So I tweeted about my hair being purple last week, and some of you were curious to see what it looks like. The picture shows it a bit blue, but it’s more towards violet than blue. Actually, to be more accurate, it’s very much like ultra-violet.

I was due for a hair cut and the roots from my blonde streaks were growing out. I wanted to re-do the blonde because it has become my signature style.

I first did it back in 2005 in Perth when the whole 2-toned hair colour trend was in (Half head brunette, half head blonde). But when I came back to Singapore, I had to tone it down a lot. The latest was streaked blonde behind the ear.

Had a dream the night before my appointment that I had dyed my entire head red! So initial plan was to replace the blonde with red. But after speaking to Titus (Stylist and Colourist) and Darren (Creative Director) from Artisan Hair, they convinced me to go violet!

I’ve been getting a lot of mixed comments about it. Some people thought it was pretty unique:

“That’s Sooo Coool! I really like it!”

And some think it’s ridiculous, of course they won’t say, but it’s how they said it with a half smile

“Oh Wow *pause in shock*… That’s… [Insert polite adjective for WTHELLWEREUTHINKING]. Interesting!”

To each their own.

Some people say it reminds them of Hit-Girl from the movie “Kick-Ass“.

And some remember Clementine from “Eternal Sunshine for the Spotless Mind” which by the way is one of my favourite movies.

About the hair… I absolutely LOVE it! I feel great! I actually feel like I’m more myself now. It was just the old Angela dying to break out of this shell. The desire to be different, abnormal, slightly rebellious but fun! Look you’re only young once? Just do it right!

Artisan Hair
42A Lorong Mambong (Holland Village)
Call +65 6469 2059 for an appointment
Look for Darren

De-cluttering. It’s always hard when you go through the memory boxes. Old emotions resurfaces, shards of memories pieced together.

Why DO we submit ourselves to such torture?

I guess it’s a reminder of the good and bad times, the achievements and mistakes I made before, and puts life in perspective. And most importantly keeps me in touch with my own identity.

It took me 0.02 seconds to say yes when Danli called me to ask if I wanted to go to Bali on Air Asia’s S$50 special.

So fresh off the boat from India and I’m off to Bali this weekend for a much needed break. Yes India was a break and it was absolutely beautiful, but there was a lot to do in very little time.

This weekend is all about doing nothing. Self reflection and personal audit.

India has given me new perspective on life, and the next step is discovering how to live it right. I can’t wait for too long or wait forever for things to happen, I’m not getting any younger.

`

Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.

Looking forward to Bali to:

The tower of books read and unread by my bedside table.

Time to clear my room ahead of the big move.

Another item off the bucket list, I am finally a certified Open Water PADI diver!

One of my close friends Ignatius, has always discouraged me from diving. As a salvage engineer/rescue/advanced diver, I guess he has seen enough to know how dangerous it CAN be. But this was something I really wanted to do for myself.

I took the PADI Open Water Diver Course with the wonderful guidance of Terry & Gary from Freestyle Divers. They come highly recommended, especially for a slightly difficult student like me. I am a bit claustrophobic and have a fear of drowning, not exactly the qualities of a easy student. But Terry & Gary were wonderful, constantly giving me assurance and the confidence to follow-through skill tests. They will not force you to do something you’re not comfortable with. Everything is done at your pace, and at your comfort level.

So I’d highly recommend taking up a course with them if you’re living in Singapore. Here’s a quick run-down on what to expect for an Open Water license.

Knowlege Development sessions x2

1. Watching the PADI “Introduction to Scuba Diving” DVD and course material collection
2. You will then need to self-study
3. Theory lesson where you go through syllabus and quizes
4. After all that, the actual multiple choice exam

Skills Development Sessions x2 (pool sessions)

1. Introduction to dive equipment
2. Fundamental diving skills
3. 200 meters non-stop swim test
4. tread water or float for 10 minutes

Open Water Evaluation x2 sessions

1. 2 dives a day at Pulau Hantu for 2 days
2. Skills evaluation on what has been taught during confined water training and development

Looking back, the only thing I disliked about the whole experience is the mask-off and mask-clearing skills test. In this exercise, you are taught how to clear your mask when it’s half-filled and fully-filled with water. Obviously when you’re diving at >10m of water, you can’t expect to resurface just to clear your mask and head back down.

So the method is to take a breath, title your head back a bit and blow through your nose. Basically you force out the water by filling the mask with air.

I was just absolutely terrified of that. REALLY REALLY terrified. During the pool sessions, there were a couple of instances when I started to choked on some water and had to quickly resurface. Imagine if you’re 30m underwater!

Plus, I can’t open my eyes underwater because it burns, so can you imagine how nervous I was?

So when it came to the open water dive mask of skills test, we were about 10m deep kneeling on the seabed. You have to take your mask off, put it back on (which is now filled with water), and then clear it. Terry was well aware of my concerns, had this hand on my shoulder throughout the exercise just to reassure me that he was there and it will be OK. I tried to remain calm and take things slow, the trick is to just keep breathing and take things slowww and don’t freak out. Luckily, that went alright. Phew!

I’m so happy I got to strike this off my list!

To be honest, I still have my apprehensions about diving, but like everything its calculated risk and of course don’t do anything stupid.

I started the course in February this year and finished all my exams and dives in march. Now I’m looking forward to my first overseas dive.

Suggestions anyone? Where should I go for my first overseas dive? Not somewhere too $$$.

Sometimes the best Sundays are just spent g33king out with a friend and a piccolo latte.

Psss: Didn’t know that a Piccolo latte is actually the same as a macchiato.

You said you’d follow me into the dark…

Earlier this year, I went on a spur-of-the moment trip to Redang Malaysia just to get away from it all. Find a willing travel partner, and was all set to go. It was a long weekend, and I was in need of some colour, pasty white was soooo last season *tsk*.

I have to say, it has to be one of the prettiest beaches in Malaysia.

Where to stay
Most people, especially those going with families, would usually opt for the Berjaya Hotel on the busier side of the island. But if you’re looking for something quieter and more rustic, stay at the Coral Redang Beach Resort on the other side. The rooms aren’t great, but honestly, you won’t spend much time in there anyway.

Things to do
As touristy as it may seem, it’s still worthwhile to go snorkelling at the marine park just 15mins boat ride away. Don’t forget to bring your underwater camera, because you can take some pretty amazing photos on a sunny day. If you don’t have one, don’t fret, the dive centre rents out underwater cameras too.

If you dive, I heard they make two trips out a day to wrecks.

If you just want to chill, do what I did, park yourself on a deck chair for the day, read my book, tan and swim. And if you’re a geek like me, there’s free wifi resort wide.

Getting there
Another tip if you’re planning to go to Redang… take a flight! The 10 hour journey there on bus and boat was truly painful!

You can actually find most of the information you need on wikitravel.

So I did something impulsive 3 weeks ago, I chopped off my long locks. It was the longest I’ve ever kept it, somewhere halfway down my back? Now… it’s all gone.

Not very happy with the cut, so will just have to wait for it to grow out again. Will take another gazillion years to reach that length again.

p.s. I was quite disappointed that the salon didn’t support initiatives such as Locks of Love! This was one of my bucket list items, and now I’ve got to wait years again before I can fulfil that wish.

A good friend took this picture awhile back. Was browsing through my photo album yesterday and it made me smile. Simple execution, positive results.

So…. what’s everyone doing this F1 weekend?

Bali 2009

Spent the long weekend at Redang Malaysia snorkelling, sitting at the beach, reading, sipping on cocktails, sleeping and basically marvelling at how beautiful this place is.

It was a nice getaway, more photos to follow soon.

Time to get myself back into shape!

Have been approached by a fitness club to partake in a bloggers fitness challenge. Will be updating you on my progress after my first session.

I’ve always been a big Martha Stewart fan. I’d watch her podcast religiously on transit to work, and browse through her extensive website when I have that itch to craft, cook or bake. Two weeks back, I was in need of some ‘Me Time’. So I chanced upon her cupcake recipes and thought I’d give it a go.

Here’s a really simple cupcake and frosting recipe which takes less than an hour to prepare and bake. Based on preliminary guinea-pig reviews, the cupcakes were a great success! Everyone loved it. I’d like to share that recipe with you, give it a go and let me know how it turned out. Tell me what YOUR guinea pigs had to say about it. I promise you, you’ll hear endless praises for such a simple to-do recipe.

Cupcakes (Makes 12)

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups of all-purposes flour (spooned and levelled)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
3/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 175 degrees celcius. Line the cups of a standard (12-cup) muffin tin with paper or foil liners.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In a liquid measuring cup, mix milk and vanilla; set aside.
3. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, neat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
4. With mixer on low speed, add half of dry ingredients, followed by milk-vanilla mixture, then remaining dry ingredients. Do not overmix.
5. Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups (a 1/4 cup measuring cup or ice-cream scoop is good for this).
6. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of a cupcake comes out clean, approx 20 to 25 minutes. Cool cupcakes 5 minutes in tin, then remove and cool completely on a rack before frosting.

Frosting

Ingredients
(Note: I’d recommend you halve the below measurements, because the below quantities makes too much frosting, I only ended up using half of it. Trust me)
1 1/4 cup confectioner’s sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 tablespoon honey
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions
(Note: For our warmer climate, wait for the cupcakes to cool COMPLETELY, or else the frosting starts to melt. And once you’re done frosting, quickly put them in the fridge to set)

1. In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer, beat confectioner’s sugar, unsalted butter, honey and ground cinnamon until smooth, 4 to 5 minutes.
2. Frost cupcakes; decorate with sprinkles before frosting dries to ensure they stick

Will blog about the strawberry cupcakes next…

In conjunction with yesterday’s International Women’s Day 2009, I’d like to share with you an article published for Strong magazine.

After reading that article again, I just want to say that I’m no super woman nor am I perfect. Am just a 26 year old girl living in Singapore, sharing the joys and perils of life with voyeurs, family and friends. I’m not a poster girl, model or celebrity, but your friend, daughter, lover and colleague.

Being a brand ambassador for a sports brand is not about being thin, it’s about being a sports enthusiast and living a healthy, balanced life. I think the fact that I struggle with weight makes me as human as you are, and I hope that you can relate to my experiences i share with you.

A big thank you to Sheralyn who carried out the interview and arranged for the photoshoot.

Click here for the article.

The launch of the adidas Me, Myself campaign couldn’t have come at a better time.
I’m at the stage of my life where a change is at hand. Life really threw a curveball at me recently, and I believe it’s just a sign that its time to move on.

Me time is not just about doing things alone, it’s about dedicating that small bracket of time in the day doing something which will enrich your life. It could be taking a 30min jog around the neighbourhood, a long hot bath, or even a movie with friends.

Lately, I’ve learnt to enjoy the solitude and margins of my emotions, and it’s amazing how much you learn about yourself when you have no one to depend or rely on. You start to think about how you are becoming the person you want to be, and the necessary adjustments you have to make for that to happen.
I read somewhere that “solitude today is less available and yet more necessary than ever” and I couldn’t agree with it more.

Me time has brought some much needed balance in my life, and has helped me to be more honest with myself. Somehow the world and everything around me seems less urgent, and more manageable.

With the launch of the adidas Me, Myself campaign, I decided to make an effort to dedicate some “Me Time” during the week. You can check out the facebook group to read what other women are writing about “Me Time”. If you’re my friend on facebook, you can check out my Me Time calendar.

There’s even an option to embed the widget on to your own blog. Saves me from doing all the coding work. So if you want to take a look, it’s on the right hand column.

The cool thing about the application is the randomized activities the application can suggest if you feel like trying something new. Would be cool to know what you constitute as “Me Time”? And do share with me some ideas on some “Me Time” activities!