Appreciate

I'm now officially 25.

As much as I agree that "age is just a number" in some occasions, there are certain things that we gain only once we get older. One of them is being able to see things more clearly in a wider perspective.

So, this year, instead of being celebratorial, I intend to honour the day I was born by being appreciative.
Before that, have you checked out my birthday message that I prepared out of the blue?
Here you go!


I'm grateful to many people and for many things in my life. However, these are the top things I'm grateful for in particular from the period of my 24th birthday to my 25th.

1) The chance to complete my tertiary education



A special shout-out to my former professors, lecturers, tutors, and faculty staff members for their guidance and support~ I won't forget you all.

2) Getting to kick start my career



I've been learning valuable and interesting things day by day. I hope to keep improving.

3) Having meals and drinks everyday



Most days, I eat moderately so that I'll benefit from it financially and health-wise. However, there are days when I indulge in more 'glorious' food than usual.

4) The ability to move about



I'm telling you, walking and making use of public transportation are advantageous. It may feel a little tiring when you're not used to it yet, but in time, you'll benefit from it in several different ways. Hot weather? Sunblock, cap, sunglasses.. Rain? Umbrella, raincoat.. Haze? Mask, plain water.. Muscle soreness? Warm up, comfy footwear.. Might be late? Get ready early, plan your journey.. Security? Prepare a potential defence 'weapon', stay alert.. What more excuses do you have?

5) Technological devices



In this millennium, a lot of us can't live without our devices. I'm not helplessly dependent on technology, but I appreciate the convenience and possibilities that it offers.

6) The things I gain



Money isn't everything, but it's still very important. It represents materialistic value of things. To balance that, why not add holistic value to it by, perhaps, paying it forward and helping out those in need every now and then?

7) Being me



Most of all, I appreciate every opportunity I get to do things my way and try to be amazing at it. I may stumble along the way, but that's no big deal.

Best wishes to me!
Best wishes to you!
Best wishes to all!
God bless..

posted from Bloggeroid

My Fangirl Journey (90's to Present)

You might have heard of the term "fangirl" before. As straight-forward as the term suggests, it refers to a female who is a devoted supporter of a particular singer, dancer, actor, or celebrity. The male equivalent to it is known as "fanboy", although the number of fangirls always overshadow the number of fanboys. Nevertheless, fanboys are as significant as fangirls (though I personally think that fanboys are a little more precious and admirable).

Being a 'truly true' fangirl or fanboy is no child's play, let me tell you that. It has to happen voluntarily and naturally without being forced by peer pressure or trend. You need to feel it first before you can show it through your words and actions. It's different than a mere celebrity crush. Trust me, I've been living as a fangirl since the 90's. Happily, of course. :)

Here, today, I'm going to briefly share with you my journey as a fangirl so far.
Before that, please take note that being a fangirl or fanboy doesn't define our professional life (involving our education, career, etc.). It also isn't exactly our personal life (revolving around our connection with our family, friends, ourselves, etc.). The way I see it, being a fangirl or fanboy should have a category of its own. Seriously. Until we can come up with a brilliant name for it, let's call it fandom life, shall we?

90's onwards: Westlife (British Pop)



Westlife was the first group that I became a fangirl of. The group officially disbanded not too long ago but I'm glad that I got to be part of their fandom. It was their blend of vocals that captured me when I first listened to one of their songs. In the group, a few of them have strong, powerful vocals, fitting for main vocals in any song. The others have gentle, unique vocals, suitably perfecting a whole song with their harmony and enhancements. Westlife did a lot of cover versions of popular songs, originally sung by other singers. Some appeared to disapprove this, claiming that they should do more original songs. However, it never really bothered me because Westlife did the cover songs justice by delivering them in their best abilities and bringing the songs back to life. Plus, it's not like they did those cover versions without consent and proper crediting.

The top 3 cover songs that I enjoy the most are 'Butterfly Kisses', 'I'll Be Loving You Forever', and 'What About Now'. As for Westlife's original songs, my top 3 favourites are 'I Lay My Love On You', 'Every Little Thing You Do', and 'I Promise You That'.
[Let me tell you this. I'm TERRIBLE at narrowing my favourite songs to just 3 songs, but I need to.]

2007 onwards: The Click 5 (American Pop)



The Click 5 was the first band that I really like. The original 5 members learned music and practised together in Boston prior to their debut. I remember their sleek, clean-cut, tuxedo-wearing image from their debut album that caught my attention. Around the time of the band's debut, a local magazine at my place organised a contest with the band's debut CD as the prize. I joined the contest, which required participants to submit a participation form found inside the magazine's latest issue, and a few names would be randomly chosen as winners. I was one of the lucky winners! But before the contest winners were revealed, I bought The Click 5's CD from a music store since I fell in love with the band's songs. So, I have 2 copies of the same CD!
Quite briefly after the band debuted, the main vocalist had to leave the band, which broke my young heart into pieces. ㅠㅠ I even blogged about it as my first ever blog post on my old, no-longer-functional blog site, as pictured above. I managed to keep myself okay and welcomed the new main vocalist. Eric, the original frontman of the band, has a tender, melodious vocal, whereas Kyle, the new frontman, has a sharp, funky vocal. That made the band felt different when Eric left but they were still awesome as a band.

My top 3 favourite songs by The Click 5 are 'Just The Girl', 'Say Goodnight', and 'When I'm Gone'.

2008 onwards: Jonas Brothers (American Pop) & McFly (British Pop)



Yes, I was one of the young souls who adored the Jonas Brothers when they were at the beginning of their career as singers. The idea of brothers being together in a band, combined with the talents that the brothers all have, was simply irresistible. Enough said..

My top 3 Jonas Brother's songs are 'When You Look Me In The Eyes', 'Hold On', and 'Just Friends'.

Then, I also discovered an amazing British band known as McFly. Boy, they're incredible! Normally, a band has one frontman or main vocalist. It's different with this band - they have two! The two main vocalists have different vocal strengths, enabling them to complement each other in their songs. Now that I think of it, Tom (McFly) is kind of like Eric (The Click 5), while Danny (McFly) is kind of like Kyle (The Click 5), vocals-wise. But unlike the case of The Click 5, where one main vocalist had to replace the other, McFly can go on with both of their wonderful main vocalists.

Out of all McFly's songs, my top 3 favourites are 'All About You', 'I'll Be Okay', and 'Sorry's Not Good Enough'.

2009 onwards: Arashi (Japanese Pop)



I knew Arashi pretty late. I figured out about them almost ten years after the group's debut. It was probably because J-pop has always been a little more reserved when it comes to promoting overseas. Only a few years ago, J-pop has really started to explore more options to go global. Good for them! Before liking J-pop (the music), I grew fond of Japan through J-dramas and J-movies. All five members of Arashi have always been quite active as actors too, alongside their career as singers. It was through Arashi's youngest member, MatsuJun's drama, '花より 団子' (Hana Yori Dango; Boys Over Flowers) that I was introduced to Arashi, who sang the theme song of the drama. In fact, Arashi sang the theme songs for all two series of the drama and the movie finale. It didn't take me long to dig through Arashi's songs for the past years and I liked what I found. So, I became a fan quite instantly.

The top 3 Arashi's songs that I love the most are 'Hero', '瞳の 中の Galaxy' (Hitomi No Naka No Galaxy; The Galaxy Inside Your Eyes'), and '明日の 極端' (Ashita No Kyoku; Memories of Tomorrow).

2010 onwards: BEAST (Korean Pop)



At this point of time, BEAST members are the kings of my heart. They just are! To be very honest, I never wanted to become involved in anything K-pop-related because I felt intimidated and unsure of how 'healthy' it would be to be part of something that mainstream. I refused to give K-pop a chance, not even a tiny little glance. I would arrogantly say to myself "Walk away, Pris~ It's not worth it." How silly of me.. LOL So, how did I fall head over heels for BEAST? It seemed to me that it happened by accident, or how I like to call it, by destiny. It was my freshman year in university and I was having my lunch break by myself in a mall because I felt like driving out of campus for that two-hour break. After having my meal, I stopped by at a music store. In the promoted section right in front of the counter, something quite bulky caught my eyes. I picked it up and that was the start of my B2UTY-destiny fulfilment. I bought it, which turned out to be BEAST's second mini album with a T-shirt, and listened to the CD in the car as I drove back to campus. There are many great things that I can say about BEAST, but I would be exhausted by the time I finish talking (or typing) about them. To sum it up, I love how talented, loving, and humble the members are. Thank you for everything, BEAST!

If I had to choose my top 3 BEAST's songs, they would most likely be 'Oasis', 'You', and '니가 보고싶어지면' (Niga Bogoshipeojimyeon; When I Miss You).

2012 onwards: BTOB (Korean Pop)



BTOB is the latest (and hopefully the last) added group that I'm really a fangirl of. After BEAST, I vowed to myself that I might not be able to divide my support and attention any further. True enough, BEAST is irreplacable to me. But because of BEAST, I had the chance to get to know BTOB even before BTOB officially debuted. BTOB is BEAST's junior group, under the same entertainment agency. I freely checked out BTOB because at first glance, some of the members reminded me of BEAST, visually and as a first impression. Now, I love the group because they are not only multi-talented, but interesting when all seven personalities collide.

The top 3 songs by BTOB that I enjoy the most are 'Wow', '뛰뛰빵빵' (Dwi Dwi Bang Bang; Beep Beep), and '킅난 건 가요' (Keutnan Geon Gayo; Is It The End).


Alright!
That's my fangirl journey so far.

posted from Bloggeroid

Personal Financial Management, My Way

Whenever mom reminds me to manage my finance well now that I'm working professionally, I always jokingly answer "I know, I know. I'm a Finance graduate, remember?". ㅋㅋㅋ

As much as it's true that I'm indeed a Finance graduate from the dearly missed Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS), the truth is, it doesn't matter what major someone took in university, or whether or not someone has graduated from any tertiary institution. We ALL need a proper personal financial plan. By planning and managing our finance well, we can rest assure that our daily necessities will be attainable and accessible. Once we get what we need, we can touch on what we want or desire.

There's no denying that the cost of living is getting higher and our liabilities can easily overshadow our assets these days. Therefore, it's not a petty matter at all when we talk about personal financial management.

I'm aware that every individual has his or her own way or method. As long as your way works fine for your lifestyle, by all means, go for it.

Here's my way of managing my personal finance.
First, I set up my principle, which outlines my focus when it comes to managing my own finance. My principle is to make sure that I abide by these two 'rules' - (i) to keep my priorities straight, and (ii) to practise some discipline in my spending.
If I ever feel lost, unsure, or tempted, I take a moment to think about those two 'rules'.

So, every month when I receive my salary, I utilise it in a pre-determined flow.
The flow may slightly change in the future as my circumstances may evolve, but for now, here's the flow.
(1) Receive salary -- (2) Pay mandatory expenses -- (3) Save -- (4) Buy gifts for family and pets -- (5) Do charity -- (6) Reward myself

(1) Receive salary
- I won't specify exactly how much I get paid per month, but I'll just state that my starting basic salary as an employee of an international financial institution in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia is somewhere in between MYR 2,000 to 3,000 per month.
- Every month, a tiny percentage of my salary automatically goes to my Employee Pension Fund (EPF) and Social Security Organisation (SOCSO) fund.

(2) Pay mandatory expenses
- My mandatory monthly expenses include rental (RM450, combined with utilities and residential association), public transportation (RM50 reload of transportation card), daily meals (RM450, including occasional purchase of Gloria Jean's coffee, or Starbucks coffee, or Secret Recipe desserts), mobile phone reload (RM60 for normal calling, texting, and mobile internet subscription) grocery shopping (RM150, usually at ISETAN Food Market or 99 Speedmart), and healthcare/ beauty shopping (RM100, usually at Watson's).

(3) Save
- For now, I allocate at least RM100 for my bank's saving account.
- I allocate another RM150 for my Amanah Saham Bumiputra (ASB) account, a trust fund for Bumiputra Malaysians.

(4) Buy gifts for family and pets
- Mom always tells me to focus on myself, especially since I'm rather new at this whole working adult notion, but every now and then, I like to get a little something for those back home when I have the chance.
- Plus, it helps to feed my burning passion for shopping.

(5) Do charity
- I believe in "paying it forward", where we do something nice for others, not because we feel obliged to, but because we simply want to.
- As of now, I'm particularly supporting World Vision (www.worldvision.com.my) through their Sponsor A Child programme and Education fund.
- I also support Malaysian Dogs Deserve Better (www.facebook.com/MalaysianDogsDeserveBetter).

(6) Reward myself
- Needless to say, this is my favourite part. However, I always make sure that it's the LAST one in line. This way, I can truly enjoy every moment without feeling uncertain or guilty.
- My favourite ways of rewarding myself include shopping for outfits, watching movies at the cinema, café-hopping, getting my hair treated or done at the salon, or going for a karaoke session. (I have more care-free and fun activities to add on the list, to be frank. LOL)
- Aside from the above-listed activities, I also reward myself by going for a trip. This requires a mid-or-long term kind of planning, especially for overseas destination.

So, there you go!
I shall monitor and enhance my personal financial management as time goes by because I want to have a balance between being stable and flexible.

More than anything, I really really really hope that everyone realises the need to properly manage one's finance, regardless of how much we earn and how many dependents we have. Work something out and don't stress out. Let's not take this lightly, alright?

posted from Bloggeroid