Did you know that entry to the Singapore Art Museum on Fridays after 6pm is free for all? Singapore citizens and PRs get free admission whenever. Just found that out last Friday as Moon and I joined a singles' event there. Well, don't expect a blog post about the event because I was really more interested in the art in the end. Below are a few choice pieces that really spoke to me. So...onto the art!

There were 3 ongoing exhibitions and the 1st one that I went to was entitled "Once Upon This Island" so it was about Singapore. I was really impressed with this portrait of our late Lee Kuan Yew simply because it was made totally out of shampoo bottle caps!

The 'darker' shade that made up Mr Lee's outline was merely from the open bottle caps. And why the title "No More Tears Mr. Lee"? The artist used Johnson's & Johnson's baby shampoo bottle caps for this artwork and it is also alluding to how Lee Kuan Yew cried upon announcing the news that Singapore was separating from Malaysia. This piece is particularly poignant considering that Mr Lee just passed away this year.

I like interactive art. Especially if it's really meaningful, so I really enjoyed the below piece where you get to decorate the front of your HDB flat with stickers!

That's my personalised one! Too bad there were a lot of missing cards and I found it very interesting that in the sticker book, there were tons of Chinese altars and burning urns left unused. Not surprising, considering that most people who do visit our museums are actually tourists.

Anyway, you then add them to this whole wall slot area and I reckon that it is to look like the whole HDB block? Pretty cool art work where it allows the viewer to be the artist too! Now...refill those cards!

I love big bold pieces of artwork at times and this huge installation entitled "Bomba" was placed inside the chapel (for those who don't know, the Singapore Art Museum is located at the former St. Joseph's Institution) and it was so obvious why that place was so apt. Beautiful irony and meaning, considering how it was a statement about World War 2 and the bombs raining down. But it's peace now and the mirrors on the bombs give it that disco ball effect. All of this in a chapel where it is considered 'holy ground' and a place for prayer and peace.

This installation only brings to mind how art is also contextual and when Guia conceptualised this artwork, he was not thinking about THIS particular chapel to showcase his artwork but the curators did give this piece sufficient thought.

This gigantic metal ball was rolled and pulled along by the artist from Siem Reap to Phomn Pehn. It was his expression of the hardship faced during the war and personal struggles of the people then.  

The ball first started off as smooth and round but along the journey, it became dented, dirty, rusty and lost a few screws. You can only imagine how tiring it must have been and his motivation was purely coming from within because I bet you that most people who saw him dragging this ball along the road must've been thinking, "Crazy man. Nothing else better to do?" Nonetheless, the end result is powerful and does make you think about how we too are like the ball, getting knocked and dented along the way but we still move on.

I love chandeliers and I love this piece! It's made with car exhaust pipes and entitled "Air Pollution" but it's strangely beautiful. I can totally imagine it as a small chandelier in somebody's living room/ grunge loft. Probably not the artist's desired effect but...hehehe.

#WhereIsYourUtopia? There's another exhibition named "After Utopia" but I was more intrigued by the museum's own interactive mirror and art rather than the actual art pieces that were part of the exhibition. If it's not clear, I'm actually taking a selfie from the mirror. That means that the words were printed in reverse!

Do check out the Singapore Art Museum (SAM) when you can and do make trips there whenever the exhibitions change! Should be quite fun and I will make it a point to go there periodically! :)

Singapore Art Museum
Website: http://www.singaporeartmuseum.sg/index.html

Ever since I took the challenge of quitting complaining for Lent, I must say that it was an interesting Lenten endeavour. I didn't know about the existing 21-day challenge by www.AComplaintFreeWorld.org so I set my own simple rule: don't rant, voice problems out only to release a bit of stress and get a solution either from thinking out loud or from friends/colleagues/family.

It was really not easy because once you've made a promise to yourself, you WILL become more conscious about it. So...for the whole month, I was super conscious about whether I was complaining or was I stating a problem while asking for a solution. Of course, it also felt that Murphy's Law was having a field day with throwing obstacles in my way. However, it could be the hyper awareness that made me feel that way.

How has this challenge changed me?

1. Less friction/gossip caused
I became more choosy about how I phrased my words whenever I talked to my colleagues about issues that popped up during work. Instead of saying "So and so was so stupid and irritating. Don't they know how to do stuff properly?", I held back and voiced out "So and so doesn't seem to know what he/she is doing. Was my communication unclear? Do I need to spell things out from Step 1 to 10 in a clearer fashion?"

In the past, I wouldn't have thought twice about saying the 1st statement and this would incite biased views and comments from others. They probably would've replied, "Yeah...he's such an idiot. Can't even follow simple instructions." And that my dear readers, is pure gossip with no resolution whatsoever. If that subject matter heard what I had said about him/her, it wouldn't be a nice scene.

2. Graciousness
Once I started thinking about rephrasing any potential outbursts, it made me more reflective about the situation. Perhaps it wasn't even a problem to begin with as I may have misunderstood/misread the person's intention or email. I realised that I was more willing to give people the benefit of the doubt and try to resolve the bigger work issue rather than quibble over choice of words/supposedly idiocy of others.

3. Patience
After a few tries at this, what could've potentially set me off into complaining session withered into nothingness. I grew more patient and when others need not react to any irritation from me, I need not care about coming across as a bitch nor care about hurting other people's feelings with my words. I only needed to care about finishing my work and focus my energy on trying to cope with stress and diffusing oncoming anxiety attacks.

This challenge was NOT easy. I have been guilty of complaining a few times throughout this period but then I'd stop myself halfway and go "Oops...". The quote above is really important because it was this main thought that helped me quieten down and be thankful for what I do have rather than all these pesky problems that will soon pass. Hence, I will continue on this challenge. Try it. Who knows how you'll change for the better.

Ever since I joined the same gym as my friend, I've been faithfully going to Yoga classes twice every week, pilates once a week and using some of the machines to increase my cardio. It has been 4 months since I started my gym regime and I'm glad to announce that I've successfully converted 1kg of fat to 1 kg of muscle! According to the gym's Fat Analyzer, anyways.

I'm still not quite there yet but I recognise that my gym efforts are helping me keep myself mentally sane. Some what. I am very stressed out at work and my to-do list gets longer faster than I can cross things off. I bet that all you working ladies feel the same way.

As such, said friend and I have organised an event aptly named "Wellness Yogi: Reset" and it will be held on Sat, 11 July 2015 at the Waterfront Promenade. This is because we ourselves are trying to Reset our crazy busy lifestyles and go back to a place where we're at peace, calm and ready to be the happy women that we deserve to be.

SAVE THE DATE! Pencil it into your calendars now! Further details will be out later while we settle all the licenses required for this event.

We're planning to have a series of workshops that include yoga, pilates, life coaches teaching you how to manage stress in your lives, nutritionists to talk about healthy meals vs. diets and there will also be a bazaar that's open to the public! We hope to fill the Wellness bazaar with stalls selling cold pressed juices, healthy meal options, quick massages and/or beauty fixes.

If you are interested to rent a bazaar stall or sponsor goodie bag items, please feel free to contact me at passhen.sg@gmail.com to discuss! If you know anyone who would be interested, do share this with them too!

'Like' Passhen on Facebook here. OR 'like' WellnessYogi's Facebook page here.

I saw the photo below on my Facebook newsfeed today and I'm glad to see more and more of such movement(s) in the world.

Needless to say, I shared it and I wrote, "There are tons of 'invisible' illnesses out in the world. We should not judge others by what we have/ don't have, learn to accept that these illnesses are a struggle and that it takes a lot of self control for people to NOT whinge and whine about their illness(es) to others constantly."

As someone who has endometriosis and clinical depression, which is linked to my endometriosis (I shall now shorten it to 'endo'), I can really relate to how it is a struggle to smile to the world while your insides are just eating away at you. Don't get me started on the head trip that goes with every low when depression hits you nor the extreme pain I go through sometimes whenever Mother Nature visits.

The worst thing is that these illnesses are chronic. They will reoccur again and again, with almost no cure. Just prevention of symptoms or just making these symptoms milder so that they do not become stumbling blocks.

I get a bit offended whenever people talk about my weight and my weight gain. It is a side effect of endo (people with PCOS can relate) and it takes me 3x the effort to lose the weight. I'm already happy that I've maintained my weight without it ballooning further. I can't stand it when family, friends and some colleagues talk about my food intake as if I'm consuming 2,000 calories a day. I've checked. There are days and weeks when I meticulously note down all the food that I consume and guess what? I clock in at 1,500 calories on average! Sometimes 1,200 calories too! However, nobody sees this and whatever they assume, they believe. I still can't get over the fact that one of my directors skipped me when she was offering biscuits to everyone in the office.

Another thing about endo is the incredible amount of pain it brings and it's not constant. It comes and goes like a bad diarrhoea that visits you without the accompanying runs. You're so exhausted despite not doing much and you just can't concentrate on anything else except a good book/mindless games/how soft your pillow is. Whenever this happens, I can't help but take a sickie. But of course...a lot of colleagues think that I'm skiving or complain that I'm "always not around/always on medical leave". Some colleagues even go so far to say that I only work 3 days a week (I wish!). Best that I've heard so far: "she has so many days of medical leave meh?" Nope...I still have the same amount of leave as anyone else in the office and I do 3x the amount of work in the same amount of time. That's for efficiency y'all naysayers!

Honestly, people like me aren't asking for sympathy nor empathy. We just want all of you to be less judgemental and more understanding.

I was lucky to win a pair of tickets from Style magazine to Guess' launch party of their Fall Collection 2014 of bags and shoes last Saturday and I brought my mum along to it.

As part of the door gift, each of us were given a $100 gift card for us to spend on any bag/shoes. Wee~~

There were a few canapes but the most adorable were these pastries with Guess logos made of icing sugar! The caterer for the event was One Paradise, the catering arm of Paradise Group. Thanks to my occupational hazard, my guess is that the catered food cost an approximate $25/pax (they were giving out bottles of Fiji water) and excludes the wait staff (approx $80/server). Was it worth it? Mmm...I'll stick to Creative Eateries/ Marmalade Pantry.

I really liked this pair of shoes but they looked really uncomfortable and it didn't help that the model was teetering on them while walking up and down the short runway. Oops.

I also liked this hobo bag that the model is carrying but as the speaker, Keith, advised, hobo slouchy bags aren't good for short and plump people like me who have hourglass figures. It'll just emphasise the roundness of me. ):

That's mum and I enjoying the show just after we had our make up touched up by Make Up Forever.

With my gift card, I ended up buying this pair of denim wedges with lace heels. It's super super pretty and I love it loads!! It's part of their latest collection which was inspired by the Wild West, hence the denim. I wanted to wear it to work but I fell down on Monday (which is another story) so alas...it'll have to wait.

We even had a goodie bag on our way out! The goodie bag itself is a usable Guess mesh and PVC tote and it contained a Style magazine, a complimentary month subscription to the digital edition of Style and samples of Make Up For Ever's Eye makeup cleanser and Microfinish Powder (excellent for absorbing oil). I must say that it was a fruitful afternoon and I love my haul. Thank you Guess, Style and Make Up For Ever!

As part of a media training that I just completed, the last lesson was on make up and how it is important to look natural but yet neat in front of the camera.  As the class is small, each of us had to go under the mini 'make-over' by the professional make up artist, who was also our trainer for the day.  She was really funny as she mentioned to one of my colleagues that his shade of foundation is the same shade as the one she used on Steven Tyler when he performed the previous week!

Anyway, we were told to go to the session sans make up so this is me before...

This photo is quite forgiving but my T-zone is rather oily so under any other lighting/ camera, my face will shine bright like a mirror.  LOL. Ok, I'm exaggerating but you get the idea.

And post make up...Tada!!

No shine whatsoever!! We were introduced to the wonderful mattifying gel by Bodyshop ($26.90) which you can use under your foundation or on top of your make up.  It really helped to take off the shine and it lasted quite long. My face was still oily after 4 hours but it was two-thirds less shiny than it would've been without the mattifying gel.  MAC has a version but it's aboiut 3x more expensive while I've used Anna Sui's primer and it no longer absorbs that much shine.

She used a very light make up which pros used and she also used eyebrow powder/gel to help fill in my brows.  Touch of blusher and natural lip colour plus super fine powder and I'm done!  No eyeshadow, no mascara.  I did have a bit of hairspray to get rid of fly-away hair.  It was so natural, nobody mentioned that I was wearing make up or anything like that.

Ladies or Gentlemen who have long fringes like myself, trick to the hairspray is to tilt your head back slightly, spray the hairspray, wait for it to dry and then flip your head front.  It will be a bit stiff but you can then use your hand to scrunge and loosen it up so that it doesn't look like you plastered your fringe to your scalp.

Another useful tip that I learnt that day was about hairloss! Apparently, drinking 4 cups of stinging nettle tea everyday continuously will help hair growth!! Ever since that day, I've bought the nettle tea bags as well as the capsules.  Will faithfully take it everyday and report the effects month-on-month.  Always excited to have natural remedies to hair growth! Only another colleague and I were so excited with this news and I shared with him about the tea bags in Holland & Barrett.  LOL.  Another exciting thing was the Body Shop's matt primer which I bought after the workshop.  Terrible me ended up spending enough at Body Shop to become a member.  Gah. I must stop shopping!!

Yes!! I have finished the mad dash that is known as translation!! Gor had said, "Why are you taking so long." and this was echoed yesterday by his flatmate. -__-; Excuse me...direct translation may be easy but with any proper translation, one has to reinterpret the lines so that it suits the English grammar, regular speech AND we need to ensure that puns etc aren't too lost in translation. Moreover, for manga, I've got to take note of the space of the speech bubbles plus manga tends to have loads of slang and sound 'words'. Complained to a friend who used to translate dramas/ anime and he completed understood my irritation.

Anyway...Vol. 14 of "Ouran High Host Club" is translated!! I've sent it to my editor and the editorial team will work their own magic on it. 皆さん、よろしくお願いします！いつも日本語を助かったの友達は本当にありがとうございました！！

Okies...update time!! Backlog...backlog....


Last Mon (omg...has it been a week already?), we went for a picnic with some of Gor's friends (soon to be subsumed by me as 'friends' too) at Regent's Park, which is near Baker Street. Mon was a bank holiday here in the UK, hence the crowd in the park.


I think I brought the sun with me because London has been rather warm for the past week. And by warm, I mean in the 20s...which is uncommon!!

The guys played frisbee while the girls laid out the mats and food (how typical). We were all crossing our fingers that it would not rain (forecast was thunderstorms) as we wanted a nice picnic AND some of us were going to watch "Much Ado About Nothing" in the open air theatre in Regent's Park.

We had bubbly! Nice...a little bit of posh to counter our spread of chicken rice, chips and sandwiches (Gor and I made egg mayo and tuna sandwiches!).

Sharon made the chicken rice and chilli sauce from scratch. Power!! Most of these people in this picnic have been living in London for more than 10 years...so they were really happily chomping on the chicken rice.

Such a nice day and I was the only one snapping pictures. =P

Dr. P was late (yes Gor, that's my nick for you-know-who). He came at 7pm when we had arranged to meet at 6. We were all shushing him because he had kept reminding us that the forecast was for thunderstorms and that it always rained on a bank holiday...

Guess what? He was right. We felt a drizzle but went, "Oh...it's a passing cloud." We were in total denial. Soon, the rain drops got heavier...so we had no choice but to pack up and seek refuge in the nearby cafe. Murmurs of "will they cancel the play?" started and Dr. P went, "Nope. This is not heavy enough. I have sat through plays where the rain was heavier than this." (-__-) Depressing to think of sitting in the rain to watch a play...

Luckily, the rain lightened and it was relatively dry throughout the play. There were gusts of wind and it was chilly though. It was quite funny how all of us opened our brollies when it started raining a little heavily, pulling it down so that it doesn't block those behind us and then promptly closing them once the rain lightened. Instead of thunderstorms, we had intermitten showers, which is much better I think.

I like the play!! It is as good as most Shakespeare plays are!! It's amazing how old these plays are but they're still a joy to watch. The actors were very good (although Gor kept muttering about seeing their spittle while they were saying their lines).

I spotted a duck on Sat at Canary Wharf!! Even saw a squirrel yesterday downstairs. There's wildlife in this urban centre!!

On Sat, Gor and I went to the Arts Academy to view the Kuniyoshi art exhibition. Kuniyoshi is a Japanese artist who lived during the Edo period and has produced many prolific woodblock artworks. I had bugged Gor about it for the longest period...so...we finally managed to do it on Sat!!

While we were walking to the museum/art academy, we actually passed by the house that Handel lived and died in. Gor thinks that he probably composed 'Messiah' in there. I'm in awe whenever I'm literally touching history. That's probably also why I liked visiting Rome.


I like this picture because there's a juxtapose between the Japanese art and the English architecture. I could go on about the artwork of Kuniyoshi...but I think I'll save it for another time. I might end up writing an essay. One shocking thing was that it was CROWDED. The only times I ever saw such a crowd in Singapore museums were when Singapore brought in the art from the Vatican City and when the Peranakan museum opened. If this exhibition was brought into Singapore, it'll be the perfect outing for us JS peeps. でしょう？

Guess what? Found out that the Reynolds Room in this Royal Art Academy is the same room where Charles Darwin presented his famous paper on evolution!! Wanted to take a picture of that plaque but was wondering whether I'd be caught...especially when there were so many cameras around.


Oh, check this out. I took this picture at 4.30pm. Look how bright the sky is, how cloudless and...there's the moon! *Gasp*

After the exhibition, we were walking along and we happened to pop into this Japanese tea/ traditional sweets shop called Minamoto Kitchen. I felt like I had gone to Ginza. The staff were all Japanese, dressed in kimono. There was a table and bench with a large red paper umbrella where you could sit and drink tea/ eat snacks. Really a taste of Ginza...at Ginza prices too. The average price was GBP 2 (about SGD 4.50) per piece.

We walked to Carnaby Street again and I went into shoe heaven at Irregular Choice. The shoes are sooo unique and I had loved them since the first time I saw them in Singapore. They're sold in some shops in Haji Lane as well as Isetan (I think) but each pair is sold for around SGD 300. Over here, the average price is GBP 60-70. So do let me know if you want any!! Drop me an email at melissa.fann@oopsiwannasay.com with the model no. and shoe size once you've viewed their website (link is given above, just click on 'Irregular Choice').

Ok...I'm pooped...I'm gonna chill and shower and then catch on sleep. Adios for now!!