My Small World :)

Day 3 in Bangalore started with major stomachache… ouch… and off course follow by major diarrhea. Not sure whether this was caused by my stomach unable to adjust to having curry everyday, or the gap between the meals (FYI, our lunch started at 1.30 and dinner most likely started at 8). But whatever the reason is, I suffered for the next 2 days. I went to the wellness center in the office and the ‘doctor’ there gave me the medicine plus electrolyte powder. I’m impressed with India’s electrolyte. It tasted like Calpis water J. So at least I don’t have to force drink myself. We had another event on our Day 3. It’s bowling follow by dinner. Me and several colleagues arrived first at the ‘7-star’ hotel. He hotel was nice with the beautiful garden spread to entice your eyes. It’s like an oasis in the middle of dessert. And that’s the first time I saw BMW and its likes in Bangalore. We happily went to the room and waited, waited, nobody come so we attacked the appetizer and turned out the rest of the team were already down there play bowling. I didn’t play bowling, just happily cheered people because I scared if I move too much, my effort drinking the electrolytes go wasted, so don’t want to take a chance. After 1 game of bowling which took 2 hours to finish (8 people shared 1 lane hihi), we finally hit the buffet spread, only to find… curry served in more glamorous silver disk. By that time, I only looked for white color food only. As much as I like curry, I prefer to be able to survive until day 5 without having to go to hospital. After we got to hotel, I ate the medicine given to me in the afternoon, and it was a bad decision.

By Day 4 morning, I haven’t really slept for 1 hour continuously. So, there I was in the classroom looking pale and sick like a zombie. I only got better after I drink the 2^nd ‘Calpis’ powder drink. I’m a bit sad when I decided not to join the rest of the crowd take the stroll to Bangalore city side. The gals were so nice help me buy the pink shawl. It’s nice and I loved it J. We passed Saibaba’s castle again on our way back to the hotel. This time it’s in daylight and the castle is totally different light. It’s in beige color with lots of colored glass for the windows. Still grand but I think the night view is more majestic. My dinner for the night was… room service. The food was so plain that I was too happy to eat it. O ya, we couldn’t take picture of our company logo from the office premises. So, we have to… walk till the outside pavement to take the picture J. The security guard didn’t say that we can’t take the picture at all, did he *wink*.

Day 5, finally, our last day in Bangalore. As I ride our usual bus to the office, I noticed certain things about Bangalore. Although lots of construction in the midst of run down shop buildings, there’s no holes, I repeat, no holes on the main roads, unlike some countries (off course, you know which countries I’m talking about right J). I didn’t see any beggars hanging around the roads and intersections. People just buzzing around doing their own jobs, which is the sign of moving up, the city is building for the better. The ‘bajaj’ in Bangalore are in yellow and bigger, but with the same noise, off course. If there’s no noise, it’s not bajaj, right? Our last day of training went so fast and it’s time for us to part and quickly back to hotel to go to airport. Alas, we were caught with a very bad jam on our way to the airport. To avoid jam, our smart driver took the bus to the short-cut, and I noticed that the road getting smaller and smaller, and the street getting ruddier. It’s India at the ‘kampong’ side. It took us more than 2 hours to reach airport in the end. By the time we got to the airport, one of my Aussie colleage almost missed her flight. Luckily she’s still can check-in, so there she was rushing through the crowded airport. Btw, On the airport gate, they placed the biggest LV bag I’ve ever seen. But due to time constraint, we did not have the chance taking picture, late alone shop for some pins *bye bye my collections**. We had pasta for dinner and IT’S PLAIN!! By the time we finish our dinner, off we were for boarding. During the flight, I made sure that I get the continental dish. No curry for my tummy for the rest of the month (I predict). We reached Singapore at 6am, I was half awake by the time I got home and quickly snoozed until 4pm J J.

So there, the Bangalore adventure ends here. J J J

As some of you already know, I’m in India right now, in Bangalore to be exact, for a 1-week training.

So, without much data researching (I’m here for training, not sight-seeing), there I was on the plane to Bangalore. Off course, the flight was enjoyable as always been expected from SQ. The remote control on my seat was not working after resets, so the stewardess was so kind to find me another seat in a very full flight for me to move so that I can watch the movies. Upon arrival, at 10pm, I was amazed by the new airport settings. Its interior is so similar to HK international airport, though it’s smaller in size. I could even still smell the paint. Seeing these things, I was actually looking forward to see what’s out there in Bangalore… until… I was outside looking for taxi. All the taxis were taken when I came out and I was caught by this one guy saying that he’s a license taxi driver. He even showed me his license. Since I couldn’t find the taxi brand that I want, I said fine. It’s not fine until I was walking so far on the airport parking lot and there’s a 1 small car waiting there, definitely not a taxi, and the guy showed me the fare listing which was so much more than the supposed rate. I was inside the car and got a bit scared to say no and get out from the car since it’s an unfamiliar area for me. I grew up in Indonesia and not supposed to be scared in this kind of situation, but alas, when you’re actually in the real situation, you forget your roots. So, I decided to stay inside the ‘cab’ (while praying hard and making sure that my cell-phone was working properly). Bangalore at night was not as friendly as the airport states. It’s not only dark (unless there’s other cars passing), with minimum lamp post around, but also give an eerie feeling as you literally cannot see anything except construction ruins and no people walking around (hey, it’s past 10 already). After 30 minutes, 50 minutes, 1 hour, I got nervous, and even more nervous as somebody don’t even reply my sms until morning (that somebody is hopefully reading this and feel sorry for me ;)). My heart almost stopped when the car suddenly pulled over and the driver said he got lost. Luckily I brought the map and he went to ask the hotel nearby. After another couple of turn arounds, finally I saw the 1 logo I know, SAP. Yes folks, this was the first time I was so happy to see the SAP logo. Finally with all the commotion, I got into the hotel in one piece. The hotel service is fantastic, I couldn’t complain more. The hotel staffs knew that you’re not used to the city and they accommodate that to make you feel comfortable. Kudos for those staffs J.

The next adventure came on Day 1 of training. Breakfast was nice except for the ‘mushroom’ accident. I pick out some mushrooms, so I thought, from the Western section of the buffet line. When I eat one, it turns out to be kidney (I dare not ask from which animals) and they didn’t clean it properly, so it smells, and I lost appetite soon after that fateful bite. Our buses were late because they went to the wrong hotel. After our morning adventure (including the joy ride that we had), we finally arrived in the training center. Our India office is so huge that it has its own cafeteria. I will skip all the training part as it’s… training, nothing more can be said. The facilitator arranged a catering for lunch during our stay. It’s nice and I actually tasted some Indian dishes that I’ve never tasted before. After training we had a welcome dinner and we, again, waited for the bus. It seems buses in here don’t like to wait for passenger, they prefer that we wait for them J. Dinner was Chinese Indian cuisine, something new for me, and I actually like them, though some of them were quite spicy for me. As we reached the restaurant, they still smoked the place with mosquitoes spray. So, we ate our appetizer with extra-repellent-infused. During our ride home, we came across Saibaba’s ‘castle.’ According to my colleage, Saibaba is a Hindu preacher. The ‘castle’ is a fusion of Taj Mahal and Buckingham Pallace. It’s so huge and grand with the white paint. I wonder how it looks like during the day time. 

Day 2 was another new adventure. Today our bus almost hit another bigger bus. It’s obviously our driver’s fault. Our front rear almost hit the middle side of the other bus. But, our proud driver insisted that he’s right and went over ready to fight with the other driver. After venting his anger, our driver presumed his original task, and we reached the office safe and sound. I liked today’s lunch better than yesterday, although I wish they brought back the potato salad and the cheese-curd salad. They’re simply delicious. During our ride back, we noticed that the route that we took back and forward to the office was always different. The only sign that we knew we’re in the right track is the GE and SAP logo (note that the SAP logo become more and more important?). Our adventure continued to the dinner we had on the hotel’s restaurant. It’s a new restaurant (I guess) serving Chinese-Thai cuisine. Let me elaborate the set menu: It’s Ying (vegetarian menu with most of the menu made from baby corn) and Yang (non-vegetarian). We had the Yang. Yang consists of Pomegranate Chicken soup (you’ll wonder what the wonder fruit is doing in a soup), Pan Fried fish with garlic, Lamb with mushroom, fried rice/Sze Chwan noodle and last but not least, the dessert is the banana toffee with ice cream. To summarize, let’s just say the meal was good (something for a change from Indian food routines and the lamb and noodle was actually good), except for the soup. The soup was sweet, too sweet for my liking, made us had doubts and wonder on what we’re getting into this time.

With the end of day 2, I can conclude the rest of my trip will be another set of different adventures each day. It’s something different and definitely memorable with so many new people I met and went through the series of event together. So, stay tune for the next Bangalore adventure J.

Bangalore is the Silicon Valley of India. You can find almost all the big players in the IT field, from SAP to Intel, and also other Fortune 100 company like GE and so on. It’s a fast paced city with major developing process which can be seen from all construction going around. So, it will be another totally new city when you visit Bangalore in let say, the next 2 years. Personally, I’ve never heard of Bangalore until I was assigned to go for this training, and when I see the Channel News Asia covering the city the day before I flew off, it only showed the luxury side of Bangalore, definitely surreal and not worth comparing.

I become a Diorskin fan ever since I bought the Diorskin Extreme-Fit Moist-Compact SPF25 a few months ago to replace my expired Laura Mercier’s compact and after throwing away my Faceshop compact (not working on my skin, sadly). The powder is so smooth on my skin and really make the skin look smooth and flawless. It hides my panda eyes, so I don’t need anymore concealer. By the way, if you need to use a concealer, I recommend to use Dior’s too, I used one for quite number of years before I use their powder, and it blends well with your skin after you put all your skincare). Back to the compact, the powder pad is washable (if you use too many times, it’ll look unsightly and according to some article I read, it can cause acne on your face) and the texture remains soft after it dries. What makes me even happier with this product is that it cover all my pores but it’s easily wash off and it didn’t hang around and clog my pores after wearing it for a long day.

This experience makes me want to try out the other products and I bought the Dior Harmonie de Blush because I don’t really have a real blush. Initially I was going to buy the highlighter. But, when I tried it on my hand, I couldn’t see the color. Too shimmery, and I don’t feel like to ’shine’ that much in places other than parties. So, the duty free assistant happily show me the blusher. What makes me happy about this product is that it got 4 blush color, so when you move the brush from right to left (from the brightest color), you got the right color combination to apply for your cheeks, and with just 1 blush you already got the color, and it stays. It also have some bronze color glitters although not literally visible as what you can see for the highlither. And, with that 4 color, you also can use that 4 colors as eye shadows and it didn’t cake out on your eyelids. It’s a treat as you pay kind of extra for Dior products (you got to admit, make up can be expensive).

Another product that I just bought recently is the Dior Addict Ultra Gloss to replace my expired lipgloss (I think they already passed their expiry dates way before now). I admit though I’m fussy about skincare but I couldn’t really care less about make up only until recently when I start to know how to apply them fast (10 minutes complete with eyeliner and mascara). The gloss is nice (heck, it’s one of Dior’s bestseller anyway). It gives you shimmer and glow, but not excessively done, meaning that it doesn’t make your lips stand out too much especially if you have a quite wide and thick lips like mine *shy*. I find that Dior gloss is head to head with the Chanel ones, the only difference is the colour as Dior has more range towards purple-ish colors whereas Channel is more to pinkish (mostly darker pink).

What I want to purchase next time if it’s available at the Duty Free counter is Dior Five-Colour EyeShadow-Beige Massai. It’s always out of stock. I like the bronze color because it’s bold,neutral (you can play alot with its combination) and you can match it up for any outfits and any occassions. Last time I end up bought Shiseido’s 4 colour palate instead. Shiseido is nice but if you go to gym with the eyeshadow on and you’re sweating, the color will either run off or caked out on your lids, so must stay at 24 hour aircon. Clarin’s done the trick. It stays nicely after 1 hour of sauna.

With the spa frenzee in recent years, facial become one of the most sought treatment. However, I don’t really like doing facial in spa, due to couple of reasons. 1. Their products may not suitable for your skin. So instead of going home with glowing skin, you’ll get acne-full skin. 2. The sales team are just simply… annoying, they’ll just sell you whatever things they have, and not caring what happen if you get the result of #1. 3. You have to make appointment first, which is annoying too. 4. You have to choose the beautician too, some may not clean your face as clean as the others. But, you still need professionals to do the cleaning for your face every now and then. It’s inevitable. The place that I’ve gone to so far is Kose Beauty Center because they use Kose products which are heavenly and I know I won’t get acne from them. Else, I choose the safest, have your own mini facial at least twice a week at your own home. You don’t need to have the full regime everytime. Just use your scrub on day 1, use the deep cleansing mask on day 2, whitening mask on day 3, revitalizing mask on day 4, moisturizing mask on day 5, and you leave it on your face while you’re watching your favourite drama and rinse it off during the commercials. Some of the mask can be left on for the whole night and you don’t need to wash your face till the next day. Here are some of the masks that I love and why:

• Clarins’ Trully Matte Pure and Radiant Mask - It’s a pink clay-wash off mask for your cleansing. The product is very mild and will leave your skin felt more radiant and soft after using it for 10 minutes. Very easy to use and clean.
• Origin’s Clear Improvement - It’s a black clay-wash off mask for your deep cleansing. I’ve been using this for years. It’ll leave your skin moisturized despite of taking off the impurities on your skin. Use it for 10-15 minutes until it dries and wash off.
• Origin’s No Puffery - This cooling gel mask is for your eyes. It can be left of for the whole night or rinse off after 10 minutes. It’s very soothing and obviously easy to use. Just splash a very thin layer under your eye and you’ll be pampered.
• Kose’s Seikisho White Mask - My new favorite mask. It’s a black peeled off mask. Just do a thin layering around your face, leave it until it dries out and peel off, then splash your toner and you’re done. It leaves your skin very clean and supple.
• L’Occitaine Honey Comfort Mask - A very good investment for your skin. You can use this everyday and you can leave it for the whole night or wash off after 10 minutes. It’s very smooth with delicious honey scent and your skin is guaranteed for radiance on the next day.
• Origin’s Swept Away - My favourite scrub. The scrub is so soft that you can rub it on your face everyday to keep those blackheads on your nose and leave your skin squeeky clean after wash.
• Origin’s You’re Getting Warmer. Another clay-wash off mask from Origins. You’re face will get hot when you wear this and it has the scrub bits when you wash it off so that your skin is definitely clean.
• Neutrogena’s Deep Hydrating Mask - With the trend of mask sheets in Asia, Neutrogena come out with an affordable but good quality version. Get this when it’s on promotion for 2$ each at Watson. Kose or SKII mask sheets are way out of my range now, so this will do and it works wonderfully. It doesn’t make your skin itchy (the whitening ones makes me itch so I stop using it and gave the whole stack to my friend).

So, what are you waiting for? Clear and radiant skin is within your reach with just a few minutes of effort of maintenance.

OK, I’m actually not really into American Idol, Indonesian Idol, Singapore Idol, or whatever idol shows out there (amazingly it’s been going on for 7 years already). Never really have favorites. Never really follow the shows. Never even thinking on commenting about the show. Well, until I watched the clip of David Archuleta’s Stand by Me on TV and available in Youtube at the soonest possible (there’re always some devoted fans out there and it’s good for the ignorant girl like me) and think I must share it. I don’t really know why but I like his voice, very soothing and calming, so I hope he wins and continue to sing and improve.

It’s been a long time since my last entry to the place called movie theater. Watched it yesterday and feel it worths my money. Iron Man is based on the Marvel comic series Iron Man. The main character is Tony Stark (played by Robert Downy Jr) who is not your typical superhero. He owns a weapon producing company, an extremely rich and egocentric person until… he’s kidnapped by a bunch of terrorist and was forced to make his ultimate weapon for their use. He lost his new friend when he’s escaping from the terrorist cave by using his metal armor (the one that later he perfected for the Iron Man suit). And, bam, he turns sober and starts seeing his world in a new spectacle. He’s still a egocentric and sometimes even lunatic (which makes the movie entertaining) person but with more consciousness. He causes ruckus by announcing his company will stop making weapons in a press conference.

What make this movie entertaining and fun to watch is the full actions and special effects. The suit is amazing and I would like to have one haha… Stark’s robot that can clean up table is totally funny and I also want one of those too. There are hilarious moments when Stark experimenting with the spare parts of his suit. And most of the entertaining moments are because of Stark’s character itself.

Definitely worth your money for 2008 movie list.

I found this great tea cakes book from the library. The title is ‘Tea-time Recipes’ by Jane Pettigrew. Tried one of the scones recipe and the results is delightful and off course, very easy to make. The scones is light and you can cut the dough into triangle shape like what I did instead using the round cutter and you have mini scones for your munches The recipe is from the book itself as follow (I omit the other scale of measurements):

350 gr self-raising flour, sifted

50 gr margarine, softened (I sub the margarine and lard with butter)

50 gr lard, softened

100-115ml milk

Preheat the oven to 190C. Grease 2 baking trays. Rub the fats into the flour, working as quickly and lighty as possible with cold hands. Add enough milk to give a soft, bread-like dough. On a floured board, roll out to a thickness of 1.5cm and cut into rounds with 6cm cutter. Place on the prepared trays and bake for 15-20 minutes until lightly golden and well risen. Remove from the oven and lift on to a wire rack to cool.