BYE BYE 2014.

With 2014 coming to an end in a couple of hours, it only makes sense to wrap up my year. I realise that I've been blogging for more than a year but the amount of posts I have is relatively little HAHA. OOPS. 

Before I start penning down my reflections of 2014, I would like to pen down the amazing time I had in December. I've always had a weak spot for Christmas and as much as I complain about having to buy gifts, I LOVE BUYING THEM cause the reaction of my family & friends are priceless. I'm really REALLY proud of my gift wrapping this year btw. I think I've outdone myself. Its like every year, I keep trying to outdo myself and idk why do i keep doing this. Oddly enough, I find some satisfaction in that. Hahaha.

This Christmas has been crazy for me. Majority of my friends are having their uni holidays now so it has been weeks after weeks of meetups and gatherings plus with the whole end of year craze, endless projects have been flopping in at work so December was really hectic but nonetheless, enjoyable. The worst was probably the week where I had to throw a back to back Christmas party for my polymates and secondary school mates. There was a very high chance that I didn't sleep for close to 48 hours. That was intense. So intense I slept my entire Sunday away and I only woke up the very next morning for work. It felt like I was in a coma or something. I'm definitely too old for this (even though i'm only 21).

Okay, if i'm going to start going into everything that happened in December, this will be a damn long post which is not happening because I'm a lazy reader and this is suppose to be the last post of the year so yay its time to reflect. 

2014 has been intense for me with so many major changes in my life. It's like the moment I hit 21, everything changed instantly. I don't even know where to begin on how drastic it was initially to adapt to everything that has been happening - My first relationship of 4 years ended, and when I decided to give love another shot with someone new, it came crashing down on me all over again. My mum moved overseas as well and I probably changed jobs like three times within this year because nothing was working out. Somehow within a short period of time, I was forced to grow up. Being financial dependent, being completely independent, adapting to not being able to lean on "the other half" when things get tough, it wasn't easy. The worst part was when everything was happening concurrently, I really felt that I had no air to breathe but yet somehow, I made it through. To be honest, I have no idea how. All I knew was one day, everything is going to fall right into place and everything will be okay because this is only a phase and God will never throw me something too major that he knows I can't handle.

I think 2014 itself has made me grown alot as an individual. I learn to be alot more positive, I learn that no matter how tough a challenge is, there is always a solution for it as long as i persevere. I learn to never give up and I learn to love myself a little bit more and the biggest lesson I've learnt is on love. That you should never let anyone treat you as secondary. That people only make time for what is important to them and sometimes the harsh reality is that you're just not that significant and when you're of the least priority, you should learn how to love yourself and walk away from it before you shatter. That if anyone dares to treat you otherwise, know your value because there is someone out there that will run to the ends of the earth just to spend some time with you. 

There are things that I'm really thankful for this year as well. I'm thankful for my new job. I'm thankful that everyone in my company has been nothing but nice to me. I'm thankful for the amount of opportunities that I've been given even though I'm still so young & green. I'm thankful for my superiors placing their trust and faith in me and allowing me to grow and for teaching me new things every single day. 

I'm thankful for all my amazing close friends who have never lost faith in me and have always believed in me. Lastly, i'm thankful for my bestie because you've been through so much with me. You've been through each and every one of my heartbreak. You've seen me cry and you've pulled me right back to where I am suppose to be right now. You restore my faith in myself when I doubt my capabilities and when I'm insecure and fearful of my future. I don't know if I can ever pull through what 2014 has thrown to me if you were not by my side, morally supporting me through it all. Thank you for everything (even though you're always nagging at me and scolding me for being a klutz and for constantly forgetting to eat). I still love you nonetheless.

With the year coming to an end, a part of me anticipates what 2015 will bring and a part of me is filled with fear of the unknown future. All i know for sure is that I'm DEFINITELY getting my driving license before I turn 22 ahahaha and that I'm trying to lead a healthier lifestyle so guys, I've signed up for a 6 months gym package at Physical ABuse HAHAHAHA. its okay, even I have difficulty believing in that but in my defence, its not a typical gym gym. There are like hip hop, dirty dancing, belly dancing classes and even pilates. They have like a huge range of programmes and I like their programmes so why not right?

ANYHOO, HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU GUYS. HAVE A GREAT ONE. XX.

ITS A TURQUOISE CHRISTMAS

So I've been pretty well behaved for the past couple of months. I understand that my hair needed its break so all I did was touch up my roots. As tempted as I was, i didn't dye it in any fancy colors because my hair was sooo damaged and it was really causing alot of problems for me.

But now that my hair is getting A LOT better (thanks to the miracle DYNA Argan Oil Treatment) and since Christmas is my excuse this time round and plus the ash brown blonde color was really fading like no one's business, I decided to have a hair makeover all over again and I LOVE MY HAIR COLOR SO MUCH NOW. I'M ME AGAIN.

Why hello you, i have missed you my fancy colors.

I've always wanted to dye only the bottom half of my hair but I've never done that because I'm always changing my entire hair color. It was always red, or ash brown or I'll ombre it but since I'm in the midst of 'Save Cammy's Hair', there's limitations on what I can do and this is the perfect timing to toy with the bottom half of my hair. My previous hair color was really blond-ish so there wasn't a need for me to bleach my hair to get this effect and even if I had to bleach it, I wouldn't because I think I need to love my hair a little bit more. Hahaha.

I really like how it feels so peacock-ish, as though I have mystical hair heehee.

I was actually pretty tempted to dye my hair jet black cause it'll look soooo good with turquoise blue but I don't think I'll be able to ever get used to black hair so Charles recommended me to go for a darker shade of brown which was a shade lighter than my virgin hair and I'm honestly glad he made that recommendation because omg, I'm very NOT used to having dark hair right now. This brown feels too dark for me still but if i go any lighter, my turquoise blue will not be able to stand out ESPECIALLY once it starts fading so ladies and gentlemen, when you're like me and you love all these fanciful hair colors, you really need to think long term especially when you're toying with 2 different colors.

With Christmas around the corner and if you're looking to do something special for Christmas, do quote 'Cammy' at Headlines Hairdressing for up to 30% OFF! and if you're wondering what color my hair is, don't worry there isn't any specific codes or what. Just tell Charles you want turquoise blue and he will mix the dye concoction for you. That's what I did (;

THE ORANGE THIMBLE

My friends have been constantly trying to bring me to new cafes recently to help me relax a little (and also to make sure that I have my dinner) because I've been so preoccupied with work. Thanks guys for the love and making sure my tummy is filled up before I head home.

Rowena and I have this routine of meeting up at least once per week to catch up on each other's lives and because we're both really bad in coming up with places to eat at, we'll always end up dilly dallying and all the shops will be closed by the time we finally decide on a place to eat. And because we have so much to catch up on (even though its only been a week), sometimes its a hassle cause if you eat at a restaurant, you can't really catch up much when you see the queue of hungry angry people outside. So to find a nice, quiet place where we can have our dinner and chill is pretty hard for us.

So one fine day, Rowena decided to be smart and google for cafes that is close for us (because I knock off later than her) and thats how we landed in The Orange Thimble. First off, I'm really bad in cafes and I'm rarely in cafes because I don't drink coffee at all so there isn't really a need for me to be in cafes in that sense. I'm not sure about majority of the other cafes but Orange Thimble's menu selection is pretty straight forward and limited so I had a pretty hard time deciding on what I want because I wanted something super filling (since I've not had breakfast and lunch). But then again, cafes are called cafes for a reason.

I got a Beef Shepherd's Pie in the end and Rowena got a Ms Portobella Sandwich. I thought their shepherd's pie was pretty good. The ratio of potatoes and the beef was just nice so I liked it. As for the sandwich, I remember laughing when I saw it because by Ms Portobella, they truly meant Ms Portobella. There was only one portobello mushroom on the sandwich itself sooooo there's that.

But leaving the food aside, Rowena said their coffee was pretty good. I wouldn't know cause I don't drink coffee and I don't know how to appreciate coffee either. So you will have to trust her on that. I really like the cafe's atmosphere as well. It isn't particularly noisy, we were on the sofa seats and since the entire cafe's architecture is divided into different sections, you kind of have your own privacy as well. So if you're looking for places to just hang out and chill, I think The Orange Thimble is a pretty good spot. Plus they have very good lighting for wefies. HEH.

The Orange Thimble
56 Eng Hoon Street, #01-68
Telephone: 6223 8068
Opening Hours: 9AM to 11PM Daily

MY 21ST BIRTHDAY PARTY

I KNOW THIS IS WAYYYYYYYY OVERDUE since my 21st was like 5 months ago. As previously mentioned I was waiting for my photos from the photographer BUT an unfortunate case of the SD card being corrupted happened and trust me i am SUPER upset about it because there were like 500 over photos that he took and I really wanted them :(

BUT OH WELL SHIT HAPPENS. so my 21st birthday party was captured on solely Samsung & iPhones hahaha.

I just like to really thank my bestie - Rowena for helping me plan out this super last minute birthday party. The initial plan was always NOT to throw a party because firstly, i'm too lazy to do so and I rather meet my different groups of friends for a birthday dinner instead cause its wayyy easier and there won't be this awkward atmosphere where your friends simply do not know what to do at your birthday party.

I smartly invited everyone 2-3weeks before the actual celebration and omg it was such a MAD RUSH BECAUSE I DRAGGED IT TO THE VERY LAST WEEK BEFORE I FINALLY STARTED PLANNING THE PARTY. Rowena had to come over to my place, force me to sit down with her, just for me to properly start planning it. It was crazy. We decided on the design of the cake and my food caterers on the same day and we got my photobooth tools & props (from Spotlight & Daiso) like 2 days before the actual day. This party really wouldn't have succeeded without her help because I simply threw her the design of the cake I wanted and she started calling and sourcing out every single bakery she can find within budget for my perfect 21st birthday cake. Thanks bff, love you many many.

I couldn't have asked for a better birthday cake design and taste. I decided to go for something very simple but yet different at the same time. The guest list was only extended to my close friends & family for my 21st so its not like there were hundreds of people to feed so ordering a tier cake didn't make much sense.
I ordered a rainbow cake for my main cake on the top and strawberry & chocolate cupcakes to make up for the rest of my birthday cake from Baker's Heart. Their rainbow cake is prolly one of the best I've ever tasted. It's really moist and you can actually taste the 'colors' respectively in a way. I think they've managed to mix up the flavors really well because some of the rainbow cakes i've tasted were either too strong in the pandan flavor or its too dry. I think my rainbow cake was great, it was the first to go as well and Rowena had to hide away my slice of the cake before it got snatched away hahha. The guys from Baker's Heart were really helpful as well. Considering that my birthday cake was a super last minute order, they've done an extremely great job in terms of taste & design. Thanks guys!

Baker's Heart
Blk 929 Tampines St 91, #01-443
Singapore 520929
Telephone: 9226 3744
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bakershearts

Overnight Cycling (something I will prolly never do again)

A couple of weeks ago, my secondary school clique and I decided to plan an overnight cycling trip and we were all so excited about it but god...
WORST DECISION EVER.

Please pardon all the super low quality images from here onwards because its night time.

The last time I've ever went for an overnight cycling was prolly 5-6 years ago? So that may be what got me excited cause I was the first person to suggest it and I got super hyped up about it.

Obviously I didn't plan the overnight cycling route because everyone who knows me would know that I'm HORRIBLE with roads. I can get lost anywhere and everywhere that its not even funny. I have no idea how many km we cycled as well but to put it simply our overnight cycling route went like this:
East Coast Park > Changi Village > Pasir Ris Park > Downtown East > Back to East Coast Park (damn crazy i swear)

We started at 10pm in the night and cycled all the way till about 6am the next day and before we started our journey, we had this really cute dinner by cycling to the hawker at East Coast Park, packet all sorts of food we wanted (yay sambal kangkong) and cycled back to the beach to have our dinz.

So once dinner was out of the way, the real cycling 'fun' began after prolly like 10mins because everyone went like 'EHY CAMILLIA YOU CAN ANOT. EHY WE DONT WANT CYCLE BESIDE YOU. EHY CAMILLIA DONT FALL LEH. EHY CAMILLIA DONT JAM BRAKE HOR.' Confidence booster guys, confidence booster. (i did fall in the end anyway cause i decided i was good enough to pick up a phone call while cycling and BAM)

The first stop was to Changi Village to have the famous Changi Village Nasi Lemak where suddenly everyone started complaining 'WAH WE CYCLED 2 HOURS JUST TO EAT THIS NASI LEMAK.' and 'THE NASI LEMAK TODAY LIKE DAMN GOOD AH. ISSIT BECAUSE WE DAMN HUNGRY FROM ALL THE CYCLING.'

And then the real torture began. To cycle constantly from Changi Village all the way to Downtown East was a killer. The amount of uphills omg, CAN DIE. I wanted to just push my bike uphill cause I'm so tired but noooo, everyone says no. They said, keep cycling! Tell that to my thighs. They're not listening. The annoying part is that my bike gears weren't working well either so going uphill was such a pain. You can hear me screaming 'NO MORE UPHILL' for a very long time but yes I did it kay. Perseverance.

By the time we were at Downtown East, everyone was pretty much exhausted. Next time if any of you intend to plan an overnight cycling trip. Please bear in mind to insert more pit stops and food places because at least there will be something to look forward to rather than empty roads. Cycling to Changi Village wasn't even that bad because I knew that the moment I'm there I get to eat Nasi Lemak. But for the rest of the journey omg, there was nothing. There was NO FOOD to look forward to. That may actually be why I got really lethargic in the end. No motivation.

So yep, we had to cycle all the way back to East Coast Park and i think for a moment, all of us wanted to just flag a cab instead but nahhh, we managed to cycle back to East Coast Park again with ALOT OF UPHILL ROADS.

Am I ever going to do this again? PROBABLY NOT. But really guys, overnight cycling is fun and all. You get to catch up with your friends, talk crap, laugh at each other, make jokes & insults while cycling and its prolly one of the best bonding sessions. Just plan more pit stops and food stops really hahaha. It helps, trust me.
All in all, as much as I complain, I didn't regret this activity. The amount of fun and bullshit we had meant so much more and the pain from my thighs, my ass and my hands were worth it. But to the other members of this clique that didn't turn up that day, we have all agreed internally that we're never doing an overnight cycling again. Its way too tiring guys. We have to find something else.