clicktokill.net

a brief summary of life.

1. GRADUATION

Not mine. The boyfriend finally graduated. I wasn’t able to attend the Commencement because of work but by some miraculous stroke of luck, managed to rush down in time for dinner. I love soup. Soup is good. Soup is healthy. Soup pwns even more when its Tom Yam, filled with Chinese cabbage, inokii and assorted mushrooms. Funny enough, I don’t really recall eating a lot of meat. Just mostly soup. And veggie.

2. BELATED SURPRISE

Thank you DYL (@revmazza the brilliant mastermind) for the belated birthday surprise. @benlow and I were equally stunned when we found each other in the candle-lit darkness each holding cakes that were meant for both of us. Earlier on we celebrated the boy’s and @eileenchoi’s birthday (falls on the same day) and planned to surprise @benlow who was going to celebrate his that weekend. Mine had long passed (wasn’t even in the same month) but as of recent years, the tradition somehow ends up celebrating June/July babies together. Nonetheless, it was sweet and special.

I consider this to be one of the last few posts before clicktokill.net enters a new phase.

You’ll have to ‘thank’ Tumblr for the sudden change.

Having spoken to BagaholicBoy (of which it was more that he was speaking and I was listening), I realise that if I do want to guarantee a niche for myself in the vastness of the internet, amongst the slew of camwhores and vomits (basically people to re-Tweet/Blog entries), then I need to figure out what it is that makes me different.

Honestly, there wasn’t much soul-searching as I’ve been spending most of my time fretting over work and venting its frustrations when I game. My physical health has taken quite a toll. Despite the facials my parents are forcing me to go to (I say force because I was literally shoved into the centre, not given any opportunity to fight back and had to swallow it all down without a peep), my pallor of my skin is dull and the rest of my body is quite out of whack.

Also, copious amounts of Redbull and coffee can really do trippy things to your body.

In the brief time that I spent in his audience (thank you @patlaw for the invitation which led to such an unexpected introduction), I learnt that I should simply focus on the things – activities, events – that define me but with a more focused twist. How is that possible? Uhm, I’m still trying to figure that bit out.

While we’re going on this whole reflection streak, I realise that no matter where I am and what I do, I cannot pull myself away from all things social media. True now, my brains are a little rusty and I’ll take a while to come up with a plan to tie in a brief with social media. But it doesn’t mean that I can’t. Or that I will keep rehashing the same ideas and spouting the same case studies and testimonials. Just need some time to do the right research and put things in place so that we can all see the big picture.

I’m making it a point, after a wake-up call on my 25th, that I will live up to all the things I used to tell myself I would do.

And I will.

No more excuses. No time for procrastination.

The next step now?

Revamp this virtual well of mine. Wait for the results of the interviews. Inject the fervour and passion absent in youth into the me now.

My body is aging. I can no longer spend late nights/early mornings without suffering. But it doesn’t mean that I’m going to give up.

Not now. Not yet.

I’m doing this and barely 30minutes in,

I. Want. To. Die.

This isn’t even a prelude to picking up triathlon. How?

If I stick to this for 30days tho, I can be sure to look better in clothes. Although I’m not sure if I’ll still have boobs.

Hmm.

I am a football fan.

The kind that only catches the big games once every 5 years. Ask me about EPL, La Liga and the likes and you’ll pretty much get this dazed blank stare.

I do support Arsenal. But this was back then with Marc Overmars and Dennis Bergkamp.

In any case, I am not the only one.

I remember the World Cup vaguely when I was still in high school. Where we made bets on the winning team and almost everyone rushed to sign up for an inter-class/house football tournament. Note, I went to an all girls’ school. Also, it frackin’ hurts when someone kicks the ball to your chest. No matter how good the support is from your sports bra.

What’s it like so far watching the World Cup?

Boring. There are the occasional FWOAR moments but more than that, it was pretty disappointing. Goal-less matches. Stomach-cramp inducing extra time and the disappointment.

I’m happy that the Asian teams (South Korea and Japan) worked hard and played their best. The match that I’ll never forget was when Japan beat Denmark 3-1. Two free kicks (one from the illustrious and promising Keisuke Honda) and the last from Okazaki.

But they’re out. And so is Brazil (great shocker), Italy, France, Portugal, England and Argentina.

Germany versus Argentina was high-octane. The Argentinians had no chance against the young squad. Klose, must have had some background in gymnastics or circus theatrics (nice somersault yo!). The passes were clean and on-target for the most part. I’d say that after the second goal, Maradonna was about to go off his rocker.

4-0. Thrashed. Decimated. And so many were rooting for a Brazil/Argentina finish. At this point now, we know that Germany will be in the finals. Will it be Holland or Spain who’ll they face off on July 11?

It’s a little sad that the Nike athletes didn’t quite write their future. Especially sad with Rooney (what happened to your brilliant headers?!) and Ronaldo (oh that I wished and prayed that you would at LEAST score something on my birthday).

But nevermind. I did have a dream that Portugal won in their match against Spain (3-1 some more). This was despite the text I received – “David Villa scored a goal!” You can quite imagine my disappointment when I woke up and flipped through the papers (and reading Twitter) to see that it wasn’t quite the case. Nyehhh.

Whilst the matches have been far from… exciting, being surrounded by people who are vocal with their sentiments have made the experience a lot more entertaining. I guess I understand why most people just head to the kopitiam or bars to catch the matches. Watching it alone at home isn’t as fun or riveting as it would be with others. The shouts of joy and people jumping and hugging another when a goal is scored is just different from hearing “GOOOOAAALLLL” from outside of the house.

At least you’ll know where I’ll be come the finals.

Somehow, I think there’s more action playing FIFA.

For example, to maximise mileage on disposable contacts since a box costs $45 (and this is just for ONE side), I decided to try and test how long I can wear one disposable lens for.

Day 1: Everything is all peachy keen.

Day 2: I kinda slept with it on, forgetting to dunk it into protein/saline-whatever solution.

Day 3: Working well first half of the morning (and this was after dunking it in saline solution). After which the lens just popped out whilst I was staring at excel sheets.

At least now I know one box of Acuvue’s disposable contact lenses can last you 60 days (2 days for 1). But please, don’t follow in my footsteps. You may suffer some weird nasty eye infection that’ll rot your eyeball or something.

Nerdy girls have fun too.

That's what he said...

People keep asking me, how does it feel to be 25?

Honestly? No difference.

Although I did take the President’s advice – start the first day of being 25 by doing something I thought I would never do and would always have excuses for. Although the end result was expected, nonetheless, it was something I could strike off my list of “Things to do before I die”.

Work has been piling and recent events which have left my brain quite twisted, hasn’t quite helped make things better. Just praying, that come Monday when the cache is cleared, I can pick it up and get set to go. It sucks, when you stumble and lose your momentum and have to find it amongst the nooks and crannies. Sometimes you find it too late that you’re already out the door.

Yeah yeah cryptic.

But this 25-year milestone has been quite… memorable. In many different different ways.

Phonecall from Australia.
Making a complete fool of myself bowling (which is nothing new).
Killing zombies (I’m better at headshots than getting a strike or spare).
Huge family dinner at the sister’s (and thrashing their RockBand score).
Watching Portugal fail to score anything against Brazil.
Surprise birthday cake from my skin consultant.
Went for an interview.
Did a fashion photoshoot (which made me wonder if I should go back into photography).
Get lost trying to find the BKE (srsly, I should have asked for a GPS).
A Facebook wall filled with love.

Things I need to do:
See, meet up, hang out with the DYL family (6 years and counting. we’re all old).
Mahjong and Gin Rummy.
Re-visit rollerblading or invest in a bike (two-wheeled with pedal-pushin’ action!).
Process photos for FBT.

Final notes: I’ve given up trying to wax poetic lachrymose over the sorry state of affairs in my life. Am focusing on things like remembering to go for a full body check-up, donate blood (everyone loves an O+ donor… we’re so versatile) and researching on camera gear.

I’m beginning to glimpse a bit of the old me – snarky, sarcastic and seeing the humour in a lot of things.

Never EVER forget to have fun.

Hint hint. 25 June is approaching reallllllly soon.

;)

Dear Steve Jobbs has announced the iPhone 4. Slim and seriously, drop-dead sexy. Whilst everyone’s saying it’s too blocky and linear, I personally find it aesthetically stimulating.

I’m not going to bother with the specs because it’s all over the interwebs. I’m just going to tell you that I want it. That I have been waiting for it’s release and now, I’m waiting for it to arrive on Singapore’s shores.

If Singtel ever reads this:
I’m so so so so tempted to switch providers. But if you treat me good and bring the iPhone 4 in AND at a good rate (specially since my contract is ending come September), I will not jump shit to Starhub/M1.

And now, a few pictures to remind me that this piece of technological bliss is worth the wait.

And oh if you’re remotely curious of what I want for my birthday:

• Canon Ixus 130is
• MacBook Pro 15″
• Gaming PC (as long as I can play L4D2, I happy)
• Steam account (with L4D2)
• Mulberry’s Alexa bag

This will be updated. Realised it’s time to pack my bags and go. Ciao!

It’s the season of shopping. Head down to 313@Somerset, ION Orchard, Orchard Central, Vivo City and more and you’ll find it PACKED with people. Why? Because it’s the Great Singapore Sale!

I love sales but I hate crowds which is why most of my shopping is done online. (Btw, this is not an advertorial)

Most of my clothes from the beginning of 2010 was purchased online. Hassle-free, the occasional good bargain and the joy of getting parcels pretty much pwns battling with shoppers and carrying shopping bags (and needing to hide them from daddy because he will FLIP knowing how much I spend shopping) is what makes shopping online my preferred shopping experience.

It used to be trawling Livejournal for blogshops and getting recommendation from friends. But with the arrival of blogshop directories like Jipaban and even Multiply, it’s made online shopping even less of a hassle.

My favourites are Dressabelle, The Stage Walk, The Tinsel Rack, Belleaffairs, I Play Dress Up and Almost Famous.

Whilst sometimes I come across clothes that look the same, blogshops are getting savvier by creating their own line of clothing with limited pieces to ensure that you’re not going to bump into three or four people wearing the same thing!

The Pros and Cons of Shopping Online

Pros

1. The crowd
I will never feel conscious of someone else looking at the same article of clothing. Nor will I have to worry about fighting for the last size M of a top/bottom/dress. I’ll also never need to wait forever for the fitting room.

2. Getting there
Shopping from the comforts of home. Or rather, the comforts of my bed. I can be wearing my kiddy pajamas and no one will know! I’ll also not need to spend 45minutes (yeah, I take that long) getting ready to go out. No walking in the hot sun, hell no walking even. And oh, have I mentioned that I’m really not a fan of traveling by public transport. Specially if it’s during the weekend. Why not drive? Because Singaporeans are really shitty rude insane maniacs on the road.

3. Comparison
No need to lug around magazines or upload screenshots of clothes and celebrity styles just to find something similar in shops. Online I can just change from one tab to another or even open up a new window to compare. In addition, it makes it easier to get opinions and recommendation from friends (and sometimes, the boyfriend).

4. DISCOUNT
Just recently, I Play Dress Up gave me a 6.5% discount on future purchases because I buy three articles of clothing from them each month! MWAHAHAH! Don’t forget that some blogshops have insane sales to clear out stock.

5. Up to date fashion
To be honest, I’m not really up to date with fashion trends. One thing I can be sure that most of the things I’m buying online are either classic pieces that can be worn time and time again, or things that are actually in trend.

6. Keeping track of my purchases
A final pro for online shopping is that I can keep track of how much I’ve spent via iBanking. Sometimes when you’re out you either keep swiping the card or pay by NETS. Very rarely do people pay in cold hard cash now. You’ll only realise the damage you’ve done to your bank account at the end of the day when you’re sorting out your receipts.

Cons

1. Postage
Some people are daunted by postage prices. I like to think of why not paying that little bit more (and oh, some of the blogshops offer FREE POSTAGE! that is WIN!) because I get to avoid the crowd and I don’t have to make the tedious journey of heading to the shopping mall just to look for an idea of something that I want to get.

2. Will it fit?
Guess this is the only issue that occasionally troubles me. Most clothes online are free-sized. In the instance of clothes with a more fitting cut, the blogshop owners will post up measurements so that potential buyers can have an idea if the clothing will fit or not.

And so my friends, this is why online shopping pwns.

Am expecting two packages to come in during the week or early next week. It’s like getting presents from a secret admirer (as if). It also helps that the blogshop owners are really very nice and if at the last minute you’re not keen on getting something, you can just let them know (politely) that you’ve had a change of mind. Will post up my new threads when I get them (and when I get my camera fixed) or hell, just do a video post.

I’ve always been a huge fan of Contagious Magazine and whilst I can’t afford the subscription, I make do with my Google Reader to keep track of what’s going on in the world of advertising and marketing.

Came as a surprise when I saw this ad which took place in Singapore. The use of outdoor projection. But not in the typical 2-Dimensional format. This was… well, different. Even though I know that it’s just a projection, the effect it created was astoundingly believable.

BMW and Publicis Singapore worked together to create Asia’s first 3D building projection. Making use of Suntec’s Tower Two and Three as a canvas, it caught the interest and curiosity of locals and tourists alike.

There was Pac-Man, GPS, rolling cars, a jigsaw puzzle of sorts. I’m half-surprised that no one else has tweeted/facebooked this yet (so I’m going to be the first!).

Location with lots of traffic, a time where people would pause to see what was going on (as compared to the day where the sun would make things difficult and people are concerned with getting to where they needed to be) and a campaign that worked around the theme of ‘joy’ – you work like a dog, you’re allowed to have a little bit of fun. Even if fun came in the form of a really expensive car.

By day he’s zipping on the tracks at 300km/h. By night, he locates and recovers stolen pieces of art.

Who is this man and why does he lead a double-life?

No one wouldn’t expect a top Formula 1 driver to be skulking in the shadows and going all Thomas Crown?

In fact, neither did I. But Reebok decided to do something different to market their product. And in a very subtle way.

Secret Lewis – not that imaginative or creative a name – centers around Lewis Hamilton’s exploits as he tracks down and regains possession of priceless artworks and the like from the villains of the art world.

The first mission began in March as he recovers a stolen painting in Shanghai. More than 60,000 people took part in the first episode and it led to 100,000 page views. The mission included an online heist simulator which allows players to guide Lewis through the thief’s mansion, hiding from patrolling bodyguards, solving puzzles to get to the artwork and sneaking off through a laundry chute (not so glamorous eh?).

There were also Facebook challenges which included a live event held in Kuala Lumpur that brought a real dimension and depth to the game.

Now where does Reebok come in? There’s no obvious product placement, no logos plastered like neon signs on the page either. The only time you’ll actually see, or if you do notice, the brand is during training videos.

There’ll be more missions coming up which will include a variety of offline missions and activities to further engage players and keep them coming back for more.

Although the website loads a bit slow and seems unprofessional, nonetheless it has got quite a few people hooked.

www.www.secretlewis.com