White Day (ホワイトデー Howaito Dē)

I turned up for Shiseido White Day on 14 March only to learn that this is a special day practised in Japan and South Korea. Someone mentioned Taiwan, but I’m not too sure about that. Anyone?

Apparently, in Japan, Valentine’s Day (14 Feb) is observed by females who present chocolate gifts (either store-bought or handmade), usually to a male, as an expression of love, courtesy or social obligation. A handmade chocolate is usually preferred by the receiver, because it is a sign that the receiving male is the girl’s “only one”. On White Day, the converse happens: males who received a honmei-choco (本命チョコ?, “chocolate of love”) or giri-choco (義理チョコ?, “courtesy chocolate”) on Valentine’s Day are expected to return the favor by giving gifts, usually more expensive. (Taken from Wikipedia)

I’m not too sure this is something that will catch on in Singapore, but I reckon one month is too much time given to the men to consider a lady’s “proposal”. It would be such a torture for the ladies who are waiting!

Nonetheless, I had a lot of fun at the event, with 2 lovely hosts and invited guests all dressed in white. It was a very pretty sight!

It was hard to keep from laughing and smiling because the two guys were so funny! Bobby and Leslie. I hope I didn’t get their names wrong, if I did, I’m sorry and please leave me a comment!

One of the non-smiling moments.

I shared with the crowd some of my personal beauty tips.

Then there was a lucky draw with some lovely prizes. I made a face because there were so many names, I felt bad for those whose names I didn’t manage to pick.

Signing on a pledge.

Beauty bloggers and I with our pledge.

A very fragrant bouquet of lilies was presented to me! They made my car smell so good after.

And oh, please don’t forget to vote for me in Systema’s  Most Charming Smile award here.

Love in a Cab — Rolling…Pre-Action

What happens in between takes?

On this set, lots of fun and laughter!

Xing Ang and I as high school sweethearts.

Some of you might recognise Jones Shi, a local singer who is currently developing his music career in Taiwan.

Auntie Rose and I

Julian and Auntie Rose

Kae is so adorable I'm absolutely in love with him! He was supposed to teach me how to play Cluedo on his iPod Touch but he ended up taking over the entire game.

We have an audience...some of them eventually went up the structure and watched us from behind the grills.

Another audience seating...

They have made themselves very comfortable.

Director with his cast

 

If you missed this heart-warming telemovie, you can now catch Love in a Cab on xinmsn!

Love in a Cab — Love out of a Cab

Director Han is such a humourous and easy-going person to work with, that I decided to do a series of pictures to show just how much I love him!

Love in A Cab — Joanne the Artist

Showing off my artistic talents…hahaha!

Ok, I don’t think I got the England flag right!

Love in A Cab – Remember this scene?

Remember this scene?

What you do not see outside of your television screen that goes into producing a beautiful shot.

Make-up artiste Doreen doing last minute touch-up

The final moment

Flamed by the YOG Flame?

My involvement with YOG began when I was invited to be one of the torchbearers. It was one of those opportunities that probably come once in a lifetime!

It was a huge privilege and honor to represent MediaCorp TV and my particular Journey of the Youth Olympic Flame started on the 7th August at lamppost 73 along Marymount Road.

Steven Chia was representing News and Shan Wee for Radio.

We had to report at CHIJ Toa Payoh that rainy morning and was told not to bring anything that couldn’t fit into our shorts pocket.

Here's Shan passing me the torch along Marymount Road.

The torch weighed 700g and wasn’t as heavy as I thought it would be, which I think is significant because the YOG spirit was never meant to be a burden.

The fact that many torchbearers come from all walks of life goes to show that YOG is not just for athletes or youths. It’s an event that everyone can participate!

After I completed my 100m, I hopped on the bus and headed to RI where there were a few interviews carried out.

Speaking of which, there was one that got some buzz on the Internet forums.

This is a perfect example on how using emotionally charged words in headlines can completely twist the story and mislead the reader.

I don’t know for sure, but I highly doubt it’s the reporter’s call because if that was her angle, it would have unveiled itself in the story. You see, she would have to interview people to get quotes to support her story.

Some potential interviewees would be:

The torchbearer after me – to ask if she felt she waited too long for me to arrive;

my support runners – if mine was the slowest run of the day;

and definitely the organizers – to find out the consequences (if any) as a result of my “selfish” act.

Now wouldn’t that be a story! But since there was nothing in her story to suggest that she was trying to fault me for my “selfish act”, I presumed the headline was designed by someone else after the story was written, which is not uncommon practice according to what I studied in journalism school.

I believe that if someone impartial were to read the article without first seeing the headlines, that would not be the natural conclusion they arrive at. Although I wouldn’t go as far as to completely rule out the possibility.

It’s easy to misunderstand the first paragraph in the absence of a full context because the reader has not been informed of it. The article did not include what was briefed to the torchbearers prior to our run; nor did I tell the reporter what my support runners said to me during my run. Even though these mundane information provide a context, which will allow the reader to better form their judgement, they just don’t add value to the story and is often not the focus of an article, in a newspaper whose main aim is to sell papers!

Having said that, it’s sad that whoever chose the headlines had to put a dampener on the celebration of something as rare as this. It was a day where strangers came together, regardless of race, age, gender, occupation, to support and cheer one another on like friends and made us truly one united people.

I’ve never been more proud that my country is hosting the YOG.

Go for the Gold!

Channel 8 TVC

Have you seen this?

All in a day’s work

Early in the morning at Fort Canning.

Doing my warm up

Stretching my legs before I conquer the flight of steps

Close-up of my eyes

The make-up artiste touching up my lipstick

Director James briefing me

Pluck at Haji Lane

Still at Pluck, they have really good home-made ice-cream. The flavours always change but they're all good! I'm not a fan of Baileys but they have very good Baileys ice-cream. And Earl Grey and Fig!

Blissful!

Pretending that I'm talking to someone when I'm actually gesturing to the air.

How it looks on camera.

It's funny I have lingerie holders above my head!

One of the owners of A Thousand Tales was asked to be in the shot so we had a little chat.

Her daughter also has a mole on her lip, so I kept telling her I'm her sister!

Goofing around

Blending into the surroundings

We had to pretend to have a conversation about music, it was so funny because we were just blabbing and moving!

Director said I blend into the background and looked quite spooky!

The crew and me.

《想握你的手》如何改造我？

最近花了一点时间剪辑这段幕后花絮，想与大家分享我在饰演自己妈妈的造型上下了些什么功夫。希望大家会喜欢！

Here’s the English version of the video, which showcases what has been done to create a 56 year-old look for me in the upcoming 180 episode long drama.

抢先看《想握你的手》

《想握你的手》

Your Hand In Mine

大家如果想抢先看《想握你的手》的预告片，记得明天（8月 9 日），晚上9点45分，锁定八频道哦！

If you’d like to catch a first glimpse of “Your Hand In Mine”, remember to tune in at 9.45 pm, tomorrow (9 August) on Channel 8!

Jetstar-ring Me!

之前说到出国，是为了拍广告。很快会和大家分享我的一些照片啦！

Yes, I’m the Jetstar girl! It’s been really exciting shooting the commercial and I’d be sharing my travel pictures and experience with everyone soon. In the meantime, you have a reason to go on a holiday! Check out the commercial and the fare deals!