China Trip (December 2009)

Just got back from a long trip to Xiamen, China. Went back to my ancestor's hometown in DeHua as well. The place is so village-like which is not a place I would ever long to stay in. I'm glad my grandfather actually chose to migrate to Malaysia =P

View from my hotel room...











Picture of me..

























The place that we went just to check out the waterfall but the journey was awful due to the never ending winding road.. I ended up crying and vomitting so did not joined the rest up the mountain =.="

This is what the Chinese do during their past time..

Do you recall receiving emails on how the Chinese people translates Chinese into English and finding it so hilarious? I found one!

Bamboo Shoots

Mr. Right

When do you know that a person is your Mr. Right? Does your Mr. Right has to share similar interests as you? Or can have a totally different personality?

I am a person that loves outdoor sports but he prefers indoor sports. I love parties that can go all night long but he prefers to have a silent night. I love travelling around the world exploring the other side of the world but he thinks that travelling is boring and tiring. So does that mean that he is not my Mr. Right?

It was said that when you love someone you should love how they are and not make them change into someone that you love. Although he hates travelling but he is willing to be beside me when I'm exploring the world. Although he hates outdoor sports but he takes the initiatives once in a hundred times to try to like it. Although he hates partying but he never stopped me from doing what I like. Is this the act of love?

I once asked him, "If I am sick and unable to get up are you willing to be there to take care of me for life?" He answered without hesitation, "Yes, I will always be there for you." Isn't this the answer that every girl will long for?

I think I need not hesitate no more for I have found my Mr. Right...

Party Themes

Want a party theme that will give you some awesome pictures that you can dig out to laugh at over and over again? Try these:

Hollywood - an icon of some hollywood star. You could be sexy or weird.

Tales of the Arabian nights - leas the way Aladdin and Princess Jasmine, don't forget the magic lamp and flying carpet.

Musicals or cabaret - preferably held at a private venue.

Flintstones chic - caveman wear.

In those days - make a specific decade into a focus. 60s - mod look, 70s - woodstock, geometric patterns, bell-bottoms, 80s - leg warmers, t-shirt and high-waisted jeans, bright coloured eyeshadow.

Day glo - get your guests to put on clothes with reflective artwork and past some glow-in-the-dark stickers on themselves, you'll have lot sof glowing fun in the dim setting.

DIY Masks

Do you know that masks only takes 10 minutes but it gives you almost a 100% facial cure? If you do not have a mask at home and desperately needing a facial pamper, try the following DIY mask ingredients. Just grab for these ingredients in your home kitchen BUT make sure you do a patch test to avoid possible allergic reactions.

PEACH - great for soothing irritated skin. Mash up 1 ripe peach and mix it with 2 tablespoons of yogurt and 1/2 a teaspoon of baking soda. Apply and leave for 10-15 minutes then wipe and rinse it off.

AVOCADO - a nice hydrating treat for days when your skin feels dry. Mash up 1/2 a cup of avocado with a 1/4 cup of honey with a forn and apply on face for about 15-20 minutes before rinsing off.

BANANA - for skin that is smooth and soft to the touch, blend a banana with 1 tablespoon of honey and a few drops of lemon juice. Apply on face, leave on for 15 minutes then rinse off.

EGG WHITE - mattify and tighten your skin with a light layer of egg white over your skin. Rinse off after 15 minutes.

Enjoy your pampering session...

Skincare Myths

Was reading Cleo and found these skincare myths that I have to share with the world as I have always believed in them as well. But here comes the blockbusters team to the rescue - capture the evils and free the good.

Myth 1: The more times in a day you use an acne cleanser, the more effective it is.

Blockbuster: If the product you use contains active ingredients such as retinol, AHAs, salicylic acid, benzoyl peroxide or vitamic C, then it's best to follow the less-is-more principle. Applied in excess, these potent ingredients can irritate your skin instead of treating it.

Myth 2: Layering SPF equals higher levels of sun protection.

Blockbuster: Wearing a SPF 50 on top of a SPF 10 won't give you a total of SPF 60. You will only be protected up to the highest SPF you've layered on, so don't be fooled.

Myth 3: If you haven't opened it yet, it's still safe to use skincare from 2007.

Blockbuster: In general, preservatives stay stable for one yaer. After this, the product becomes susceptible to bacteria. Also, active ingredients do breakdown over time and become ineffective.

Dubai in Crisis

Global financial crisis began on Wednesday when Dubai World, the developer of the three palm shaped islands, burdened with $59 billion in liabilities was requested to defer their debt by the government. This feared banks all around the world who invested on Dubai companies. Stock market plunged and workforce which composed mainly of expatriate employees fear the possible restructuring, layoffs and job losses.

Dubai which has an ultra-modern image with the luxury hotels, resorts and buildings have to be now put in cold web. Companies are holding back construction projects and foreign workers' passports until the economy stabilises. This leaves many with no money for food and shelter which triggers the thought of fleeing the country. However, there are news that the United Arab Emirates central bank is here for the rescue so the economy should be able to overcome the crisis in a short period of time.

We shall see by then...

Fell Sick...

How often do you fall sick in a year? The last time I fell sick was maybe 2 years ago. The last time I had fever? Non-existence!

Last weekend we had a small birthday celebration for KH at this Shabu-Shabu Japanese Style Steamboat Buffet at Bandar Puteri Puchong. The uncooked food are placed on bowls and travels around on the track like a train. It's really cool! There are numerous food choices from scallop cake, fish balls, pork balls, lobster balls, ham dumpling, fish dumpling, vegetables, etc. I would strongly recommend this place to anyone out there! Dial this number 03-8063 5796 if you are planning to head there and have fun! =P

So what does that have to do with me being sick? Do you know that steamboat is heaty? Ya, I just knew that as well. The night after I had my yummy steamboat I'm caught with sore throat. Ouch! It's killing meeeeee~~~ I can't sleep well with it, I can't eat well, I can't do anything without feeling the pain in my throat!

Do you know any remedy for sore throat? My friend recommended one that is out of the ordinary but I actually listened to him and tried it anyhow. So what is it? Just get one lemon and squeeze the juice into a glass of hot boiling water. Then slowly sip it until you sweat and doze off into lalaland. Haha! Did it work for me? Erm.. maybe 50% so I will try it again tommorrow and let you guys know if this method actually works.

Okay, I shall take my rest now..

Ivy Got An Offer

Whenever I think of the word "interview" it give me goosebumps. I'm always worried if I'm posted with technical questions or difficult scenarios where I am unable to provide an answer for then I will look like a fool. However, due to some unforeseen circumstances, I had to go through another stage of interview process again as I have waved goodbye to my old firm.

As I have always considered myself as a very lucky girl, I have applied for a job with HP 2 weeks ago and was called in for an interview in Cyberjaya at 4pm yesterday. Did I have a nervous breakdown? Yes! I spent the whole morning studying about FRS, IFRS, US GAAP, SOX, etc. My head started to spin as too much information is going in. I even forgot that I did not have lunch that day! So at 2.30pm I started my car engine and head off to Cyberjaya for my interview. Why am I so early? Well.. cause I don't know my way there so I'm just gonna follow the signboards and use my luck to play. Guess what? I made my way there smoothly and it only took me 35 minutes. So I was super duper ridiculously early for my interview. Even the security guard was laughing at me when he heard I say my interview is 1 hour later. So I had to stand there and chit chat with the security guard, with my broken malay language, to pass time.

It is 4pm and I was escorted to a small room at the corner where I was interviewed by 3 caucasian managers. Eeerrrr... are they trying to gang up on me? My heart started to beat at 1000 times per minute. But the interview went pretty well unexpectedly and I think my performance impressed them that they called me early this morning to inform that they are offering me a job! ^^ WooHoo~

So now I'm officially going to stop my everyday work of clicking on every friends' facebook pictures, playing bejeweled, chatting on msn, blogging and checking if there are any orders in my Shopaholichic website @_@ phew~

Meteor Shower to Light Up Your Tuesday Night

Have you ever heard of the myth that if you make a wish above a shooting star your wish will come true? When I was young I always see this in the movies and dreamed that I could witness the meteor showers instead so I can make a dozen of wishes. Haha. Am I foolish? Or am I not the only one with this thought.

"Wake up Ivy! You need not dream no more because the Leonid Meteor Shower is here to light up your tuesday night!" What? Are you for real?

Yes, the King of Meteor Shower, the Leonid, is going to peak on 17 November 2009 where the rates may race up to 300 per hour! It is forecasted that the shower should produce a mild but pretty sprinkling of meteors over North America followed by a more intense outburst over Asia. Do you know that Leonid showers come approximately every 33 years and today it is said that this could be one of the best Leonid showers in years because the Leonids will be shooting almost directly out of the planet Mars.

Some of you might be wondering how did meteor shower came about? What is it made out of? How does it look like? The meteor showers happen when Earth plows through a trail of debris left in the wake of a comet orbiting the sun. When a comet gets close to the sun, melting ice releases pieces of dust that are no larger than grains of sand.
Every year the earth crosses paths with the orbiting debris and as these small particles collide with the Earth’s atmosphere, they burn up and create a startling streak of light across the sky like fireballs shooting down from the sky.

Meteor-watchers in North America will be expecting the meteor shower at 5:00pm observing 20 to 30 meteors per hour. The very strong display will favor those living across most of central and eastern Asia at 5:00 am where the meteor rates are expected to be at 200 to 300 per hour.

Tips to meteor-watchers:
- Set ur alarm clock
- Go to a nice dark place (e.g. beach)
- Bundle up a warm drink
- Crane your neck skyward
- No binoculars or telescopes needed
- Relax and enjoy the show together

Hilarious Quotes

I just checked my email and found this email from my buddy that I find it so hilarious that I HAVE TO share it with all of you out there. Have fun laughing!!! ^^

Funny quote #1
Never drink while you are driving. You could spill your beer!

Funny quote #2
Some bosses are like clouds. The minute they dissappear, the day suddenly gets brighter!

Funny quote #3
To err is human. To blame someone else for your problem is strategic!

Funny quote #4
Man wouldn't lie as much to the woman in their life, if the woman in their life didn't ask so many questions!

Funny quote #5
Children in the front seat of a car can cause accidents. Accidents in the back seat of a car can cause children!

Funny quote #6
Your future depends on your dreams. Don't waste any time, go to bed NOW!

My Online Boutique

Have you noticed that recently there were a lot of online boutiques registering themselves a place in the world wide web? All the pretty clothes on the pretty models are just too pretty that I have started an online boutique myself. Yes, I am one of those people and took a seat in world wide web.

So where can you find Ivy's online boutique?
- at www.shopaholichic.com

How did Ivy came about with the name?
- I loved the movie shopaholic so I have to use that name but it was taken so I came up with the name Shopaholic + Chic ^^

Is there any discount if I purchase from your online boutique?
- Yes, just drop me an email at shopaholichiconline@gmail.com and tell me that you are a reader of my blog and I will grant you a 10% discount!!!

So what can I do to help Ivy?
- Please help me to spread the word out to all your friends, family, relatives, strangers, etc. Hehe ^^

Thank you all for your support~

Dream Interpretations

Ever wonder why human beings dream in their sleep? Have you often dream of the same thing over and over again?

Recently I have been wondering why do I have the same sort of dream all the time? I often dream that I was being chased by somebody, a murderer most of the time. So my curiousity caught me this morning and I started googling for some dream interpretations and found that "chasing dream" is very common dream amongst most of us. It is a result of anxiety and physical threats in our real life, which instead of confronting the problem we are trying to run away from it. Oh.. so I have a problem and I am running away from it.. so is quiting my job the result of avoiding the problem? If not then what else could it be?.. Then the dream expert suggests that the next time when I have the same dream again, I should turn around and confront the "chaser" and ask him/her why he/she is chasing after me. Are they crazy or what? The "chaser" in my dream is a m.u.r.d.e.r.e.r. who is trying to murder me? So the reason for chasing is because he is trying to murder me? I wonder if the source from this website is reliable..

Besides the chasing dream I also often dream of my high school days and my old school. The same website interpreted that to dream of school signifies the feeling of inadequacy and childhood insecurities that have never been resolved. It may relate to anxieties about my performance and abilities. Alternatively, it may also mean that I am going through a "spiritual learning" experience. Hhmm... is it because I transferred into another school when I was in level 9 and left all my good friends behind? Maybe this experience hit me hard during my high school days which is the reason why I don't have any good friends anymore eversince I moved to my new school and til now.. I shall let the past be past and look towards the future~

If you want to know more about your dream interpretations, please ask the dream expert from http://www.dreammoods.com/

Modeling Passion

Passionate about modeling? Borned with the look? Possess a great body? Mastered the walk? But it is sad to say that the modelling industry will not accept girls who are below 5'7"!

I bet there are millions of girls out there who encounters the same situation and will be sulking at home over America's Next Top Model cursing at those girls who did not put their best effort into their photo shoots when they were given such a great opportunity.

Sulk no more for Tyra Banks have heard your prayers~ America's Next Top Model Season 13 is only for girls who are 5'7" and under! OMG! Are you for real?

"Smizing" (smiling with her eyes)

Tyra Banks is one of the world's top supermodel in the 1990s and into the millennium. She is also a compassionate television producer, host and judge of the “America’s Next Top Model”. Her onscreen efforts to empower and encourage young women led to her recognition as a powerful one-woman empire. Tyra Banks you are my idol!

Putting An End to My Corporate Life... (for now only)

8:30am: Staring at the 15" monitor thinking how should I spend the rest of my 8 hours at work, today mark my last day with Company A. I started surfing the world wide web and found myself stucked in an interesting blogspot. That is how and when I created my first blogspot.

I have packed all my belongings and my table is sparkling clear with only a 2 litre water bottle and my notebook sitting in front of me. I started boosting myself with the 2 litre of water which explains how and where I spend almost 4 hours of my time - the bladder rescue spot.

12:30pm: "Grroooo..gggrroooo.." my tummy started to growl notifying me that it is 12:30pm! I have made lunch appointment with a few colleagues and made known to them that this is going to be a looooooooong lunch as I need to fill up the rest of my 4 hours in the office.

For started we had hawaiian salad with turkey ham then for the main course we had special chicken chop with crispy potato wedges. Hmmm... yummy~ but it wasn't as yummy as our office gossips during lunch. I guess that is what girls' are good at besides shopping - gossipping.

Do you know how did the work "gossip" came about? According to wikipedia, in the olden days politicians would send their assistants to listen to general public conversations. The assistants were instructed to sip a beer and listen to opinions so they responded to the command to "go sip", which allegedly turned into "gossip".

2:00pm: Lunch time is up and I continue surfing blogspots to kill the rest of my 3.5 hours in the office.

3:00pm: Still reading blog.

4:00pm: Being very loyal to the blog I read.

5:00pm: Being extremely loyal to the blogspot.

5:30pm: Times up! It is time to go home and say goodbye to all my colleagues (ex-colleagues now). Although I am very glad that from this moment onwards I will not have to face the grumpy face, the ever-irritating nagging and the constant demoralised staring, at some place that he should not be staring, by my ex-manager no more, I paused to envisage what will my plan be for tomorrow, next tomorrow, next week and next month!

I'll let you know when I got the answer...