6 Reasons Why Overtime Does More Harm than Good

Hi all!

It's time for Steph's Wise Words! So I joined the nine to five workforce recently and have to wake up in the wee hours of the morning to actually reach my downtown office on time.

Anyway, ever since my internship days I learnt working full time would require 'sacrifices' and the major sacrifice you have to make is TIME.

The idea of OT (overtime) is not new to me. But the fact that it's the norm disgusts me. Like how can anyone think this is okay?

Without further ado, here is 6 reasons why overtime does more harm than good.

1) It eats up your rest time

I wake up at 6am everyday to avoid the morning rush hour traffic. To get the required 8 hours sleep a day, I have to be in bed by 10pm. So let's say you end work at 6pm, you battle the jam to get home about 7pm (if you're lucky la). You have dinner, shower and chill for 10 minutes and it's almost 10pm already! There's hardly any time to watch TV or write a blog posts. 

So imagine if you have to leave work around 7 something or 8. By the time you get home, you just have to rush and hopefully can get to sleep by 10pm. Usually, it won't happen. Basically, OT is eating up for resting time. Falling sick and looking like a zombie is totally in order!

Part of my medication. But honestly, the cough medication taste super nice! Must take this one the next time.

2) It corrodes your family time

As I mentioned above, you don't have time to even get proper sleep. So what more laughing and watching TV with the family? I feel like I've abandoned a lot of family time because by the time I get back home, all I want to do is eat, shower and pray that I have enough sleep to last me the next day. There is absolutely no time to mess around with my cousin or sister! I'm really upset that the main mode of communication with my family is now through Whatsapp. SO PATHETIC.

How my mom checks whether am I feeling better or not. 

Pretty sad how it's done through Whatsapp and not in person.

The worst part is I'm working now so I can build my own family in the future but excuse me.. OT is making it feel like if I get home, I'll be too tired for my future children. It's like ya I'm buying them milk but they're gonna call the maid "mama" simply because from Monday to Friday, I will be spending very little quality time with them. It's like that's what I'm working so I can raise my kids but my kids aren't behaving well cause I need to work. Catch 22 anyone?

3) It prevents employees from giving 100%

I don't know why employers fail to see this.. I OT, I will come in my work feeling exhausted and I will do a half ass job because all I want is the day to be over! Imagine starting work at 845am and you can go home after 7pm. I feel demotivated enough as it is right? How to you expect me to come in work and say YEAH I TOTALLY WANT TO DO A GREAT JOB! But your job is long and draggish. All you want to so is get it over with and go home. That's it. If your employees hate their job then obviously they won't do a good job. I know what most people will say.. Suck it up. But if you can't do a good job, then why bother doing the job in the first place? I believe that if you are going to do something, then you should do everything you can and do it right.

4) OT is not equal to performance

I know many company's culture thinks that OT = hard work. If you don't stay back after working hours, you're insincere and not a hard worker. I disagree.. Not working OT means that I have other things to attend to after my working hours. It could be my family or night school but usually, it's out of my control! Isn't 9am to 6pm long enough? It's already more than 1/3 of my day! And this excludes commuting time to and from work some more!

5) OT is sucking your life away

Imagine.. A friend is planning a party and you can't leave because you have to OT! Or you wanna go pak toh with le boyfriend BUT NO. YOU OT! You wanna join premiere screening BUT NO. YOU OT! 

It is stopping you from EVERYTHING! No gym, no fun, no dates, no dinner dates! You simply have to give all your time to work! Love your company that much huh? It's unreasonable how we cannot even control what's gonna happen after working hours! What sense does it make? My life belongs to the company? NO! EVERYONE DESERVES TO PLAN A THING OR TWO WITHOUT BEING OBSTRUCTED BY WORK! It's insane how life is completely out of my control! Be it sleep, eat or shit, OT cannot keep interfering with my after hours! Where did my life go?

6) The money ain't yours

Yea OT.... But mind you, many companies DO NOT pay for OT!

And if your department performs well, unless you are a shareholder, the money isn't yours.

Think.. they can pay you a large sum of bonus! So how much are the big shots getting? Way beyond your bonus! They can pay you cause they have more in their pockets. So while they're wasting daylight in Bahamas, there you are sitting there doing OT and wondering what meals you could be having if you weren't sitting here.

Bottom line is, OT is really good for nothing. It's just a very Asian mentality that working late equals good employee! I really disagree. If I do get somewhere someday, all my employees will go back on time.

Work is endless but your time is limited. I wanna see my child grow up. I wanna spend time with my parents. I wanna talk to my sisters. I want to feel like a human. I want my time for myself not for the company. Seriously, this isn't a healthy norm! 

Not sure do I hope my boss will see this somehow but I really do hope someone can see what harm can OT bring instead of focusing on how it 'looks' good.

K before I can change the world I gotta go sleep so I can OT again! Blekkk.

Bye bye~

How To Answer A Very Important Call. After Nap Edition!

Hello hello!

If you're super awesome tips then I'm sorry cause I actually failed this miserably! hahahha

As many people have told me, sleep is extremely scarce once you get a job, so whenever I have time, I'll indulge fully in la la land~ Not la la as in the shell fish but like dreamland!

Honestly sleep has been a leisure to me since I've been so overwhelmed with... stuff. Can't actually pin point what I am so busy with but I just feel super occupied! Anyway, I really think important calls like form interviewer etc always happen when you're sleeping! Perhaps it's due to the time I pick to sleep/nap. 

The calls always come in around 10 - 11am or 5 - 6pm. Which is to me is THE GOLDEN TIME TO SLEEP!

I actually heard my phone vibrating several times, woke up and all I did was.... I shall not be redundant and just copy paste what I Dayre here...

Copy paste is tedious too.. Screenshot is same thing right? po-teh-to po-tah-to!

I think my laziness vibe is vibrating through the post like OMG!

Follow me on Dayre!

So much for pretending that I wasn't sleeping at all. Hahahah! But my "uh huh" sounded really convincing in my opinion!

I don't think I have the most professional phone call voice cause even when I'm wide awake, the person at the other side of the phone will think I am not.. Like laughing awkwardly or saying good morning TWICE! I actually have to say "I'm awake I'm awake" so that I don't sound so stupid! Gahhh! I must really work on my phone call voice.

Anyway, sorry I sounded a bit bimbo-ish in this post because I am super tired after a long day out! I just suddenly felt like blogging so I just scroll my Dayre to find the most random thing to say. It's a blogger's urge. Can't control that! It's currently about 6pm and if I wasn't blogging I'll probably be watching anime and dozing off to dreamland! It's THE GOLDEN TIME LA.

Okay enough gibberish for now!

Buzzing off....zzzz

How to Survive Water Rationing

Hello pillow talkers~ Ready for another random talk with me?

So I remembered it was around 2 months ago when our dear government announced that Selangor's dams are drying up due to the recent drought. This marked the start of 2 days on, 2 days off water rationing. Seriously I was so terrified when I heard that announcement. I am this close to learning a rain dance from some tribal group because I CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT WATER! When I am stressed, I can finish a whole bottle of water in one go. I also cannot imagine how am I supposed to live without washing my hair for 2 days. So oily and disgusting.

Well lucky for me, it did not affect my area immediately. I was only affected from Phase 2 onwards. I was so devastated when I turned on the tap and no water came out of it. Like not even a single drop.

"The first experience for me was HORRIBLE!"

Because we could not estimate how much water we actually use and need, we accidentally depleted our entire tank on the first day and ended up showering at my uncle's place. I considered showering in uni, which I assume there's still water supply. But from the second day onwards, we accommodated to it. Yes, it is uncomfortable. Yes, it is inconvenient. But we just have to make the best from the current condition. To be honest, a part of me thinks that this is a consequence of our ignorance towards the warning advertisements to save water. 

All those drama aside, I came up with some tips to survive water rationing.

1) Buy A Huge Water Bucket

Water buckets just became the best invention of mankind. That huge red bucket that I thought I will never need, finally has a chance to shine. I actually disagree with how the bucket sellers just jack up the price due to an increase in demand, but they are running a business after all. It is ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY to buy a bucket to store extra water so even if the water tank runs dry, there is still some water left for toilet use, a quick shower or just to brush teeth. Like I said, we went through our first day of water rationing without a bucket to store water and we have definitely learnt from our mistake! It is quite expensive, around RM 79.90 in Aeon but it's a necessity!

One of the huge water bucket

2) Get Clean Drinking Water

THERE IS NO WATER! And to boil water from the water tank is quite unhygienic right? The water can be quite brown and yucky. Honestly, I think not every household cleans their water tank from time to time right? So, the fastest way to clean drinking water is to buy mineral water from petrol stations or hypermarket. It's filtered, clean and immediately usable. They also range from those 1.5L big ones to small 500ml small little bottles. Else, refill your water bottle from water stations that's located everywhere around uni or shopping malls. I actually don't know why people put it right outside the toilet, because it feels very disgusting as if the water was from the toilet but anyways, it is best not to over-think aye?

I cannot survive without water! So here is the drinkable water storage in my house.

3) Don't Flush Unless It's Number 2!

Do you know flushing actually requires a lot a lot of water? Try flushing every time when you pee. The water level will drop extremely fast! So a quick solution is to pour water into the bowl whenever you're done instead of wasting a lot of water for a dramatic flush. I personally find it very gross so I out-ruled this suggestion and decided to save water in other ways. It is clean enough to pour some water into the toilet bowl but I just find it very unsightly and not very clean. Another solution would be to install a dual flush system: a half flush for #1 and a full flush for #2! Unfortunately this system isn't widely implemented in Malaysia, yet!

4) Avoid 'Watery' House Chores

Seriously, do not be stupid and go do your laundry or wash your car during water rationing. House chores can be postponed for 2 days. Seriously, JUST DON'T!

5) Beware of Dengue Mosquitoes

I guess if you're a Malaysian then you're pretty familiar with the idea of dengue fever. It is a disease transmitted by certain mosquitoes and can be deadly if not treated immediately. Their favourite breeding ground is still water. Since 2014, cases of Dengue fever has risen exponentially and everyone is urged to be aware of the severity of this situation. I heard some people are buying lots and lots of red buckets to store their water BEYOND their needs so that they have some buffer water supply but the thing is.. if those water are untouched after some time, it will become mosquitoes' love nest and they'll lay eggs there. So people please store only as much as you need and cover up all the water storage. Those red bucket I mentioned usually comes with a lid so do cover up the lid to prevent mosquitoes from breeding there. Also, make sure the water don't remain still for too long because mosquitoes love still water! Please stay healthy during this difficult water rationing period!

6) Try different hairstyle everyday!

This is for the ladies! You know how not washing our hair a day or two will make it extremely oily and disgusting? It's like your hair doesn't move anymore when the wind blows... My solution? Tie your hair up with different style! Oily hair is so perfect for tying your hair up so it doesn't get messy easily!

You can try..

A high pony tail

A simple fishtail braid (which is a bit messy here because I did it in a rush)

Or use a little hair accessories to distract attention away from your oily hair.

So cool right? Wearing glasses on your head as accessories while wearing contacts?

Okay! That's all the tips I can provide with my personal experience! I saw some poor souls running to buy water buckets and water that day because they recently got affected. News say that the water level only improved by 7% so water rationing may last for another 3 MONTHS! A long long time of endurance it is.. 

OH HERE'S A TIP FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT AFFECTED BY WATER RATIONING: It is tough enough for us so please do not rub it in our face as if we desire for it. Just consider yourself lucky and not making the rest of us feel more miserable. Also, please save water for the sake of affected victims. Be nice!

We never know how much we appreciate something until we lost it. Just like we know now how precious is every drop of water. Save water and make the best of the water rationing everybody!

Bye bye now~

4 Steps to Survive Valentine's Day for Singles and Couples (2014 Edition)

Hi everyone!

This week is the week of Valentine's Day! It's a week full of annoying couples and whining singles but worst of all, social media amplifying the whole issue as if it's Judgment Day! I'm not trying to be sour but personally I'm really sick of how it's overly discussed over social media, TV, or the radio about how special it is.

Like oh come on... Does it really matter if you're alone on Valentine's Day? You were alone for the past 364 days anyways and you've never complained. If you're celebrating it, good for you! Now run along and love your significant other more for the next 364 days!

So I came up with 4 steps to survice Valentine's Day for Singles and Couples:

Step 1: Step away from social media. Social media has been a total nightmare this week, punishing singles out there for being single and pressuring the couples to make the day extra special. If you think about it, it's really just another normal day. If your boyfriend abuses you every other day and brings you chocolate and flowers on February 14th, does it count? In my opinion, it's perfectly fine to be single and it's also perfectly fine to bring your significant other to mamak! So both of you enjoy it. With the advent of social media, we are all constantly connected, 24/7. Plus with the advent of social media, peer pressure is just a tap away. Like, "X bought Y a diamond ring for Valentine's Day. Why didn't you buy me a diamond ring too?" Congratulations, you have not just succeeded in ridiculing the efforts that your significant other put in, but also made them think that they have failed at making you happy. So my advice is to just go out, enjoy the company; whether its your significant other or other single friends, and enjoy the day. It's really not that bad to be single. It's just advertised that way.

Step 2: Go out and have a good time. It's FRIDAY!! Single or not. Have a date or not. It's Friday. Happy hour starts at 9pm! Feel free to get a hangover so you can sleep in for the weekends. If not you can date your mother/father/sister/brother/cousin/dog/cat. Family day on Valentine's Day! Go watch a non-lovey-dovey movie like The Book Thief! For the couples, expectation is the root of disappointment. That man won't transform to be a gentleman in one day. Don't get angry if he forgot to pull the chair for you. Don't nitpick. It's best to treat today's date like any other dates. 

Step 3: Stay at home and be festive Coincidentally valentines day fall on the last day of Chinese New Year, Chap Goh Meh. You can always choose to ditch your date to go for the very last Lou Sang! Or go for the last house hop to get ang pau. Screw Valentine's Day and enjoy the last day of Chinese New Year. 

Step 4: Treat it like any other ordinary day. Fun fact! Did you know that on February 14th, there is exactly 24 hours? It's the same number of hours as any other day. Yes, I am stating the obvious but that's my point. It can be another ordinary day, if you treat it as one. By that logic, Valentine's Day can be celebrated on any other day of the year. You can even celebrate it every day if you so wish. As I said before, Valentine's Day is just some people designating it as Valentine's Day.



So for everyone out there, single or not, Happy Valentine's Day~ ♡

How to make being sick not a bad thing after all

Hi everyone!

Welcome back to *cough cough cough cough cough* my little blog. Sick blogger here. 

What an ungodly timing to be sick. It's Chinese New Year; everyone is being so festive but I'm sulking here struggling to recover. 

Having a really bad sore throat. So bad that I woke up at 4am, gasping for air. Downed some water and still have difficulties falling asleep. Woke up several times after that because of my burning throat. Sad right? I NEED LOVE! 

Since I'm sick, I've decided to be optimistic and think that other than feeling terrible, body aching and tasteless food, there are perks to being sick! 

Rest time. Some people just don't know their limits! I am probably one of those people. Going out even when I'm tired, not getting enough sleep and never watching my diet are the main reasons why I'm sick now. Being sick is like my body's emergency signal hinting me to rest. So it's not a bad thing since this is my chance to finally rest in bed the whole day without feeling guilty!

Get showered with love and attention. Since young whenever I'm sick my parents will freak out and take care of me attentively. Reason being:

Maybe it's my body system, whenever I get hit by fever, it'll usually be high fever and it won't go away easily. So my parents will take turns coming in my room measuring my temperature even it's in the middle of the night. When I told my mom I'm having sore throat, I get showered with love and care like a princess! A lethargic, dying and sore all over princess that is. And my dad is so nice; buying me Strepsils and sour plum because I said I'm scared of bitter medicine.

Thanks dad!

But parents' love is the best when you're sick right?

Not to forget, all my lovely friends who let me had a full healthy dessert all to myself since it's supposed to help me recover and recommended me this miracle recipe to stop my coughing. It's actually really really effective! *so touched tears*

Not allowed an actual shower though. Yeah, that thinking of shower will worsen the condition. Personally I think it's true. Few years back, I went to shower because I'm stubborn that way and ended up almost fainting in the bathroom. This time, I showered and my whole body aches instantly. I actually love to shower so this is not a happy factor. So if you are sick, you have a valid excuse to not shower!

Pajamas all day long. Cue Banana in Pajamas theme song~ I know why B1 and B2 are always in their pajamas now. So comfortable! It covers my whole body, yet doesn't make me feel hot or stuffy. I can laze in whatever pose I want and nothing will be exposed! Being sick means WHOLE DAY PYJAMAS! Mom told me to wear long sleeves to keep warm. And pajamas is the only long sleeves I have. Plus I will be in bed for the whole day. What a perfect attire. 

Hot and warm food. How often you get to tell your mom "make me strawberry jam spread on bread please" and don't get a "do it yourself" reply? When I'm sick I get to have mom-made bread and everything is warmed up for this patient. Even got a bowl of soup (老黄瓜汤) to warm my throat up. Such bliss~

Lose weight. I'm gonna get hated for saying this but I managed to lose some weight during Chinese New Year even when I've been eating quite a bit of junk food. Lost like a whole kg because of this annoying cough. So..

Sleep all the time. What's the best medicine when you're sick? SLEEP!! Sleep, eat porridge, eat medicine and go right back to sleep. Rinse and repeat.

Okay that's my optimist side saying all that to make being sick sound like it's not such a bad thing. But my realist side says that even with these perks, being sick still sucks.

Well when life give you lemons you make lemon meringue pie right? Just try to make the best out of it!

Shall rest more and get well faster! 

Bye now~

P.S. Today is a double post day! Here's the link to the other post! The Book Thief movie review!

Budget shopping in HK

Hello y'all! Self proclaimed hardcore blogger here cause I'm blogging from gym!

Early morning gym! Perfect way to spend my morning.

I prefer coming here in the morning/afternoon than evening because there are generally fewer people and lesser muscle dudes staring at you. But I must add that some are very helpful and corrected me when I used the workout equipment wrongly. 

Resuming my HK adventure, yes, I had only RM800 to spend but let's face it, HK is a shopping paradise with temptation at every turn. RESISTANCE IS FUTILE! So I did end up making some purchases (mostly economical) which I'm going to share here!

Booties. (This is actually a legit word. Go Google it) I've been searching for booties for quite some time. And I did find it in Clarks, Isetan. But I didn't buy it because #1, the shoes cost RM300! Well it's Clarks so what do you expect right?

So the expensive but quality don't match price

It's not only pricey, but it also has a lower than expected quality for such a high price. This pair is made of pure leather but the finishing isn't that nice. My leg got cut by the leather in mere 3 minutes of trying! No point spending on a pair of shoes that only look nice right? Did not meet my minimum satisfaction requirements at all. Also, the saleslady was quite rude. All I did was ask for a pair in my size and she gave me this death glare as if I was telling her to climb Everest.

Anyways! Since it is winter in HK now, boots are trending everywhere! I stumbled upon this pair in a mall that resembles Sungei Wang back in Malaysia for only HKD 150! That's like RM 60 only! Plus the staff was super nice and helpful in making sure that the shoes fit right! My first HK purchase and my current obsession!

Booties from HK! Aren't they lovely?

Hollister. Hollister is not a big brand in Malaysia yet but I think it will expand its business here soon. Hollister is owned by Abercrombie & Fitch but it's more casual and California summer beach feel compared to A&F. Since it's more summer kind of clothing, I managed to grab a few tops on sale! Hollister isn't cheap at all! Imagine, you saw a normal plain green shirt. Nothing special about it. You flip the price tag over and see HKD 499! So I immediately put the tag back and slowly walked away. Way out of my small budget. But there is a sale corner that is kinda rare in Hollister. So I bought two tops for HKD 79 each! That's really cheap compared to that normal green top earlier. So I consider the purchase a success! Very happily parading it when I got home!

Bought an S size so I can wear it as an oversized tee. Comfort MAX.

This is XS but it's still quite big

Bershka! Some of you may be familiar with Bershka. They do have branches here like the one in One Utama. Bershka's line is very trendy and just nice for my age! It's like my Chinese New Year shopping go to place. But bless the Boxing day sale cause Bershka the prices were most likely near at cost price or lower! Just look at the skirts below. Only HKD 29 each! HKD not RM! I found the exact same one here later and it's priced at RM 29.90. Almost twice as expensive than my HK purchases.

Thinking back, I should have grabbed other designs as well.

I also bought this translucent crop top for HKD 49. Motivation to go gym to lose my tummy fat!

Can't really see that its translucent here though. Check out my OOTDs!

Loved it so much I wore it twice since I got back!

OOTD #1

OOTD #2

Both OOTD with my booties! Told you I'm obsessed! 

Also managed to grab this casual shirt that goes perfectly with jeans or skirt for only HKD 99! A shirt for about RM 40 is quite reasonable. Why can't Malaysia have crazy sales like this?!

Guess what? S and M sizes was out of stock the next day! Crazy!

Note 2 Cover. People who went HK before or follow any TVB series would have a rough idea about Mong Kok. It's like the Chinatown of KL and of course bargain bargain bargain! Seriously I suck at bargaining! I miss my parents for this! They are much more firm and confident in bargaining while I would give in to the seller. Managed to get 3 covers and I got both the flip covers for HKD 60 each (Opening price was HKD 75). Thanks Bianca for helping me bargain!

Flip cover on the left and right

The middle one is slightly more pricey, at HKD 75 (Opening price was HKD 130). Probably cause there are small beads inside the transparent heart shapes. This beanie style cover is trending among iPhone users. I only found one stall selling for Note 2! Lucky!

Its packed quite tightly. Got a little bit of empty space for the beads to move but I wish there is more.

And oh! It's interesting how they sell kinky male underwear everywhere in Mong Kok.

Kinky~ they say no pictures so I snapped it with lightning speed! 

Hair tie. Bought this knitted hair tie for HKD 10 in a closing down shop in Central MTR Station. Well their service was quite horrible. Even if you're closing down shop, we're still consumers! There is no reason to treat us so badly! Regardless, it's a good purchase. The rubber band was quite tight and stretchable so it won't slip off my hair.

Hair tie!

Tigger plush toy with a blanket! This! Is my most valuable purchase from Hong Kong! I've been longing to buy this plush toy for a few years. But sadly it's not available in Malaysia. So when I saw this plush to in Hong Kong Disneyland, my eyes lit up and I bought it without hesitation! In hindsight, the toy is a bit pricey at HKD 185, but oh well. I am not letting this chance slip by me. Now I'm a happy child hugging it to sleep every night♡

Cute right? ^^

Sheridan's Coffee Layered Liqueur. I actually bought this in KLIA so it's not really a HK purchase. But I'm still counting it because I'm technically still on the way back from vacation! Price: RM99 duty free. Nice for a light drink at home before bed.

Unique bottle: coffee liqueur on the right and cream on the left.

Mixes both evenly when poured out

Creepy smiley ice cube *cue horror soundtrack*

Okay this is the end of my budget shopaholic post! Probably posting a HK food post next! So stay tuned!

Bye now~

Ps: Personal training session. So tough. I died. Going to remain dead for a while..

How to survive 14 Days in Hong Kong with HKD2000

Hello hello pillow talkers! I'm taking control of my blog again! After 3 weeks break, my editor is pestering me for new blog posts.

Now it's my turn to share my vacation stories. But I went for 14 days.. I'm not crazy enough to write 14 different posts for 14 days! So I'm just sharing stories I deem interesting!

As the title suggest, I only had HKD2000 to spend for the whole 14 days trip. HKD2000 is about RM840 and means that my maximum daily spending is roughly HKD142 (RM60) a day! That plus the fact that an eenie minie bowl of noodles averagely costs HKD32 (RM13.50), and it’s clear that I had a super tight budget.

So how exactly did I survive in HK with such a tight budget?

Get related to awesome relatives. Seriously I am as good as homeless without my aunt allowing me to use her house as shelter. If my cousin is reading this, I APPRECIATE THE CARE DURING MY STAY! Hotels in HK are super expensive! Especially since it's now peak season with tourists everywhere. And my grandma cooks almost everyday, so whenever I'm not out I get to eat yummy home cooked food. This is why I gained weight! So yummy!

Home cooked meal to ease homesickness!

My aunt brought me out to eat a few times too. And each time, she would quickly pay the bill before I can object. It's amazing how adults pay so fast. Thanks to my lovely aunt and her wonderful family, I managed to save quite a bit of my budget here. They didn't stop at paying for my meals either; they even brought me around HK too! If you don't have relatives in HK, then consider budget hotels or outskirts to minimize accommodation cost. Another alternative would be to find a nice friend to let you crash their sofa or something!

Don’t bother buying cheap winter clothing back to Malaysia. If you are planning a HK trip during other seasons then please ignore this tip. However, if you do plan to go HK during the winter, do not be tempted by the cheap winter clothing on sale! They do sell clothes that look like it is wearable back here, but do not be deceived. Go ahead and touch the material. It is too thick to be worn casually here. Even I had to constantly remind myself that ‘No! Do not spend on winter clothes!’

I look like this everyday during winter. How to dress like this in Malaysia?!

Plan well and check prices beforehand. Here's how I tracked my spending so I do not go out of my budget.

Good luck deciphering my writing!

When I have time I'll just check prices for attractions and prepare a proper budget list. So you'll know how much you have left thus prevent overspending. Plus since I'm on limited budget, I had to choose between Disneyland, Macau day trip and Ocean Park because these are the pricey ones. In the end, I forwent Ocean Park. Random fun fact: the past tense of forgo is forwent. Anyways! Because I planned well, I was able to visit all the attractions that I wanted to visit like Mong Kok, Central, Lan Kwai Fong etc. So plan your timing and money wisely so you can get the maximum enjoyment in the limited time and budget available!

Price list for tourist attractions as of 31/12/2013:

• Hong Kong Disneyland - HKD450
• Ocean Park - HKD340 (approximate figure)
• Macau ferry tickets round trip - HKD360
• The Peak:
• tram + sky park (without Madame Tussauds) - HKD75
• with Madame Tussauds - HKD250
• Cable car to Dai Yu San round trip - HKD150

Book everything in advance (where possible). I went to see the big Buddha statue in Dai Yu San. The cable car literally floats above the sea and cuts through a mountain. I almost cried cause my life is literally hanging by a thread. It's scary!

Above the sea

And over the mountain

The cable car ticket was HKD150 both ways. If you purchased online tickets in advance, there's a discount! Plus you get to 'cut the queue' as there is a designated line for online purchased ticket holders. I think there is discount too for the peak! 5% discounts are still savings! Every penny counts. We also saved time queuing for our turn!

Shop wisely. I saw complaints that Boxing Day sales were disappointing elsewhere. But not for me! I enjoyed the crazy sale! For instance this jacket from Collect Point was HKD399 and it was further discounted to HKD299 on Boxing Day! Not only that, I also saw sale going on at Hollister and Coach! Imagine a wholesale outlet and on top of that there is an additional weekend 30% sale! But of course. I did not go crazy spending here. No matter how cheap a Coach clutch is now, I don't need to buy it. When I do, I could just save a more to buy it back in KL. Coach is everywhere after all.

This top is only HKD299 on Boxing Day!

Ps: Ignore my totally mismatched shirt inside


Sharing is caring. And you get to try different types of food. I think the title is pretty much self explanatory.

You really don't need that many souvenirs. Seriously you don’t. The first time I went Disneyland, I was so tempted to buy EVERYTHING! Everything was so magical. So unique. So special. From bracelets to key chains, I wanted it all! And I ended up buying 10 key chains and a bracelet. But guess where they are now? Somewhere in my closet. Collecting dust. So when you're buying souvenirs, one or maximum two is more than enough. Plus the 385,129 pictures you took with your smartphone is more memorable anyways.

Don't forget to budget for public transport. HK has such a well developed public transport system. MTR, ding ding, mini bus, double decker bus or a cab can get you to wherever you need to be. To use these services, you absolutely need an Octopus Card. To get one, you will need to pay HKD150 with HKD50 as deposit. After that, I topped up another HKD100. Total HKD200 for me to use public transportation for 14 days. MTR everyday! There is also a free alternative. HK is not that big. So you can also consider walking as another transportation alternative.

That's all the tips I have for now! HK is such an enjoyable place despite the weather hates my skin and a few rude encounters. Next post I'll post the clothes that I feel proud for buying them! I made good choices!

Stay tuned for more! Toodles for now~

What's heavy, consistent and red?

Hello again pillow fluffers! Today's pillow talk will be about something a bit heavy so please bear with me! You will probably experience this at least once in your lifetime though.

Anyways! Before revealing today's pillow talk, I want to say that I'm actually quite proud with myself for consistently updating twice a week. Apparently it's very important for a fresh blogger to be consistent in updating their blog to attract readers. So everyone, thank you for your support! Else my inner laziness would have come up with some really good excuses to slack off. I will try my best to keep up this pace, I promise!

Back to today's topic. In about two weeks time I will be traveling to Hong Kong (yippee!). I have already started packing for my long stay because there seems to be a million and one things to do, one after another. So I've been checking the HKD exchange rate for about 2 months now? My "checking" is actually just walking by a money changer, look at the rate and make a little mental note that I should start saving up.

About a week ago, I started telling myself to go exchange some MYR for HKD. But when I finally did, the rate suddenly surged. HKD appreciated from MYR 41.50 to MYR 42.20 for HKD 100! Trust me when I say my inner self is screaming with rage for not exchanging the currency earlier. It's worse when I was already telling myself that HKD would probably appreciate soon. How did I know? Well I'm actually pursuing a degree in finance and economics but it's mostly just a wild guess. 

But! Life is full of surprises. Halfway buying dinner, I saw a shady money changer. Alright it probably wasn't shady but it was not in a mall and it's between a car service shop and hardware shop. I thought to myself, "If this shop is also selling at 42 then screw it. I would suck it up and buy HKD at that price."

To my surprise, the shop was actually selling MYR 41.80 for HKD 100! My brain stopped functioning for a while when I saw 41. Yes. 1. Not 2! Of course I did not hesitate this time and made my transaction there. Can you imagine my joy? It's as if I stumbled upon a gold mine and I'm now a millionaire! But my happiness was short lived. Once I calmed down and calculated how much I actually saved, it was only a measly MYR 4. So much for being a millionaire.

But food for thought, have you travelled between different places to gain some insignificant profit? Is it really worth it? Or have we actually lost more in our search for the best rate? While its true that I I only ended up saving MYR 4, I still got some personal satisfaction out of it (Like two minutes worth?). I think I still gained overall cause I checked those rates while running errands so it was kind of on the way! Now though, I need to think whether I should exchange more HKD or not. If I exchange too much, then I would lose out and be in the red when I trade back.

Till next time toodles~

PS: Yes I know the title was misleading! It's kinda lame too. But my editor thought it was quite funny!