Self-painted Nail Art

1st


2nd

Heres something random. In my life, i've proudly did my very own simple and easy nail art twice! During both tries, i used scotch tapes to form the patterns. I realised that painting nails really requires dedication and patience!

Initially, i didn't have the patience to wait until the nail polish was completely dry and ignorantly pasted the scotch tape as a divider and painted the exposed areas. Unfortunately, while tearing the scotch tape out, the first layer of paint seemed to love the scotch tape instead of the surface of my nails more! So, patience people!

My first try obviously has quite a number of smugging. The second one turned out quite well, although nothing is ever perfect! I'll be looking out for more potential patterns that can be done using scotch tape and try it out myself again!

West Coast

I went to West Coast Park around evening to look-see-look-see. I know i'm 19 this year but yes, i've not been to West Coast Park, or at least i don't remember going.

Though i find East Coast more attractive, i love the playgrounds at West Coast Park! If a whole group of sporty people were to go with me, I'd definately go high! It brings the kid out of you. I realise i've become old. Randomly went to obstacles that seemed fun, climb here climb there and i was already tired.

People were camping and having picnics theres. Apparently there are only certain areas where you can set up your tent and booking is required. I saw really pretty kites too! Pretty because the kites had lights! Yes i've not seen kites with lights before. There was one with the YOG logo flashing around. People bbq and fish at West Coast Park too. Unfortunately, the scenery sucks. All you ever see are ships, ships and more ships of different shapes and sizes. Also, the only food you can buy there is macdonalds, if i'm not wrong.

I'd love to visit West Coast Park again! Mainly because of the many unique playgrounds!


The YOG kite with lights!


A small portion of the many ships around

(Yes i can barely see anything too, it was already night)

NewUrbanMale Slippers

Got my boyfriend a newurbanmale slipper at cineleisure since our anniversary was getting near and his current slippers looks like it's about to give way. It cost me $39.90 and the wordings on the strap glows in the dark! He felt they were very comfortable; it didn't bite him unlike my own slippers. From experience, he considers it's durability not bad; his previous white newurbanmale slipper lasted either a year or slightly under a year. Sweet!

We noticed something the very next day. The pictures on it cracks(the two stars), but thats unavoidable because of the material of the slipper. Also, a comment from a friend, their slippers tend to have lesser and lesser friction quite easily, so walk carefully!

Marche

If you're poor like me, yet want to eat something really good at some place unique, come to Marche! My sister brought me on a budget meal that costs me less than $10 to Marche and I didn't believe! The trick is to dine-in for two. Its located outside at the water garden place at vivo.

I really, seriously, truly, from the bottom of my heart recommend this! Crepe! Just find this thing called Crepe and there will be a variety of flavour to choose. Salmon, mushroom, chicken and ham if i'm not wrong. I ate the salmon one which my sister mentioned that it was her favourite amongst all. The insides consists of a variety of vegetables, cheese and sauce. I can't wait to go back to Marche and eat Salmon Crepe again! It costs $10.90+.

We ordered Plain Rosti too. It is made plainly out of Potato! The burnt part is the best part of it! You'll be full for sure. It costs $5.50+.

Just these two dishes can make us both full, and the total would be about $16.40+, but we were really god thirsty. The drinks at Marche are really expensive. We ended up getting Rootbeer Bunda for another $4.50+. At the end of our meal, our bill was $22.35 including GST. There is no service charge at Marche. I really cant wait to go there again! I'm already missing the Salmon Crepe~ I miss you~


Salmon Crepe ($10.90)


Plain Rosti ($5.50)

NUS bus stop mannequin

Two weeks ago, I went to the prestigious National University of Singapore to attend something but ended up being their campus mannequin instead.

The route from my place to the destination was simple. Board 151, drop at Yusof Ishak House. Take Bus D, alight at 3rd stop and walk. So I got onto 151 and dropped at around 7.15 pm.Then came the wait for Bus D which completely pissed me off. I'm not sure how the actual intervals were like but every other shuttle bus has come and gone. Some even more than once. I did not managed to even see a Bus D the whole time I was in NUS. I noted one bus that stood out in particular, apparently suffering from a identify crisis. It believes it's a champion stallion on a racetrack, has NO wish to pick or drop passengers and does so grudgingly.

What this bus did was to switch to the outer lane and tried to drive past the bus stop as fast as possible. Two stunned students recovered fast enough to flag but it only managed to halt when it was high up on the slope - a full bus length ahead of the actual bus stop. And then it's off again, racing towards an imaginary finishing line.

I decided that it's too late to make it worth my while going. Either Bus D's intervals are seriously effed up or they just don't operate after 7pm and did not give ANY indication of such timings at the bus stops. Waiting for A1 was just as painful but at least I've seen it once while waiting for a more direct Bus D.

So I crossed over, this time waiting for 151 to go back home. During the long wait, I watch the Comfort bus pretend not to know there's a bus stop yet again. What's the point of a shuttle bus that speeds on the outer lanes at bus stops?

Comfort bus with asshole driver aside, the wait for 151 was worse than the wait for Bus D. After every other external bus made their rounds at least twice, Bus 151 finally showed up after 32 minutes, packed almost to the brim. About 20% of the people at the bus stop could board. Unfortunately, I was the 80%. I may sound spoilt but the fact that A LOT of people at the bus stop couldn't get the bus as well after so long means that there's something really wrong with the bus intervals.

I was seriously pissed at this point of time. I left the house to come to NUS and waited till its useless to attend the remainder. So far I've wasted an hour in NUS. All I did was to stand and pose like a dumb mannequin at the bus stop and all I want is to go home.

Just as I was ready to walk out to the main roads, the second 151 finally came at 8.26pm. This time all could board though just barely. I was one of the people standing near the entrance.

As the bus drove past the very last bus stop of NUS, I could see another 10 people there trying to flag. Can you imagine how much they would have to wait for Bus 151? Definitely more than my 46 mins. I wish them all the best in their modelling careers. Happy posing until the next 151 comes.

Timeline of Hangeng's story with SME

Hangeng when he was still with Suju.
Try not to have a nosebleed :p

I just found out today from a classmate that ex-Super Junior member Hangeng will be coming sometime in October for a concert.

The first shocker, or rather pleasant surprise, was that he’s actually coming to Singapore for a concert. Kstars just don't come often enough.

The second was when Hangeng was referred to as an ex-Super Junior member. All I managed to gather (from youtube trawling) was that he threatened to quit but was talked out of it by Leeteuk. He’s also somewhat allowed to do his own solo activities for a while. And there was a mention of him having to pay out loads of money to SM Entertainment (SME)– the company that Super Junior is under.

Admittedly, youtube is not the most reliable of sources. With bits of pieces of information decentralized all over the net, I went to compile a timeline of what exactly transpired.

Timeline of Hangeng’s story with SME:

News first broke when Hangeng was still in China for SJ-M activities.

December 21, 2009: Unknown to SME, Court received complaint from Hangeng which later was accepted and processed.

Late December 2009: 6 other Super Junior members also filed lawsuit. The “news” originated in China with no coverage in Korea. They have since been discarded as merely rumours.

January 8, 2010: He temporary refused to come into contact with the company while resting which spanned 7 months citing personal reasons for health and also because he was advised by his attorney not to. Since his lawsuit, Hangeng’s relationship with SME has been awkward and as the case is still ongoing, involvement with SME or Super Junior may cause complications.

March 2010: Rumours that Hangeng has signed contracts with companies in China began circulating. The companies named depended on the variant of the rumour. This was later disputed by Hangeng himself.

March 29, 2010: Hangeng’s lawyer revealed the reason behind his termination.

Sun’s (Hangeng’s lawyer) pronounce: All the following statements come out from the truth that I’ve witnessed around HanGeng these years, and I promise I’ll be responsible for all my words.

I.Masks
In the early time of Super Junior’s debut (around the end of 2005 to the beginning of 2006), Hangeng (Han) had to perform with a mask on his face and could only appear in few TV station because of some reasons.This has shown obvious discrimination against Han,which also caused him to have some severe psychological problems.There are problems in some of the laws in South Korea, and also in management of SM Entertainment (SME). Along with the fact that Han was excused from wearing masks later on, we could draw the conclusion that SME didn’t handle the issue suitably and ignored Han’s interest and rights.

II.Discrimination
One of the concerts in Super Junior’s Super Show occurred on November 22, 2008 in ShangHai. Han’s family members were arranged in the far corner willingly or unwillingly, while the Korean members’ families were arranged in the center of the auditorium. The arrangement wasn’t changed until Han’s family found out about the discriminatory act. They were able to get seats in center of the auditorium after contending with SME.

III. Discrimination on Financial Dividend
Korean members in Super Junior shared all the expenses in China (including private living goods) with the Company and other members. However, Hangeng had to pay his personal fees by himself, which was very unfair for him.

VI. Discrimination Against Chinese Actors in Daily Life
Every Korean member could go back home in their free time in Korea, while Han was asked to stay in the apartment with the other members in China. The company reluctantly accepted Han’s request of renting an apartment near the site of the company through a discussion.

V. Insecurity of Reward Distribution
SME settles Han’s accounts biannually with only general ledgers but not detailed accounts. The unclear accounts deprived Han’s right of knowing information. In addition, it said that Han couldn’t get enough security on his originally poor payment. SME never offered detailed receipts for scripts or copies, and refused to provide them despite several times of demanding.
SME offered only Korean Won to Han which needs two times of agiotage [business of dealing in foreign exchange] to turn to Chinese Yuan. The loss between the agiotage brings up more loss to the unfair reward. Although SME doesn’t have a formal subsidiary company, they still have a respectable RMB cash flow. Han Geng has suggested changing the settlement method in order to minimize losses, but was refused without a reasonable explanation. SME ignored Han and never explained or resolved this issue.

VI. SME often procrastinates, and even refuses many development opportunities for Han which infringes his rights a lot. Here is the evidence:
1. In the year of 2009, Procter&Gamble Company decided to employ a male actor to endorse for OLAY products for the first time. SME refused the cooperation for many reasons while Han Geng knew nothing about the whole thing until he was informed through a staff member at end of 2009.

2. In June 2009, the Taiwanese actress Ariel Lin called for a hero in her music video. Han was the designated hero chosen by Lin’s company, but SME refused the request. Instead, they had Lee Donghae and Choi Siwon participate in the MV. Lin’s company finally allowed the two Korean actors to be in Lin’s MV, which limited Han Geng’s development.

3. At the end of 2008, the movie Mulan started to choose an actor for the men’s second role. The producer favorited Han Geng and communicated with SME many times, but SM did not accept any of the invitations. This not only limited Han’s personal development, but is also goes against SME’s promise to give acting opportunities to Han [Han always wanted to be an actor].

Regarding all the facts above, from my viewpoint, firstly, SME offered little opportunities to Han Geng (2 single Endorsements, 1 TV series from debut) despite his popularity. What’s more, SM rejected many opportunities when people wanted to recruit Han Geng, which is obviously discrimination.
Secondly, SM put a constraint on Han’s development when Han was given many good chances. SME did not support him for fear that Han would form personal developing rooms and resources. This violates Han’s legitimate interests and restricts his personal development terribly.
Finally, freedom on economic activity is the basic human right which nobody could attempt to deprive or restrict. The series of actions by SME tend to and have indeed deepened Han’s attachment to the Company. It has also restricted Han’s freedom of economic activities. Such an action is severe infringement on Han Geng’s individual fundamental rights.

VII. SM was ill-mannered to Han’s potential customers and friends, and also framed people to introduce businesses to Han Geng.
Take me for example. Around March or April in 2009, I introduced a performing business called Night of Changbai to Han Geng. SME quoted a higher price to me (take ￥350,000 yuan for example [$51,000 USD]) and quoted a lower price to the sponsor (￥300,000 yuan for example [$44,000 USD]), which made the sponsor mistake me for accepting bonuses, hurting my own fame. I called Mr.Kim, the broker of SM, to ask him why SME does so, only get a reply like “we won’t do that next time” – no solution was proposed. Many show sponsors, media, and cooperators also strongly dislike the attitudes and the ways of the SM staff

Credits: kpoplive.com

June 22, 2010:

Hankyung and his attorney held a press conference at Great Wall Mutianyu to discuss his solo album and the SME lawsuit. Hankyung revealed, “After today, I will be officially doing solo activity.”

Hankyung claimed that, “the rumor of me trying to gather 2,000,000 Won to pay the penalty fee for canceling the contract is not true.” He explained that, “if I win against SM, I don’t have to pay a dime. So that will not happen.” 2 billion Won = US $1,692,476.70

Also, he revealed that, “on July 17th and the 18th, I will be having a concert where my fans can preview my solo album titled 庚心 which will be officially released on the 27th. His attorney added that, “even though the lawsuit against SM is ongoing, Hankyung releasing his solo album and doing solo activity is all legal.”

Source: Sports Chosun
Translated by Minnie @ SUJUISM.BLOGSPOT.COM

Addtionally, Hangeng also shared that relations with his ex-band Super Junior has remained well. He has invited them to his first solo concert and they have given him their blessings.

July 12, 2010: On a more personal note, during an interview on a BTV program, Hangeng divulged some of his personal reasons on his decision to leave SME. The videos are all subbed. For the full interview, turn on annotations for translation.

The gist:

The full interview split into 3 videos:

Aug 16, 2010: The singer recently made an appearance on a Taiwanese program titled Shen Chunhua Life Show

It’s in Mandarin and I couldn't find a subbed version. I shall try my best to translate accurately. Forgive if it's slightly off. Although I've been schooled in it, it's not my strongest language.

The commenter talks about Hangeng's dancing ability and dancing background.

“During an interview, the hosts ask him about living abroad alone to Han Guo. He couldn't bear the high stress levels and that language was different.”

“Hangeng: I read an article written by someone that everyday was frustrating (for Korean artists). Even when other people spoke to that person (the artists), or gave that person a job to do, that person feels frustrated. He comments: Why does it seem so similar to that period (while with SME) in my life?”

“When the hosts reads out a message from his dad to him, Hangeng was unable to hold back his tears”

“Host: Dad will always be your (strength?) Dad has always been well. Dont (worry?) about us.”

“Even the host couldn't hold back - her eyes turning red.”

“But that wasn't all. The program even arranged a live call to his dad in Dong Bei to allow them to speak their hearts.”

Dad speech (sorry I couldn’t translate the first part of the convo directly so here’s the gist): Hangeng’s father encouraged Hangeng to do a good job, repaying his fans and also to look after his health well.

“They then sang a song together. Hangeng's overwhelming reception was worth his tough decision. “

The commenter then signs off.

End of Timeline.

A good source of information was Shiningbluey. There are many other minor sites that divulge more details. I try to give credit when necessary. Let me know if I've left out some.

Lawsuit verdict: At first it was promised that the earliest Hangeng can be free of SME was around March 2010. Since then there have been delays with the latest postponed date being 20 August 2010. Today’s date is 9 Sept. Obviously there’s been another cancellation of the final verdict release date. There have been rumours that SME was using some underhanded means (delay tactics, such as a sudden change in judge in charge of the court case back in February).

I don’t know much of SME before this case but after turning up so much negative feedback and hearing about their similar lawsuit with DBSK from friends, I hope they close down. I’m sure better and more respectable companies wouldn’t mind absorbing their talents. Super Junior would surely be able survive without them, just as Hangeng has proven that he can.

I’ve sort of admire Hangeng’s soft mannerisms and mature and positive mindset. It’s nice to know he’s still strongly tied to Super Junior members on a personal level. I wish him all the best in his solo pursuit (although from the looks of things, he doesn’t need any luck or well wishes ^^)

Hangeng fighting~!

Haagen Dasz Chocolate Fondue

You're on a date, feeling rich, might be on a special occasion, having an itchy mouth and the clock states that its tea time, go to Haagen Dasz! The chocolate fondue is AWESOME. I tried mine at Orchard Central, located right at the entrance, the minute you enter you'll see it. I totally enjoyed mine! The ice cream is really good, my boyfriend already snatched two away before i could take a photo of it. The nuts are right at the bottom. Don't forget to sprinkle them into your hot chocolate before dipping those treats in! YumYum!
They cost us around $48! Do try it!


Haagen Dasz's Chocolate Fondue