593 friends

Do I really have 593 friends? No.

Do I have 593 Facebook friends? Yes.

How many good friends do I really have? 15.

The truth. 15 is a number I am not ashamed of. 15 great friendships that I know I can count on. I have them in my priority list and I know I'm in theirs. Quality over quantity. What good can come from keeping toxic friends anyway right?

So what kind of friends do I have for the rest of my 578 FB friends? Here's the breakdown of types of friends I have based on my experiences with them:

BOOTY-CALL Friends who call you only when they need you. To be fair, at least they are not faking it.

FIRST BASE You meet them for the first time, you receive a friend request. Approve thinking 'yeah we'll hang out soon' and then never see them ever again and thinking they have you on FB to just stalk you. 

PARTY HOPPER Friends who jump around crowds of friends. Those who never stick around because they are always searching for the right crowd that defines who they are at that certain moment.

PEEKABOO Friends who decides to hang out with you only because no one else is free to hang out with them. When the right moment comes, they ditch you. 

VACANT Friends who are only friends that you have fun with but are the most difficult people to have conversations, in basically anything.

FRENEMY We all know what this means. We know, they know and yet we still pretend, believing it is alright and healthy.

HAWKERS Friends who brag or seek attention way too much that it is humanely impossible to take in. I'm not impressed.

PEACOCKS Friends who only hang out with you for the purpose of showing off to their group of friends. That well, they have a lot of friends. Do you see them often after that? No. What do you call them in other words? ASSHOLES.

CIRCLES Friends who are just friends inside the circle. School, work etc. Are we really friends outside those areas? Not really.

I am sure I'm in one of those categories for you. But my point is, why do we still keep those who either take away our happiness or do not even give any impact in our life? Why is it hard for us to let go? Insecurities?

To be honest, I can't tolerate any more shit from friends whom I thought I can count on, those who I have invested emotionally, and the time I have spent picking up their messy pieces. 

I take my friendships seriously. I'm always honest, I keep in touch, I always do my best to make time for all my friends and love them dearly. But it's hard to be the only one who's doing the job.

I think it's time I prioritize and spring clean my facebook friends. It would definitely make me a happier person. This is a very frank post, for I am a honest person to begin with, you should know...well that's if you are really my friend.

Hope you had a better day than I did! 

DREAM A LITTLE DREAM

A new year brings new dreams for me to reach. Devotee was my baby and it has been 6 years since my first hand painted tshirt. I'm still working on Devotee but am waiting for the right time to do it big. Now, seems to be a good year to start a new venture and I've been working on it since July 2011. Planning, researching, stressing out...oh you know the usual. 

Dreaming is always easy but making it happen, is hard. Along the way, heart is telling me to go for it but when all the planning details are in black and white, you just have to step back a bit and think with your head (especially when you are lacking in the financial department. That alone already is a roller coaster ride which I will not torture you with. It is a bit of an emotional story). Looking at figures, looking at your competitors. Thinking to myself..."will this work, if it does, for how long?" Always in doubt. I was not sure of what to do up til now but I feel like passion is the most powerful tool in life. So, I will put 100% faith in this. 

So my friends, my new venture is in lingerie and shapewear. I'm launching Sneak a peek (www.sneakapeekonline.net) coming soon 5th of March offering Malaysians and overseas customers a variety of bras, briefs, nightwear, bodysuit and more that has design substance at affordable prices. I'm focusing more on trying to find sexy, flirty, fashion forward pieces and I truly love all of them. Hopefully, Malaysians can see why I love it too. 

For the past few months, I've been working with the webmaster, graphic designer, the photographer and other professionals to help me on Sneak a peek. Below are just some pictures to show you, you just have to wait for 5th of March to see it all! 

Packaging done by one of my talented friend, Zam Nayan from Huri.

Lookbook and name cards.

Much need sorting out pronto!

Inspiration board for the lookbook shoot! Vision people vision!

Another venture of mine, which has been since end of November is my baking business that I share with my sister, called Baked ! We do cookies, brownies and whoopie pies. We make custom packaging for our customers and do corporate orders as well! So far, so good. We love making them and our customers keep coming back for more. What's not to love about this business?

Although, there is a huge confusion going on. Apparently, one of my friends is doing the same thing with the same business name and with a similar font. To top it all off, they are promoting their cookies which is what we are also known for. This happened a few weeks after we have start running the business online. Coincidence? You can never know. But it sure is annoying to have the same circle of friends telling you the news that you already know. 

With us doing fine anyway, I guess we shall see. Hard work pays off right? After all, we have been reviewed by Time Out KL, which you can read it here!

Yes Devotees, I am super busy because I'm juggling these two new ventures of mine. Oh.. forgot to mention, I'm working as a marketing assistant at Syomir Izwa which is a 10-5.30pm job. How do I deal with this? To be honest, no idea. Once back from work, I bake til 10/11pm then do Sneak a peek for a few hours. EVERYDAY. My back hurts like hell, I'm constantly tired and somehow I feel like people should give me more credit to be honest. (hahaha)

I work hard. I want to work hard because life is not easy and now that I'm all grown up, I appreciate money so much more and how it is so damn hard to earn money. I don't know how my parents did it but I'm blessed to be having the life I have now and I can't thank my parents enough for supporting me in all of this. Not everyone knows the meaning of being supportive and actually being supportive, which most of my close friends are not (which sucks but oh well). But when times are tough, is when you appreciate the ones that do. To be honest, my family is the only support system that is driving me to work hard in this.

That being said, I'm not trying to say none of my friends don't support me, but of course none that came close to the sacrifice and support that my family continues to give.

( and...I shall stop now before getting emotional..)

To end this, I appreciate all of you who are reading this, as usual if you have been here sharing my life throughout my early years with Devotee then I thank you in advance for sharing a new chapter with Sneak a peek and Baked.

Please do give us a visit at the links below. 

www.facebook.com/BakedKL

www.bakedkl.blogspot.com

www.sneakapeekonline.net ( Launches 5th of March )

www.facebook/com/Sneakapeekonline ( Launches 5th of March )

To end this post, I shall share a few quotes from the inspiring Nelson Mandela, which I will hold onto throughout my new journey...

“It always seems impossible until it's done.” 

“Lead from the back — and let others believe they are in front.” 

“It is not where you start but how high you aim that matters for success.” 

“A winner is a dreamer who never gives up” 

Do you have ventures of your own? Please share it with me. I love to support independent labels as you all already know..

GENTLY DOWN THE STREAM

I don't think I can remember the last time I went back to my kampung in Kedah. I remembered when I was little, my cousins and I always make time to have a splash in the river. Conveniently, it was just opposite my grandma's house and with the cool breeze at night, no such thing as a bad sleep! Visiting Alang Manja definitely reminded me of those memories. 

We went for a day trip there and I seriously wish I could have experienced a night or two at Alang Manja. Definitely worth a visit if you need to get away from the chaotic city life. Hiking in the morning, some fun in the river in the afternoon, tea in the evening, barbeque and karaoke at night! Do I really need to write down a long list of things you can do here?

Enjoy the photos down below and please check out Alang Manja for more information. Talk to you soon, Devotees!

images: Feisk Productions

p/s: Anyone wants to join me for my next visit to Alang Manja? =)

WINTER DELIGHT

I had my brief winter holiday in Istanbul with 49 other visitors including my parents. Thought it would be just windy but oh my, I forgot how cold it could be. Freezing but thank goodness no rain was brought upon us to spoil our days there. We explored the city of Istanbul for a week and I fell in love with the city on my very first day. Honest. 

It is so beautiful. Of course, like any tourist's itinerary, I went to visit all the must-sees and I do believe they are all a must! The mosques and the view especially. So detailed in their architecture and just a lot of history. I loved it! 

I got to see the stick of Prophet Moses and the beard of Prophet Muhammad. On my last day, we went the see a ceremony called Whirling Dervishes. If you have no idea what it is, here's a pic!

image: trekearth

Indescribable. I love Istanbul so much I asked from our professional tourist guide about work visa. Yes! No kid.  

I'm not going to drag you any further. I let the pictures do the talking. Enjoy the photos, Devotees! Do share with me your experiences if you have been here.

( in no particular order)

p/s: Any other places I must explore? 

*Please email me first before using any of my photos