Chucky?

This is one of the oddest looking dolls I got when I was growing up. You know how some people are afraid of dolls?

I had a friend who used to have nightmares about dolls crawling out from under her bed or coming out of their boxes. It was so bad that she even avoided the toy sections in department stores. Major phobia.

I told her she's lucky she met me in university and not when we were kids because I had so many dolls! Though I'm not afraid of dolls, I've always thought this one looked pretty scary. But so far, so good. He's never come alive in my room like Chucky, thank goodness! :)

Without his hat

He looks quite real doesn't he? It's such a strange looking doll. Such happy bright clothes but his face is not.

Painting my room

Its strange being in my old bedroom I've grown up in every time I come back to Singapore. Its as though time has stood still (soft toys and all) Well, I decided to give it a well overdue face lift. I've painted my whole bedroom purple and mauve which was quite therapeutic. I turned on some music, got the paint roller out and before you know it, hours would just slip by. It gave me a lot of time to think ;)

Its amazing nowadays how we find people and they find us with things like Facebook from every corner of the world. Then there's the old fashioned way of just looking someone up. I was at a party with someone who said they knew Michelle. It took me a while to realise he was talking about my distant cousin who I hadn't seen in years! I asked him for her no and smsed her out of the blue. She was so surprised to hear from me because we lost touch with each other. It was really nice re-connecting with her after such a long time!

Scrabble

I spent the afternoon playing Scrabble. When you really get into it, its incredible how many bazaar words there are out there. And Scrabble is not just a game of strategy. Its knowledge. You've gotta know the words or its so hard to move on the board. If you play Scrabble yourself check out a software called Zzyvvaa. I'm not sure if I'm spelling it right. Zzyvvaa is the last word in the dictionary and its basically a Scrabble program that can save you the hassle of flipping through a dictionary to find if a word exists. It's instant! So it's super convenient and a perrrfect tool to improve your vocabulary :)

'Fine' City

I know I'm back in Singapore when I see signs like this. My goodness, I just had to laugh with this particular one! I've been in Singapore this CNY to visit my family and pure Chinese grand mother who I call Popo (She's so cute. Calls me Chu Chu though she actually means Jojo ;)

Sister?

When I was modelling in Bangkok, I kept being told that I resembled this other model called Elizabeth. One day, I was at a spa and the girl giving me a massage asked how I learnt to speak Thai (not that I speak much). I told her I was modelling in Bangkok. Her eyes lit up and she said "I've seen you in a magazine!" then rushes off to the back room and a few moments later shows me all these shots of someone who looked like me but wasn't. I smiled saying "this is not me". She looked confused because she was quite sure it was "not you? Uhm...is this your sister?" I started wondering "Who is this girl Elizabeth?"

I was at a party that very weekend and someone wanted to introduce me to a friend of theirs called Elizabeth. Ah, so we finally met! Before I could say to her "oh so YOU'RE Elizabeth!" She was saying "oh, YOU'RE Jojo!" because like me, people kept telling her the same thing (you look like this girl haha). That was years ago.

We ended up becoming really good friends and were even flat mates when we were modelling in Hong Kong.

Sometimes, we didn't even bother correcting taxi drivers or people who met us in passing when they said "sisters?" We just nodded and carried on our way :)

Visiting Ruby

I visited her almost everyday at the vets and each time, she would go "nuts" because she was so happy to see me! The vet said I could walk her as well so that was really healthy getting her out of her cage and allowing all that excited energy to be drained out of her system. Ruby did draw some stares though with her "satellite dish" round her head ;). Well, that's what I call it anyway. The actual term is Elizabethan collar I think because its shape is just like what Queen Elizabeth wore in that Victorian era. Anyways, Ruby was there for 10 days and the ulcer has completely cleared up! Relief isn't even the word. I'm so grateful her eye has healed itself. She's home now, thank goodness and my other 2 pugs seem really happy their smallest play mate is back! :)

Leisurely breakfast

I've just slept in and had a really late breakfast. There are so many movies I wanna catch up on and books that I haven't had the chance to even start on. I've decided to do some reading over this CNY break. I'm currently reading Slumdog Millionaire. Only read one chapter and have gotten straight into it. It's not the sort of book I would've bought but couple of my guy friends who've read it were raving about it. I know its been made into a movie but the guys I know who read the book said it's a pretty good movie, very well done etc but it's not as good as the book. It's always like that right? It's hard to compete with our own imagination. Gong Xi Fa Chai by the way! :)

London calling

You wouldn't want your phone to run out of battery when you're in a foreign country and then have the hassle of trying to find a public phone. Then again, it's so easy to spot the famous red phone booths in London. Plus, they're so cute. I made a call in one just for the fun of it! :)

Home on stilts

Well, I wasn't the only one who liked this old house...;)

Cameraman

This is my director of photography on Health Buzz. Since you make the shots look so good, it's worth all that waiting while you set up groan ;) no seriously, I rather you be the perfectionist that you are. Quality over quantity. The outdoor footage in particular is stunning! thank you, thank you, thank you, Adam :)

Old style

On our first day in Langkawi, we started exploring different parts of the island. We found this old house. It was apparently a hundred years old and preserved in excellent condition. I loved the wooden shutters which was the traditional style of that time.

Glad to be out of the city!

Yup, that's Jehan and me going nuts for no reason in between scenes:) We were filming an episode of Health Buzz in Langkawi and this traditional home behind us had a stunning view. The red brick path leads out to a swimming pool that opened up to a padi field for as far as the eyes could see. It would be like swimming in your own backyard in the wilderness. Really beautiful...

The grass is always greener on the other side

You know how people go out of their way to avoid the sun and stay fair in Asia? Well, it's quite the opposite in the West. When I was in England a few months back, I made it a point to visit Cambridge. It was really charming. A lot of cobblestone paths and I guess ultrasmart people walking around since it's home to Cambridge University ;)

Anyway, there was this lovely park with old trees and the sun was out. It was a beautiful sunny day in England which is often so miserable and cold so no one wanted to waste the sunlight because it's so precious! There were groups of friends chatting on a blanket, some studying, some having a picnic, some listening to their friend 'live' on a guitar (such a strange sight for me. You just don't see this sort of thing out here.

There were lovers sitting under trees or just lazing around together under the warm blue sky. I found a patch of grass myself and lay down to enjoy this romantic scene in the outdoors. I must've been the only one in the park lying in the sun with a long sleeved turtleneck (No la. It's not that I want to be 'fair and lovely') What's warm for them is still pretty cold for me haha but what a gorgeous day out.

I didn't want to go anywhere. I didn't feel like shopping or sightseeing. I felt so lazy and it was really nice not needing to be anywhere at all (was on a much needed holiday) I could have just laid there all day :)

Well, after having Harley and Pickle for just over a year, here's the latest edition to my pug family. Her name is Ruby. Hyper and absolutely adorable (beauty is subjective ;) She has such a wonderfully warm personality. She's so affectionate and curious about everything. What got to me was when I first met her, she was so friendly. She just ran right up to me. I was wearing a long indian gypsy skirt and she kept pulling at it thinking it was a curtain. the lady in the shop said "be careful ah. She might pull it off" haha.

Harley and Pickle

It all began with Harley (he's on the right). I've had dogs all my life but I've never been drawn to pugs till I met Harley. Funny thing is, I went to a breeder looking for a dashchund hound and I came home with a pug! Harley rushed up to me and started doing laps in the store and I just fell in love with him. He was so incredibly cute. I honestly started laughing when I first saw him. He was this bundle of energy and so mischievous. He reminded me of a baby yoda from Star Wars. Their faces have so much expression, so much character. After having Harley for a few months, I thought I better get him a friend so he'll always have company when I'm not in the house. Pickle (on the left) was the tiniest pug I'd ever seen. In fact, I was worried when I brought her home whether Harley would crush her. She was about 7 months in this photo and still small as a puppy. She was the actually the smallest of her litter yet the strongest. I've never had any problems with her. She's never fallen sick. Quite amazing. She's fallen into a drain once and she's so small that my boyfriend and me were terrified we lost her. Had no idea she fell into a longkang. But we managed to fish her out carefully thinking she may have injured herself or broken something but she just gets out of the drain and starts running like it never happened. And when I take them hiking, she's tireless and she doesnt allow Harley to bully her (you go girl!) even though he's double her size :) Harley is like a big baby. So manja, i tell you.

My very first blog!

I figured it's about time I started blogging so here I am. I'm getting into the whole process of writing. For eg, I am writing about "love" and relationships now which should air in Feb on MIX fm (not that I'm an expert but hey, pillow talk was all about men, women and relationships and it was so much fun :) At the moment, you might have heard my 2 scripts on MIX on "breathing right" and "waking up with a positive thought". Have you ever noticed that? How when the moment your eyes open and if you're feeling down, it can affect the rest of the day. Sometimes everything goes wrong when you wake up in a bad or stressed out mood? I know it's easier said than done, but I'm trying to consciously wake up and think of things or people that make me feel grateful. You realise that by even thinking these thoughts, that it automatically puts you in a good mood. Gratitude is a powerfully positive energy so be grateful for what you have. Till later then, :) and do write back so I can learn quickly how to blog (I know, I know, all you experts out there, go easy on me :)