Hair Cut. Mushroom Again.

I went to trim my hair on Thursday. The lady hairdresser said I don't have voluminous hair, so I'm not suitable for layers or bob-cut or whatever sort of stylish hairstyle, so as usual she gave me a student-style mushroom haircut.

Halfway through the process, her 4-year-old daughter barged into the room with my sister Yin Zheng, giggling all the way. The little girl hopped over and stood in front of me, studying me with her big, bright eyes.

Then, out of the blue, she shouted, "不美！" and everyone froze. I couldn't help but laughed out loud. My sister got all overprotective over me and threatened the little girl to say otherwise or else she wouldn't get to play Talking Tom on my sister's phone.

The little girl paused for a while, possibly weighing the pros and cons of changing her initial comment, then shook her head violently and yelled again "不美！". The atmosphere was a bit strained with the hairdresser still holding her scissors, her daughter insisting my haircut looks terrible (which, by the way, is a criticism on her mother's skills and expertise), my sister the defense attorney putting pressure upon the witness to change her statement. In the end, I told my sister not to force the little girl to change her views. After all, I have lived my whole life with the mushroom and I doubt it's gonna hurt my ego or whatsoever.

Back at home, my mom made some not-so-subtle hints that I should keep my hair instead of cutting them every once in a while. "When are you going to start to be more like a lady?", she asked?

"Later, mom. Later.", I replied.

Immoral, or simply wild?

Malaysia and Singapore went wild when the Singaporean media made a cover featuring the sex blog by Asean-scholarship holder and current law student Alvin Tan and his girlfriend Vivian Lee, which contains explicit scenes and nude photos of the both.

Caught in the middle of the controversy, the couple remained calm and seemed to be basking in the limelight, without any regrets for what they’ve done, claiming it to be a way “to show the world how much they love each other”.

Many have labeled them as immoral, stupid and ignorant, but youngsters seem to find no fault in their doings and some even expressed support for the couple.

I would like to say a few words regarding this issue.

First of all, it is true that the couple has the rights to showing their love or whatever they call it to the public, but as rational adults, they should have considered the consequences. What influence would it pose to teenagers in our country? What would happen to their parents and family members? They ought to know that this isn’t only about themselves, but also about others. I’m sure the parents of the couple must have been tremendously ashamed by their children’s acts.

Vivian Lee once defended her postings by saying that there is no wrong in liberalizing her sexual habits and this won’t cause uproar if she were in America. However, she needs to consider that Malaysia is an Islamic country, and while Singapore isn’t, both countries have always upheld moral values of the East such as manner and propriety. Most importantly, she has to remember that she is not in America.

Secondly, I’m sure teens in both Malaysia and Singapore have great access to the internet. What if they come across such postings on the net? What if they think that there is no wrong in doing such activities and re-enact the scenes they saw? What social problems would it inflict upon the society?

Some may argue that even if the couple’s blog didn’t exist, teens would still be exposed to dangers of the internet. This is true to some extent, but then again, if everyone says the same thing, the internet would be nothing but a world of explicit videos and nude photographs.

To keep things simple, I do not oppose to the couple's taking nude photographs of themselves and recording explicit videos. However, I would like to give them a word of  advice: keep those things private and do not publicize them just for fun, no matter how much you want to "demonstrate your love for each other". It's one thing to commit in a sexual relationship and another thing to parade yourselves in-the-making.

New Life in KMM

It's been some time since I reached this place and became a resident here. My feelings are bittersweet, I can't explain why. It's just the way it is.

Things about KMM:

1. Rocking room mates - Iya, Ika and Su. The three of them are Malay, yet we can live together in peace and harmony. (Gosh, don't I sound like Avatar's opening narrator?)

2. Unstable electrical plugs. You never know when the plugs will go off or suddenly decide to stop working - which is sort of annoying since you can't charge your phone, boil water and iron clothes. But it's working now, so I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

3. Cats. There are dozens of them here. You can find them almost anywhere within the compounds of this college. They usually like to loiter at the canteens, where they can always find some scrap of food. In the afternoons, they will doze off at the stairs in the dorms. Lying down like a king, in the middle of the stairs. Pampered they are.

4. Pia su students everywhere. Almost everyone here is hardworking as hell, because a ticket to KMM is especially hard to obtain when you're not natives (Malay). So, in a way, the Chinese and Indian students here are among the best 2nd class students in the country. (The 1st class students get immediate scholatship from the government to study overseas.)

5. It's huge - 85 acres of land. I went jogging around the area yesterday even though I'm sick with flue (yes, I'm still sick) - I just don't want to stay cooped in my room - I've a feeling that will make me sicker. So, I put on my tracksuit and went running. Until I was satisfied with how tired I felt.

So, that's all for today. I will update this blog as soon as I can. Thanks for reading!

Are Perfectly Symmetrical Faces More Attractive?

That may be the case for some people who are blessed with the perfect features, like:


Angelina Jolie


Lee Young Ae


Liu Yifei


Song Hye Kyo


Kim Tae Hee

Slightly asymmetrical face can be pretty too:

Sun Fei Fei

There are times when a symmetrical face is not equivalent to beauty. Here's an example using my own photo. This is my (original) face:

And these are my symmetrical faces:

 

Dr. Seung-chul Rhee of South Korea noted that slightly asymmetrical faces are more attractive than perfectly symmetrical ones. To prove that, he created the symmetrical top faces (top row below) from the attractive but asymmetical face below them.

Symmetrical faces (top left and top right) are less attractive than the asymmetrical lower face.

“Some Caucasians like Asian faces but others prefer the Caucasian composite face that I made,” he said. Asians also varied preferences when considering what’s attractive, Rhee said.

“It is very absurd … trying to decide which composite face is more attractive,” he said. “It depends on the rater’s own preference.”

So what do you think?

What To Say When People Are Showing Off

"My, aren't you sesquipedalianistic?"

I'm positive that will shut them up for sure. Unless, unfortunately, they know what sesquipedalianistic means and proceeds to throw another long-syllable word back at you.

What does the word sesquipedalian means?

1: having many syllables : long <sesquipedalian terms>

2: given to or characterized by the use of long words sesquipedalian television commentator>

Want to Marry A Rich Guy?

A reply from Mukesh Ambani, owner of Reliance Group, India to a pretty girl seeking a rich husband.

A young and pretty lady posted this on a popular forum:

Title: What should I do to marry a rich guy?

I'm going to be honest of what I'm going to say here.

I'm 25 this year. I'm very pretty, have style and good taste. I wish to marry a guy with 100 crore annual salary or above.

You might say that I'm greedy, but an annual salary 2 crore is considered only as middle class now days..

My requirement is not high. Is there anyone in this forum who has an income of 100 crore annual salary? Are you all married?

I wanted to ask: what should I do to marry rich persons like you?

Among those I've dated, the richest is 50 crore annual income, and it seems that this is my upper limit.

If someone is going to move into high cost residential area on the west of New York City Garden(?), 50 crore annual income is not enough.

I'm here humbly to ask a few questions:
1) Where do most rich bachelors hang out? (Please list down the names and addresses of bars, restaurant, gym)
2) Which age group should I target?
3) Why most wives of the riches are only average-looking? I've met a few girls who don't have looks and are not interesting, but they are able to marry rich guys.

4) How do you decide who can be your wife, and who can only be your girlfriend? (my target now is to get married)

Ms. Pooja Chohan.


______________________________________________________________________________
A philosophical reply from Mukesh Ambani

Dear Ms. Pooja,
I have read your post with great interest. Guess there are lots of girls out there who have similar questions like yours. Please allow me to analyse your situation as a professional investor.

My annual income is more than 100 crore, which meets your requirement, so I hope everyone believes that I'm not wasting time here.

From the standpoint of a business person, it is a bad decision to marry you. The answer is very simple, so let me explain.

Put the details aside, what you're trying to do is an exchange of "beauty" and "money" : Person A provides beauty, and Person B pays for it, fair and square.

However, there's a deadly problem here, your beauty will fade, but my money will not be gone without any good reason. The fact is, my income might increase from year to year, but you can't be prettier year after year.

Hence from the viewpoint of economics, I am an appreciation asset, and you are a depreciation asset. It's not just normal depreciation, but exponential depreciation. If that is your only asset, your value will be much worse 10 years later.

By the terms we use in Wall Street, every trading has a position, dating with you is also a "trading position". If the trade value dropped we will sell it and it is not a good idea to keep it for long term - same goes with the marriage that you wanted. It might be cruel to say this, but in order to make a wiser decision any assets with great depreciation value will be sold or "leased".

Anyone with over 100 crore annual income is not a fool; we would only date you, but will not marry you. I would advice that you forget looking for any clues to marry a rich guy. And by the way, you could make yourself to become a rich person with 100 crore annual income.This has better chance than finding a rich fool.

Hope this reply helps.

Signed,
Mukesh Ambani.

Are Customers Always Right?

One of my friends related a true story to me, it goes like this:

One day, a long-time customer (let's call her M) came to a well-known business shop. She was supposed to clear her debts of approximately RM 6k. But then, this customer claimed that she has already paid the sum to a fellow worker (let's call her L) at the shop because the person in-charge was busy at the moment.

The worker said that she had never received such money, as she would have recorded it down if she did receive it. Plus, it's RM 6k, not RM 60, so she definitely would have counted the money and pass it to the person in-charge later. But she had no recollection of doing such a thing. The person in-charged also has no recollection of receiving the said sum of money from anyone. So, the boss ordered her workers to dig up their records book, and in it, nothing was recorded regarding M's claimed payment.

Then, M suddenly changed her statements. She said that the person in-charged is not in the shop on the day she made her payments. The boss calmly asked for her receipt, to which she responded that she was too busy that day and forgot to get a receipt.

Now, let's evaluate the case in a neutral position:

1. M said she paid the money to L, but L has no memory of receiving the said money. Let's say M is saying the truth. Why didn't she demand a receipt for such a huge sum? Why is there no such record in the records book? The business shop must have recorded something like this. The shop has been in business for more than 20 years, has excellent track records, and has been a favourite of the local townspeople for its good customer service.

2. M changed her statements. When someone lies, he or she will try to make her previous lie sound true by making up something else. But, if you change your statements halfway, it is obvious that you're guilty about lying. However, M is still adamant, she still claims that she has made the payment even though her words doesn't add up.

3. Based on what I heard, M always makes things up and exaggerate things, causing problems for the shop, after which she would say that she had no idea about what she was saying. Very frustrating indeed. Meanwhile, L is an honest person. You can basically tell it by her looks. She always do things by law, and her works are meticulous and precise. So, there's no reason why she would forget to record it if she really received the said sum of money.

So, which person do you think is guilty? The customer or the shop?

P/S: Read this interesting post I found on the internet!

What Your Poop + Pee Are Telling You About Your Body

Are You Asian Or Not?

I read something on iLive, iLaugh, iLove Books. Basically, it's just a joke on how Asian you are. So, here's my test result:

1. You wear glasses.
   
2. You eat rice for most meals.
3. You keep a straight-A report card. Anything else would result in disownment.
4. You have your sights set on Harvard. Anything else would result in family dishonor.
5. You play piano. Or violin. Or both.
6. You listen to k-pop.
7. Sushi? Raw fish? BRING IT ON.
8. Speed limits are trivial things.
9. You tark Engrish rike this.
10. You often say "Too expensive!!!" or "I'll wait until it is cheaper."
11. Pokemon is your life.
12. Chopsticks are basically extensions of your fingers.
13. Your email address ends in an "8."
    
14. You have anime marathons. (Sleep? What's that?)

I got 7 out of 14. Does that mean I'm only half-Asian? :)

I Haven't Watched The Hunger Games. :/

So, I was planning to watch the epic movie of the century in Big Cinema's Sitiawan branch, but...

Why are you doing this to me, Big Cinemas? Do you know I've been counting-down for the movie since the start of the year? >:(

Dinner. Like A Boss.

Dinner at Lido Restaurant on 24 March 2012, 7pm.

Me and sis.

L'il sis sipping her Chrysanthemum tea.

Dad offering ice cubes.

Mom met her old classmate. Mom's face looks a bit deformed in the picture due to my bad photo-shooting skills. Sorry!

And here's baby stirring his Chrysanthemum tea added with excessive sugar.

Grandpa says he hates taking photos because he looks ugly in them. But actually he looks better than me. And that's me, raising a glass of Carlsberg. OK, that's not really mine. It's grandpa's.

Me and grandpa. Like a boss.

Grandpa poses with his eyes looking somewhere else.

Me trying out a cup of chrysanthemum + Carlsberg combination.

Zheng looking expectantly at grandpa, wanting to take a photo with him.

Zheng annoyed when grandpa didn't notice her.

Baby smiling sheepishly.

Four-person photo. Dang, we forgot to include mom!

And sorry, no pictures of the food.
We pounced upon them the first moment they were served.

But here's something to share with you:

My handmade wire-wrapped genuine 11mm Teardrop Tanzanite Swarovski Earrings! Wrapped with 26 gauge silver plated copper wire and dangles on 20 gauge wire of the same kind - I'll have to search for sterling silver ones soon. Wanna buy? It's only RM 15.00 plus free shipping in Malaysia! Just contact me at aikychien@yahoo.com

8A+, 2A, 1A-

SPM results are out! And in a way, I won my bet with Ferdaus. See here if you have no idea of what I'm talking about.

My results are... how do I place it? ... satisfactory, I guess. I was sort of surprised that I got an A+ in my Chinese, along with Hao Jie and Samuel, who are both Nan Hwa's top scorers with 9A+'s. But then, I only got an A- in Moral Studies. And no one in our school got an A+. It's obvious that the standards have been tweaked according to the graph. Our school used to have dozens of scholars who got A+'s in Moral Studies. But none this year. So disappointing. Don't get me wrong, I love Pn. Nur Zaidah - she's an awesome teacher, and I'll still love her regardless of my results.

My dear grandpa Sing Fook (whose name means lucky everywhere he goes) came over to the office somewhere around 3 o'clock and handed me a real thick angpau.

"Nah, this is for you."

"Thank you, grandpa!"

Then, Alice came in.

"Wah, Chien got angpau from gong gong ah?", then to grandpa "How much you give her hah, big boss? RM 500 per A ah?"

"No lah. RM 500 in one angpau."

"Aiyo, why give so little only? Give more lah? You so much money wad."

"My money is spent somewhere else.", said grandpa. He suddenly remembered something and turned to me. "Only you get my angpau, you know? My condition is straight A's."

Not knowing what to do, I just smiled, until he walked away.

So, talking about my parents. They aren't ecstatic, but satisfied with my results. After all, I did score straight A's, just that they are not all A+. Thinking about my future right now. What career would I be in? It all depends. Various factors can influence my decision. But anyway, I hope God can guide me in all ways possible.

SPM Results Coming Out Tomorrow!

"You sure get all A's one," said Uncle Seevakiri Seevakannan.

"Ya lor, if you get all A's must belanja us ah." Ferdaus added.

"Eh, Ferdaus. I want all A+ lar. If I don't get all A+, then you belanja me."

Why do I not have confidence in myself when everyone thinks I will get extra good results? Let me tell you, I'm not really the studious type who reads and reads and reads all day. I usually hate textbooks and reference books, and unless the situation demands it/the exam is just around the corner, I won't even touch them. Plus, I didn't do real good in school - just enough to get an A- in some subjects and bordering on A in the others. Who knows if my luck suddenly runs out? But, of course, I'm hoping my luckiness will stay at 100% at all times.

Before I'm writing this post and searching for related images on Google, my heart is basically peaceful. But after seeing all those images of A+ result slips, I can't help but start to feel nervous. For a while. Will I get the same academic achievements as those brilliant scholars? Hopefully. But even if I don't, I doubt my life's going to change much (except the part that I'm going to end up in a private college and my parents have to pay 30k per annum for the tuition fees). But on the bright side, I might just get a handsome, rich boyfriend/future husband in college. Haha, talk about daydreaming.

Sorry, I'm seriously biased. I love Min Ho!

But anyway, life's about living, and to live we eat and work and sleep and shit. And of course, we mustn't forget to SMILE.

Before I end this post, here's some shameless self-promotion:

Click on the banner for your chance to win a Hunger Games Inspired Pocket Watch Necklace from Shining Gift! Contest ends 23 March 2012. Open internationally.

Click on the banner to enter! Contest ends 24 March 2012. Open internationally.