{M4} Gates (An Introduction)

After a long and stressful week of final exams, I am now free. FREE.
So I grab Helle, my penny board, and my Canon 60D for a little filming session on the road. I didn't go far, the locale of this video is the park at the back of my neighbourhood. I wanted to make an experimental film, so I did, and so I will. This is the start of my gigantic project; 'Mon' which means 'My' in French, and Mondays (much horrify. such terror. wow) and also Monsters. The film is based upon Freud's Psychoanalysis theory of the Uncanny and the id, also the theory of reel-life and real-life of people. We compare our backstage with people's font stage too much that we tried to make our backstage as good as people's front stage. We ended up trying too hard that we loose ourselves.
Don't go calling the depression help line/call centre just yet, I am perfectly not depressed. Not yet, anyway. Apart from the fact that I do not believe in any religion, but -at the back of my mind- I believe that the monster under my bed, or lurking in the shadow in the darkest corner of my room, is scared of me as much as kids are scared of them monsters. Maybe the reason why they are always in the shadow is because they, too, are afraid of us. Maybe they are not our counterparts, but a part of us. A part too deep inside we only see them in the dark.

I am sane.
But everyone thinks they are sane,
even the ones in the asylum.
I am sane,
as sane as sanity could reach me.

Embrace your monster.

23km Down the Rabbit Hole Production.

See you next week with a heaps of stuff (i.e. videos and blog entries) and new announcements coming this way.
Stay tuned.

Love, as always.
xx

Project:Mon

{010}; The planet on my shoulders

I've became quite vigilant about my grammar lately, especially when my IELTS exam is coming up. I used to be quite fluent in using English on daily basis, but now it's getting worse. I've never studied grammar before, and I don't even know the name of those tenses. I've been using my guts on what is grammatically correct and what is not for as long as I can remember. I suck at communicating with people, and therefore should retreat myself into the depth of the cave under the ocean.

Anyway, back to the main topic of today's blog, shall we ?

It's that moment in life when one chapter is ending and you can see the next chapter revealing itself in front of you, very vaguely, but you can still see the glimmering light. When you reach the last page of the chapter you are on, a blank space appears, separating this chapter from the next. A space for you to stop, take a deep breath, and picture what you want to see in the following chapter of your life. Maybe you'll see a cross-road, or a split pathway, or even another tunnel. The blank space in between are there for you to stop, choose your path, and take a solid step forward with confidence.

If you are graduating from High school and is not sure if pursuing a bachelor degree is the right path for you, take a gap-year.
If you are not sure if you should continue your studies in a graduate school or go straight into working, take a break and spend more time with yourself.
If you are not sure what you want to do in the near future, go out and seek your passion.

Those things are easier said than done.

If you do not have a bachelor degree, most companies are likely to not hire you. Except you are planning to go freelance then, in that case, please consult your family because they might not be able to handle your decision.
If you are thinking of taking a gap-year, please make sure your parents are alright with the idea because they would be the one paying for your expenses if you are not earning enough money from your part-time job.
If you would like to take a break to spend more time with yourself before deciding whether or not to go for a master degree, make sure you have enough money for your daily expenses.
If you are not sure what to do in the near future, your parents would probably want you to go into the business industry, or go get a master degree in management.

I might be wrong, or I might be too pessimistic, but this entry is based on my life.

What I want to do disappointed them.
I got away with doing a Bachelor of Arts because I got into a University they wanted their children to graduate from. My grandparents wanted to enter this university, but they didn't have the chance. I was the first member of the family to be able to get into the University, so they didn't quite mind which faculty I go to. Even though I wanted to go to a film school in the states. This is the best alternative.
I entered University at the age of 17, right after finishing my iGCSEs. I didn't take any A-Levels and used my iGCSEs results to apply for the Bachelor degree in Faculty of Arts.
I was in a rush to get into University because everyone around me wanted me to graduate as fast as I could. Every time the topic came up in a conversation, they would ask me when I would be graduating and that I should hurry up and graduate. It might have been the Thai way of encouraging your child to study harder, but I took it personally and literally to the point that weighs me down. Not only I've got my world on my shoulders, I've also go theirs. Each and every one of their expectations and their dreams.
In the back of my mind, there is this voice constantly reminding me that I am their biggest disappointment. They've expected more from me, being the oldest daughter/grand daughter and the only girl in the family.

Now that I am graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Language and Culture, a degree that sounds pretty much useless to my family. Now that I am walking towards a cross-road, not knowing where to go. Now that what I want to do is the opposite to what my family expects me to do.
Now that I am their biggest disappointment, my two choices are:
1. Pursue their dreams, or
2. Pursue my dreams.
The first choice is a brightly lit path with nothing along the way, whereas the second one is a dark and gloomy tunnel with flashes of light along the way. It's like a choice between being like my mother or be an outcast of the family. I've never wish to be like my mother. Not because she's not good or anything. I love my mother and she is the greatest woman in this world, but mom lives a boring life. My mom never actually have time for me while I was growing up. I spent most of my childhood with my grandparents because my parents were busy working. I don't want that as my future, becoming a workaholic in an office all day and night. I don't want my children -if I were to have any- to grow up hating the work that took her parents away from her. I don't want to live that life.
For all my life, my mom always said that I would never be able to do what I wanted to do. I have low self-esteem problem because of this, and it's too late to fix it now.
When I was 12, I wanted to be a singer. I wanted to go to singing classes, but my mother told me I sounded like a howling whale and that the neighbours are complaining. She told me I would never be a singer and I should give up and do something useful.
When I was 17, I wanted to apply for a film school in New York, but my mother told me that filmmakers are not a career that would get you the money you need to survive. She told me that there are already famous filmmakers in the market and I have no chance in competing with them. She had never seen any of my videos, but she said it's not going to get me places.
Now that I am 21, I wanted to pursue my master degree in the UK, doing film criticism. She told me to get real and find a curse that you could make a career out of. She said I've spent too much time doing nonsense stuff rather than doing something useful like helping her out with work, or studying.
Up until this moment in my life, she had never seen any of my videos. None of them.

I am their disappointment and I am not capable of directing my own future.

Yeah, I could do whatever they wanted me to do, pursuing a Master degree in International Business or whatever, and still do whatever I want in my free time, or get a job in the film industry after graduation to prove them wrong.
I could, but how many people would hire me if i'm not from a film school into a film industry.

I thought about giving in to the plan they laid out in front of me, but a part of me said that I should not just abandon my passion just because someone constantly told you that you are a piece of shit.
I have a problem. I have low self-esteem thanks to my mom and her wise words of "your work are rubbish" and that I suck at everything. I am afraid to show my work off to people. I'm terrified to give opinions on some important issues (i.e. my future) or even talk to people with authority.

I am not blaming my mom or anything,
but because of her I've found my new passion in proving her wrong.

Maybe I'll get a degree in Management or any other sorts of business to impress my grandparents before shoving it into the trash and start doing what I really love. Hope people would hire me. If not, I'd still have my MBA, which is pretty much a basic degree everyone has, like a lightbulb, or a couch. My family's aim is to not be special, but to be like the majority because there are more chance to each enough money to support the family. They are not wrong, it's just boring. And I like to live my life on the run.

Well, I was going to write an inspirational entry, but it turns out to be a rant about the mindset of my family. I love my family and I am alive today because of them. Thank you for not supporting me in what I love so that I could prove you all wrong. That's my life goal.


PS: New short film coming soon.
PS2: #SeekingSeoul Day 2 coming soon as well
so stay tuned! :)

{M3} Rainbows are circles.

[This review contain spoilers for both the book and the film, please proceed at your own risk. If you haven't already watch the film, then please do. If you haven't read the book, then please do so. Also, this review will focus more on the film and it's cinematic effects, but the plots will also be mentioned as well. I got into a habit of not giving a proper title to my reviews, but you'll know soon enough what its all about. There would be no screen caps since the movie is still in theatres. Critical analysis of this movie will be out as soon as the DVD is out because there are aspects I would like to add to this review, aspects like how the romance plays out in the story, and a more in-depth analysis of characters and conventions. This, of course, will be right after The Guardians of the Galaxy.]

PS: Lily Collins is so pretty in this movie. The two main reasons why I went to watch this film even in the mist of projects and exams are because;
1. Lily Collins
2. Someone very special to me gave me this book as a souvenir from his trip to London long before it was made into a film. I remember finishing the book in 2 days, but spent the rest of the week sobbing in the corner of my room.

Excuse the grammatical mistakes, or any spelling mistakes, or just mistakes in the content. I was in a hurry to get everything down before memories start drifting away. I am a very forgetful person, and this has to change as soon as possible.

I've tried my best not to start my reviews off with a little, spoiler-free, synopsis and some little facts about the cast and crew. However, I think I've failed, miserably. I will not mention how sad the film was for me, because I believe the dolefulness cannot be measured, and is different from one another. Some might not think it's sad. Some might think it's sweet. Some might cry their heart out. Some might call it stupid. Films are personal preferences, and one should not judge another's preference based on their own preference. It was painful, but I walked out the cinema smiling. Maybe I've become attracted to sad love stories that gave me heartaches, but would also gave me warmth.

"Love, Rosie" starring Lily Collins and Sam Claflin
Directed by Christian Ditter

"Love, Rosie" is a film based on a novel "Where Rainbows End" by Cecelia Ahern which was published in 2004. The story is, basically, about two best friends, Alex and Rosie, falling for one another over and over again. It sounded simple enough to be just another chic-flick you take your girlfriend to watch on weekends. Do not let the simplicity of the plot fool you.

The way the story was told in the book was by letters, and then text messages, then came the internet and IMs and E-mails. It started off with Rosie inviting Alex to her 7th birthday party via a written letter. The use of letters had an effect on the story, not only because it's rare to have a book written completely in letters, but it creates an effect of ambiguity. What the reader knows is what was written by the characters. What they wrote may not exactly be what they were thinking at the time. They might have some other hidden thoughts or agendas, the ones that cannot be written. However, by using written messages as the main medium of communication all throughout the story shows that, no matter how far away they are physically, they will always think of one another first, and keeping in touch with each other is their priority.

As the adaptation goes, things has to be changed in order to suit the film's intention and its market. Some effects would work perfectly fine in books, but would look bloody ridiculous on screen. (The word 'bloody' was inserted there as a joke, but you'll fine out why later.) This is one of those examples. As stated above, the book was written purely as letters and E-mails without any dialogues, but that wouldn't work on screen. Imagine going into the theatre just to watch two characters reading letters in voice-overs. This film is a story 'based on' a book by Cecilia Ahern, and was told in a non linear narrative with some flashbacks into their past. It wouldn't be fair to judge this film according to the book because they are two different medias, and that both of them served it's purpose. The book gave us nostalgic feelings, and a little ambiguity for us to prey that the two get back together in the end. On the other hand, the film gave out the same vibe as other romantic love stories, just more melancholy and more painful to watch. The film served the book's purpose of telling a story of two best friends finding their way back to each other after thinking it was too late to be realising that they are completely in love with their childhood friend. Another major change in the film was the age they finally reunited. They were in their thirties in the film, but they were in their fifties in the book, which was even more heartbreaking. They spent most of their lives being with someone else, even when they knew there will never be anyone else for them other than each other. How misunderstandings could lead to a life time of misery.

Moving on to the cinematography of the film, the use of the vintage filter made it more nostalgic in a way that people would want to go back and hug their childhood friends. The majority of the film was in a warm tone, yet when they were in Boston, everything became cold and dark. The differences between Dublin and Boston were shown clearly in the film. Scenes in Dublin were mostly shot in warmer tone than scenes in Boston. Apart from the filter and the tones, the use of film grains emphasised the fact that they -the production crew- tries to create a nostalgic effect because we relate grained film with the old days. The scenes were also more grained in Dublin than in Boston.

There are not as many love scenes between Alex and Rosie since they spent most of their time apart, or was trying to figure their life out. However, overtime they kiss, the camera suddenly zoom into their lips in an extreme close up shot. This shows intimacy between the two of them, narrowing the audiences' attention to the hesitation they shared. This shot only occur when Alex and Rosie were about to kiss each other, and not when they kiss someone else. Moreover, when Rosie was crying after she've found out that she was pregnant, the camera zoomed into her face but is not stabilised. It felt as if the director was shaking the camera up and down on purpose, which made the scene not too still and more realistic. There are several long shots during the film which reveals the scenery of the town there were in and the roof top of Rosie's new place. Also, at the very end where the camera pan out of Rosie's hotel room and to the over landscape of the place. Not just the plot was beautiful, the cinematography was also beautiful. What I like the most is the way there were voice-overs before the scene shifted to the character who was talking. It hooked the montage together, linking it into one.

No films would be a 100 percent perfect (except for films that were made by Joss Whedon, purely because I am a part of the Whedonverse and that anything Joss does will be perfect.), and there are some aspects that obstructed the flow of the story. First of all, the way they tried to exaggerate their British accent gave me a headache. Don't get me wrong, I love listening to people with British Accent. Still, by adding the word 'bloody' in the middle of a sentence does not make it British. Besides, only the two main characters seems to be having the accent, where others speak normal English, even their friends from the same school, or Rosie's mother. I am well aware of the fact that Rosie and Alex were from Dublin, but that does not make it alright for just the two of them to be having a distinguish British accent. Further more, Rosie and Alex were supposed to age. Rosie looks like she was 18 since she was 18, until she was in her thirties, and so is Alex. There are make ups that would make actors look older than their age, or even younger. It was just strange watching a film where the characters were supposed to age, but they look exactly the same.

Let's talk about the title of the book for the last paragraph. For the title of the review, I wanted to point out the fact that rainbows are circles, and the end is also the beginning. The story's main problem started off before the school dance, which may be the reason why Alex came back -after all these years- to ask Rosie to go on a dance with him. Imagine a rainbow. Rainbows don't end. There would be no rainbows without any rainstorm, right?

{009}; Welcome to Young Adult-hood.

Welcome to (Young) Adult-hood, my friend.
Since around the year of 2010,
I got bored and decided I should do something for the people of the K-pop fandom.
I've decided to join the 'Code:M1' team in moderating the forum.
Code:M1 was a community forum dedicated to SM Entertainment's new boyband, who was still preparing for their debut back in 2010 under the codename M1 and M2.
I thought my favourite SMent trainee was debuting with this group, so I joined the team.
I was welcomed warmly by most of the members, even though I couldn't remember all of them since it was four years ago. I've made new friends, and met some very famous people whom I used to admire, and stalk, from my little corner in the big twitter world.

One of them is the girl who's turning 20 today.
Her name is Shi-yi, and she is from the cave.

Since 2010, we've become friends, and then best friends, but lets not be more than best friends. Shi-yi, with her 16k followers in twitter, turns out to be this communication arts student in ABAC.
We became close, and then she moved back to her cave in an isolated island.

Let me tell you something about Shi-yi.
She's turning 20 years old today, but she was more mature than myself, who is 21 years old.
She used to live in Thailand, but Bangkok couldn't handle her, so she moved back to her cave where she spent the whole day starring at her iStone. After her mother (Nin-Hao, mama *^*/) realised that her cave is getting too small for her, she moved Shi-yi to Singapore in which Shi-yi decided to pursue her dream is an Art student.
After a year in Singapore, (which is ONLY 2 hours from Bangkok, but she'd never visited me, not even once. So much for the friendship, bitch) Shi-yi became a fashion photographer working for her friends and their #ootd on Instagram. She was also a filmmaker, but most of her films were experimental, and are locked away in her computer.
I visited her once in Singapore when I got so bored of Bangkok and its situation. (much fucked up, very traffic, so freedom. WOW) I was in Singapore for the weekend, and I told her I was going there a month prior my arrival. She picked me and my family up at the airport and persuaded us to take the train to the hotel instead of the cab. We walked. We took the airport railway. We walked some more. We took the subway/Metro/Underground train or whatever. We walked a lot more. We reached the hotel with two large suitcases. Right after we settled in our hotel in the middle of Orchard shopping area, Shi-yi disappeared.
I was in Singapore for three days and I got to see Shi-yi for like 5 hours. Much friendship, dude.
Not to mention the fact that when I was in Korea, You told me Howie was in Thailand. You've ruined my chance of meeting Howie. When I got my place in a UK university for masters, I'm getting a tattoo of his artwork, and NOT YOURS. Howie's number 23 fan.

Anyway,
Shi-yi is now in Taiwan, working for a Korean tourism thingy.
And she is turning 20 in two hours (ICT/GMT+7) so I think it's time for her to say good bye to teenage life, although nothing's gonna change, really.
Everything will be exactly the same.
It's not your age that changes you, it's what you do each day that makes your experience grow.

As a friend, I wanted to wish you a very happy birthday.
I might now be able to Skype with you tonight, or even tomorrow night, due to amount of work I've been procrastinating for so long, and the places I have to go tomorrow. I would also like to thank you on your advise about my future goals, and how you ditched me so many times. I would also love to point out the fact that I am used to you ditching me, and it's ok because fuck you.
I love you.
And I hope everything in your life is OKAY.

I love the fact that our demons play well with each other.

For those who wanted to know who this cave-woman really is.

these links below are her social medias:

- Instagram

- Tumblr

- Blog

PS: You still owe me a new blog theme,

love xx

{T02:BKK} Bright Lights, Big City .. I live to run.

"I sometimes forget to appreciate how beautiful this city is 

because I was too busy rushing through the day."

The thought went through my head while I was gazing out the sky train window, absorbing the view of the red and orange sunset. When was the last time I took the sky train home? A year, maybe?
I like my personal space. I don't like getting too close to people. The train were jam-packed with people, even outside rush hours. I hate standing too close to people, I hate having physical contact with people in public, even with the ones I know, let alone strangers.

Living in the metropolis allows us to be anything, or become anyone. We can totally be ourselves, or that we think we are being ourselves. The urban allows us to construct, and expose, our identity in every way possible. We can be anything, we can be unique, but we will always be the same. Contradicting, isn't it? How hard we are trying to be unique, yet we would end up being the same. We are made and tempered in the same block, bending into the same shape by the society. There is no standing out in a community where everyone is already standing out, and there is no point in standing out when no one would be there to watch you. It's a paradoxical place we are living.
I was also told that people who romanticises small town life are the ones who didn't grow up in small towns. I grew up in the capital of this country, accustomed by the blasé attitude of the people around me as they rush through their days. I would love to try living in a small town for a change.

Since I got back from my trips to Singapore and Seoul, I didn't quite enjoy my life in this city. I wanted to go back to Seoul, and maybe live there for a while. Singapore was more crowed, but I feel safer than living here. In both Seoul and Singapore, I can roam around the streets at night because there will always be people, and it wouldn't feel as scary as it feels during the day time in this city. I've always wanted to leave this place behind and live somewhere else, somewhere safe and less sexist. Women are viewed as a sexual object in this country, and this ideology runs too deep for time to take it out of people's system. Boys weren't taught to respect women. Girls, on the other hand, were  taught to wear "proper clothing" and avoid exposing any skin for boys might get thirsty and rape them. If they got raped, everyone would victimise the woman and conclude case by saying it's because the woman revealed too much skin because people were interpillated that way since they were little. Our culture's classical literatures would slut-shame women for being with more than one man, but idolise men for getting more than one girl. If the girl is raped, she became less than nothing, and no one would want her anymore, even her parents. Our soap operas encouraged this, and is the prime ISA for this ideology. It's a sad culture we are living in where this became the norm, and people are alright with it.

It wasn't that surprising, knowing that other countries nicknamed this city the capital city of sin. We are famous for those kinds of thing. I got asked quite a lot if I was actually a ladyboy, or that I would sleep with anyone if they paid me enough. For further reference, my answer will be NO to both of the questions. Just because the city has this reputation doesn't mean everyone in the city has to be like that. A city is a place where people gather together and settled for a settlement. Although we shared similar qualities, not all of us have the same traits, or preferences. Clearly you haven't been to all the parts of this city, and clearly you weren't that interested in the brighter side. In that case, it tells people more about you than the reputation people from this city carried on their shoulders.
If you come to Bangkok for sexual pleasure, that's fine. If you think every women in Bangkok, or from Bangkok, are either prostitutes or ladyboys, then maybe you should stop watching porn and start living a little.

I think every city is fucked up in its own way,
some are just more fucked up than others.

There is nothing wrong with the city. The city is fine, just like any other big cities. People passing by without stoping to look around them. Rushing throughout the day from the minute their feet touch the ground to the minute they jump back into their beds. Reading to this point, you might think I loath the city. That's not completely true. There are aspects in this city I cannot bare, and there are some sides to this place that I know I would miss when I leave for another city.

Love the city you are in, leave as often as you can in order to miss it when you return.

A few days ago, I started this board on Pinterest called 'My side of Bangkok' where I will be posting pictures of things I see during my daily life in the city. I wanted to boost the good reputation of the city up a bit. There are places yet to be explored by tourists. I've taken a few pictures, but I've only posted one so far. I grew up here, and it would be a shame if people only see the filthy side of it. It's also sad to see all the good reputation that's left for the country being destroyed by an opinion of one ignorant, and sexist, man.

I wouldn't call Bangkok "My city" just because I grew up here. I wouldn't call Thailand "My country" just because my passport says my nationality is Thai. By saying something is mine, it would means that I own the place. Technically speaking, the people here didn't even own the country. The level of patriotism in this country is getting higher and higher every second. We are this close into becoming a nationalist group of intellectuals under the control of the hegemony. To add to that, by saying "our country" indicates that we exist purely depending on them, as in other countries. Ours and theirs. Which is true, no country can exist on their own, even the USA. It's a globalised world, people of one nation is the people of the global nation. Boarders between countries are blurred. Regardless of the different races, we are all people, and we are all the population of the word. If people could stop using "the nation" and "for the nation" as all the reason to persuade people, the world would be a better place.

The island of angels. Bangkok is, to an extent, an island surrounded by the river. In Thai, we call the capital "กรุงเทพฯ" meaning the city of angels. Since the name City of Angels are already been used in LA, we can differ it to the Island of Angels. Do you know that the full name of Los Angeles was "El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles del Río de Porciúncula" which is a spanish sentence that means 'The town of our lady the queen of the angels of the river Porciúncula'. Bangkok, or 'Krung-thep' according to the native language, has it's full name as well. The name was so long, we have to abbreviate it to just "Krung-Thep" or "Krung-Thep Maha-Nakorn" (Bangkok Metropolis).
Strangely enough, I can remember all the 65 syllables of the name of Bangkok. It's even longer than the longest word in the English Language, supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. I regret nothing.

Lastly, I would like everyone to stop rushing and look around, absorb everything around you. Feel the air, the pollution, the music from the earphone of the person standing next to you on the crowed train. Look around, at the yellow trees, the traffic jam, the mobile screen of someone sitting beside you in a restaurant. Stop rushing. Slow down.

Those who romanticise urban life are those who are not accustomed to the life of urban people.

{008}; 140912 EXO Press Conference in BKK

First things first, this is the logo for my photography stuff.

It's still in the Mark I because I need to retouch some stuff. I was in a hurry to make a logo for the EXO pics I took during the press conference.

I would like to say thank you to Mu-Mi and her mother for this special privilege.
And their brother whom I love dearly.

Here comes a smaller version of the pictures.
The full resolution pictures are in the .zip file below.

The .zip file has no password.
Please take out with full credit & do not remove the logo.
Much appreciated.

- Download -

{007}; Bond, not James Bond.

So much is happening at the moment, and I should be revising for a quiz tomorrow, but I've decided to post this new entry instead. The latest post had been quite depressing, and the situation in the K-pop fandom has been depressing due to the passing of two Ladies' Code members, EunB and Rise. Rest in peace, my condolences goes to all their love ones.

That's that, enough with the depressing stuff. Shall we move on to other things that had happened in my life?

First things first, I got a new laptop. Not that my old one broke down or anything, but I need a laptop which is light in weight, and has retina display in order for me to edit pictures and videos on HD quality. Of course, it's from apple.

Secondly, I won't be editing videos on the #SeekingSeoul2014 trip this week. There are two reasons to this;
1. I got caught up on something else.
2. I wasn't in the mood.
I wasn't in the mood to do anything, to be honest. With all the people passing away, and the midterm exams just right around the corner. Also, the Travelogue on day 3 will be up with the second day's video (maybe) next week, if nothing gets in its way.

Lastly, I am doing something very grand. Well, maybe not to grand for some people, but very grand for me, indeed. I can't say what it is right now, but it will be out soon, so please do look forward for that. This is also the reason why I haven't made a video this week like I said I would. And this is also the reason why I've only had 3 hours of sleep last night, and 5 the night before.
But I love this thing I am doing and I really do hope I became better at doing so.

I think I said something about a video called 'Rata tries to fashion' or something. I shelved that for now because, after reviewing it again after I've done planning, it's basically a video about me showing off my collections of designers' bags. I didn't want that connotation, so I won't do that video anymore. Also, the ice bucket challenge. I've decided to let my bunny Ashton do the challenge, and donate more money to ALS instead. I hope I cleared that up one way or another.


So ...
this has been another random entry, without any video updates or anything.
I question myself sometimes ...
Rata, what the Eff are you doing with your life?
And then I remembered I have an exam tomorrow.

This is me, taken just now.

This is from Saturday
at this S'more place in the city,
with Melody19 and Palayate20,
celebrating my belated birthday.

I got this from Tumblr.

1990.09.01

This is going to be my first entry in my mother tongue. I have realised that I suck at writing Thai, but please, bare with me 'till the end.
It won't be long, and this does't happen often.



This entry is a tribute to Mr. Seub Nakhasathien for conserving the environment for us, even when he is not here to see the success. We owe you our lives.

เมื่อวันที่ 1 กันยา ปี พ.ศ. 2553 ณ ห้วยขาแข้ง จังหวัดอุทัยธานี

เมื่อยี่สิบสี่ปีที่แล้ว ประเทศไทยได้สูญเสียบุคคลสำคัญของประเทศเพียงเพราะความเห็นแก่ตัวของคนกลุ่มหนึ่งที่ใช้ผืนที่ป่าเป็นแหล่งทำมาหากิน ทั้งๆ ที่รู้ว่าการทำมาหากินของพวกเขากำลังทำร้ายประเทศทางอ้อม ความเห็นแก่ตัวและความโลภทำให้พวกเขาเลือกที่จะไม่สนใจผลกระทบระยะยาวที่จะเกิดขึ้นกับระบบนิเวศและทำการทำลายผืนป่าเพียงเพราะมันทำเงินให้พวกเขาได้มหาสาร

การบุกรุกป่าเคยเป็นอาชีพที่ถูกปล่อยปะละเลยจากเจ้าหน้าที่กรมป่าไม้ จนกระทั่งหลังจากจากไปของคุณสืบ นาคะเสถียร

คุณสืบ นาคะเสถียรเสียสละชีวิตของตนเพื่อปลุกจิตใต้สำนึกของผู้คนทั่วไปให้หันมาสนใจป่าไม้และอนุรักษ์ผืนป่าที่เหลืออยู่ การจากไปของคุณสืบจุดประกายให้คนหันมาให้ความสนใจป่าไม้มากขึ้นและได้รับข่าวสารเกี่ยวกับปัญหาที่เกิดขึ้นกับผืนป่ามากขึ้น เพราะเมื่อก่อนไม่ค่อยมีนักข่าวลงพื้นที่ทำสกู๊ปเกี่ยวกับการลักลอบตัดไม้ทำลายป่าหรือค้าสัตว์จากเขตป่าสงวน เนื่องจากเกรงกลัวอำนาจของผู้มีอิธิพลที่คุมบริเวณนั้นๆ

หลังจากการจากไปของคุณสืบเพียงสองอาทิตย์ เจ้าหน้าที่ระดับสูงของกรมป่าไม้ได้นำปัญหานี้เข้าที่ประชุมอย่างจริงจัง เพื่อที่จะดำเนินการหาทางแก้ไข ปกป้องพื้นที่ป่าและเพิ่มความสำคัญของการอนุรักษ์ทรัพยากรธรรมชาติ ทำให้การจากไปของคุณสืบไม่ถือว่าเป็นการจากไปโดยเสียเปล่า

เหตุผลที่รตาเลือกที่จะเขียนบล็อคนี้ก็เพราะว่า ตอนเด็กๆ คุณแม่เล่าให้ฟังเสมอว่าคุณสืบมีความสำคัญอย่างไรกับชีวิตคนเราทุกคน ถ้าคุณสืบไม่เสียสละชีวิตตนเพื่อเรียกร้องให้มีการเปลี่ยนแปลง แก้ไข และปกป้องพื้นที่ป่า ป่านนี้การลักลอบตัดไม้ทำลายป่าก็คงยังเป็นเรื่องที่ทำกันได้ง่ายๆ ใครๆ ก็ทำจนกลายเป็นเรื่องปรกติ ผืนป่าก็จะค่อยๆ ลดน้อยลงเรื่อยๆ สิ่งมีชีวิตที่อาศัยอยู่ในป่าก็จะค่อยๆ ลดประชากรลงหรือย้ายไปอยู่ที่อื่นจนหมด ถ้าปล่อยไปเรื่อยๆ พื้นที่ป่าอาจจะหมดลง แล้วหลังจากนั้น เวลาฝนตกหนักๆ น้ำก็จะท่วมเมืองเพราะกรุงเทพฯ เป็นเมืองที่อยู่ต่ำกว่าระดับน้ำทะเล

คุณแม่เคยพารตาไปที่ห้วยขาแข้งเพื่อไปที่บ้านคุณสืบ (ที่ตอนนี้เป็นพิพิธภัณฑ์ส่งเสริมการคุ้มครองป่าไม้แห่งประเทศไทย และยังเป็นที่ตั้งของมูลนิธิสืบนาคะเสถียรอีกด้วย)

รตาโตมากับเรื่องเล่าของคุณแม่เกี่ยวกับคุณสืบ แต่แม่ไม่ได้บอกว่าวันที่เขาจากไป คือวันที่หนึ่งกันยายน วันเดียวกับวันเกิดรตา

ยี่สิบเอ็ดปีในประเทศนี้ มีหลายครั้งที่รตารู้สึกเหมือนการมีชีวิตอยู่ไม่ได้ทำให้อะไรดีขึ้น รตาเชื่อว่าทุกคนเคยมีความรู้สึกแบบนั้น ความรู้สึกที่ว่าไม่อยากมีชีวิตอยู่ต่อ ไม่ว่าจะเพราะความเครียดหรือความท้อแท้ที่เกิดจากทุกสิ่งอย่าง แต่สิ่งที่ทำให้รตาฉุกคิดได้ว่าเราควรอยู่ต่อคือการเสียสละของคุณสืบ ...

คุณสืบใช้เวลาทั้งชีวิตเพื่อที่จะปกป้องป่าไม้จนวินาทีสุดท้าย คุณสืบเสียสละชีวิตเพื่อปกป้องสิ่งที่เขารักและหวงแหน ในขณะที่รตาเกิดมายี่สิบเอ็ดปี ยังไม่เคยทำอะไรเป็นชิ้นเป็นอันเลยสักอย่าง ถ้าจะตายทั้งที ควรตายเพื่ออะไรสักอย่างที่จะทำให้โลกมีการเปลี่ยนแปลง แทนที่จะมาตายอย่างเสียเปล่าในห้องเพราะเหตุโง่ๆ และความคิดชั่ววูบ

จากเด็กตัวเล็กๆ คนหนึ่งที่โตมากับเรื่องราวของคุณสืบ ทำให้คุณสืบกลายเป็นฮีโร่ของรตาตั้งแต่เด็กจนถึงทุกวันนี้ และทำให้รตารู้ว่าการเป็นฮีโร่ ไม่ต้องใส่สุดเกราะหรือชุดสแปนเด็กส์ก็ได้ แค่มีความรักในสิ่งที่ตัวเองทำ และทุ่มกับมันให้ถึงที่สุดก็พอแล้ว

ไม่ใช่ทุกคนที่จะค้นพบสิ่งที่ตัวเองชอบ และไม่ใช่ทุกคนที่จะสามารถทุ่มให้มันหมดทั้งร้อย คุณสืบเป็นหนึ่งในนั้น เพราะเหตุนี้ การจากไปของคุณสืบทำให้รตารู้สึกผิดหวังกับหลายๆ อย่างรอบๆ ตัวที่ทำให้คนดีๆ ต้องมาจบชีวิตลงเพียงเพราะอำนาจมือของใครหลายๆ คน

การที่มีใครสักคนต่อสู้กับอำนาจมืดของผู้มีอิธิพลเพื่อที่จะรักษาผืนป่าไว้ให้คนรุ่นหลังจนต้องจบชีวิตตัวเองเพื่อที่จะให้คนทั่วไปเห็นถึงปัญหาที่เกิดขึ้นเป็นเรื่องที่น่ายกย่องอย่างยิ่ง สำหรับรตาแล้ว คุณสืบคือบุคคลตัวอย่างที่ประเทศนี้ต้องการเพื่อที่จะนำประเทศไปสู่ความเจริญรุ่งเรือง ทั้งทางจิตใจและทางวัตถุ

Twenty four years ago, on the first of September, 1990, at the Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary, a national hero sacrificed his life to rise awareness of the problems happening to the forest.

After leaving letters -stating all the problems and solutions after his death- for his subordinates and coworkers, Mr. Seub Nakhasathien sacrificed his life in order to save what is left of the forest in Thailand. Two weeks after, the Royal Forest Department gathered together for a grand meeting to discuss the solution to the problematic issue of illegal deforestation.

The act of illegal deforestation has been happening over quite a long period of time, under the awareness of the department, yet they are powerless against those companies with a large capital. To shine a light into this dark business, the public has to be aware of this. There weren't any news on this problem because no journalist would go into the area to investigate due to the fear of the invisible power from those big companies which harvests illegal wood for a living. The death of Mr. Seub Nakhasathien shone a light into this shadow, and rise awareness to this problem. When people became more aware of what is actually going on, they became reluctance to see this problem being unattended.

His death is also the start of the Seub Nakhasathien Foundation to conserve Thailand's national forests and wildlife. They are to protect all the greens in our nation.

I grew up listening to his stories from my mother, all the things he did for the country. I remember thinking to myself that he is, indeed, a hero. He doesn't need any shining amour, or any super power, all he has was his passion about his work. I admire him for that, being able to seek what he loves to do, and put a hundred percent effort into it, fighting with it until the very end.

There are times that I lost hope to carry on living, and his death prevented me from doing something stupid that I won't even be able to regret it because I would be dead. Mr. Seub Nakhasathien spent all his life protecting and developing the forest, but because of an unnamed power force of capitalism from big companies, he had to end his life. He did it to protect the forest he love from being distort without being aware by the public. On the contrary, I am twenty one years old and haven't accomplished anything, and is going for a worthless death in my bedroom because of some stupid decision that I thought it would fix my problem. If I was going to end my life, I should end it for something important that would change the world. Only then, I would be worthy to die.

His death was the spark of a bonfire which lighten up the darkest corner of the forest, illuminating all the illegal business that has been lurking in the shadows for far too long.

I wouldn't consider myself a conservationist, I wouldn't even consider myself as having a green thumb because everything I've ever planted died within two weeks of being born. However, it would be great if we could still drive out of the city for two hours, and still find a forest area to relax and let the mind flow with nature for a day. I love being among the greenness of trees and occasionally see wild deers walking by. It would be great to have a place to go to when you want to escape the madness of the city, all the artificial stuff.

I would like to say a big thank you to Mr. Seub Nakhasathien for everything he had done to protect the wild life and the forest, even when you are not here to see the success of your work. If you are watching over the country, or the greens, please know that we will protect the land the best we can, and that your death will always be remembered.

His proposal on making the Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary a world heritage became successful, all because of him and his last proposal before he ended his life.

Lastly,

Your legacy shall be fulfilled, and your death remembered.

2014.09.03

- Rata Pengmeesri

PS: I know this is quite long, but his story means a lot to me growing up.

Please support the foundation by clicking on this flag right here to go to the website ⚑

Also, please support the foundation by liking this page and spread the awareness by sharing it,

- Thai Version

- English Version

Disclaimer: I got this picture from google.

{006}; Becoming legal.

How does it feel to finally be legal ?
The same, more or less.
Well, more to the 'less' part.
When you are .. i don't know, 17? It was cool to go clubbing with fake ids. It wasn't that cool anymore, now that you can use your own id because you are finally legal to go clubbing, or purchase alcoholic drinks.
Of course, now that you can finally do it legally, you have already done it illegally for a thousand times before.

Growing up is the source of all misery in life, in my opinion. As you grow older, you need to be more responsible for the things around you, not just yourself. Why do people have to relate growing older with having more responsibility ? I am 21 years old and I can't even cook to feed myself, let alone cooking for my brother, or mother, or friends.
I am a twenty-one years old Asian with no future, nor money, nor life.
If there is a place where fangirling would provide you food, please let me know so I know where to move after graduation. I am at a crossroad where theres no going back and the other three paths are under construction. This is f*ing depressing.
No depress September, that's what I'm going for, even though it doesn't even rhyme. No regret September seems like a nice thing to live by this month as well. Right.

As I was growing up, people around me are divided into two types; Ones who has realised I am 21 years of age, and is an 'adult', and ones who still believe I am 3 years old. The latter being my family members.

I was talking with my grandparents the other day, telling them my 21st birthday was just around the corner, and they were all like ....
"Did you just say 21st birthday? How is that even possible? Aren't you like 16 last year?"
.... I was 16 five years ago, grandma. I am sorry to break it to you.
The same thing happened when I told them I am graduating next year, and I have to apply for my masters. They thought I was still in Freshmen year. I guess time stopped when I was accepted into University, for them. I think the proudest thing I've ever done for them was that I got into one of the top 3 Universities in Thailand, even though it wasn't the faculty they wanted me to apply for.

Let me use this occasion to say all my gratitudes to precious people in my life.
- Mom, Dad, Grandpa, Grandma, Bro. I love you guys and I would be shit with out all of you. I know I wasn't that much of your ideal of a perfect daughter, but I am closer to that than a lot of girls out there, so please don't kill me if I wake up at noon on a saturday morning for lunch and then go back to bed. I know you are all worried for me, but I will live my life to the fullest. My life is the greatest present I'd ever get, and I promise I will make the best out of it. By all means, I have no intention to go bungee jumping off a cliff, or go swimming with sharks in the aquarium, please don't worry.

- My SIS 03 people (who will never read this because I know you guys too well.) I have been friends with you guys for ten, or more, years. I am forever thank you that we are still together. ObbSongPfMmEve, kay people, kay. Love you.

- My bunnies, thank you for letting me sit with you guys, even when I didn't wear pink on Wednesday. I am blessed to get to know all of you people, and spend a chunk of my life around you all. Thanks to Paris for introducing me to this blogging world where no one actually read my blog. Thanks to Ev for being my first friend in Uni. Thanks to Yuki for eating bamboos. Thanks to Yv for the time during the SeekingSeoul trip, which reminds me that I still have 10 more days to blog and vlog.

- Shi. I am counting down to the day you come back to meh. Our relationship for the past many years had been very complicated. It was on, and then it was off, and then it was on again. We fight a lot, we still do,  even when we are both in our twenties. We fight like kids, most of the times. I love you.

- P' Opal is the best sister one could ever ask for. I am thankful for everything, and our friendship. Thank you for your support since the very beginning until now. Thank you for always be there for me in time of crisis.

- Melody is the complete opposite to P' Opal, and I don't know why am I still friends with her. All she ever does was 'Rata, I need you to translate this for me. NOW.' and I couldn't say no. She's majoring in English, but she needed me to translate all her work. Why are you even majoring in English ? Why are you in my thanks to.

- Baby L. Boo and Ashton 'Ash' Martini, thanks for being alive and healthy.

- Chocolate (RIP). I was afried, but I know you would support me whatever my decisions will be. You were always a supporter, and I am forever thankful for that. I remember the times when you used to follow me around the house, I thought you were scared of being alone, but the truth was you were scared of leaving me alone. The pain I felt when you passed away still lingers in my memory, but to erase it completely would be forgetting you. I thought I wouldn't be able to carry on without having you with me, but you wouldn't want me to do something stupid and waste my life. I am sorry for not being good enough. If I were a better friend, you would still be here with me. Memories of you are bitter sweet, yet I want to remember both the bitter part, and the sweet part. I do not believe in reincarnation, but I really do hope your soul went to a better place, if there is somewhere more than obviation.

Wow. We are getting real personal here, STAP!
------

This has been another random entry, no wonder why people didn't read them.
I could just post my naked pictures here and it would even go viral. (jokes, btw)
I haven't been reading much lately, because I was soooo freaking lazy. And I got a new Macbook. It's a Macbook Pro with the new Retina display. I love it so much! Thank you Grandpa :)
And I got a new hair cut a couple of days ago, that's a thing.
Anyway, I've made a small video (featuring my friends and my bunny) of the first part of my birthday party.

It is very short and very briefly put together, I apologise for that.
For this week, please expect the 3rd day of the Seeking Seoul trip Blog.
Also, please look forward to the second part of my B-day celebration.

For next week, please do remind me that I need to get the second day's vlog onto youtube. I need to edit them and throw it to youtube. So, please wait for the third day of the Korea trip. Yippyy.

Ok. Bye.

Happy 21st Birthday Rata.
It was on the 1st of September, by the way.
It was also Thailand's Environmental day, so please go plant or hug some trees.
I am serious, please stop claiming the forest to build shit.
Oh, I just remembered. There will be a blog dedicate to Thailand's national hero, Mr. Seub Nakhasathien soon because he was my hero growing up.

Stay tuned :)

{#seekingseoul2014} We crossed the river to school.

Our second day started at 10AM when we finally pulled ourselves out of the comfortable bed of the hotel room. After repacking our luggage and checking out from the hotel, we went out for breakfast at the same Kimbab Cheonkook (Kimbab Heaven) right across the street. The morning air was great, a bit chilly (23c), which is just perfect. I was told that the climate will be very humid during our stay in Seoul, but we are 2 days in, and it hasn't rained just yet. The sky was so blue, with white cotton candy clouds. Everything was just so perfect for a day out in the Capital of South Korea.

We had 2 Kimbabs (Cheese and Tonkatsu)
and a Bibimbab for Breakfast
@ Kimbab Cheon-kook

 After our breakfast, we took the cab to Hongdae because the accommodation was cheaper and there are more food during the night. Hongdae is a great place if you were planning to stay longer than three days in Seoul, it has a variety of guesthouses and all the food there are incredibly delicious. Hongdae is an area surrounding the Hong-ik University and is located in the Mapo District. It would be cheaper to go by the subway because the station is right in front of the hotel, but we had two big luggage and carrying it into the subway and out wouldn't be nice. Also, most of the landscape in Seoul were hills, and dragging our bags up and down steep hills are not what we are here for. We don't want anymore bicep muscles, thank you very much.

Departing Gangnam on a cab.

During our Taxi ride, we had another conversation with the Cabbie in broken Korean. He explained to us that Seoul is divided into two parts by the Hangang River, the Gangnam (Meaning South of the Hangang river) and the Gang-bok (the North). He also told us that the subway ride crossing the river at night is a must-see thing when people comes to Seoul, and we put that down on our list of things we had to do in the capital of S.Korea.
The drive was about one hour, due to traffic, and we passed a lot of attractions. One of them being the Hangang River, the other one was the 63 Building.
The building was the tallest building in Seoul from 1985 to 2003 when another building surpassed its height. It was built for the Summer olympic 1988 with the height of 249 metres. This gold and glittering building is located near the river, standing tall and strong.

63 Building, Seoul, South Korea.

When we reached Hongdae, we checked into the Guesthouse we've booked. The place is called '88 Hostel' and it's the most comfortable place to stay during a long vacation in Seoul. The place is located very close to the subway station (Hongdae exit 8) and the way from the station to the Hostel is filled with restaurants and shops that operate until very late at night. The host, Violet, was one of the best people we've met in Seoul city. She was very kind and helpful all throughout. The place is nice and clean with all the things you need. I would definitely recommend this place to everyone who is going to Seoul and haven't decided on a place to stay because I was super-super impressed with everything about this place. 88 Hostel made our trip a ton easier.

Here lays the information about the Hostel (with some Pictures):

- Facebook Page 

- Website 

- Agoda

- Bookings

Inside our room.
A bit small, but very cozy.

Me, and the front of the place.

After we dumped our bags in the room, we went out for a walk. Violet, the host, provided us a map of the whole district with notes on places we have to visit. The first place we went to was the stylist 'Stylenanda' Flagship store (☁︎), which was right beside the place. Very convenient for a shopaholic like me, indeed.
When we reached the place, a woman approved me, asking if she could take my picture for her fashion magazine. I was quite surprised because I wouldn't consider myself as someone who does fashion at all. I didn't put this outfit together, Yves did. She was my personal stylist during our trip in Seoul.

StyleNanda, Hongdae, Mapo-gu.

I have a confession to make:
I spent 95,300 Won, and this was just for one time going into this store. I went there for a couple of times during our stay in Hongdae. We went there nearly every day, to be quite exact, and this was just for the first day. If you are wondering how much is 95,300 won, then here you go: ฿2,990 / £56.5 / $93.5.
After an hour shopping in Stylenanda and taking photos, we got out and walk uphill, over to the Hong-ik University. It was quite a sunny day and the temperature increases to about 30c, but it wasn't as hot as walking in Thailand. I know because if we were in Thailand, I would definitely go for the cab even if it is way more expensive. It's like 7th degree of hell on the streets in Bangkok because we barely have trees.
I was quite hungry when we reached the main gate of the University. So, we went into this cute little cafe, Paris Baguette, so we can sit and watch the amazing architectural design of the famous Hong-ik University.

The main entrance of
Hong-ik University, Mapo-gu, Seoul.

Let's talk about what we ate. It was a bread cafe, and the bread was nice. I tried a lot of new things, but I don't think it was my type of food. I love breads, don't get me wrong, but all the red beans were definitely not my style. The milk-bun (Milk bread with cheese on the inside) was superb, but the red bead rice-ball was ... strange. I love Macarons, but if you had a chance to visit this cafe (they have branches all over South Korea) please don't go for their Macarons. It's way toooooooo sweet and way too expensive. The strawberry milk was great, I can taste the richness of strawberries in the milk.

Paris Baguette, Hong-ik Branch (☁︎)

We took some photos from the Stylenanda Photo Booth,
tried some of the products,
and brought a whole bunch of things
including these cute accessories. 

After our stomach was filled with bread and carbohydrates, we set off again to the Trick Eye Museum. There are branches of these in Thailand as well, one in Pattaya and one in HuaHin, I think. But we wanted to see the original place of the whole thing. It wasn't that hard to find and the entrance fee wasn't that expensive. There's also a traditional Korean set for us to take pictures wearing the Korean traditional dresses. We weren't quite sure if we wanted to wear them or not, but we ended up doing it because why not, right? We are in Korea, after all.

When Rata goes traditional.

After our little photo-shoot, we pursue into the actual museum. It was great fun, taking pictures with all the 3D paintings and stuff. There are more things to do than the ones here, but the concept of the place is the same. Some pictures are even interactive, so we had a lot of fun trying to figure out how to make it look realistic. Here are some pictures inside the Trick-eye museum.

We took a lot of pictures, but these are major ones I thought there are worth posting, and blogging about :)
Outside the entrance, there is also an Ice Museum where everything was made out of ice. I couldn't take the coldness. It was too cold for me, so I stayed there for, like, 5 minutes and took all the footage I need for the video before running out of the place. Yves, on the other hand, enjoyed it so much she didn't want to leave. I only have one picture of the place, if you want to see more of it, then please wait for the video. Thank you :)

We were hungry, again, after coming up from the museum. The nearest place we could spot was the Hello Kitty Cafe (☁︎). It was cute, yes. However, please do not let the exterior fool you. I swear to god I will not enter any Hello Kitty Cafe in Seoul ever again. Never. I really want to say how bad it was, the food the hygiene and everything, but I cannot really know any word that is harsher than the word horrendous. I can only conclude it to 'too expensive than its quality, and not worth any of your money.'

The food looks nice on camera,
but the waffle was hard as stone
and the strawberry smote tasted like rain water 

After an unimpressed meal, we decided to go back to the hostel because it was quite late. The streets were filled with people walking and performing. What I really love about Hongdae is that, every evening, there would be groups of people setting up their performances on the space provided, and those shows were not just some ordinary busking, but a well-prepared show with great productions. I've seen magic shows, DJ-ing, singing, dancing, etc. It was an atmosphere I wanted to see in Thailand. This is one of the reason that Hongdae is a great place for teenagers to stay, it's a place that was made for teenagers. Most performers students from Hong-ik University, showing what they've got after school.
I didn't take pictures of the performance, but Yves took some footage which I will put it into the video for day 02/Hongdae.

When we reached our room, we asked Violet to call for a Jajangmyeon delivery, which is a popular Korean black bean noodles. The colouring wasn't that appetising, but the taste was amazing. Yves didn't share the same opinion, she said the dish was too salty. The yellow thingy is called 'Damuji (단무지)' which are these pickled reddish, and which I do not eat. They put these in the Kimbab as well, and I had to take them out before every time I ordered Kimbab.

I love Jajangmyeon!!! 

Aaaaaaaaand that's it, guys. That's it for day two.  The video will be out either next weekend or the weekend after. I was going to do a fun video featuring my collection of bracelets this week, but I didn't have my camera with me.
Anyway, have a great week, and I'll be blogging again next weekend!

Love,
- Rata.

{T1} Day 01 on film

Hello there,
and welcome to the new -and nearly renovated- 23km-Down The Rabbit Hole !!
I'll try to post something every week, so make sure someone hit me in the head to remind me when I don't. I said I'll try, but setting rules for myself is not how I live around here. Never. Ever. Boo-ya.

Today is a special day where I, finally, will be posting the video of our first day in Seoul.
As you all know, I've written an entry about it sometimes back, stating nearly everything we've done on our first day in South Korea, where we went and such.
However, there are some parts that cannot be explained in pure wordings, so I've decided to film some footage along the way, to make them into videos.
At first, I was going to do one video for each day in Seoul, but things have changed.
I will be grouping days together because I am a lazy ass bitch.

Sorry for taking so long, and if you think my editing sucks, then you're probably right.
Love you all.

Without further ado,
here's the clip.

PS: Day 2's entry coming up real soon. Next weekend, perhaps.

xx

{005}; Life's like a chocolate teapot.

I was at a bookstore the other day, looking for A Tale of Two Cities (the collectors' edition) when an abundance of Dan Brown's Inferno caught my attention. Then came this absurd idea; why don't I read a book that is not my cup of tea, and see if I would be able to enjoy it or not. I know because it's not the genre I'd rather prefer, but that doesn't make it a bad book, is it ? And because  it's nearly my birthday, this is a great occasion to start something new, and buy a new book or five. I've been buying myself birthday presents since I was 15, most of them were things I've always wanted for quite a while. I've made this into an agenda, an annual agenda. The first present I brought was a melody box with a pink pig on top. Three years prior, I brought myself a "Me & a cup of hot chocolate" Barn owl scarf.  Two years ago, I brought 2 stuff unicorns for myself, and named them Magnus and Reina. Last year, I brought myself a VS purse and 5 VS perfumes.
It gets more and more expensive as I grew older, I can't even.
Anyway, I was going to buy the collector's edition of A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, but I think they were sold out because there aren't any of them on the shelves.

Because of that, I brought these;

1. Have a little faith
- By Mitch Albom
2. Inferno
- By Dan Brown

I've read "The Time Keeper" by Mitch Albom, and fell completely in love with it. When I saw this, I didn't think twice before picking it up. I know what to expect from this author, I didn't even read the back cover. I love his style of writing and his view towards the thing he writes about. 

I would like to start with Inferno first, and then Have a Little Faith, but, due to my courses this term, I have to finish school work first. Being an Arts student sucks sometimes, and it gets worse as you move up the years. I can see myself freaking out because of all the pressure I will be under. Jobs, Masters and so on so forth. 

To be frank with you all, I feel like a chocolate teapot right now.

I was under quite a lot of stress a couple of days back, but I'm better now.

I really do believe in Shopping Therapy because it helps, it really does. 

On the same day I brought them books, I went shopping in Paragon with my uncle while we wait for my brother. We go straight into LV because my uncle wanted to check out their latest collection of necklace. I've had some not-so-pleasant experiences with the staff here in Paragon's LV. However, they welcomed us better this time, and I was quite impressed, although they still gave me those suspicious eyes, thinking I would damage their 'oh-so-classy' leather. Excuse me, but they are made of canvas, and not even leather. 

The next shop was Fendi. I wanted to know the price of the Karlito, but they said I have to wait for at least 3 months in order to buy it because the queue is quite long. Well, there are, like, 5 leftovers in SG's Fendi store. Anyway, I wasn't that desperate to get it.

We went into Prada, and uncle brought something. I keep trying the Saffiano handbag, but no other colours are as good as my black one at home. The shoes are so mundane, but the service was better than in LV.

Then we went into Hermès because I wanted the CDC bracelet. I wore Pam's CDC and fell in love with it. There is purple as well, but all of them ran out. I was quite upset, but it's alright. Hermes was a little too formal for me, anyway.

When we went into the Balenciaga shop, all my stress faded away. The manager greeted us personally and led us to the latest collection of bags and bracelets. I tried on a few bracelet, but my wrist is too small for them to look good on. I thought I was never gonna be able to wear my favourite brand's bracelet anymore, but when I've finally found the one that suits me best, I fell in love. At the end of the day, uncle brought that Giant Gold Bleu Opaline Bracelet for me as an early birthday present, with a Moschino bag.  A BIG THANK YOU TO YOU, MY UNCLE. THANK YOU.

This is another random entry, but I'm so hyped about my upcoming 21st birthday right now. I had a lot of great themes for the party, but I wasn't that sure if it's gonna turn out that great. I really don't feel like going clubbing this year, maybe because I am getting older ? I don't even know. I am under too much stress that I couldn't imagine myself dancing around like a freshman in a 'till dawn. 

Last year, me and my friends went to Bombay Blues for a drink, and it was alright. I really want an Alice in Wonderland tea party in the garden theme, but that would be a lot of work and aint no body got time for that shit.

Maybe this is it. I should become a party organiser and organise birthday parties; providing people everything they need to get the party started.

That's a very good idea, and that just popped up while I was typing this.

Anyway, to conclude this nonsense entry, I would like to introduce you, readers, to the new renovation of 23km- !

What you will be seeing more in the future are the followings:

- Movie reviews/analysis (that will be wayyy better than the one I did on GOTG)

- Book reviews/analysis (which will mostly be something I read in the Popular Fiction class)

- My reading update of Inferno (with all the spoilers in the world. If you've read it and wanted to know my interpretation on the book, then you might enjoy these.)

- Random -and stupid- stuff, especially when I am under a lot of stress.

- #seekingseoul2014 + Videos ... ?

- Me, trying to do fashion, or make fashion, or follow fashion, or be fashion .... ? 

- New homepage (which I have no idea when will that be up)

So, this is it.

Thank you, and see you soon.

Love,

Rt's.