- Saturday, October 17, 2015
- 0 Comments
My, it's been some time since I last blogged, hasn't it? I hope no one has forgotten about this space. Guess that's due to what I've been up to these past few weeks: since the end of my internship about three weeks ago, I've been to Johor and Bangkok, and Year 3 has commenced. While Bangkok was definitely the highlight of the summer, I just can't bring myself to blog about it - too lazy perhaps! Guess I'll blog about Bangkok sometime later this week, just not now heh.
Disclaimer: my thoughts are all completely jumbled up in my head now, so I apologise for the incoherence beforehand. You've been warned.
So it's a new academic year, with new faces milling about, and so many other fresh developments: E's on local exchange at SMU, while I'm still at NUS overloading (again!) with 6 modules, including a module about Real Estate Business. (Ha, bet you weren't expecting that, eh?) Reason for this randomness? Well I decided to go beyond my comfort zone and learn something really useful, practical and relevant for the future, and since this fit really well into my schedule, why not? The other 5 modules I have are all Political Science or Sociology modules for my respective majors and minors. It's a pity I can't continue with Korean 5 because I have to clear my core requirements first :( Won't be giving up on the language though - it'd be such a crying shame. I've come to really like the language, so I'll definitely be back for more.
Since this is Week 2 and tutorials haven't started, I had a 4-hour break between lectures, so I decided to chill at the Central Library. Instead of doing my readings, I ended up chatting to whoever I met in the library. While I admit I could have gotten a good amount of work done, I'm glad I caught up with those few friends earlier. We don't see each other much, and it feels pretty nice to catch up with old friends and be able to discuss and laugh about things. Haven't exactly been having quality conversations with friends lately, and I'm trying to change that.
On another note, Monday was a great day because of the wonderful date I had with E. We ate at The Assembly Ground - I'm definitely going back there! - and watched Attack on Titan 1, which was pretty disappointing ugh. (Sidetrack [spoiler alert]: the anime and manga are so good, so I was really anticipating the live-action series, yet so much was changed. Whatever happened to the compelling (and very important) backstories? Why the need to change Levi's name? What's with the ridiculous love triangle? How does the old guy know about Eren's confounding power? The movie may be good for a newcomer to Attack on Titan, but for us ardent fans, too many liberties were taken, to the point where the story ceases to make sense. I shall just be content with the manga/anime.) Despite that, all was good with some gelato and a fresh rose, which E surprised me with. Thank you for always remembering how I love to receive flowers dear, it's a really sweet gesture :) Our Mon-date ended with E coming over for dinner and us playing Uno Stacko and Monopoly with my brother, wherein I emerged victorious. If only I was so rich in real life. HA.
Can't think of anything else to blog about at the moment, so abrupt as it may seem, I think I'm signing off here. Forgive me for the shittiest writing you'll ever see me produce; I promise I'm nowhere near this incoherent usually. Maybe this is a sign to sleep earlier and stop blogging at midnight.
That's it for now.
Yours Truly,
Viv
Disclaimer: my thoughts are all completely jumbled up in my head now, so I apologise for the incoherence beforehand. You've been warned.
So it's a new academic year, with new faces milling about, and so many other fresh developments: E's on local exchange at SMU, while I'm still at NUS overloading (again!) with 6 modules, including a module about Real Estate Business. (Ha, bet you weren't expecting that, eh?) Reason for this randomness? Well I decided to go beyond my comfort zone and learn something really useful, practical and relevant for the future, and since this fit really well into my schedule, why not? The other 5 modules I have are all Political Science or Sociology modules for my respective majors and minors. It's a pity I can't continue with Korean 5 because I have to clear my core requirements first :( Won't be giving up on the language though - it'd be such a crying shame. I've come to really like the language, so I'll definitely be back for more.
Since this is Week 2 and tutorials haven't started, I had a 4-hour break between lectures, so I decided to chill at the Central Library. Instead of doing my readings, I ended up chatting to whoever I met in the library. While I admit I could have gotten a good amount of work done, I'm glad I caught up with those few friends earlier. We don't see each other much, and it feels pretty nice to catch up with old friends and be able to discuss and laugh about things. Haven't exactly been having quality conversations with friends lately, and I'm trying to change that.
On another note, Monday was a great day because of the wonderful date I had with E. We ate at The Assembly Ground - I'm definitely going back there! - and watched Attack on Titan 1, which was pretty disappointing ugh. (Sidetrack [spoiler alert]: the anime and manga are so good, so I was really anticipating the live-action series, yet so much was changed. Whatever happened to the compelling (and very important) backstories? Why the need to change Levi's name? What's with the ridiculous love triangle? How does the old guy know about Eren's confounding power? The movie may be good for a newcomer to Attack on Titan, but for us ardent fans, too many liberties were taken, to the point where the story ceases to make sense. I shall just be content with the manga/anime.) Despite that, all was good with some gelato and a fresh rose, which E surprised me with. Thank you for always remembering how I love to receive flowers dear, it's a really sweet gesture :) Our Mon-date ended with E coming over for dinner and us playing Uno Stacko and Monopoly with my brother, wherein I emerged victorious. If only I was so rich in real life. HA.
Can't think of anything else to blog about at the moment, so abrupt as it may seem, I think I'm signing off here. Forgive me for the shittiest writing you'll ever see me produce; I promise I'm nowhere near this incoherent usually. Maybe this is a sign to sleep earlier and stop blogging at midnight.
That's it for now.
Yours Truly,
Viv
- Tuesday, August 18, 2015
- 0 Comments
Wow. I promised to regularly update my blog, but I haven't been blogging for over a month. I guess I've been so busy/lazy/tired lately, to the point where I haven't been doing very much. This entry was meant to be up sometime at the beginning of June, though I just didn't post it. I actually had to rewrite the entire introduction, since I've been working here at Perfect Weddings for over two months now. Which leads me to the main point of this post: my thoughts on working life.
An overview of my work: I'm a writer intern for Perfect Weddings, so my job is to write wedding-related articles, which they'll then put on their website for prospective brides and all. I like what I'm doing and I have pretty awesome colleagues, so I guess I was pretty fortunate to end up in an awesome company like this. Even though I've only been working two months, and I'm just an intern, this experience has allowed me a glimpse into the daily life of a working adult, which has made me realise some things. Seven, to be precise:
1. Sleep is gold.
Actually, I should rephrase that - sleep is worth way more than gold. Since I'm working at an SME, OT is very common for some of the key staff, and some of them even get by with just three to five hours of sleep (sometimes none at all) on an average weekday. Before concert, I felt as if I was juggling two jobs with my actual day job from 10-7 and Reso practices at night from 8 or 9 to 10 or 11. Not to mention, I teach piano on Wednesdays after work. Even though that hectic period's over and life has become more mundane, working eight hours a day is still pretty tiring. This has made me realise that sleep and naps are truly luxuries for the working adult - and to think we used to resent nap time as kids! I guess we humans really don't know how to appreciate what we have until it's taken away from us.
The reason I said sleep is worth way more than gold's because of the wonders it can do for our health and wellness. I know I'm starting to sound like a naggy mother here, but believe me: keep late nights and you'll end up like me - with massive eyebags and horrendous dark eye circles. It simply ages you. Just in the past ten days I've been 1) mistaken as 30 years old by a cab driver, 2) described as looking like I do drugs by a sister's friend and 3) looking old enough to be my sister's mother. It's so upsetting for anyone to hear they look at least 10 years older than they actually are, and even more so for a woman! I'M 21 I'M NOT 30 OKAY CAN'T YOU TELL OMG. Plus sleeping early can help you lose weight, so why not?
So in an attempt to rectify this disaster, I shall try sleeping early for the rest of this week and see how things go. Bottom line is: SLEEP EARLY WHENEVER YOU CAN. Your body will thank you for it.
2. Weekends are extra precious.
I've generally always liked the weekends, although I didn't look forward to them as much as in JC and secondary school since I started university since I had a pretty flexible timetable and all. Even if I didn't have a 4-day week, it wasn't so bad because some days were really chill - just one 2-hour lecture at the most, so it wasn't much. But when you're working, all of that changes. In just three weeks TGIF - Thank God It's Friday - really took on a whole new meaning for me. I now truly appreciate Fridays and even look forward to them, simply because it marks the start of a brief respite from a desk-bound job, with the same routine day in, day out. Sure, I like what I'm doing, but that doesn't make it any less clockwork or tiring.
I'm very grateful to be able to rest and recharge over the weekends (even though I'm still running around, but hey, Sundays are rest days!), which really helps in rejuvenating the senses. I'm not one for a desk-bound job, and I need a lot of me time. Never thought I'd appreciate the weekends (especially long weekends like this one) that much. Oh weekend, never again will I take you for granted.
3. You start to treasure time spent with your loved ones more.
My boyfriend and I are pretty sticky, but since summer began I went from seeing him every other day to just once a week on average. In any case, our workplaces aren't very near each other, not to mention he ends a full hour earlier, so making him wait an hour and a half just to have a quick dinner with me isn't very fair to him. When we do meet, it's usually a short meeting, and we're often too tired to do much, and so we just end up chilling at someone's place HAHA. Not that I mind, though I wanna go out and have fun too! When was the last time we actuually had a proper date? Now when we meet, I feel extra happy and excited to see him, especially if it's after a long day or week, and I really like it. It makes me appreciate him even more, and I'm so happy for that (:
When I was shuttling to and from office to school nearly every day, I reached home super late and as a result, hardly got to see my family, much less even have a meal with them. That made weekends - when I spend the day at home - a real treat. Now I understand why my parents are so insistent on Sundays being "family days," and can truly appreciate them now. As much as I love going out and being busy, there's really no place like home and family. Which brings me to my next point.
4. Home-cooked food is the best.
They say home is where the heart is, but home's where the stomach is too. My office goes for lunch together every day, and there are quite a few eating places to choose from, so we alternate between them every day, depending on how busy they are or the weather. While a couple of stalls serve pretty good food, they are some distance from the office, meaning we can't always go there. Honestly, most of the options aren't that great: Ubi isn't known for having delicious food - just think of it as your school canteen on average, but slightly more delicious and significantly more expensive.
Even though I often rave about my home-cooked meals, I rarely eat at home nowadays because I'm always out. Not gonna lie, I've taken my home-cooked food for granted.
When I started working, I realised how unhealthy eating out is. The amount of oil and salt that goes into the food that's prepared... It's kinda gross, actually. It may or may not taste good, and, in my case, food's usually not that great (and I'm not a fussy eater, so you can imagine how meh it is).
Eating outside's really unhealthy, and I'm not keen on gaining weight/becoming unhealthier this summer. I'm often too pooped to exercise recently, so I've taken to bringing home-cooked goodness to work recently. It's a really healthy and tasty alternative! And even though it's not piping hot anymore, it tastes way better that just about anything else. Special thanks to mummy and my helper for doing that - I'm truly blessed (:
5. You see your colleagues more than anyone else.
Yes, this is exactly right. I see my colleagues way more often than I do anyone else. Although as I mentioned at the start, I'm pretty fortunate to have nice colleagues who're not much older than me, so we all get along very well. Having good colleagues really does make a difference. That being said, I do wish I can see my close friends/boyfriend more often... :/ I do get to see my family nearly every day now, so that's not too bad.
6. You start to become more health-conscious.
In university, it's not too rare to have late-night suppers with friends, pull an all-nighter for that important essay or drink till you're pretty smashed. And not to mention our horrendous eating and sleeping habits. For most of us, health is something we take for granted, especially since we're young. With our high metabolic rates and good body condition, we feel as if it's totally fine to abuse our bodies. Well I'm nowhere near that bad, and that's thanks to my wonderful mother who is a heath guru.
Funny enough, when I started working, I found that my colleagues are pretty health-conscious despite being only a few years older than me. I always thought it was something that only afflicted parents or those in their thirties, but I guess I was wrong. My office has had this healthy eating trend recently, with more and more people packing lunch to work. And everyone keeps talking about health and weight-related stuff. And I find myself talking about what my mum always nags me about... Quite funny, really.
Man, do I feel old saying this! So many adults have told me this since I was little, but I really only feel it now. Even though there's studying and exams and all, it actually isn't so bad! You can plan your own schedule, study whenever you feel like, hang out with friends and engage in all sorts of activities together, instead of being desk-bound all day long.
Not only that, there's also the summer and winter break to look forward to! That's a total of at least four months of holidays. When you enter the workforce, all you have are just fourteen days of leave. Honestly, that isn't a lot of time. No wonder leave days are practically sacred for working adults. Can't imagine what having no holidays will be like...
An overview of my work: I'm a writer intern for Perfect Weddings, so my job is to write wedding-related articles, which they'll then put on their website for prospective brides and all. I like what I'm doing and I have pretty awesome colleagues, so I guess I was pretty fortunate to end up in an awesome company like this. Even though I've only been working two months, and I'm just an intern, this experience has allowed me a glimpse into the daily life of a working adult, which has made me realise some things. Seven, to be precise:
1. Sleep is gold.
 |
| Picture credits to favim.com |
The reason I said sleep is worth way more than gold's because of the wonders it can do for our health and wellness. I know I'm starting to sound like a naggy mother here, but believe me: keep late nights and you'll end up like me - with massive eyebags and horrendous dark eye circles. It simply ages you. Just in the past ten days I've been 1) mistaken as 30 years old by a cab driver, 2) described as looking like I do drugs by a sister's friend and 3) looking old enough to be my sister's mother. It's so upsetting for anyone to hear they look at least 10 years older than they actually are, and even more so for a woman! I'M 21 I'M NOT 30 OKAY CAN'T YOU TELL OMG. Plus sleeping early can help you lose weight, so why not?
So in an attempt to rectify this disaster, I shall try sleeping early for the rest of this week and see how things go. Bottom line is: SLEEP EARLY WHENEVER YOU CAN. Your body will thank you for it.
2. Weekends are extra precious.
 |
| Picture credits to melissajoykong.tumblr.com |
I'm very grateful to be able to rest and recharge over the weekends (even though I'm still running around, but hey, Sundays are rest days!), which really helps in rejuvenating the senses. I'm not one for a desk-bound job, and I need a lot of me time. Never thought I'd appreciate the weekends (especially long weekends like this one) that much. Oh weekend, never again will I take you for granted.
3. You start to treasure time spent with your loved ones more.
 |
| Taken on my birthday this year. No pictures of my family since they like their privacy haha. |
When I was shuttling to and from office to school nearly every day, I reached home super late and as a result, hardly got to see my family, much less even have a meal with them. That made weekends - when I spend the day at home - a real treat. Now I understand why my parents are so insistent on Sundays being "family days," and can truly appreciate them now. As much as I love going out and being busy, there's really no place like home and family. Which brings me to my next point.
4. Home-cooked food is the best.
Even though I often rave about my home-cooked meals, I rarely eat at home nowadays because I'm always out. Not gonna lie, I've taken my home-cooked food for granted.
When I started working, I realised how unhealthy eating out is. The amount of oil and salt that goes into the food that's prepared... It's kinda gross, actually. It may or may not taste good, and, in my case, food's usually not that great (and I'm not a fussy eater, so you can imagine how meh it is).
Eating outside's really unhealthy, and I'm not keen on gaining weight/becoming unhealthier this summer. I'm often too pooped to exercise recently, so I've taken to bringing home-cooked goodness to work recently. It's a really healthy and tasty alternative! And even though it's not piping hot anymore, it tastes way better that just about anything else. Special thanks to mummy and my helper for doing that - I'm truly blessed (:
 |
| Picture credits to bentozen.wordpress.com |
The above picture is an exaggeration, of course, but my packed lunch really isn't too shabby with veggies, fish and the occasional squid kay ;)
Yes, this is exactly right. I see my colleagues way more often than I do anyone else. Although as I mentioned at the start, I'm pretty fortunate to have nice colleagues who're not much older than me, so we all get along very well. Having good colleagues really does make a difference. That being said, I do wish I can see my close friends/boyfriend more often... :/ I do get to see my family nearly every day now, so that's not too bad.
6. You start to become more health-conscious.
 |
| Picture credits to www.canfightcancer.com |
Funny enough, when I started working, I found that my colleagues are pretty health-conscious despite being only a few years older than me. I always thought it was something that only afflicted parents or those in their thirties, but I guess I was wrong. My office has had this healthy eating trend recently, with more and more people packing lunch to work. And everyone keeps talking about health and weight-related stuff. And I find myself talking about what my mum always nags me about... Quite funny, really.
7. School is the best time of your life.
Man, do I feel old saying this! So many adults have told me this since I was little, but I really only feel it now. Even though there's studying and exams and all, it actually isn't so bad! You can plan your own schedule, study whenever you feel like, hang out with friends and engage in all sorts of activities together, instead of being desk-bound all day long.
Not only that, there's also the summer and winter break to look forward to! That's a total of at least four months of holidays. When you enter the workforce, all you have are just fourteen days of leave. Honestly, that isn't a lot of time. No wonder leave days are practically sacred for working adults. Can't imagine what having no holidays will be like...
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| Taken on my 21st birthday party this year. Featuring the bandits ;)
Man, I really don't wanna graduate... Though since I actually enjoy working for this company quite a lot, I may do freelance/part-time writing for them in the near future, so I shall see how it goes! While I'm a little sad that this internship's ending soon, I also can't wait for August since I'll be heading overseas ;) That's all I have for now, and I'll be back again soon (:
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- Thursday, July 09, 2015
- 0 Comments
Sunday, 31 May 2015
Today I managed to relive the glorious sensation of doing absolutely nothing. I had a fantastic family breakfast and some good ol' family time laughing and yakking away, something which I really treasure since we're all getting older and busier, and family time's really hard to come by. I also wish I took a photo of breakfast dang - it was crackers with cheese/avocado and smoked salmon, as well as prawn on cucumber with avocado spread. Sounds somewhat funky but it was delectable, I assure you. My family has the best homemade breakfasts :D We talked about random stuff, including our holiday plans for the year - we're headed for Osaka this December! This is amazing - just 2 months ago, I blogged about Osaka as one of the places I really want to visit, and now this! I'm incredibly psyched for this trip and can't wait to plan our itinerary and sightsee/eat/shop/you name it. So glad we're returning to Japan after Tokyo in 2012, can't get enough of the place!
So after that... I went back to bed at 11am. Eat and sleep. Wow. In a piggy attempt to repay the sleep debt, I napped for three hours LOL. Napping is such a luxury nowadays. I was so tired I didn't even hear my sister coming into the room singing real loudly, and I'd usually a light sleeper. Maybe I'm turning into a pig for real.
After the three hour nap I had a short phone call with E, before having lunch and watching Detective Conan for four hours. Haven't had much time to catch up on this awesome anime series recently, so was pretty grateful for that.
If you know me, I'm a huge fan of this series, and I'm proud to say I've diligently followed every episode from 1-749 as of today. There're currently 778 episodes (the show's been running for 19 years!), but I'm trying to slow down so I don't need to impatiently wait for part 2 of any two-part episode hehs. I could go on for several more paragraphs about this, but I shall move on muahahaha. Looking forward to the subtitled version hitting Singapore screens in July :D
After that we had family dinner and our Sunday family meeting, after which I did nothing except play Pokemon Showdown again. Of all the things I could have done - hone my makeup skills, tidy my room, organise my wardrobe, exercise, practise piano - I played games. Ugh. Too much slacking, really. I'm such a nerdy bum sometimes.
So there you have it, my fantastically unproductive day. HAHA.
More updates coming soon!
Today I managed to relive the glorious sensation of doing absolutely nothing. I had a fantastic family breakfast and some good ol' family time laughing and yakking away, something which I really treasure since we're all getting older and busier, and family time's really hard to come by. I also wish I took a photo of breakfast dang - it was crackers with cheese/avocado and smoked salmon, as well as prawn on cucumber with avocado spread. Sounds somewhat funky but it was delectable, I assure you. My family has the best homemade breakfasts :D We talked about random stuff, including our holiday plans for the year - we're headed for Osaka this December! This is amazing - just 2 months ago, I blogged about Osaka as one of the places I really want to visit, and now this! I'm incredibly psyched for this trip and can't wait to plan our itinerary and sightsee/eat/shop/you name it. So glad we're returning to Japan after Tokyo in 2012, can't get enough of the place!
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| Picture credits to japan-guide.com |
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| Picture credits to blamethemonkey.com |
After the three hour nap I had a short phone call with E, before having lunch and watching Detective Conan for four hours. Haven't had much time to catch up on this awesome anime series recently, so was pretty grateful for that.
 |
| Picture credits to Detective Conan World |
After that we had family dinner and our Sunday family meeting, after which I did nothing except play Pokemon Showdown again. Of all the things I could have done - hone my makeup skills, tidy my room, organise my wardrobe, exercise, practise piano - I played games. Ugh. Too much slacking, really. I'm such a nerdy bum sometimes.
So there you have it, my fantastically unproductive day. HAHA.
More updates coming soon!
- Tuesday, June 02, 2015
- 0 Comments
Sorry for the lack of updates recently, my (probably non-existent) readers - I've been so tied up with work and Resonance practice to the point where I barely have any time for myself. As drained as I am, I've decided to post a quick update about something wonderful that happened today!
If you don't already know, I'm currently working at Perfect Weddings Singapore (do check out the website here) as a writer intern, writing all sorts of wedding editorials. Given that I'm an intern with zero editorial experience, it's pretty normal to not be published since I'm there to hone my skills anyway.
However, much to my surprise and delight, I found out earlier today that one of my articles was published! Titled 'Dos and Don'ts When Preparing for Your Pre-Wedding Photoshoot,' I was so surprised that it got published since, well, I just finished it yesterday haha. But I must say the feeling of reading your published article is amazing - I could really feel the excitement within me. Of course, I have my editor to thank for polishing the article and mummy for all of the advice that ended up inside my article (you'll understand when you read it). Thank you! Will continue striving to improve, so do keep a lookout for my other works!
Read my article at: http://www.perfectweddings.sg/dos-and-donts-when-preparing-for-your-pre-wedding-photoshoot/.
I promise to blog about my (extremely) overdue updates about my 21st and E's 24th, so stay tuned!
Yours Truly,
Viv
If you don't already know, I'm currently working at Perfect Weddings Singapore (do check out the website here) as a writer intern, writing all sorts of wedding editorials. Given that I'm an intern with zero editorial experience, it's pretty normal to not be published since I'm there to hone my skills anyway.
However, much to my surprise and delight, I found out earlier today that one of my articles was published! Titled 'Dos and Don'ts When Preparing for Your Pre-Wedding Photoshoot,' I was so surprised that it got published since, well, I just finished it yesterday haha. But I must say the feeling of reading your published article is amazing - I could really feel the excitement within me. Of course, I have my editor to thank for polishing the article and mummy for all of the advice that ended up inside my article (you'll understand when you read it). Thank you! Will continue striving to improve, so do keep a lookout for my other works!
Read my article at: http://www.perfectweddings.sg/dos-and-donts-when-preparing-for-your-pre-wedding-photoshoot/.
I promise to blog about my (extremely) overdue updates about my 21st and E's 24th, so stay tuned!
Yours Truly,
Viv
- Wednesday, May 20, 2015
- 0 Comments
Hey everyone, I'm finally back! It's been a hectic period these past couple of weeks with finals and birthday celebrations, which have left me no time for blogging. :( Finals aren't over yet, but since I miss blogging and I made a resolution to blog regularly, I shall dedicate some of my time to updating this space!
Since so much has happened these past couple of weeks, I've decided to first blog about my last week of being twenteen. Will be putting up some pictures too!
April 23, Thursday
Went to watch Avengers II: Age of Ultron with E today. Reading Week date oh yeah! ;) I've never watched a movie on its opening day before so it was pretty cool to be one of the first to do so! (Since I'm either slow to jump on the bandwagon or I don't watch it at all...) I've only watched about half an hour of Avengers, but based on that I'd say that this movie's even better. The movie was - as expected - action-packed, well-paced, with just the right amount of wit and humour. Needless to say, I thoroughly enjoyed myself. It didn't even feel like two-and-a-half hours, to be frank. I really love my superheroes, and Marvel sure doesn't fail to disappoint. Think it's time to start reading some comics!
April 24, Friday
Today was our 9th monthsary, and on this day I had an internship interview for Perfect Weddings Media Pte. Ltd. E was supposed to come over to my place to study once it ended. As it turned out, the interview was followed by an on-the-spot 3h writing test. Given my total lack of experience in writing editorials, not to mention my completely irrelevant major, I was stunned for a moment and a little stressed when I saw the assigned topic: Top 5 Must-Do Tips for Singapore Brides in Preparing For Your Wedding. It's been years since I last attended a wedding, and the only time I ever helped at a wedding was to emcee for my aunt's wedding banquet way back in 2004. From this, I'm sure you can tell that my knowledge of the wedding industry and weddings in general is far from extensive.
Fortunately, I had a nice interviewer, and the chief editor, too, dropped by to check on me a couple of times, offering useful tips and advice. Planning the article wasn't easy, I'll admit, particularly since the editor was looking for some creative element in my writing. In addition, I had to constantly be mindful of the local context and the Singaporean bride for whom I was writing, and thus pitch my article accordingly.
After a wee bit of research, I managed to come up with a 'listicle' that included advice from my dad which I adapted to suit this context, a few pointers that were already known but re-presented and repackaged through my writing, as well as well as a unique point or two of my own. I mean, there's only so many must-do things for brides in the wedding preparation process, so the ideas weren't entirely novel. The key here (in my opinion) was to put a new spin on old ideas, and present them as fresh, which I attempted to do.
So after I finished writing the article, I had to source for appropriate images and credit them, as well as do something known as 'keyword tagging.' Now, I've not come across this word before so I'm not entirely sure what it means, but it seems to have something to do with SEO (Search Engine Optimisation). Apparently the idea was for the editor to have an idea of our thought processes as we wrote.
Finished the article on time, and left the place past 2pm after being informed that I would be notified if I got the internship within 24 hours. Poor E waited for me for several hours, when I promised him that we would have lunch together. :( Made our way to my place after that, then studied together after lunch. Even though we didn't do anything special or romantic, I was happy all the same. I guess when you're with the right person, you can find joy even in the most mundane of activities. (:
At 5.30pm, I got a call. And...
I got the internship! My very first internship! I was absolutely thrilled, because when I was scouring InternSG and various other similar websites in the searching process, this was the first post that caught my eye. I really wanted to join a wedding planning company since I was interested in the industry, and since I love to write, this internship seemed to be an ideal marriage (hehe) of interest. I actually gave up hope that this company would call me for an interview since (1) the InternSG website screwed up the format of my resume after I reformatted the text-only submission and (2) they didn't get back to me for over two months, which led me to believe that I was not even being considered. Amazingly, I got called for interview and successfully secured the internship just three hours after my interview. Looking forward to beginning my internship!
April 25, Saturday
Ordered a snapper pie, which ended up tasting strange - too fishy. Don't know about you, but from personal experience, fish - with the exception of tuna/sardines - and pie do not mix well. Are there no good fish pies out there? :( Bel's beef pie was SO MUCH nicer... Dang. And at $24, it wasn't cheap either. :/
That being said, Privé Café seems to be more of a breakfast place, so I'll probably head there for breakfast one day. It's really far away though.
Thank you for inviting me to your birthday dinner Nic! Catch up soon. (:
April 26, Sunday-April 28, Tuesday
Since so much has happened these past couple of weeks, I've decided to first blog about my last week of being twenteen. Will be putting up some pictures too!
April 23, Thursday
Went to watch Avengers II: Age of Ultron with E today. Reading Week date oh yeah! ;) I've never watched a movie on its opening day before so it was pretty cool to be one of the first to do so! (Since I'm either slow to jump on the bandwagon or I don't watch it at all...) I've only watched about half an hour of Avengers, but based on that I'd say that this movie's even better. The movie was - as expected - action-packed, well-paced, with just the right amount of wit and humour. Needless to say, I thoroughly enjoyed myself. It didn't even feel like two-and-a-half hours, to be frank. I really love my superheroes, and Marvel sure doesn't fail to disappoint. Think it's time to start reading some comics!
April 24, Friday
Today was our 9th monthsary, and on this day I had an internship interview for Perfect Weddings Media Pte. Ltd. E was supposed to come over to my place to study once it ended. As it turned out, the interview was followed by an on-the-spot 3h writing test. Given my total lack of experience in writing editorials, not to mention my completely irrelevant major, I was stunned for a moment and a little stressed when I saw the assigned topic: Top 5 Must-Do Tips for Singapore Brides in Preparing For Your Wedding. It's been years since I last attended a wedding, and the only time I ever helped at a wedding was to emcee for my aunt's wedding banquet way back in 2004. From this, I'm sure you can tell that my knowledge of the wedding industry and weddings in general is far from extensive.
Fortunately, I had a nice interviewer, and the chief editor, too, dropped by to check on me a couple of times, offering useful tips and advice. Planning the article wasn't easy, I'll admit, particularly since the editor was looking for some creative element in my writing. In addition, I had to constantly be mindful of the local context and the Singaporean bride for whom I was writing, and thus pitch my article accordingly.
After a wee bit of research, I managed to come up with a 'listicle' that included advice from my dad which I adapted to suit this context, a few pointers that were already known but re-presented and repackaged through my writing, as well as well as a unique point or two of my own. I mean, there's only so many must-do things for brides in the wedding preparation process, so the ideas weren't entirely novel. The key here (in my opinion) was to put a new spin on old ideas, and present them as fresh, which I attempted to do.
So after I finished writing the article, I had to source for appropriate images and credit them, as well as do something known as 'keyword tagging.' Now, I've not come across this word before so I'm not entirely sure what it means, but it seems to have something to do with SEO (Search Engine Optimisation). Apparently the idea was for the editor to have an idea of our thought processes as we wrote.
Finished the article on time, and left the place past 2pm after being informed that I would be notified if I got the internship within 24 hours. Poor E waited for me for several hours, when I promised him that we would have lunch together. :( Made our way to my place after that, then studied together after lunch. Even though we didn't do anything special or romantic, I was happy all the same. I guess when you're with the right person, you can find joy even in the most mundane of activities. (:
At 5.30pm, I got a call. And...
I got the internship! My very first internship! I was absolutely thrilled, because when I was scouring InternSG and various other similar websites in the searching process, this was the first post that caught my eye. I really wanted to join a wedding planning company since I was interested in the industry, and since I love to write, this internship seemed to be an ideal marriage (hehe) of interest. I actually gave up hope that this company would call me for an interview since (1) the InternSG website screwed up the format of my resume after I reformatted the text-only submission and (2) they didn't get back to me for over two months, which led me to believe that I was not even being considered. Amazingly, I got called for interview and successfully secured the internship just three hours after my interview. Looking forward to beginning my internship!
April 25, Saturday
Went out to celebrate Nic's 21st birthday at Keppel Bay today. Held at Privé Café, there was this very relaxed ambience in the air, which I rather liked. Met up with some Dunmanians whom I haven't seen in the longest time. In fact, according to Nic, the last time I met up with him was in January 2014, over a year ago! Am I really that busy and neglecting my friends that much? Think some meet-ups are in order; friends, you know who you are!
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| Keppel Bay at sunset |
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| Keppel Bay at night |
That being said, Privé Café seems to be more of a breakfast place, so I'll probably head there for breakfast one day. It's really far away though.
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| Picture with the birthday boy! |
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| Another shot with the birthday boy (: |
April 26, Sunday-April 28, Tuesday
These three days went by like a blur. Except for studying and slacking and repeating the cycle, I can hardly remember what else I did. Probably nothing else, which explains my inability to recall anything special that happened. All I remember is being pretty hardworking for PS2245 Southeast Asian Politics due to the sheer amount of content... HAHA.
April 29, Wednesday
Ah, my first paper! Hope I do okay for this, since I studied the hardest for it! As for the other two papers, well... I need all the luck that I can get. :X
Bell Curve God please be kind to me this semester!
April 29, Wednesday
Ah, my first paper! Hope I do okay for this, since I studied the hardest for it! As for the other two papers, well... I need all the luck that I can get. :X
Bell Curve God please be kind to me this semester!
And there you have it, my last days before turning 21. Will be blogging about that soon, so look out for it!
In retrospect: Thought this would be a quick post, but I'm shocked to find that I took pretty long to do this. The process wasn't smooth - I had to constantly stop and think about what to write, which doesn't usually happen to me. My prose feels choppy and ineloquent too. This is strange to me: words flow like water when I'm writing essays or writing letters/cards to others, but writing about myself has stumped me. I guess this just shows how unaccustomed I am to penning my thoughts down. Hope I can overcome this rustiness soon.
Yours Truly,
Viv
- Tuesday, May 05, 2015
- 0 Comments
“Dare to live the life you have dreamed for yourself. Go forward and make your dreams come true.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson
It's funny how life works. You never know what to expect sometimes. Some people traverse the world in search of themselves in a quest to unlock the secrets of life and master it; I had one of these epiphanies in the comfort of my own home, through a conversation with the man whom I love, cherish and respect most in life: my father. And since I'm turning 21 in a matter of days, the timing couldn't be more perfect.
What began as a question about how CPF works soon evolved into a discussion about society, my aspirations and dreams, and how to live life. In that span of two hours, I acknowledged some of my worries and the fact that I still don't know what I really want since I have yet to truly ascertain my identity. I cannot tell you what my dream job is because I don't even know myself. There're just so many things I want to do and experience. In fact, when my dad asked, I told him that people I know or heard of generally don't or don't plan to switch jobs much, which is something I really don't want to do. I want to try several jobs and experience all that I can, constantly learning new skills and improving myself in the process.
That being said, though I can't pinpoint my dream job exactly, I can certainly tell you what my dream is. I want to perform - sing and play the piano, play with a band etc. - on an average of once or twice a week, at gigs. In the day, I'd like to teach - not at a school, but as a private tutor or piano teacher. And I want to do freelance writing/blogging on a regular basis as well. That's not all. I also want to experience what it's like to do marketing. If possible, I want to open a music school when I'm older.
This is the first time I've fully articulated everything I want to do, and it's a really long list, isn't it? Don't forget that this excludes things I want to learn and pursue in my free time, as well as my goals and hobbies. Plus, the list is non-exhaustive. As someone who's constantly exploring and has a pretty long list of interests, it's pretty impossible to finish listing everything I want to achieve and experience in my life.
I was worried that my dreams were too wild and unrealistic. Most people I know plan on joining the private sector or government service, and yet I have never been very keen on either, especially the latter. Also, I never even gave much thought to joining the private sector until recently, with my newfound interest in marketing and the like. Apparently, the term 'self-employed' never once occurred to me, mainly because it seemed so uncertain and daunting. Sure, this option isn't rare, but neither is it common. My dad told me I can achieve all of this, and that I just need to work towards them while simultaneously not being afraid of my dreams and aspirations. And then he told me how important it was to be unafraid to dream big and imagine what it's like to live that dream. If you let fear inhibit you from daring to dream your wildest, one day it's going to cripple you. Like my dad told me, the world is my oyster. I'm at the age where I can explore my options. What's the worst that can happen to me? Failure. And is that really such a bad thing? I'm still young; failure is but a step in life's journey.
“There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.” - Paulo Coelho
If you've bothered to read to the end of my post, you're probably thinking that I'm just another wannabe blogger who's writing something so unbelievably cliché. Yet what I've just written are my true feelings. It's as if I just experienced an epiphany of sorts. Even though I've heard this all before, the timing and the way in which it was delivered to me was truly motivational. I have my amazing dad to thank for communicating all of this to me in a way that is fresh, relatable and so motivational. Thank you dad. Just a pity that I can't recount the entire conversation here, since it was so long and covered so many things, but then again I don't have to bare my entire heart out here anyway. ;)
(Regarding the title of this post, it's the motto from my primary school. As the pioneer batch of an unknown primary school with an unbelievably tiny cohort, the school had an excellent principal and motto - "courage to pursue your dreams." Excellent vision and motto indeed.)
And that's all for now.
It's funny how life works. You never know what to expect sometimes. Some people traverse the world in search of themselves in a quest to unlock the secrets of life and master it; I had one of these epiphanies in the comfort of my own home, through a conversation with the man whom I love, cherish and respect most in life: my father. And since I'm turning 21 in a matter of days, the timing couldn't be more perfect.
What began as a question about how CPF works soon evolved into a discussion about society, my aspirations and dreams, and how to live life. In that span of two hours, I acknowledged some of my worries and the fact that I still don't know what I really want since I have yet to truly ascertain my identity. I cannot tell you what my dream job is because I don't even know myself. There're just so many things I want to do and experience. In fact, when my dad asked, I told him that people I know or heard of generally don't or don't plan to switch jobs much, which is something I really don't want to do. I want to try several jobs and experience all that I can, constantly learning new skills and improving myself in the process.
That being said, though I can't pinpoint my dream job exactly, I can certainly tell you what my dream is. I want to perform - sing and play the piano, play with a band etc. - on an average of once or twice a week, at gigs. In the day, I'd like to teach - not at a school, but as a private tutor or piano teacher. And I want to do freelance writing/blogging on a regular basis as well. That's not all. I also want to experience what it's like to do marketing. If possible, I want to open a music school when I'm older.
This is the first time I've fully articulated everything I want to do, and it's a really long list, isn't it? Don't forget that this excludes things I want to learn and pursue in my free time, as well as my goals and hobbies. Plus, the list is non-exhaustive. As someone who's constantly exploring and has a pretty long list of interests, it's pretty impossible to finish listing everything I want to achieve and experience in my life.
I was worried that my dreams were too wild and unrealistic. Most people I know plan on joining the private sector or government service, and yet I have never been very keen on either, especially the latter. Also, I never even gave much thought to joining the private sector until recently, with my newfound interest in marketing and the like. Apparently, the term 'self-employed' never once occurred to me, mainly because it seemed so uncertain and daunting. Sure, this option isn't rare, but neither is it common. My dad told me I can achieve all of this, and that I just need to work towards them while simultaneously not being afraid of my dreams and aspirations. And then he told me how important it was to be unafraid to dream big and imagine what it's like to live that dream. If you let fear inhibit you from daring to dream your wildest, one day it's going to cripple you. Like my dad told me, the world is my oyster. I'm at the age where I can explore my options. What's the worst that can happen to me? Failure. And is that really such a bad thing? I'm still young; failure is but a step in life's journey.
“There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.” - Paulo Coelho
If you've bothered to read to the end of my post, you're probably thinking that I'm just another wannabe blogger who's writing something so unbelievably cliché. Yet what I've just written are my true feelings. It's as if I just experienced an epiphany of sorts. Even though I've heard this all before, the timing and the way in which it was delivered to me was truly motivational. I have my amazing dad to thank for communicating all of this to me in a way that is fresh, relatable and so motivational. Thank you dad. Just a pity that I can't recount the entire conversation here, since it was so long and covered so many things, but then again I don't have to bare my entire heart out here anyway. ;)
(Regarding the title of this post, it's the motto from my primary school. As the pioneer batch of an unknown primary school with an unbelievably tiny cohort, the school had an excellent principal and motto - "courage to pursue your dreams." Excellent vision and motto indeed.)
And that's all for now.
- Tuesday, April 21, 2015
- 0 Comments
Hey everyone, I'm back! It's been three weeks since I've updated this space, since the past couple of weeks have just been incredibly hectic. With an endless stream of submissions, presentations and tests, I'm just so glad to finally be able to catch a breather. (Okay I have a final on Tuesday, which I have yet to study for... Shall begin later hahaha. Oops.)
As usual, I have been thinking a lot, such as ambitions, priorities, humanity and life in general, but I'm not about to document my thoughts here since they aren't particularly profound. Instead, what I'm blogging about today will be far more normal - for the first time, I'm gonna blog about what's been happening in my life for the past couple of weeks, complete with visuals! So here goes.
4 April 2015, Saturday: Prudential Singapore Eye
So last week, I visited the ArtScience Museum at MBS for the purpose of writing my Visual Culture term paper that was due on Monday. (Yes, I know, that was exceedingly last-minute.) I originally planned to go for the Da Vinci: Shaping the Future exhibition, but then I saw the sign for Prudential Singapore Eye, which was half the price, and I thought, why not? (Hey, it's not just about the price y'know. I was genuinely interested in checking out our local art scene, of which I know almost nothing about.)
So the Prudential Singapore Eye is an exhibition that features the work of up-and-coming as well as established local artists, with a small segment designated to showcase the work of similar Asian artists. The idea was to celebrate Singapore's achievements and milestones, this year being SG50 and all. So in I went, not quite knowing what to expect.
I was duly impressed. I mean, I love the performing arts and all, but I've never been able to really comprehend visual art. I'm not a very artistic person (in the visual arts sense), although I do my best to immerse myself in a work of art and try to understand it as best as I can. Since I am taking a visual culture module (EN3249: Introduction to Visual Culture for interested NUS students!) at school, I tried to apply whatever I learned in appreciating the works, which helped a bit. But enough talk, let's have the pictures do the talking. (Note: not all of the exhibits are shown here. All photos my own.)
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| This photo was shot inside of Yeo Chee Keong's interactive mixed-media work, A Secret Garden. Talk about being able to truly get inside of an artwork haha! |
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| Angela Chong's 3D Tic-Tac-Toe. You can actually play a proper game! Played with a young father-son team - think the kid was barely three? Maybe I should have let them win instead HAHA #competitiveviv |
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| Both of these photos are part of Chia Ming Chien's Wires photographic series. He aims to show how wires, which can be found everywhere (especially in a city like Singapore), have grown to become part of our landscape. |
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| Kumari Nahappan's Red Trail Series depicting Power, Strength and Victory - in that order. |
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A screenshot from Ho Tzu Nyen's The Bohemian Rhapsody Project, a six-minute video that tells its story entirely through Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody. Shot at the Old Parliament House, it weaves elements of Singapore's colonial and post-colonial history. Thought this was pretty interesting.
So the following pictures are from the Prudential Eye Zone instead, which features the work of other outstanding Asian artists. These are just a few of my favourites:
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| Yunhee Lee's La Divina Commedia, which is a sculptural ceramic feature detailing a young girl's encounter with death and how she comes back stronger and happier. Just one of several in the series - a chilling yet beautiful work. |
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| Donna Ong's secret, interiors: chrysalis (19). By far the creepiest and most haunting artwork of the lot. It's an installation that's meant to depict an adult's desire to recapture his/her childhood by playing with dolls, which soon turns into an obsession about wanting them to come to life. Think Frankenstein. I was actually scared to enter this room alone since it looked like a scene straight from a Gothic horror movie. Loved it though. |
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| Choy Chun Wei's Architecture of Desire. Did you know that this pretty collage was made from magazine and newspaper ads? Pretty amazing, if you ask me. |
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| Kei Imazu's Broken Image. Can't really remember what this one was about, although this appealed to me for some reason. |
These are just some of the many great works of art at the exhibition, and I'd recommend you to go just check it out! It was an enriching and even therapeutic experience - must be some sort of museum magic. It's only $9 for citizens, and it's really worth your money and time. Plus there's complementary admission every first Monday of the month till June (the exhibition ends on June 28), so just drop by after finals/whenever! (Note: this is NOT an ad, I'm definitely not getting paid LOL.)
8 April 2015, Wednesday: Zouk
For those of you who think I'm crazy for going in Week 12, I had a legit reason to do so! Ed's hosts in Korea came to Singapore and decided to go clubbing for the first time, so Ed, YT, P and I brought them on Ladies' Night! Must have been at least 8 months since I last went.
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| While waiting for YT. We were so early LOL we reached at 10+ |
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| 3 Biz + 1 FASS. But more like 1 ex-FASS, 1 fake Biz, 1 supposedly FOS-Biz and.. 1 Dean's List. LOL. |
That was one of the most enjoyable times though. Hope I can go again soon! Having the right company really matters.
24 March 2015, Tuesday: 8
Not in chronological order, but I just wanted to save the best for last. Thank you for the flower and the spontaneous night drive dear, it was wonderful. Keeping this short because you already know all this (:
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| 27/3/15 (: |
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| 사랑해 <3 |
A really long post this turned out to be! Am really starting to find blogging more and more enjoyable. Till next time then!
Yours Truly,
Viv
- Saturday, April 11, 2015
- 0 Comments
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| Source: National University of SIngapore |
With all of the articles, status updates and opinion posts regarding this news out there on the Internet, what I have to say may not make any difference in the least. Yet after listening to the live broadcast of the PM's state address this morning, I somehow feel compelled to give my two cents' worth.
Growing up in a developed, thriving Singapore where all sorts of convenience was (and still is) at my fingertips, I only knew of Mr Lee's greatness and legacy through testimonies, textbooks and lessons. Unlike previous generations who have lived through Singapore's formative years, we, having reaped the fruits of our founding fathers' efforts, could not completely comprehend the greatness of this man as well as his efforts in making Singapore what it is today. Basically, I took things as they were for granted.
In fact, it was not until in recent years that I learned a great deal more about him. As a Political Science major, we've covered multiple issues regarding his governance of Singapore. Under his leadership, Singapore became a developmental authoritarian state, and amidst backlash from a number of Western scholars, firmly - and controversially - made the case for the Asian values debate (read this for a more detailed explanation) in justifying his approach to governing Singapore. Not to mention his crackdowns on corruption and communism, amongst many other things.
While I generally understood the rationale behind his policy implementations, I can honestly say that I didn't always agree with his views. His allusion to eugenics as well as his take on the death penalty, for example, were tough pills to swallow, especially for an idealist like myself. Be that as it may, I was much surprised to find that somewhere deep inside, I hold a very high regard for him, as well as a deep-rooted pride in being Singaporean, much more than I knew. Why? Because at the end of the day, it is indisputable that Mr Lee has indeed done so much for Singapore, turning it from a third-world backwater and "mudflat" (his own words) into a "metropolis" today. As a visionary, he implemented policies that not everyone was happy with initially, but have turned out to be for the best. In "doing his best" for the country, he has given up his life. And despite harsh criticisms from naysayers for fostering a "nanny state" such as Singapore, which has been famously described as "Disneyland with the Death Penalty" (Gibson, 1993), Mr Lee rebutted, saying that "If Singapore is a nanny state, then I am proud to have fostered one." It's no easy feat to maintain your resolve and stance, even when most of the international community is against you. That is in itself admirable.
As such, we often forget that Mr Lee, being larger than life, is mortal. When I heard PM Lee's broadcast over the radio this morning, I could tell that he was struggling to contain his emotions. Leaders are burdened with the weight of the nation on their shoulders. During their office, there is no such thing as taking leave or calling in sick for personal troubles. Those have to come second.
We often forget that politicians are humans too, that they have emotions and weaknesses just like everyone else. Even a great figure who is larger than life is mortal. Life is such a precious thing, and we're all preoccupied with pursuing our own happiness and success; to devote one's life to a single altruistic pursuit - for the greater good - is simply inconceivable. And unlike some of his contemporaries (such as Marcos and many others) he didn't allow power to corrupt him, choosing to step down as PM in 1990 to hand over the reins to Goh Chok Tong, with himself serving as Senior Minister. Now that is something really worthy of respect.
Whatever Singapore has become today is a result of Mr Lee's devotion to building our nation. When I go abroad, others I meet are constantly singing praises about the country. Thank you, Mr Lee, for your contributions to the country. You have left your legacy, which has been immortalised for posterity, and has no doubt provided a rich foundation on which to continue building on.
To quote this great man, "I have done what I had wanted to do, to the best of my ability. I am satisfied."
And you have every reason to be. Rest in peace, Mr Lee; you deserve it.
- Sunday, March 22, 2015
- 0 Comments
It's been a tiring day filled with much negativity, and the day's happenings have left me pretty drained. With tests, projects, essay deadlines and a concert looming ahead, not to mention a million other commitments and events, this coming week certainly looks to be just as demanding, if not even more so. It's times like these when I feel the urge to simply book a plane ticket and get away from the harsh, cold reality that I'm experiencing right now. Unfortunately, that's not going to be possible for a while, so I can only dream. (sigh)
Still, this wanderlust has spurred me to put together a short list of places that I really want to visit, even if only for a few days. I had to limit myself for this one, else the list would go on indefinitely. So, without further ado, here's my list of 5 Dream Getaway Destinations in Asia!
1. Phuket, Thailand
Cliché, but look at that idyllic little haven! And those pristine waters. Just let me jump in already! If you don't know by now, I'm truly a sucker for such beaches and seas - I love looking out at oceans and swimming in them. Despite Phuket being one of the most popular travel destinations amongst Singaporeans, I have yet to go there :( Someone please go on a Phuket beach holiday with me! It's one of the things I HAVE to do before I graduate.
Absolutely gorgeous.
2. Osaka, Japan
I fell in love with Japan after first visiting it in the winter of 2012, when my family and I went to Hakone and Tokyo. Ten days were way more than enough to fall in love with this beautiful country, yet way too short to take in the array of sights, sounds, smells and tastes that make up this dream.
When I was in Japan, we were just sitting around the television one night after a relaxing dip in the onsen (hot springs), and we saw this anime that seemed really interesting, except we couldn't understand a thing since it was purely in Japanese with no subtitles whatsoever. That anime turned out to be Detective Conan, which got me hooked on Japanese anime and culture... But I digress.
Bet you didn't expect this one! Even though Bandung isn't as famous as its other Indonesian counterparts (such as Bali and Bintan), it's still a very popular tourist destination amongst Jakartans who are looking for a weekend getaway. I've got several friends who're from Bandung, and they are constantly going on and on about the food, cheap shopping, and best of all, the weather which remains at about 20-25 deg Celsius ALL YEAR ROUND. That is almost unheard of in this part of the world. Bandung is constantly cool since it's located in the mountains.
For those of you who know me, you'll know that I went to South Korea last summer for four weeks on an language immersion programme in Yonsei University. It was by far the longest trip I've ever had, not to mention one of the best and happiest times of my life. Since we had lessons and homestay programmes, we mainly hung around Seoul, but I managed to extend my trip last-minute for several days after the programme ended to travel in Busan! (Love spontaneity.)
Even after covering a number of places and staying in Korea for nearly a month, I didn't visit Jeju Island because I was cash-strapped. So when I Googled Jeju Island, I immediately regretted not going there. I mean, I've heard that Jeju was gorgeous, but certainly not to this extent! I mean, LOOK AT IT.
If I could turn back time, I would have somehow squeezed Jeju into my itinerary. And since I returned from Korea barely nine months ago, it looks like I won't be going there anytime soon. Regrets :(
Okay, I cheated on this one. Tasmania isn't a part of Asia (although it's a part of Australasia, so does that count? :x). I have been to Australia more times than any other country (save for Malaysia), and Tasmania is one of the few major places I have yet to cover. Known for its lush scenery and rich wildlife, it certainly bodes for a lovely sight!
As someone who loves nature, coming here would be bliss :) I can go on as many nature trails/hikes/treks as I want and get my fill of nature here. And to see the real-life Tasmanian Devil! If you aren't the nature sort like me, you could always stop over at Sydney after Tasmania, since they are fairly close by! And there's loads to do in Sydney.
(Just a random word of advice for anyone who's planning on going to Australia: winter is best, since the temperature is a comfortable 16-20 deg Celsius. The summer heat will simply smother you - temperatures can hit 38 deg, no joke. And you thought Singapore was hot, eh?)
And that concludes my list! Writing about these places has undoubtedly helped to improve my mood, even if it doesn't change the fact that I can't go on a vacation anytime soon. Someday, someday, it will happen.
Until then.
Yours Truly,
Viv
Edit: I kept to my promise of writing something more lighthearted with pictures, didn't I? ;) There'll be many more interesting things to come, I promise.
Still, this wanderlust has spurred me to put together a short list of places that I really want to visit, even if only for a few days. I had to limit myself for this one, else the list would go on indefinitely. So, without further ado, here's my list of 5 Dream Getaway Destinations in Asia!
1. Phuket, Thailand
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| Source: www.mydestination.com |
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| Source: phukettravelandtours.com |
2. Osaka, Japan
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| Source: www.smartway-travel.com |
When I was in Japan, we were just sitting around the television one night after a relaxing dip in the onsen (hot springs), and we saw this anime that seemed really interesting, except we couldn't understand a thing since it was purely in Japanese with no subtitles whatsoever. That anime turned out to be Detective Conan, which got me hooked on Japanese anime and culture... But I digress.
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| Source: www.tuifly.com |
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| Source: www.emirates.com |
Funny enough, I learnt about Osaka from this show, and after hearing about it from friends, I really, really want to check out this place. For their okonomiyaki, the Umeda Sky Building, Osaka Castle (pictured above), and to hear Kansai-ben, which is the official dialect of Osaka. Based on my knowledge, it's pretty different from standard Japanese, and it's pretty cute, so I'd really love to pick up some of it!
Osaka Castle alone, though, is enough reason for me to visit. Don't think I can ever get sick of Japan.
3. Bandung, West Java, Indonesia
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| Source: tripadvisor.com.sg |
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| Source: www.indonesialogue.com |
I really need to visit this place. I've heard so much about the food (INDOMIE?), the climate and the price! Definitely the cheapest destination of the five!
4. Jeju Island, South Korea
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| Source: advisortravelguide.com |
Even after covering a number of places and staying in Korea for nearly a month, I didn't visit Jeju Island because I was cash-strapped. So when I Googled Jeju Island, I immediately regretted not going there. I mean, I've heard that Jeju was gorgeous, but certainly not to this extent! I mean, LOOK AT IT.
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| Source: www.lovethesepics.com |
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| Source: beautyfindsforme.wordpress.com |
Breathtaking. No wonder it's a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
5. Tasmania, Australia
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| Source: www.tourismtasmania.com.au |
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| Source: www.brandtasmania.com |
(Just a random word of advice for anyone who's planning on going to Australia: winter is best, since the temperature is a comfortable 16-20 deg Celsius. The summer heat will simply smother you - temperatures can hit 38 deg, no joke. And you thought Singapore was hot, eh?)
And that concludes my list! Writing about these places has undoubtedly helped to improve my mood, even if it doesn't change the fact that I can't go on a vacation anytime soon. Someday, someday, it will happen.
Until then.
Yours Truly,
Viv
Edit: I kept to my promise of writing something more lighthearted with pictures, didn't I? ;) There'll be many more interesting things to come, I promise.
- Saturday, March 14, 2015
- 0 Comments
