Tropical Girl Meets Cold

When I think fashion, fur boots, trench coats, and warm tones pop into my head before everything else. Too bad for me, I come from the equator so winter fashion is wearing a cardigan.

My typical dress code when Singapore hits the cold season.

But the seemingly wasted boxes of winter wear ClubCouture sent were finally utilized in Korea!

Jacket being the first thing I grabbed from my wardrobe...

Then there was my favourite knitted dress too hot to be worn in Singapore.

And the trenchcoat essential for braving the beginning of winter... and style points!

Avatar legs! I have the knack for wearing blue leggings with this trenchcoat. Haha.

ClubCouture has been down for a few days in preparation for a relaunch. It's up again with cooler features and outfits, so do check out what's in store for the next season!

Enter the Dragon

Woke up to the sound of mahjong tiles shuffling away. As I walked out of my room, I realised the sound was coming from my kitchen..........where I saw my relatives happily gambling away. Hahaha! Only things like that can happen during CNY!

As the year of the Water Dragon begins, I wish you all the best of luck and happiness. And health. And a peace of mind. And beauty. And wealth. And prosperity. And success.

Sorry I'm just rattling off the popular Chinese idioms (are they called idioms?) we use every Lunar New Year and translating them into English for you. LOL...

May your ang bao's be this big and fat too! :)

Yes, we Chinese are so hopeful that our well-wishes are longer than 5 Thai names put together.

This being my mummy's year, my only wish is to be more like her. Selfless, patient, loving, and full of faith. She's taught me so much and showed me miraculous love beyond my comprehension. I don't know what I would do without her.

I love you, Mummy!

A New Phase

I hope 2012 is starting off well for most of you. :) I decided to have a new banner for MFY! Like the new look?

Very grateful for the help I got from a friend who kindly designed this banner for me. Do contact her at blythe.worx@gmail.com for enquiries on graphic design services.

Sorry for keeping this space totally untouched last month. It was a rough end to the year so I didn't allow myself to write while having my emotions scattered in places.

But not to worry, more updates to come! :) I know I still owe you guys the lowdown of Seoul (which mostly sucked by the way), so here's a promise that you'll see the good, the bad, and the ugly of Korea through my eyes very soon.

Thank you for keeping yourself glued here. ♥✗ Have a good Friday the 13th!

Bangs

I can be a sucker for novelty. You may see me with a shaved head one day, but crazy Britney did that already. So, I chose bangs instead.

Chopped my locks off just so I was in time for my birthday. (It was a month ago, but better late than never...) Kudos to Fiona of Salon Vim for continuing to change yet not deform me. ♥✗

Hoodie from ♥ ClubCouture ♥

All Salon Vim stylists will be working everyday from 9 Jan through 21 Jan!
Kindly make your appointment early to avoid disappointment! :P
It will be a mad rush this CNY but you will be pleased to know there will not be any price increment! (yay!)

Salon Vim will be closed from 22 Jan to 26 Jan.

You can call 68847757 for enquiries or appointments. Thank you! :)

2011, worst year of my life

And I hear that it is only gonna get worse... So why did I look forward to 2012 so much?

I'm not the person who says "new year new me *peace sign*". I've never been a believer of new years. Fiscal years, yes. Because they make factual sense.

Transitioning from 31st Dec to 1st of Jan is as mundane as emptying my bladder to me. Of course, I do find countdowns fun. Especially when it ends with a kiss at midnight. I know that's silly and extremely mundane. Maybe that's why I never had one before - too shallow that forces in my life won't allow that to happen. Hahahahaha.

Now why the change of attitude towards the new year?

For the simple reason that 2011 was downright horrid. Hence, I conveniently blamed it for the heap of bad luck and decided to believe that it wasn't my year - because the new one will be.

I have lost many things in 2011. Be it vices, virtues, or people. Then there was the part where I realised I let the wrong people in and made the wrong choices. Discouraging comments mounted on top and I grew to doubt myself more than ever. Too many ugly revelations, too much discouragement, too much poison. I second-guessed myself every subsequent step I took. But no matter how thumbed down I was, I never lost hope.

You may say call that a good thing but to be honest, I would get annoyed with myself for clinging on to that last frail bit of hope and forcing myself to keep going. What for when I've been proven wrong over and over again? Maybe I'm just everything wrong since I never saw things correctly. So why trust my own instincts?

Because this is Melissa Faith Yeo. I'm just confident/crazy/stubborn like that. Despite the mistakes I made. Especially because of the mistakes I made.

This year, I am getting what I want. I will be fearless and quit doubting myself no matter what I'm told.

Friends encouraged me by saying that things could only get better for me since it felt like rock bottom. I wish they were right but on the contrary, I KNOW things will only get harder. That really sucks. But what to do? Such is life. I can only prepare myself for all sorts of kicks and punches. Then finally see my hard work paying off. And instead of saying, "Boy, I can't wait for that to happen", I'm now saying, "It will happen".

Mother Monster said, "Never be afraid to be kicked in the teeth. Let the blood and the bruises define your legacy."

The roads are bumpy and all I have to rely on is blind faith. But that alone beats relying on poison.

The Pupil

Will make my much talked about (only by me *haha*) appearance on The Pupil this coming episode! At last huh? :p Look out for it tonight which is also the season finale, so for those who follow the series, you know it's gonna get exciting!

See a hunk already? That pretty boy with Adrian and Rebecca is our famous Utt (yes, the MTV Utt) who makes a come back on the last ep of this season. Hence, don't forget to tune in tonight, 10pm on Channel 5. :)

Before I go on, I believe the view alone got you excited so here are more photos to quench your curiosity!

I wonder how it feels working in an office like this. Must be a freakin' power-trip being able to look down at the best of Singapore!

Even Rebecca and Adrian couldn't resist snapping a few shots.

I had such g-r-e-a-t fun filming this production!!! Sad it was very brief (only 2 days). The production knew welfare - to put it very simply. Everyone was super polite and got along so well. Get this - the crew hardly slept the night before the shoot I was on. The best part was acting with these three very talented people!

Melissa as Melanie.

I may look like a lawyer, but I play a plaintiff called Melanie Zee. She sues Utt for molestation. LOLOLOL! Yea, how can anyone sue that guy right? For molestation some more! Even better... my character's story is grounded on breast augmentation. So MFY. Hahahaha! Told you this ep is exciting! :p

Me and the darling makeup artist, Lili.

These photos aren't included in tonight's episode, but make a date with this threesome anyway! :)

Flying Seoul-O!

Since I haven't touched the soil of northern Asia, I thought this called for a little adventure.

So one day, I sat down at my desk, did my necessary prep for Seoul, bought one of the cheapest tickets available and left after days (and days) of packing.

Sounds like I left all prepared right? I thought I was! But no, I wasn't. Not for many things - and certainly not the climate!

I knew it would be cold, so I brought my thickest clothes, coats, leg/arm warmers, gloves... I just didn't factor in this very huge and disturbingly prominent phenomenon called "global warming". Yea, heard of that? This irritant, known to be responsible for fucking up climate changes gave me a nice surprise by bringing winter forward! So yep, my adventure got a tad more exciting!

Was dreading my 2-hour transit, but I managed to sneak into a lounge at the airport! It was like... heaven!

After 1 week, I still can't decide if I like Seoul or not. That's bad right? I guess I had different expectations la.

I thought it was an exciting city that rivals that of neighbour capital, Tokyo. Also because of my Korean friends and those I interacted with before, I thought that people here were gentle, helpful, polite... What you see on TV, basically.

There are good things about this place, but when it gets crappy, things are just downright crappy. Seoul is intense. Extreme. Cold. OK I knew I was in for the cold, so I shouldn't be complaining.

It doesn't help that I don't like Korean food. Hey I don't know about you, but kimchi and MFY never got along. 9/10 chances I will get the runs.

A huge chunk of whether I like a city or not depends on its people and people here are... kinda weird! They are either unbelievably rude or ridiculously nice!

I have to give it to them that despite the language barrier, their service staff are generally friendly. But normal people, especially the older generation, can shock you with disgusting habits. Pushing is one.

I don't know about the culture here, but judging from the number of times I got pushed around, I'm just surprised I haven't been pick-pocketed! And yes, guys here push girls too. Gross huh! One guy shoved me in the chest with his elbow to make his way out of the subway... People here just don't respect personal space. Giving way is not a practice - so is apologising. They walk right into you, cross right in front of you, walk slowly in front of you - and it's alright to them.

So don't be surprised when I tell you it's a norm that people chew louder than they fart and cough without covering their mouths. Some asshole coughed in my hair too. No apologies or remorse after. He just rushed off like every other Korean here. Yes, it's hard to believe that this place is the neighbour of Japan. The impression I got from Seoul was that it is just a preview of China. *minus 1000 political points for MFY like she cares OK?

It's a rude shock, really. The other day, an old man stood between the outer train doors when he didn't make it in time to get in the train. So the train couldn't move and he stood there shouting at the train driver to open the door. A warden came to pull him out, but he fought the warden off with his walking stick. Hahaha! Drama huh?

Dude! Speaking of drama, I witnessed a woman breaking into hysterics the day I got here. I told you this place is intense!

But yesterday, I was walking down a precariously steep slope in my high-heeled boots alone and was on the verge of tipping over. A girl saw and she came running up to me to help. She didn't only make sure I didn't fall, she held BOTH my hands to walk me down. Best of all, I could see that she was freezing and couldn't wait to get home! The poor lady didn't even have leggings on, but she stopped to help regardless! ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

I was so touched, I kept smiling to myself after that. Warmed my ♥ so much that I immediately forgot half of the rude imbeciles I bumped into (literally) the past week here. I bless her with good sex for the rest of her life.

Anyway, enough of text. Onto photos now.

View of Sinchon from the studio apartment I'm putting up at.

Sorry, but this is the most of my room you'll get to see. Cos well see, I live erm... pretty simple here.

Yea, it's a holiday, but I don't call this an "adventure" for nothing you know.

I'm staying with a friend who uses a knife to cut his nails. Get the picture?

Day 1: In the midst of zipping from point A to B. If this were the movie In Time, I would be A-class ghetto!

First few days were pretty hectic (in the context of getting used to Seoul's weather). Getting settled down, buying necessities, familiarizing myself with the neighbourhood, getting to know people etc. All part of the game plan.

Wanna know what's the other part? Staying away from clubbing.

This was not a chore at all in Singapore, but whenever I'm at some place foreign, I make it a point to check out their night life. Feels like a waste, but I don't wanna waste hours sleeping in or nursing a hangover after a rough night and miss out on the chance to explore Seoul.

When I just got here, the weather was pretty merciful hence the skirt.

Shopping at COEX. Only managed to cover what I heard was a quarter as this place is gigantic.

Put this up just for kicks. The 1st day I travelled around on my own and felt smart. Lol...

Exploring Gangnam all by myself. :)

Sunset along the Han River. Took these shots while on the subway. Artistic, yes? ^.^

If there's one thing to love about Seoul, it has to be the subway system. Subway lines are easy to pick up and they run everywhere. Just throw me in any part of the city and I can find my way back myself.

A day never goes by without me taking shots of myself when I'm on my own. This is also what happens when I have a camera to pass time with.

Put the last photo up on ♥ Instagram ♥. I'm so hooked onto it since I got my iPhone! Follow me @Melissafaithyeo :)

Nam Dae Mun market. A must-visit for bargain hunters like me......... if you don't mind the excessive crowd of senior citizens here.

As with all good bargains, you just "gotta find lor". Meaning comb and explore the area + don't buy on impulse. Patience is virtue - for the pocket at least.

But maybe I should buy one of these instead of just posing with them? Hahaha!

I was pretty lukewarm on the shopping bit, but that was until I came to ♥ Hongdae ♥!!!

So glad I finally found a place I like! And as I said, service staff are commendable here. So unlike Bangkok where things are dirt cheap, but you get half-assed goods and services most of the time, Seoul has shopping catered towards quality. And the vain! :D

The initial plan was to head to Daegu after a week in Seoul for Thanksgiving, but I'm bailing out to explore the rest of Seoul. I may be undecided about this city, but at least it is keeping my curiousity as aroused as Day 1.

I better get out more before the weather gets worse then. :p