A 4 hour lunch

I haven't seen friends in... ages. Come weekend and I happily choose to be wrapped in my blanket and be surrounded by fort of pillows. So this weekend I thought I'd go out to see some of my favourite girls, Fatin and Sarah! We met up at Dolly Dim Sum for lunch. Dolly's is one of my favourite places to eat because it genuinely has really good food with some fun interior to match! It's hard these days to find places that are both real tasty and real pretty. 

We spent a good 4 hours catching up with one another. About work, about our opinions on feminists, about Pokémon Go, about families and friends, about Sarah's CSR projects and her explanation of investments, and just life in general. I love small lunch dates like these. I mean, I love the dinner party with the whole gang of course but it doesn't get any better than intimate meals like these with your best buds. Over this lunch I realised how grown up we all are! We were the three ladies at the table that my 10 year old self would have wondered what conversations could be had at 'that age'. And we're already at THAT AGE. I used to think 20s used to be so old. I'm turning 24 in 2 months, bloody hell!!!

But as much as I'd love to rewind time, I actually really love where I'm at. It's the time where I'm actually doing something productive in my life, where I'm actually working towards what I've always wanted to do! I mean, it's a journey far ahead but still, baby steps, y'know? It's surreal sometimes and I always kinda have to take a step back to realise that damn, we're adults now and we're actually in the midst of building our proper adult lives! We were discussing how different work life is and how intimidating it can get. Fatin likens first day at work as being that new girl in school and man, we've all been there at least once and it's scary!! Heck, even in KY it took me a lot of (literal) pushing to step into the cafeteria for the very first time. All eyes on you like you fresh meat kinda thing? 

And work life is so unlike school where you had text books and revision books to guide you. At work you kinda just go with it. The amount of times I've had to spend Googling business and marketing terms at work......

Anyway, I had a great time and I loooove these two, they're so cute and funny and so kecoh that it made my whole Saturday! I look forward to more lunch and dinner dates, girls! 

Fatin is seriously one of the most photogenic girls I know!!!!! It's actually quite frustrating!!!!!

I took Sarah's angle and so that was how she posed with me for all the photos we took together... with her back against me! Sigh the difficulty of two friends who like to be pictured from the same angle!! 

Can't wait for Iman to finish her SPM so I have a buddy to go out with on weekends. I miss karaoke-ing and that's already first on our list to do. Can't wait! 

Hope you have/had a great weekend! Also, is there any existing protest or request online to implement a three-day weekend? Surely there must be because surely everyone hates Mondays.

xx

Friday Funday

IT'S FRIDAY!!

I just got back from dinner with my family at Dancing Fish in BSC. If you've not been, you have to. It serves Indonesian food and it's by far one of my favourite restaurants. Everything is so good! It's rice and lauk lah basically but really flavourful and with every dish, they have a dip of their own and it's made of different types of sambal belacan. I don't know lah ok I just love it!!! Go try!!!! Then thank me later. And then maybe treat me out also.

_____

I have a greater appreciation for the weekend now and I've probably already mentioned that before. I was lucky enough to be someone who enjoyed school tremendously so although the weekend was great for sleeping in, I didn't mind Mondays because I'd be reunited with friends and let's be honest, school wasn't that hard. Neither was college. Ok no, KY was difficult but I didn't mind it because college was SO much fun, literally was a good day EVERYDAY for me there. So weekends were just... fine.

Now...

...

... now I love the weekends. Not that I hate work but it's a completely different ball game and I get it why adults used to tell me "Enjoy school, work is so different and so not fun!" when I was younger. School was fun and I'm really happy I found it fun because I know a lot of people who hated high school and I can't help but feel so kesian because I think everyone deserves great school years that they would want to go back again and again. 

I, also btw, wake up as early as 7:30 these days, weekends or not! Which is new because I used to power through the night completely fuelled by my enthusiasm for Korean dramas and variety shows. Now I'm so lembik when I get home at 7 and completely out of it by midnight. And I'm up even before my alarm. You learn something new about yourself all the time and my ability to wake up early and stick to a healthy sleep routine is, well... my something new.

Work has been going well. I'm slowly starting to get involved in meetings and putting forth my opinions to Nelissa and her team. It's really a new experience altogether because for the first time ever I'm doing things other than studying! I'm actually contributing to operations and marketing and sales and this and that. It's a pretty small team so I'm lucky in the sense that I get to learn a lot first hand. And Nelissa is a pretty chilled out boss so it's not like I'm working in a stuffy environment. I mean, I get to wear jeans to work. Yas!

But the more I work at NH, the more I kinda want to start up my own business. It's stressful and there's a lot of really boring technical stuff you have to do before getting to the fun bit but I just love the idea of being an entrepreneur. I think it's because it has to do a lot of economics and knowing how the market works and studying customer behaviour and even to a certain point, understanding basic psychology. I won't know how to expand on that last one but it really does! It's a lot to do with thinking what's something else that's new and exciting that I can do and constant brainstorming "How do I get better than the next person?". It's competition and being innovative and I love that! I told my dad over dinner once that one of my small goal dreams is to chair a meeting because a) it sounds cool b) it'll probably signify I've become someone to be able to pull that off. Hopefully not too far in the future you'll see a blog post bearing the title, "CHAIRED MY OWN MEETING!" with exciting emojis. 

But you gotta start somewhere and this is my somewhere, I guess. 

Have a bloody great weekend! I'm working tomorrow at the pop-up store boohoo no relaxing, couch-potato-ing Saturday for me but atleast more pay hehe

xx

P/S : Also a hearty thank you to everyone who wished me well after Hafiz's passing. Was so sweet and so lovely to see so many people check up on me. I don't think I deserved it but it was nice anyway to know I got some great buddies with me. 

Hafiz Ismail

I lost a friend today.

When Hafiz told me of his cancer, I couldn't believe it. I really couldn't. His doctors told him then that he had 6 months. And 6 months passed, and he was fine. So although I shouldn't, I thought little of the cancer and knowing how Hafiz always beats the odds, I didn't think he'd give in to cancer. Knowing him, he had no plans to lose out on this battle. A battle too cruel for anyone to go through.

So when I visited him 2 weeks back at the hospital, I wasn't as nervous as I thought I'd be. I think it was because I've never seen him in the hospital. And I didn't really properly acknowledge the fact that he had cancer. I didn't know how to acknowledge it. I couldn't process it. But when I saw him on the hospital bed, sitting up right, attached with an oxygen mask and body so thin and frail, only did it start registering. My heart dropped. I didn't know what to do and I didn't know what to say. I went with some of his very very close guy friends so when I saw Hafeez (a different one, Hafeez and Hafiz are best of friends since primary school) stroke his hair and joked with him, I couldn't hold back my tears. How is this boy who used to teach me add math, who used to sit behind me in class and pull our hair (Ila and I were deskmates and Hafeez and Hafiz were deskmates and we used to sit infront of them for 3 years running, we then resorted to calling ourselves the G.I Johns), who used to fetch me all the time from my house without complaining, here on this hospital bed, fighting for his life??  It was difficult for me to come to terms that Hafiz had cancer because it was out of reach for me to understand. So when I saw him in the hospital with the oxygen mask did it all come at me. All at once. And I was incredibly overwhelmed. 

When I saw him at the hospital, I didn't know what to say and what to do. He was joking around with Hafeez and when it came to my turn to say hi, I just fell silent. And so did he. I took him by his hand and I held it tight. I wanted to say, "You'll be ok" but I just couldn't. It wouldn't come out. My eyes started to fill with tears and my words got stuck in my throat, refusing to come out. I must've mustered a weak, "...ok" because he smiled and just nodded as if he understood what I wanted to say. I hope he did. That was the last time I saw him. 

When I got the text that he had passed today, my whole mind just went numb and blank. I was at a studio for a photoshoot and I couldn't leave. My friends were discussing the agenda for the day on Whatsapp and it was still uncertain if he was to be buried tonight or tomorrow morning. I was numb. I didn't really talk much and I didn't really do anything. Only when I told my colleague that I had to leave work early and that it was because of Hafiz, my voice broke and my eyes started to get watery. It was as if my heart and mind was finally synchronising with the rest of my body. It hadn't sunk it yet before that. Having to say it out loud made it real. 

I rushed home and then rushed again for the mosque where they'd have sembahyang jenazah. We were informed that he was about to be wrapped and that it was our last time to see him. I saw him from afar before stopping in my tracks. I couldn't. I couldn't see him like that. I couldn't see my friend because it was too surreal. Seeing him in that state was too difficult for me to do. I couldn't stop crying when I was praying Isyak. Because I couldn't believe where I was. I was at a mosque, about to sembahyang jenazah for a friend. A friend whom I've known since we were 15. A friend who then turned to something more. We've shared great, great memories together. Lunch dates at our favourite New York Deli - we used to go there so many times that the waiters knew us from afar. Study sessions at MPH out of all places because it was quiet enough and they had a small cafe where we had drinks while attempting to study add math together. Times we'd argue about the tiniest thing like Coke vs Pepsi and discuss to great lengths who we'd date if not one another. Used to always make me laugh. I remember being really proud and happy that I was dating him because everyone around us loved him to bits. He was the life of any party and it's pretty much agreed that he was everyone's favourite guy. And still very much is. In fact, when I was at the burial site, I saw some of our friends there and to see them so sad really broke me. We're talking about friends who he grew up with, spent all his school years with, sat with during break, went for tuition classes with, hung out with just weeks ago, travelled with. I knew Hafiz when we were 15, and these are his good friends who have been friends with him since they were 7. 15 years of friendship with someone and to see them leave you brings about a sadness and grief that is entirely unparalleled.

I'm so saddened that he is no longer here with us and I really don't know what to do nor say. I'm incredibly grateful to have known such a guy in my life. I wanted to thank him for being such a great fighter, for being such a trooper. Doctors initially told him 6 months when he was first diagnosed but he marched on for another 5 years. And I also wanted to thank him for giving me a big portion of his heart. For liking me and for sticking through with me. I'm also incredibly regretful of the things I didn't get to say and things I didn't get to do. Like to apologise for being really crappy in the last few years. For being really distant. I'm really sorry for all the things I did and the things I didn't. You deserved a great, great love of a lifetime and I'm sorry I couldn't be that for you. I want to say a million more things and I should've a long time ago and I'm so sorry for that. I hope through my prayers you'll hear me and you'll hear how sincere and genuine my apologies and gratitude to you are. 

The sadness everyone is going through now is only a tiny bit trumped by relief because at least now you're in a much better place and that you're not suffering. You're free from pain Alhamdulillah and for that, I'm glad. I'll always have you in my prayers. May He grant you Jannah and may He also provide your family comfort and patience to go through this very difficult time in their lives. You are such a blessing to all of us, Hafiz and I hope you left us at least knowing that. 

It was an honour to have you in my life, Hafiz Ismail. 

We'll see each other again but 'til then, rest well. We all miss you already.

31st May 1993 - 14th October 2016

Al-Fatihah

Final Vlog!

Weekends are something I cherish more and more as I work. It's something I feverishly look forward to. 

To what, you might ask?

To do nothing. To just laze in bed and not care for an alarm. And to catch up with my variety shows. I try to be good with my TV shows but sometimes I'm just too sleepy and I'd rather much not regret staying up so late when I wake up. So I sleep. Guys, I'm tellin' ya, I'm a different person now!!

The past week, my dad was in Italy and the UK (he had an expo in Milan and went to visit my sister in the UK) so while he was gone, I slept over in my parents room with my mum. To keep her company and to also sleep on their bed. Is it just me or does everyone find their parents' bed very, almost weirdly ridiculously comfortable??? My dad has a bolster and so I've been using his while I slept over and it's my new obsession so I had to get my own. So now, I'm back in my room with new bedsheets (dainty yellow striped ones... cute) and 2 new bolsters! I only have a single bed but it's currently bombarded with pillows. Just the way I love it.

Iman and I watched Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children yesterday as per her request. It was... okay. I preferred Lemony Snickets waaaaaay more. This movie was not as child friendly as I had initially thought. It was very creepy, actually! Meh. I didn't enjoy it as much but it's been ages since I last went to watch a movie at the cinemas so it was fine! Next movie I wanna catch is The Girl on The Train. I love Emily Blunt so I'm going to watch it 'cause of her. I've heard how famous the book was so I'm looking forward. 

Hmm... what else?

Oh! I placed an order with Colourpop about 3 weeks ago because they had this free international delivery promotion going on and I took advantage of it. I have always wanted to buy from Colourpop but never got around to doing it (mainly cause it was so expensive to buy CHEAP eyeshadows. Delivery charges are such a nuisance). So when they announced that they were delivering for free, I immediately went online and bought a bunch of eyeshadows. 

9, to be specific. And 1 highlighter. I didn't get any of their lipsticks because I don't like matte finishes and I'm perfectly fine with all the lip tints I bought from Korea. 

I haven't had the opportunity to go anywhere fancy to use these shadows but hopefully soon. Someone bring me out for a nice dinner, please! I channelled my inner beauty vlogger hidden deep, deep somewhere inside and Snapchatted a mini haul video. 

First impressions on these shadows were that they apply like a ~ d r e a m ~ they are incredibly soft to the touch and didn't feel powdery in the tiniest bit! They're almost cushiony in the pan. They swatch true to colour and so sickeningly pigmented. I'm struggling to find why anyone would wanna buy anything else? It's beautiful and they have so many colours and tones to choose from (I took 45 minutes to decide between 2 almost identical colours). Cheap and beautiful pay off, why would you buy anywhere else?????

From L-R (or bottom to up) : Brady, Crenshaw (from the Kaepop collection), Tang, Seeker, Nillionaire, Partridge, Cricket, Wattles, Hammered

Highlighter in 'Butterfly Beach'

Also, I have the final vlog up and ready on Youtube! It's our last one and so it's bittersweet. It's been fun editing these and I actually really advocate travel vlogging. It reminds me a lot of my childhood when my dad would lug around his huge video camera around and film us on holidays. You get to relive the whole holiday also and I've loved it all. Tania loves editing these videos out too but she wasn't able to do the later ones because she's all the way in the UK. Even Iman enjoys making videos, she's done some and she's learning whenever she can about video making. She even aspires to be a film director one day. Hmmmm don't know how my parents would feel about that...

Our last day in Seoul was mostly running around to places we hadn't gone yet. Nowhere new. We discovered this beautiful shop in Hongdae called Daily Monday. The exterior and interior of the store was so ON POINT, it had pink deck chairs and tables at the front of the store with a lot of greenery. The interior was just really well thought out and was a lot different from the smaller shops in the main Hongdae area. This was more fancy shmancy and the clothes were definitely to my liking. We were rushing so we didn't get anything which I heavily regretted. Wished we had spent more time in there and wished we had discovered it earlier! 

We went to have dinner at SMT and Tania asked our very sweet host to make a reservation for us. We're unsure if it's completely necessary to make a reservation beforehand but it's best that you do. It's also, by the way, nowhere near the SUM market. It's on the same street as JYP Entertainment. At the junction (where you're facing JYP and Dunkin Donuts is on your left), turn right and walk straight on til you see SMT on your right. You won't miss it.

We met up with Jiha, a friend/college junior of mine, who is currently doing a year abroad in Seoul and she brought us out for lunch in Hongdae at this rather obscure shop. She even treated us which was incredibly sweet and kind of her!!!! Food was really good and I highly recommend webfoot octopus to anyone. It's not as icky as it sounds, promise.

Sigh, I can go on and on about Seoul. Such a cool place and I really really really won't mind going again and again. I won't get bored, there's so many things to do, to see, to shop. And it's also relatively very cheap. Once you have your Airbnb and flights settled, you're pretty much set. Food isn't expensive and shopping isn't too pricey either. You just have to be smart on where to shop. I've been thinking about going to Japan but people have been scaring me saying how expensive it is! I really don't like going to a new place and being limited by money. Sounds very snobbish, I know and I apologise but holidays are meant to be carefree and enjoyable so to be constantly wary about money is so tiring and difficult. I definitely know that it's very possible to be on a tight budget when traveling, as how I'd assume backpackers travel around, but just as there are many types of eaters, there are also many types of travellers. So maybe Japan later on when I've made some money on my own. But Korea... Korea, you definitely can go even on a small budget. Definitely.

Ok so I want to resume my evening nap and prepare my heart and soul for the next working week. Hahaha I make my work sound so challenging when it really isn't. 

I still have yet to post photos of my trip but I promise I will!

Here's the final episode of our Seoul trip vlog! To many more in the future. 

5th Vlog

I'm currently at home after the weekend away at a hotel in KL. Mum decided to book a hotel room for the three of us (Iman, Mum and I) as a treat. I highly recommend staycations. You don't really have to travel and you get to stay in a hotel room. It was supposed to be just for a night but after much persuading, we extended it to 2 nights. 

Didn't really do much other than to KLCC and Pavilion but it was just really nice. Something about hotels that I love. Is it the bedding? Is it the carpeted floors? Is it the really luxurious bathroom? I looked forward to staying in a hotel this whole week!!! I miss it already. Would it be excessive to do staycations once a month??? 

Cheated this week and combined 2 days in 1 vlog because our 5th day was really short, we came home pretty early in the day because of how cloudy it was. Next time I travel I'm definitely going to have one whole day dedicated to staying home! 

I think the reason I've not been blogging is because I have nothing to talk about really. I'll write more once I get a bit used to working. I'm also not used to having a routine again to which I have to strictly adhere to. I wake up at 7 these days - working day or not! Which is massive for me. I never knew what morning was...

Hope you enjoy this vlog and I also hope I upload on time next week! I tried so hard to finish editing by Sunday latest but I loved staying in a hotel too much to constantly be on my laptop! I didn't even get to catch up with my Korean variety shows. And that says a lot.

xx

4th Vlog

...

I feel really annoyed at myself for not finding the time and energy to update both my blogs and my own personal diary. It's only been a week and there have been times when I used to not update this blog for much, much longer but it's not even that! I don't even try to draft a blogpost anymore. I used to that a lot - regardless if it makes it to the blog or not.

And I haven't gone out shopping which sounds very materialistic but still! Working from 10-7 does not really allow that. And I generally really dislike going out on weekends because of the crowd and the thought of having to find parking but that's kinda the only option right now for me. I find that I get sleepy wayyyyy early these days which is something new to me. I used to power through the night, sleeping at 5 like it's not a problem. But now I try to make sure I clock in 7 hours of sleep AT LEAST. And I don't go out to have drinks at the mamak so often now. Times like these I kinda miss being in school? Too soon to say I miss being a student? 

Also, Tania has left for the UK and she's right now, on her way to Nottingham to settle down. Haven't gotten the chance to speak to her yet but I'm so happy and excited for her and for my cousins who flew to the UK to study!! Feels also really odd that I'm still in Malaysia this late in September. I hope to go there sometime next year to visit! Should be really fun. But still, I miss my sister!! Wanted to shop yesterday and I was so determined to go out, but after getting ready I realised I didn't have anyone to go out with! I could bring Iman but she's been busy with studies and I didn't wanna get in her way. Sometimes I feel like the only child at home which isn't necessarily a bad thing but growing up with 3 other siblings, it gets a bit lonely and boring.  

On top of all that, my maid of 22 (!!) years left unexpectedly and we were quite saddened about it because I didn't really get to say my goodbye and my thanks (though I hope she knows this household is forever grateful for her help all these years) but we all wish her great health and happiness. Wished we took more photos with her - we only ever really took photos during raya but can't seem to find any. I'll post it up here when I do find a good one. It's a bit surreal to not have her around the house anymore. She's been with us since Zaim was born! We've all texted her personally and we genuinely hope she comes back when she feels like it. Love you, Kakak!! 

I'll update later on the second day of my Seoul trip (I'm only on my second day????) but here's the vlog for our fourth day! Editing and uploading takes a lot longer than you think. We both thought we took a lot of videos but evidently, we didn't!! Hmmm.... looks like we would just have to go to Seoul again.........

xx

3rd Vlog

This is a bit longer than our previous 2 days but I hope it doesn't get too boring! 

Since this was our second time in Seoul, we didn't really explore new places (we skipped being tourist-y and just focused on being... shoppers.....) so I apologise if it gets repetitive in our vlogs. 

Enjoy! We'll see how long the next one will take hahaha

xx

2nd vlog

How do daily vloggers do it? The consistency, the time management, the editing, everything! 

Here's our second day! Now that I'm working and Tania's busy doing errands for her move to the UK, it's been a bit hectic and we never really have time to sit down and edit together. 

The third one is being edited as this is being posted so I hope that'll be up pretty soon!! 

Enjoy!

Seoul Day 1

Ok so I'm obviously trying to prolong my vacation high by blogging about it! Realised my vlog was way too short and I wanted to immortalise some memories and photos of the trip anyway so here's day 1!

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Day 1 

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So day 1. We got on a night flight so we arrived in the morning at about 6:30? It's a 6 hour flight from KLIA to Incheon Airport. Tania and I, because we bought tickets at different times, travelled on different airlines! Both on the same night, and I left 15 minutes earlier. I got on Korean Air and she on MAS. We arrived within 30 minutes of each other but eventually reunited at baggage carousel.

We had to wait around in the airport for about 4 hours before leaving for our accommodation. I highly, highly recommend an AirBnb for your accommodation rather than a hotel because Airbnb's in Seoul are incredibly well located and are all over the place. They are also really nicely decorated and really well-kept. Not that other Airbnb's aren't but the other day I was looking around for Airbnb's in Japan (for funs sake) and it was so... dodgy! See the difference for yourself and you'll agree with me that Airbnb's in Seoul are so much nicer and so much more convenient in terms of location.

We stayed in Hongdae because I personally really really really love Hongdae and we wanted to be near it. Though I will say it's so far from Gangnam and Myeong-Dong and became quite a chore to go back and forth. But Hongdae is just so convenient because the AREX (the airport train express) gets you from Incheon Airport to Hongdae straightaway. You don't have to change trains and all that. Which is probably our main reason of choosing Hongdae. We had bags with us and didn't fancy the idea of lugging them around the city.

Completely forgot to take photos of our accommodation but you can kind of see it through our vlogs. It was really, really nice. Small but really homey. Tania and I got our own queen sized bed, there was a couch, a TV, a kitchenette and all sorts of handy facilities (like a hair straightener... forgot how much I loved having one). Most (although not all) Airbnb's in Korea also provide a WiFi egg that you can bring around so you're good with Internet wherever you go. Super super handy and saves you from buying data. Sigh should I just go on and on and on about how I love going to Korea???

So after arriving our accommodation, guess what we did?

Slept.

Yep. We slept! We were basically dozing off whilst waiting at the airport and we were just so so so mengantuk. I hardly got any sleep on the plane and I could feel my body and soul calling out for the massive bed. We both took a nap before than heading to one of our favourite places in Seoul - Myeong-Dong!

Myeong-Dong is a beauty haven. Just shops after shops after shops of beauty and skincare. If you're a big fan of Korean make-up and skincare then having Myeong-Dong as your first stop isn't really a great idea considering how you'd just spend ALL your money there. We didn't because we knew we were going to go again next time. We were there to see the nightlife - soooooo busy! So many food stalls and it was so lively. Lights from store fronts and different kinds of smells from the different food. It was so fun but ridiculously crowded.

Whilst walking around, we saw a big poster about an Indian restaurant so we decided why not? Indian food anywhere is always a great idea, right?

Right. Because we had the best tikka chicken ever in life. Duuuuudezz, better than Khan's any day and I LOVE Khan's. SO good! I took the first bite out of the chicken and if animation was real, I'd have heart eyes 5x the size of my own eyes. SO good and I was so perplexed how they could make such great chicken tikka. But so sedap lah ok, please go if you can!! Halal options are also available there. It's called The Masala and it's located on the 6th floor of this mall (I ***think*** it's called Noon Plaza or something like that) in Myeongdong. I'm the worst when it comes to giving directions, sorry babes. But if you're up to eat really traditional Korean food, there's aplenty! You just have to navigate yourself around some of its alleys and you'll find everything you want and need. 

And then we went on around shopping. Aland is one of our favourite place to shop cause it exudes really cool and quirky vibes all around. It's also one of the only places you can find COSRX products in Seoul. Some of the pieces can be quite pricey but if you're determined to find a good bargain, then you totally can. I found a pair of black pants for 18,000 W (so $18 USD) which I think is so affordable. Even after converting to MYR, it was still really cheap.

After all that and walking around, we went back home. Sigh. I love Myeong-Dong, brings out the inner shopper in you. It was pretty inevitable to spend a bomb whenever I was in Myeong-Dong. Had a sales assistant who literally pulled me in. LITERALLY. Grabbed me by my arms and dragged me in. I mean, gotta admire the persistence.

Food, skincare, make-up, clothes, K-Pop (there's 2 shops at Exit 6 that dedicates everything in store to K-Pop... *heart eyed emoji*), everything! The colourful shop signage and the really cute store exterior adds to the charm of Myeong-Dong. Koreans themselves don't really like to go to MD because it can get pretty intense with the influx of tourist but hey, I am a tourist so I love it hahaha

See you in day 2's post!

xx

Bye Seoul!

Back hooooome!!! 

Was in Seoul for only a week but felt shorter than that!! I already miss it. Sigh if anyone wants a buddy to teman go Seoul, you know who to roger at (Hint : Me). But good to be home. I always love traveling but I also really love being home so it's always the case of, "Alaaaa why am I flying away?" when I'm about to head to the airport and it's always the case of, "Alaaaa I don't wanna go home!" when I'm heading to the airport for my flight back home to Malaysia.

But Seoul is just one of my favourite places ever in the world! Not that I've travelled an awful amount of countries anyway but Seoul is right up there with London. Sigh, I love that place. Seeing how it was our second time there, it became a bit familiar, we know a bit more about the places and didn't have to rely terribly on the map. There were times we got lost but it was all in good fun. I actually enjoy walking around being in ridiculously unfamiliar territory. Makes for great adventures. 

I know I said I'll update my vlogs but everytime Tania and I get back from a day out, we're just so so so so tired that we just don't do it. We'll definitely upload the rest of our stay there but let us catch our breath first! I've not walked that much distance (and that many stairs) in so long so it was a pretty exhausting trip. Enjoyable definitely but also SO exhausting. We pretty much kong out after lights out. Matter of fact, I'm actually going for a massage tomorrow because my body aches like nobody's business!!! Next time I'm going to allocate one day to just staying in the apartment and eat crisps and watch dramas. I think we should all have that one day as part of our vacation. 

Also thank you to the people who have said nice things about the first vlog we uploaded! It was nothing serious at all as you can probably already tell but we just wanted to do it for the fun of it! 

xx

P/S : Photos in next post. Promise! 

#nadiataniagoes2soko

Hi everyone! 

If you follow my sister and I on Instagram and/or Snapchat, then you would know that we are currently in Seoul!! 

I know what you're thinking... "AGAIN?" because that's what my dad first said when he found out we were heading to South Korea for the 2nd time! Hahaha reason I wanted to go to Korea again was because I loved it THAT much when I was here last year and I just had to make another trip. Would I be annoying to say I kinda want to make this trip a yearly thing? 

Anyway! I'd blog more about my first day in detail later on but for the time being, here's a vlog of our first day. I totally overestimated my energy level btw because I initially wanted to upload a vlog on the day itself but obviously that's not happening because traveling and walking around tires the hell out of you and by the time we're back from a full day out, we're pretty much crawling to bed. 

Here's a short, short video of our first day because we started going out pretty late in the day. We had to wait around in the airport for 5 hours before making a move to our AirBnb because the room wasn't ready yet when we arrived Seoul. And I didn't catch much sleep on the plane so I was pretty exhausted so when we got to to our place here, we slept for 2 and a half hours hahah. 

Nevertheless, it was a great day and we already bought tons of things. LOL. 

Hope you enjoy the vlog series as much as we enjoyed filming us around and making it! 

See you in the next one! 

xx

P/S : Watch it in HD, por favor.

My Internship and Being Sick

So I've just decided to stop watching the Lee Chong Wei finals because I don't like seeing people losing. I hope he decides to pull a magic trick at the end and win this second set. 

But anyway.

I'm currently down with a fever. And you might or might not know this, but alhamdulillah, I don't fall sick easily. I'd like to take pride with my immune system; it's doing alright all my life. But when I do fall sick, it gets pretty bad. Like I'm almost bedridden that few days. It started with a cold and a cough and then I kinda know when I get sick because I get ridiculously thirsty all the time. All. The. Time. No matter the amount of water I drink. Sigh, no fun being sick. Makes you appreciate the times you're not!! 

In other news, I'm now working! Hahahaha only been 2 days in but still, working. My first working gig ever in my life! So to start things off, I'm doing an internship now with Nelissa Hilman. If you don't know her, then > here < you go. Having no experience in working, I thought I'd start it with an internship to get me used to the idea of working first. As part of the internship, I have to be stationed at retail stores first to understand the customer base and the target market. So if you want to find me on a weekday, I'll be at the pop-up store in BVII! The best part about it all is to be quite honest, meeting Nelissa like it's no big deal. I always find it so cool to meet the actual designer. She's so sweet and so accommodating to me. I've always wanted to work in a small-ish company where I can learn and experience things. So to experience working under a designer who actively helps me out with things is really fun. Also, always an added bonus to be helping out a local designer as much as I can. A lot of people who come in the store are asking if this is a local brand and if it's locally made. It is and it is. Come support! The shoes are also v v v v v comfortable and v v v v affordable! 

Just kinda wanted to give a life update.

Also just found out that Lee Chong Wei won the silver and although a lot of people are upset and sad that he didn't get the gold, we should all also be cheering him on for winning the silver! That's a feat in itself and shouldn't be looked at as a defeat. Especially when he played so damn well??? Congratulations to everyone who competed in the Olympics and to more and more and more victories in future events!!!! We're fantastic at what we do and we should be proud of it! Also what a beautiful sight seeing Malaysians come together to support the athletes in Rio. More of this please, Malaysians!! We need it! 

xx

P/S : Also next week I'll be vlogging for my graduation trip which I'm SUPER stoked for! I'll post it here and on my Youtube channel when it's up and running! Never vlogged before so this should be fun... 

Lash Extensions

Today, I had my first experience with...

... LASH EXTENSIONS!!

So I've heard about this going around KL and to be honest, I wasn't too crazy about it because I've worn false lashes 4 times ever and all 4 times I wasn't too ecstatic about 'em. They felt heavy and it was just not the most comfortable thing in the world for me. 

But then after meeting Marissa the other day, she had suchhhhh nice and lush lashes that I asked her

"What mascara are you using cause my poor lashes and I need it"

 and she said there was no mascara involved, only some help of these lash extensions. Hmmm.... 

~ i n t e r e s t i n g ~ 

So when Sarah said she wanted to do and asked if I was up for it, I said ok yes let's do this!!! I was a bit skeptical at first but I mean, if you've not tried it, you won't know right? Right.

We went to Lash Lab in Bangsar. It's on the same row in Telawi as KGB. I just have to rave to you about the place and the service. I LOOOVE IT. The place looks so comfortable and serene. It looks so well made and well maintained. I love places like these, makes me want to go again and again (which is probably the whole point). I assume the owner was the lady manning the counter and she was the only one who wasn't in uniform. Her name is Nina. She was so accommodating!! Right after I was done with my session, she, knowing that this was my first ever time, came up to me and asked how the experience felt like and just kinda gave me tips here and there on the maintenance of these lashes. 

I know this sounds basic customer service but she was just extra sweet and friendly and made the whole experience that much better. A lot of workers and owners of establishments in Malaysia don't understand (therefore don't show) that the extra mile they go for customer service often pays them back 10x. It's such a shame to see so often how shop assistants have ridiculously poor customer service! Puts me off all the time. So I was very very happy that the ladies at Lash Lab were so nice to Sarah, Marissa and I. Amir was also there and whilst we were doing our lashes, Nina even went up to him to berborak. Hahaha

So upon arriving, we had to fill in our basic information and tick some terms and conditions before moving on to the 'consulting' bit. We were assigned to an assistant each and they asked us on how we wanted our lashes to look like. Sarah and I were a bit nervous so we opted for natural looking ones. How natural is natural when it comes to lash extensions right? Right, I got you. So as much as I wanted natural ones, I also didn't want to have spent 2 hours and RM168 to look like I had a coat of mascara when I could just do that at home. So Miko (my assistant) lead me to the private room (I was lucky that I got in the room, Marissa and Sarah were in the more common area where there were about 6 beds?) and upon looking at my lashes, she asked if I wanted anything more voluminous and I just basically told her to do whatever felt right and nice. For your information, I got the Korean ones (also the cheapest among the three available) and I think my curl was a 0.2? Sarah's was 0.15. And mine's the C. Marissa got the D so it looks fuller than mine and Sarah's. You'll understand this when you try it out yourself haha

It felt kinda like going into surgery? Not that I would know what surgery feels like but we had a bright fluorescent light right above us and they would tape your under eyes and your lids. For cleaning up purposes I would assume? I don't really know. And it took about an hour and a half or an hour 45 mins? Somewhere around there. You close your eyes the entire time! Well geez thanks Captain Obvious hahah but it's harder than you think ok?? Since you're not sleeping, closing your eyes for that long felt forced and unnatural. Until about 30 minutes in I felt a bit sleepy and I kinda got used to it. Probably the most still I've been hahaha so much so that I actually got fidgety in the last 20 minutes of my session because it was as if my body had an itch to move. I had my earphones plugged in so it didn't really feel all too long. It was very therapeutic actually. 

And after we were done, we went to pay and that was when Nina gathered us around the counter and told us of more Dos and Don'ts. Here are some of what she said :

1. Don't have your lashes be in contact with water for the next 48 hours. Find a way to wash your face and shower without getting around your eye region. (She suggested goggles jokingly although I think she meant it seriously)

2. Don't use an oil cleanser around the eye area. The glue that holds your lashes in place will come undone. 

3. Don't curl your lashes, don't use a mascara, basically don't use anything on your lashes. They're made to look like you spent ages on it so you don't actually have to.

4. Try to avoid places with lots of steam (spas, saunas etc.). 

5. Don't be vigorous with them. Marissa rubbed her eyes unknowingly when she woke up the next morning hahaha 

As to how they feel on, they feel pretty comfy! Definitely does not have the weight as having false lashes on and they feel a lot more natural. Marissa said hers (she chose for a thicker, fuller option) felt slightly heavy but mine just feels like nothing. Although I will say my line of vision FEELS like I have more than a coat of mascara on. It's not obstructing my view at all but you can see the wispiness of the lashes lah. 

Also, if you were to do these extensions, you can bid adieu to eyeliner. You don't have to wear it anyway because these lashes look pretty thick at its stem (?) so it already looks like you're wearing liner. Perhaps not the best idea also to wear eyeliner because removing them, I'd imagine, would be quite difficult as they are so close to the lashes. I asked them to apply longer ones at my outer corner so it looks like I have a liner on already. 

All in all, I enjoyed the whole experience and it wasn't as scary as I had thought it to be! If you feel like saving some time doing make-up, then try it! If you don't like the maintenance of lashes then maybe I'd opt out. Depends on your rajin-ness and if you like the look of falsies (or really generous coats of mascara). 

I look extra sepet with these lashes!! Marissa says it's because with extensions, they tend to look really thick in photos so it makes your eyes seem a lot sepet than they actually are. Because I wear 2 coats of lashes on normal days and my eyes definitely don't look as sepet in photos as they do now! 

Hahahaha not the best photo but just to show you my new lashes! Better than my mascara any day anytime. 

Here's the Facebook page if you're interested and you have to book before you go in because it's a 2 hour session so they only have so many slots in a day so it's best you tell them you're coming. They're really nice so even if you want to enquire and ask for opinions, I'm sure you can do that too! 

Hope this helps! 

xx

Sambutan Hari Korea

So the other day Marissa texted me saying we should have a Hari Korea. Which only basically meant we dedicated a day to only doing Korean things. We had a Korean lunch at Sweetree at Jalan Ampang (don't ask me where that is; KL roads are foreign to me) and let me just tell you I don't think I've been in a restaurant so completely decked out like that! It's so decorated - from the motifs on the floors to a huge statement fake tree in the middle of the upstairs eating area to just potted plants just everywhere. They even have the hanbok! Which btw is the women's traditional dress.

I had the bulgogi with rice and Marissa had the kimchi jjigae. Both were quite nice! I didn't hold doubts for their food because the owner was a native Korean so I was pretty sure he would try to make it as authentic and as tasty as he possibly can. Korean food packs quite a punch with its flavours - I was pleasantly surprised how some of their food can be really, really spicy. We also ordered pajeon (a pancake by name but really just a really thick omelette) which was also very sedap! Overall this place has so many things to choose from in the menu which is great for people who like to have options (aka me) and it's also pretty tasty! We didn't get to eat the bingsu because we were super full by the end of our meal. For next time! 

But I mean, the place is just soooo decked out, it really felt super cosy! Marissa and I went to check out different rooms and the different floors. Their top floor was a party space and even had a karaoke (well... more like a screen with Youtube up and a stand-up mic. And there was a piano also...) place. I foresee the place to be really popular with people who are into Korean pop. It was actually really spacious, literally the whole floor would be yours if you rented it out! They even had a surau which I thought was a thoughtful move by the owner. 

THEY EVEN HAD A CORNER FOR DESCENDANTS OF THE SUN! 

I thought this was so funny but sooo cool! So cute how the owner probably went out of his way to find costumes and the poster and props for his customers to play around with! Just thought I'd share this for any DOTS fan who'd like to play out their inner Dr Kang Mo Yeon and Yoo Shi Jin. 

And then we moved to Pavilion because Marissa and I wanted to check out Innisfree. I haven't been to Pavilion since I got back so it was all in good timing because I was running out of face masks and Innisfree have the cheapest ones in the market. 

This was probably the major reason of our outing; Marissa and I needed to stock up our skincare necessities. And Korean skincare is the way to go duh??? We then went around to Etude House and The Face Shop. I'm pretty pleased with how there have been increasing numbers of Korean skincare stores around in Malaysia. Much much easier for us to get our hands on the newest and the latest without having to resort to an online option. 

This store is actually not Korean-based; it's Japanese. And OMG I think I'm in love. Look at how beautiful everything looks!!! Price also was beautiful lah kan, it's definitely within the higher price point. Maybe something to spoil yourself every once in a while but sighhh can't stop thinking of the beautiful glitter pigments!! And the palette the shadows came in was just lush. Just everything about this store was so beautiful. Packaging, interior, product! 

I have to look into reviews on their skincare because it's so expensive! And given how cheap Korean skincare is, it's difficult for me to justify making the switch but knowing me I'm already saving for Three products. Oh yes, it's called Three. If my memory serves me right, it's right opposite Innisfree. Check it out! And don't cry when you leave.

I posted some Snaps of this chocolate ball thing and I got asked a lot on where this was. It's at Quivo in Pavilion; it's the Kate Spade cafe. They've unfortunately closed the outside area due to some construction work but apparently according to the waiter, it'll be up again in a months time. But the interior is very pretty anyway. 

We ordered this chocolate ball thing, the one that breaks from the middle after being poured the chocolate sauce. It's SUPER filling, guys. Marissa and I got really muak after digging into it half way through. It's alot. There's cake, mousse, ice-cream, the works! If you have a sweet tooth then maybe this is for you but I personally am not so although this was sedap first few bites in, it started getting a bit... bleh. But that's just me and all desserts! By all means, have a go at it! 

We then went around some more looking at make-up and clothes. Found a pretty off-shoulder top at ZARA and super tempted to get it but it's so pricey and I'm off somewhere really soon so I'm trying to save up for that trip! But so pretty :( Maybe I'll get it... maybe not.... ok stay tuned!

And then we decided to get dinner together. And we cheated a bit, we opted for Japanese in Publika. Azam joined us and the dinner was really good even if I have to say so myself. So ok fine I only had eel nigiri's but it was really sedap!

ALSO BTW Publika looked like a freeze frame. A good 89% stood still swiping their phones up. Pokémon Go, what else! I'm not against it, I actually find it really really fascinating. I'm not playing it btw because I was never really into Pokémon's as a kid so I don't have the same passion as some people are (my cousins and siblings for example). But by all means, I'm not against it! I just hope everyone plays it safely! Tania told me yesterday, she saw a car got pulled over by the police because he was driving really slow and it was because he was on his phone playing Pokémon Go! That was a bit ridiculous. Don't be stupid and endanger your life just to get Pokémon's!!! Don't Pokémon and drive!! 

After that, Azam sent me home and so concluded our Sambutan Hari Korea. Always such a fun day with Marissa, we're always completely ourselves and she's my bestfriend so she understands me and my ways a lot a lot so there's nothing that I hide from her. Love the girl; will miss her loads once she leaves again to Dublin!!!!!!! 

We both had a zit around our mouth area so this was more of a strategic pose than it was natural. Hahaha

xx