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My experience as a Maiko-san in Kyoto

2013-05-15T02:54:00.000+02:00

continuation of my japan posts.
Helloo! Is this post a year overdue? Yeah I think so. I intended to post this right after my Kyoto trip, but the only reason why I didn't post it might sound silly to you. Basically I don't feel so photogenic as a Maiko! Silly reason right? It's just a bit embarrassing for me because I like to post good pictures of myself. Yes, I am shallow like that. But I promised I would do it, so here I am: posting about my maiko-henshin experience (maiko transformation). It's was a by far one of the best experiences in Kyoto. Everything was arranged by my host-mom and I seriously doubt I could do anything without my host family's help. They were simply the best. I am going to quote some things I remember hearing from my host-mom so if there is any mistakes I probably remembered it wrongly.

You can read about my Kyoto post here and the whole Japan tag here.

The word maiko literally translates to "dancing child" (mai = dance, ko = child). A maiko is an apprentice geiko (same as geisha, just in Kyoto dialect) who must undergo a period of training where she learns the various arts such as dancing, singing, music and learning the dialect of Kyoto. The term geiko is more popular used and means "child of art" (gei = art, ko = child) rather than geisha "person of art" (gei = art, sha = person).

I was unable to take pictures, but luckily my host-dad could! I am so happy they turned out so great~ He even took pictures inside the house and that's really awesome because it's so easy to forget places and little interactions here and there so seeing pictures really sparks my memory.

The maiko-henshin studio was small, but the people were very nice. You enter the place, they greet you and we discuss what kind of plan you want - different plans, different prices. I chose the one where I get my make-up done, choose my kimono, select four pictures for my photo-album and I get to walk around Gion for 60 minutes. You can also get a professional photographer to accompany you, but that's pricier!

By the time I had decided, everything was happening really fast after that. I'm stripped down to my bra and they began removing my make-up and applying the white base (an oil called Binzuka Abura, used for Kabuki as well.) I can still remember the cold brush against my skin and whoosh whoosh all done. So quick! I took a peak and I almost fainted! I looked like a ghost! I was actually terrified of myself. I couldn't see my lashes or anything. It was just all white! At that point I was in regret because I looked horrible, but after she finished my make-up I loved it. The first picture shows the final make-up look. I really love it! LOL you can see my brows are a lot thicker but she just covered it with the oil.

I am wearing a semi-wig where they use the front and the back of my hair and they tuck my hair into the wig and brush some oil on it. It looks more natural than wearing a full wig. fyi it is frickin' heavy! This is no joke. It was like walking with a huge stone on top of my head lol it was really tight as well.

Did you know that a maiko can develop a bald spot because of the hair tugging? Also: a maiko sleep with their neck supported on a special wood block. Maiko do not wear a wig (like I did) so it's necessary to sleep on those special supports to preserve the shape of their hair.

After the make-up, I get dressed! Getting dressed was fun and seemed complicated with all the layers. I am klutz when it comes to clothes so of course I am even more of a klutz when it comes to kimonos. Luckily my host-mom really knows her stuff and she picked out the kimono and hair flower accessory for me: I remember it was Wisteria because of the season. It's cool to know I am trying to be authentic :-) The kimono had so many layers and it was tight too. It was definitely something to get used to because it was so STRAIGHT. I couldn't bend so it was all about posture, posture, posture. If I thought my hair was heavy, I obviously had no idea that my kimono was going to be even heavier.

The kimonos geisha/geiko/maiko wear are much more expensive than what I am wearing! By much more, I really mean crazy expensive. I don't remember exact prices though. Besides the kimonos, maiko wear platform sandals which are several inches high - probably higher than what I am wearing. To think that you can dance gracefully in these heavy kimonos is quite amazing.

Then we head down to a shrine. It's a professional photographer who takes your pictures and he will help you get into the right pose. I am really not the best model so I bet he was a bit frustrated with me :-( I rarely get my pictures taken ya know. So I was really awkward! Sorry!

After the photo-shoot I am free to walk around in Gion! 60 minutes don't sound like a lot, but it is. Especially in a scorching hot day wearing a super-duper heavy-hot kimono. I am easily hot too so multiply the heat with a factor twelve. We basically walked around and I pretended to be a maiko and I remember seeing people turn around and hearing "maiko, maiko, maiko" and "kawaii!". Before I was dressed up we met a elderly couple who wearing saying "it's just a fake maiko people" and we were conversing with them and all - ironically I was going to dress up as a maiko a couple of hours later lol. By the way: I was not the only one doing maiko-henshin because I met many other fake Maiko-san in Gion o(〃＾▽＾〃)o

Overall an awesome experience. Naturally I am a bit shy so I was indeed overwhelmed with how much attention you get, but it was so worth it. It was a very memorable experience which I could not have experienced without the help from my host-family. It was expensive, but definitely worth it.

How often can you say that you got to walk around as a Maiko in Kyoto? Not very often!

The plan I chose cost 13.500yen and an additional 2.500yen for the CD-R which is a total of approx. $160USD.

I wanted the CD-R because I wanted all pictures the photographer took! (●♡∀♡) I don't really care for the prints, but I want the raw images! But to my biggest surprise when I got home to Tokyo, they had actually forgotten to include the CD-R (╥﹏╥) !!! I wrote them an email and they sent me the CD as well as a handwritten note in Japanese. It's very good manners right? I was just glad they hadn't deleted the files after I left the place, but the handwritten note left me with a good feeling. There is just something about handwritten letters opposed to an email.

That's it!

If you are going to Kyoto and you're thinking "aaah, should I. Is it worth it?" then I hope you do! It's awesome to try something new. It was my first time wearing my hair like that, kimono like that and definitely make-up like that. I got a glimpse of how it feels to wear the make-up and clothes like a maiko, but I can imagine that there is so much more.

It's quite mysterious world and to me... it just makes it even more exciting!

What do you think of Geishas? Would you try Maiko-henshin?

I bet some people disapprove of Maiko-henshin, but it comes with pros because it keeps the geisha/maiko somewhat interesting and relevant in today's modern Japan. I think many Japanese girls (and foreign girls) want to try it atleast onece because when will you ever get to try it?

Being a geisha is not only an occupation, but a lifestyle too.

I believe in God

2013-05-09T02:50:00.000+02:00

So my cousin had his confirmation party. Lovely day; it was all family from both sides.
Basically 50/50 Danish and Vietnamese people because his step-dad is Danish. It was held in a little city in the countryside where they live so it was a very cosy party. It was held in a very Danish manner because they had ordered a cater so we didn't had to do a single thing <3 That's just the best thing about Danish parties; I don't have to do damn thing. I just need to be present and eat. I don't have to help with the cooking, cleaning or servicing. So the day was really great.

We also sang and my cousin gave a moving speech for his stepdad and mom. To think that my little cousin could give such a moving AND witty speech! I looked around and it moved many to tears. His speech to his mother was especially moving and I bet it was a very special mom/son moment. My cousin was tearing up as well!!! It's just so darn moving when that happens. The ones giving the speech is about to cry. Talk about AWW-moment.

The food was really good too - a little bit on the heavy side, but very tasty. As entrees we had patty shell with chicken filling and our main course was buffet. There was also dessert which was pancakes with icecream and then we had coffee time with cake and lastly a midnight snack, hotdogs. If all parties were like this, it's no wonder we get a bit soft （‐＾▽＾‐）

For the party, my sister picked my dress. It's not white, but sort of pink-ish tint and goes really well with my hair. I had flats with me too. Who knows how long we stayed there and wise choice it was. We went home at around 2AM!

For my curosity:
When you arrive to a party/event, what do you do? (you don't know them)
(a) Do a round where you shake hands with everybody?
(b) Silently smiles at people / wave and casually say hi.

Well, Danish people do the a round with handshakes. I am just happy I was early for my cousin's party because then people come and greet me! I am really awkward with handshakes and it just doesn't come naturally for me. When I meet strangers, I am more for waving from a distance with a "hi" （￣ー￣）

I really want to change that. I want to be the kind of person who extends my hand first.
I just love when people do that! A good handshake is great start~

i love kind people

2013-05-03T02:42:00.000+02:00

Last week was incredibly boring, but luckily there are always little things that brightens my days.

I have two stories for you.

(1)

On one of my school-days I was running late. I only live 200m from the bus-stop so I thought I could make it and I ran to my bus-stop, but before I could get there - the bus drove by.

Suddenly a car which had passed me while I was running, starts backing and a window is scrolled down. The man says: "I see your bus just passed by and you obviously didn't catch it. Do you need a ride to the next bus-stop? I bet we can catch up with the bus." A complete stranger just offered me ride! I know what some of you might be thinking: "Don't get into a stranger's car!" but honestly it never crossed my mind that he might have been a complete psychopath so I thanked him and jumped into the car.

Whether he was or wasn't isn't the point of the story, but just the fact that he was so nice. I mean, don't you guys think it was incredibly nice of him? He wasn't even going in the same direction as me.

(2)

I am sitting at the bus-stop and a homeless man with a loudbox is playing. He starts chatting me up, asking me where I am from and he says something about traveling in Thailand or something. He's a Danish man, but he starts dissing Danish people saying they are lazy, stupid and slow potatoes. At this point, I don't really know what to respond because if I agree he's going to be offended since he's Danish himself so my mouth is just shut.

Suddenly he says he loves Thai people because they are always ready to fight. I look at him and then he just comes closer at me and this time he has drumsticks in his hands and he just shouts ready to fight! I am really freaked out because it looked like he was going to attack me. Then a man walks across the street and stands right between me and the homeless man. He looks over to the homeless man and says: "Can you turn down that garbage? This is a public place and you need to respect that. You should also stop harassing the young lady. I saw it from the other side of the street." The homeless man does as he's told and the other man stands there for a while and then stands there for 10 minutes and goes back to the other side of the street to buy some food.

He walked all the way from the other street with his bag to assure that I wasn't going to get harassed.

That's nice right? He wasn't even from the city!

***

I guess, I look like person who needs to be saved? I am happy and grateful for their kind actions.

There are still tons of kind people out there. Sometimes I just forget because most people seem so indifferent. Nowadays everybody has a I-don't-give-a-fuck-attitude and as my old teacher once said - being indifferent can be worse than doing something wrongly. At least when you are doing something, it shows that you care..

Despite the boring classes, the weather was awesome! The sun was out and the weather was warm.
I wanted to go the park, but I went to a friend's house instead and she made food. She must be used to it because it was done rather quickly. I didn't even know she made it for me until she put in on two plates (＾▽＾)

We carried the food outside and we sat and talked. The day was actually intended for some photographing, but eating food is always nice. I really hope I can go to the park next time. Nothing is better than chilling at the park. Possibly with a cold drink and a sandwich in my hand. Ooh, that sounds so nice~

When the weekend came, I went home because my cousin's confirmation party.

The traffic back home was terrible though. People were driving really stupid that day and they kept driving into each other! There would be an accident on the other side of the road and people would get distracted and thus they create another car accident on their side of the road. So in total; there was 3 accidents right after each other. So it was one long bus-ride home! At one point I could walk out of the bus and just walk right next to the bus. That's how slow it went. It was a Friday too so there was lots of people who was on the road.

When I got home there was a bunch of family drama, but I am not going into to much details about that (＾▽＾)
It will just give you a headache! So let's just stick with the light-hearted stuff..

Oh! before I forget! I DYED MY HAIR! Woohoo. It's just a lighter brown though.
What do you think?

Also: did anything good happen to you lately? Met any nice people or had similar experiences?
Okayyy, see ya very soon! very very soon o (◡‿◡✿)

There is another post and my maiko-henshin experience in queue. Hopefully it's interesting (─‿‿─)

sausauge buns! again!

2013-04-30T01:45:00.000+02:00

We made these earlier this week, but I never got around to post it so I figured I'll do it now. This is a random post with no purpose besides showing how pretty and delicious they are! I just love sausauge buns.. or just any white bread really! <3 I bet I was a fat kid in my previous life... because I dream about food all the time and when I am not dreaming about food, I am thinking of different ways to combine food so it taste better lol! I am crazy about bread, cookies, chocolates and sweets. I might be the only one in the house who loves those (excluding my father, he loves them too!)

Mom/Dad: Look what we just bought! Cookies/cakes/bread, wanna taste?
Me: Yummyyyyy~ NOM NOM!
Sister: Why don't you ever ask me?
Mom/Dad: Because you never say yes and you don't like sweets.
Sister: Oh. Right... it's still nice to be asked!
Me: Don't complain. I am the one who's getting fatter :-( but it's so good~

Okay, bye!

Blinging my Nintendo 3DS! (｡♥‿♥｡)

2013-04-28T02:55:00.001+02:00

Hi! So yeah, I've been away for a while. A good three weeks (¬‿¬).

You see... I haven't had much of a life since I got myself a Nintendo 3DS. You can't blame me; I just love a good game and it was time to move from my Gameboy Advance anyways. I need to get with the times（＾_＾）

I bought it, I loved it and now I am giving it a bit of a treat. I am the type of person who loves to do that little bit extra to my things: I blinging my 3DS!☆★☆★ I was THRILLED when I got my 3DS and naturally I wanted to show off. Since nobody is playing the 3DS I might as well make mine super-duper-adorably cute and pretty. So kids and adults can envy me! On a more serious note, it's kinda sad that gaming consoles are dying because games were a huge part of my life when I was younger o(╥﹏╥)o.. It's a shame kids won't experience that now that they are on the smartphones..

So yessshhh moving on: I blinged it! Yes, it's time consuming, but oh-so-easy and oh-so-pretty.

Isn't it pretty?! I used around 550 rhinestones and it's so sparkly! Hihi..

For the curious souls, I am playing Harvest Moon Tales of Two Towns (which I absolutely adore) and I think I have clocked several hours (probably more like days lol). Also, did I mention that people are saying 3DS are for kids and apparently it's not cool?! Girl please.. that's outrageous! It's for adults too.. Games aren't reserved for kids and what's NOT cool about playing games? (*≧▽≦) I just don't get the mentality of kids these days. By the way, recommend me some games? teehee.

Ending with some random pictures:

Maybe it's just my country, but the weather has been lovely lately. The sun is warm and bright and it's still light even when it's late. I love that! Like I said, I haven't been up to much. I have been sick these last couple of weeks and I'm still a little sick. Why can't I be like everybody and lose a couple of pounds when I am sick? о(ж＞▽＜)ｙ

Oh well.

Bye till next time!

Love, Sally!

.13 Nail Art: purple and white bows

2013-04-05T16:31:00.000+02:00

Just a quick nail art which involves bows! <3 my all-time favorite design.

I usually do red bows and black outlining, but lighter colors are more appropriate now. However red bows are definitely prettier on top of nude nails. Having said that, purple's not half-bad, pretty cute though.

btw I did these in my Easter holiday (◍•ᴗ•◍)

take a chance, you only live once

2013-04-02T03:30:00.000+02:00

If you know the manhwa Noblesse - you might see that my drawing resembles Seira.

She is supposed to look serene and calm which I hope I have achieved ヾ♥▽♥ノ

This is one of the few (and rare) times where I draw manga and freehand so it's an awesome feeling to complete it. It's even in 3/4 view of the face which is pretty difficult for me. I am so proud of myself! I intended to work with colors, but I've never worked with watercolors so I chickened out. Nonetheless it's still pretty. (I'm shamelessly complimenting it, but it's prettier on paper!~(￣▽￣)~)

Did you know that I wanted to be manga-ka when I was younger? Obviously, I grew out of it. I also wanted to be a scuba-diver, stewardess and any kind of drawing/painting artist. All of those are somewhat financially unstable occupations (except being a stewardess, but I have motion-sickness lol) Now it's dentistry which is considered stable, but I do wonder if I would have succeeded if I had pursued art instead.

I guess I am saying that I shouldn't have held myself back then. I should have pursued it back then. Now it's too late and it remains a hobby. I am not unhappy because I am easily satisfied ヽ(‘ー`)ノ but it's hard to excel when it's *just* a hobby. That annoys me because I want to be great, not just good. I want to be the best in whatever I do.

Among other things I have been thinking of: Dying my hair into a fun color.
The one thing I say I want to do, but I never ever do! Come on Sally. It's Spring and that calls for light fluffy colors. I really want to embrace it! So why don't I just do it?!

Why am I so afraid? It's just hair! It grows back you know.. In theory I could and *should* just dye it whatever color, but I am hesitant. This is easier said than done so I am just going to add it to the Bucket List.

I just need to remember to pursue everything. Otherwise I am wasting precious time by saying I want to do things but never do it ヾ(´･･｀｡)ノ”

So.. Do you like the picture? Also: Ever wanted to do something or be something, but never got around to it? Why if so.

Love, Sally

PS. Happy Easter Sunday!

PSS. Did you notice my new layout? (>‿◠)✌ It's not complete yet, but it's getting there. My old one was so messed up. I edited too much and it was impossible to work with so I modified the Simple template. See that floral link list? Took me 1 hour to make only that. Omg~

PSSS. Noblesse is frickin' AMAZING and everybody should read it. I'm prettyyy picky so trust my taste! I am totally in a manga-mode now (●♡∀♡)

.12 Nail Art: Pucca love and throwback nails

2013-03-28T00:42:00.000+01:00

Hello! ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ Are you guys enjoying Easter holidays as well?

I have a week off because of Easter so I am home and I am also.. doing my nails! I miss my long nails so much. Since I have patients now and it involves me having my fingers in people's mouths like half the time, I can't really have long nails nor nail-polish due to school regulations. Me, who used to have so long nails ... it's frickin' sad (╥﹏╥)

Monday I did a simple PUCCA nail art. I used acrylics paint to make my Pucca - everything is so much easier with acrylics paint. I only wore them that day though. The colors aren't exactly what I call Spring colors so I did something else（〃・・〃） I like to go with the seasons, but it's still a pretty cute nail-art.

Lastly, some of my old nail-art (click here to see all) Oh I miss those times! I am probably going to make the bows again because those are my all time favorite! but the 'Waves of Kanagawa' were the most beautiful ones I ever did.

So tell me, which ones did you like the best? (≧◡≦) and what's your favorite nail art? (whether it's your own or tumblr, heartit etc.)
Love, Sally

Uljjang-fy your face with 10 Photoshop steps

2013-03-17T12:41:00.001+01:00

READ THIS: I don't liquify my face on a normal basis, but I want to show how easy it is done with Photoshop. Don't trust ulzzang/uljjang pictures too much :-) They use Photoshop too! I know I know.. they are already very pretty to begin but if you happen to see someone who's so pretty that it almost seems unreal then it probably is :-) We ain't perfect and uljjangs ain't any different.

Everything is about Photoshop nowadays so I thought it would be fun to do this! Hihi.

OUR "GOAL"
Uljjangs usually have:

Small face with a pointy chin
Pale skin
Big eyes
Slim/high nosebridge or small nose
Straight eyebrows
And probably more, I don't follow uljjangs so closely to know...

In my opinion: if you are going to photoshop your picture you should aim for it to look real and natural (even if it's not). Over-photoshopping is so bad lol. Nothing's worse than seeing obviously photoshopped pictures :'-( Especially when I see obviously pasted eyelashes I just want to cry..

Before starting, you need:
- Photoshop (I am using Photoshop CS6)
- HQ picture of yourself = high resolution please! No cellphone pictures! just no! I can't emphasis this enough: Always use HQ pictures! If you wear make-up, it makes Photoshop so much easier :-)
-This is optional, but if you want false-lashes. Brushes can be found here by ~redheadstock@deviantart

10 PHOTOSHOP STEPS
I'd start with liquify first, but in the picture I didn't... But best to liquify first :-) This is an example on how it could look like. Or what I did :-)

Duplicate background and brighten eyes, lips, nosebrigde etc. with the Dodge Tool. It's not the white part of the eye you're going to darken, but the actual eye. You want the eyes to sparkle! Also darken lashes with Burn Tool.
New Layer → Remove blemishes with "healing blush tool" or "patch tool"
Add eyelashes. Do one lash at the time and adjust with Free Transform (Edit → Free Transform) and erase the lashes so it fits the eye. Do the other eye and set the Layer to opacity: 70%.
New Layer → Merge visible layers (ctrl+alt+shift+e) → Soft light 50%
Play with colors Layer → New Adjustment Layer
Continue playing with effects and colors until you are satisfied. It doesn't have to be only Curves and Color Balance. Use whatever you want.
(If you have already used Liquify, skip this) New Layer → Merge visible layers → Filter → Liquify = make your face smaller by pulling jaw up, make chin pointy, nose smaller, eyes bigger, hair bigger, body smaller, brows straighter etc etc.!! play with the brushes :-)
New Layer → Merge visible layers → Filter → Blur → Surface blur and set opacity until you're satisfied
See picture: use Eyedrop tool to match lip color and remember to erase the blush to fit the cheeks.
See picture and you're finished.

FINISHED PRODUCT

This was actually fun.. I didn't go overly dramatic with the liquify tool because I started to look really weird... By pulling the jaw up and shrinking my nose made a big difference.. Making the hair bigger made a huge difference too.. it looks FREAKY though!!! If I could do someone else face- that would be cool...
Btw I am not going to post the original :-D

However! I *do* have selca pics from my iPhone from the same time. I am using an app called 360camera which I love! :') My favorite filters (in order) are Fresh, Sweet, B/W and Sunshine.

Maybe it's just me, but I think I take prettier pictures with my iPhone. It's much easier to control.. I don't know how people do it with DLSR's..
It's impossible for me to get a decent shot of myself with a DSLR.. so I rarely take pictures of myself with the DSLR..

If you made it so far.. I know there is a lot of pictures of my in this post :-D I had a rather boring day because there was a snowstorm and I was trapped inside my home all day :-( I was supposed to be with a friend, but we cancelled it :-( I thought Spring was finally here.. I guess not..!!!

Also: I am not encouraging anyone to Photoshop their pictures, but if you are going to do it - do it right I guess.. If you thought this was interesting - GREAT <3 It would be cool if someone linked me their uljjang picture!!!!! XD would be awesoooooome!
*Love, Sally

My Studio Apartment Part 2 (re-arranging)

2013-03-15T23:19:00.001+01:00

I've re-arranged my studio apartment. I wasn't fully satisfied with the old arrangement (Read here) which is why I re-arranged the place. This is actually my second time moving my furniture around and I think I'm satisfied now.. Or at least for the time-being! There is still much to do - like decorating my walls and also using the big wall-space, but for now it's good! (✿◠‿◠)

I wanted to divide my studio apartment to create an illusion of a bigger room. Also to make it more functional. Honestly.. I was getting tired of living in ONE giant room. I was just bored with the old arrangement and it didn't have much flow. Now it's so much better. Better flow and I like it. I have areas so I don't feel like I am just in one room. When I am in bed, I am relaxing/chilling/sleeping and when I am not, I am probably occupied with something else (❁´◡`❁)

Imagine this. You walk in, take off your jacket, drop your bag on the chair and walk over to the drawer. You pull out your phone, plug it to the speakers and your favorite music starts playing. You continue: cook, exercise, study and when the night's calling - you change to your pajamas and head to the bed area and sleep/relax/watch a movie. Uhm uhm <3 Did I mention that I can reach everything now? I don't have to WALK all the way to the other side anymore. I can reach everything regardless if I am in the dining area or chill area (︶ω︶)

Oh! here's the new floorplan! Hihi!

What am I missing now? A big mirror! Flying shelves, DIY clothing rack, semi-translucent white curtains and lastly storage place for make-up. The first three are the most needed right now.. ノ(ノ＞▽＜。)ノ There is still some details and decorations I am missing, but when I get the essentials, it will be easier to decorate!

Yup yup. I love writing about my studio.. I just love love love this place! <3

Btw. what does your room/studio look like? I am so curious..!

Random extra picture: A recent picture I put a Topaz effect over! I really like this effect for some reason. It reminds me of Frida Kahlo (∩_∩) Maybe it's the colors.. (See Sandy! I do see/listen when you talk about Frida Kahlo.)

* Bye! Love, Sally

bloom.. spring's here..

2013-03-05T23:25:00.000+01:00

Spring is here and I love it. Why I love Spring? I love Spring because it's a sweet season. What I love about Spring is my mind starts working again. Tic tic tic. Winter - the time where everything stops: mind and body - it's charming in it's own way, but so empty. At least to me. Everything is in hibernation or just lifeless. I don't like that. I like to move all the time. That's why Spring is great - it comes around and trees grow leaves, flowers bloom, colors spread and people move outside their homes. I always think it's it's beautiful to think of seasons like this. What it makes us do and think. I am happy Winter is over because it's my least favorite season.

Another reason why I like Spring.. Don't they always say- Love blooms in Spring? 'cus that's why I think of Spring as the season of love. I like to think I might find someone special, but I doubt it. Honestly speaking: I don't have space for anyone besides myself at the moment. I am too young and there is too much I don't understand. I am not ready.

Am I being odd for saying that?

Bloom - The Paper Kites

turn it up and relax

2013-02-26T21:42:00.004+01:00

I am obsessed with this playlist. Tell me if you like it. Personally - I think it's absolutely flawless! Can you say endless repeat? It's times like these that I am thankful for my dear sister; without the speakers I got from her it wouldn't be the same. On big speakers = my mind's blown. Absolutely blown.

I know I haven't been blogging much. I am taking day by day and I must say I am loving the independent aspect of life. I still go home pretty often though (＾▽＾) I am trying to manage how to be social and still go home whenever I can. I will reveal that I haven't quite figured everything out! (~_~;) but it's sort of working if I just plan my time right! Like a couple of days ago it was girls' night and it was BRILLIANT. Different yes, but brilliant. Them girls are so lovely. We had dinner and went out as well. I must admit I'm not one to refuse any night-outs, but lately I just want to stay home and relax. I am becoming boring! Shock! Earlier last week I also went out and it ended horrible with a kid grabbing my ass. I'm no drama queen, but it definitely seemed like it because some girls are so fierce and jumped the kid. By ,,jumped,, I mean confronted him. I am against violence in the nightlife because nothing is more embarrassing than fighting in public.
☆ 'nuff said, listen to the playlist because it's amazing!

Love, Sally
ps.: I am slow with replies, but I am still reading your blogs (*^。^*)

damn you valentines day!

2013-02-14T20:59:00.003+01:00

Another year being single. So damn you 'diet' and I'm eating cake! On the side I am eating nashi pear and strawberries and enjoying tea while watching good romantic movie. I guess you can call it a "me-day". Of course this day was triggered by something I witnessed today. I was buying groceries and I witness to dudes buying roses and flowers to their girlfriends and I think to myself: "aww that's sweet. What's the coincidence that two friends would buy flowers to their girlfriends on the exact same day?" and DING DING DING it said. It's f*cking Valentines day. Even without a s/o; this year I will try to create my own little romantic atmosphere. I am not going to pretend it's not Valentines because obviously it's not possible. I am treating myself because I deserve it! Just a little rant ^o^ Hope you single (or taken) ladies are well during Valentines day ;-) Whatever you do on this day, it's ALRIGHT!
Go ahead and eat whatever you want, do whatever you want and buy whatever you want ;-) we deserve it! Gotta love yourself sometimes, but remember.. A moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips! Haha, I will work out this weekend and I won't drink any alcohol..

Love, Sally

.11 Nail Art: simple lunar new year

2013-02-10T17:05:00.004+01:00

Chúc mừng năm mới or happy lunar new year!
It's been FOREVER since I did my nails, but for LNY I did an easy and simple red nail art with gold gradients and gold chunky glitter. Proper LNY colors.

For LNY, have a great time with the family and remember to eat a lot :-) Hopefully you are receiving some New Year gifts ;-) I am home with the family right now and we are already eating good food! <3 I love LNY and LNY is not complete without a New Year greeting: Wish you best of health and happiness!

A pic from my b-day :') LNY is always around my birthday..

Love, Sally

out of tens - into twenties!

2013-02-10T01:35:00.000+01:00

Last week I celebrated my twentieth birthday and it was amazing <3 It was a dinner and everyone made it. Me sister and I made the birthday-cake and the rest was my mom's work. She swore she would never arrange/cook anything, but it's not fair for the birthday-child to do everything right? ;-) So she made a wonderful course dinner; wonton soup and fried wonton -then we had Vietnamese salad and shrimp chips on the side and as the main course we had banh hoi (Vietnamese dish) and pork. Somewhere in between the dishes were steak which was pretty random because everything else was Vietnamese dishes XD Lastly we had the cake which was the best cake ever. We took inspiration from the Japanese Strawberry Shortcakes and it was damn tasty! All in all, it was a lovely evening and I received gifts and much love so I am a content twenty year old ;-) If you are wondering about the decorations hahah it's something I won so we decided to use it haha!!!! After the week was over, I went back to Aarhus and school has begun. I am having loads of responsibilities now that I have my own patients. I celebrated on the actual day with a classmate which was very cosy. I had actually forgotten it was my birthday because I had already celebrated it, but it was really heartwarming to receive messages on both the phone and Facebook :')

So... All I have left to say is: Goodbye 10's and Hello 20's! Sorry for the photospam! I just felt like it LOL.

Also: Happy Vietnamese New Year / Lunar New Year! I am going home to me family yayyyy <3 like most Asians? I suppose XD

Love, Sally

january 2013

2013-01-31T16:23:00.001+01:00

Sorry dear blog! I've been neglecting you and readers..

After passing my exams I guess I went on a vacation which I definitely deserved it ;-) If you haven't noticed, I changed the blog's layout! Do you like it?

1.-3.: Went to Zenza with my classmates where we attended a private concert with KATO. I dressed casual for that day.

4.: On my way home to Odense - two weeks vacation!

5.: Making Vodka Daisies.

6.: Sister's bf came and we made lasagna!

7.: Going shopping with beautiful sister and drinking bubble tea. (or rather she is shopping)

8.-11.: Test-making my birth-cake. It was beautiful in the beginning, but we brutally ruined it :-(

12.: Dolling myself up before going to a friend's house.

Try hovering the pictures haha! I was playing around with make-up yesterday and I thought I'd show how I usually do my makeup. It's so simple and easy. Nowadays I usually go for darker lips and lots of mascara. In the pictures above, I am wearing this look as well. I have bought so many dark lipsticks and I always wear them regardless of how cold it it. I am usually a blush-girl, but recently I am loving lipsticks. I wonder if I should wear less make-up and opt for the more natural look? Nahhh--

Oh! My birthday is in a week! This year has been good so far.
I will be posting more once I get back to Aarhus; When I am home I just forget my blog :'(

Love Sally

half of the year fails - whose fault is it?

2013-01-16T00:59:00.004+01:00

Remember the exam I told you about? It was last week and the half of the results are back.
Good news: I passed the social science part :-) I am relieved because it would suck if I failed especially when I put my all into the prepping. It's all good now and I am only waiting for the other half which is anatomy and microbiology. My gut feeling is saying I passed it as well because I felt it when I finished the test. I even went two hours before the exam ended because I didn't need those remaining hours. I walked out of the classroom and I was satisfied and full of confidence. I called my mother and said: "Mom, I am calling to say I am certain I passed. Maybe 95% but of course this is just a feeling. I am just calling to let you know how it went."

Now... you'd think that I might have jinxed myself right? I am always critical of my own performance and I just had a gut feeling that it went well, but who knows? My gut feeling might be extremely off the radar. Speaking of trusting your gut feeling, you won't believe how many thought they had passed, but didn't! 44 students failed the exam (one or several of the three subjects) that is a whopping 50% of the whole year! And that's only half of the results - we're still waiting for anatomy/microbiology and I fear that the percentage will be UP the roof because everyone was panicking about those two particular subjects whereas the social science subjects were their "easy points"-subjects. There has been a lot of talking as you can imagine. The school and teachers have never seen such a high percentage of fails and honestly me neither! I was shocked to say the least.

So who's to blame? The school or the students?
As a student we have our own responsibility to learn, understand and absorb the materials the teachers present us. No one is going to help you outside school and you have to manage everything yourself. We are no longer in high school and no one will EVER and I say ever hand out degrees so easily.

You care about of your passing = Significantly bigger amount of work, time, self-discipline put into studying

That said - if you don't care and won't study, then be prepared to fail. However if you do care and study your ass off, that's great. Besides the faults of students, the school has a responsibility too: to provide us with great teachers and a stable structure. My teachers are great and everyone will say the exact same things. So it's definitely not ours teacher's fault so it must be the latter - the fault is in the structure. Our education is relatively new so the structure is non-existent. How are you supposed to know anything if there is no information to be found with the teachers? How overwhelming is it that you don't know what to focus on but you just need to understand everything? I could do it, but I can imagine that people don't study the same way. Whenever we asked them about the exam, they'd say: "It's going to be easy, don't worry" and now half of the year failed! I don't know if I should laugh or cry, but it's really ironic how the situation turned out. Remembering half a year of studies for ONE day is very overwhelming. At least split it in two days? Also for fellow students - we are on our own when we take an education. No one is spoon-feeding us. Unfortunately! I guess it's partly the school and the student's fault - the school should provide us the foundation and stability, but when the school is uncertain - students become uncertain as well and that makes it hard for everyone. You're only as strong as your weakest link.

Also: went out with the lovely tooth-fairies after the exam <3 Them girls are hardcore, but it's was lots of fun. Very different from what I am used to, but still great. Definitely need to get in the rhythm of things. School is not the same without great people. Currently reading LIFE OF PI by Yann Martell. So excited for this book.

As always, hope everyone had a great holiday/new year :)
Love, Sally

bye 2012 - hi 2013

2013-01-01T16:26:00.002+01:00

Happy New Year! I hope you guys had an amazing time with family or friends and loved ones. Can you believe another year passed by? Every year I look back in time and think about the key events of the year. What did I accomplish? What has changed since last year? and lastly - was it a good year?

And yes it was! 2012 was definitely one of the greatest and memorable years I've had so far. I've changed in a lot this year. I gained a lot confidence which changed my perception in so many ways. I started working in 2012. I traveled alone in 2012 and I met my great host family. I also moved out of the house and started studying in a different city. You can say this year has so many new elements and I am slowly learning to adapt to all the changes. Everyday you learn something new.. it's blows but it's nice at the same time, right?

New Years Eve holds a special place in heart because this is the only time of the year where I actually think back of the time that has passed and it's nice to know that in that precise moment, all the other people are doing the same.

Okay. So yes! I dislike people's expectations of New Years Eve, but I like New Years Eve. They want big parties to celebrate the end of the year, but I don't feel for this year. I just want to relax this year. So in the end, I spent New Years Eve with my family and it was great and I was reminded of how much my smaller cousins enjoy days like these. Just like me! *hihi* Maybe next year I want something different for New Years Eve.

Also: I achieved most of my NY resolutions last year so my new ones:

Lose 8 kg
Learn to sketch properly
Learn water/oil-painting
Practice my Japanese or other foreign language

Funny how I said you don't get squat from New Years resolutions (read here), but you do.

See! It's good to aim for something. So get started on making NY resolutions..

Love Sally

i don't even understand danish

2012-12-31T04:24:00.001+01:00

1. now - 2. at my apartment, forgot something - 3. at my aunt's 4.-6. studying 7. selca - 8. life of pi - 9. momma is lovely

It's currently 3AM and I'm still studying. Right now it's sociology and I've finished health psychology and pedagogy of health. The other subjects I still need to do are anatomy and microbiology. I've been reading so much these days that I feel like I don't understand Danish anymore.
I ask you this... Isn't books supposed to make you smarter? Aren't they supposed to be something that is informative? So tell me why these texts have to be so hard to read? Why can't these textbooks (which are supposed to make me understand the subject) use simple language?! Why don't they ever write in simple Danish? Why do the feel the necessity to throw fancy AND difficult words into the sentences? and why are the sentences so long that you have to read it a thousand times because you always forget the beginning.
This is making me pull out my synonyms dictionary a thousand times because sometimes I see a word I THINK I know, but I become unsure and I look up the word anyways. In times like these, I feel like my understanding of English is better >_<;; Why am I such a tard with languages.. Eeesh, I wish I was 100% fluent in just one language!

Okay my brain may be a bit clogged right now because I've been studying too much. It's just been a very busy vacation for me, but I'd rather suffer now than fail my semester.. right? I'm thinking of the good times ahead! I hope you guys are doing something more enjoyable than me and enjoy while you can..
Also: I saw Life of Pi 3D in the cinema and it was amazing! I definitely recommend it. I am not a 3D girl, but it's amazing with 3D (notice my HP limited edition 3D glasses lol). I am starting to read again! I want to read the book along with several other. I am more a movie-girl, but I love a good book.

Random outburst *here*: Next year I want to change! I will not strive for anything less than what I deserve and I will try to make a difference. Whatever it may be. As long as I feel a change within myself. Maybe grow stronger and more independent than this year. I guess I want as many changes in a very short time. Life is so unpredictable and I can't wait to challenge myself..

» Okay.. back to the books.. see you in the New Year!
Love Sally

evii&arty giveaway

2012-12-29T21:15:00.003+01:00

I don't usually post about give-aways, but this is a really awesome giveaway by EV so I thought I'd share!
I have a twitter, but I don't really use it so it's better to share by blog posts thus reaching more people.

Hosted @ EVII&ARTY so join everybody!
It doesn't say if it's hosted for internationals (me included ;_; ), but she's really nice so you might as well check out her blog while you are at it. The give-away is ending very soon so hurryyyyyy~

Good luck ladies.. to you and myself
Love Sally

PS. my little cousin just told me he loves me!! my heart just melted!!

christmas 2012

2012-12-26T17:15:00.001+01:00

One of my more memorable Christmas Eve. Me sister and I were the hosts so we had the responsibility for everything. Food, drinks, decoration and entertainment. On the 23rd we prepared the two ducks and prior to that we had bought everything we needed to make the evening superb. I think we were afraid of buying too little which made us buy too much. We paid for everything ourselves so this year we definitely had a lot of things in our hands. I believe the adults were very happy that they could just enjoy the evening and the kids enjoyed it immensely too. Everyone praised us for how great everything was put together and how great the menu was. They said we made it look very easy.. I guess it's because Danish food is lot more simple than Vietnamese people and you don't necessarily need many people to help you prepare the food ;-)

Our menu (talk about being sophisticated hehe!)

Entrée: Bruschetta with smoked salmon, rucola, avocado and onion.

Main course: Duck, Flæskesteg (Danish roast pork), different kinds of potatoes: flødekartofler + brunede kartofler, salad, grønlangkål (kale), duck sauce, rødkål (red cabbage). We drank red wine, beer and soda.

Dessert: Risalamande (Danish rice porridge dessert with almonds and warm cherry sauce)

We actually had more food, but there were not enough space for it and there weren't time enough for me and my sister to eat while preparing for everything.. But we had more than enough of the food we had already prepared. It was such a merry day and we even played games like bingo and a game where they had to guess while a person acts out something. We ate dessert and then we watched old videos and they night slowly ended with tired people and children.

Hope you all had a merry time with your family. Happy New Year!

See you guys! Love Sally

winter wonderland with bells on

2012-12-23T23:39:00.000+01:00

In case I just happen to disappear for a while because of the holidays: Merry Christmas! I hope you all have a wonderful time with your family

Tomorrow it's Christmas Eve in Denmark and it looks like it's a white Christmas. A blizzard decided to say hi to us this morning so now there is so much snow outside. I am not too fond of the cold and it usually means people get delayed for wherever they are going... and my family is hosting the annual Christmas party this year (or my sister and I are the hosts) and I'd love for the snow to calm the f!"# down because I want people to be on time You know Asians are always late and my family is no exception We purposely told people to come earlier than what we really want because otherwise they will be late! But I think they figured it out so they always allow themselves to come one hour late because they know we did it on purpose. The horror! My sister and I are making a traditional Danish Christmas dinner this year so I hope everything will go swell. We're cooking for 15 people so finger's crossed and we'll see tomorrow On the picture above; you will see some recent pictures. First of all, my beloved parents are home from Vietnam and they got goodies back home. We prepared the table. The roasted ducks. Chocolate oats (?). My nails and some more. Also studded some dress shirts.

I am not sure what more to say. I am just too excited for tomorrow! Tomorrow I am productive and I will pig out! It's only once a year I get to eat so much fatty foods! Oink oink! Also happy holidays!

LOVE SALLY Xx

sally: 1 - city: 0

2012-12-15T16:49:00.000+01:00

I went to another julefrokost which is like a Christmas party. You have these parties with your colleagues and it's a night where you eat Christmas food and drink. That way you can bond with your colleagues. Schools and workplaces arrange these parties because of the social aspects of it. You know. It's always nice to meet and greet new people and nothing is better than getting a few drinks and relaxing lol. I don't really know anyone here like back home so I did whatever I wanted!

My class was the one who arranged the party (the juniors?) so most of my classs attended the party, but when I came to the place. I saw that most from my year didn't attend. It felt more like a party for the older classes and they were loud and they sounded like they had a blast! I guess it's understandable since they have known each other for a longer time, but our year is really great too and we also had lots of fun. Since it's a party with older classes I guess there is a bit of tension because people do think of seniority. Some girls were ruder than others and most of us are girls, so you can only imagine the drama I saw at the party. Girls crying and also girls chasing boys (the dentists because they are the only males in our school and girls go crazy when suddenly guys appear and they apparently haven't seen a male for a while). btw these dentist have it so easy because girls literally throw themselves at them LOL.

I am aware that my paleness is so out of the color scale LOL! It's like I need another scale for my paleness, but I couldn't help it . I wore BB-cream which was my first mistake and my second mistake was we took pictures with blitz . My dress looked pretty though: it had like a deep cut in the back

Enough about that. These are two girlfriends and they look gorgeous right? People from the Middle East look so darn exotic and them eyes! It's just to die for and you can tell I am very jealous! but one shouldn't ponder about such things

I didn't get a chance to take pictures of the party itself, but I just didn't bother because I was afraid of damaging my DSLR with all the drunk people and it was quite dark so it wouldn't be quality anyways. By the end of the night, I ended up staying later with some other girls and it was a really fun night. Lots of dancing and small-talking. By the time the party ended, one of the other girls drove me to the midtown and I just walked home from there. Yes. In the snow. Yes. In the very blizzardy cold snowy weather. I know it sounds sort of crazy since it was around 2AM-ish and people were worried I would get in trouble on my way home. I only live like 2.5km from midtown so I'd rather just walk home than wait 45 minutes on the bus (I misread the bus-plans lol). When I got home, I thought to myself: "Yessss! I made it home!!" Even though I am not familiar with the city and I might not have many relatives in this town, but I can still do things on my own. I guess it's stupid to walk home alone when you're a girl, but I think Aarhus is a relatively safe city..... Oh well. Whatever right. I am still owning this city

Next time, I will make sure to have it easier! Because walking one time is more than enough..

Especially in this killer winter weather!

Anyone who has been going to these Christmas parties? :)
also: check out Miguel's and Rihanna's new album ;')

Sally x

EDIT: someone posted this and I don't want to sound overly confident, but I think I look nice here :)

and yes, that bottle of vodka is mine....

we all have these days

2012-12-13T00:09:00.000+01:00

I love life. I am bored of life. I enjoy company. I can't be bothered with anyone around. I wish I was an extrovert, but I enjoy being an introvert. I am happy. I am sad. I am excited. I don't care. I like you. I dislike you. I am pretty today. I don't look good today.
God created us so damn complex. We never make up our mind and our mood changes likes crazy. There is never a day will you ever feel comfortable and perfect. When does these unsettling feelings finally settle? I can tell why people go crazy because of this. There is never a break from constant noises. Life is so hard that it almost becomes funny. Oh. The ramblings of an odd girl.

Yes yes. I am having yet another day of this! Which means another blogpost! I know right.. why don't I ever write about them good days? I have a theory that when you feel down you think a lot more so you want to express it! Excited/satisfied people never really think that much and I bet you never hear anyone say "I love my life; it's so perfect!". So I don't write much when I am feeling good~ since I like to enjoy that moment. Weirdly enough I stumbled upon a quote the other and it said something about living life instead of blogging it. Interesting right? Hm. A little side-rant there, but I guess I am writing now because I am unsure of why I am having yet one of these days. I actually shouldn't dwell on the negative things from life because I doubt it's good for me or anyone. I have been reading about Murphy's Law (thanks Wai!) and apparently I make Murphy's Law (,,whatever can go wrong, will go wrong,,) relevant because I focus on the negative instead of the positive. So I will get over this phase and only focus on good things. (I wonder when my next post will be then lol)

One moment
I was standing by my busstop. Looking over to the other side and just looking at people. I was thinking to myself: on this cold day I wish something would happen right now. I am waiting and waiting and five minutes till the bus arrives feels like an eternity. I tap one step forth and one step back. I blow my fingers and suddenly something hits me. I smell something extremely nice and familiar in the cold air. It's fresh and I want to see where it's coming from. I look around and I see a guy peeling an orange and I just laughed a bit. I couldn't help but smile because it was such a refreshing smell on a somewhat uninteresting day. Don't know why I became so cheerful but little things like these are always the most unexpected so I appreciate them.

Anyone experienced this? Just a little thing that made you smile? Tell meeeee~
currently watching: I Miss You and Cheongdamdong Alice <3
Sally x
_

RECENT PICTURES
1: walking instead of taking the bus
2/4/6/8: nothing wrong with loving yourself
3: my cheeky stockings I wouldn't normally wear
5: I visited my aunt and her kids
7: Christmas party and a tad too much fun
9: I polished those fillings in the lab and I even got them with me home.

tears are falling

2012-12-09T21:45:00.001+01:00

My school is going fine, but I have been so unmotivated lately and it's seriously bumming me out. I literally have to drag my body out of the bed so I can get to school. Sometimes I even skip school because I just don't bother showing up to class when I know I can just read the book at home. Personally I hate feeling like this. Feeling unmotivated and indifferent is the worst feeling ever. I just want to be home and celebrate Christmas with my family. No more school please! I need a break from it. Because of this, I'm trying to change and going to school no matter how much I don't want to and also I am doing some fitness at home. I need to strengthen my mind and body. So I am trying my best right now. I going to turn this phase around and be really motivated.

By the way: these past weeks have been very unlucky. I got a cut last week because I tore some of the skin by my nail and now it's so painful. Till this day it is still causing me such pain. It's sort of like having a ingrown nail so anyone who has that will know how painful this is. Another thing is I had my first patient Friday (yay!) and because of my finger, I couldn't finish cleaning the person's teeth so my colleague helped me. That sucked because I really wanted to do it, but stupid finger wouldn't let me do a proper job. On top of that I rushed out of my apartment that day and I forgot my keys. Nothing is working for me right now! Ugh. I called my supervisor and he didn't have a spare so I had to call my sister to bring me her spare and she lives in a city faraway, but it was definitely cheaper than calling a locksmith because it's after hours and even then it's expensive. She drove all the way to my place while I was wandering my city and this will not happen again! I cannot deal with this crap and I am definitely going to install some kind of mechanism so it will never ever happen again. It's so frustrating and I felt so helpless since I don't have family in this town and I don't want to stay at a friend's house. The weekend got better though. I attended a Christmas party and we had lots of fun and lots of drinks. I might have gotten a bit too much of booze, but I can allow that once in a while! I am not an angel all year round :)

For everyone watching Korean dramas: Go watch Eunhye/Yoochun's Missing You because it's amazing? I don't usually watch these heavy melodramatic and angsty dramas, but it's very good. The child actors are amazing! They are so talented and I can't wait to see them playing adult roles. I kind of wish that they had extended the scenes with the kids or just continued the drama with them only lol! Tell me what you think if you are watching it and listen to the OST. I love it.

Wax - Tears are Falling

By the way.. Am I naive by saying this.. but I want a sweet love like that.. A kind and innocent love.. I always wished to have experienced something so sweet when I was younger.. Korean dramas makes you like this.. <3