Frank By OCBC Credit Card

Posted on February 3, 2012 by Sha

Here’s a checklist:

1) Do you like your things to be personalized and have some sort of novelty?
2) Would you like the flexibility in the personalization/novelty factor?
3) Would you like to have a credit card worth showing off?

If you, like me, answered yes to all of the above – then the Frank Card by OCBC is for you!

Although I’ve had several credit cards before, I didn’t feel an attachment to them simply because I hadn’t earned them. They were supplementary cards, so they were really not counted. Plus, I seldom use them (I’m a debit card kind of girl, I like to play it safe).

But in the past few months, the need for at least 1 credit card surfaced (not because I’m a big spender, but it should be more like a “backup”). And of course, I’m finally more than financially stable to have a credit card. So, like everything else in my life, I did my research.

I wanted something snazzy. A credit card with all the perks and hype. This and that. And then I chanced upon Frank credit cards. The big draw to it was the fact that you can choose out of the many, many designs for your card!

My eyes dilated when I saw the choices that lay before me. I could hardly choose, seriously. But then, I found out that you can actually change the designs as and when you like if you get sick of your chosen design. That’s equivalent to 10,000 brownie points to me because I can’t deal with having one design of something for ever. I have short attention span.

But still I made my choice wisely and ended up with THIS:

It was between this retro boombox design or the cassette tape one. But the boombox won. Please understand that I am in my “old school is cool beans” phase.

I’ve been happy with my card despite the initial annoyance with the customer service and call center staff. But I shall not get into that. One of the things I’ve enjoyed in the past 2 months since I had the card was that it gave me a discount when I viewed the Titanic Exhibition at the Arts Science Museum (only for OCBC cards)!

And so this has been the blog post about the first ever credit card that I’ve earned. Another milestone.

Before I end, a couple of disclaimers:
1) This is not an advertorial, I’m blogging about this because it is an interesting card.
2) All images used in this post were taken from the Frank by OCBC website. You can’t expect me to be posting up photos of my own credit card.

Okay, that’s all.

Pink Prada Saffiano Wallet

Posted on January 26, 2012 by Sha

It’s been 10 days since I got it. I guess it should be blogged about because it is kind of a personal milestone – my first branded wallet!

Well it was actually a gift from someone who’d like to remain anonymous to the rest of you. Truth be told, I had wanted to get it as a present for myself (because I love myself), but I guess someone loves me more.

When I was younger, a wallet has always meant something very personal to me. It was where precious photos and mementos (tickets, stickers and other odds and other odds and ends) were housed. Personal artifacts, memories. That has always been how important a wallet is to me. And I always take ages to find a new wallet, and will hold on to the old one that was practically tearing up at the seams – until I found the perfect wallet.

That was the way it was until I lost my wallet in 2006. Instantly, a part of me was gone just like that. The things I lost in it were irreplaceable and I’m not talking about identification cards and credit/debit cards. I was quite crushed after, and then tried to pick myself up again – with another wallet which lasted me another 4 years. And then it got really worn out, then I switched to another – which was off-white in colour and got dirty and ugly pretty quickly.

And then soon after the bond just disappeared and I stopped using wallets altogether. Those who have seen/known me in the past year (up till 10 years ago) would have wondered why I am using a Harrods coin purse that was getting dirtier by the day, and instead of being filled by mementos it was overflowing with coins, folded notes and a mountain of receipts. It was unsightly, and it was a travesty. I guess everyone was too polite to ask.

And now, I have this very, very pretty wallet – in a colour that somehow has defined me. I’m not sure how the journey will be for the two of us but I hope that it will last us both years of precious memories.

Thank you once again to YOU

2012 Resolutions

Posted on January 3, 2012 by Sha

New year, new resolutions. So for 2012, I resolve to:

Keep a healthy lifestyle
This will mean a healthy diet and frequent exercising. I had a staggering headstart last year to eat healthy and start running, but it wasn’t a continuous and consistent effort. This year, all’s that gonna change. FP and I gave ourselves till end of April to see some difference in our fitness levels and weight.

Be an early riser
A complete stretch because I am definitely NOT a morning person. Have you seen me on mornings after a night of little sleep? Maybe a more realistic resolution is “do not press the snooze button”!

Join a marathon
Although I may not be the fittest person around (ever), I’ve always wanted to be in a marathon of some sort. And now that running on a regular basis in on my agenda, surviving a marathon should be quite a possibility.

Rekindle my love for craft
In 2011, I hardly crafted, barely sewed – nothing creative that’s time consuming and handmade was produced. So this year, I shall bring the crafts back to life. Hello felt projects, scrapbooking and anything else that comes my way!

Don’t sweat the small stuff
This is a repeat of a resolution I made in 2010. I do not like making mistakes being the perfectionist that I am, but sometimes I do need to let things go. And most of the time, I get annoyed by a million little things that shouldn’t even affect me. I need to take a deep breathe and tell myself that whether or not I believe it, most of the time it’s only me who is bothered by such details that aren’t worth my time.

Soak in the culture
Read more, travel more, watch more theater productions, view more exhibits at museums. These are basically the things that make me happy and that I’ve always been interested in. So why not kill two birds with one stone?

So I guess that’s it for this year. Possibly the shortest list of new year resolutions by far, but its quality vs quantity right?

A Lookback at 2011

Posted on December 30, 2011 by Sha

Overall, 2011 has been a 140% better (see what I did there) than 2010 and I’m very thankful for that. In fact, I have a lot to be thankful for this year.

Sure, I started the year unsure and almost afraid of what’s to come after a very bad year in 2010. The first few months were a bit of a struggle but as we neared mid-year, things started looking up. For one, I snipped off my pretty long hair and made it a cute bob. I haven’t had short hair in 10 years, so this was a drastic change! And it was a good change, as nervous as I was all throughout the time at the hair dresser’s. And now, 9 months later, I’m still waiting and waiting for my hair to be as long as it was before!

2011 is a year where I put myself first, perhaps as a step to self-recovery from the trauma of previous years. I travelled a lot – all for pleasure and not a single work trip (for once), and perhaps because I get away so often this year, I am truly a happier person. Let’s recall some of my adventures while travelling.

It was a year of picking strawberries fresh off a strawberry garden…

and watching dolphins jump and twirl at sunrise

and meeting people from books:

and island hopping at its best..

and go-karting accidents (in Malacca – some trips I didn’t blog about)

It was also a year of many firsts. I flew all the way to Jakarta to catch a Paramore concert. That was one of the best and worst nights of my year (at the same time), but still an experience I won’t soon forget.

I actually took a budget flight(not complaining, just highlighting a milestone – that goes to you dear hater), which wasn’t that bad after all.

Paramore wasn’t the only musical act I caught live this year. I won tickets to a Lenka showcase early in the year, and in October, I re-lived my fangirl days with BLUE at the ION Orchard fashion show. So awesome, I can DIE.

And speaking of musicals, I caught The Lion King this year (oh so many things unblogged!!!) It was fantastic.

Gadget-wise, who could forget the time I cracked my iphone 4 screen?

or the fact that I replaced both my pink sony vaio and my pink point-and-shoot with sexier replacements?

(oh yeah, this was the final look [sans the lens hood] of Sir Olympus’ makeover. I didn’t blog about him getting a faux leather sticker, but he looks cool doesn’t he?)

I kinda overdid it with spending on gadgets this year (no not really, because I really needed to get them replaced – and them *ahem* enhanced) but it was a good year on the gadget front.

And with a new pancake lens and a spiffy camera, came an influx of nice food photos

On the crafts/hobby front, no sewing was done this year for some reason – but I did attempt to bake. Successfully and not so successfully.

Attempt on red velvet cupcakes: More or less successful (turned out better than expected):

And one out of the box cupcakes (with edible glitter and all) which was a complete disaster! Besides the fact that I was trying to achieve the same effect as a photoshopped cupcake!

And of course our very recent adventure with ice cream making. Yet to make an ice cream at home!

Afterthought

As you can tell, this has been a pretty good year for me. And at some point I guess I started feeling happy about my life – but denied it for the longest time for fear of jinxing it. I’ve come a long way this year. I guess sometimes you just need to take a year just to focus on your own needs and wants, in order to find that spark of happiness again. My life is at such a stable state right now that I could barely even think to imagine in December last year.

This is the year I stopped living vicariously (and secretly envying everybody else’s life) and just focused on myself. It’s hard to just stop something you’ve been doing for a long while, and sometimes there’s minor relapses. But overall I’m okay. There’ll be a time and place for everything and not everybody will experience the same things at the same age.

I’m thankful that I’ve had the chance to travel to new places, meet new people, experience new food, able to afford the best gadgets (at this point). I’m thankful that my relationship with the boyfriend is even more heightened, and we’re closer than ever (how much closer can you get after 8 years? Go figure.) I’m thankful that even though there’s been a lot of changes to home life and family – the ones who matter are still close at heart and vice versa.

Lastly, I’m thankful for my awesome job that enables me to do techy things I enjoy and allow me to finally have a work-life balance. You’ll never know how rare work-life balance is until you’ve found it. And once you find it, you’ll never, ever want to let go

So this is me, signing off for 2011. Excited for 2012, because whatever happens, it’s just gonna be an awesome adventure!

Thoughts on Ariel Peterpan’s Verdict

Posted on January 31, 2011 by Sha

As you may have grasped from my posts on Facebook and Twitter today, I’m pretty much upset about the verdict that was passed on to Ariel Peterpan (or Peterporn, if you only know him through his sex videos). Admit it, chances are you’ve viewed them.

I’m not an advocate of pornographic material, nor do I condone casual sex with rockstars – no matter how hot they are. It’s not even the fact that I’m a sucker for moody broody guys like Ariel. It’s just that, the whole thing is unfair and is only blown out of proportion because of his superstardom.

Fact is, yes he did record his sexual encounters. But imagine if he were a regular guy. A guy having sex with his girlfriend/wife/scandal/whatever and recording the experience. It is a private moment, a private thing shared between him and the girl he was with.

And to have this piece of private moment being distributed to the masses after his laptop gets stolen. It’s not his fault, right? He’s the victim here, right?

Right.

The law states that it is illegal to distribute the video, no mention of it being illegal to record an intimate moment with a partner. But guess what happened?

The victim was pressured to surrender himself, and was kept in a halfway house for 7 months with mini trials leading to nowhere and ended up with a 3 and a half year jail sentence. While the distributor gets away with not even a scratch.

Seriously, what the fuck. Really, what the fuck?

There was no case against Ariel right from the start. I’ve been following this case closely, and after each mini trial, I would say the same thing: Yes he made the videos, no he didn’t distribute them. End of story. Why drag this any further?

Is it because of his fame? Because I can assure you if it were just some random guy who’s sex tape got leaked – nothing will happen to him. It’s really frustrating when you think about this. I mean the youths are already exposed to pornography and sexual acts with or without the Peterporn sex videos. So why should they leverage on his fame to make a point? It’s not fair at all.

Today, a man who had sex with his own daughter gets charged with a 3 year jail sentence. To me, that is a more severe crime than having a sex tape of yourself leaked. It’s an intrusion of privacy and it is a sin to do that, but to have it leaked without your knowing – it’s not even a valid argument. I can think of so many bigger crimes and actions (like terrorism and murder and arson) that would affect society – and this isn’t one of them.

So please – just cut the bullshit, and free Ariel already. And oh if he’s not gonna get freed, I suggest putting Cut Tari and Luna Maya in prison too for the same acts. They seem to be having fun in the videos too.

It’s only fair.

New Year’s Resolutions 2011

Posted on January 1, 2011 by Sha

A new year offers the chance for everybody to start over, on a clean slate – another try to get things right.

2010 has been mostly awful to me, but I’ve decided that it’s all in the past and I have a new, exciting year ahead of me that will be (whether I like it or not) be filled with new mistakes, tears, joys and lessons.

Looking back at last year’s resolutions, I realize that I didn’t break some of them, and I added a few more along the way in my head. So even though it’s my personal belief that resolutions are made to be broken, I do love making them. Because it feels good when you look back and discover that I actually managed to keep some of them. Oh yeah, I love proving myself wrong.

So here are my resolutions for the year 2011:

1. Smile more and smile everyday. This means to be less grouchy-moody-broody-emo. Broody does not equal sexy, so I’ve discovered. Well at least not for me.

2. Not to sweat the small stuff. This will help me achieve resolution #1

3. Drink more/enough water. I recycle this resolution every year. I mean if I can give up coffee (my one true addiction) quite effortlessly, this resolution is a no brainer right?

4. Blog everyday. I know this is quite far fetched and I’ll probably wean off it once my Short Attention Syndrome hits, but I’m gonna give it a go anyway. Because daily blog post = more interesting year end blog post

5. To take less cab rides. You have no idea just how much I spent on cab fare alone in 2010. Even I have no idea how much I spent, but I know it’s a hell of a lot. So yes, more power to buses and trains.

6. To wake up earlier. This is important because when you wake up late, your whole morning gets screwed up because you tend to rush, and when you rush things go all sorts of wrong. And you will take a cab to work (major no-no for 2011!!!)

7. To cook. This is a recycled resolution (sort of) from last year. But what I meant by it this year, is that I will teach myself how to cook, self discovery. If I can teach myself to bake and sew, cooking should be easy peasy. In fact, I did cook this morning. Despite it being just instant noodles, it is a start.

8. To go for yoga regularly. For better fitness, to regain back my figure (no idea how I lost it),because I’ve already paid for the membership and it’s pretty near my new workplace – there is simply no excuses this time.

9. Take up photography. This means getting a proper camera and getting started on photoshop. Yeah I’m artistic, creative and all that jazz (haha) – but I still think I need to take up proper skills.

10. Not to hate almost everybody. There will always be unlikeable people wherever I go, so might as well make the best of it. I may be more of an observer than a people person, but if I try finding just one thing to like about everybody I meet, I may have a better social life.

11. Work hard, play hard, love hard. I’m gonna divide my time well this year and do the best in all aspects of my life – As a girlfriend, daughter, cousin, granddaughter, niece, employee. I will also have time for myself – which is always a must.

So there you have it: 11 resolutions for 2011.

Hoping that there’ll be self-satisfaction when I look back at this list, knowing that I’ve tried my best fulfilling them.

Here’s to an awesome 2011!

A Lookback at 2010

Posted on December 30, 2010 by Sha

2010. Where do I even start.

If I want to be objective, I’ll say that 2010 has been a year of changes and emotions.

If I want to be crude, I’ll say that 2010 has been a total mindfuck bitchass of a year.

A run down through my year:

1. My limited edition oakley frogskin flew out the car window in Malaysia. FP got me another pair in Feb, but it’s just not the same. You know?

2. I taught myself how to sew. I sewed that pink teddy from scratch, imperfect as it may seem. It’s still a masterpiece to me.

3. I quit coffee for good. Didn’t think it was possible, but I did it. It still amazes me how I can get thru a sleepy day without coffee. I’m awesome.

4. Started the year in Malaysia: Malacca, KL, Batu Pahat. This photo was taken in Malacca.

5. We finally tried the level 30 spicy wings!

6. We got ourselves a Nintendo Wii, as if the PS3 wasn’t enough.

7. FP had an accident that caused him to be homebound for 5 months. We spent a good half of the year indoors and having indoor picnics all the time.

8. FP dabbled in food photography, during our indoor pinics. Awesome shots of awesome food. That must be where this excess weight is coming from

9. WORLD CUP. I had a fantastic June thanks to endless football matches. Lack of sleep was a given of course, but it was so worth it Even though my heart was with Germany through and through, my favourite moment was still the day New Zealand trashed Italy. It was epic.

10. Sour Sally finally opens in Singapore. This made my entire week, the week i discovered about it. Since then, I’ve been downing the froyo with plenty of yummy mochi. I wonder where I can get the mochi, it’s absolutely yummy.

11. Ariel Peterporn saga. This came right in the middle of the world cup, so as you can tell – I had a very interesting June. Can never get the image of Ariel’s big and nice.. watches and his wonderful butt. Yes, I saw both videos. Was awaiting the third one but then.. he just had to turn himself in, sigh sigh. I really hope he won’t be put away for 12 years. I haven’t even watched him live, for god’s sake.

12. Singapore got flooded. Even my neighbourhood got affected, wished I’d been there when it happened but I was at work.

13. Speaking of work, I left the job that I love and ended up in another job, which didn’t last long – for so many reasons. But it gave me the chance to be a mac user for 2 months, so no complaints there.

In summary:

Top 5 Highlights:
1) World Cup 2010 (we should have it every year!)
2) Discovered Tumblr (only awesome people will get this)
3) Sour Sally opens in Singapore! (mixed mochi ftw)
4) 2 words: iphone 4 (blackberry who?)
5) Ariel Peterporn (my hottest asian man has nice big.. watches and a nice butt)

Top 5 Downers:
1) Broke up with FP (got back 2 weeks later, but it was still one of the darkest periods of the year)
2) Left a job I absolutely loved (this is like a second breakup)
3) FP got into a major traffic accident (left him homebound for 5 months, we spent a good half of the year indoors)
4) Sucking at a new job so bad that it was short-lived; it peaked and ended within 2 months.
5) I didn’t get to travel at all this year

So that was my year. Thought it pretty much sucked, but as I was doing up this post and remembering fun and great stuff – it didn’t seem too bad after all. It’s all about perspective.

Before I did this post, I was feeling afraid to face 2011. But now that I feel better about the year, I look forward to a better year.

It’s all about perspective, isn’t it?

Geeky Chic X 20%

Posted on September 3, 2010 by Sha

So I finally got myself a new pair of glasses after a week of having my previous pair sliding down my face all the time.

(No, it’s not because I’m lacking a nose bridge. I’ll get to the reason in awhile)

So just for everybody’s reference, this was how my old glasses looked like. This was taken on the rare occasion that I wore it out about a year plus back:

Prior to this pair of glasses, I hated the idea of wearing my glasses out. Somehow I felt that when I wore glasses, I look weird and because of that I strongly believed that people will look at me weird. I don’t know how true that was, but I seriously thought as such.

However, once I got this pair of geeky glasses (my first pair!), it felt alright to wear it out. I’m not too sure if it’s also because by that time, my self confidence has already stabilized overall. But anyways. This pair lasted me for quite awhile at quite the bargain ($80 – with multi-coated lens from Queensway Shopping Centre).

I remember when I was getting it and the guy asked me what I wanted, I told him, “I want geeky glasses” and he understood what I meant. Straightforward, no?

Okay, so fast forward a year later and this was what became of it:

What’s missing? The ear handles of course! It started with the left one being broken (no idea how it happened). So it was still okay to wear the glasses because 1) whatever was left of the left handle, still manages to hand on to my ear and 2) the right handle was still intact.

This went on for a few months, to the amusement of my family. But because they know I’m slightly weird, they let me be.

Then last week, I came home to find that the right handle has also broken off (no idea how it happened too!) and this time, it’s short of a couple of centimeters to still be able to hang on my right ear.

So the aftermath is that most of the time when I’m wearing my glasses, it slides down. Sometimes I forgot and look down and it just dropped to the floor. It was infuriating because I couldn’t possibly wear my contact lenses the entire day till bedtime – that’s just crazy.

So I decided to once and for all end this torment and get a new pair of glasses. I chose a lovely and huge Paul Frank pair (I just want to look extra geeky okay?)

It sure doesn’t cost $80 but I’m sure that the quality is much more sturdy and will be long lasting. Plus I’m not one to pass off the chance to look geeky, am I?

Now I can pass off as a librarian or accountant or a teacher. Or simply a weirdo with huge glasses. Okay maybe an artistic looking weirdo with huge glasses. Anything works for me

Bang Bang Boogie

Posted on August 20, 2010 by Sha

I’ve been wanting to have bangs for the longest time. In fact, the last time I sported bangs was 7 years back, as seen in the photo below. This has always been one of FP’s favourite photos of me. It is certainly one of mine. I look like a Japanese doll, and some said it looks like a poster of a Japanese horror movie, lol.

So today, I recreated this look. It was hours and hours of pure boredom at the hair stylist’s. I went back to Artica Hair Studios, mainly because I still remember their brilliant and thorough service the last time round. This time, I wasn’t dissappointed. Just that when the girl finally cut my bangs for me, I looked very stunned (because for a whole 5 minutes, I was crying out loud inside: what the hell did I just do?! I LOOK LIKE A COCK!). – sorry “looking like a cock” is a Singaporean term for looking ridiculous. I didn’t mean.. nevermind.

I had that reaction because when she cut it my bangs looked very flat and very fake. And I was almost hyperventilated; because my hair is my crowning jewel. I asked her if she could layer my bangs because it looked too flat, but she says there’s nothing she can do about it and that it will take a few weeks for it to look “natural”. I was still fretting about it as I paid and made my way to the cabstand. I was like.. shit shit shit!

And then in the cab, I caught myself in the rearview mirror and I played with my reflection as I often do and realized that the girl didn’t do a shoddy job after all. I don’t look like a cock. In fact, I look a lot like my younger self – 7 years back! And I look good!

Plus, with this hairstyle, you’d feel playful and cutesy automatically. I think I easily look 10 years younger with this look, hahaha.

So I’m glad I made the decision to have bangs this time round, and I’m glad I went back to Artica for it. The poor girl looks so disappointed as I left (because she spent hours and hours on me, and I had a panicked look as I left, tsk). I feel bad now, because I’m totally loving the look – well till the next time I get sick of my hair of course.

Happy thoughts

Posted on August 14, 2010 by Sha

I am still not in the best of moods today. However, I refuse to get all emotional here, so I shall post up happy pictures to project happy thoughts – because what you see goes up to your brain and straight to your heart, doesn’t it? Well that’s my logic anyway.

Jellybeans in all sorts of colours and flavours will definitely cheer any moody prick up. I should really go get some, but the best jellybeans are found at Changi Airport and it’s quite out of the way for me right now.

Sunflowers never fail to cheer me up. Perhaps it’s because they look so cheery by nature. They brighten up the whole room and I can’t help but smile when I see sunflowers. It’s contagious. Everyone should have the contagious cheerfulness that sunflowers bring. That will make world peace, slightly achievable.

Tubs and tubs of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. That will make anybody happy. What’s not to like about Ben & Jerry’s anyway? The design on the tub itself is enough to make me pick up all the flavours if I could. It’s just a happy thing.

How can anyone not love rainbows? I get so excited every time I spot a rainbow in the sky, because it seems like a magical and beautiful thing that appears out of nowhere. I do love rainbows in other forms as well. In fact, I just love splashes of colours.

My favourite colour is white (no, it’s not PINK, contrary to popular belief). So I really adore white interiors such as this one. It gives a really pleasant, clean and relaxing vibe to it. I just love looking at pictures of home interiors, hoping one day I can apply some of the ideas to my own home.

Lastly, I really do feel that the world needs bottles and bottles of Good Vibes. Seriously, then there won’t be any malicious and evil people around, because they can be easily destroyed with a spray of Good Vibes.

.: asylum for the sane :.

where rainbows end.

Category Archives: Personal Thoughts

Frank By OCBC Credit Card

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