Clarisonic Journey - Day 3

So...that's my face after 3 days of using Clarisonic.  My nose itches everytime I wash my face thanks to the vibrating bristles.  Ok, I shall not digress.  I must say that I'm quite impressed.  Why? My whiteheads on my chin have significantly reduced.  I no longer feel that it's that bumpy when I run my fingers across.  Appearance of blackheads on my cheeks have reduced a bit too.  Most impressive thing that happened is that the uneven skin tone on the side of my cheek has started to even out by a shade!  Something that all those moons of facials have failed to do!  Other than what I've pointed out, face is still not in its optimum condition and the cheeks feel a little dryer than usual.

Office Politics is Full of BS

Those who have worked long enough will understand what I mean by the title.  Constant gossiping, spreading of rumours and backstabbing, some people just make office life a battlefield.  As if stress from the work itself isn't bad enough.

That's why I don't actively take part in office gossip and I don't spread news when I get them.  A colleague commented that I really kept a piece of news 'tight' when I was the 2nd person to know it.  I told her that it's because it wasn't my place to spread the news and it was up to the person himself who he wanted who to know.

However, not everyone is like me.  The more common behaviour is to begin passing messages through the grapevine.  Relish in the fact that he/she is the main source of office information.  Then there are the shit-stirrers who have nothing else better to do than to discuss and theorise why certain colleagues are _____ instead of getting the truth from the horse's mouth.

Why am I writing a post on office gossip and politics?  That is because I have been or am still a 'victim' of it.  I have experienced other kinds of politicking...with someone spreading rumours and gossip about me all the way in Hong Kong.  It's amazing how people believed those gossip when that ex-colleague didn't even work in the same country as me.  Honestly, I don't give a flying rat's arse about people talking about me but it really hurts when people aren't sympathetic and instead, think the worst of me.  I've been very open and honest but I do want my privacy to a certain extent.  I go on medical leave and hospitalisation leave because I am/was sick or am/was hospitalised! Just because other people take medical leave simply because they just don't feel like going to work does not mean that I am guilty of it.

Through all these experiences, I'm glad that I was brought up a Catholic and that I have learnt not to be a gossip monger.  Now I know why in Sunday School, the teachers kept emphasising that we shouldn't gossip.  The power of words is incredible and you'll never know the full effects of your words until something similar hits you.  As they say, karma is a bitch so be a good boy/girl and don't gossip.  Meaning, do not spread malicious or say mean things about others.  If you're on the other end (ie. listening to the gossip), tell yourself NOT to spread it further (if you've ever played the game 'telephone line', you'd know how 'information' gets screwed up) or stop it altogether by stating facts that you do know.  It's definitely not easy.  It's easier to be part of the whole gang and share 'information' at the water-cooler or cubicle.

Every time I hear gossip that doesn't seem totally true, I tell myself, "Is this going to affect me or the person in subject?" and then I try to get the full story.  If anyone asks me about it, I'll then be able to substantiate my 'claims' by backing it up with sources of information.  Nonetheless, I often save myself the trouble and go, "I only heard this but I'm not sure that it's true." or I don't care about the piece of news unless told to me by the actual person.

As Mahatma Gandhi once said, "Be the change that you wish to see in the world" so I'm starting with this topic - Office Politics.  Be with me and just stop it.  It's destructive and unnecessary.  If you don't get along with a colleague, so be it.  It's a personality clash, not a reason for you to talk bad about him/her to others.  Yes, there is a fine line between ranting to a colleague and talking bad so watch yourself.  Make your office life a more friendly one as we're all in the same pond of poo called work and work is stressful enough.

Clarisonic Journey - Day 1

So, I caved in and bought the Clarisonic Mia 2 facial sonic cleanser after reading and hearing rave reviews.  This cost me S$215 from Sephora and comes with a 2-year warranty.  It's only S$20 more expensive than if I had bought it via Amazon but I save on having to get another adapter AND I am assured of a warranty.

I intend to save money in the long run because a make-up artist claimed that he didn't need any facials after using Clarisonic.  So, I'm going to use this baby every single day. I'm not changing my usual facial cleanser nor my moisturisers nor my weekly mask regime.  Only change is that I probably will not be using my scrub once a week.  Perhaps once a month or so.
 

Day 1 - used the Clarisonic for the first time.  As you can see, my problems are enlarged pores and a bit of uneven skin tone.  That said, the first wash with the Clarisonic has helped clean a bit of the blackheads at the tip of my nose.  So far, so good.  I can still feel the whiteheads on my chin and my upper lip felt a bit roughed up when being cleansed.

The sales assistant said that her blemishes lightened after she started using Clarisonic...so let's see how this skin journey continues!

Nails of the week - Floral

Went shopping last night because I was itching to do so and I bought too many things! LOL. Anyway, 3 new buys are the above nail polishes from this new Korean cosmetics brand Innisfree, located at the B2 of Ngee Ann City.  They market themselves as a eco-friendly brand that tries to make every cosmetic with organic and natural ingredients, with emphasis on plants/marine life from Jeju island.

The middle pink polish is a gel polish and it's only S$13!  The 'normal' polishes are $4 each and they had so many colours, it was so tempting to buy them all.  Tried them all today in this nail design inspired by the one done by +Janelle G. - elleandish.

I'm crap at drawing leaves so the leaves ended up looking like stalks.  Another variation that I did was to put pearl sequins instead of black dots from the original design, which you can see from the video below.

Reunion dinner with the Fanns

Lo hei! Huat ah!! That above, my non-Singaporean friends, is a plate that you'll see often in Singapore just before and during the Lunar New Year.  It's a salad of grated radish, pickled ginger, carrot, sesame seeds, crushed peanuts, pomelo pulp, crispy crackers and topped with a sweet plum sauce, vegetable oil, five spice powder and what we all love...slices of raw fish.

Why is there a photo of this Lo hei/ Yu sheng? My dad's side of the family had our reunion dinner last Sat at Keng Eng Kee (aka my neighbour's zi char stall) and the first mandatory dish was the Yu Sheng.  Golden crispy crackers to symbolise gold-paved paths in our lives, sweet plum sauce so that our lives are sweet and fish to symbolise abundance in wealth in our lives.  In true Singapore fashion, you're supposed to toss it high up with chopsticks while saying auspicious idioms.

Highlights of some of the other dishes that we had

 There was too much starch in the Shark's Fin Soup. Disappointed.

 Sliced abalone with mushrooms and veg! Yums...

 Oh...I love the Marmite Ribs.  The bottom is the lotus leaf rice which was the best dish thus far.

With the cousins.  Not all of my cousins were there. If the whole brood were there, we'd need another table.  Which might've been a good idea since we had to squeeze 11pax into mine.

When I reached home, the Lunar New Year spirit was catching onto me and I had to decorate the house some how.

I made paper plum/cherry blossoms and I'll definitely take some photos of all the other decorations that I've done.  I even bought a Japanese New Year mochi cake with a plastic horse for the Lunar New Year.  Haha...I'm the interior decorator of the family!!

Voice Recording in a Proper Studio

*Clears throat* Ladies and gentlemen...yours truly went to a proper recording studio for the 2nd time (1st time was for the choir in Primary school) in her life so far to do a voice recording for a video ad which will be out next week! Super excited about the video!!

It was strange to hear my voice but it was an easy process for me where I did it in 2 takes.  I'm extending my 15 minutes of fame!! This time, with my voice! LOL. I'll post the YouTube video of the ad next week, once the editing is done. 

Loved the cosy studio of Voices For Hire and it's really very reasonably priced at @$80/hour. As impressive they are on how all of them are former/current DJs, I was more charmed by the resident cats.

That's playful Usher who is lying on the CEO's chair like a boss!  There are so many other cats and they're all named after celebrities or Royalty.  After my recording, while waiting for my colleagues, I just went cat-mobbing.  In other words, playing and chasing after the cats.  There is a room in the office JUST for them!!  For that, I'm glad that I recorded my lines first.  Had more time to just play around with them felines.  Definitely beats being behind the desk and doing actual work! Haha...

Finally ate at Jamie's Italian Singapore

With the long queues (be prepared to wait 30-60 min for a table if you walk-in) and full bookings on weekends (they only allow a certain percentage of tables to be reserved), it was not easy to get a table at Jamie's Italian Singapore, located at Vivo City.  Opened just last year, Jamie's Italian has proven to be really popular with us Singaporeans.  Just a brand name or does it really serve up quality food for the prices?

At Dad's insistence, we finally made our way to Jamie's Italian for dinner where Dad went to make a 'reservation' by going to the restaurant an hour earlier than the rest of us.  Note: they will only seat patrons when almost all have arrived.

Ok...onto the food.  My bro had eaten a few times at Jamie's Italian in London so he recommended the Polenta Chips (S$7.90++) to share.

Fried with rosemary and topped with shaved Parmesan cheese, these little blocks of polenta were delicious! It was a bit like eating creamy moist tacos with a slight twist.  Wouldn't mind having this bowl of chips with a glass of wine or two.

Another starter that we shared was the Fish 'Plank' (S$17++/pax).  We only ordered 1 person's portion because we just wanted a nibble of everything.

 Why is it called 'plank'? Well, the food is served on a wooden plank which is elevated by 2 cans of tomato paste.  Cute.  So, our fish plank contains (from top to bottom) 3 pieces of fried fish, a small bowl of clams and a mussel, a piece of bread topped with various types of olives and pickles, a small bowl of smoked mackerel on ice, a small bowl of shaved root veg salad and a slice of Pecorino with chilli jam.

The fried fish was normal, the yuzu mayo was so-so, the smoked mackeral was yummy, the salad was refreshing and the olives were good.  Although I wished that they gave pitted olives.  The pecorino cheese was typical and the chilli jam was really sweet.  I'd just pay for a full bowl of the smoked mackeral and the salad.  Dad ate up the clams and mussels so I can't comment on that.

Above is my main of Black Angel Spaghetti (S$24.50++) which is squid ink spaghetti with scallops in a light sauce.  It was very good and you could tell that the pasta is fresh and if you're a small eater, you can order the starter portion at S$16++.  I was initially hesitating with other dishes such as the Prawn Linguine, Truffle Risotto and the Crab Spaghettini.  All sounded yum but I was sold by the word 'scallop' as I haven't eaten scallops in ages.

Mum ordered the Truffle Risotto (S$16++ or S$24.50++) and I didn't take a photo because it was just white with chopped back truffle sprinkled on the top.  It's a very vegetarian dish as it's really just risotto with truffle, butter and Parmesan.  However, the rice was creamy without being too heavy and I loved how the rice managed to taste fluffy, which is a bit different from the risottos you eat elsewhere or even from the risotto that I've cooked.  Wish they had a bit more stuff in it though.

Bro ordered the Halibut (S$29.90++) and sorry, no photos as my brother had already started digesting it before I could whip my phone out to snap a shot.  I tasted it though, and I love the smokey taste from the panchetta that infused into the fish.  However, I felt that the price was a bit steep for this dish.

Dad ordered the Vongole Tagliolini (S$17++/S$25++) and none of us tried it as Dad has a sore throat.  He felt that he would have preferred spaghetti over the tagliolini as the pasta and he felt that tastewise, it was alright.

Overall, I would say that the food is a bit of a lighter twist on traditional Italian food but yet it is true to the Italian roots by having the right ingredients and just being well cooked.  It's no Michelin-starred-orchestra-in-your-mouth dishes but it is a place where each dish is interesting enough for you to want to go again to try everything.  Is it worth waiting an hour? Probably not but I might do it again.  Oh...I was very tempted to buy the small terracotta pans/plates for baking.  But I resisted.  Wouldn't know what to cook in them. Maybe my awesome lasagna but the dishes are too shallow for that. Oh, they have lasagna too but I didn't want to taste competition. HAHAHA.

Jamie's Italian
1 Harbour Front Walk
Vivo City, #01-165
Tel: +65 6733 5500
Website: http://www.jamieoliver.com/italian/singapore

Opening hours:
12-10pm  Sunday to Thursday
12-11pm  Friday & Saturday

Goals for 2014

I'm not going to write New Year resolutions because we all know how that's going to end up.  However, I'm going to set goals for myself and with goals in mind, I believe that I can also set steps to achieve them.  So, here goes:

1. Lose weight
I've been weighing myself everyday, eating less carbs in the evenings and trying not to eat anything after 9pm. The hormones that I'm on plus my wonky hormones aren't helping but the good thing is that I haven't put on any more weight.  Will stick to my gym routine 3 times a week and Zumba once a week.

2. Spend Less
I have debts that I'm not proud of and I'm slowly paying them off.  After tracking my daily expenditure for half a year, I am now able to understand why I'm living pay-cheque to pay-cheque with no savings.  I've already cut back on spending and am working towards cutting back by another $500/month.  If my health improves, this should be doable as I wouldn't need to spend $200-300/month on medical bills.

3. Have a social life
Ever since I've started work, I feel like my weekends are meant for running errands and catching up on sleep.  In 2014, I hope that besides those 2, I'll be able to meet up with friends and do fun activities like prawning, cycling or visiting the S.E.A. Aquarium.  This is not about work-life balance but more about improving the quality of life.  I need to laugh more, dance more...simply enjoy life more.

4. Travel more
Budget travel that is. I don't want to incur more debt but I also want to be able to see more of the world and just relax.  I'm at the stage where my life is not my work and I have to focus on my health while trying to be happy.

5. Do what I enjoy
Yes, this is work related.  I want work to be enjoyable and although half of it is me telling myself to be positive, I also want to be in a role that allows me to be creative and have fun without all the political BS.  I don't want to be stifled nor get demoralised by those above me.  I also aim to be a better boss/manager/leader.