Lights, Camera, Pose

When it comes to taking pictures, i really don't have many poses to offer. It's either my usual smile with one hand on the waist, an over exaggerated pout, fish lips or a couple of other funny faces. So learning that i had to take pictures for the magazine was nerve wrecking!



We got our makeup done (such a tiring and uncomfortable process, i don't know how the models do it), hair styled and by the end of the transformation, i was dumbfounded at the reflection that stared back at me through the mirror. I can never get used to seeing myself with thick makeup. Plus, after all the years of wearing spectacles, going without them somehow made me feel vulnerable and my eyebags more prominent. During the first few minutes of the shoot, i found myself constantly adjusting my spectacles that weren't there!



Then of course, when you put women and camera (with a professional photographer, no less) into the same equation, you end up with silly and vain shots as well. After the 'official' pictures were taken, we got around to jumping up and down in front of the camera and even proceeded to talk our photog into giving each of us an individual photoshoot for keeping. This will probably be the closest i will ever get to being a model.

Why, Hello Beautiful

I really should be writing my articles but looklet is so fun! Blazers, coloured skinnies, colour blocking, long necklaces, boots, high heels, asymetrical hem, hi-lo hem...ah, love.

Notes From Work

Crazy deadlines and additional responsibilities aside, here is a collection of the little doses of happiness that my job has brought me thus far:



It was a mini carnival at the headquarters. Clothes from past productions were going for RM5 a piece! I'm guessing the past productions included wacky game shows, concerts and 80s-themed series. There were neon coloured leotards, super sparkly jackets and clothes that looked like they jumped out of my Mom's very, very, very old closet. I'm sure there were gems hidden somewhere amongst those racks. I just don't have the patience to uncover them.



I love cartoon events. Popcorn, whoopie cushion, stickers and yours truly won a Toys"R"Us voucher! This one was held at a kids' gym and because of that, the chairs came in mini-size too. Those of us who entered the screening room first headed straight for the only two 'normal-sized' couches available. As cute and colourful as the tiny chairs were, the thought of me potentially breaking a chair's leg and landing on my behind in full view of the media is not cute.



A hotel celebrated its 5th anniversary and sent an invitation in a cute 555 booklet (very creative move). There were oysters stuffed into test tubes and to be taken with a shot of cocktail. There were vodka shots with caviar. Then there was an awesome cone-shaped tree where strawberries, candies, chocolate bars and pastries were glued on with melted chocolate. You simply plucked whatever you wanted off the 'tree' and indulge. GENIUS!

More indulgence followed when Polly and i were invited to a casual lunch with Hidden Cities' (on HISTORY, Ch555) star Anthony Morse. I expected a large setting filled with media, where the best one could get was a five-minute chat with Morse. Instead, all there was was a table for 15. There was no air of arrogance about that man and it doesn't hurt that he's a looker too! Pictures, honestly, do him no justice. At one point, Polly was so fascinated by his biceps that she went up to him, asked "May I?" and lightly felt his biceps!



Say hello to Ballsy (on the left) and his no-name neighbour! A colleague went to New Zealand recently and returned with fridge magnets for each of us. So now, i have a dark brown, cute, fluffy kiwi chilling on my desktop's CPU, alongside a mini wooden surfboard, Amazing Race magnets, a calendar, a name tag and a fridge magnet of a generic Vietnamese girl that i initially thought was a figurine of a freaky cult idol.



Had some time to kill while waiting for the office's awesome driver, who volunteered to drop Ee Laine and I off at the stadium for the Chelsea vs. Malaysia friendly match. Except for a slight colour difference of the face and body, i'd say it looks pretty real! When showed to a friend, she really thought it was me chopping vegetables...though she did wonder why my arms were leaning towards the manly side.

Grant Them Eternal Peace, Amen

As a child, i remember being left at home with my Mah Mah while Mom, Dad and Yeh Yeh head to the cemetery to pay their respect to my late greatgrandparents on All Souls' Day. Years later, Dad felt that i was grown up enough to finally 'meet' my greatgrandparents and decided to grant me my first cemetery visit. Although i was excited about getting an opportunity to say hello to Greatgrandma and Greatgrandpa, i was nervous too. Will there be spirits roaming around? What if i bumped into one? A cemetery isn't exactly a tween's ideal playground.

Soon enough, the fear began to diminish (especially after the departure of my dear grandparents) and in its place was a sense of calm. Cemetery visits were no longer an annual event. We stopped by on Christmas Day, on death anniversaries and whenever we felt like it. Although their deaths mean i now have an unlimited access to them (i speak to them when my heart desires), having a physical place to go to and a physical object to target my conversations to somehow decreases the feeling of loss.

Dear Lord, i ask that you please bless my deceased loved ones with eternal peace and joy, and that the perpetual light continue to shine upon them. Till we meet again, rest in peace and know that you will always be loved and never forgotten.