Thursday 5 March 2015

Blog

I miss the good ol' blogging days. When we were all obsessed with doing up our 'blogskins', and busy 'linking up' our friends and acquaintances on our blogs. The more friends we linked up, the more popular we felt. Oh tak eh? #dontbluff

I remember those days, when making an acquaintance or a friend out of someone you just met, you didn't ask them if they had Facebook or Instagram. No, you asked them if they had a BLOG.

Cause back then, reading was the shizzz. Reading about people's lives. No matter what broken language they blogged in; it was still reading. And we actually liked it.

I remember when asking "eh kau baca blog _ _ _ _ _?" was an opening line of a new topic. And it would've brought on a whole new interesting conversation.

I remember commenting on my friends' blogs and having them comment on mine. It was the only way we could keep up to date with each other's lives (apart from Friendster), and it was fun. Receiving comments was fun.

And we encouraged each other when either of us were lagging in their posts. We ENCOURAGED each other to write long-winded posts cause we wanted to read them.

And now... what do we do?

When we see a long-winded Facebook status, we comment "eh siak ah, dekni tulis composition pe?"

When we see a long-winded Instagram caption, we comment "eh malas pe aku nak baca dekni membebel?"

Whatever happened to us eh?

Let's bring it back, guys :(

Sunday 1 March 2015

My thoughts on 50 Shades of Grey

I like this story. I don't necessarily like the movie (I thought the flow of the movie wasn't all that smooth), and I don't necessarily like the writing style of the book either (lots of Anna's inner monologue; irritating), but I do like the story.

Not just like ah actually. I think I love it.

I can't help it. The story is so filled with revelations of Christian Grey's psyche, and I have to admit; the pseudo psychologist in me is more than intrigued.

There's so much more than meets the eye, and it irks me when it's dismissed as "porn" or "just about the sex", because it's not. It's so much more than that, and if you give it a chance, you'll realize that.

After reading the first two books NON-STOP (the pseudo psychologist in me would not let me put them down) and the synopsis of the third book, below is my take on the story.

Grey was neglected and mistreated as a young child. Grey's mother was a whore (his own words), who probably forgot to feed him a lot and didn't really care about his wellbeing (probable reason as to why he said he knows what it's like to be profoundly hungry). Being a whore, his mother's pimp was always hanging around the house, and this pimp mistreated Grey. He used Grey as an ashtray when he couldn't find one by putting his cigarettes out on the poor 3-4 year old child, and judging from Grey's flashbacks of his childhood, the pimp abused him as well when he was angry at Grey's mother for some reason or other.

And then Grey's mother killed herself. And 4-year-old Grey was stuck in the house with his mother's body for 4 days before they were found.

How can that not have a traumatic effect on a child?

Needless to say, Grey grew up with a lot of unexpressed anger and resentment, probably towards his mother for being unable to protect him from being mistreated, and also towards himself, probably hating himself for being born into a situation that he was unable to control - this could be the reason he "exercised control on all things, Miss Steele" when he got older.

As a youngster, of course Grey didn't know how to deal with his unexpressed anger towards his mother and situation, and ended up getting into a lot of fights at school, using his schoolmates as outlets for his anger. He didn't know any better.

Then at 15, a friend of his adoptive mother's introduced him to the BDSM lifestyle, and this is where Grey learned of a new outlet for his anger. For others practicing this lifestyle, it was probably just a sexual lifestyle that they preferred for whatever reasons, but for Grey, this lifestyle was not only pleasurable for him, but it also became his coping mechanism. While unable to control his situation as a young child, as an adult, he was able to control his submissives, which probably gave him what he needed to cope with his issues.

Grey also revealed later that his submissives all resemble his mother; apparently with long brown hair and fair skin. So he liked to beat ladies who resemble his mother. I guess that was his way of "punishing" "her" for the years of neglect and abuse she had directly or indirectly put him through as a child.

And then he meets Ana. Ana, who takes her time with the contract and makes sure to question herself whether SHE is/will be okay with whatever he intends to put her through in their contractual relationship, who makes it known when she doesn't agree with something, and doesn't simply go along with whatever he orders or instructs her to do, which frustrates and interests him at the same time. She was like a breath of fresh air for him, and she opened his eyes, making him realize that he may not be able to control everything in his life, but that that's alright.

There's a part at the end of the first book/movie where Anna requests that Grey shows her the worst punishment he could give her. He does, and she's hurt. Hurt that he could do such a thing to her. That's why she cried and left. She wanted to see if he could bring himself to hurt HER, and he DID. And that's what hurt her the most. You have to remember that girls are kinda like that, aren't we? Sometimes we CABAR (dare) our men to do certain things, testing them to see how far they would go. It's not always a healthy thing, but it is a fact that girls do that.

It's a sweet story. A story about a man's insight into himself and his issues. All that sex is a look into his psyche, and a look into why he is the way that he is. And it's fascinating (the way that he is, not the sex). Pseudo psychologist in me approves to the moon and back.

So for those of you who have not watched the movie or read the book, you can do either one, but I would suggest reading the books cause those are available NOW and you don't have to wait a year for the sequels. You get a look into Anna's psyche as well, though that's not as interesting ah, except for the last part of the first book. After the first book, you get a larger glimpse into the mind of Christian Grey, and it's fascinating, really.

Gosh.

I'm a nerd, aren't I?

Monday 23 February 2015

Insomnia

You know that feeling you get when you WANT to sleep, but your body (or mind) is not allowing you to?

Exactly how I'm feeling right now.

I mean come on, I'm already in bed, room temperature is perfect, and I'm huddled under my blanket without feeling warm. So why then, dear brain of mine, do you refuse to switch off?!

Why is it that at this time, you decide to think about the Backstreet Boys concert you're not able to go to?

Or about that dress you used to love wearing but can't anymore cause you've gained weight?

Or about WANTING to lose weight?

Or about WORK, of all things?

Or about your reflections on life?

You had ALL DAY to think about all these, brain. ALL DAY. And yet you decide to invade my sleeping time. Not cool.

And then when you finally feel yourself drifting off to sleep, the SMALLEST THING can jolt you awake again.

Like the itchiness of your finger.

The way your Tshirt rests on your neck.

The smell of your deodorant.

Brain, have mercy on your owner please.

Thursday 19 February 2015

BOOKED: ISHQ X SAP

I'm happy to report that we got the bridal on the top of my list!

Our appointment was set for 18th Feb, so we went down to Oxley Bizhub yesterday at 7pm and placed our deposit to secure the date!

Such wow. Much happy.
The package we'd decided on was The Premium; a collaboration between ISHQ by Nora Zee and Shamsydar Ani Photography, which consisted of:

ISHQ by Nora Zee

3 pairs of bridal outfits
3 makeup looks
3 hair or hijap styling
10 hours of service
+ additional charges apply for designer outfits

Shamsydar Ani Photography

12 hours of photography service
300 4R printed images
1 slot in album
Personalised name and date stamps
16" by 24" framed canvas
High resolution images in thumbdrive

For both these services, I have to say I think it's quite a steal! And I'm so happy that we've managed to book 2 services in one day.
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So, I think some people are probably wondering how Kak Nora is..... hahaha. 

After hearing all the stories from various friends who know friends who either regretted taking up ISHQ for whatever reason, or found her 'sombong', I was actually really nervous when I went into the room.

Thankfully, we were greeted by Sham (the photographer) herself, and she was soooooo warm and friendly! Absolutely loved talking to her. She gave us tips on how the bertandang could be, and suggested we go for an outdoor photoshoot after the sanding. No qualms on her part about it being too dark (as I've heard from some photographers), and she even suggested we 'chase the sunset'. Loveeeeeeeee that idea!

Then Kak Nora came to us to collect payment, and that's when I got to meet THE Nora Zee. THE Nora Zee that everyone's been talking about.

I thought she was pleasant enough; self-deprecating humor (which I love!), perfect English and quite smiley, even though not as smiley and warm as Sham. Oh well, everyone's different la.

But as for Said, he told me later on that she sounded quite stuck up, and he felt quite turned off by her at one point. And he, not realizing that Sham is our would-be photographer, asked if Sham could be our mak andam instead, haha! So cute ah. But that's a testament to how warm and friendly Sham was.

Anyway... Something did happen during the discussion that kinda irritated me a little.

You see, all this while, in my kanchiongness, I'd been asking how much the deposit was. I'd asked Sham via email, and Dahlia (one of ISHQ's orang kuat) via Facebook, and BOTH told me the deposit is 20% of the package price.

So based on that, we'd both readied that 20%.

But when we got there, they told us they prefer a payment of $600 each (photography and bridal), which is more than what we'd prepared. So I was quite taken aback ah. Tibe2 nak suruh aku bayar extra $200 each eh when all this while you've said something else.

Long story short, I asked if we could stick with the 20% (nicely and laughingly of course) as I'd already asked 2-3 times prior to the appointment and everyone said it's 20% of the package price.

Thankfully, they agreed! Yay! They even decided to take $800 instead of the initial $860. Alhamdulillah.

And Alhamdulillah, that we've managed to secure my most wanted bridal and photography for our big day!

I mean, thisssssssssss:






How can anything top the amazing makeup by ISHQ?! And the designer dresses!

I rela. I RELAAAAAAA!

And not forgetting the ah-may-zingggggg photography by Sham:







SO FRESH. SO BEAUTIFUL. SO RELAAAAAAAA HATI I BOOK YOU ALLS!

Wednesday 11 February 2015

Pre-Wedding Shoot?

Back when Said and I were still in the early stages of our relationship, we'd gone for a mini photoshoot.

When I said photoshoot, what I meant was: we grabbed a tripod, my trusty Canon Powershot S100, and headed off to HORT PARK to photograph ourselves.

That's right! We shiok sendiri at Hort Park with a tripod and our camera timer and came up with these!







Kelakar kannnnn when you imagine us in front of an unmanned camera on a tripod and suddenly hugging each other or laughing spontaneously at nothing or chasing each other on those wooden thingies hahahahahha (actually macam kesian ah kena amek gambar sendiri)

Apart from the crappy editing, none of my friends realized that these shots were self-taken until I told them.

So I was thinking, macam nak recreate something like this for our pre-wedding photoshoot je...

At least we don't have to spend a bomb and that money can be used elsewhere, like honeymoon ke.. churros live station at the wedding ke..

And we'd definitely have a ball!

So something to think about la eh!

Tuesday 10 February 2015

Save the date!

15.10.16
15th October 2016

Any idea what date this is?

Well.

It's our...

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WEDDING DATE!

Yes! We've finally decided on a date! *throws confetti in the air*

(after almost 4 months, but who cares)


Some people have asked me if there's any significance to the date, to which I've answered the truth... which is NO.

Honestly it was just because it's after pay day (lol), and because my intended mak andam is already taken up on 29/30 Oct 2016. And also because I didn't want to wait for the third week of the month to get married hahahahahaha gatalllllll

We've also decided that our event will be a ONE DAY EVENT. Itinerary belom plan la, but most likely it will be something like this - Nikah: Morning. Sanding: Afternoon (both sides).

InsyaAllah.

So yes! February is turning out to be pretty awesome, because we have decided on 2 important things, and I can now go ahead with my bookings. Feels good to finally know what I'm working towards. 

613 days till #themisaiwedding, hooray!

Or, to be exact..


20 months, 4 days, 16 hours, 22 minutes and 50 seconds to go!

Monday 2 February 2015

Falling in love with: ANGGUN by Mastura

I mean, how gorgeous are these right?











I kennuttttt.

Too gorgeous already.

Yes some people may say the decor is too simple, but maybe that's why I like it leh!

Clean, understated, sleek. Elegant. Totally NOT cluttered by jewels and bulu2 ruffle2 and whatnot. Right up my alley.

And what's the best part? 

They offer full packages too. With / without venue.

So if I do engage them, I can have everything under one roof yall!

Mum and I have an appointment with them this Friday afternoon. InsyaAllah they have something to suit my budget. They're really the only company I berkenan their decor AND food (I've tasted their food at the boy's friend's wedding once), and I really, really hope they're the one.

Of course I'm trying not to be so hopeful, but insyaAllah. Only Friday's appointment will tell. 



In the meantime, I'll just stare at their decor's gorgeousnesssssss until Friday rolls around