R.R.Tolkien

Nail polishes

1. Essie Angora Cardi

2. Essie Bahama Mama

3. Essie Carry On

4. Essie Size Matters

5. OPI Casino Royale

6. OPI Got The Blues For Red

7. OPI Take Ten Mini Collection

Fashion

1. Topshop Leigh Jeans in Black W2830 Click here

2. Marc by Marc Jacobs watch Baker 36 MM Click here

3. Sovil et Titus watch model number 06-2586-003

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Once again, I'm not too sure what exactly do I want. Since my birthday is still quite far away, I might make changes to this list. But for now, it's more or less done.

Dinner With The Family

I've just had one of the best nights yet. Went out with my parents to do a little shopping and for dinner. To some, this might seem like nothing to be happy or excited about. To me, this is a big thing. My parents are not the type who likes leaving the house, so I really appreciate them for taking the time to bring me out. Here are some pictures from our dinner.

We went to this little cafe place that is supposedly known for their chicken. Hence the shop name I guess.

The chili is amazing - a good mix of spiciness and sourness.

Pig intestine soup and bean sprout.

Chicken rice soup.

I don't eat meat but my gosh does the chicken look delicious. Haha.

Jim Weiss

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to be a part of something amazing. I volunteered for Jim Weiss' storytelling event and got to listen to him tell wonderful stories for FREE! I love reading books, so being able to hear someone tell a story so animatedly is just haven. I've thoroughly enjoyed the two-hour session and I'm so thankful.

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Look at the crowd! It's practically full house. Throughout the whole session, the children were all very engaged. They responded to his questions, laughed at all the funny parts, and got a little frustrated when he kept tricking them. Everybody can tell stories, but not many can tell in such captivating manner. From the session, I can tell that Jim Weiss is very passionate and believes in what he is doing. It shows through his storytelling. And the thing is, he is already 65 years old! Where does he get all his energy from to deal with young children? Haha.

To thank the volunteers, he even gave us a copy of his CD for free (when it actually costs $20 per piece) and signed it. Oh my gosh! We got the chance to talk to him for a while. He and his wife are just the sweetest people on Earth. 

This particular disc contains nine stories: The Three Billy Goat Gruff, The Lion & The Mouse, The Tortoise & The Hare, The Crow & The Pitcher, City mouse & Country Mouse, Giggly Biggly And The Invitation (original story), Goat Gets Away, The Cat Who Went To Church, and Chanticleer The Rooster. I've listened to the whole disc once and can't wait to hear it again. It's going to be my bedtime stories from now on. Haha.

Miniatures: Burger set

I never would have imagined myself doing this. I'm definitely not the kind of girl who enjoys doing miniature stuff. But that one time when I was by the Sakae Sushi cashier, this caught my eyes and at that moment I thought it was interesting so I bought it. As you can see, the instructions are in Japanese and I had to watch lots of YouTube videos to know what I was supposed to do. I actually tried the french fries and it was horrible. I would never recommend anybody to put the products in their mouths even though its supposedly edible. The exciting part about this was seeing the powder, when added with water, turn into something that resembles an actual burger, fries, or drink. Its fun to do it once but I doubt I'll ever purchase it a second time. Not very worth it.

Ciate Advent Calendar

I'm aware that this is a Ciate advent calendar and I know that this post is months and months overdue. I just didn't have the time to make this post until now. The last I check, which is almost two weeks ago, this was still available at Sephora retailing for SG$79. I bought mine right at the start of February for SG$55 as there was a 30% discount at that time. Lucky, lucky me.

Like all advent calenders, there's 24 slots for the 1st of December to the 24th of December. This set contains 18 nail polishes ranging from pinks to grey, 4 caviar pearls, 1 sequin flakes, 1 glitter, and 1 funnel.

It's the perfect nail set for people who are either just starting out and want to try a variety of colours or just wanting to expand their nail polish collection. Each bottle is 5ml, which is less than half of the amount you would get in a standard bottle, but to be honest, I don't think any of us actually get through our usual 12-14ml of nail polishes. So with this mini Ciate ones, you don't feel like you're wasting it.

Even if there are a handful of colours you don't use, for the price, I still think it is very worth it. They apply very easily, not streaky at all. They have rich colour pay off, most of them require only one coat and you're good to go. Most importantly, they do not chip. There was once I had mine for 10 days straight and they were still in perfect condition.

And I love how they have included a quote behind each flap/door. I think it just adds a nice touch and somehow helps brighten a person's day. I'm so excited for Christmas this year. I can't wait to get another set of Ciate advent calendar. Haha.

Outfit Of The Day

Burgundy shirt: Marks & Spencer

Black skinny jeans: Topshop Leigh jeans

Burgundy shoes: Vans

Bowler hat: Topshop

Watch: Sovil et Titus in rose gold

Nails: Models Own red alert

This is what happens when I'm left with the camera. Selfies! Haha. 

The Dream

What do you want to be when you grow up? This is the oh-so-famous question that every parent, or just adults in general, love asking children. From as young as I could remember, I've always had the dream to be a doctor. I don't know if its because I like the idea of being able to save someone's life or because its the only few occupations I get to interact with at that age. 

So I've always held on to this dream and believe that I could one day make it happen. But things change after I completed my secondary school education. My O level results were pretty bad and I knew from that moment that I'm not cut out to be a doctor. With my results, I could not get into the science course I need and even if I did, I would struggle a lot because I'm not a Math/Science person. So I made the worst decision ever to go into a junior college that I hate and take the subjects that I wasn't even the least bit interested in. Its a surprise how I manage to stay in such a horrible place for year. But anyway, when a new school year started, I knew I had to leave because that place just wasn't right for me. 

At that point in time, I still didn't know where I wanted to go or what I wanted to do. But somehow, when it was time for me to apply to get into a polytechnic, it suddenly occurred to me that I wanted to go into a course that allows me to deal with children. I applied for the Diploma in Child Psychology and Early Education and got in. I went in not knowing what the course is about or whether or not its what I want. I've definitely struggled in my first year and have even thought about leaving. But something in me told me to just stick around for a while more. Now that I'm almost graduating, I can safely say that going to that school and taking up this diploma is one of the best decisions of my life and I've never looked back since.

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From wanting to be a doctor to wanting to be an occupational therapist, that's perfectly fine right? During my final internship, I was very inspired by the occupational therapist and decided that that's what I want to do. Although the diploma I'm in now will not allow me to be an occupational therapist or to study in a local university, I know I can go overseas to further my studies or I can at least take the first step by getting a job as a therapy assistant to gain some experience. There is no such thing as the "correct" route to take to reach a place. Sometimes, you just have to go with the options that are available at that point in time.

Chasing after your dream is never easy. But only being able to wish that you could live your dream is worst. If you have something that you are very passionate about, something you're willing to do for free, DO IT. Do whatever it takes to make sure you get there. When one door closes, find another one. If you have to take a longer route, so be it. When people say you can't do it, that is based on what they think of you, not what you're really made of. When other people do better than you, work even harder. When there are obstacles place in your way, move them away. Never give up on your dream, unless YOU don't want it anymore.

Cycling @ East Coast Park

I've recently went cycling at East Coast Park with a few of my secondary school friends and it was a super amazing experience. I think I might actually be addicted to cycling now. Haha.

Such a beautiful and clean beach.

Two of the many bikes that we rented. Mine was the blue one.

Free cycling lessons? Haha.

Two people cycling. The starting can be very challenging - trying to figure out each other's momentum. However, with practice, you start to build chemistry with your partner and it will get easier.

Taking a break.

Footprints in the sand.

Happy 2014!!!

Don't you think that the waves look slightly fluffy? Haha.

Ships in a distance. I've always wondered how does it feel like to be on board such a huge ship.

The never ending road.

Whilst cycling might be very tiring, the beautiful scenery that you get is very worth it. Furthermore, because its near the sea, there's a lot of wind and it makes cycling very calming and relaxing. I hope I have the chance to cycle more often, maybe once a week. Haha.