Grandeur the Premiere

It's hard to believe that SDD (aka prom) is over! I was anticipating it for so long and I guess it turned out to be what I expected it to be: taking lots of photos and eating basically haha. 

In the morning, I met up with Vanessa at Far East Plaza to get our nails done, but my nails were really short sobz so it didn't really look that nice. 

Then we had lunch at Toss & Turn at Ion, which was somewhat a ripoff. We paid $8.90 for a really small sandwich! But I can't deny that it tasted pretty good. Then we made our way back to my house to get ready, and along the way, we met up with Belinda.

Back at my house:

 We actually had a lot of time to spare so we just sat around waiting and chatting haha.

I helped Bel curl her hair then we started putting on our makeup! I was quite fun! And Van was obssessed with drawing her eyebrows lolol! She kept asking if she should draw them darker hahaha it was really funny! We all just put on very light makeup because I think we all thought that being natural was the best. After that, we set off! By then we were a little late, sigh from early to late haha.

Us in the cab:

We reached the hotel which was Grand Copthorne Waterfront and took some photos with our classmates before going to sit down at the table. Our table was just beside the stage and the view wasn't as bad as we thought when we were choosing the table yayy! 

After that the program started with a band but I won't go into that cos the entertainment for the evening was quite boring. The fun part was walking around and taking pictures! Here are some group shots, the rest of the photos I took are on Facebook.

The Tenacious Turtles!

 Some of the girls at the table

Beloved PW group!

 Darlings from PAWS

Aaand with one of the best friends I made in VJC <3

Oh and here's a comparison of Gen and me 2 years ago and now:

Anyway, after the programme ended, many people went off to their hotel rooms but Van and I had nowhere to go, so we went to Clarke Quay together alone... like losers... But it's ok, it was quite a once in a lifetime experience because after we finished our drinks, we walked to the Esplanade (in our heels) and slept at a table beside the merlion for around 2 hours hahaha

We saw so many VJ people at Clarke Quay, it was kinda embarrassing... At The Pump Room:

I think we were lucky that it was a Monday night because mum said that last time when she went to Clarke Quay at night, people were drunk and throwing up everywhere. But thank goodness we didn't see such people. There were many tipsy people dancing on the dance floor though, and it was quite amusing to watch haha. I think we looked quite loserly because some people from the table beside us asked us to join them, but in the end we didn't cos like who knows what they were going to do to us.

Super proud of this photo! One of the rare moments that my camera didn't fail me haha.

Sleeping

In the end, we took the first train home at 5+am. We were super tired but we still had to walk quite a distance to the MRT station!! And by that time, my feet were swollen already. :(

I reached home at around 7am, quickly bathed and went to sleep. It was definitely an experience to remember! No regrets! xx

PS I'll be going to Australia until 20 Dec so I won't be posting anything from now till then. 

What Freedom Feels Like

2 December, Monday

Went shopping with Rena and Belinda at Far East Plaza! It felt super good to hang out with them outside school. And I finally bought my prom shoes which I really love!!! I also bought another pair of really cool shoes for $15 :)) Rena bought a pair of boots for $19.90 when they were $50+ originally! But Bel didn't buy anything, I guess because she's going to Bangkok and everything there is like a fraction of the price. *envious*

Anyway, we were a bit sian of shopping so we decided to watch Catching Fire at Cineleisure yayy, I've been wanting to watch it ever since it came out! It was really good as expected but the ending was so sudden... still enjoyed it though :)

After the movie, it was already quite late so we went to the Charlie Brown Café for dinner. I feel that the food there is kind of overpriced, like the dessert crêpes were $9.80! I had a chicken salad and pancakes with maple syrup and butter haha weird combination I know.

Here's a picture of us with Snoopy. A little distorted cos my camera sucks.

3 December, Tuesday

Class outing day! We met at Bugis MRT station at around 11+ 12ish and went to have lunch at Food Junction. Then we went to Ksuites at Bugis+. I was kinda apprehensive cos everyone knows my singing is terrible haha but it was ok because there were only 2 mics and I didn't have to hold one yay. I still sang though and it was quite fun! I realised Yan Kun's singing is really good hahaha

In the Ksuite:

After our time ended, we didn't know what to do so we went to Marble Slab and ordered the special 10 scoops of ice cream with waffles.

After we finished eating our fill, we put all the leftover melted ice cream into the center and played some number guessing game in which the forfeit was to eat a spoonful of the mixture. Gross right?! Yeah I kena like twice only I think phew. 

After the class parted, Rena and I went shopping at Bugis street. Sighh, can't express how much I love shopping! I bought 2 pairs of denim shorts, and one of them was only $5! Rena bought a really nice pullover because it's winter in Vietnam and she can use it when she gets home.

4 December, Wednesday

Today we went to send Rena off at the airport :'''''( I'm really going to miss her and I hope that we won't lose contact and this is not the last time I'll see her... :o 

Rena and me:

After Rena entered the departure hall, the rest of us went to the food court for lunch... which was... awkward... so I quickly ate and left with Gin Kee to take the bus to town and we met Vanessa at the bus stop haha.

I met Tiff and Grace at Cineleisure and we watched Frozen together! I must say that Frozen didn't meet my expectations because I felt that the story was a bit rushed and the plot wasn't very well-developed. Like they didn't really show how Kristoff's feelings for Anna came about, it was really sudden. But I still think Elsa is really pretty omg. 

After the movie we walked to Ion because Grace and I wanted to eat 4 Fingers but it was soooo crowded! I don't even know what this many people are doing out on a Wednesday night... But it felt really good to walk down the streets of Orchard Road because I felt so free and unconstrained! Plus the Christmas decorations were giving off the holiday season vibe.

Don't know why this photo came out so blur...

In the end, Grace and I ended up going to Dhoby Ghaut to eat at Saybons after Tiff left because everywhere in Orchard was just too crowded. Then we walked around and I bought my clutch for prom :D I was wearing the shoes I bought on Monday and guess what?! My feet bled at the heel part! And a salesgirl had to tell me because I didn't even feel any pain so I didn't know... Yeah I have high pain tolerance, too high sometimes.

Anyway, tomorrow I can't go out and play because I have to prepare for my church's youth camp... Sigh my co-facilitator is someone I have never ever talked to before, and I have a feeling it's going to be quite nightmare-ish to facil with him. Not to mention I'll be completely sleep deprived and have really dark eye circles for prom. :((((( Like seriously they only let us sleep at 1am and expect us to wake up at 6am for 2 consecutive nights. And not like the activities they plan aren't strenuous... I'm also SUPER scared I get suntanned or sun burnt because Monday is my prommmmmm!!!!! Sigh I pray for cloudy weather or rain pleasssseeee. Hopefully nobody from my church is reading this...

I better go to sleep, it's going to be a long few days ahead... xx

OMG

'A' LEVELS ARE OVER!!! Yesterday was my last paper and I think I could burst with joy!!! But I still have quite a lot of things to do, like sign up for the driving test, get a job, clean my room etc.. But that's ok so long as I never have to do another math or physics problem or write another econs essay in my life! Actually I think I may have to do these things in uni but let me be self-delusional for now haha. 

On Tuesday it was daddy's birthday so we went out for dinner at a Spanish restaurant to celebrate. Daddy chose that restaurant because the wine was cheaper than most places. I can't remember the name of the restaurant but the food was quite pricey, I think the total bill for 5 of us was around $200. But the quality was good and the company was even better so I guess it was worth it. I make it sound like I paid hahaha. 

Yesterday after the last paper, I went to Wild Honey at Mandarin Gallery with Gen to meet Alison cos she's working there, which is really cool! We also met Caitlin there. The place was super atas and reminded me of restaurants in Europe, mostly because of the smell I think, and the decor and lighting. I ordered the Norwegian all-day breakfast, which was eggs benedict with salmon, asparagus and avocado, it was really yummy! 

 Drinks on the house from Alison! 

After that, Cait, Gen and I went shopping for Cait's Dr. Martens but they were sold out everywhere! I had no idea they were so popular even in Singapore! We walked around until 9+ and by then I was super tired, I think I could barely keep my eyes open so I headed home while Cait accompanied Gen to wait for her mum to fetch her. Yup! that ends my very eventful last day of 'A' levels haha.

Ok byee, gotta clean my room now and remove all my disgusting books and notes. xx

Mellben Signature + update

YAYY 2 MORE MCQ PAPERS LEFT!!! 

Ugh, stupid Bel overused our laptop by skyping her friends every night and banging the keys to death and now it's giving all sorts of many problems :(( 

Anyway, everybody was in a somewhat celebratory mood after econs paper 2 on Thursday which was the last 'full-out' paper and I went to eat at Nana's Green Tea with Vanessa!! It was super impromptu because Van was supposed to meet her friend but it was too early so she had nothing to do, and since we were taking the same bus, we decided to stop at Dhoby Ghaut for lunch. 

Nana's Green Tea had a set lunch which was a really good deal, any main course and any drink $8 or below for $13.90! And the main courses by themselves cost more than $13.90... I ordered salmon and tuna donburi and a hojicha drink with ice cream. and Van ordered cold udon and matcha with whipped cream and chocolate syrup. Here's our food!

I really loved the hojicha drink! Even though I didn't know it was tea when I ordered it haha.

Anyway, I just came back from dinner with the family at Mellben Signature. It was really filling!! Even though I hate eating crab because it's so tedious to dig the meat out of the shell and very messy, I still enjoyed dinner tonight (maybe it's because of the fried mantou hahaha). I think the total bill for 4 of us (since Bel is away at camp) was around $150, but daddy had 2 groupons so he didn't have to pay the full amount. I had no idea crab was so expensive! Some pictures:

Butter crab! (featuring my all-time favourite mantou in the background hehe)

Healthy healthy

Famous crab beehoon! The soup was too fishy-tasting for my liking but still very tasty

Mum's hand is a blur as she reaches for the food haha

Really expensive bamboo clam. $8 for one of this!!! Madness... and I couldn't even get a clear picture of it sighh.

Recently my family's been eating out a lot because the new helper doesn't know how to cook T_T I want Aunty Yanti back... Sigh eating out all the time is really taking a toll on my body, I really think I can feel myself getting fatter! :(

Ok I have to go, it's getting late and I have physics tuition tomorrow morning. Wish me luck for my remaining papers! xx

Almost there

3 more papers to go wheee! And 2 are +/-1 hour MCQs yay!

Anyway on Saturday, mum, dad, Matt, mama and I went to yeye's grave to add some soil and repaint the gravestone. I can't remember the last time I visited his grave and it was nice to visit again. I was the only child that got to see yeye in person but I was too young to remember much, most of what I remember is based on photos. I wonder if yeye is watching over me now and if he saw the whole family gathered at his grave to pray for him. I think he would've felt very happy if he saw all of us there.

After that we went out for lunch at Dulcet & Studio (I blogged about that place before!) and this time I had mussel pasta which was quite good compared to what I had the last time. The dessert I had was really good though, some apple and cream pastry with a fancy french name that I can't remember haha.

On Sunday Bel and I wore the pullovers that she bought from Australia. The design is the same but the colours are different so we were sort of wearing 'matching' outfits hahaha. And we couldn't not take an ootd picture so we forced both mum and dad to take pictures for us so we could choose the best one to instagram lol. Ok here are some of the pictures:

Taken by mum (I'm standing on the second step and I'm the same height as Bel! Whut.)

Taken by dad (so who's the better photographer? lol)

Was deliberating whether to add this picture cos I look so bloody short compared to Bel, but then I decided I'M NOT ASHAMED OF MY HEIGHT OK *flips hair*

Ok yeah, that's the end of the photos. Actually there are many more but I don't want to post hahaha.

Anyway, had econs on Monday and physics today. Both meh. Cannot say that I have the As in the bag, especially for econs, but just praying and hoping that some miracle happens when the Cambridge markers mark my script or something.

That's all I have today! Till next time, xx

The eye of the hurricane

Omg I think my title is really cool hahaha ok just kidding... Anyway the reason behind it is that I'm almost right in the middle of my 'A' levels (the hurricane), supposedly the calmest place to be. 4 papers down and 6 more to go!!! 
Math and GP were hard I think, but chemistry was overly easy so the bell curve might kill us all... :/ Why is Cambridge being so extreme huh. Let me just go on about how absolutely difficult math was... It was totally unexpected, at least for me. Paper 1 hard and so we all thought paper 2 couldn't get any worse but then BAM! Sigh I think there were actually tears in my eyes as I was doing the permutations and combinations question... Oh well, I checked the answers and I think I lost less than 40 marks for both papers altogether so hopefully that's enough for me to get an A *fingers crossed*.
Tomorrow I don't have any papers so I'll probably be at NLB cramming for physics paper 2 on Friday. But each hour that passes is another step closer to my destiny... no just kidding, I mean to my FREEDOM!!! It's so close I can feel it!

New Chapter

I'm caught in a mixture of emotions as Aunty Yanti, my helper of 10+ years, is leaving us tomorrow and Aunty Laina has come to join our family. My other family members don't seem to be affected at all and I wonder how they can all be so nonchalant when someone who's had a part in their lives for more than 10 years is leaving for good.             I can't imagine not having her around the house, especially when I'm at home alone and have nobody to talk to. I would always talk to her and even though she didn't completely understand me, she still listened and tried to keep the conversation. She's also the only one who won't brush me off when I ask her if she's seen this or that around the house. I'm going to miss her comforting presence and the special positive attitude about her. Sometimes when I needed to alter or mend my clothes, I would ask her to help me take them to the shop to get it done but whenever she could, she would efficiently do it herself and the results would be perfect. I've taken that for granted and now realise how hard it is to find someone who can understand me so well and know exactly what I want. Even though she received harsh training from grandma, she tolerated it all and still put so much care into helping the family.      I also remember that when I was in primary school, Aunty Yanti would fetch me home everyday (by public bus) and one day, she bought me stickers, which I still keep till today.

I really loved those stickers and I carefully pasted them in my sticker album in the same arrangement as they were in the packet. It was such a simple yet impactful gesture even though I was too young to realise it at that time. She's already given up so much for us and she still voluntarily gave even more. I can't imagine how empty I will feel in the upcoming weeks and months without her around.It's never easy saying goodbye but I hope that when Aunty Yanti goes home she'll be able to have an even better life than what she had here. I feel like a big part of my life has ended and a new chapter is about to begin, I'm anticipating it, yet reluctant to let go of the past. But I'm sure I'll never forget the person who was such a big part of my life.