Contact lens and eye mo

Important WARNING!!

If you wear contact lens, you CANNOT use normal eye drops like Eye Mo to rewet tired / dry eyes.

You can only use eye drops specifically for contact lens wearer. That's because normal eye drops sometimes sting the eye and they may react with the contact lens you are wearing.

With the prevelance of colour contact lens especially being sold in night markets or "pasar malam", many do not know how to practice good eye care.

Once I saw a train, a young man, his contact lens came off (maybe cos too dry). Without any saline etc on hand he basically pop the lens into his mouth, wet it and wear it back.. That is so disgusting not to mention endangering his eyes to infection.

So if you really want to look different in keeping with the trends and if you know for sure that you are not going the extra mile to clean and keep it, do yourself a BIG favour and get daily disposable contact lens.

When your drain is stuck...

Mr Muscle Drain DeClogger - what can I say other than "IT WORKS"!!

Had problem with the kitchen basin for a couple of months where the water will flow out to a certain point, get congested then drain out very very slowly.

I tried the KIWI KLEEN DRAIN CLEANER. For it to be really effective, the pipe have to be empty of water.. so it means you have to do it early in the morning before anyone have a chance to use the tap. But it didnt help.

My father then tried to clear the congestion by removing a portion of the pipe to clean it but to no avail. We then complained to the developer and a plumber did the same as my dad but in a more professional way.

Still the problem persists...

I was at a loss cos we are having a new year party soon and the basin have to work!!

My mother was apprehensive about using any acid or corrosive products cos once she poured a whole bottle of acid into the toilet bowl and it basically exploded with a loud bang... Guess following instructions are not my mother's strength.

Anyhow I was at Sogo supermarket looking for a product for this problem and the only thing they sell is this Mr Muscle Drain Declogger... Just love the shape of the bottle. Super cute...

Bought it and it was quite easy to use. You can even use it when the basin is full of water.

For me since the pipe was not really flowing, I poured the entire bottle into the pipe. Then waited 30 minutes. Then I poured the hot almost boiling water. It didnt flow smoothly.. so I boiled another pot of water. This time, the water went down so fast!! Amazing!!

For minor clogs you only need to pour in half a bottle and wait 15 mins only.

At last! Problem solved! So the time you have a blocked drain / pipe just get yourself one Mr Muscle. I got it for RM11.90 at Sogo but I saw the same thing in MyMydin at RM9.90 only.

IKEA RM25 mirror

Was at IKEA to buy some mirror for the new house... been living without mirrors for more than 10 months it's about time to get me some.. The reason why I dragged my feet was cos I didnt really fancy the thought of having to drill, hammer etc the wall to install the mirror.

Lo and behold, IKEA have a solution.. Mirrors secured by double sided tapes!! Good! Save me the trouble... or so I thought...

It was all plain and easy... clean the surface, make sure it's dry and secure the double sided tape.

All was well and good for just a few days cos these mirrors start to drop like ripe durians... at night! Imagine the loud noise when any of them fall.. First they'll fall on the countertop then bounced off before landing with a loud noise on to the floor.

Some I'm lucky and it doesnt shatter but once my dad cut his toe as he was not aware of the broken pieces in the morning.

I bought 2 sets, meaning I had 8 pieces and so far only 4 are still on the wall.. One kept sliding downwards so I replaced the tape with stronger ones.

So IKEA thanks for these reasonably priced products but could you please EITHER:-

a) make these mirrors smaller hence lighter OR

b) change your double sided tape supplier... cos the foam of tapes as well as the adhesive are really inferior quality.

Tropic Thunder

Rainy season in back... with vengeance!

Living in a tropical country has its pros and cons...

I can easily name 3 setbacks:-

1) Flashfloods are so real.. it used to be a thing of the past for a few years since the implementation of SMART tunnel.. but now it's back again...

Guess maintenance is not our Malaysian forte.. Hope there wont be any more untoward incidents..

2) Leaking roofs

Again blame it on poor maintenance, the place where I work sometime will have leaks.. pretty bad ones too cos apparently the drainage system on the roof could be clogged by dried leaves, plastics etc.. thus causing the water not being able to flow off the roof in time...

Since moving to a new house, I again faced this problem whenever there is heavy rain.. Why cant developer build better house with quality plumbing, tiles, roofs and enough electrical sockets?

3) Falling trees

My friend had the unfortunate of waking up to find his car damaged by fallen tree over the night of heavy rain.

When he checked with his insurance policy, it turned out that act of nature is NOT covered. When checked with his condo, apparently the tree were outside the condo compound and it belongs to the local authority DBKL. When he checked DBKL's website the claim is not that easy to prove... cos you have to prove negligence on DBKL in maintaining the trees.

Hence it means he have to bear the cost of repair himself... Just changing the side mirror alone costs RM480 since this is the new MYVI and used hand ones are not available yet... PLUS he still need to fix the dent on the side of the car top...

CONCLUSION
So the next time you park your car during rainy season (which are usually during the year end of November and December in KL), just take a few seconds to check out the location... no old weakening suspiciously leaning trees, not potential flashflood sites and no signs of leaks...

Well at least be thankful that we do not have snowstorm or sandstorm.. Just rain water... Plenty of them of course...

Receding gums n red spots on face

2 SIMPLE BUT USEFUL TIPS:-

BRUSHING TEETH
Tilt the brush at a 45° angle against the gumline and sweep or roll the brush away from the gumline.

This may seems very trivial but the I had receding gums and just changing the way I brush my teeth actually help to stem this problem.

I mean why not try this simple method first before considering soft-tissue graft surgery.

APPLYING FOUNDATION
After years of applying foundation, kind of forgot that the proper way is to apply it from top to bottom so that you do not block the pores.

No wonder sometimes I get red spots on my face...

Eyeliner - Liquid, Pencil or Gel?

Never been one to use make up before, I now swears by it.. meaning I hardly leave home without makeup... except occasionally when I need to rush out for a short while.

When that happens, I'll be wishing I dont bump into anyone I know... cos somehow there's the self conscious feeling like as if you're not wearing any clothes ;p

Anyhow I have tried a few brands and would like to give my 5 sen opinion on them.

1) Shiseido Maquillage eyeliner gel

RM75 and comes with an applicator brush.

VERDICT: only the brush is good. The gel smudges too much and too fast.

2) Cyber Colors

RM39.90 comes with a brush too but I did not like the brush as it is round tip.
VERDICT: better lasting power than Shiseido but it's not waterproof. So dont swim with it.

3) Chanel Waterproof eye liner

RM95 and comes with a sharpener at the back (cool design)
VERDICT: it is waterproof but not oil-proof meaning it does smudge at the end of the day since our eyes do excrete moisture and oil...

Tips:- To prevent extreme smudges first apply the liner then apply eye shadow on it.

FINAL VERDICT

So far all the eyeliner gel which I have bought smudge. It's a matter of how much. The best is Cyber Colour, followed by Chanel.

Perhaps for people like me who suffer from oily lower eyelids and like to smile or laugh with eyes tightly closed, to prevent smudges from top eyelid to bottom, the best would be liquid liner.

I have recently bought one from Shiseido Maquillage RM95 (refill RM40)... been working like a charm.. Should have gotten this product from the very beginning. Two thumbs up for it!!

Buying property, getting divorce.. being sued?? Gulp..

At one time or another we will need to engage in the help of lawyers.. especially when it relates to property.
Other times are when there are breach of contract or God forbid we get into criminal law trouble.

Lawyers are also needed in cases where there is death (distribution of assets) or getting a divorce.. but in these last 2 cases a different set of laws are applicable for the muslims which are the syariah laws.

So how do you know which lawyers to look for since the practice of law is so extensive... surely a lawyer does not know every areas of laws.

Well so far we have engaged these lawyers for help and find their services commendable:-

Areas of practice: Conveyancing (meaning sales or purchase of property / loans with banks)

Armiy Rais - 2 branches (Puchong and Damansara Perdana)
Contact Person: Mr David Soo 012-3827152 / 012-9166679
note: fast service and reliable. They can give instant quotation.

Areas of practice: Civil Litigation (meaning you want to sue someone or defending a suit)
previously I suggested Rommel and A Nagarajan (Jalan Tun Perak, KL) but now am looking for a new lawyer for this kind of suit. Will update when found.


Areas of practice: Divorce
R Paranjothi and Associates (Batu Caves area)
Contact Person: Ms Selvi 012-3669196
note: service may be slow but price is reasonable


Note that there is a standard way for computating the legal fees for conveyancing matters. That being said, there are many firms giving discounts even though it is strictly against Bar Council's rules.

You can also save on the fees in cases where both parties share lawyers. It is not encouraged but this method can really save a lot of money if both parties are genuine buyer/seller.

But the legal fees for all others matters depend on the lawyers, their level of expertise, experience and difficulty of the case.

Normally lawyers will not state a maximum amount because they can never predict the outcome of the case. Everything is usually 50-50. Bear in mind that even if you win a case, the other party have a right to appeal.

Another blog which is quite helpful is http://legal-malaysia.blogspot.com/ but I find their legal fees to be standard. Then again, sometimes what you pay for is what you get. But for the firms which we have listed above, we have tried them and they are good and get the job done.

Loose Powder

So far I have tried and tested 4 brands of loose powder. My ratings are as follows:-

1) Shiseido
I am now using my 3rd jar.. meaning I really like this product. I have very dry skin but at the end of the day this product did not dry it out further.

Only 1 shade - white / translucent RM135 for 18g.

2) Shiseido Maquillage
The powder itself is good but I find the applicator too small... very cutesy.

The difference between this powder and the other Shiseido powder is this has a subtle shimmer to it.

It's good except it's pricier cos even though Shiseido translucent powder is RM135 (18g). For Maquillage you pay less but you also get like 8 or 9g only. So in the end it work out to higher price per gram.

Shade - pinkish white only.

3) Chanel
I cant wait to finish using this product cos it's a bit drying for my skin. Not only that I find the applicator puff too harsh for my skin. Anyhow I just learned that the best way to apply loose powder is to use a large bristle face brush.

But it is cheaper/gram compare with the other Shiseido powder. About RM150 for 30g.

It comes in 3 shades.

4) Maybelline
Well perhaps it is not fair to put this in considering the price factor but after using this powder TOGETHER with Maybelline's foundation for less than a month, I noticed my face started to crack whenever I smile...so I immediately gave both of the products away.

Plus the size of the applicator puff is really too small.

Shade - light beige only.

CONCLUSION
Sometimes a product efficacy depends on the users' skin age etc.. So what might work for me might not be good for you.. At the end it depends on your budget too. For me once I finish my current Shiseido loose powder, I might try Ettusais or Cyber Colours loose powder (cos it's more economical).

Price
Maybelline $
Chanel $$
Shiseido $$$
Maquillage $$$$

Melaka - if you dont mind getting sunburn

Been wanting to travel around our Peninsula for a long time.. finally got around to doing it during the Raya break.

Was thinking of going to Pangkor Island / Penang / Ipoh and even Perhentian Island.. But alas these places were a bit too far so ended up in Melaka.

So if you are planning to travel there, my suggested places for lodging are:-


A) Melaka Raya area (near Plaza Mahkota)

1) Hotel Johan

www.hoteljohan.blogspot.com
room prices are from RM70 (non-peak)

Wanted to stay here but it was fully booked :(

2) The Trend Hotel
Tel: 06-286 1199
prices are cheaper than Hotel Johan and rooms are readily available.

Due to it's proximity with Mahkota Medical Centre, they even have special rates for guests accompanying patients of the hospital.

I actually stayed in this place... Rooms are ok. Quite small and not too clean, not too dirty.

Since the room is just for sleeping at night, I have no complains cos I only paid RM99 for the room considering it's on 31 August (Independence day + Raya) super peak season.

B) Jonker Street area

Note PRIOR reservation is required as normally fully booked during peak season

 

1) Hang Out Hotel
http://www.hangouthotels.com/malacca/index.php
Really nice establishment but price is mid range cos it is just around the corner of Jonker Street. Expect to pay at least RM147 (online) and RM210 (walk in).

2) Puri Hotel
http://www.hotelpuri.com/
I didnt actually see the place but was highly recommended by my sister. So on my second trip to Melaka I managed to go in and have a look...

Wow was I blown away by the hotel. It looked small from the facade but once you step in, it actually consists of a few lots, complete with a small outdoor garden. So I will highly recommend this place but remember to book early otherwise you might have to take the suite but it can fit more people.

C) Melaka River area
Casa del Rio
http://www.casadelrio-melaka.com/
really luxurious hotel. You know a hotel is luxurious when they offered in their public washroom hand soap, mouthwash and moisturiser. Gosh that's super lux.

Last checked with them, they are having promotional price of RM475 (with breakfast)

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

All I can say the opening was predictable and the whole movie was so so.

The only interesting part was when the mermaids appeared... it's unbelievable how they can find such pretty gals (all innocent n sweet) and how the clergyman can be so buffed up.

It's not really a must watch but if you have the time, why not. BTW do stay for the end of the credits as there is a 2 second clip with Penelope in it.

I think it's an IN thing nowadays for there to be some eXTRAS during or at the end of the credits.

Well I'm not complaining cos how else can they get the audience to stay n see the number of casts and crews involved in the whole production. Another favorite of mine is to see the location for the shoot as well as music / soundtrack involved.

Sometimes there is also a "In memory of someone somewhere" cos I think the person die during production... Such a sad way to go but at least he/she got immortalised in the show.

I think staying back in a cinema for the end of credit is a bit difficult especially if it's a midnight show cos your party might be eager to go home plus you're getting in the way of the cleaners.

It's a lot easier if you're watching at home n you can FF your way through to the end.

All in all, do try to stay cos hey people put in a lot of time n effort to entertain you and the least you can do is just acknowledge their contribution big or small.

A touch of class please in your advertising department

Received this through fax today.. to me it's super ironic as it says Save ME Mother Earth but yet when they fax this to me, it wasted a lot of my toner because of the huge bold black writings!!

It's basically trying to waste my toner so that I will order toner from them.. Not!! Furthermore it's also wasting paper.. guess we have to get a fax server soon to avoid this problem.

But till then whoever who does this kind of marketing through fax, kindly practice what you preach and stop faxing them. Use other more environment friendly ways like Facebook Ads, Google Ads etc or ways that do not waste the recipients' money like sms, emails or plain ordinary snail mails.

That brings me to another rampant problem which we have in Malaysia... sticker advertisements on all kinds of surface. It's amazing that I do not see this in other countries but it is so prevalent in Malaysia. Guess you can say it's a Malaysian thing... one which I am not proud of as a Malaysian.

I hope the police, local authorities and telco companies can work hand in hand to curb this menace.

The police and local authorities can update the telco companies the phone number used and the telco should issue warnings before terminating the phone number. I mean how hard is it to terminate phone lines? Try not paying for 2 months and see what happens.

This kind of proactive steps should make people think twice before they stick anything on public structures and facilities.

Malaysia is after all a modern society and such behaviour should not be tolerated. We as citizens should not accept this as norm and keep a blind eye to it.

Make time to blog OR make money to blog?

Since keeping this blog, I have come across many interesting blogs which I follow publicly. Even though blogging is meant to be an outlet to express one's thought, once the number of followers increase so did the innate pressure or responsibility to blog correctly... well maybe it's just me cos I dont others to waste my time and consequently I do not like to waste other people's time.

I follow cos I am a person who love to read and since young I cant put down a good book which comes first - over food and sleep. My favourite spot to read was the restroom cos then my mom cant make me do any chores but living an a low cost apartment then, we dont have toilet seat so most of the time I end up having cramped legs.

BTW the fastest way to cure cramped legs (or malay called it "semut semut" literally ants ants) for me is to pretend that a dog is chasing me and I will run for my life, even though it's quite painful and difficult. Try it! It works cos the main point is to facilitate blood circulation.

But recently I decided to UNfollow a particular blog cos it seems to be too "commercialised" endorsing products and services... too much especially since it's a personal blog. I'm fine if you peppered it once in a while but to do it consecutively is a bit too hard for me to accept.

So for this blog, yes we are Butik Turkuaz - which means we are selling our products but when it's under label "Just a Thought..." it is really just a thought.

As for product reviews - well it's cos I've faced the heartaches and I want to spare others the hassle of buying products which do not work as they claim to PLUS most importantly I do not get anything (monetary or otherwise) from those companies.

I know blogging is a business and you can make money and a living from it but first it must flow from a passion couple with responsibility to your followers.

But again that's just my thought.

LOL moment

I’M SO GLAD I FOUND OUT ABOUT THIS

The correct way to weigh yourself:
 

I can't believe you were doing it

wrong all these years.

YOU MUST SPREAD THE WORD.
Never take life seriously; nobody gets out alive anyway.

The Reds are HERE!

Liverpool fans shout out loud!!

Never one to be a fan of football except for the once in every 4 years World Cup, I was dragged, kicking n screaming all the way to the friendly match in Bukit Jalil on 23 July 2011.

Ok I may have exaggerated a fair bit. I was actually quite happy to go there but only after knowing that this is the very first time Liverpool team are ever on Malaysian soil.

The reason for their absence was because their previous corporate sponsor for many many years was Carlsberg beer.

Beer being lumped together with cigarettes have long been banned from appearing in any media advertisements (tv, radio, newspaper, billboards etc) in Malaysia and as such Liverpool since having Carlsberg logo right smack in the centre of their jersey suffer the same ban.

This was not the case when I was young. I remember watching loads of blockbuster movies sponsored by none other than cigarettes company and Dunhill was the most prestigious of them all having the tagline of "Dunhill... Gaya, mutu, keunggulan"... see the fact that I can still remember their tagline shows their effectiveness.

The cigs companies can advertise through many means and I even found them in my old bowling score paper. Gosh I can believe I am saying this but cigarettes ads are SOOO YESTERDAY!

Hey my colleague just mentioned that even fast food are banned from advertising in the media... Wow!!

Anyway coming back to Liverpool it is good that their corporate sponsor is now Standard Chartered Bank so the match on 23 July was overall good as there were a total of 9 goals that day.

For a not-a-football fan the more goals the merrier cos it meant loads of opportunity to take photos and videos of screaming, shouting and singing fans (when both teams, any teams scored cos generally any malaysian will cheer for the Malaysian team as well).

I have no complains saved:-
1) the 1st half and beginning of 2nd half was a tad bit boring with the score being tied at 1-1.
I even managed to find the time for toilet break so you can imagine how un-exciting the match was.

2) the organizers did not allow any outside drinks / food including the H2O which I bring in my own tupperware... so after 2 hour plus of sitting in the hot stadium (we were there early), any human being with blood running in their system would be thirsty.

The only option? Buy carbonated drinks sold by the approved food n beverage sellers. To make matters worst they sell it in small cups with loads of ice at RM2! Money suckers!!

Food sold are only FRIED finger food and burgers! Ycuk! Having just gone for blood test, I got to watch my cholesterol level so fried food are a definite no-no!!

3) leaving the stadium was unbelievably difficult and they are many factors which contributed to it:-

i) even though the stadium is equipped with many gates (which can be opened), they choose to open only 2 gates at each section. And mind you the gates are just double the size of regular door.


ii) once out of the gates, our freedom were shortlived as again the organizer rented too many temporary booths to vendors and agains these booths reduced the walking space to just a mere 10 feet.

So can you imagine how cramped everyone was with 80,000 people leaving the stadium at the same time!

iii) later we face the same crowd trying to cross the same little bridge connecting the main stadium with the hockey stadium. To avoid this crowd, we then divert to use the main road to get to Endah Parade.

In doing so we passed by the Bukit Jalil LRT station and was bewildered and slightly amused to see the gates of the station being lowered. Reason? -- they just cannot cope with the number of commuters and the way they do it? Close the station! LOL

I can only imagine the frustrations of the football fans who thought that by taking the LRT they can avoid the jam... only to be denied entry. Kakakaka...

So the next time Liverpool is here, I hope Standard Chartered will continue to be their sponsor and the event organizer and LRT operator will think of a solution to these minor hiccups!

Super 8

I spent a good 3 hours deciding between watching Pirates of Caribbean 4 and Super 8.

I asked for opinions from my 16 year old cousin since he already watched both the shows.

Apparently he rated Pirates higher but not one to trust 1 source, I google for reviews.

One of the reviews mentioned that Super 8 will be more "fun" for those born before 1980 as they would have grown up, influenced by Steven Spielberg's movies namely ET, Goonies and Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

Since Super 8 is meant to be a tribute by JJ Abrams to Spielberg's works, he purposedly choose to project certain scenes with blur effect which the older generation can identify with since there's no BluRay or HD then. So maybe it is for this reason my cousin didnt really enjoy the movie.

As for me, being the target group of this movie, I thoroughly enjoy it! It warms my heart as the young actors and actress in Super 8 were brilliant and believable.

It's been a long time since a movie actually had a story that thugs the heart strings and Super 8 is definitely one of them..

However do note that the final revelation of the "alien" might put some off, this should not be the reason to write it off or dislike it.

BTW do stay for the credits as the movie within the movie continues rolling during credit.

This is definitely a must watch movie about adolescent and their coming of age.

The original Super 8