Sprained Ankle

So it's one of those days today. Days that just somehow do not want to go the way that you have intended it to be.

I am an organized freak. I plan my day 1-2 days in advance so that I can fully maximise the day for all my activities. I woke up this morning with the intention of bringing my dog, Cookie to the vet because his skin allergies got worse, and I did bring him to the vet. Upon reaching the clinic, the nurse told me that they are fully booked today and I have to come back another day. Bummer.

So I made another appointment for next weekend and carried my little one out of the vet. Maybe he was too heavy or fat and blocked my vision but I tripped over some steps and fell. I managed to break his fall by hugging him closer to me but I ended up grazing my left knee, cut my right pinky toe and sprained my right ankle. Sigh.

I sat on the ground, grabbing my ankle in pain and wanted to call my parents to come and get me. Then I remember I drove here so they don't have the car. At the same time, I had to make sure Cookie didn't get too excited and run out to the roads. He was a good boy though, as usual, sitting right next to me, watching and waiting for me to recover.

I had to drag myself up and pray that Cookie will not run off while I walked to the car. He followed me all the way to the car throughout the short walk without venturing far. I guess my dog is a very good boy after all. :)

Managed to drive back home with my painful right ankle, using my left ankle to control the brake. Definitely not a very comfortable ride home for Cookie.

Compare with my left ankle, my right ankle looks so swollen. >.<

My Hair Needs Help

Most days I’m too lazy to style my hair and just let it dry on its own after washing, but that usually results in super frizzy and messy hair. AND I HATE MESSY HAIR! So when I know I have to meet people on that day, I will wake up earlier to blow dry my hair until it is smooth and straight, but usually by mid-day there will be flyaways and it really annoys me.

I miss the days when my hair was so soft and smooth.

On special occasions, I will give my hair some waves by curling it with the curling iron. I love the wavy look but I cannot imagine curling my hair on a daily basis. The damage it does to my hair is just crazy!

Me (with curls) trying to do the “JianHao” classic expression. 

After all that constant blow drying and occasional heat-curling, my hair is like grass now. I am super sad. I go for regular hair treatment and it really helps a lot but I know I need to do my part to maintain my hair too. But I need to style my hair for filming and events all the time, so no choice.

The ends of my hair are super curly as though the ends are burnt. T_T

So a week back I decided to do something about it and went shopping at Watsons. I browsed through all the hair products and to be honest, I stood there for 30 minutes because I cannot decide what to get. THERE ARE SO MANY PRODUCTS! In the end I decided on Dove Nourishing Oil Care serum after googling on my phone.

So this Dove Nourishing Oil Care serum contains both almond oil and coconut oil. The almond oil is easily absorbed by the hair and thus able to deeply nourish and rebuild the cellular structure of dry hair to repair surface roughness. Coconut oil on the other hand, is known to be highly efficacious in reducing protein loss from hair. Both oils help to lock in moisture and lipids in the hair to give a smooth and shiny feel. Sounds very chim right? Just know that almond and coconut oils are good for your hair and definitely something I need now.

Stop Being a Bully

Being in the public exposed me to all sorts of scrutiny. I don't get offended when people comment on how I look (eg. "she's ugly", "there are prettier girls out there", etc) or mistake me for someone else. I usually just roll my eyes at those comments and forget about them the very next moment.

But I do get offended by rude comments. I don't like rude people.

Here are some examples:
- Commenting on how they want to pleasure themselves. Totally inappropriate and unnecessary. I always get the impression that these men are sexually-deprived.
- "She looks like a pig, horse, etc" Erm... are you sure you know how to differentiate humans from animals?
- VULGARITIES. Simply shows how uncouth you are.
- Insulting other commenters, nationalities, race or religions. These people have absolutely no respect for others.

There are also other comments that my fellow YouTubers and bloggers have received, calling them names like "slut", "asshole", "jerk", etc. Really? If you are going to insult someone, maybe try expanding your vocabulary first?

If there is something that you are not pleased with, here are some suggestions on what you can do about it:
- Ignore. Don't spend time on something you don't agree with or enjoy.
- Unfollow. If you don't like the person, why are you still following him/her?
- Provide some feedback. Instead of saying "You suck!", say "I feel that your current work is not as good as before, maybe you should work on improving XYZ."

I feel that the online community is lacking in manners and cyber bullying is rampant. The next time you see someone being rude or a bully online, I would recommend that you tell the person off nicely. We need to cultivate a gracious society not just offline, but online too.

Inconsiderate Drivers

I think it has been a really bad day on the road for me. Met so many inconsiderate drivers for just being on the road for an hour.

It started out pretty fine. Ended my meeting and was sending my friends to their respective destinations. The moment I drove out of the office, I met an inconsiderate driver.

I was at a junction about to turn left and was waiting for this car that was going straight to pass before I turn. She saw me waiting for her but she drove at a snail's pace and the moment she passed me, she switched on her hazard lights and stopped in front of  my car.  I was about to turn left and she just stopped! HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO TURN OUT NOW?! That is so hazardous and incredibly inconsiderate to stop right next to a turn! It's at a junction for goodness' sake!

My attempt at drawing the scenario. Very difficult to draw on computer. So that driver stopped right there and I couldn't turn left. So annoying...

So after sending my friends, I met impatient drivers. It's not that I'm a slow driver, in fact I drive relatively fast, between 80-100km/h on the expressway. The problem is that I was stuck in a jam. I'm stuck in a jam! The cars in front, behind, on my left and on my right are all not moving, what do the drivers expect me to do? Speed up and ram everyone around me down? Those drivers were horning, high beaming and keeping extremely close to the back of my car. -_- Every time I meet such drivers on the road, I can't help but think that they must be Ah Bengs. Driving hazardously and thinking that they are cool. Argh.

I also met drivers who don't know the proper way to overtake or enter the expressway from slip roads. This is how they do it:

I thought it's common sense to drive into the space between cars and not drive into cars. Well, these drivers are considerate enough to signal that they want to enter my lane but somehow they come at me instead of speeding up to go in front of me or slowing down to go behind me. So many times they cut into my lane when I'm so close to them, if I didn't brake in time, I would have hit their cars. Don't these people check their side mirrors before cutting into lanes? They would have seen my car if they did. Lazy bums.

It would be so much more pleasant to drive in Singapore if drivers were more considerate. I have been driving for years and I would say I've seen my fair share of considerate and inconsiderate drivers, but I got to admit that inconsiderate drivers somehow still dominate the roads. Things like not signalling, not checking side mirrors, threatening cyclists, speeding, etc are still common causes of road accidents. 

I mean if you want to be an inconsiderate and careless driver, so be it. Just don't drag other innocent people with you by getting into an accident. I don't want to die or be handicapped because of someone else's carelessness. 

I am not going to say I am an awesome driver, I'm not, I make mistakes too especially when I'm unfamiliar with the roads. But I want to be a better driver and I'm striving to be. I recently pledged to be a better driver with The Gentlemen Movement. You can check it out here http://thegentlemenmovement.org/. You can choose to pledge or not to, but I really hope everyone strives to be a better driver on the road and make it safer for everyone.

Nivea Extra Whitening Range

The weather in Singapore has been so hot and sunny recently, it’s killing me. To the point that I wish it would rain even when I’m outdoors. Though the warm weather makes me perspire like crazy, I got to admit it’s the best weather for a shoot as sunlight is the best natural lighting for videos.

While shooting, the Tree Potatoes team will curse and swear at whoever causes a NG. More NGs = More time out in the sun = super sian.

People often ask me how I maintain my radiant complexion despite my hectic filming schedule and numerous outdoor shoots. Well, I have been using numerous whitening products and recently I got my hands on Nivea’s Extra Whitening Range.

I’m sure every girl has heard of the Nivea brand, it’s one of the earliest skincare brands that I was exposed to! I have always been using their products actually. Always found their products to be effective and value for money.

This range is very comprehensive with 8 products: 2 types of cleansers, toner, day serum, day cream, night cream, scrub and a paper mask (use in this sequence for optimum results!). I personally use the following steps: Mud Foam, Scrub, Day Serum and Night Cream.

All the products in this range contains PEARLY WHITE which has been proven by studies to be 10X more effective in lightening the skin tone than Vitamin C*.

This range is pretty interesting. It not only helps lighten your skin tone, it also minimizes the appearance of pores, making it very suitable for people with acne prone skin and frequent makeup users. (People like me!)

Nivea Extra Whitening Range do not contain AHA/BHA which are chemicals often found in exfoliators. These chemicals do help to effectively remove dead skin, unclog pores and brighten your skin tone but it inevitably thins your skin, which may result in redness on sensitive skin.

Instead, my favourite Mud Foam contains gentle ingredients such as pearly white complex and volcanic clay to brighten skin tone and remove main culprits for acne and large pores like oil, powder and sunscreen residue.

To me, a good complexion is one that is radiant and clear.  I’m really pleased that my skin looks clearer and fairer in just 7 days after using the Nivea Extra Whitening Range. My makeup stays on better too!

Nivea Singapore is giving away 10 Nivea hampers worth $120 each + exclusive Nivea pouch + 6 months digital subscription of Cosmpolitan Magazine to 10 lucky girls!

All you need to do to win is post a selfie on Instagram and include a description of your skin aspiration eg. “I want to have beautiful and radiant skin!” Don’t forget to make sure that your Instagram account is public, and include the hashtags: #niveasg #niveaselfie #cosmosg.

Contest ends 31^st August 2014 and winners will be announced on Instagram @Gushcloud_SG. So do hurry and share your skin aspirations before the contest ends!

"Cosmopolitan Singapore aims to provide the Singaporean woman with what she needs to live life as a fun, fearless, fabulous person. More than print and paper, Cosmopolitan is a complete lifestyle experience, engaging readers with topics on fashion, beauty, body, relationships and life."

Link: http://cosmopolitan.sg

*In vitro study of 4 butylrescorcinol (Pearly White)by Beiersdorf Germany.