After a Long Hiatus!

Dear bloggie of mine,

I must apologize for neglecting you!
So many things happened and the world kept spinning, I just coudnt find time to update!
(Okay well maybe I do have time, but the trip from my room to the computer outside is just so darn far. -___-)

In just a blink of an eye, its 2013 already.
Soo soooooooo much time has passed.
Here I am now in the living room. having another round of insomnia(its 4:30 am..) finally deciding to update cuz my fingers are twitching and I miss writing.

I shall recount on major events that occured after my last post, which was about my trip to Phillipines~

1) Hair Extensions During November 2012

New Hair Extensions :)

Referring to my previous post about my hair, some may be aware that I was not too happy with the condition of my mane. Since the day I chopped off my beautiful wavy ash-brown curly hair last chinese new year, my hair did not get any better. Its been a year now, my hair has not grown much (due to some trimmings cuz of split ends). I was so desperate I went searching for an alternative other than clip on extensions and such.

Fortunately I came across a blogger who reviewed a good salon providing extensions service. I must say it costed a bomb!I just went ahead and did it anyway, and I am much happier!

How I like to Style my extensions :)

I did it at IP salon, Leisure Mall. Its mid February now and the hair condition is great! That is saying something because I kept exposing them to heat, they look slack and dull if not curled or waved. Most  of the time I just used the no heat method though, through curlers and hair foams.

I know I mentioned Im not gonna do any drastic changes to my hair for a year, but I couldn't help wanting to try something new. There is something about hair that affects your whole outlook! And besides, the extensions are tied in with rubber bands, no damage done.

2) I turned 20 - December 9 2012

Gosh I feel so old.

My birthday was great and thats because Im surrounded with great family, friends and my beloved boyfriend! 

3) Shopping Paradise at Bangkok 

All my shopping!

I was so looking forward to Bangkok, I couldnt sleep the night before the flight. Gideon gave me a sum  of $$ for my shopping expense as my birthday treat <3

I went there primarily to shop fro my Christmas and CNY clothes :p along with Gideon, Rachel and James. We went to China town, Khaosan Street and of course, Prathunam>>Paradise!!

I just went berserk , looking at the prices of the clothes. A dress that is priced rm 35 here in Malaysia is just RM 13 there at Bangkok. Wowza~ 

See the heart and star necklace? Its just freaking RM 3 each, the rose slippers only rm 5!

I am definitely going back there to restock my closet.

4) Maid of Honour for Miky's wedding

My friend Miky had the most beautiful wedding Ive ever witnessed :) It was such an honour to be able to be a part of the joyous occasion, even more so to be a bridesmaid and also maid of honour.Hazel, Cheryl and I got to dress in beautiful pale pink dresses and wearing cute floral halos. It was really sad  Katherine couldnt join us though, she had the pox. :(

Honestly, I have not a single idea on how to be a MOH, I only see them catching the bouquet that was tossed by the brides in the movies! I wished I could have helped out more, but I dont often see Miky.. I really learned alot planning the games for the bridal door event, observing Miky in her wedding planning stage. A wedding simply isnt done in a day! It took so much effort and time @__@ Nevertheless, all the hard work paid off. :)

The full Bridal party! (I nearly slipped - whoopsie.. :p)

Here's wishing a Blessed marriage to the beautiful couple

Miky and Bryan <3

5) Teacher/Supervisor at T&D Homeschool

In case you dont already know, Im a teacher.

Yes, its hard to believe baby faced petite little me is in fact a teacher, not teaching kids but hormones raging teenagers!

Homeschooling isnt new news in Malaysia, its been around for the longest time in fact. Yet many arent aware of this education system. Its legal here in Malaysia, many parents sought after homeschooling as an alternative to the local government school. 

I really like my job. Hehe.
Other than writing, singing and among other things, teaching is one gift I realized I had within me after completing high school. Here, Im in charge of about 20 teens and I supervise and guide their work, monitor learning progress and set aims and goals for them.

No one said it was easy, indeed! One of my biggest challenge is classroom management. Thankfully, there's a structured system that makes disciplining simpler and less stressful. My dear ex student (now turned my sort of little sister :p ) Even, helps me with teacher duties and Im really blessed for that!

She's going off to college soon so I wonder who's gonna be my teacher assistant.Hmm.. No more talks of Taylor Swift and with the latest happening and whatnot. haha...I'll miss that!

6) My baby Zara

Our beautiful German breed Rottweiler puppy.

My advanced birthday gift for Gideon <3

We are both dog lovers and been wanting to get another doggy after Saphira, our baby Siberian ran way in my aunt's care. (so devastated you know ): )

The moment we saw her online through a breeder, we just fell in love with her and did our research on the breed. Rottweilers are known to be dangerous, they gained much bad reputation for aggression. But thats all due to poor trainer handling!

Trained and cared properly, they make the most loyal and wonderful companion and guard dog.

For now, Zara the puppy is being her puppy self - biting, chewing and practicing her huntress moves!

Seriously, its just so adorable watching her play with her chew toys, she'll crouch slowly and pounce on it like a predator catching its prey.

That is all <3

For now, as Im just covering major things. Do expect more blogpost coming up.

Gosh its 6 am now @___@

Hugs and Loves,

Elai 

Phillipines Trip 2012- Part 1 Manila

Its the windy + rainy season in Phillipines,
a fact i was not aware of until I was on the plane, thousands of feet above the sky,
feeling the plane tremble and shake while gripping the side handles praying the plane wont crash.
Apparently weather wasnt that great heading to Phillipines~

Seriously I was panicking, but when I look to the side, the passengers were like so chill and relax.
eating their Nasi Lemak and stuff.

Air Asia's Nasi Lemak is like freaking rm 9 -___- (I could buy 2 plates of Chicken Rice and drink a nice chill Iced Chinese Tea and still have 20 cents left. Lol at my frugality!)

So when we reached Clark airport, I was ready to kiss the ground~
It was also drizzling!

Anyway as I've mentioned, I went to Phillipines with my trusty sidekick!
My best friend Kat :)

(We look so alike huh?)

The main reason of going there was for a missionary trip, whereby me Kat and my church pastors will be ministering to some churches at Urdaneta, Pangasinan. (Thats like a province (a.k.a Kampung) area)

We went there ahead 2 days earlier to Manila, just to visit my relatives of which I've not seen in over 8 years!

My poor uncle,I call him tito(meaning uncle in tagalog) he has to take 2 days off just to fetch me from the airport and send me there again after a day. And it was a 2 hour drive from Clark to Manila.....

ehehe.

Kat, Me, Tito Rommel and Tita Lisa @ Max restaurant

When my family saw me I was hugged tightly, kissed in the cheek and greeted with smiles and adoration. SOOO LOVED OK? (sniffles)
It was good to be back at my mom's country.
The food,the people.. I've missed it :)

As I've expected, we received lots and lots of stares from people around when we go out.
Because we look different.
The funny thing is people keep asking if we're from Korea.

Since I understand Tagalog, sometimes I get a kick out of listening to their comments and pretending I dont get what they are saying.(Im that baddd)

'look! so pretty, are they koreans?'
"I think they're sisters.'
'say sarang hae yo to them!'

And then Ill translate to Kat in chinese and she'll laugh.
My uncle wasnt amused by the attention though, haha.
I love my uncle :) He's a policeman and he's like sooo tall and sooo protective!
everywhere I go he's like just right beside me and not letting me stray away~

One thing bout Phillipines is the love displayed in the family.
They're really tightly bonded, closed knitted.

I think if you were ever coming to my lola(grandmother)'s house, you'll be surprised!
cuz its like this house seperated into 6 or 7 rooms with each room containing her son/daughter with their own family!
Thats how close they all are!

These are my cousins, not all of them are here though. I think there are still 5 or more? anyway my grandma had 9 children :)

It was too bad I did not manage to take more photos,

and 2 days is simply not enough!

Plus the bad weather, it was raining and shining and raining back and forth the whole day - I couldnt really enjoy my whole stay there!

Well at least I get to see them. :D

They are all so nice :) They treated Kat like one of their own, even my lola who came to Malaysia before and met her..hugged her and welcomed her back to Phillipines.. calling her 'baby'. Awww :)

Kuya Dex and us :)

Kuya means older brother.

And older brother he really is!

He's a certified engineer! So proud of him :)

My mom's godmother and my Lola :)

Some say I look like my Lola.

Do I?

A photo that Me likey ! (cuz i look so cute ok. LOL)

This is Kevin, he's younger than me by a year yet he looks waaay much older!

He really changed so much!

Last time we used to fight alot when we're kids, and now I have to strain my neck to look at him cuz he's like so tall.

He and his brother Christian are like always in front of the camera,

Lol

Haha stole this pic from his FB, apparently he models.

This is my kuya Christian, he's a K-POP singer wannabe. 

He's really musically talented :)

I just publicized you two on my blog!

see how good am I!

:p

Anyway shopping was a blast :)

I tried to maximize my time here since I dont have much chance to shop at Urdaneta.

And look at this!

They have soooo much varieties at their Starbucks!!

Malaysian Starbucks should include this Strawberry Cream!

Also, their regulars are RM 1 cheaper than ours.

I was glad Kat enjoyed the Manila visit.

As I said 2 days weren't enough. :(

Hope I can come back soon.

Miss you guys :)

Almost complete family photo :)

Lots of love :)

Books books books

I just read and completed Pride and Prejudice today!
.......
Ok dont give me that look~~

I know its a major fail for someone (meeee)who claims to be a mega book lover and not having read the infamous Jane Austen's classic. And also a major fail for me being a literature student and all. lol

I did try to read it,ok?
I was 12 when I did
It was so dry and boring for me then.
I was too into my Harry Potter fantasy to even bother flipping another page after the first chapter of Pride and Prejudice.

Taste do change as you grow older I realize,
maturity sets in :)
Nowadays most books I buy are those I wouldnt normally read during my teenage years,
I've always felt that if the characters are old(like way beyond teens), and if there's no good looking guys and no romantic elements to a story it's a no-no.

These days I find comfort in heart-warming stories depicting family love, revolving around arising hope and such.

Though I still enjoy a good fantasy novel, they are really a joy to read :) I still love Rick Riordan's work. After Percy Jackson I chased after the new trilogy of the new Hero and the other story of the Egyptian gods. I love Twilight I would not deny that, people hate it because of the fad. But honestly, the story is good. Another even better Stephanie Meyer novel is The Host.

And yeap! its gonna come into the cinemas next year~

Just looking at the poster makes me wanna reread it again 

-when I just finished it in one day 2 months ago.

Oh Books books books

If only I have time

Ill just lie down on my favourite couch

and read you all day long~~

Flying off next week

So busy busy busy.
My schedule's all packed with classes to teach,
I can only pray that none gets cancelled or itll mean zero income for me!
Lol~

Dear bloggie,
Im off to Phillipines next Wednesday,
for 9 days.
Just me and Kat!
How crazy is that?
Ive never travelled without my parents before,
so im pretty much excited!

The last time I was there in Phillipines..I was 12,
Now
Many things changed.
All my cousins grew~
They all look so different.

Ill be in Manila for 2 days just to drop by,
say hi
catching up,
and then i have to kiss goodbye ..
Go to Urdaneta, Panagsinan and Baguio city
to minister to the people :)

Our first mission trip~
Cant wait.

My Hair History

(the Hair that I misss T___T)

I wish someone was there to tell me.. "Listen to your mom!! Dont do it!!, when I decided to chop off my glorious locks.
-___-


After all the cutting, the layering, the styling, the dye-ing, the perming and the straightening.
I realized nothing beats long lush healthy hair!
So yeah. o_O
Here's my walk down the memory lane,
recounting the joys and pains I share with my mane~~
(it rhymes!!)

I used to have such long hair that my mama's very proud of,
she guards my hair real strictly!


Heck she wont even let me cut them even when I was a teenager,
I had to ask her permission~~
She controls what I do with my locks`

Like, She'll nag me to comb my hair, brush them, wash thoroughly to get rid of the dandruff..leave in hair serum..etc..
So since a very young age, my hair's waist length..its kinda frustrating at times!

  Some photos of the lil cute me :)

I've always been admired for my hair, people always run their fingers through them and telling me how pretty they are and not to cut them off. Obviously, I did not heed this wisdom later in life!.:p

 I loved how long my hair was and how I could tie it into 2 really long ponytails just like my fav cartoon character that time- Sailor Moon!

After standard 2, my primary school demanded that every girl must cut her hair short.  

I have no idea why this tradition remains in Chinese school, even till now.

Either short hair can make u smarter or concentrate better or something,

I have no idea.

My mom gave up the fight with the school 

(she made up a story saying Im half Phillipino and its our tradition to keep real crazy long hair / I attend ballet school (not true!) and I have to keep them long!)

So hesitantly, mom brought me to a haircut.

Tadahhh~ the outcome :p

Look so funny!

haha, but I really felt soooo free from the heavy weight of my hair,

my hair dried so fast and there's really no fuss in maintaining it.

I actually loved it,

even when my mom doesn't really. Lol

And slowly my hair grew and grew,

at standard 6 my hair's back to its former glory.

I have no idea why I wasnt pestered to cut them during school~

But hey if you wanted to spot me back then..

its real easy~

Just look for the girl with the horse tail mane among the cropped short hair,

one and only :p

So yeah up to secondary school, I was kinda known for my unusual looks (i dont look chinese, some think i'm Malay) and my real long hair.. (back then it grew to the waist)

I was studying secondary in the age of booming trends,

there were all sorts of fashion statements at school.

From the loose sling bag, to the hand carried cutesy bag..

and hairstyles from short fringes and real sharp layers~

Everyone around me transformed!

Most of the girls - with their hair combed back from the forehead as usual..

suddenly look totally different with fringes and bangs.

Everyone agreed it was 'the thing'

Hair tied up was so boring.

Thick hair was the thing of the past!

I begged my mom for a change of style,

she resisted and told me my hair was real special,

(secretly I think she hopes that I get into a hair commercial or something!)

But I kept on insisting..and yeahh got my way.

I looked so different after the fringe cut and the layering,

I was so happy after the haircut.

Well some agreed it was a fresh sight but some said I shouldnt have thin them out~

But I was very satisfied,

those days I really loved everything to do with the Japanese including their trends and mangas,

and I felt I look more 'retro' with stylish layered hair instead of it long and looking all 'blah'..

I felt like I wasnt an outsider anymore,

I could blend with my schoolmates,

at least have something in common.

To Look common~

(hmm this is another story to post later on, about my social challenge at school)

Later on, I got more and more addicted to the layering

I went over the top.

This pic below is the worst haircut I have ever had,

do not laugh! haha

It was horrible! My mom wasnt very happy after she gave me my freedom to do whatever I want with my hair. The styler went crazy as well, she gave me real thin layers and it just look so flat and limp!

I decided to just leave them and not do anything anymore,

and when I met Gideon,

He said he likes girls with nice long hair.. Not all sharp and messy looking.

I was instantly motivated to stop the silly looking layers!

I paid attention to them, making sure I've gotten rid of the sharp edges,

and I think I looked better like this :)

Sadly I realize my hair could not grow to its original thickness,

must've be worn out by all the layering and such.

Which made me regret the layers alot!

But I was glad my hair was long and neat,

not in little strands anymore.

So after graduation,

I did something that 90% of the high school graduates would do.

Come on now, I know you do too.

- Dyeing.

Haha!

Rachel, my bf's sister helped dyed for me using the products bought at local pharmacy stores.

They didnt really work though,

cuz my hair was such a virgin black.

Here's some pics:

(see, three of us graduates have indeed messed with hair colours!)

The colour didnt really stay,

and after awhile they made my hair real dry!

There were times I couldnt stand my hair,

they just didnt bounce healthily like they once did,

they lay flat and dry, almost dead.

I was so desperate to try something new.

It  was nearing my birthday.

And I got my wish....

To try perming them~

I have such lovely angels around me,

My best friend Kat and my bf Gideon both sponsored my hair perming.

And after 4 hours of enduring the perming process,

I had the wavy/curly hair I dreamt about.

(At first it wasnt very curly, I went for a re-perm and it looked better :D )

I also used Liese's Ash Brown (Bubble Hair dye)

and I really loved the colours :)

Once again I was very happy with the new hairstyle,

I felt like it defined me.

Airy and carefree.

Comments I got were: beautiful, looked more matured, suits me alot..etc

I loved how I wake up in the morning and I dont have to do anything to my hair,

they were in perfect wavy curls and I could just set out and enjoy the day~

The downside is maintaining them though,

I couldnt wash as often as I would like and combing/brushing makes the curls loose~

Give and take, I guess

:/

Slowly after a year plus,

(yup yup you guessed it, another change!)

I had a haircut!

I've blogged about how I got my hair like real short,

I helped model for a friend who needs hair models for her project.

When she told me how she was gonna chop off my beautiful curls,

I guess I just threw all worries to the wind.

I was ready for something new, curly hair kinda made me look old and tired at times...and i didnt like how my friend curled her hair like mine and we looked so similar it confuses people~ 

so..here we go!

All curls gone~

And as I have once experienced,

short hair brings the relief-free feeling back.

I remember how I keep touching them and feeling so refreshed~

My friend also gave me some nice hazel highlights and they really brighten up my face.

Someone told me I looked ten years younger!

And my mom liked it like this,

told me to grow them again and to stop damaging them anymore~

Needless to say,

I did not heed that piece of wisdom!

Doh!!

After a few months, my hair got dry again and tangly~

fly-aways everywhere!

They just look real messy!

Also my friend the styler mistakenly added some highlights that were green when I went for another visit to the saloon, (for the hair model show night)

they just look super weird. 

Sadly she has to leave to Sarawak and cant help me cover them.

Can you see some yellowish patches on my fringe?

After feeling so fustrated for awhile I went head straight to a saloon and ask for a relaxer.

I just wanted my hair to smooth down,

(I do not know why I never thought of investing in good shampoos and conditioners then?)

So headstrong!

BIG MISTAKE.

After the relaxing process, my hair was so super super super straight, super flat and super thin!

Gideon even laughed at me,

the green yellowish highlights were all the more obvious!

I felt sooo terrible,

everyday was a bad hair day that I tie them up all the time~

I even bought some extensions to hide the imperfections~

As nice as they were,

I couldnt possibly wear them all the time!

So I inhaled deeply and decided,

oh well hair grows.

Im gonna stop making rash decisions and just go with the flow~

So this is me, with my hair tied up like this all the time~

I concentrated on the face instead,

making sure I look awake and presentable enough without needing my hair to back me up~

I've also invested in a real good flat ceramic iron,

to ease my boredom of having to tie my hair up all the time.

(especially when ponytails/buns dont suit the outfits im wearing)

So here :)

I regretted spending the cash on the relaxing process,

should have spent on the flat iron to achieve this look :)

so far my hair is doing ok,

i only curl them for special occasions~

I made sure to put on heat protecting spray before curling them~

So lesson learnt,

Always listen to your mama :)

It was through my mom's painstaking effort that my hair grew so healthy and lush back then,

I guess I shouldnt be so impatient and so rash.. 

I made a vow to myself to not do anything permanent to my hair,

at least for a year..

And see how it goes :)