on the road

Today, I finally got my learner's permit!!

I've always postponed it, because there was really no benefits for me. I got driven everywhere, and public transportation when needed. But my friend was going to take it again, and I was like why not? Thankfully, I passed the first time despite only studying for two days...I was very nervous, but my $30 did not go to waste.


[ViVi model Sara Mary]

So, who wants to teach me how to drive?

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hedi slimane

Hedi Slimane is a fashion designer, but I think an even better photographer. The photos he shoots of models and celebrities are simply brilliant. And I love the look of black & white.

His most recent photographs include Lindsay Lohan. Although I'm not a big fan, I think they look beautiful. But she is looking a little thin these days...

Here's a few samples plus some older shoots with models I like:




[Snejana Onopka; April 2007]


[Sasha Pivovarova, February 08]


[Natasha Poly, April 2007]



I posted the less risque ones.

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Photos - Hedi Slimane fashion diary

julia + mercedes

I don't remember exactly when I became interested in the world of fashion..but that interest lead me to the world of international models that would walk the runways. There was a point in time where I was able to name every model I see in an advertisement, magazine, and the catwalk. I still do that today, but there are slews of new young models every season, and it gets hard to keep up!

My favorite model of all time is the beautiful Julia Stegner. She's tall, blonde, German, and I love her!! (And I also love the fact she has an Asian boyfriend). You might have seen her in recent Victoria's Secret catalogues and Maybelline advertisements.

A couple weeks ago was Mercedes Benz Fashion Week in Berlin, Germany. She was the spokesmodel, and I just wanted to share some pictures of her from that week:


[She's so cute]


[Looking gorgeous as usual]


[Kinda makes you want to buy a Mercedes...]

Ahh she's so pretty!!

I realized that I haven't been posting my daily life that much, more of things I like. I will when I have things to post about...life's so boring lately!

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Photos - tFS

march madness

It's not quite March yet...but it's not even basketball that I'm talking about. Fellow fashionistas will know that March is when all the magazines start debuting spring collections. I wish the warm weather would come sooner so I can wear it all. The Japanese magazines this month especially caught my eye. Although I only regularly buy ViVi, I might need to make some more trips to Kotobukiya...


Egg: I've never bought an Egg because it's more ganguro-style. I don't think Kotobukiya even sells Egg. But I like this cover.

Gisele: The cover is a reprint from an old issue of Elle Girl, haha. Only I would notice that. But yes, Gisele is good for high fashion.

Glamorous: It's so simple and pretty. Hehe.

JJ: The last JJ I bought I didn't really like it because the style was too working-chic and conservative. But I heard JJ is becoming more like ViVi, so who knows?

Numero Tokyo: I also haven't bought one of these in a while. I like the gradient and I saw previews of Jessica Stam (the covergirl)'s editorial, which I loved.

Pinky: I like covers with multiple models on them. The more the merrier! My favorite Pinky model is Emi Suzuki, the one with the hat. She's also an actress.

SCawaii: It's Namie Amuro. Need I say anymore?

Sweet: There's always cute furoku in Sweet. But I don't care for fuzzy socks...I do like Rinka though.

I see pink everywhere.

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wilków-kolonia

Just one of those random fun games I saw on someone's Xanga. I was bored, so here:

Create your own album cover! 1 - Go to "wikipedia." Hit “random”
or click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
The first random wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.

2 - Go to "Random quotations"
or click http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3
The last four or five words of the very last quote of the page is the title of your first album.

3 - Go to flickr and click on “explore the last seven days”
or click http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days
Third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.

4 - Use photoshop or similar to put it all together.



I don't have Photoshop on this computer, and I can't use it very well anyways, so it's not that good. I quite like it though. It seems a little pedophile-ish, but I see it as those happy childhood memories we all use to have...

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oscars : red-carpet vs. runway

Instead of the typical "hits & misses" blog post on Oscar fashion, I just picked a few of the dresses I liked. And for a little spin, I compared the look on the red-carpet to its showing on the spring runways.

Enjoy!

Evan Rachel Wood in Elie Saab Couture
Both the actress and model look amazing, but with Evan Rachel Wood's particular accessories and makeup, the whole ensemble is very Hollywood chic.



Freida Pinto in John Galliano
I am very much in love with this dress. It's so unique, with the one-sleeve, and has a subtle Indian-sari style to it. Of course, the version Freida Pinto wears is more flattering and less revealing!



Halle Berry in Marchesa
Black and gold are one of my favorite color combinations. I really like the tulle and embellishment, but the tail I could do without. Halle Berry still looks amazing though.



Jennifer Aniston in Valentino Couture
I noticed there were a lot of shimmery champagne colored dresses at this year's Oscars...Jennifer Aniston's is one of the best. I'm glad she chose that hairstyle, because it looks very good together.



I was a little disappointed in the dress variety, but there's always next year...

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Photos - People; Style

lazy sunday

I am extremely tired today. I slept for a good seven hours, but I am still drowsy. I think it might be because there were too many pillows on my sister's roomate's bed. I like one pillow. It doesn't hurt my neck. And also, it's drizzling outside...I don't like it. I have another headache, so I don't even know why I'm blogging.

A summary of my day:

~ Woke up kind of stiff at my sister's dorm. She was still sleeping so I proceeded to use her MacBook to catch up on reading some blogs.
~ Continued to read and watched Phantom Gourmet as she showered.
~ Packed up my things and got ready to leave.
~ Got picked up from my boyfriend and bought some Jamba Juice on the way.
~ Went to Porter Square for lunch and my new magazine.
~ Took a nap.
~ Now I'm home online, as usual!!


[So happy Marie is on the cover...she needs to be inside more though]

I feel like sleeping...but it's such a waste of time. Not like I have anything better to do though. Oh this sucks, I have to go back to school tomorrow!! Hopefully my teachers will go easy on me.

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Q & A

I feel like I haven't posted in forever!! So here's a random question/answer type thing I found on notebookdoodle's blog. I didn't get tagged, but I just like filling these out.

what are you wearing now?
a red t-shirt and grey sweatpants; both courtesy of raider volleyball.

what’s the last thing you read/are currently reading?
i was going through the stacks of magazines in my sister's dorm.

do you nap a lot?
not too much, because i feel like i'm wasting time.

who was the last person you hugged?
my sister.

what’s your current obsession/addiction?
i'm been drinking a little too much pepsi lately.

which item from your closet are you wearing most lately?
i think i've worn the same baseball tee and hoodie a lot.

what's for dinner?
i ate rice, veggies, shrimp, and pork.

what was the last thing you bought?
a movie ticket for confessions of a shopaholic.

what are you listening to right now?
nothing. actually about to go to bed very soon.

if you could have any super power, what would it be?
the ability to teleport.

what is your favorite weather, and why?
i love sunshine. i love being warm. i absolutely despise the cold.

what time do you usually get up?
depends if i have school or not. if i do, around 7. otherwise, around 9-10.

what is your most challenging goal right now?
financial aid stuff i can't bring myself to do.

if you could have a house–totally paid for, fully furnished–anywhere in the world, where would you want it to be?
i don't think i could choose one. so i'll say boston for now!!

favorite vacation spot?
CHINA.

name the things you cannot live without:
food & water?

what movies can you watch over and over?
i don't really like watching movies again...haha.



I'm currently typing this in my sister's dorm. Her roomates are away for the weekend, so I decided to sleepover. I'm tired since it's later than I usually go to bed, so I'll say good night for now.

Brunch tomorrow in her university dining hall? Oh no, vacation's ending! Damn it, back to reality.

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cosmetics haul

I've gotten some new cosmetics over the past week...I really need to stop spending money. But I can't help it, so I should get a job. I'll be in debt before summer gets here.

Dior Iconic Diva To Go Set
I've been looking to buy this mascara, and this was a limited edition set online. For what would have cost me just the mascara, I also got this cute case and a mini lipstick. I like the mascara, but it can't beat the original Dior Show. It doesn't hold curl as well, but maybe when the waterproof version comes out...



Sephora by OPI Daily Hand Moisturizer To Go
A spur of the moment purchase. My hands are dry from the winter cold. It smells good.



L'Oreal Paris HIP Color Truth Cream Eyeliner
I said I was going to try cream eyeliner, but after much debate of which one was the best, I decided to buy this one. It just so happens there was a price cut at Target, lucky me!! That saved me $5. I like cream eyeliner. It's less smudgy than pencil, but not as harsh as liquid.



Oh, silly me.

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love is in the air

I really didn't want to use that cliche saying for my title, but I couldn't think of anything better. Valentine's Day was a couple days ago, but I haven't had time to update until now. Plus, I need to get photos of the day from my boyfriend's camera!!

So on oh-so-special February 14, I first had to get some financial aid stuff done. It wasn't too bad, because I discovered some coincidences with the guy who was helping us. He used to be a guidance counselor at BLA, and was assistant coach for their volleyball team. Coincidence, huh? Even funnier, he mentioned that he wrote an article about parking in Chinatown, and I actually read it back in August, in the Sampan!! He printed me out another one of his articles before we left, haha.

But let's get on to the rest of the day. When I got home, Jeff surprised me with roses and he bought me a couple gifts - which he really didn't have to. We went to dinner at this bistro in South Boston, Hamersley's. It was very lovely, the way they set up the tables with heart confetti and candles. It was the fanciest place I've every been too, and we were both the youngest people there!





There were four courses, and we could choose from several dishes. We both had the Maine Crab first, and then the Creamy Scallop Bisque. For the main course, I chose the Bone-In Beef Rib Steak while Jeff had the Pan-Roasted Lobster. Then it was finished with a dessert plate with a little sorbet and pastries. It was all very tasty, and I was stuffed. They also had little cute boxes that had a cookie and chocolate in them for us to take home.

Afterwards, we went back to my house to watch more of that drama we're so addicted to. That's all we do when we're not out!

On Sunday, we watched some of the drama again before going to Porter Square. I bought the Sweet magazine I wanted, with Namie on the cover. Too bad she only had about four pages in it. But it did come with a cute tote by Charlotte Ronson. I'll find some use for it... We ate at Tampopo, which was a bit disappointing. The food was good, but the portions were disappointing. I'm sticking to my shrimp tempura udon next time.



For dinner, I had to attend this Chinese New Year Banquet (still!) at Emperor's Garden. We had to wait very long for the food, but I guess it was worth it. We wanted to leave a little early, so Jeff, my younger sister Kathy and I decided to go. But then when we got back to the car, we found out the car battery died!! Silly Jeff left the headlights on. So we had to call my dad and get him to jump-start our car with his. Alas, it was fixed and we went back to my house and - what else? - finished the day with another episode of "When Easterly Showers Fall On the Sunny West."



That might be the longest entry I've written thus far. I'll probably update a bunch this week - because it's vacation!!! I'm so looking forward to sleeping in everyday.

|Shirls|

a college flag for me

On Valentine's Day, I got a letter from Simmons College. I GOT IN!! My first college acceptance! I called my older sister right away. And then told my boyfriend. I think they were the first two to know.


[the beginning of my acceptance letter!]

I really don't think I'll be going to Simmons, because I considered it a safety. But it's still nice to know I'll be going somewhere. I'm only expecting about 3 or 4 more acceptances.

I still have to wait until like April though.

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"you're not girls, you're athletes"

I was looking through the online archives of the Watertown Tab, my town newspaper. Being the dork I am and avoiding my psychology paper, I decided to search myself. There were several articles which my name was mentioned, for academics and volleyball.

It was so random, but I realize I really miss volleyball. I don't think I'm very athletic, but it was one sport I was good at. It still disappoints me that we never won a single game in my two-year varsity experience. When we were a club sport, we did. It's still an honor to have played since the very beginning of the existence of Watertown Volleyball.

My title is something my Coach used to say to us. He would also say "Don't be sorry, be better," because we apologized so often, and "Water makes you weak!" when we would be out of breath and in dire need of a drink. But I think it made us stronger.

Here's the most recent article:

Still searching for their first point of the season, the Watertown volleyball team lost at Burlington 3-0 on Monday.

“We weren’t on top our game in this one,” Watertown coach Pat Bemis said after the match. “It is one of those games where we couldn’t do anything right.”

Watertown was its most competitive in the opening set.

Reading 3, Watertown 0

Despite the same 3-0 final, the Raider girls performed much better Friday when they hosted Reading. The girls played their best set in the third match when they were on the losing end of a 25-17 match.

“We didn’t play too badly in this one,” Bemis said. “But we are still learning what it takes to win.”

Bemis praised the play of junior setter Alina Bazarian for her hustle and senior Shirley Choy for her passing.

[Top: Purple & Yellow Day in our school gym; 2008]
[Bottom: Volleyball night @ Masco High; 2007]

I wanna play again...

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the 100th day of school

It's feels so weird. 55% of the school year is done now. Actually, more for me because I'm a senior!! So it's probably more like 60%. My last year of high school...

I went to a meeting after school for Word Painter, my school's literary magazine. We're trying to get more people to submit in time so we can publish it. I'm actually editor-in-chief, haha. Sadly, I think the quality is going downhill as the students are...

Valentine's Day is coming up, huh? I usually get my friends candy and make them little Valentine notes, but I've been feeling very lazy this year. I should have just sent them carnations that our school does every year. But I did walk to CVS after my meeting and picked out a card for my boyfriend.

I gave my sister the cord the my camera, so no uploads for a couple days. But I'll edit.

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when i was younger...

I wanted to be professional makeup artist. This was around the middle school period, when I first started getting into my fashion & magazines addiction. When people were still reading teeny magazines, I was stacking up on Elle. Within these glossy pages, I became familiar with the faces that walked each runway during Fashion Week. Pretty soon, I could rattle off the names of any model if you pointed at them.

It seemed like such a glamorous life. I wanted to be surrounded by it. I didn't have the talent to be a fashion designer. And there was no way I would become one of those faces on stage. I wanted to be the one backstage, transforming bare faces into a piece of art.

My makeup collection grew and grew. I had drawers and boxes of shadows and glosses that I would use to practice on myself and my sisters. I would attempt to recreate looks I saw at the fashion shows. I read books about makeup artistry and seriously thought about it as a career.

I don't remember when that dream faded though. I think at some point I realized I didn't really have the artistic skills. So my path drifted to working at a magazine, as I do have some writing skills.

I thought about this today as I was reading Bobbi Brown's (the makeup artist) newest book "Makeup Manual". I became nostalgic about my old dream. It's a very helpful book, and teaches you both how to apply makeup and about being a makeup artist.



It makes me want to go out and enhance the beauty of this world.

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freebies

Doesn't everyone just love free stuff? Even though sometimes there is no use for it...

One of my favorite magazine is Allure, dubbed "The Beauty Expert". As an "Allure Expert," I participate in their Beauty Benefits program. They send you occasional surveys and once in a blue moon, a sample for you to test for them. It's pretty cool. I think I racked up 20 Benefit Points in 2008, so they sent me this package. Woo!



It's not much, but I love getting free things anyhow. I don't know what to do with the Biotherm Celluli Laser [worth like $50], since I don't have any cellulite...but the Ban deodorant is in a cute little stick.

It kind of makes your day to get things in the mail, huh?

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report cards

I just blogged about this in my Xanga, but what the hell.

We got our report cards for the second quarter on Friday. I really didn't want a C so I could get on Honor Roll, but I already knew on that I would in Contemporary Literature. Ugh. I'm waiting until my mom asks me about it, or else I'm not showing it to her.

Here's what I got...

Contemporary Literature: C+
AP Spanish: B+
Pre-Calculus: A-
Statistics: A+
AP Psychology: B+
String Ensemble: A

I wouldn't be as upset if our class rankings weren't final now. But they are. I'm not sure what I am, but I think it's 12th or 13th. And that 3.998 is keeping me off Cum Laude. Sigh.

I've turned into such a slacker.

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webcamming it

Senioritis has really gotten the best of me. Well, I am still doing my work, but it's very half-assed. Which isn't good considering I have 3 quizzes tomorrow!!

I've been testing out my webcam, and I finally got to chat with my boyfriend on it! It wasn't for very long though, since he had to get to class. I can't wait until I get into college.


[Smile! The lighting isn't the best though. I'm no expert!]

I am so ready for the weekend to come. I'll get to relax and have more things to blog about.

Later loves.

|Shirls|

kiss

I posted that my boyfriend bought me this phone a while back. I still haven't set it up because I don't know anything about phone lines or whatever. But I put it together so I could show you everyone. I probably won't set it up until I refurnish the attic, so I can have my own room!

You can get it here.

|Shirls|

lash stash 2

If anyone was reading my blog when I first started it, you'd know I got the Sephora Lash Stash 2 as a gift from my sister. I've been meaning to do a short review of all the mascaras in it, but I haven't gotten the time until now!! It includes the following mascaras:


[Trying to be artistic.]

Cargo Texas Lash
This is one of my favorites in the set. It gave my lashes volume and definition, but wasn't clumpy at all! I also liked the scent.

DuWop Lash Venom
I like how natural this one looked on the eyes. It was kept my lashes soft, but still had some volume. An average, everyday mascara.

Korres Deep Colour Mascara
A very natural looking and lengthening mascara that smelt slightly like beans.

Make Up For Ever Smoky Lash
I knew this one would turn out clumpy when I first looked at the brush. Nevertheless, it had a lot of pigment for defined lashes. I recommend using a lash comb.

Sephora Atomic Volume
I'm not a big fan of plastic lash combs, since they tend to be pretty clumpy. This one is not too bad, but it still does a bit. It provides lots of definition though!

Smashbox Bionic Mascara
Lots of length and volume in this tiny tube. And it's not too clumpy, like some of the other ones.

Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes
This "4-in-1" mascara claims to increase curl, length and volume. It does have a lot of volume and length, but not much curl. It's also a bit too clumpy for my taste.

Too Faced Lash Injection Pinpoint
I was hesitant about the small comb in this one, but it proved to handy. The wand can reach every little lash. It is a bit clumpy though.

Urban Decay Big Fatty
Big Fatty is supposedly fattening. This one is also one of my top choices. It was rich and soft, and added volume to my lashes.

Vincent Longo The Curl Mascara
This one is very natural-looking. But it didn't really curl. Oh well, I use a lash curler religiously anyways!

I'm very picky about my mascara. They need to be ultra lengthening, with some volume, and no clumps. I am still using Dior Show because I haven't found anything better! I'm thinking about getting their new Iconic one. It has plastic bristles thought... I'll let see how it is.

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weekend update

I feel like I haven't blogged in a long time. But it's only been two days. Can you believe it's February? January passed by so quickly! Here's an extensive weekend update:

As usual, my boyfriend picked me up from school and we just spent some time together. That's all we do Friday nights, haha. We picked up some take-out to eat and continued watching that drama. It's so...dramatic!!

The mall near my house had the grand opening of Forever 21 on Saturday morning. The first 200 people in line received a $21 gift card. I went with my boyfriend, sister and friend, but we underestimated the amount of people that would be there!! The store is HUGE though. It's really pretty too. There were so many clothes, and I saw lots of things I liked. But I didn't want to wait in the super long line. Yay for being close to my house.


[Geese were crossing the street!]

My boyfriend and I then went to Chinatown to drop my sister off somewhere, and then decided to eat at Penang. We had the yummy Indian Pancake for an appetizer. Jeff got pad thai and I got something with rice and beef. I forgot what it was called. For dinner, we celebrated my cousin's birthday. He's 14 now!


[My meal at Penang]

Today has just begun. I'm doing my homework (aka wasting time online) and then we're supposed to have people over for a Chinese New Year thing. Red envelopes and food, awesome!! Oh and it's the Superbowl today. I never used to watch football until I met Jeff. Now it's not so bad. I'm rooting for the Cardinals.

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