Amanda Yip

New Hair Style

2012-09-18T21:59:00.002+08:00

For a change, I permed my hair around 2 weeks ago. The result, well, wasn't that good because it doesn't really curl much. Oh well, it's a change for me after all.

What made me have the urge to do it? Haha, it's Groupon! Yes! It's Groupon. I saw a deal back in May: $38 for Rebonding/Perm with L'Oreal Hair Treatment at Styling Room @ Downtown East. Actually, I bought the deal for 2 reasons:

1. Since it's only $38 + I've waited for so long to have my hair permed, might as well try it out.
2. It's just opposite my block. I just have to cross a traffic light, that's all.

Well, the result was bad because, in my opinion, the so called 'hair stylist' is not experienced at all. Oh well, or is it because it's a Groupon deal so every step has to be cut into half? Urgh! I'll NEVER visit that salon AGAIN!

Anyway, I've decided to do another perm and a hair dye in November before I leave for Sweden in early December. And yes, I just bought one Groupon each for the perm and color. I think I'm a little smarter this time round. I did some research on the salons before getting the Groupons. Apparently, both salons have quite good reviews. Shall see how it goes!

Heare is a photo of my 'bad permed hair'. I'm very happy with the length though. :p

TADA!

I'm back on Blogger!

2012-09-17T21:41:00.001+08:00

I can't believe it's been a whole year since I last updated my blog. Gosh! How time flies. Let me try and recall what has happened for the pst year and I'll summarise them into point form. :p

Let's start from here:
Oct 2011 - Found a part time transcription job for NIE. Actually, I got this job through my sister's friend who is also working for them as a transcriptionist. So, at that time, I was quite busy with the assignments given to me, almost doing it everyday including weekends.

Besides that, I started to watch Korean dramas extensively. Haha! If I didn't remember wrongly, I was watching Royal Family and.......can't remember the other one.

Nov 2011 - Still doing the transcription job and, at the same time, chasing after Korean drama. By then, I've finished with Royal Family and the other one, and watching Bad Guy.

Had a new friend who's planning to start his own business. Helped him out with his podcast as a co-host. It was really a tiring period for me cos have to do the transcription assignments which has deadlines and at the same time finding time to co-host the podcast. However, I would say it was a good experience for me.

Dec 2011 - Still working for NIE and helping out with the podcast. It was a rather boring Christmas for me. No overseas travelling, no Xiao Kai, no Christmas parties to attend, no nothing. Haha! In simple, my 2011 ended with nothing. :p

Went for an interview at Dialogue in the Dark Singapore as a part time project guide. Had to wait for a few weeks before they would contact me for updates.

Jan 2012 - Sort of stopped my transcription work cos no assignments were given to me. I was still helping the friend to do podcast but this time round I was more involved in his business startup plan, I would say.

What's more, CNY was around the corner so my mum did some CNY preparation. Plus plus plus, Xiao Kai and his parents were back in Singapore for CNY holidays. He's as cute as ever! :p

Feb 2012 - CNY month so attended a few family/relative gatherings. Xiao Kai and his parents left Singapore and flew back to Sweden. Oh! I miss you my Xiao Bao Bei.

Started a 7-day training at DiD. It was fun at the training. I realise my sense of direction is quite good. :p Got to know a lot of new friends, both VIP and non-VIP. I love them! :D

On the day of 'graduation', new guides were allowed to invite their family and friends (max 8 pax) to enjoy a free tour. I invited my parents, eldest sister and that friend to the free tour. Good feedback received. :)

Mar 2012 - Took my violin grade 5 practical exam. I was so stress during the exam that I played a few of my scales wrongly. Damn! Oh well, I still managed to get a Pass though.

For some reason, which I do not wish to type it here, I split up with that friend. No longer involved in his business plans and podcasts production. I would say, I freaked out.

So, I started working at DiD. It was so much fun to work there. Funny jokes, great laughters and fantastic colleagues (now friends). I simply LOVE this place! :)

Apr 2012 - Got an offer from FairPrice as a Customer Relations Executive. I had so much to learn. From using the CEM system to answering customer's queries in the 'correct' way, I even went back to office to work on a Saturday. I was really damn stress cos I was slow in doing admin stuff. Had to bring all my assistive devices to work everyday. I would say it was the most stressful 3 months in my life. Had to work OT until 9pm on Mondays and sometimes Tuesdays. Well, am I too taken for granted?

July 2012 - Left FairPrice and went back to DiD. Seriously speaking, I can feel the homely feeling at DiD which I never had when I was with FairPrice. I guess it's cos my colleagues working with me at DiD are all VIP, which makes me feel like I'm a part of the big family. I must be honest though, I felt so relieved and comfortable to be back at DiD. :)

Xiao Kai and his parents were back again for holiday. This time round, it's four of them including Xiao Ai (inside mummy's tummy) :p. Xiao Kai has named my room as 'Storey Ten"! Maybe it's a good idea to paste the name on my bedroom door. Haha! He's casily in loved with lift buttons and the level display biside the lift.

Aug 2012 - Xiao Kai and his parents left for Sweden again. Will get to meet them again in December. :).

Went Genting with Xiao Xiang. The trip was fun. Got to watch a dance performance by a group of youngsters. The performance was superb! All of them were so cool. A pitty that we didn't manage to have a ride on the monorail. I was actually waiting to get onto it for a ride. Well, we had as much fun driving the bumple car though. We went for 3 rounds if I'm not wrong. I've always loved driving the bumple car cos I can't drive a real car so that's like a substitution? Haha!

Overall, we had a lot of fun and good food. Especially the soup! Yummy yummy! But I'm missing the Cha Ye Dan and popcorn more than the soup. Keke!

Sep 2012 - The batch 6 interns have left DiD and now a new batch has came in. On their last day then I realised I actually love the bunch a lot! I thought DiD would be different without them. Oh gosh! I'm missing all of them already! :(

That's about all now. Will upload some photos in my subsequent posts.

TADA!~!~!~!~!

Regular meetup - 9 September 2011

2011-09-10T00:37:00.002+08:00

Regular meet up - Sept 2 2011

2011-09-03T18:36:00.002+08:00

Had KFC for dinner. Yumzzz

Good Deals!

2011-09-02T08:31:00.000+08:00

Got this Samsung camera from Groupon at only $135. I know that many people may have some not-so-good impression of cameras other than famous brands like Canon, Sony or Nikon. I admit that I am one of this group of consumers before I bought this camera.

The Canon camera I was using is not very good, in my opinion, because the shutter speed is not that fast when shooting without flash. So it tends to take blury pictures.

When I was pondering whether I should buy the Samsung camera, I thought how would a non-Canon camera perform better than a Canon camera. Anyway, I still placed my order in the end because it is really quite cheap. So I decided to give it a try, since I've never used or tried out cameras other than cameras from Canon, Sony and Nikon. And the result is quite unexpected, to me at least.

The pictures are quite sharp and clear and they were taken without flash. The shutter speed is quite fast. You can view some pictures taken at an outing with my friends two posts prior to this.

So, the Samsung PL20 has now become my new baby. Of course, I still hope to get a DSLR someday but since I don't have the ability to get one now, a good point and shoot camera like this should be enought for me.

New Blogger user interface

2011-09-01T21:03:00.001+08:00

Blogger has finally changed their website's user interface. I've just tested on the speed of uploading large sized images and I'm quite happy with it. I tried uploading a few 14.1MP pictures and they took like five minutes to finish uploading. Before that, Blogger used to take like 20minutes to upload two or three large sized pictures and that really freaked me out.

Anyway, with this satisfactory improvement, I'm gonna upload more photos to my blog from now on. I don't have to search high and low for an alternative way to upload them. For example, using web albums den copy the embled code onto blogger. That also took quite a bit of time. I even thought of changing my blog to Wordpress or Weebly. Now, I don't have to. I can just happily, easily and quickly upload my high resolution pictures here. Yay~!~!

Outing with IT User Support Grp at Esplanade - Aug 30 2011

2011-08-31T01:21:00.004+08:00

I took these photos with my new Samsung camera. I think the image quality is good. The images are quite sharp and clear. I love the fast shutter. =) And the best thing is it only cost me $145. Yipeeeee~~~

Birthday Celebration Part I

2011-06-14T18:42:00.020+08:00

A 3d1n Traders' Hotel stay.

Tioman - 14 May to 17 May 2011

2011-05-21T17:31:00.019+08:00

14th May - Have to meet up with Juan and Hans 6.30am at Woodlands checkpoint taxi stand so woke up at 4.15am to get ready. Sounds like very early and like got alot of time but I nearly ran out of time lo. No idea why also. Haha. Planned to get out of the house at 5.45am but in the end I got out of the house at around 6am. Luckily my dad fetched me there if not sure late until dunno wat time.

So, met up with them and boarded the bus. Off we go! We reached Mersing at around 9.30am. Our ferry was supposed to leave Mersing at 10am but in the end it left Mersing at 11.30am if I didnt remember wrongly.

And there we were at Tanoshi Resort. Very strong holiday resort feel. We had burgers bought at Kampong Genting for lunch. The burger was nice but forgot to take a picture of it. We were too hungry to care about our camera. Haha

We played poker for the afternoon and had dinner at the resort's cafe. The food was super delicious! Yumyum! =p

Anyway, it was high tide and the waves were quite strong. It scared me a little cos snorckeling is part of our plan. With this kind of waves, it's very scary for a non-swimer like me.

They are called the Twin Peaks.

15th May - Had breakfast den walk up to the rockfall to submerge ourselves in the cold waterfall. It rained in the middle of the night so the water was really cold. But it felt so good when we got into the water cos the weather was so hot.

After that, we went back for lunch and played poker while the people there help us get ready for snorckeling. I was a bit reluctant cos after witnessing the strong current, I thougt snorckeling would not be safe.

However, I still went and I regreted that I ever had the thought of not trying. It was really fun and exciting. The person guiding me is really good. And I got to touch a sea cucumbr. IThe texture is hard and the surface is quite rough. Great experience! =)

After the fun, we went back to take a shower and had dinner. Sounds like we're always eating right? Hahaha.

16th May - As usual, had breakfast. We slacked until lunch, playing poker again, and after lunch we took a boat to the other side of the island and walked up all the way to a very beautiful waterfall. We submerged ourselves in the water and splashed water into one another's face. But later that day den I heard from Juan that two brothers drowned there last year. It was in the news. Ewww!

That evening, we had a BBQ session with the people working there. I didnt really enjoyed the BBQ session though. Reason? I dun think I'm going to say it here. Haha. Anyway, I was glad cos we're leaving the next morning. Hee.

17th May (last day) - Had an early breakfast and off we go!

It rained a bit when we were leaving. Juan's dad said there was a storm far far away. The strong wind was sucking up the seawater and was causing very high waves. Luckily we werent out in the middle of the ocean. Now come to think of it, I have no idea which ocean we were close to. Haha

Instead of boarding the ferry immediately, we waited for 3 hours at Kampong Genting for the ferry. So wat can we do? Play poker lo, wat else. Haha. And, of cos, had lunch. Their ice milo there is super sweet. Instead of milo powder, they put milo chunks I think.

Finally, the ferry came and we boarded it at around 1.30pm. Instead of transferring to coach at Mersing, we transferred at Kampong Gumuk(not sure of the spelling). The bus journey was good. A new friend, Jasline, came back with us. Nice and chatty young lady. Haha.

And YES! We reached Singapore Woodlands checkpoint at 7.30pm. Time taken to go Tioman from Singapore was about 6 hours. But the returning journey took us 10 hours. Amazing. Haha.

And finally, home sweet home! =)

Photos - Convocation 2011

2011-04-09T20:29:00.011+08:00

Went to Esplanade to shoot graduation photos with my family. Had lunch at Thai Express.

Convocation 2011 - BSc Accounting and Finance, Yip Lai Foon!

2011-04-07T14:50:00.008+08:00

Today, 7 April 2011, marks the end of my life as a student. Woke up super early to get prepared. Reached school at 8.50am. Actually, I was considered late but they were, apparently, still in the process of registering students' name. Anyway, it was super crowded, graduants + guests of the graduants. Okie! Below are some photos for u to enjy. First of all, the bear below costs $55!

Job Offer

2011-03-24T12:09:00.003+08:00

I think I've mentioned in my previous posts that I intend to approach SPD instead of staying with Bizlink. Anyway, my plans have changed within the past 2 days.

On Tuesday, the company which I hade an interview with 3 weeks ago, called in the morning telling me that they are offering me position. Try for 3 months at $1.5k/mth and after the 3 months, if I am able to cope with the work, I will be converted to a perm staff and salary increased to my expected salary. Sounds not bad right?

So, my plan now is to accept the offer and see wat happens after the 3 months. If they are willling to convert me, I'll stay, if not, I'll approach SPD again.

Since I've waited so long for a job offer, I guess I should be feeling very happy. This sounds more logical right? But I dun feel the happiness in me leh. I think I'm feeling more towards nervous. In any case, this is wat I consider a 'real job offer' compared to the one before.

Ah well, things that should be done, must be done. Even if u're feeling super nervous until u feel like running away, u still have to set ur jaw and go all the way for it. This is life, yeah, I know...

The Supermoon in Singapore - March 19 2011

2011-03-19T17:54:00.008+08:00

I couldn't get to sleep last night/this morning and laid in bed for like 3-4 hours and den, suddenly, i remembered it's the day of the supermoon. So, i climbed out of my bed and quickly setup my camera. I was so lucky! I started taking pictures of the moon around 5:35am and the moon went behind the building opposite at around 5:55am. Woof!

Regular meetup... =D

2011-03-19T00:40:00.015+08:00

Had a regular meetup with xiao xiang and we went to have our first ever korean meal together at Sarang, Orrchard Central. The food was ok, I should say. Their Ginseng Checken Soup very ex thogh, it cost $22. To me, it's just a pot of msg soup. Oh well, overall the experience was good. Staff there were very polite.

After that, we went shopping a bit den headed to a desert shop and shared a bowl of Strawbery Ice Kachiang...yummy!!!

March 19 'Supermoon' May Cause Moonquakes, Scientist Says

2011-03-17T22:58:00.006+08:00

There’s a supermoon on the rise next week. And according to Internet buzz, it’ll bring a scary surge in natural disasters around the globe.

No way, Jose: Numerous scientists have reassured the public that there's absolutely no correlation between disturbances on Earth and this rare lunar phase.

But the moon itself? That's another story.

On March 19, Earth’s satellite will be at its closest point to our planet in 18 years -- a mere 356,577 kilometers away. The event -- also called a lunar perigee -- was dubbed a "supermoon" by astrologer Richard Nolle back in the 1970s. The term is used to describe a new or full moon at 90% or more of its closest orbit to Earth. Next week, it will be at 100%.

Nolle is responsible for coining the upcoming event, and he’s also responsible for the latest buzz sweeping the Internet about how the supermoon will affect the planet. On his website Astropro, Nolle warns Earth’s inhabitants to prepare themselves during the “supermoon risk window,” which ranges from March 16 – 22. During this time, Nolle claims there will be an increase in supreme tidal surges, magnitude 5 or higher earthquakes, and even volcanic activity.

Red: http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/03/12/supermoon-cause-moonquakes-scientist-says/

Cousin's 21st birthday

2011-03-13T19:28:00.006+08:00

Went to uncle's place to celebrate cousin's 21st birthday. =D

These photos were taken via my new Nikon Coolpix S80 digital camera. I feel that the quality of the pictures is quite good eh. Haha!

...to the IT show 2011

2011-03-12T17:39:00.004+08:00

Went to the IT show 2011 at Suntec Convention Hall. Supposed to meet my friends at 2pm but i decided to reach there earlier to walk around.

Actually, my intention was to shop for cameras la. Haha! And I know there wouldn't have enough time if I reach at 2pm. So, I sacrifised some sleeping time and reached Suntec at 12.30pm.

So, this is wat I've got yesterday. A Nikon Coolpix S80 in pink. Yup PINK! Haha. My favourite colour.

And these are the freebies I got from purchasing the camera.

1) a extra battery
2) 2 x 8gb SanDisk SD card
3) a screen protector
4) camera pouch
5) a tri-pod stand
6) a USB card reader

With all these freebies, I only paidy $370 for the camera. I really find it very wu hua (worth it). Do u think so too??

I also bought an 8gb SanDisk thumbdrive and guess how much did I pay for it? Heehee! $30? $25? No no no... I paid only $16! Damn cheap man.

Yup, so those are my great buys from yesterday's trip to the IT show. Wat a fulfilling day and I had a lot of fun with my friends. =)

2011-03-03T09:34:00.002+08:00

Went for another job interview yesterday. The job placement officer who secured this interview for me said that the interviewers have a very good impression of me. Hmm, but that does not mean anything ba.

Time flies eh. It's March already. Almost a quarter of 2011 has passed. Wat have I achieved so far?? Apart from a couple of job interviews, nothing else already. I haven't really started on my business plan. Oh no no!! I cannot go on like this. Something must be done.

I was discussing with my friends about seeing the MP to seek some hel in job hunting. They encouraged me to write in an e-mail to the MP but my sister tells me that I can just go down to see him, but of cos must see which day he will be in la. Anyway, I shall wait till tml and see wat SPD can do for me. Haha. Yup, besides Bizlink, I'm approaching SPD also. I'll see wat they say tml.

Some business ideas

2011-02-23T10:31:00.002+08:00

I've been thinking about setting up a little business online lately. There a few ideas in my mind

1) handmade fashion jewelr and accessories
2) mother/baby care products
3) wedding accessories

I'm particularly fond of handmade accessories. I dunno y but I just feel good about it. Well, I understand that doing a business is not for the sake of feeling good anot but whether is it profitable. At least, for me, money is more important for now.

I shall think over it carefully.........

2011-02-23T01:04:00.002+08:00

Went to SAVH with ah ling on Sat. The weather was damn damn damn hot!!! I think I shuld go genting to cool myself down. Hahaha...

Anyway, had lunch with ah ling at a nearby coffeeshop. The carrot cake really taste good. However, too much would cause disutility so may change to another choice next time.

Hope everything goes well from now on.

Some recent updates

2011-02-22T03:08:00.008+08:00

From now on, I shall update my blog more often since I'm so free at ome.

Shal start with some random photos of my little nephew and others....like CNY and X'mas.

Had Tang Yuan (lutinus rice ball) on the 15th day of CNY. I always like this desert, not just for CNY purpose but also on a non-festive day.

X'mas gifts I got.

My sisters and I baked some fruit tarts some time ago. I cant remember which month we baked it, either December or January.

My little nephew is very cute right?!?!?! I think he can win any baby contest on earth. Hahaha!

Haha! I feel that there's no other babies cuter than my nephew. Is this bias?? Keke.

Apart from the happy stuff, I am confused with anotheissue which I've shared with a few of my close friends. After this incident, I realised that nothing on earth would stay the same, not the environment uand I are living in, not the r/s with ur loved onse, not even a friendship which u once thought would last forever. So what if u were very very close with that person in the past? That does not mean anything when u accidentally crossed his/her path.

Haha. It sounds abit negative ya but this is how I'm feeling right now.

Well, I think I should just let it go la. I understand that different pple have different definition of 'close friends'.

Aiyah. I'll just let it go. And since I've done watever I can to 'revive' this friendship, I owe nothing to anyone, including myself.

p/s: I nv expected I'll be the last to know. Sigh....This goes to show........

First post via iPhone

2011-01-07T16:58:00.002+08:00

Hi all. This is my 1st post via my new toy.

Its been ages since I last updated my blog. No interesting has happened except that I just quit the call center job. Really, it's not wat I really want.

In the past, I feel that just to have a 'job' is good enough for me. But after working in the call centre industry for only 2 months, i realized that having 'any' job is not wat I'm looking for.

The colleagues there are nice n friendly, yes, but .....

I wonder if starting up a small business would be a more practical idea.

Hmmm

2010-10-24T20:12:00.002+08:00

I am so happy that I got to meet up with many of my good friends yesterday. Too bad that I forgot to take pictures with them. Ah well. Luckily I'll get to meet them again in 2 weeks' time for ktv and Sakura lunch/dinner. =D

This time must remember to take lots of pictures eh.......

I'm excited!

2010-09-04T08:00:00.002+08:00

I'm damn excited! What about? Haha! I'm excited about my Hong Kong trip with one of my bestie! This is my first ever holiday trip with her. We are planning to grab cosmetics and skincare products cos hit is super cheap (according to her aunt). Although I've been to HK before, I've never realised and have never made any effort to discover that cosmetics and skincare products are very cheap.

According to her aunt, the prices can be half the prices charged in Singapore. Even DFS are selling at a higher price. Can u imagine?? How amazing man.

So, we'll be flying on 27th of November. So so so excited!!! And now the exchange rate for SGD to HKD is very high! Hohoho!!! Must start planning aleady. Some places are 'must go', for example, The Victoria Peak, Causeway Bay, the 'entrance' to Disneyland, etc. We wont be going into Disneyland cos the tickets are quite expensive. S$70 leh. Not worth right? But my bestie wants to go to Ocean Park which is almost as expensive. But, well, I'm open to any option. I love disney characters but, at the same time, i love dophins too. How to compromise? Haha. Perhaps I should go for dophins. At least dophins are real and 'alive'. haha.

It'll be early winter in November so the weather would be cooling and nice (for me). Haha. I love the 'cold'.

You know I was abit weary about travelling 'myself''. I mean without my family around. Although this is not the first time I'm going on holiday without my family, it just feels different cos it'll be only the two of us. Which means that she may need to take care of me (help me see menus/price tags, etc, tell me if there are staircases) . But I would really like to go travelling with her. Not only that we have never done it before but also I wan to try and test my ability to do things which others can do. This is also why I suggested Hong Kong to her. It's a place where I am quite familiar and comfortable with, the language, the culture, the food, etc. If this trip goes smoothly, we plan to visit Taiwan together next time. Haha. Although I dun really like Taiwan, I feel that it's the person who goes with you.

Okie! Counting from now, I have 2months 23days to plan for the trip. Since I'm still so free now, I might as well be the planner.

p/s. Bestie! I'll make sure you gain weight from this trip. HAHAHA!!!

Sarah Chang - Johann Sebastian Bach - Air on the G string

2010-08-07T02:11:00.000+08:00