On a totally unrelated subject, I’ve finally got myself an iPad. I finally see what’s the hype all about. Though for me, the tablet is used mostly for reading blogs and articles. And occassionally for Facebook and Twitter too. I wish I could do more with the iPad apart from for entertainment reasons, like I wish I could write some coding without having to buy apps for the program. If any of you knows of any programs/source code editors that can be used for coding (something similar to Notepad would be a bonus), do let me know. I’ve narrowed down my choices to Koder and Textastic but since I don’t have any first-hand experience on both so I’d like to hear your opinions on this matter. Which one do you think I should get?

It’s been a busier life than ever for me. I have now 6 classes to mind and each one of them is a headache. I can’t wait until the tuition school hires a new tutor and relieve me some of the burdens. It’s never a positive thing when you’re not happy with what you’re doing. I know I’ve heard counselors saying things like, “if you’re not happy with your job and there’s no other way out, you can make yourself happy by rationalizing it in this way: at least I’m making other people [by offering this service]“. I seriously think this is such an absurd logic, that is not thinking it out rationally, instead, that is a denial. How long can you keep telling yourself that the burden is worth putting up with as long as other people are happy?

I suppose that’s the only way to keep oneself from being grumpy and depressed all the time; by being positive and optimistic despite it feels like hell deep down.

Anyway, I’m working my ass off so that by 2016 I’d have enough dosh to get myself a spot on the a luxury ship on its maiden voyage. In case you haven’t heard, Clive Palmer, an Australian billionaire is commissioning a Chinese state-owned company to build a replica of the famous Titanic, and the ship is going to be named as Titanic II. I don’t know if this is for real or not but people have been saying that the ship is set to sail in 2016. This news definitely has caused such a popular response on Twitter and it even had become one of the trending topics. If this is true, I am tempted to get myself a spot on that ship. I think it’ll be fun, provided it doesn’t crash into anything this time. Though the tickets would probably cost a fortune, even for the third class. But come to think of it, who would want to stay in the third class section? Sharing a room that only has enough space for bunk beds and even that, you’d have to share it with a couple of people. Definitely not my kind of holiday cruise. And as a safety precaution, will someone build Carpathia II and get it to tail Titanic II throughout the journey, just in case..

Another news is that, I am finally being accepted for the Masters degree programme I applied last year. Leon came to see me with the offer letter and told me he’s been accepted too. Well, looks like both of us are going back to being students again. Oh wait, now I am going to be both a tutor and a (graduate) student.

So what’s the issue? Apparently there are many people who do not…did not know that the sinking of the ship was a real event. They thought it was just another Hollywood movie. My heart skipped a beat when I read their tweets on Twitter. It’s a bit shocking for me, to learn that adults (I can forgive children) have no idea that this thing is real. Have you not read books? Read articles on the internet? Or even watch the countless documentaries on the television? Amazing how people still miss this information.

Anyway, let’s move on to about me. So what’s new in my life? I have a job now and I’ve started working last week. I work from Wednesday to Sunday, with Mondays and Tuesdays as my off-days. In case you haven’t heard, I’m now working as a tutor at one of the private tuition schools. I only teach 2 hours per day so it may not sound like a tough job, but the challenge comes in the shape of preparing the materials for the classes. I takes hours to prepare a lesson and that is taxing.

Aside from that, last month I made another trip to Malaysia again (yay!) and I bought a couple of stuff:
(sorry for the quality of the pictures, I had to use my phone’s camera because I left my digicam with my sister)

Marks&Spencer Napolitaine Chocolate

Esarli Shoes

(from left) A Wild Sheep Chase, The Charlemagne Pursuit, The Art of Discworld, The Map, Hogfather

Sticky Candies

Last Saturday was Leon and my 5th anniversary together. I don’t know what it is like spending 5 years with the same person to you but to me, it has been an amazing experience and every now and then it doesn’t actually feel we’ve been together that long! In the space of 5 years, both of us have seen and gone through loads of ups and downs in life; we’ve been on the top and bottom of the wheel (just like everyone else). There were times when we were at the point of breaking up but love, patience and forgiveness triumphed above all those.

Last night it dawned on me that I seriously needed to clean my book shelves and rearrange the books. I’ve got so many books lying around everywhere and even those that are on the shelves are not in orderly fashion. I also need to catalogue them so that it will be easier in the future to keep track of the books; not so much as to keep track of books that I don’t have yet, but rather to avoid buying books I already own. I am just that forgetful.

Need to reorganise these

So in this post I’m giving a brief review on the perfume. Please note that I am in no way a professional reviewer and this review is only based on what I personally think and feel about the perfume.

Hypnotic Poison Eau Sensuelle

Review:
Hypnotic Poison Eau Sensuelle is the sister to the widely popular Christan Dior’s Hypnotic Poison perfume (launched in 1998). The packaging of the HPES is similar to the original HP but the bottle is now made of translucent glass though it still retains the apple-shape and ruby-red colour¹. It’s nice and pretty but it serves a more useful purpose, and that is it gives a better indication of how much of the fragrance you have left.

Aside from the bottling, the smell is also slightly different than the original HP. It still has the almond smell, but it seems to have been watered down and it’s sweeter now. The original HP has a more alluring sandalwood fragrance with a whiff of vanilla. I assume that HPES is created for those who find HP to be too heavy or overpowering. HPES is something you would wear if you’re in a lighter mood or if you’re going for something floral.

Overall, it’s a nice fragrance but I still prefer the original Hypnotic Poison.

Where to buy:
[Free shipping in US]
Newegg.com
Buy.com
Fragrance X

NICI Snowcat

I’ve been wanting this Snowcat for a long time and finally found one that ships to my location. But I wasn’t sure whether to get it or not since I already have 5 plushies and to be honest, my seat in the car is pretty much overcrowded already (I put the plushies on my lap when I’m in the car)¹. But Leon persuaded me to get it so in the end I did hit the ‘Pay now’ button. And not I’m just waiting for it to arrive.

So, what did I do on Valentine’s Day? Nothing much, really. I went for a short date with Leon and he got me a rose.

This morning I went to the university because they’re having an Open Day where potential students can find out just about anything on whatever courses and programmes offered by the university. And probably a glimpse on what university life has to offer…
And a few days ago I went for another interview for the Master degree. I can only hope this time they’ll accept me because if they don’t, there’s no bloody way I can do Master’s degree anywhere else. The Ministry of Education’s Scholarship Programme clearly states that graduates from any local tertiary institutions must get at least a Second Upper (Honours) (2:1) to qualify for the scholarship programme. But what I find really annoying is that, graduates from universities overseas who get Second Lower (Honours) (2:2) are allowed to apply for the same programme. How unfair is that?

It makes me realise it sucks to be at the bottom of the wheel of life.

A few days ago I got a call from a lady from one of the tuition centres I applied to and it seems like I’ve gotten myself a job. We haven’t actually discussed the main details yet and I am just waiting for another call by the lady. I really hope I can get this job because being jobless, really sucks.

Last time, when I went to UK I only bought a few stuff and this is one of them:

Dior's Hypnotic Poison

I am really in love with this perfume. It was one of the few Dior perfume samples Leon got me when he went to Singapore. At first, I wasn’t particularly attracted to this one because at that time I favoured another fragrance, Miss Dior Cherie. But after a while I found Cherie to be a little too sweet and Hypnotic Poison was just perfect. This fragrance has a creamy-sweet vanilla smell (but not too sweet!) with a tinge of spice. A spray can lasts a whole day, provided one doesn’t do activities like running or playing sports. You can wear it as daytime fragrance as well as to any formal occasions because it also has this sensual smell (kind of thing…). And I just love the bottle, reminds me of Snow White’s poisoned apple. OMG I sound like as if I’m promoting this perfume.

Now I know what to get for Valentine’s Day.