Beijing Baby!

boys night out

2007-04-22T00:50:00.001+10:00

First of all I want to wish a gigantic HAPPY 30th BIRTHDAY to Brad, you old old man!

Secondly I want to warn you that there is a Naruto manga chapter 351 spoiler below.

Okay I'm going to fangirl a little now. LKGHEO*YUr8yfehcdsklSASUKEISSOCOOL!!! I'd really like to know what's going on though. Does he posses Orochimaru's powers now? Or is Orochimaru not really dead? I personally don't think he's completely dead yet because the battle between him and Sasuke was so un-Masashi Kisimoto fast, and if it was Orochimaru's last battle I would have expected it to take up a few chapters. So I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

My favorite scene out of the whole chapter.

Apart from that I went out on a boys night out. Yes boys... because I'm so manly and all -_-;; Truthfully I just gatecrashed the Panaust's 19th. So another gigantic HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Panaust as well.

Top: Ben and I taking a fob shot. See, I told you I'd post it up, now you have to comment =P
Bottom: The boys are signaling their eighth beer. They took a photo of themselves after each round on Mike's phone, and they looked happier and happier after each photo LoL.

The boys made me drink on an empty stomach so I became tipsy after my second drink which was really bad because if you think I talk a lot normally then you should see me after I drink a little. That's why I don't usually drink at all!!! I think I said some pretty embarrassing things, especially when I was talking to Mike and the birthday boy, so hopefully they were too intoxicated to remember anything.

I wonder if they remember the things they talked about... Muwahahahaha... I got the inside lowdown to secret guys talk ^.~

Since I got home really late, I slept in for quite a bit this morning. Then I attempted to study for my Chinese and Japanese test on Monday and Tuesday respectively, but I ended up taking a 4 hour nap! So I'm feeling extremely awake at the moment. I should probably study but my excuse is that nothing you study goes into the brain properly after midnight.

Chu ♥ Mel

I want commission!

2007-04-25T21:22:00.001+10:00

Wednesday
Weather: Raining (19 degrees Celcius).
Top: Grey singlet top, baggy white tank top bought in Sydney and long black cardigan bought in Numazu, Japan.
Bottom: Black leggings bought in Shizuoka, Japan.
Shoes: Black boots bought in Sydney.
Bag: Silver bag from a vintage shop in Sydney.
Accessories: Tiffany & co. Silver bracelet.

It's been a while since I've posted one of these, but my there are finally people at home so I don't need to take those mirror photos.

While the other side of the world is getting ready for summer, it's slowly getting cooler and cooler down here. *Sighs* I've always been a summer girl so the scent of winter air is almost suffocating... okay it's not that bad but I'll much prefer living in a continuous Summer cycle. The only thing I'm looking forward to is the box of winter clothes I bought from Japan, which I've yet to wear in Sydney.

It was Anzac Day today so I finally had a day off to just sleep in, but no, Mother woke me up 10:30am to tell me that we were going to Yum Cha. I was in noooooo mood to go to Yum Cha as I stayed up until 4:30am finishing off work and then catching up on my Jump manga's (yes, I have no life). But then I thought about all the yummy food at Yum Cha and decided to go. Food is my ultimate weakness. If only I had L's metabolism. Speaking of L I got another one of my friends obsessed with Death Note last night. She was curious about it, but didn't really want to get into something during her HSC year. Being a bad influence I gave her the link to the English scanlations at Unrivaled Media Gallery (fantastic site by the way) and now she just continuously screams about Death Note non stop. Don't you love me Stef? *kisses* Shueisha should pay me commission for the amount of people I introduce to Death Note XD

Back to reality, it was raining today as it has been for the past few days but as much as I hate the rain, I suppressed my selfish feelings because Australia really is in need of it, so I'm acting happy that it's raining. Did any of that make sense? After Yum Cha I rushed to the station to meet Ben. We went to see the film Hors de Prix (Priceless). I liked it a lot better than Hollywood romantic comedies, although it might just be because it was in French, thus instant romance. However, like all romantic comedies it was highly predictable but a lot of fun to watch, not to mention how much I longed for all the beautiful designer dresses Audrey Tautou wore in it.

If you want to see a funny film with lots of old men, beautiful clothes, gold diggers and true love then you'll love Hors de Prix.

After the film we ended up in Pancakes at the Rocks, which is totally not good for my diet but went down so well with the Yum Cha I had in the morning.

Chu ♥ Mel

I can't believe it's nearly May already!

2007-04-29T22:37:00.001+10:00

Sunday
Weather: Sunny (24 degrees Celcius).
Dress: Light gray shift dress bought in Newtown, Sydney.
Shoes: Gray heels bought in Harajuku, Tokyo.
Bag: Silver bag from a vintage shop in Sydney.
Accessories: Cartier Love bracelet.

I went to Yum Cha (once again) this morning. I figured they must put a lot of MSG in those Dim Sim's for me to want to go so often.

Today was the first time I wore this dress even though I've had it for a few weeks. I thought I better wear it fast as the shapeless cut and tulip hem makes it extremely seasonal. I did get two, "I love that dress!" comments by strangers today though, so that made me happy. I can probably continue wearing this into winter with a black turtle neck and some sexy patterned stockings with boots or pumps. I would love to try out that young girl look with the opaque tights, white socks and round toe pumps but I'm too scared. I'll do it in London or Tokyo or something with no problem, but in Sydney I might get weird looks like I did when I was 14 years old and wore leg warmers out shopping.

I'm still obsessing over my dead person's (aka vintage) silver bag though. I'm using it so much that my purse is just thrown around somewhere because it's too big to fit into this bag!

I feel bad because I went shopping again. On Thursday I bought this amazing silver mini dress and then on Saturday I bought a black and white mini dress (which I'm wearing in the photos below), a blue Grecian-ish dress and a pair of black satin shorts AND I did something to my hair. See if you can spot it!

After the shopping and the thing-I-did-to-my-hair I went to Aurora Bar with Joycie to meet up with a lot of my old Prior friends at a tutor's birthday party, however I unexpectedly bumped into Niel and all my friends from Sydney Grammar back in 11th grade. It was so fun. Plus I got to show off my new hair *big clue* XD

1. Joyce, Stef and me. I know poor Joycie's head's cut off but I liked the tone of the photo =P
2. Aurora Bar.

For the past few weeks I feel like as if my mind is trying to process too much information at once and my body is trying to act upon it at the same time which leaves me exhausted. Maybe I need more virtual memory... hahaha! Okay sorry, that was really bad. Anyway, I try my best to balance my studies, my family, my social life, my commitments, my work (or lack thereof), my hobbies, my manga (lol), while leaving some time for myself too.

I'm busy most of the time, but I strangely enjoy that. It's when I'm not keeping myself busy I find myself in an utterly useless state where I being to contemplate past and present incidents which can create a certain degree of paranoia, ultimately rendering me in complete panic or embarrassment.

I'd rather keep busy.

My only problem with that is time flows so much faster when you're 'busy'. I'm going to be 20 soon. TWENTY! Where did the last 10 years of my life go? I don't think I can even think of five events that defined my childhood and adolescent years, simply because I don't think I've lived through those years long enough. They just flew by. Like my time in Japan. Like the past five months of 2007 . But is keeping busy with no time worth more than feeling utterly useless with an infinite amount of hours?

It's all rather depressing but I think I'll still pick keeping busy. I just wished humans lived longer... but on a good note at least we get to continue living in Soul Society *o*

Chu ♥ Mel

Cascading Hair!

2007-05-10T00:22:00.001+10:00

Ken's surprise birthday party was on Saturday. Well it wasn't much of a surprise because some dumbfuck forwarded him the email which invited people to his "surprise" party and other people also messaged him to tell him that they couldn't make it. GRRRR!!! What part of "SURPRISE PARTY" don't they get?! I'm so angry at stupid people. I can go on pages and pages about it, but I won't because recently a lot of things have been bugging me more than stupidity. Ooh, I am shrouded with mystery. Doesn't that make you want to get to know me? No? Okay then :(

Three posts ago I asked if anyone noticed anything different about my hair. Most people actually got it right, even though I didn't think it was that noticeable. Yes I got hair extensions. When I was young, in 2nd or 3rd Grade I used play with the hair of my little blonde friends, like all girls did in class. They had the finest and smoothest hair and I would wish that my hair was like theirs; thin, lovely and flowing, unlike my typically thick Asian hair. As I grew older, someone had answered my wish and my hair became more and more fine and smooth. Then I began to hate it in high school because my hair never had enough volume if I didn't blow dry it and I would constantly look longingly at my Asian friends nice, thick and voluminous hair. It's funny how you want something but once you get it, you want the opposite again. So off I went last last Saturday to get extensions so my hair could be thick and plentiful again.

Just look at my cascading hair. It's CASCADING I tell you!
I picwhored so much after I curled it that evening. It's not often you have cascading hair.

I had a crap day at Uni today. I was tired and nothing went right. Things improved after I got home and took a 3 hour nap but I've had better days. I can't wait until Friday when I can just relax. I want to sing... who wants to go K' with me on Friday afternoon?

Maybe next year.

2007-05-12T23:10:00.001+10:00

"Have you ever wondered if there was more to life, other than being really, really, ridiculously good looking?" - Zoolander

Ai Tominaga, Bruna Tenório, Lily Donaldson, Du Juan, Alessandra Ambrosio, Angela Lindvall, Doutzen Kroes & Jessica Stam and Karolina Kurkova.
Sometimes I wonder what life is like to be so genetically blessed. Probably not much different, but with the things happening around me now, at least I can sit back, gaze into a mirror and think, "Damn girl. You are HOT!" Haha... yeah I'll just keep dreaming of the day when I can look like Bruna Tenório.

Everything seems to be happening at once lately. So I turn to images of beauty to just grasp onto the little beauty that's left. Perhaps this leaves me with an even more distinct feeling of desolation. I just want things to be better again.

I have the most amazing defense mechanisms. I can't say if it's a good thing or not, but it's my absolute protection, immunizing me from anything out there which can potentially be painful. This makes me slightly detached from my emotions, but that's okay, at least I'm protected.

Eww, eww, emo emo! I'm going to look back at this in a few months time and would probably have to fight the urge to delete it. You know I'm sitting at home on a Saturday not studying, not doing anything really. I was like this last night as well. I don't want to go out but I don't want to stay home either. Okay I lied, I want to go out but I don't have anyone to go out with. I'm so anti-social. LoL. Maybe I should make some party animal friends, just so I can have the choice of whether to go out or not. It's a vicious cycle though, I can't go out by myself but I can't meet new make new party animal friends if I don't go out. Oh dear.

Edit: I just watched the Korean movie 200 Pounds of Beauty. I cried in the end because I'm a sucker for these "sudden epiphanies of what's really important" films. Haha.

Chu ♥ Mel

Mother knows best.

2007-05-15T23:31:00.001+10:00

Tuesday
Weather: Sunny (21 degrees Celcius).
Top: Black tank top bought in Sydney and white cardigan bought in Japan.
Bottom: Grey satin shorts bought in Sydney.
Shoes: Metallic gold and bronze heels bought in Sydney..
Bag: Louis Vuitton Monogram Speedy 35.
Accessories: Cross necklace bought in Japan.

As you can see I haven't been very creative with my outfits recently. There are too many different things to think about other than what to wear *shockhorror*. I tend to just throw on whatever I find with my blurry un-contacted eyes every morning. It's the first time this semester I've been behind in my studies. I've felt the lurk of the procrastination demon behind me for the past week. I want to kill it. I need to kill it. I want to stab it repeatedly with a end of a compass, all the while gorging it's eyes out with corner of my unopened Japanese workbook. Yes, a bit of gratuitous violence will help me get back into rhythm. I do apologize for my boring outfit today though. When holidays hit in a few weeks time I'll dress up as a punk rocker one day to go grocery shopping, then as a Victorian lady the next to play King of Fighters and Time Crisis in an arcade.

Last night I was talking to a friend and he was almost didactic about the content of my last blog entry saying that I sounded like I was, a-word-which-is-synonymous-with-a-sudden-spell-of-feminine-weakness, which is of course not true since us Ninja can show no sign of any weakness. So I just euphonized this word-which-is-synonymous-with-a-sudden-spell-of-feminine-weakness as being lonely. I think he is just intimidated by women who know what they want. Ooh I did not just say that =P I'm joking, I'm joking! If you're reading this, sleep early, drink lots of water and I hope you'll feel better soon. As I'll be expecting to see that school uniform XD jkjk.

Besides all the fun and jokes, I've come to understand why people say "Mother's always know best". With the things that have been happening recently, sometimes I find it really hard to just act as if nothing's wrong, to go on with my daily routine as if my world hasn't been flipped upside down. I think I've come to terms with it today though, all because of some wise words Mother said to me a few months ago.

I was in the car with her talking about how heartbroken one of my friends was because her boyfriend broke up with her and Mother said to me:

"No matter who breaks up with you, no matter how sad you are, just remember you will be okay. With the passage of time your pain will slowly but surely diminish and you will always get over it. Perhaps you may never forget but you will always get over it and be happy again."

Note: I know you probably think I Confucianized all my Mother's words, but she told me this in Chinese, and for people who have studied Chinese before would know that it's a very poetic language. So even though what she said seems perfectly normal in Chinese, once been translated into English it sounds completely wanky.

I thought I should share that little bit of wisdom with everyone. I believe in those words 100% because ultimately how do we ever feel happiness if we have never felt sadness?

Sorry for being so Emo for the past few posts. I will be my normal bubbly self again. Here's a photo to cheer you up from all the angst.

Do we look alike?

Do you trust yourself?

2007-05-19T21:58:00.002+10:00

Saturday
Weather: Sunny (19 degrees Celcius).
Top: White singlet top, white ruffle blouse & Vivienne Westwood cardigan bought in Japan.
Bottom: Polka dot black skirt.
Shoes: White round toe heels bought in Sydney.
Bag: Gucci Jolicoeur.

I went out to dinner with my family and family friends today. I was reading an old issue of Russh magazine and was inspired to dress librarian accompanied with an element of 50s retro.

When I was shopping at Vivienne Westwood in Japan I wanted to buy a red or black round neck cardigan (exactly the same as Nana's) except there were none! Disappointed, I bought the v-neck one instead, but it has proved to be a good investment as I've worn it with everything.

I can't really comment on what I did today since I woke up at 3pm. It wasn't the most productive day but at least I caught up on my sleep (slept for 10 hours!).

This meant that I went out last night yay! Finally got to mingle with humans outside of Second Life. I met up with Cindy and we started out in Bar 333 but the crowd there were a little too old considering I ended up talking about global warming with some people who came down to chat with us. So we quickly moved along to Cargo which was a lot better. I spent a lot of time talking to Cindy, before talking to more interesting younger people.

When Cindy left I went to join some of others friends at World. I only just missed seeing NielMiranda by minutes, as they were there after watching a performance of a girl who works with another friend of mine. You know even if the six degrees of separation isn't true, I think it applies for Sydney at least.

I had a really good night though. I mean I got to end it eating Pizza. What could be better than that? LoL.

1. My newest pair of fake eyelashes were so heavy, my eyes appear half closed in most of my photos.
2. Showing off my Matrix moves.
3. Shh?
4. Rwrrr.
5. ...

I always promise myself that "tomorrow" I will start working on my essay or "tomorrow" I will start my diet, but I never realized how detrimental it was to my psychology. I read recently that when you promise yourself something, then you go on to break that promise, you begin to trust yourself less and less. It's comparable to someone else promising you something. The more times they break their promises the less you trust them. That's why I really have to figure out myself a bit more and start committing to the promises I make. I have always been wary of trusting others but I've always thought that I could myself. Must be more self-disciplined!

Chu ♥ Mel

I'm back!

2007-06-08T23:11:00.002+10:00

Saturday
Weather: Sunny (my thermometer says it's 19 degrees Celcius^^).
Top: White silk blouse and long black cardigan bought in Japan.
Bottom: Footless tights bought in Sydney.
Shoes: Gray heels bought in Harajuku, Tokyo.

This was actually taken quite a few weeks ago, before I got into my stressful last two weeks of semester (it looks like I'm wearing a bodysuit!). That day I went to Josh's birthday dinner in which we had hot pot, then went to the city to do Karaoke, and then ended up in Neutral Bay to have coffee. I arrived home at 5:30am but since I was inspired by Geoff's talk of studying, I studied for one hour before I saw the sunrise and finally decided to go to bed.

And yes, I like black.

This has probably been the longest time I've taken a break from blogging since starting on blogspot last January. Did everyone miss me? Blink if you missed me.

Ahh, I knew you missed me.

So what have I been doing? Well, I've been studying, writing essays and procrastinating. Probably more procrastinating than anything else. So much so in fact, I had to disconnect my internet to prevent me from watching Super Junior's Full House video's on youtube.

During my ~~procrastination time~~ resting time I would read manga (just started reading Ultra Maniac, Prince of Tennis, Juvenile Orion and Fruits Basket), watch Korea boy bands (Super Junior) run around being stupid and also obsessively checking my facebook.

It seems like I've missed a few things that have been happening in our all important pop culture as I've been confining myself in the study room far far away from civilization, so I would now like to comment on a few:

Paris in jail
First of all I think no one should be above the law. If you want to kill yourself Paris, then do it in a way which you can't harm others. Don't drink drive! Don't drive on a suspended license! However, having said all that I do feel a little sorry for her though, especially after this clip which most people might have seen.

I find it amusing though that Paris left jail after a mere 72hours. You know she can throw house parties now.

USA falling on her ass
I must say I did laugh when Miss USA fell on her ass, but I immediately felt bad for her afterwards. I thought she was really beautiful and it was a correct decision for her to advance to the top 5. That's just my opinion which is completely opposite to Miss Mexico's. You can see her hand raise up in revolt after they announced Miss USA in the top five.

Japan crowned as Miss Universe
It had been said that during the competition Riyo Mori had made racist comments about some of the other girls to her publicist and her publicist posted it on his/her blog causing a bit of controversy. If that were the case then I don't think she deserves to win, but if it's only a rumor then congratulations to Riyo Mori. Although I don't think she was physically the most attractive girl, she gets my brownie points because she's from Shizuoka (the prefecture I lived in while I was in Japan) XD.

Did I also mention I went out last Friday (I know I should have been studying) to go for drinks at Cessi's 21st birthday gathering.

Chu ♥ Mel

17 Years and 36 Months old - Part 2

2007-07-04T22:40:00.001+10:00

Yesterday was the actual date of my birthday and I had a fantastic time. It were the simple things that made it so special. In the afternoon I went to have a chat and coffee with Winnie in the City, then I went to see Transformers with a few other friends (Transformers was AWESOME! I just knew it would be! I'll talk more about it later...), then I had cake with my family and ended the day watching the special features disc on the Harry Potter Goblet of Fire DVD with my sister.

I guess such a relaxing laid back day made up for the stress I suffered from my party. I nearly tore my hair out at dinner because people just didn't come on time. Grrrr... Since it was a banquet it was essential for the waiters to know how many people RSVPed, how many people have already arrived and how many people were due to arrive. One or two people didn't show up at all without contacting me, five people were 1 hour late and an one extra person not on my list came, which made my nicely organized list turn into a chaotic mess. People started commenting that they were hungry and wanted to start dinner but the owner of the restaurant wouldn't start it until he knew exactly how many people were coming (he's was being really mean to me >.<;;) but finally when everyone came, I became really happy again. I'm certainly not blaming anyone for undergoing so much stress except myself (should have done a better job at organizing) but please please abide by the laws of time. When everything was settled and dinner was finally served I didn't eat much because a) I was too stressed, and b) My corset was too tight LoL. After dinner was over I walked around to sit and chat with the various groups of my friends feeling blissfully happy to be loved by the ones I love so much.

After meeting up with a few friends who couldn't make it to my dinner in the city, we ended up going to Tank. Tank was heaps of fun although there were a few sleazy guys that night, which lead me to use my poor friend (and ex Mathematics tutor) as my reluctant "boyfriend" to escape from the sleaziness.

All in all, I had a great time. The night felt like it was a success and I was extremely happy, however I vowed to never organize a sit down dinner party for more than ten people ever again -_-''

Thank you to everyone who wished me a Happy Birthday. Turning 17 Years and 36 Months was hard but with all your love and support it made the transition from a teenager to a... *ahem* teenager a lot easier. Lots of love and kisses to all of you!^^

Now going back to the movie Transformers... OMG I was so excited I couldn't stop grabbing onto the people next to me especially when Bumblebee first transformed. I was transfixed by the special effects. As you may all know I'm a huge mecha fan. I have all five Gundam WingEva Unit-01 model. I've drawn Alsedies before even though I don't know how to draw and I like to marvel at the specs and weapons of any mech. So you can just imagine my joy when I heard there was going to be a Transformers movie. There was also bonus eye candy in the form of Josh Duhamel who stars as the captain of a special ops team in the US army. Josh Duhamel by himself is just pretty yummy but Josh Duhamel in military uniform... *faints*. The film had good action, fantastic special effects and it was also surprisingly funny, so go watch it. It's every mecha fanboy's (and girls) wet dream!

I've got some good news... well for myself anyway. I was trying on some clothes that I bought when I was shopping with Winnie yesterday and by chance I decided to try on my black skinny leg jeans, which I couldn't do up two months ago, (and couldn't even pull past my thighs while I was in Japan) but now it magically fit. I could do up the zip and the button! I was so ecstatic and I jumped around the room laughing insanely. The jeans are still a little tight I so I wouldn't wear it out just yet, but hopefully in a few weeks I can wear them in public again!!! Since the jeans fit, I decided to try on a vintage party dress I bought in the early months of 2006 which also didn't fit a two months ago, and I also managed to put that on! Oh happy times. I was so happy I took some photos cosplaying Misa (from Death Note) hahaha.

And yes, that is a Death Note... Muwahahahaha!.

The funny thing is, apparently I look like the actress Erika Toda who played Misa in the Death Note movie. Hmm... And I also love Raito as much as Misa does.

Chu ♥ Mel

A Week With Mel

2007-07-16T00:26:00.002+10:00

aturday
Weather: Sunny (12 degrees Celcius).
Top: Grey boat neck top bought in Melbourne and white cardigan bought in Sydney.
Bottom: Floral skirt bought in Sydney.
Shoes: White round toe heels bought in Sydney.
Accessories: Mother's brown waist belt and my drawing folder.

I woke up just in time to go to art class (which started at 4pm -_-;;). I frantically flipped through my outfits book (my outfits book is a book filled with squiggly arrows with descriptions pointing to badly drawn drawings of outfits I've seen other people, from fashion shows, from people on the street, from celebrities etc. wear that I like and is possible to create with my own wardrobe. It's fantastic when you need to go out in 5 minutes and haven't decided what tow wear yet) before rushing out of the house - makeup-less! - to go to art class.

And who should I bump into but my 3rd Grade teacher who I admired so much as a little girl (you see my art class has a tuition college right next door to it, so he must have been teaching there). Obviously he couldn't recognize me as it had been 11 years since I last saw him, but I recognized him straight away because he was my all time favorite teacher. I wanted to say hi to him but I get really self conscious when my face isn't decorated so I just walked past. I'm hoping he'll be there next week, when I come prepared with my face shining with kirakira.

Monday

As previously posted I watched the Men's Finals at Wimbledon into the wee hours of Monday morning. I slept into the afternoon (oh what's new?) and then read manga before happily strutting off to the training of a new product I was going to do promo work for. It was a fun training, didn't feel like work at all as I got to talk to most of the other girls and eat the Canapés (it's all about the food!)

Tuesday

I met up with my sweetie Mai to have some coffee and a long chat... And by long I mean a few hours long... Boys won't even be able to comprehend the length of talk time. That evening I went to have dinner with Joycie's family and their exchange student Nao at I Am Angus. After dinner I went with Ken and Mai to Japanese K' with their friends. It had been such a long time since I've been to Japanese K'. The last time was still while I was in Japan in January!

Wednesday

Went to work with Sam (no, not the Sam from my previous post). We complained the whole time about the clothes we had to wear as it wasn't the most elegant uniform in the world, but we ended up having fun dancing around and shaking our tights clad bootie's because it was so cold. Wait... I think I have gotten my dates wrong. I went to work with Sam on Friday. Wednesday I went to see Harry Potter with my sister. Jesus, I have the memory of a goldfish!

Thursday

It was funny that a number of people mentioned that my outfit on Wednesday reminded them of Micky Mouse because the very next day I went to see Nemo - Disney on Ice. I should have worn that outfit there. After the performance Joycie, Winnie, Nao, my sister and me did some serious shopping! I only ended up with a singlet top with apple prints/a dress with apple prints (for my sister). We plan to share the top.

Friday

That's right, after work with Sam *see above* I went out to Pancakes on the Rocks with Ben. I know, so much for my diet huh? The pancakes were delicious FYI. After getting fatter we drove to a golf course at North Bridge with a nice view of Sydney's skyline, where I almost scared Ben to death (probably wasn't a good idea since he was the driver) by telling him my wonderfully horrifying ghost stories. Muwahahaha!

Saturday

Apart from going to art class and bumping into my favorite teacher I went out to Havana with Jess, Ken, Alice and her work friends. After clubbing we ended up at Makoto's 21st birthday party once again in Japanese K'. I ate two onigiri! I haven't had onigiri in 6 months either. I miss it so much.　ツナマヨとか牛マヨとか。。。

Sunday

I did absolutely nothing today. I was reading the newest chapter of Naruto when the electricity suddenly went out. Darkness proceeded for the next 2 hours or so. I didn't realize how much we rely on technology for our entertainment until today. It was soooooooooo boring! So I just sat there and played with my DS lite, listened to my Ipod and read other manga off the laptop. More love to battery powered technology!

Chu ♥ Mel

Harry Potter

2007-07-22T19:33:00.002+10:00

My friend Joanna's 19th party coincided with the release of Harry Potter's 7th book. I feel kind of sad the the journey with Harry is over. No, I haven't read the book yet, but I pre-ordered it several months ago and my sister is picking it up today. I think I'll cry when I read the last page. As I said before, I'm a big baby, so my eyes are a little swollen in the photos above because I was crying over manga haha.

Joanna's party was meant to be a dress up school uniform/Harry Potter party. I tried my best to dress up as a school girl from err... a Japaneses School of Witchcraft and Wizardry... called "Hoguwaatsu" -_-;; Japanese school girl is very easy (and typcial) to dress up as (more on that in my next post). I just had to grab mother's black wrap (for a cloak), the witches hat Amir gave me back when I was in Japan during the Halloween party, and of course my seven and a quarter inches long wand made of chopstick @.@

Semester 2 of Uni starts again tomorrow. I received a distinction average for Semester 1 so I'm happy with that but I will have to work even harder this semester if I want to do exchange at a good University overseas. At first I felt that these six weeks of holidays just flew by and I didn't do much at all but then I thought about it and I have worked, learnt how to play chess, signed up for tennis classes and now I'm motivated to do a bit of fashion design (all thanks to Paradise Kiss). So I guess I did achieve something after all.

For the next half of the year I will work harder in everything I do (that includes partying LoL)!!!

The determinations of youth springs from the inner core of Mel.

Chu ♥ Mel

[Edit]: I'm so angry with hervia.com (they sell Vivienne Westwood products from the UK) right now. The dress that I was debating whether to buy or not in my last post, I ended up buying (after talking to a few friends who helped me make up my mind). My order went through, processed and everything, then the next day I get an email saying the item that I ordered was out of stock. I don't know how they let the order process if it was out of stock. I'm not very happy at all.

[Edit 2]: HAPPRY BIRTHDAY JO!!!

2009-11-19T03:04:00.008+11:00

GUESS WHAT?!

NEW BLOG IS HAPPENING !!!

http://www.melanieandamanda.blogspot.com

xoxo Mel

Doggie Party

2007-07-14T01:10:00.001+10:00

This was from two weeks back I think. Joyce and Dickson held a birthday party for their baby Sam at Cafe Scrumptious (everyone should go visit the wonderful Cafe Scrumptious in Erskineville!). All the other doggie mummies and daddies also bought their babies along with them to celebrate. Since I don't have a doggie I brought my sister instead LoL.

My sister loves animals and especially dogs. I on the other hand don't receive the same excited pulsations in my heart when I see animals. I mean my favorite animals are Dinosaurs (fascinating creatures they are). So I bought a stuffed toy along with me. My sister named her (during the car ride) Coco Chanel (if I had known, I wouldn't have brought her along in a Vuitton bag). Anyway, she's a labrador and she's 3 weeks and 3 days old. Don't kids have the greatest imaginations?

It was very windy that day so my cardigan and pashmina didn't protect me at all, so despite my efforts to look good at the Doggie party, I ended up borrowing an oversized black windbreaker from Tommy *sighs*.

I had interesting conversations with friends who called me that day.

Friend: Hey Mel what are you doing?
Me: I'm at a Doggie party.
Friend: Um... should I call you back?
Me: NOT THAT TYPE OF DOGGIE!

Chu ♥ Mel

Please console me.

2007-07-30T01:40:00.001+10:00

Sunday
Weather: Sunny (15 degrees Celcius).
Top: RUSTY gray tank top bought in Sydney & long black cardigan bought in Japan.
Bottom: Black full length leggings bought in Sydney.
Shoes: Gray heels bought in Harajuku, Japan.
Bag: Silver vintage bag bought in Newtown, Sydney.
Accessories: Vivienne Westwood orb necklace & black waist belt (off the top I wore to my birthday party).

I was in a dressing room in Myer trying on a few clothes when I realized they had the "skinny mirrors" (mirrors with a slightly concaved surface, making reflected objects appear smaller), so I quickly took my outfit photo there rather than on my porch at home.

Anyway I went to the Sydney Fashion Bloggers meet up today. We had high tea at the Swissôtel where I funnily enough, bumped into Ryo who was working. High tea was fantastic! I devoured the scones, sandwiches and mini cakes that looked delicious on display (but even more delicious in my stomach). I also got to congratulate Gala Darling for getting a job at Cosmopolitan, meet our wonderful organizer Sara from The Bargain Queen, Cat from the ABC’s Catalyst program and Cat’s Experiment, Melanie from Slave to Shopping, Anna/Icy from Individual Chic, Joanna from and a few other bowerbird vintage and a few other lovely bloggers and blog readers.

After high tea I went over to Philippa's house where I requested that she cut out the last layer of my hair extensions. I loved those extensions when I first got them done two and a half months ago. I finally had thick cascading hair. But unfortunately that thick cascading hair ended up ratty and full of knots. Poor Philippa spent half an hour trying to brush it out as I squirmed and cried. I think I'll get a hair cut soon. I think today Gala inspired me to do something a little more fun with my hair LoL.

I went to an interesting place on Friday, but I'm not going to go into that now.

What I am going to go into is Harry Potter! I finished reading the 7th book on Monday and as soon as I finished the last word, which was "well" (highlight) I immediately felt a void within my heart as I realized that my journey with Harry was over.

Please console me. I'm devastated.

Chu ♥ Mel

All About Hair.

2007-08-19T01:01:00.001+10:00

I've never had the hair that I have been truly satisfied with. It's always been too flat, too fine and too limp. I look horrible with a fringe, with a quiff and with caps on, so I've always just maintained the standard long hair with a side fringe albeit in many different colors throughout my high school years.

Then came Spring of 11th Grade in 2004 when I chopped off my hair and for the first time in 12 years I had hair shorter-than-shoulder-length-hair.

For several days I enjoyed the cool breeze on my neck, the easy styling and the savings in shampoo and conditioner but it wasn't before long before I started hating my short hair. I ended up spending a longer time styling it (blow dry, then straightening iron and then lots of product), I felt unfeminine, not as sexy and I hated the fact that my hair was no longer versatile.

It took a painstaking 3 years for my hair to grow to the desired length again and then finally I put hair extensions in, which for a few months created my dream hair. For the first time in my life my hair was extremely long, thick and voluminous.

So I am extremely perplexed myself as to why I took out those extensions so quickly and am now toying with the idea of cutting my hair short again.

I gave myself a little trim the other night. I cut really short choppy layers in my hair so my hair wouldn't look so flat. It looks pretty good to the normal eye but I'm sure when I go to my hairdressers next time they will freak out.

Yes I have to admit I have been thinking about getting that inverted bob cut otherwise known as the "Pob" (made famous by Posh Spice). I've been collecting photos of the different variations of the inverted bob and trying to choose one that will suit my face shape. I'm thinking of getting it cut in summer this year and then dye it a jet black or a dark purple.

We'll see how it goes.

Chu ♥ Mel

The Chop.

2007-10-01T22:52:00.001+10:00

I haven't vanished, my sister had just used up September's bandwidth on the 25th, and being as impatient as I am, I couldn't be bothered waiting for images to load at dial up speed. So I abstained from the internet for over 5 days. Woo! Go me!

Anyway last Friday I finally went for the chop (refer to post All About Hair). I would like to say I was brave and confident about getting a new look but truthfully I was extremely nervous. I'm generally nervous about change. Maybe I'm just old fashioned. The thing was, I kept getting flashbacks of a horror cut a few years back in which I just wanted some nice soft layers but the hairdressers gave me a mullet. I remember crying at my reflection in the mirror. That was my first (and hopefully last) time crying over a haircut.

I opted to get my haircut at Luc Espace (pronounced luke air-sparse) in Chatswood Chase this time. The interiors looked nice so I thought they might do a good job. I know I shouldn't judge a book by it's cover but you can't help how people's brains work.

I was a little early for my appointment so I sat down and flicked through a few magazines before receiving a uber quick head massage before getting shampooed and conditioned. Then I met with my stylist and we discussed what I wanted. She spent a good amount of time listening to me which assured me. We chatted a bit as she cut, snipped and pulled at my hair. My heart pounced every time I saw a bit of my tried-so-hard-to-grow-for-3-years hair fall onto the floor.

When the cut was done, and my hair was blow dried and the clay was rubbed in, all my nervousness disappeared and I was left with excitement. I really really liked the cut. My head felt lighter and I felt more... liberated. Hmm... maybe not that extreme but I was happy with the change.

I had originally planned to cut my hair even shorter but I wasn't too sure how it would look so I had my cut done a little longer to ease my way into shortness. I think I might go a little shorter in a couple of months time.

Hair Tips
According to personal experiences

- Try not to wash your hair everyday because that just removes your natural oils. The best thing for your hair is to wash it every second day. If you have a fringe then you can just wash your fringe over the sink on the day you don't wash your hair (an oily fringe can cause pimples).

- I find slightly damaged hair is easier to play with. I've dyed my hair since I was about 13 years old and it was only this year that I left it it's natural color. Since it was healthy again my hair was limp, soft and hard to style, so I dyed my hair again just to get some of the damage and sexiness back haha.

- When you condition never rub the conditioner into your scalp (like you do with shampoo) because that causes your scalp to become oily.

- If you want volume, blow dry your hair upwards then use a dry hairspray instead of a liquid one to set. Liquid hairsprays just drag your hair down.

- Use a heat protection spray/creme before blow drying, ironing and GHDing.

- If you dye your hair a lot lighter than your natural color, make sure your eyebrows are trimmed so they look lighter or dyed as well (not with the hairdye though - that can cause blindness... well according to the box). I've seen the result of dark eyebrows and light hair. It's very funny. It should be a few shades darker than your hair color.

This Friday was my friend Jess' farewell party. The lucky lady is going to Japan for 3 months to dance. I'm so jealous! I'll be studying for exams and writing essays while she's drinking sake and visiting host clubs. Hope you have a safe trip Jess!

Saville, me, Alex (enjoying his time with the girls), Joycie, Anne & Jess.

I did so much in this past week. I'll be sharing soon.

Chu ♥ Mel

High School Mates.

2007-10-09T00:32:00.001+10:00

Saturday
Weather: Sunny (21 degrees).
Top: Black singlet top bought in Sydney and white Cardigan bought in Japan.
Bottom: Nicholas Andreas Taralis for Uniqlo: Designers Invitation Project black bubble skirt bought in Japan.
Shoes: Black peep toes heels, present from friends.

As much as I'm craving for hot weather like what we had last Wednesday (34 degrees baby!) I'm not exactly beach ready yet. I need to run a few times around the neighborhood, do a few laps in the pool and watch that yoga video on repeat, then I'll definitely be ready... although I'm still very pale. I'll probably start frying before the sun even touches my skin. If you see a stupid looking girl with her face covered with piles of clothing, sun baking at Manly Beach then come over and say hi. It will mostly likely be me. I have an obsession for keeping my face pale and my body tanned so I cover my face on the beach to the point of asphyxiation. I'm obviously not trying to create an extremely conspicuous difference in skin tone, I just don't want to have pasty legs in summer when mini skirts are a wardrobe staple in Sydney. Besides a slight tan makes you look slimmer. But I cannot stress the importance of sunscreen. We all learnt about it in primary school - SLIP, SLOP, SLAP!!! Don't forget!

I've had my new hair for around three weeks or so and I've been getting some bad reception, some mixed reception but it's mostly good reception. What's important though is that I still like it. That's slightly surprising considering how fast it was when I began to feel a deep rooted hatred for my first short hair cut.

During high school I had three girlfriends I always hung out with. Two of them all went for the chop and cut their long hair short. Jenni began to hate hers not long after and went to get hair extensions. She actually went with me to get mine done as well. Jane soon went short as well but luckily for her, she loved it and continued to have it that way. Now we're just waiting for Winnie to cut her hair (she never will though). I can't even picture her with short hair.

Anyway enough about hair, it's becoming such a frequent topic lately. My high school girlfriends and I caught up for the first time in ages. It's so hard to keep in close contact with high school friends especially when they live far away from you, but we did manage to have High Tea together at The Tea Toom in QVB. Sometimes catching up with your high school friends is the best because you can talk about almost anything since they've seen you through... those years. It's so embarrassing to think back during my teenage years and to know that these girls know exactly how I acted, talked, dressed(!) and thought back then. On the other hand it's vice versa so all parties have enough ammo to completely destroy the each other. Muwahahaha! Hmm... I think I shall remain friends with them. Love you MyJ^2!

Looking Back

2007-12-18T01:03:00.001+11:00

Looking back at this year I realized I had a pretty bad first half, while the second half really lightened up. As I always say, "you won't know what happiness is unless you've felt sadness."

In a January post I wrote about 5 things I wanted to achieve during 2007. In May, I hadn't achieved any of them, but now in mid-December I realized I've done 3 out of the 5 things.

1) A boyfriend. (X)
2) A drivers license. (O)
3) A new job. (O)
4) Distinction Average. (O)
5) Lose 5 kilos. (X)

No I don't have a boyfriend, but I haven't really been actively looking either. I think I was so influenced by my Japanese school friends, that having a boyfriend felt like it would play a big part in my life. I was so envious of my friends in Sydney who were having their 1 year, 3 year, 6 year anniversaries, but unfortunately most of them have now broken up. Single is still the best.

I finally got my P's which means I am finally able to drive on my own. If only I had taken the initiative to find a driving instructor and go for the test earlier.

Throughout this year I have taken so many random jobs, from after school sports coach to Bourbon promoter to translator, but now I work steady hours at the one location as a "Beauty Retail Specialist" (ie. Retail Assistant) at Aveda.

I got my distinction average but I'm not sure if those marks are good enough for exchange at Tokyo University next year. Must study harder.

Bleh, I'm still fat but I don't care anymore. At least I've lost six of the eight kilograms I gained while I was in Japan.

3 out of 5 ain't too bad.

************************************

Now of course I haven't forgotten to post up some of the photos I took at Jess' 21st Birthday Party last Friday. The theme was Sexual Fantasies and some photo had amazing costumes. One guy was wearing a raincoat, rain hat and nothing underneath since he was dressing up as a flasher.

I saw one FBI agent (with the vest and everything) and I began drooling but then I realized he was a friend =( There was unfortunately no SWAT but there was an army guy although I didn't get to perve on him much.

Chu ♥ Mel

Finally Out

2008-01-26T17:01:00.001+11:00

I'm in the rather cold computer room right now typing this while my two cousins are behind me battling each other via some invisible wireless connection at Winner Eleven 2008 on their PSPs. They are screaming and shouting at each other... basically being boys playing soccer with their hands.

Besides listening to their fasciating insults (I'm learning a lot of Chinese), I'm sitting here smiling because guess who found their camera cord? Yay! I found some photos of Maggie and me having a girls night out before I left for China.

I'm looking at those photos missing the warmth of the Sydney sun... gahh!!! I gave my grandparents a call in Beijing a few days ago and they told me it was -10 degrees celsius there... that's crazy~~~ How am I going to survive?! I think I suit living in Singapore better.

Yesterday I went to do some hardcore shopping with my cousins. I had to buy some makeup remover so I went into a shop my second cousin's girlfriend always visits. The shop assistant were nice but so damn annoying. I just wanted to take a look at all the products to see if there was anything else I wanted but they wouldn't stop recommending me stuff. I mean I'm a sales assitant at a skincare/make up shop as well so I understand that there are times you have to help with explaining the products but there are also times when you have to just leave the customer alone to browse. Those girls drove me crazy!!! I'm going into a supermarket next time -_-;;

My cousin Oli being camera shy.

Chu ♥ Mel

Ahhh!!!

2008-02-23T18:58:00.003+11:00

et me tell you I've been having the best time in Beijing at the moment. My cousin Oli and his friend also came over to visit for a few days which was excellent as it meant going out every night without my grandparents hassling me about how young girls shouldn't go out alone. At least they think I'm still young.

Ok I'll make this post real quick because I'm in Starbucks right now and I've got 12min left on my battery. I'm hating Dell laptops right now!!!

My youngest uncle (he's still cool) took me and all my cousins to have steak at Wang Ping a posh little restaurant in Suzhou. The desserts were amazing, especially my fruit punch with dry ice floating out from the bottom.

Oli and I being weird again.

In Club Scarlett, the only Club in Suzhou with that many young people.
When I have more battery power I'll tell you all about the clubs in Beijing. They are so good!

Gone Insane.

2008-06-04T02:15:00.013+10:00

Saturday
Weather: Raining (19 degrees).
Top: Grey ribbed tank, bought in Mishima, Japan and pink cashmere top bought in Sapporo, Japan.
Bottom: Black mid waisted shorts bought in Sydney.
Shoes: Coach flats.
Accessories: Tiffany & Co. Open Heart necklace and black braces bought in Tokyo, Japan.

It's important to wear good flat shoes while going shopping at the markets. There's so much wet grass it's disgusting. I was also freezing in my shorts that morning since we had to get there so early, good thing I bought a jacket.

Anyway, if anyone came in contact with me on Monday night then they would have spoken with a girl on the brink of complete insanity. My mother thought I had been possessed by the devil when she saw me walking down the hall chanting, "唯物论，不胜枚举 and 富贵不淫，贫贱不移". I felt like I had to memorize an absolute paramount number of vocab I will never ever use in real life situations for my Chinese exam. The funny thing is, I speak fluent Chinese which indicates how high our teacher's expectations were. I didn't even have enough time to study for my Cinema exam, but since that was in English, it was possible to bs your way through the paper.

I've concentrated a lot of my time and energy on my studies this semester *cough* so it's my absolute joy to announce that in a few weeks (after 2 essays, 1 report, 2 exams and 1 oral exam) I will be waiting for my departure to study Chinese in Beijing Language and Culture University for one month (during the Olympics no less), and my six month exchange at Keio University in Tokyo. I CAN'T WAIT to get out of Sydney. As much as I love Sydney, there is only so much you can do when all the shops close at 5pm.

I have the Exchange Award and Recognition Ceremony at my University on Friday in which I have to go on stage and receive two scholarships, the thing is, I have not a clue what to wear. Maybe I'll wear my glasses to make me look smarter... haha.

I had to do a play with a group of fellow Chinese (class) students, for our Chinese orals on Thursday. TVB came to film our class (I think the were doing a show on foreigners learning Chinese) so thankfully I played the role of the teacher/narrator which meant I didn't have to act very much. I just had to talk a lot, but that was okay because I got to display my superior Beijing accent muwahahaha *cough* But during rehearsal Anthony and I just picwhored a lot... that boy absolutely luuuuuuuuurves the camera.

We had to get into student/teacher mode you see...

I received an email and photo from a lovely girl called Rachael ages and ages ago (like pre-2008-China-trip ages ago), and I told her I would post it up, but then somehow I just forgot. Please forgive my goldfish memory. Thanks a lot Rach! She made me this even though she found out L's name.

My friend Ann had her 20th Birthday party joint with my friend Jess aka Spiky's farewell. Spiky is left Sydney on Thursday to study and dance in Osaka, Japan for the next two years. We'll all miss you Spiky, but I'll come visit you soon.

Joycie and me fascinated by a narrow cut out section of a wall... what are they called?

Crystal bought us cupcakes! I had the Oreo one, even though my friends thought I should have had the pink icing one cause it appeared to be more Mel-like -_-;;

I made a huge fashion faux pas that night and wore grey knee high socks. For some peculiar reason I imagined that I had Karolina Kurkova's legs until I saw the photos. Eugh. I took those socks off in the rest room at I Am Angus (a steak restaurant - I've been there twice and neither of those two times did I feel the food was that fantastic).

Is that a ghost?!!! She looks like she's ready to party lol.

Crystal's camera took some trippy photos that night. I don't know why all her photos either show ghosts or glowing shadows.

Joycie sometimes passive aggressively mentions that I post bad photos of her on my blog whenever I complain about friends tagging bad photos of myself on Facebook (haha) so I thought I should be more thoughtful and cover her face on the photos she may not appreciate me posting up. However, the expression on her face in this photo was THE BEST!~

Chu ♥ Mel

How I love the Chanel 2.55

2008-06-20T01:34:00.009+10:00

My step into adulthood aka my 21st (18 years and 36 months dear) will be on the 3 July 2008. It's weird because I still think of myself as a teenager the majority of the time. When I was looking to join a basketball team a few months back I initially clicked on the under 18's section, until dreaded reality hit and I realized how much I had aged. I think my scary age is 25 years old. Not because it's old or anything like that, but it's the age that I've set for myself to actually grow up. It's the age in which I should have a steady job (one that I like), a serious boyfriend, have bought my own home (along with a mortgage unless I win the $50 million Powerball jackpot) and have taken full responsibility of my life. Of course I have another 4 years to just relax, act childish and have fun.

A few weeks back my parents asked me what I wanted for my 21st birthday. Without one hesitation in my mind I screamed, "Chanel 2.55!!!" I wanted the classic size, black lambskin (although I was reconsidering since I'm clumsy and I'll probably scratch it) with silver hardware, or the red reissue with silver hardware. I have always wanted to buy a 2.55 (named after the date it was released February 1955) but I could never justify spending around $3000AUD when I was working so hard to save for my Japan exchange. My 21st seemed to be the perfect opportunity to get my little hands on the bag I have longed for since I was a child as my parents were going to buy it for me. They were happy to do so since it was something I really wanted and I had also been receiving good marks (typical Chinese parents). However, the day before my mother and I were going to go to the Castlereagh St boutique I had a sudden guilt attack. I felt like I was exploiting my position as the eldest daughter and setting a bad example for my little sister who is a spoilt brat already. I also felt selfish as I was going to be the only one happy about the bag, so instead I asked my parents for a family holiday. This way we can all enjoy my present, as well spend some quality time together before I leave for 7 months. At first we decided to go to America but we later realized that if we traveled that far we would want to go for at least 3 weeks, but meant I probably wouldn't get back on time to sort out my visa's before I left for China and Japan. So instead we're going to go to Thailand and Taiwan. I'm so excited. I can't wait to go bargain shopping and transsexual cabaret show viewing in Bangkok, as well as lazing around then getting Thai massages on the beach in Phuket. I'm also going to go celebrity hunting in Taiwan (I doubt I'll see one though)... Leehom, Jay Chou... just you wait, I will find you!

As for my 2.55... well... some of my girlfriend's and I are planning to go to Europe after we graduate (end of 2009) and Chanel bags will be cheaper there, so I think I'll just wait a little while and buy the bag I have longed for since I was a child in France... it's probably more meaningful to buy it at the place of origin anyway.

Before I get to go on my Thailand/Taiwan holiday I have to become a crazy woman and ~~unwillingly~~ study for exams (I was already driven to the brink of insanity from my essays). I did take a small break from my psychotic state to attend one of my best high school girlfriend's boyfriend's 21st birthday. I say "girlfriend's boyfriend" and not just "friend" because I don't know him very well and I only really went because of my girlfriend. Happy Birthday to Tobias though!

I wore the Yeojin Bae for Target dress I bought at the end of last year for the party. I think it looks a bit like the Nina Ricci dress Reese Witherspoon wore for the 2007 Golden Globes (maybe that's why I bought the dress in the first place, Reese looked so beautiful in it and I certainly don't have her budget so it had to be Yeojin Bae for Target). I do regret wearing that horrible black waist belt though. It looks out of place. I should have just stuck to the brown belt in my previous post or wore no belt at all. I also carried the bargain white clutch (150RMB = $23AUD) I bought in Shanghai when I went at the beginning of this year.

My eyes seem to be half closed in every photo I took that night. I had just put on some new fake eyelashes and I think they were just a tad bit heavy.

My high school girlfriends, Winnie and Jane. We were just missing Jenni that night.

Ok, this is my standard picwhoring photo -_-;;
It's a requirement for every post I get to dress up in.

I haven't been able to wear any of my cocktail dresses lately. The past few times I've been out have always been clubbing or smart casual events, so it was nice to get a little bit dressed up.

I also managed to take a couple photos of my last few days at work. I'm going to miss the girlies I work with very much.

Obsessed with those jumping photos.

I think they should hire ME to do the hair ads haha.

Ahh, it's already 3:05am and I have to get up at 9am to get ready to have brunch with Dave. I must sleep.

Chu ♥ Mel

Olympics

2008-08-28T19:25:00.006+10:00

Okay, I wrote this post about two weeks ago before I left to go to Suzhou and Shanghai, so it may seem a little old, especially now that I'm back in Beijing.

Studying Chinese in Beijing during the 2008 Beijing Olympics is probably one of the best decisions I've ever made. The atmosphere is great. I love the Olympics, it's the only time I can spend all day watching sport without anyone nagging me. I love watching the Men's Basketball, Women's Volleyball and the Men's Tennis. I also enjoy watching the Diving, Gymnastics and Track & Field but I've developed a new liking to Fencing.

A few day ago my friend Han and I went shopping at the Dongwuyuan Fuzhuan Pifa Shichang (the Zoo Fashion Markets). Although there was a large selection of clothes and everything was super cheap (20, 30RMB anyone? = AUD$3.5, $4.70), the clothes were so horrendously ugly that I wouldn't wear any of it even if they paid me. I went to a slightly nicer market shopping centre called 3.3 in Sanlitun and I found the clothes there relatively okay. The designs weren't too bad but they priced everything fairly high for market standards (around 780RMB but I heard you can bargain it down to at least 300RMB). Han's cousin told me that a lot of the same things at 3.3 can be found in the Zoo Fashion Markets but the problem is when everything is dumped together nothing really looks nice anymore. The main problem is the quality, I'm a true believer in quality, so I would rather buy a high quality item than buy five low quality items. Because the Zoo Fashion Markets are so cheaply priced the quality of the items aren't that great either. When shopping at the markets you really have to be wary of the quality and the choice of material. The second problem is Chinese fashion is very much influenced by it's neighbors, Korea and Japan. Korean and Japanese style (日韩风格) is extremely unique. If you pull it off well it can look amazing, but if you don't suit it (like me) or if you go too overboard you can end up looking amazingly clown-like. I personally really don't like this "Fob style" (as some people call it), because it does not go well with my body shape and having grown up in Sydney I've become more influenced by European style. So being surrounded by low quality, Fob style clothing was shopping hell for me. Han and I were so disappointed when we left empty handed, we decided to go to Wangfujing and shop there. I bought a dress and added another shirt to my budding white shirt collection. I bought the shirt from a shop called Seven Days which stores the designs of various Chinese designers. There were a few avant garde pieces that I loved but due to the changing of seasons a lot of the stock was on sale which also meant a limited number of sizes. I tried on a few skirts and I liked a structured one which stuck out on the sides, but it was a size too small and although I could just squeeze into it, it did make it hard to breathe haha.

That same night we ended up in Mcdonalds because the Women's Volleyball China vs. USA preliminary match was on. We shopped while the match was on and only came to watch the last few points of each set on the big screen inside the shopping centre. But by the 5th set the shopping centre closed so we all went into the Mcdonalds to watch. It was so much fun, everyone was cheering when China scored a point. It was like that Mcdonalds ad shown on Australian TV in which a bunch of strangers came together and were cheering on the same team. Although China lost the match, the experience was unforgettable.

I went to Happy Valley (欢乐谷) an Amusement Park in Beijing with my oldest cousin and two friends. My favorite ride was the Superman ride. I don't know the proper name but it's a roller coaster in which you begin sitting down in the seat, then it flips you on your stomach and goes on a roller coast track. Absolute adrenaline rush!

With my oldest cousin. She looks younger than me ;_;

The view behind us of Happy Valley.

Dinner after water gunning each other at Happy Valley.

The next few photos I took during Chinese class at BLCU. I did really well for my exams so I'm happy!!! The most important thing I've achieved attending this 4-week course is that I am no longer afraid to read Chinese newspapers and magazines. Before I would be frightened of all those Chinese characters and basically not even attempt to read anything, but now I try to read whatever I get my hands on. Although the newspaper is still slightly hard a) since it's boring, and b) the professional language used, I happily read Vogue China and Cosmopolitan Shishang (时尚).

Noona (Korean for big sister, I called her that the whole time because her Chinese name was really hard to remember) and me.

Arnaud, Noona and me.

Having a Korean BBQ lunch with two onni's. LoL.

Chu ♥ Mel

I miss Beijing!

2008-09-17T16:50:00.014+10:00

I know this post has arrived weeks overdue, but you have to understand the pain of setting up bank accounts, buying a new mobile phone, getting your alien registration sorted and going to various orientations.

The first week I arrived in Japan I went to Numazu, Shizuoka to visit my old host family. It felt like I had never left. All the feelings of being thankful and slightly uncomfortable at the same time came rushing back at me. It was great to be able to see everyone again, but also knowing I would be out on my own in weeks time really kept me energetic and happy.

So now I'm alone in Tokyo (besides the new friends I made in my apartment) and I really love it. I love being able to do what I want, whenever I want without really needing to consider anyone else besides my own selfish needs.

I've been to Keio University several times for orientations and an exam. It's a small campus (compared to my USYD) but it's a beautiful place (especially the East gate) . The past few days I've been exploring Roppongi, Harajuku (many times), Shibuya (many times), Ginza, Ueno and Shinjuku. Tokyo is exactly the way I remember it, busy, noisy and efficient. I'm so happy that I'll be part of this crazy city for the next six months.

It's not hard to see I'm really enjoying my time in Tokyo but I cannot avoid the enormous pain of missing Beijing. Of course I miss my family and friends in Sydney very much, but I know I will always go back to them, because that is where my home is. My second home Beijing is a place where I don't know when I'll go back to. Next year? The year after that? I miss the city in general, I miss my cousins (especially Stacy and Oli), I miss my grandparents, I miss BLCU, I miss Noody, Arnaud and Han, hell I even miss Xidan. My mother says I love Beijing because whenever I'm there I'm always relaxing, eating, partying and shopping, but now I know I really truly love Beijing since I had to wake up at 5:45am every morning in order to get to Uni and travel for 3 hours to and back on the annoying subway.

Whenever I hear my friends who are still in Beijing talk about what they are doing there or when I read about the adventures of my friend Gracie who has been going to many of the places I went to as well I feel incredibly sad. So here are a stack of photos to remind me of one of the best months I've ever had, Beijing Summer 2008.

Arnaud after class writes: "China Add Oil" aka "Go China!"

Me after class about to write: "I love Beijing".

I'm going to miss my class in BLCU.

This was my favorite place on the BLCU campus.

In one of the restaurants in BLCU, on the last day with my teacher. She was so nice.

In the BLCU campus, right outside the building my class studied in.

Going to watch a Kung-fu show organized by BLCU. I'm with Julian, Arnaud and Noody.

The Kung-fu show was at the Red Theatre.

We weren't allowed to take photos during the show but were able to take photos with the cast once it was finished. It was a good show, part Kung-fu, part aerobatics and part dance.

Outside the Great Hall of the People with Arnaud about to watch an Opera performance.

Outside the Great Hall of the People with Noody.

Inside the Great Hall of the People.

The ceiling inside the theater of the Great Hall of the People

The stage and orchestra. The show was being broadcast by CCTV music channel.

Taken from the steps of the Great Hall of the People. It shows the Monument to the People's Heroes at the center of the Tiananmen Square.

When we got outside we realized there was many people and paparazzi surrounding someone. I thought it was an athlete at first but then realized that Pierre Cardin also went to see the same opera performance as we did. I wanted Arnaud and Noody to ask him if he'll give me free clothes but there were too many people haha.

In the Audi shop at Wangfujing. This is the car my cousin Stacy wants. I'm personally not a fan of Audi.

In the Oriental Plaza in Wangfujing. There were Olympic uniform displays (by Nike) of various countries.

With the Chinese basketball team. Haha. Unfortunately Sun Yue doesn't isn't sponsored by Nike so he wasn't there =(

My cousin Stacy waiting for our Ramen at Aijisen Ramen.

Stacy and I. I'm going to miss her so much.

Having dinner with my aunties on the last day I was in Suzhou.

Beijing Train Station.

Chu ♥ Mel

The past month...

2008-11-18T18:51:00.009+11:00

I know it's been a long time since I last blogged and I do apologize, but I've had a few computer problems. Ever since I bought my laptop (in late 2006), it has never had an anti-virus program. I know it's stupid to not install one but I've always been too lazy. Anyway, for 2 years nothing has entered my computer but as I was downloading the new series "90210" (I'm so embarrassed), a virus attacked my poor computer (it was a stupid show anyway, I didn't even watch more than two episodes). So I had to re-installed windows... and I do have an anti-virus program now.

I also bought myself a 650GB hardrive in Akihabara the other day. I have to find enough things to fill it with.

Besides that I have made myself a new blog. Yes, that's why I haven't been blogging lately ~~it wasn't because I was lazy at all~~. It's mostly a fashion blog that is written both in Chinese and English (I have to practice my Chinese), so please visit and bookmark Girl in a Scarlet Dress, I think I will update there more than I will here. I will continue to blog on Beijing Baby! but it may be infrequent. Here's the URL:

I've been stressing myself lately because of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT). I'm taking Level 2 because I completed Level 3 the last time I was in Japan. Level 3 was easy (I learnt Japanese for 10 months and passed it), but Level 2 is quite a jump from Level 3. It would be all fine if I study... but I have yet to study!!! And the test is on the 7th of December. I'm slightly freaking out. Wish me luck!

So what have I been doing for the past month? Photo time.

Halloween of course! I dressed up as a Vampire Maid. I'm in Japan, I have to at least dress up once as a maid. The Vampire bit is inspired by Edward Cullen. Haha.

We went to a scary mental hospital inspired restaurant called Alcatraz in Shibuya.

Hanul and me.

Ai and me with one of the doctors. He was really funny.

Shota who only dressed up his nails -_-;;

I also went to watch the infamous Waseda vs. Keio Baseball match. I had a lot of fun for about 4 innings then I became a little bored. Baseball isn't my thing I guess.
Oh, Keio kicked Waseda's ass that game... but unforutnately Waseda won the previous day and the day after =(

The cheerleaders and the cheerboys! They were so awesome. I wanted all my guy friend to become cheer boys.

Also went to see the winning film of the Tokyo International Film Festival.
It was a Kazakhstan film called Tulpan and I think most people fell asleep, myself included =(

I've also done a lot of shopping. Shopping updates will be on Girl in a Scarlet Dress later.

The Royal Family came to Keio University and I was invited (along with other exchange students from Commonwealth countries) to meet them. I shook Prince Charles and Camilia's hand. It was fun.

Koda Kumi also came to perform for Keio students for our Mitasai (the Keio Mita Campus festival). Tickets were only 3500yen for Keio students so I went to see her.

It was Koda Kumi in all her skankiness. Fun concert.

I also went to eat Mongolian food with my girlfriends.

We're meant to be fierce... -_-;;

Also went clubbing at Daikanyama at a Drum and Bass event.

Sunny and me with DJ Fresh, the highlight of the night. Although I like Drum and Bass, it's really not something I can dance to, so I think I'll just listen to it from now on.

Also just walking around Shibuya!

Chu ♥ Mel