Saturday, July 30, 2011

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Cassandra's Confirmation


I've never felt as happy as I did last Sunday when I've finally been confirmed as a Catholic. It was certainly a beautiful occasion and I'm happy to be stuck with Jesus for the rest of my life.




Before the big day, I was really stressed out over my dress because about 2 weeks ago, everybody had their outfits ready except for me. I was really worried by then because Aunt J, a friend of my mom's was supposed to make me a dress.

ell, the first dress aunt J made was unfortunately not what I had in mind because my measurements were not taken and we've never discussed the design and material. So this is how the first dress turned out:






This is the kind of dress I would've probably worn if I were 7. Although her estimations of my measurements were pretty close enough, I didn't think it was suitable for the day I've been looking forward to since I first started going to Sunday school (which is a looong time).

And don't get me started on how I look in the dress.

But anyway, I smiled and thanked her for her efforts. Though I was genuinely grateful that aunt J took the time to buy the materials and make the dress, I was still a little disappointed that it wasn't what I expected it to be.

2 days later, mom asked me what did I think of the dress. I didn't say anything but mom knows me so well that before I could even reply, she was like, "A little disappointed, huh?"

Its like the heavens have opened up and I can hear choirs of angels singing 'Hallelujah' my prayers have been answered; my mom DOES have some good fashion sense! And suddenly the day became bright again.

So like... 5 days before my confirmation, my mom explained the situation to aunt J and she agreed to make me a new dress. This time, our way.

3 days before the big day, we went over to see the dress. Other than the fact that the dress was a little shorter than the full-length dress I pictured, it was pretty much OK. It was definitely WAAAY better than the first one. But it needed some alterations because the dress was kinda loose.

And so, a day BEFORE my confirmation day, mom went to pick up the dress. Finally!

So at last, I finally had something to wear on my confirmation day. But the next time another big occasion like, I dunno, a wedding comes up, I'm definitely doing things MY WAY and I'll guarantee that I'll have the dress ready within at least 3 months before the BIG day. Not the day before it.

And I'd definitely rent the dress. I'm not sure if I can trust people to make me a dress at the moment...

Oh yeah! Check out the nail art I created for that special day.




OK, back to my confirmation....




So the ceremony went smoothly; I had something nice to wear, I've got my Godmother, aunt Susan at my side, and that wonderful satisfaction of being closer to God after 10 years of journeying towars this day with the rest of my classmates. This guy here is Samuel btw, he and I designed our confirmation t-shirts for our camp. You can read all about the crazy times we had at the camp here.

Teacher, if you are reading this, thank you so much for all your hard work. We may not show it, but we truly are grateful for your time, efforts and patience. May the good Lord send His Holy Spirit down upon all of you for good things will come your way soon.

These are our awesome teachers who prepared us for our confirmation since last year. From left, there's teacher Nancy, Sonia and Peter.




With my Godparents and parents at the altar.


So after the ceremony had ended, I am now officially Anne Cassandra Wong Synpuhn! Whee! I have a middle name :D





So lets celebrate with ice cream yam cake!!!







P A R A D E.


"A parade during Holi in Vrindavan". India. Taken by Claude Renault

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Reimu Hakurei

This post is a day late because I ran out of time yesterday. And, I even stayed up an hour past my normal bedtime, too. Boy! Was I tired this morning.

Anyways, Reimu was on my list of cute little Dollfies to get when the opportunity arose. And, last Friday, it arose. It actually arose a few days earlier, but I just could not bring myself to get another girl so soon after Neris. But, after an entire day of looking at her on Mandarake, I finally broke down and got her. She was also the least expensive from Mandarake out of Yahoo Japan Auctions, or e(vil)bay. The order was super fast, too. I placed the order Friday evening and by Monday as I was going home from work, there she was in the office waiting for me. That was FAST! So, here she is.

As it has been, and still is, quite a long rainy season here in South Korea, Reimu arrived on yet another rainy day. Luckily, we did not get soaked as the rain abated somewhat during the trip home. And, as luck would have it, like on another occasion with another one of my other girls, I had to go to dinner with a friend first before I could get home and release her from her transport container. She waited patiently for me. I mean, what else could she do. Plus, my other girls are not allowed to handle big knives anymore. It's just too dangerous for them.

Here is Reimu's outer transport container waiting for me where I left it before going to eat.

Here is Reimu's inner transport container. I told my other girls to wait patiently on the bed as I took it out. There are just too many of them now and I didn't want to accidently hurt them of they got underfoot. They can be quite the handful running around when they are excited about something and/or someone new.

Her is Reimu finally out and being greeted by the rest of the girls. She didn't seem to be disturbed by the trip over to her new home and all the new faces staring at her and talking all at once.

Here she is quite calm and collected as the chaos reins supreme around her.

I finally manage to get the other girls to calm down and sit patiently again. Here is Reimu after I had taken her out and wrapped her neked body in a towel.

Isn't she a cutie?

Everyone is now calm. Well, everyone except for the Moko's.

Finally! Reimu is dressed. She has brand new socks and leggings, but a hand-me-down shirt. She's the youngest now and that's what happens to the youngest. It will have to do till her own set of new custom made PJ's arrive.

No sooner had she sat down when, you guessed it, ...

...the Moko's jump up, ...

...run over, ...

...pounce and...

...welcome their newest sister with our traditional...

..."Attack of the Moko's."

After the Moko's finish, it's first mesume Miu's turn to welcome Reimu.

Then, it's second mesume Mai's turn.

Third mesume Yoko's turn.

And, finally, fourth mesume Neris's turn.

Here is a new family photo.

And, one more for the road. Welcome to the family, sweetie!

Blooming


Kuwait. Taken by Yousef Al-Asfour

Monday, July 25, 2011

Universe Traversal


"Stars as they travel over the small medieval college-village of Lacoste, France". Taken by Steve Moraco

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Bon Odori 2011





Last Saturday was the celebration of Bon Odori 2011. It was the first time I've ever been to such an event. All I can say is.... it.... was... AWESOME!!!

Check out the nail art I created for this occasion.



Beauty eh?


I also wore this shirt which I had no idea what it says and what it means. But because it sounded Japanese, I decided to wear it anyway :P


If there's anybody in this whole wide world who can tell me what is 'Herobel' or 'Zaneibe Tomahawvs', please put me out of my misery and tell me what the **** does that mean...


I wasn't really planning to go for the Bon Odori event at first, until our school announced that they'd take us there. So I went with my friends!


Before we left, we had to gather at the school. And while we were waiting for the bus to arrive, Vivien brought some bubble gum. And I don't know how to blow a bubble :(


Watch me and my friends attempt to blow a bubble gum in this video!






As you can see, I failed miserably T.T


At one point, I was close to blowing a bubble and Vivien was standing in front of me saying 'Blow! You can do it. Blow!!'


And so I blew. But instead of a beautiful pink bubble expanding right before my eyes, I see my spit on Vivien's face. LOL.



Ever wondered how does a tudung look with a yukata?





Now you know... that I want a yukata!!!



When I first got there, I was so damn jealous seeing all these girls wearing their gorgeous yukata. But some girls who were wearing short yukatas in an... erm... inappropriate way, yeah,... they look like hookers. Especially with their falsies and super thick eyeliner...





I dared Melissa to pose with this sleepy guy there by going NEXT to him. Not stand so far away from him. Chicken...




Some of the girls in our group thought the drummer boys there were kinda hot. For me, they look pretty average. Maybe its their uniforms that boosted their sex appeal. I dunno...


But we did try to look out for some hotties around the place, you know, for... research? But at the end of the event, frankly I have to say that I'm disappointed. Out of... what? 2000 people at the event, I only found one hottie. ONE!


Like wtf Malaysia? Our guys aren't beautiful enough man! I dunno much about the guy's opinion of the Malaysian girls, but still!


That one handsome guy I spotted at the event was tall, fair, good looking and he has biceps! Huge biceps! Plus, he's a chinese! How many buff chinese guys do you get to see in a lifetime? Hardly. Other than Bruce Lee of course.



And then its time to chow down in our all-s**t-too-expensive-check-my-wallet-I-hope-I-have-enough-of-money-japanese meal! Yummy!!


The food was super expensive! Like, that Unagi Rice costs RM15, that box of BBQ squid is RM10 and that sushi is about RM10 XP


There were a few other items we bought too, but lets not bring up too many painful memories...



Despite the many announcements from the organizers of not picniking at the field or bringing food in that area at all, nobody gave a damn and everybody was happily nom-noming at the field. And so did we :)






The rest of our group arrived. Check out Harue and Loo Yee in their pretty yukatas! Gorgeous!



You see lah. These girls are already preying on little girls in yukatas. Paedophiles...




OK, this is the fun part of the event. Everybody has to make rows of circles around the stage and dance by following the moves of the people on the stage. Its really fun and easy because everybody's doing it and you won't look dumb trying to do your own 'cool' dance moves when you actually look like a dork.


Trust me, I've been there...




Put your hands in the air, and wave it like you just don't care!
Yeah!!


And so, we ended our day by partying in the bus. No, actually Vivien and the Malay gang we're partying. I was already half-dead by then to party at all.







Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Neris

Well, I really hadn't planned on yet another mesume so soon after Yoko (here). But, here she is. So, she was an unexpected bundle of joy (giggles)! For the full story about how she came to be, please go here.

Anyways, after another long wait, her head finally arrived and it was now time to do a bit of eye surgery to get her new eyes into her head. Obviously she was very scared having just arrived to some new place and not yet knowing me at all. Plus, her original parent(s) had also disembodied her and left her that way! What could possibly happen to her next, she probably thought to herself. Poor sweet little thing.

But, the eye surgery had to happen. And, with some gentle and careful work on my part, she was fine afterwards and she loves her new look. She now wonders how she was able to live with her old look before (giggles). I also gave her an identical body to her original one to lessen the shock of her early life experiences. Thus, she is not uncoordinated or anything like that at all. She just feels "normal", whatever that is.

So, without much further ado, may I present to you, Neris.

Here she is already recovered from the eye surgery and just after getting her new body. She's just been introduced to her new sisters and family. She's also neked, too. That's why the towel (giggles).



Isn't she just cutest with her new eyes and new look?

Here she is again after getting dressed. She got hand-me-downs for a shirt, but new leggings, though. Such is the life of being the youngest sister. No worries, though. I did order her a brand new set of PJ's just for her. So, she's not being neglected.

She was just getting comfortable and getting to know everyone when suddenly...

...the Moko's bolt and attack!



It's "Attack of the Moko's" again!


Much laughing and giggling ensued for a while by all parties involved, and not involved.

After the Attack of the Moko's, here she is being welcomed to the family by Miu, my oldest.

And, now by Mai, my second oldest.

And finally, by Yoko, who was my youngest. But, is now my third oldest.

A new family portrait.

And, a final parting shot.

Well, that's it for the time being. I'll have better photos of Neris and the girls another time. I'll wait for Neris's new PJ's to arrive and then shoot her in those along with Yoko in her new PJ's, which you can already see here in today's pix. For now, I need to go to bed! LOL