5 ways I make my Life INTERESTING

Since I've started my job, I found that I've got quite some time on hand. When those late night meetings and assignments are out of the way, there are actually more time at my disposal.

Now this got me thinking, how can I make the most out of all these extra free time? I can devote more into what I'm interested in and here's what I did.

1. Learn another language.

I've always wanted to learn French, but I just didn't want to commit to a long term class nor do I want to do anything along the lines of textbook-studying. My friend introduced me to Duolingo and now I am happily tapping on my phone during my free time familiarizing myself with the new language.

What I like about this app?

one, it could be used on any devices (ie. phone and computer); 

two, it is practical and easy to follow; 

three, the format it teaches gives me motivation to continue and log-in and play on a regular basis. 

Perfect for a lazy person like me *big smile to hide big flaws*

2. Pick up a hobby

"Art is The Reason I Wake Up In The Morning"

With all the free time, I am going to create more, feel myself more and put art in a higher priority than I do currently. 

My friend and I have found a place that allows us to free paint (charged by the class too, no commitments!) Hence we paint with cups of hot chocolate and biscuits *heart melts in bliss*

I'm also doing random art stuff, making cards for friends, editing videos, drawing...

3. Join in events

Thanks to timable.com, I can easily search for different events to join in. Especially markets with free stuff lol. Back in November I've also joined the colour run with friends, Clockenflap, meet-ups...

4. Do community work

Volunteer. No explanation required. 

Don't know where to start? Try HandsOn Hong Kong 

5. Get healthy

Exercise! Exercise! Exercise!

I joined Infinity Dance studio to get a weekly dose of exercise (as well as improve my coordination and concentration) I like how nowadays most studios allow you to purchase a set of lessons and then you can just join in whichever class you feel like doing, just like that. (again, no commitments... why does everything I do tends to be one off and flexi-flexi-flexible? perhaps I am starting to develop commitment issues wtf)

I am also going for random hikes and jogs and other sports with my friends. 

Sore is the new Sexaaaaay 

Really loving my life and enjoy living at the moment. Next on? Perhaps find a meaningful project to stick on, get going on some networking and pave my way to a better lifestyle B)

so I got myself invited.

To all those peeps out there who look at an event that says "Full" and missed opportunities, think again, small actions could contribute to unlimited possibilities.  After seeing that a seminar I am interested in is "Full", here's what I did...

I wrote to the speaker
The deadline's passed, so what? I just want the information so I wrote to the speaker expressing my interest. He is happy that his event draw interested audiences and I got myself a personal invitation to the seminar. What's more, the worst thing that could happen is I wasted some time drafting an email that contributed to the virtual landfill. The best? I get what I want without the need to attend the event plus a personal contact.

How can this be successful?? Nobody would see an email and decide to invite them to their talk, I concluded that the success was because...

I was sincere 
It is useless to waste time trying to get yourself invited to an event that you're not interested in or is not related to you anyway. Be polite and sincere, a few word of thanks never hurts.

I stated my purpose directly
I'd hate to read essay-type emails with no conclusion. Precise and concise, and give direct enquiries on what you want. Even if you don't get the answer you would like, you're most likely to end with a suggestion or an alternative.

Now what? --> I have to make sure that I attend the event, if not I'd only down-credit myself. Moreover, if I was there I could make more connection and possibly grow my personal contacts *wink wink*

I totally feel the saying that "opportunities are everywhere, it's just up to you to grasp them and make the most of what you have"

港女行：潮流的甜品 Next Station Dessert & 雪國度

星期五放工與友人當港女吃甜品去。

首先我們去了next station dessert試整個IG都是的test tube.

青瓜wasabi冰是頗refreshing的，但如果wasabi重點會更好。如果讓我做，我會乾脆把青瓜雪凍後打碎再加wasabi。
mojito test tube 是lime jelly + lemon mousse + gin jelly，不過不失碎了的lime jelly口感不錯。
earl grey test tube 是最沒surprise的，奶茶mousse + 泡泡了事。


我想，大多數去吃甜品的人都是去吃舖頭的裝修吧... 所以我們都拍了很多港女照。不知是要給誰看，總之擺出一副女神相拍一些J圖就是了。

然後我們到了雪國度吃雪糕「蛋卷」 看著師傅炒雪糕頗entertaining。Serve雪糕的哥哥也很好人。我是欣賞雪糕煙靭的口感，但藍莓味又些少太甜。綠茶味可能會比較好，at least 苦苦地balance cream的甜。



然後我們沒法子再吃下去了。


再說食物: #Bacon, the next big thing for foodies

再度港女行：跟著大隊看紅葉

Book: Catch Me If You Can

" It does not matter what you become as long as you become the best in it"

Even if you're a con artist, even if you trick people for a living, as long as you are good at it, being the best in the field is only going to get you further and more successful. Also, to be knowledgeable and have confidence in whatever you're doing is key. That is what I admire in Frank, he read up in the field of the job he is imposing, he kept notes and is hardworking. Although he may have applied his talents in the wrong way, his attitude and wits is surely worthy to learn.

This book is truly inspiring and entertaining. I didn't know it was a true story before I saw the Q&A section at the end of the book, which only made this story more enjoyable and inspiring.

Similarly entertaining in fiction: The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out The Window and Disappeared

#Bacon, the next big thing for foodies

After the matcha craze, bacon is the next big thing. 

Hong Kongers are all in the food craze nowadays. Everybody is looking for the next "fashionable" food outlets to IG about. So the entrepreneurs were all in the rush to come up with the next special thing. For now, the special ingredient is - bacon. 

Soft Creme started with the milk sundae that has salty bacon bits

The boss of Elephant Grounds (facebook), Kelvin Poon is using a bacon brooch to inspire himself for a new ice-cream sandwich flavor (source). 

Yes, it is deeply in the trend for sweet desserts to be served with savory bits, salted caramel, Parmesan chocolate (personal preference) and now bacon ice-cream.

Foodies be prepared! The sweet and savory flavour is going to make the trending tag in IG. I'd start testing my angles for the maroon meaty bits. Oh, and also start developing some exercise regime to burn off those extra fat.

My take on the bacon, nothing special about the thin fatty meat slices.

Sorry for those who adore these meaty bits, to compensate for my inability to appreciate, I have found a morning recipe by Culinary Concoctions by Peabody which incorporate these savory bits with a sugary boost. (Her food pictures are amazing, makes my mouth water just by looking at them!)

Related: 港女行：潮流的甜品 Next Station Dessert & 雪國度

Adapting to Eating; My Way to Full Recovery

It is now almost 2 months after my surgery, and an update on the progress of my surgery is long overdue.

My locked-jaw is freed from its bounds 6 weeks after my surgery. The sound of my voice sounded unfamiliar and awkward to my ears. The first thing I said was "I had a runny nose" to my doc. Not the most symbolic first speech.

The first thing I did when I get home was to brush my teeth thoroughly using my children's toothbrush. I am finally liberated from the disgusting feeling of grimace on the back of my teeth. However, the stains caused by food stuck between the splint couldn't be removed, I was horrified that they will be permanent but I am glad and relieved to say that they have already faded considerably now.

I could only open my mouth to accommodate food on a small dessert spoon. For the first couple of days I eat mashed stuff, cream or soft cake and the like. It sure made a tremendous change to my meals now that everything can be of a different texture to just simply puree! the best thing is that now my fruits no longer has to be blended into juice. I can leave some small chunks and no longer had to strain away the seeds and bits. (tremendous savings on time and effort!!)

For the first week after my freedom of jaw, I had to take some antibiotics due to some secretion from my nose. It was yellowish and had a distinct strong taste that resemble pus from a wound. After the second checkup, I am now free from medication and constrain! Although I still need to train up my muscles to open my mouth and also to chew, I have already consumed much much more foodstuff and am happily expanding my variety!

Final phase: To the Orthodontist



And in celebration to my freedom!

If you missed my sufferings before this revitalization..
Part I: Post Jaw Surgery Update

Part II:I can't decide if I'm hungry or just bored.
Part III:Entertain my Taste Buds

Entertain my Taste Buds

I can't live without food. 

But I ain't going to settle for a 7仔頹撈.

I am going to venture into the world of flavors.

Miss P and I went cake-eating after work. (Since I still couldn't open my mouth wide enough or chew well, cake is the only thing that is easily accessible and tasty)

I am proud to announce that I have discovered the

Parmesan Chocolate Cake.

Chocolate cake, sweet, creamy, tiny tinge of bitter; grated Parmesan, savory, rich, cheesy.  Okay, maybe I've just created the lazy version of a chocolate cheese cake... but then instantly converting a chocolate cake into a cheesecake using Kraft powdered Parmesan is like having 2 cakes in one, who wouldn't like it? 

The cheese balances out the sweet chocolate cream, adds a more complex and interesting layer of flavour to the layered cake. 

For those who are still doubtful, have a look at this article - my inspiration and perhaps will be yours too.

Try it.

More about my jaw surgery:

Part I:Post Jaw Surgery Update

Part II:I can't decide if I'm hungry or just bored.

Part IV:Adapting to Eating; My Way to Full Recovery

我(們)的生活都這麼無聊嗎?

為什麼我們都需要以電話作樂?
為什麼我們都需要在網上尋找生活?
facebook, youtube...我們是有自己的生活還是看別人的生活?

我想...還是我凡的日子太無聊了。

I can't decide if I'm hungry or just bored.

Spending my 26th Day post-surgery at home and doing nothing...

For the past week I've been looking at videos of people cooking on YouTube and thinking of desserts. Have the urge to make my own dessert if only I didn't need to do the washing up afterwards. Moreover, I won't be able to eat them would I?

I wouldn't say I am constantly hungry due to the liquid diet but I am missing solid food. My stomach wanted some solid food to digest and the blended soups just isn't quite like it. Don't get me wrong, they're fabulous and tasty but liquid is a liquid, you get what I mean?

I need more distraction. 


A brief glimpse of my boredom:

Part I: Post Jaw Surgery Update
Part III:Entertain my Taste Buds

Post Jaw Surgery Update

It's been quite a while since I've been here. Many things have happened and being a person who isn't really that great at expressing herself I will try to put my thoughts in order.

After my surgery I am currently spending tremendous amount of time at home doing nothing with the big excuse to procrastinate (and make useless videos like this one). I do, however have set some goals for myself to meet. It is already the third week into my recovery and I feel that I should start doing something meaningful.

First thing on my list: 
learn to type Chinese.

對上一次在此發表己經是很久之前，這段期間發生了很多東西。以一個不太懂得表達自己的人我會盡力整理自己的思緒。
在手術完成後的日子裹我有什多的時間呆在家中。
okay, now this is all I managed before my attention span runs out.

My current obsession is looking up liquid food recipes and blogs of others whom have also gone through an orthodontics surgery. To be honest, most of the blogs are about similar things, numbness in the lips, unable to chew, making smoothies etc... but I have to say that they certainly made an effort to give their blog interesting names. We have jawnomnom, metalmouthmonologues, musing of a lockjaw etc...

Reading their blog kind of assured me that my progress is good and normal, I am greatly blessed with minimal pain and nausea (can't say I have any at all, everything is so bearable) The only thing that is near unbearable probably is staying home and not doing anything. (oh, did I mention the antibiotics tastes like the worst thing in the world?)

On my To Do list I have ideally put down a resolution to learn to paint with water colour (my muse! *heart eyes emoji*)
and to do more art (to some extend I did some...)
and to read 109700 books (I did flip through quite a few)

But to my surprise, I actually learnt quite a bit about cooking from my mum. Sure it'll be useful in the future when I become *an independent adult*.

So these empty days were "well" spent doing the things I like, meeting some friends, catching the fireworks in my head and helping around the house. I should really treasure the days of freedom like this (remember it, etch it in my brain, the boredom and emptiness, memorize it girl!) cause I expect myself to be working hard and going full speed once I recover.

P.S Going on a TA interview tomorrow! woohoo! (But how they're going to comprehend my speech would be the question haha!)

Update II: I can't decide if I'm hungry or just bored.

My Reaction to Perception-ed Teenage Romance.

Picture Courtesy 

To be honest, The Fault In Our Stars was categorized as shallow and teenagery romance in my mind. (look at all the attention it's getting on tumblr) I happened to pick it up after Jack Howard's tweet about the movie "lacking something". I wanted to check out the movie (and see if I can find the missing thing) however landing with the book (pdf to be exact) instead. Despite all the negative perception I had on the book, I can't help crying my eyes out nearing the end of the book. And it's saying something cause it has been 2 years since I have literally cried.

The story line isn't much different from the normal love story you'd pick up from the shelves. John Green cleverly mixed in all the tragic stories from the century (Cancer, Anne Frank...) so that at any one point it may touch the heart of some unwary reader. Also his use of smart language and welly phrased phrases give the book a twist towards a seemingly deeper content and more sophistication. And I would like to conclude that it is the seemingly philosophical phrases which grasped so many teen readers' hearts. Don't get me wrong, I do like his style of writing, it's just the plot that I have higher expectations in.

To me, the point where it got in phase with my experiences is where [Spoiler alert] Gus told Hazel he was ill. [/Spoiler alert] I still remembered the time at the Peak where he sat me down, held my hands, knelt before me and told me that he has to go abroad.
I remembered very well about all the surprises that he gave me, the times where we tried to make everything better that nothing could be any worse.
The tears brought back the memory of the tears that I had shed because of him, the hot salty tears making tracks on my face and then running through them in warm pulses.
And after everything ended, that hug which just lasted a few seconds too long.

I don't like reading romantic novels because I don't like to feel sad for characters and scenes that are not real. But I guess it is just a way for us to feel our own tragedies again, to reawaken the memory that was left there to be forgotten.

I'd say, after all this book did what it was here for, to give me a heartbreak, a bit of leisure reading and understanding of the current teenage world.

Go heal your souls: Tuesdays with Morrie.

In which we chased after the 1600 paper mache.

I had a meet-up with some friends today and we did a tram tour.

It wasn't just an ordinary tram tour though, cause we were on the tram for a reason - to track the paper mache pandas.

The 1600 paper mache pandas made by french artist Paulo Grangeon to bring awareness to the now endangered species (being only 1600 left in the wild) is on the trams today and my friends and I have decided to hunt for them today. We started in Admiralty tram station and boarded a tram going to Happy Valley. There wasn't much luck for us all the way but while we are heading back towards Kennedy Town I caught a glimpse of black and white and viola! There they are!

 

It was really a bizarre while everybody scampered for their camera and a second later everything passed.

I was lucky to get a pretty good shot ^^

The pandas will station at PMQ in central at the end of the week to wrap up their days in Hong Kong. Not interested to mingle in the crowd that will definitely turn up there. Lucky to have an encounter with these guys today crossing trams!

Appreciate the Beauty in things

I was looking at the candle burning in my room when it occurred to me:

Fire is a very beautiful thing.

I am not going to launch into some deep talk about how it can be useful when controlled and disastrous when out of hand. Instead, look at the flames. Appreciate its beauty, the colour from blue to orange and brightest at the top. It is neither fluid nor solid, it floats and is so dedicate yet it is so powerful and consist of so much energy. It moves, it changes shape, it speaks and beckons to you like the song of mermaids. 

8 May Exam Favs

五月，又係考試季節。講到exam當然唔少得嘢食，打發時間（同溫少少書）：

Food Favs 

1.Black coffee

苦，就是考試。

2. Spicy Food

枯燥乏味的考試季節當然需要一啲辣味刺激味蕾。你今日辣左未？

3. Greek Yogurt

口感好，酸微微。

Procrastination Favs

3. cmd.fm

呢個係一個音樂分享網站，沒有廣告，沒有流行曲，沒有介面。以genre簡單分類用command操控。講完。

4. Jack Howard

英國Youtuber 一名。唔係潮片唔分享每月最愛，唔玩無意義遊戲。真正幽默有深度的短片創作人。真心欣賞。

5. Grey Nailpolish

灰灰地帶點書生味。

Study Favs

6. Campus Notebook

紙質夠滑，就算溫到頹到唔會寫到攰。

7. uni Laknock 0.5 ballpen

黑色原子筆，無得解。

8. PolyU Z core campus

風涼水冷。雖然遠啲但無可否認個景係靚啲靜啲新啲舒服啲 :)

今次已經係我最後一次考試，就咁樣我嘅讀書生涯終於完結了。沒有什麼感覺，好像輕輕的我走了就如我輕輕的來。

各位考試中的朋友共勉之。

Work Wisdom

There some things that I've learn from my internship last year:

1. The attitude of a person could be the change they wanted
At my last day on the job, I was next to Polly and her positive attitude sparked off my realization that no matter how little your job may seem to be (eg. just a daily facebook post) you can still put in the best effort and produce the best result that you could possibly can.

2. KPIs acts as a big motivation
She said that we should aim high and get more likes from subscribers, which is exactly the KPI for the facebook post. If I were to work with this KPI for all of my posts imagine the differences it would make.

3. Every internship is a learning experience, no matter what discipline, what you're doing (even if it's an expectation mismatch)
I was suppose to be having an environmental engineering internship to fulfill my WIE requirements, god knows that today I would be using this experience to relate to the Ogilvy internship that i'm going for?

偽文青拍照分享文化

是的，我希望自己是一個藝文青。 


一般的偽文青 － 到一個gallery或者exhibition在IG，fb都會check-in, upload相。
我不想順應潮流。
我不想成為偽文青。
但我都想記錄自己去過的地方...是要屈服嗎？ 


是的，我希望自己是一個藝文青，可惜偏偏只停留在于偽文青的層次。

其實分分鐘只停留在港女的位置

其實偽文青與自得其樂只是一線之差

She brings out the BEST in me.

I am in Youth Summit, and the people I am working with are less enduring than I felt that they should. AIESECers brand themselves as the people who work hard, play hard and never sleeps. If this is the case, why is my partner constantly telling me that he's not functioning cause he's too sleepy? Where is the unlimited capacity?

I am very grateful for my friend whom have motivated me to take on a positive attitude no matter what challenges I am faced with. Being an Learning & Development Coordinator in the Summit means meetings and refining session outlines (ie. no sleep) My take? Summon up all my energy and complete my tasks before collapsing in bed. It's no use complaining and dragging time being non-productive isn't it?

April Face Favourites

A girl can be so grateful for her make up products that she has to give them a portrait and officially thank them on her blog…


美肌之誌 CC cream,

It evens out my skin tone and is also with SPF. Not a picky CC cream user so this works really well for me. Moreover, it smells nice too!


Maybeline Water Shine lipstick, Pink Fairy

I use this as a cream blush, it’s too pale on my lips but just the right amount of subtle to give me a glow while not too obvious that everybody knows you’re wearing a blush.


TonyMoly Petite Bunny Gloss Bar, colour 04

It’s actually a tinted lip balm with a hint of cherry red. Really loving the colour. It’s playful enough and yet has the hint of sophistication… between a red lip and a cheeky lip if you know what I mean.


MAC Lip glass, Cultural Clash

I just had to have some sparkles on my lips to whatever colour I’m wearing and this does the job.


Boots LashBuild Mascara, Brown/Black

Loving its wand and it applies evenly, builds my lash in a natural way. Does its job just like I need. What’s more, it doesn’t flake nor give me dark circles under my eyes at the end of the day.


Kate gradical eyes, GD-1


I mostly use the deep colour to define the contour of my eyes and then dab a bit of highlight in the corner of my eyes. Natural shades with the right amount of sparkles. Nice~


Being a nude make-up kinda girl, goingg for the no make-up look so I’m not using eyeliner. Finish with a spray of Roger and Gallet fragrance of Fleur de Figure and good to go~


So far everything is so very satisfactory for me and I decided to fully thank my products by having this post.

THANK YOU!! xoxo

What to read: The Alchemist

The Alchemist is one of those books that I don't regret reading when I'm looking for a book that is deep and mind-fucking. It is inspiring and makes me think (as opposed to the 2.5 hr lecture I'm having while reading it)

I am tempted to buy the hard copy. (yes, I downloaded a free pdf version to read in class)

The book has so many insights and so many wisdom that I couldn't explain it with all the credits it deserve.

What the heck, just go and read it. 

Time Traveler

Who would have guessed that there is a gallery on the top floor of the Louis Vuitton flagship store in Tsim Sha Tsui?
Take the time to walk by, to stop and observe the beauty around us.

Espace Louis Vuitton Hong Kong will present “Time Traveler,” an exhibition by two Hong Kong contemporary artists, Au Hoi Lam and Sara Tse. The unique pieces by these two artists present a series of carefully-arranged narratives that take the viewer on a journey through time and space.

“Time Traveler” is the second joint exhibition by these two artists. Although they are female, Au and Tse reject the use of typical feminine imagery in their work; instead, they communicate a series of metaphors that subliminally exude female moods, senses, and emotions.

Au Hoi Lam was born in 1978 and currently lives in Hong Kong. Her work has been collected by the Hong Kong Museum of Art. Sara Tse was born in 1974 and her work has been collected by the Queensland Art Gallery in Australia, the BIEAF Foundation in the Philippines, and IWCAT Foundation in Japan.

Through a completely new body of work, Au attempts to explore the question, “Can time exist independent of space?” This is a philosophical issue that she attempts to resolve through painting, installation, and multi-media works, presenting an imaginative space that is not materially or temporally limited. Her installation of mirrors makes the viewer feel as if he has been placed within a metaphorical natural environment. In another piece, a clock without a minute or second hand creates a short period of time and space, which takes the viewer on a spiritual journey through both time and space.

Tse attempts to bring viewers into a different yet very specific time and space through variety of visual art experiences. She uses items from daily life as models for a series of white porcelain vessels that are reminiscent of the original item, while representing a variety of contrasts: reality and creation, soft and hard, warm and cold. The artist hopes to use these formal oppositions to change the viewer’s impressions of truth and reality, time and imagination. In her work overall, Tse excels at turning soft subjects into substantial sculptures, concretely presenting the history and narrative behind that subject.

- See more at: http://hk.blouinartinfo.com/news/story/1000025/espace-louis-vuitton-hong-kong-hosts-two-hk-artists-in-time#sthash.HrCcmloA.dpuf

3 years of uni and I missed these cool stuff?!

What was I doing?!

I'm about to graduate from university and 3 years on campus have not made me realize that there were such cool stuff going on.

1. $20 Cafe Habitu muffin and coffee.
2. 30% off cakes at pacific cafe in the library.
3. Free thai boxing class/ gym
4. Pilates and yoga class at really affordable price

god. what have i wasted.

I like the night

I like the night,
I like sitting there alone in the dark,
with nothing and everything around me at once;
enjoying space by myself,
with the feeling of peace and calm
that comes with the sense of time stretching on
like you have forever.

My Minimal Mind-style

Yes I am a poor student on student loan, and coincidentally I am also an environmental student. 
It has come to  my awareness that living in minimal not only reduces unnecessary spending, but also helps reduce the burden on our environment too.

Mad Crowd Causeway Bay

The New Year's crowd at Causeway Bay is getting out of hand. With the New Year market clashing with a drawing competition, handicraft carnival and Saturday. The amount of people on Patterson Street is overwhelming.

I used to be fairly excited with new year but this year? Nah. I'm more concerned about having a rest and chilling at home.

Haven't I had enough socializing with all that people yesterday evening in the mall event? Haven't I had enough work balancing the case competition, Nakupenda, school and tutoring kids? I just want to grab a coffee, sit and sort through my stuff.

Time for my motivation.
Frozen yogurt with mini macaroons