Archive for May, 2008

29
May
2008

Quick peek into life: The past weekend was filled to the brim with arts outreach programmes held in conjunction with the Singapore Arts Festival which opened last Friday. I had to run from Tampines to Boat Quay for two days straight and suffer the unbearable heat made worse by the intolerable attitudes of the ugly Singaporean. There will be giraffes in walking amongst us at locations such as Ang Mo Kio MRT . So do come down and have a look! Have you gotten your ArtsFest tickets yet?

FINALLY. It’s here. I have managed to haul my lazy ass off my comfy couch and peel my eyes away from the Heroes book I borrowed from the library (pssst! If you are a Heroes fan, you might want to read this. It’s the untold story of Hiro and Charlie – the waitress with the super memory!) to give you insider passes into what goes on backstage in a pageant photoshoot and the cocktail event. Yes, the long awaited beauty pageant update with tonnes of photos. And of course, the much anticipated BIKINI photoshoot shots. Stop salivating already you perverts!

Pageants aint all just about the finals and what goes on stage. It’s always important to consider what goes INTO MAKING a beauty queen. Here I give you an insider look into what a beauty pageant contestant goes through.

Bikini Photoshoot @ Marriott.
The eventual prints were used in the programme booklet distributed on the final day itself. (See this post)


Welcome to the Terigu Room, temporarily converted to beauty battle field.


I like to take the mess that makes us beautiful. Hair, makeup, costumes all hung out like dirty linen.


Before and after makeup. Bloody early we had to wake up for the shoot.
*scrunches face up*

To the pool we go! Marriott has a LOVELY POOL as is expected from one of the classier hotels located right in the heart of the shopping district in Singapore. The weather was so hot that day, I really wanted to go swimming. Haha. We were already appropriately dressed!

Doesnt the water look so blue?

The lovely skyline of Orchard!

Photographer at work




When waiting around with nothing better to do, there is only one activity that vain people indulge in.
Taking peeeektures!


Candid of lovely Geraldine.


Dainty Dione


Bubbly Nicole


Pretty Natasha


Happy girls. Sha la la.

Soon after much waiting (and failed attempts on my part to study for Cosmetics and Perfume), it is our turn to take the spotlight.

After the shoot, the girls gather and we take a group shot first,

Before proceeding into a room.

Dont orgas okay! 16 girls in a ROOM. In their bikinis. And a tub!


Beauties waiting in the tub.

More important, with a lush BED in the room.

And the girls climb into bed!

Haha. I can hear the cogs in your heads turning with all sorts of scenarios.
And it gets even better.

THEY ALL SQUEEZE ONTO ONE COUCH!

Okay la. The bed better right.

Beautiful Skin Pre-judging @ Royal Plaza
Sneak here!

The girls’ call time was at 1pm and we were treated to a spectacle of posh chairs and crystal chandeliers.

There we went through a workshop educating us on our different skin types and skin conditions. Interestingly, I found out skin type is the skin we are born with, whilst skin condition is due more to external factors that affect how our skin is. Examples of these factors include diet, weather and stress. You cant change your skin type, but you definitely can control your skin condition. As you know, you are what you eat.

They set the place up nicely for us with small wash basins that were oh-so-cute!

After using their facial cleansing products, the girls had to do our own hair and makeup using their makeup products before the cocktail event started. It was quite a rush, given that we were still doing hair and makeup, preening ourselves in the toilet at 3.30pm when the guests had already arrived and were milling about in the Heat Lounge.

The event started with some singing and before long, the girls were doing their thang trying to win the crowd over with their sexy struts whilst donned in chunky semi-precious jewelry sponsored by Beneath the Stars.


Thanks Princess for the pictures!

The winners were not announced until the finals itself. But every girl got to walk home that very day with a Dermalogica hamper.


Lovely desserts that were served throughout the event.

Finally, my lovely supporters for the Beautiful Skin Pre-judging!


Princess. PinkSmurfSher. And my lovely mummy with dad and brother not pictured.

*big wet eyes* These people have been there with me through the pageant since DAY 1 (the day of the Semi Finals) and it was only natural that they got to be there at the Finals at Marriott.

My own personal cheerleading team that day at the finals.
I LOVE YOU GUYS!


The new Miss Blogger Universe 2009 lineup. Who will clinch the crown? Haha!


My ever supportive family who have been there for me through THICK AND THIN, TEARS AND LAUGHTER.
*BIG WET EYES*

Check out Jayden’s blog for more pictures. HE EVEN HAS A VIDEO OF ME!
And if you’re curious as to how I REALLY answered my question. Go watch it.

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28
May
2008

So. I’ve finally gotten about to sitting down in front of the computer, firing up Firefox, logging into into my lah.cc/wp-admin page and typing something into the vast empty space that’s soon to be defaced by verbal vomit.

I have an entire slew of backlogged posts waiting to be completed, and another list of new posts waiting to materialise. But, after the flurry of having to rush several posts in between shuttling to and fro from pageant rehearsals and work, the current downtime in the number of posts reflects my schedule’s heavy toll on me.

Who would have thought sitting 2 hours alone in a coffee joint with nothing but chick lit, an ugly chicken pie and a mocha-nated caffeine drink could do wonders for rejuvenating oneself? I swear after that 2 hours alone, I was completely at peace with the world. Not until I got to work and got irritated by mo’fos who think the world of themselves. Dude, if you have no part to play in organising the event, you dont know fuck about how or why certain rules were set in place. Honestly, Singaporeans have it too good sometimes. And they dont LISTEN, tell them not to do something, and they’ll ARGUE in return. Wah lao. If you fall into the water of the Singapore River, dont say I didnt warn you not to sit beyond the red and white tape.

But anyway, a lot of people have been asking me what I got out of the pageant and whether it was a worthwhile experience. It sure as hell, was an eye-opener. It was a markedly different one from the previous pageant I took part in (see MSI2007). Thinking back, reflecting with one of the Top 3 winners and a friend alike, the recent MSU2008 was a wake-up call to the realities of life. Unfortunately, the stinking realities of life.

Truth be told, it intrigues me to no end, how people can be so deceptive. How much time they actually put into strategizing their every move to eventually corner their opponents into checkmate. And it makes me wonder, if these people truly have friends at all? They probably do, but only friends who dont compete for a slice of their pie. How do these people wake up each morning, look themselves in the mirror and say to themselves, they are worthwhile, they have made a difference and they inherently are good. I guess not everyone shares the same values and ideals in this world then. Each person was put on this planet for a different purpose, but not everyone’s purpose is to effect change. Change can happen, ever heard of the Butterfly Effect? But, more importantly, who are its beneficiaries? Does the change benefit people who DONT deserve it. Does your change benefit yourself. Or does it, in some ripple effect of the actions you take, change the lives of someone who really needs it. Are there luxuries which you lap up that accompany your-so called change. If it does, in that case, it is a self-serving change.

The destination isnt what people always look for. And people try to make their journey as fulfilling in as many ways as possible; they indulge in materialistic whims, in their 5 minutes of fame. And deception is but one of the many methods by which they achieve selfish gains.

With money you can do almost anything, you can get the best plastic surgeons, hair stylists, best makeup and eventually trump everyone else who have no free access to these sneaky little enhancers. It takes time and effort, but above all, it takes a very large wallet. In this situation the question to ask then, is there no such thing as a natural beauty behind painted faces and preened screens?

*sings It’s all about the money. It’s all about the dum dum da dee dum dum*

On a completely yet related thread, is there even such a thing as real friendship anymore? Who do you define as a friend? I think a friend is someone whom you share your worries and woes, your innermost thoughts, and discuss crucial life-changing decisions including what colour should you wear on your first date. More importantly, friends dont judge friends. Although they might fuck things up in their lives, you should always have the liberty to 1) knock them on the head and say, “OEI. You are fucking things up. STOP IT.” 2) tell them what they are doing wrong and 3) hang out like you always do and still love them for whatever they do. Friends have an all access pass to being blunt with you but you know that their intentions are always for the better.

But what do you do, when your “friend” refuses to tell you about his/her life? What do you do when your “friend” never looks you in the eye when giving you an answer? Yet at the same time, pretending to be all chummy and best friends with you. I wish I could say “FUCK YOU” to my “friend” and move on, cut him/her out of my life, but it really isnt all that simple when we’ve supposedly had “years of friendship” under our belts. Balls to these “years of friendship” which are but numbers in our your books. We shared no impressionable memories, we shared no laughter I can remember of and most of all, we share no secrets.

A friend is not someone who withholds “information” or secrets, especially not someone whom you supposedly consider more than just an acquaintance. A friend is not someone who is shrouded in secrecy or pretends not to know the answers to the questions you pose, whilst suspiciously looking away and pointedly averting your gaze.

A friend is open, truthful and honest. And it’s amazing how you can be FRIENDS with some people regardless the time frame. Im disappointed to say, though we say we’ve come a long way, we have all chosen different paths. And although some of our paths run similarly and are always in close proximity, ours yours and mine diverge and span different ends of the spectrum. So dont come and pretend to be my best friend when you know NUTS about my life. Dont pretend to be all concerned about my feelings when all you really want is a glimpse into a life you will never have.

Because friendship is supposed to be deep, not cursory and fleeting. It’s supposed to be about giving, and not TAKING. It’s not even receiving la can. You TAKE all YOU want. And that’s utterly selfish.

And for doing absolutely nothing for the friendship and all that your deception is worth,

YOU ARE NOT my friend.

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22
May
2008

And this is how the event unfolded. This is for everyone who wasnt there and didnt have the moolah to fork out for even the cheapest table – 2k. Talk about buying 4 tables, each costing 5k.

Presenting to you the booklet. And your 16 finalists.
Click to enlarge

Informal group picture.

The settings.


Do you see that the light is in the shape of a star? Schweeet!

Us girls came out for the opening item in our casual wear sponsored by Beijaflor. A Brazilian brand which boasts a shop at Wisma. The outfits were of a more resort feel which added to the fun factor of the opening number.

The round wasnt judged. But definitely hyped the crowd up what with the mysterious sunnies and strong, energetic walks.

In between the first judging round (in bikini), the audience played some games and had their dinner. Then came the sexy swimwear sponsored by Bella Kini! For the finals they gave us monokinis! Definitely different from your usual flesh parade of bikinis. Monokinis are slightly more conservative yet at the same time provocative. I SUPER LIKE! And one monokini is rather cheap! About 40ish!


Sexy right.

The final and equally important judging round for the night was the elaborate and gorgeous evening wear by LuVie. Designers Jade and DeDe took the trouble to specially design the dresses that reflected each girl’s unique personality. And we were adorned with various accessories like ribbons and feathers to add to the dramatic effect.

Speaking of dramatic, one girl took the word drama to a whole new level. She was said (and reported in the papers) to have stood on stage and posed with her arms up in the air. Apparently, what she did was slowly raise her arms into the air macham like doing tai-chi or yoga. Note that I didnt hear about this until the event was over because the evening wear segment was an individual one where girls went on stage one-by-one to strut their stuff. So, anyway, since my parents were in the audience and my brother was one of the unofficial photographers that night, he managed to catch this shot which I think is priceless.


Jade is an ardent Hiro Nakamura fan. So much so, that she wants to invoke the spirit of Hiro during the pageant. Hahaha!

Ok lah. Dont laugh okay. She made it to the Top 8 spots and landed herself the subsidiary award Miss Beautiful Smile. Free dentals!


Jade Yip – Miss Beautiful Smile

The wait for the results of the Top 8 was a nerve-wrecking one. But it wasnt the last of our worries. Presenting to you Singapore, your Top 8 of Miss Singapore Universe 2008.


Geraldine Quek – Miss Personality

Geraldine is totally deserving of the title Miss Personality. She’s such a darling. She gave us each a phone charm each with our initials and a small personalised note bundled along with it. HOW SWEEEEET! But that aside, she’s just the gentlest person I know. Gosh. Im so glad she won. I voted for her! Wo0o0o0ot!


Malvina Kang eventually clinched 1st runner up.


Alyssa Kokilah


Valerie Lim. MEEEE!

Wahahaha. If you were wondering, yes, I made it to the Top 8 and that was as about far as I made it to. I have to admit that I was disappointed but it was a tough fight amongst the few of us.


Clickable – Gayatri (our 2nd runner up) is 4th from the left, number 14.

The Top 8 were subjected to QnA and the list of questions included things that ranged from personal to current affairs.
- What is love?
- If you were an animal, which would you be and why?
- For health, which of your favourite junk food would you give up and why?
- Is saving the planet more important than saving famine (hunger) and why?
- If you were to meet God, what would you ask him and why?

Our Queen this year, got the animal question. And her answer was along the lines of wanting to be a DOG that was owned by a loving and caring owner. She’d like to be a dog because dogs are loyal and man’s best friend. Lol. In other words, she would like to be a female dog.

I lucky-drawed the global question and got feedback that I did the best out of the 8. *cough*itjustmeansimsmart*cough*
My answer to the question that everyone was preparing for, was, that saving the planet IS more important than saving famine because by saving the planet, we can actually reduce famine. Famine is due to a poor harvest of crops, which is affect by the weather. Weather becomes erratic when the ozone layer is damaged by the excess carbon dioxide human emit. Thus, by saving the planet, we can kill two birds with one stone. However, owing to its low percentage (20%) compared to the swimwear and gown segment which were split evenly (40% each), I didnt get top 3. It has however, been a very interesting experience and most definitely an eye-opening one. And I certainly wont forget the lessons we gleaned from this pageant. Haha.

I now present to you. Your QUEEN Singapore. The one who will be representing our little red dot on international grounds.


Read the press articles here and here.

The Queens in waiting were:
1st Runner up – Malvina Kang
2nd Runner up – Gayatri

Last year’s Queen Miss Jessica Tan came back to crown the new winner. AND JESSICA IS SUPER PRETTTTYYYYYY! SO JEALOUSSSS! Didnt get to take picture with her. Booohoo.

You know they always say, the friendships formed during such events are precious and invaluable. Hahaha. I say, the friendships formed over cam whoring are the best! Here are some backstage peeks.

We were there since 12 and we had a couple of run-throughs.


Practicing walking.


Organisers goofing off. The lady on the left is our catwalk trainer and specialised image consultant – Elaine Heng. She’s super pretty, sweet and very gentle! The nicest catwalk choreographer EVER.

Makeup behind the scenes.


My hair. Braided and twisted up.


Ironing our gowns.


Girls waiting around.

The people behind the scenes.


Jade and DeDe our gown designers. And that’s me in my SGD399 casual wear outfit.


With Elaine


Nicole – contestant number 2. You will see more of her later.


Make up artist. Very important person who can make or break a queen.


Geraldine and Nicole

FUN SHOTS!! QUEENS GONE WILD. HAHAHA! This is while waiting backstage as the crowd in front was playing bingo. I swear it was the longest game of bingo and we were too damn bored. We were most definitely NOT nervous at this point in time, but rather, wondering when the heck we could kick our shoes off and run amok screaming like hyenas. At least that was for me. Haha. My feet were NUMB from stand a good 20 minutes at least through the QnA sesions without moving. I had no toes left! Haha. And my stomach was growling. Though there was food provided, sandwiches and chicken wings, we were kinda afraid to be gorging ourselves and ruining our makeup. But, HECK, I was so hungry after the QnA session, I immediately pounced on 2 chicken wings. Haha.


Kacy tries to LICK ME. Cos Im so TASTY! HAHAHA.


Kacy and Dionne try to pick a fight with each other. It’s about to be a GIRL FIGHT!!!


Crystal moustaches.


Arabian princess.


IT’S ALL ABOUT THE BOOBIES! EVEN IF YOU DONT HAVE IT. FAKE IT!
Check out Nicole’s expression. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT! HAHAHA! You go girl!


Lastly, acting cute.
1. 2. 3.

I’d like to thank everyone for showering me with their concern and much appreciated support via sms/tags/etc.


Mum made these adorable hearts to wave in the crowd and they were easily identifiable from the stage.
Pssst! Isnt Nicole cute?


MY LOVELY FAMILY! WHO WERE SO SUPPORTIVE ALL THE WAY! Mum and Dad beaming even though their little girl didnt make Top 3. *BIG WET EYES*
My brother is a budding photographer I tell you. The shots of the girls all came from him using my DSLR. He’s only been using it for a couple of days now and HE’S SO MUCH BETTER AT IT!

Thanks to all my lovelies (you guys know who you are!) for screaming and cheering so loudly! I couldnt have done it without you guys. Though I feel a little regretful that I didnt win any titles, and I feel like somehow I disappointed the people around me, this is definitely an experience that opened my eyes to the things that people do just for namesake. The lengths they take to pursue a dream.

To end it off, here’s a really hot pic of my BFF Liza and me! Wo0o0o0ot. I look so skinny here. And Liza looks hot.

WORLD PEACE YALLL!
*blows kisses*

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20
May
2008

Note: Nuffnang Family Day Out!!! National Family Celebrations 08! I want those Singapore Flyer tickets!

My family has always been a tight knit one. We used to enjoy regular family dinners at home when Jem and I were younger, but what with us growing up and leaving the nest more often, we make it a point to come home for family dinners at least once a week.
Weekends or more specifically Sunday night has always been dedicated to spending time with the family. And during those nights, we give Mum’s Kitchen a day off, and take time to explore tasty restaurants.

More recently, Mothers’ Day coincided with Mum’s birthday! And you know what we did? We celebrated by of course going to a lovely Teochew restaurant, but this time, with the maternal grandparents in tow! It was a call for a double celebration!

Favourite Family Routine #1 – Eating!
which Singaporean family doesnt like to eat right?

WE LOVE GOOD FOOD!

At the recent Mothers’ Day dinner!

The Teochew fried rice was awesome! Although we ordered their supposedly specialty noodles, I honestly think the fried rice was waaaay better and more flavourful. The noodles were rather bland and didnt have much ingredients in them.


Attaccccccking the food.



Yummy-licious mango cake.


Bright smiles all around!

A look at our other sumptuous spreads.

The array of dishes for our Chinese New Year Dinner at the maternal grandparents’. My grandma makes mean dishes! I love her chicken curry and her braised duck best. SLURP.

From Chinese food, to more Western cuisine, we’ve savoured them all.

We tried the snacks at Long Bar recently, owing to the arrival of a tourist friend – Janet from Brisbane.


Smoked salmon roll.


Nachos with guacamole and sour cream dressing.


Have you tried this? It’s THE Singapore Sling! Apparently a MUST-DRINK if you’re in Singapore. Raffles Hotel is THE birth place of the Singapore Sling.

During these precious moments when we have time together as a family of 4, not only do we indulge in tantalising dishes, we of course, can you believe it, cam-whore! I believe I must have inherited the genes from my mum. She absolutely loves to take pictures with pretty things. Flowers especially.

Thus, Favourite Family Routine #2 – TAKING PICTURES!

I present Exhibit A, B and C.


Yep. Guilty as charged. That’s my mum.

Jem and I on the other hand, like to make faces whilst taking peektures.
And yes, he’s my BABY brother.

Even dad makes silly faces whilst posing. Haha.

Mum still keeps her composure and looks pretty even with mango juice.

Favourite Family Routine #3 – Visting Tourist Spots

Occasionally when the adventure bug hits us, we pretend we’re tourists and visit tourist spots like Sentosa via the Cable Car!


And what do you do when you see pretty flowers at the top of Mount Faber?

TAKE PICTUREEEEEEEEEEEEE!


Mum and Dad make like teenage sweethearts in front of the big flowered heart.
AWWWWWWWWWW. Picture perfect.


Dad knows the way to a woman’s heart. Hahahaha!

After conquering the cable cars, the Singapore Flyer is the next MUST-ride for the family. I’m hoping to bag the tickets for the Singapore Flyer cause it’d be perfect if we got the 7 tickets since inviting my maternal grandparents and my uncle makes 7! Wo0o0ot!

MY favourite family routine? Spending time together, as a single unit.
=)

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19
May
2008

And so it all happens tomorrow.

At Marriott.

Battle of the babes. Of the bustiest. Of the beautiful. And of the brains.

By end of the night. We will know who’s Miss Singapore Universe 2008. And we will know who’s going to Vietnam for the internationals.

And yes, I owe yall one long ass update of the photoshoot and cocktail event.

But in the meantime, here are pictures of rehearsals.


Girls in their gowns.


Behind the scenes during our jewelry fitting.

And last but not least. MY gown.

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16
May
2008

How today unfolded.

7am – MANDAI Orchid Garden. Do you know where that is? My goodness. Can you imagine that the cab fare cost me 25 bucks! I could have taken a train, but that would have meant I needed to wake at 5.30 in the morning! Such an ungodly hour. Upon reaching, I felt cheated because the shoot was due to start at 9.30! I could have done my make up at the location instead of losing precious sleep just to smear gunk on my face.

We were guests for a garden wedding solemnisation. There were only 10 guests and truth be told, I didnt know who the bride and groom were. We were total strangers. On top of that, I didnt know anyone on the guest list either! Hahaha.

It wasnt a REAL wedding see. We were gathered there for a Sony HandyCam video shoot, something like a TVC to be aired in Arabic countries. Haha. The ten of us played wedding guests decked out in modest, conservative and non-revealing clothes. Whilst silently melting underneath our clothes in the hot, humid weather, we had to pretend to be happy at the sight of the newly wed “couple”.

The set up.


Love the pretty flowers!

Guests. International guests more specifically.

The bride and groom doing their first wedding dance as a couple. Awwww.
I LOVE the bride’s dress! It’s so pretty! Oh she had awesome shoes too. Wo0t!

And of course, the camera crew!

The shoot was over in a jiffy and I scooted down to town.

1pm – casual wear fitting for MSU.

This was what I tried on and took a fancy to. Cute isnt it. But I decided to go with something else eventually! I saw the price tag for the outfit I chose, and got quite a heart attack. 399 bucks! Wo0o0o0ot! Haha. We’re decked out in branded yo!

3pm – sponsored facial by Dermalogica

The facial was good and very relaxing. So much so, that I may have dozed off lightly somewhere along the way. It lasted an hour and comprised cleansing, toning, a hydrating mask and neck and shoulder massage. Haha, I tell you, the best part is the massage! My shoulders were aching from the heavy load of my bag and the therapist soothed them by gently pressing away the kinks. Ahhh.. Now I wanna go for a full body massage.

4.45pm – gown fitting for finals

My new gown is GORGEOUS! Specially designed by DeDe and Jade, each girl got a specially customised gown that’s either black/red or black/gold. Gosh! THEY ARE AMAZING! My gown costs a whooping $1500 and although I took a picture of my spectacular gown, I WILL KEEP YOU ALL IN SUSPENSE! Haha.

Finals schedule is finally out.

Next week. Next week. No TV telecast.

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