Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Another White Man Admiration (另一種白人崇拜)

In Asia there's white man admiration.

In Singapore, their white man admiration includes... Korean. As Singaporeans are already too familiar with Caucasian presence, their white man admiration has already, largely, transferred to Korean.

All that Hallyu stars and melo dramas add to the Korean popularity, making people fantasize with tall and cool Korean handsome man, romantic winter scenery in Korea, leggy girl groups that represent fashion, and the mysterious and macho sounding Korean language.

Korean products, at the same time, are being portrayed as safe and elite delicacies - from strawberries, eggs(!), apples, to tomatoes(!!!).

You might attribute to the success of Korean government's cultural or agricultural export policy, but... not quite, as this alone is insufficient in explaining why the same phenomenon is not witnessed to the same extent in other developed Asian countries like Taiwan or Hong Kong.

It seems that Singaporean locals, with their average shorter body and darker skin, are looking up to Korean who are supposedly with taller figure and fairer complexion, just like how they used to view the civilized Caucasian.

Why is it so? It's just an aspect of human society, that people tend to look up to an idol existence. So yesterday it could be Caucasian, today it can be Korean, and tomorrow it will be something else. Duh, I hope I don't sound like racist.



在亞洲大家崇拜白人。

在新加坡,這個白人崇拜的對象還包括...韓國人。也許新加坡對正宗白人過於熟悉,崇拜對象轉移到了陌生的韓國 - 這個國家,有著浪漫白色耶誕節、高大英挺的男人、長腿時尚正妹、及神秘又具男子氣概的韓文。

崇拜的具體內容除了那些韓流明星、韓劇、韓國草莓、韓國雞蛋(這很扯,我之前寫過),最近我還發現,連韓國小番茄都上榜惹!!!

完全歸功於韓國政府的文化/農業/高科技產品出口政策並不夠,因為這無法解釋,為何在台灣或香港這樣類似發展檔次的地方,無法見到新加坡這種程度的韓國崇拜。

有時我總感覺,這些相較矮小黝黑的本地人,是仰著頭在崇拜著那些皮膚白皙身材高大的韓國人,正同他們過去景仰歐美白人一樣。

也許可以這樣理解,這種崇拜是出自於人性的崇拜本能,人們總能找到一些可供崇拜的存在;過去是白人,現在是韓國人,以後當然還會有別人。

Saturday, June 25, 2011

HELLO LOCLE & LOW CLASSIC SPRING 2011 REVIEW

(ALL IMAGES COURTESY OF LOW CLASSIC)
LOW CLASSIC has been putting effort in another label - LOCLE.
正.翻.了. LOW CLASSIC最近出了新副牌LOCLE。


What a difference - Colorful, plentiful, a blend of bubbly American and refined Korean. Their models as stunning as usual, looking a whole lot healtheir than those from LOW CLASSIC(ha!).
取向和LOW CLASSIC很不同 - 繽紛的配色,零瑣的配件,一看就不是我的菜。小模還是正到令人發抖,看起來比LOW CLASSIC的健康很多。


LOW CLASSIC SPRING 2011 REVIEW
KC got this look book in his visit to their pop up store @ Hyundai Department Store in Mokdong.
KC在他們在木洞現代百貨的pop up store拿了這本Lookbook. 順便幫我買了幾件新衣服:) 設計師李小姐也在場,她還記得我們,也答應KC的合照要求(不過她不讓登在網路上,明明就照得很正~)。


Left is my 2nd fav LOW CLASSIC model. I wanna buy whatever she wears.
Like this, Canvas Chain Bag.
左邊那個是他們家的小模第二名(我自己排的),她穿什麼我都想穿,可惜我沒那身材,不過配件倒是沒什麼限制。


I ♥ this canvas chain bag.
我很愛這個包,多用途,質材輕,可放很多東西,上班也可以背。

Sunday, June 19, 2011

too cool for school, too much to drool

韓國美妝品牌實在太多了,當這場美妝競爭開始出現互相抄襲、品牌形象混亂、人工香味越來越重而品質越來越低落,剩下的戰場只剩明星代言。當我有點厭倦那些不知所以然的新品牌後,too cool for school的出現讓我眼睛一亮。同時,它也是目前唯一不靠明星代言還可以製造話題的品牌(以下按圖放大)。

too cool for school (투쿨포스쿨) 是韓國美妝店 toda cosa (토다코사) 的自有品牌,早先在toda cosa店內設櫃販售,2010年開始設立獨立店面,一號店於2010年5月在弘大開幕,迄今共有4家店面。在美妝品牌林立的韓國市場,too cool for school定位自家品牌為design beauty shop(디자인 뷰티숍),每項單品從包裝、功能、設計,皆傳達了注重趣味性(fun)和功能性(functionality)的品牌概念。

棉花糖粉撲(머쉬멜로우퍼프)是店內熱賣商品之一,白的是大的(5000won),粉紅是小的(4500won)。


這兩小傢伙實在太可愛了! 功能性也是沒話說,邊邊角角是依照臉部的各種線條所設計;底部用來打大面積的粉底(粉狀、膏狀、霜狀、液狀皆可)、尖端可用做點狀遮瑕,或鼻翼的細部修飾、游泳圈的部位可以用來上頰彩或兩頰修容。  

參考用法圖(source)
它的材質非常細密,可以畫出很細緻的妝容,清洗的時候,一捏它,手皮都感覺要被吸進去了。洗過好幾次後,狀態還是跟新的一樣,沒有掉屑或膨脹的現象,品質贏過好幾家專櫃海綿。
 
 
這個純粹是買可愛的,畢竟我沒有用睫毛膏的習慣,但我就是點~點~控~啊~


做為"design beauty shop",購物袋(袋上圖案跟提把是連在一起的!)和小贈品(粽子狀的face wash)都貫徹了品牌精神。


too cool for school還有一些cross over德籍插畫家Anke Weckmann的話題商品,這是最新商品之一-Emma Pouch化妝包(엠마 파우치,source)。


購買商品上面都會貼有"All Mine!"黃色貼紙,那些可愛又頗具質感的小物是會讓人產生擁有的衝動,但我什麼都不缺,理智的沒敗其他東西。too cool for school目前在弘大新林洞明洞、以及狎鷗亭有它風格獨特的店面,上圖是明洞店。

Friday, June 17, 2011

飛行日記 : SQ879經濟艙 TPE-SIN

Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport T2 Gate D6
若非早鳥優惠,我不知何時才有機會再搭SQ。台北直飛新加坡年票SQ早鳥優惠價19k有找,CX的轉機票要將近2萬。另一個plus,最近在攢Asiana Gold member,同是星空聯盟的SQ里程數可以百分百累計。讚一個。


搭乘日期14th Jun 2011,航班號SQ879(A330-300),台北到新加坡,經濟艙。

踏入機艙,感覺格外舒適,空間適中,配色和諧。座椅稍硬,設施一應俱全,小桌板及椅背雜誌袋的設計有許多揪感心細節,略有商務艙架勢,10.6吋的電視螢幕據稱是當前經濟艙最大的size。


SQ的機上娛樂系統KrisWorld很威,台數多到轉台要用按鍵輸入而不是上下翻找,電影、電視劇、音樂、遊戲,總數多達上千個。螢幕解析度跟我常飛的CX比起來,是令人落淚的清晰(剛好轉到台灣設計師Jason Wu專訪,他的口才真好)。

Food-wise... 以TPE到SIN這4.5小時的航程而言,整體流程很周到,剛上機就有兩回飲料服務,種類多元,還提供Singapore Sling(雖然做得有點隨便啦,但誠意可嘉)。餐點品質就比較科科了,名副其實經濟艙水平;當摸到小餐包的溫度是冷的我的期待值頓時低落,接著看到餐點附的餅乾更為滅火,主餐是番茄醬配蒸魚,冷冷的,頗鹹。因為餐點不太令人興奮,相片也沒打算好好照。餐後的Häagen-Dazs以及濃烈的黑咖啡很有誠意,加了不少分。

上機前提供的報紙貌似有7、8種,中英文報紙外,印象中還有淡米爾語,很符合新加坡多元族群的形象。

抵達新加坡時是在T3,剛好是通往市區的地鐵所在的航廈,對於行李多又想搭地鐵的而言,這點比起在T1的CX有加到不少分。講到這裡,我其實沒有要比較CX跟SQ的意思,哈哈,畢竟我對CX還是有很特殊的情感 :)

source
喔,還想提一下,為什麼新航官網的On board experience頁面,與艙等介紹並列的,還有Singapore Girl這個欄目? 對於對性別議題稍微敏感的我而言,無語了一下。

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

台製森永牛奶糖

以前在韓國的美妝店Olive Young有看過台灣製的這兩款森永牛奶糖(英式紅茶與日式抹茶口味),但沒敢貿然嘗試,畢竟價錢翻了兩翻,不好吃我不人財兩失了嗎。果然,韓國敢進口的東西,基本上都不會太難吃。抹茶口味要跟日本原版的比還是有差不少,不過以一包35塊錢的價格來看,CP表現還是不錯的。

Friday, May 27, 2011

The Seoul Elements I Adore (我所想念的首爾)

CNNGo released a report on Wednesday - 50 Reasons Why Seoul is the World's Greatest City. Whether you think Seoul the greatest city in the world or NOT (like me, haha), this is an interesting read you sohuldn't miss.
CNNGo 周三刊登了一篇文章 - 為什麼首爾是世界最讚的城市的50個理由. 不管你同不同意,這是篇值得一讀的文章。對我來講,首爾不是我最愛的城市,畢竟在那度過那麼痛苦的被歧視經歷我難道會爽這個城市嗎,但是住了那麼些時候,它總是有許許多多讓我想念的理由。這篇文章裡也提到了幾個,我在後面加上我的個人腳註(原文的腳註,請移駕該文閱讀)。

Let me single out some highlights (more specifically the ones I myself appreciate), with my personal opinions
#50 From bomb shelters to bull markets (從廢墟到繁華) - Salute to the post Korean War years, and the generations that bring us what we enjoy today 向後韓戰時期的苦難歲月、以及胼手胝足創造這個城市的今日的那兩代人致敬。偉大的不是城市,是你們
#49 More side dishes than main dishes (比主餐還豐盛的小菜) - Hospitality and generosity are what I like about Korean the most. It's also embodied in their food culture 韓國人的大器是我欣賞的一點,這點也體現在飲食文化。
#48 World's most wired city (世界第一的網路覆蓋率)  - Pampered by Seoul's high-tech convenience,  you will suffer when you move to any other city in the world 習慣了首爾的便利,當你甫移至其他城市時,多少會因不習慣而痛苦一陣子
#47 Best airport in the world (世界第一的機場) - Agree with it or not (my answer is not, coz Hong Kong International Airport is my No. 1 forever!), it is awesome 同意與否,這個機場真的、真的很棒
#43 Beautiful women (正妹) - I do not think Korean girls are pretty, but they do possess better skin and fairer figure than girls of probably the rest of the world. Plus, they are pretty stylish (though in a pretty universal fashion, haha!) 我不覺得韓妹有多美,但她們膚質佳,身型好,而且很會打扮(僅管風格都差不多) 
#42 Beautiful men (美男) - "Who cares if they wear BB Cream, we'll keep staring." Ewe, the BB Cream comment is quite true, like the Korean guy sitting behind me in office (but I don't stare at him at all, he's very annoying) 原文說,"韓國男人臉上擦BB霜又怎樣,我們還是愛看",這個BB霜評價是真(畢竟我後面的走man路線的韓國男同事也光明正大的把自己的BB霜擺在桌上,有圖有真相) ,不過我才不想看他,因為他很煩
#40 Green tiramisu (綠茶提拉米蘇) - I've never been to the tart café Duex Cremes it recommended, however, Seoul is indeed a city of Western delicacies - and a lot of them are actually local brands, who are able to produce as good tastes as Western famous brands 聽起來就有夠讚。我沒嚐過文中推薦的那家店,不過我是去過不少很讚的首爾咖啡館,他們供應的點心不輸給西方的知名蛋糕店
#28 Excellence in flights (傑出的機艙服務) - Best evidence - I am going on Asiana Gold Member soon! 最好的證據是...我馬上就要升到韓亞航空的黃金貴賓啦!
#27 Heated floors (暖炕) - If you've ever lived in a cold place besides Korea, you'll just miss how close-to-your-heart(揪感心) it is. Well, of course it's not an invention that represents Korean's genius, but rather a cultural embodiment indicating Korean's "floor culture" ( on the contrary, the Chinese adopted the "chair culture" around a thousand years ago) 當你搬到寒冷地區居住時,肯定會懷念在韓國時腳下總是暖暖的那種感覺。與其說"暖炕是韓國人的偉大發明"(典型韓國人措詞),我倒覺得這是體現了韓國的地板文化,有別於中國或西方國家的椅子文化(中國在宋朝前後就從地板文化轉型成椅子文化,好險,此舉有益於美腿的養成)
#26 Bibimbap (拌飯) - It's my top 1 favorite Korean food! 我最愛的韓國食物!
#24 Superb service; random freebies, no tipping (優質服務,免費產品,無小費) - Yes, a reason I adore Korean for their generosity. I hate stingy people (but I am not sorry!). Therefore you find me so reluctant to go to places in Singapore where it's marked $XX ++ ( first + is 10% service charge, the second + is 7% GST, and it's not 17% more but 17.7%, as they add 10% first and another 7% on top of it. Leave a comment if you dun get me), I just don't understand why they don't reflect the real price I am gonna pay but instead doing so many tricks 韓國人一堆劣根性,大器則是我最欣賞他們的一點,體現在他們不吝於提供免費產品(試吃品、試用品),而且一般不加收服務費。不像某個小氣巴拉的國家,招牌上的價錢外還常要有兩個++,第一個+指的是10%的服務費(僅管他不服務你,照收咧!),第2個+則是7%的消費稅。不過總金額不是外加17%,而是17.7%,因為算法是先加10%之後,再用該金額加上7%,所以總價是外加17.7%
# 17 Palaces of Morning Calm (曙光中的寧靜宮殿) - Though mostly rebuilt, these palaces are making this city great. Unlike Beijing's palaces which seem borderless, Korean palaces are comparatively mini, therefore looking cute 僅管大都是戰後重建的,這些宮殿讓這個城市顯得深沉不浮躁。和北京堪稱浩瀚無邊的雄偉宮殿不同,韓國宮殿小得多,也顯得可愛得多
# 8 'Well-being' mania (健康飲食的風潮) - I find it hard to comment as I used to live in Sweden, which also has healthy diets. But anyway, for Asian standard, especially I am now living in a very anti-well-being country where people consume a whole lot of deep fried food 24-7, Seoul has quite a good awareness in healthy diet 韓國飲食比起日本或其他西方國家也不一定有多養生,但比起我現在住的地方實在是好太多了(嘆)
# 4 World’s most spectacular bridge-fountain (世上最令人嘆為觀止的吊橋噴泉) - I am not so much into those "spectacular" things nowadays, but Han River, and the bridges over it, are indeed spectacular. No matter where I am, I always miss the feeling when I travel across the Han River 我對那些號稱嘆為觀止的事物沒有多大憧憬,可是我確實很愛漢江,以及漢江上的那些大橋。我很懷念每次過橋時,從車窗向外所能見到的那些情景
# 2 Drama queens (電視劇女王) - Whether it be historical, comical, profound, melancholic, or simple idol-selling, the Korean dramas do demonstrate a wide range of genres. My favorite drama queens are Lee Na-Yeong (이나영, 李娜英) and Kong Hyo Jin (공효진, 孔孝真) 好笑的歷史的偶像的灑狗血的悲傷的點點點,韓劇種類相當多元。我最喜歡的韓劇女王是李娜英和孔孝貞
# 1 Galbi (갈비, 烤排骨) - I am not a big fan of meat, but how can I pass this! 我沒多愛吃肉,但絕不會錯過韓國烤肉!

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Cake Cutting As Culture

I came across the Happy Birthday video clip of Tae Yang of Big Bang. At around 00:43, check how he cut the cake.
在網路上偶然看到Big Bang的太陽切蛋糕(第43秒),讓我想起了在韓國時切蛋糕的情景。

Blatantly cutting it into halves. That's how Korean people do. It is quite different from the Taiwanese way I am used to, that we usually cut from the center, and we do not cut cake into halves, as if implying something not very auspicious. An example of Taiwanese cutting cake (see 00:15):
他們總是直接將蛋糕一刀兩斷。這點和台灣人很不一樣。找了個台灣人切蛋糕的例子(見第15秒):

I observed that Chinese and Hong Kongese do not have the same concern and they do cut cake the same way Korean do. Perhaps a matter of habit, I just dun feel right when I see cake cut into halves.
大陸和香港也沒有台灣人這樣的顧慮,切蛋糕跟韓國人一樣都是一刀兩斷式的。可能是習慣問題,當我看到一刀兩斷式的蛋糕切法,總有那麼點不蘇胡~

Friday, May 20, 2011

The Way to Gender Equality

The Grand Narrative, one of my fav blogs on Korea, recently has a post discussing Korean woman's role of childcare. He mentioned that only woman appears in the signs that involve child caring, such as this:
The Grand Narrative最近有篇文章討論韓國女性的社會形象,他說,在他所能見到的每個和照顧小孩有關的標示裡,都僅有女人出現,暗指這個社會尚認為照顧孩童是女人的責任,同時,他也點出,在其他西方國家也會看到類似標示,顯然韓國不是孤例。以下是他在韓國拍攝的一個標示:
(source)

Which reminds me of a picture I took in Sweden several years ago:
讓我想到2007年在瑞典拍的一個路標(拍到的不太好,因為是在大馬路中間,腳被磨掉了XD):
(Ooops, this is not a very good one as both adult images are missing one leg. Can't blame, it's in the middle of the road!)

A better awareness of gender equality is one of the top reasons I admire Sweden.
男女平等是我最仰慕瑞典的原因之一(事實上,待了瑞典就難免覺得很多歐美國家相較之下在思想上仍舊相當落後,特別是美國 =.=)。

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

This Time, Yahae!

FeetManSeoul's got a sibling (hey, I'm not gonna say "sister", be no sexist, hehe!), Yahae! It's a new form of correspondence, called "social networked magazine", by one of its main authors.

Get an update of what's going on in Seoul streets, like today (image from Yahae!)
IMG_3278 copy

Look at their apparel. It seems Summer is yet to reach Seoul at this time of year. Just tonight, over the phone KC told me, "It seems tomorrow's gonna be super hot, forecast said it may be 26 degrees!" Well, whereas Singapore has reached its hottest just over a week ago around 36ish degrees, and I got heat stroke.

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Introducing FeetManSeoul - My Fav Korean Fashion Blog

A lot of you may have already been following The Sartorislist, savoring beautiful street scenes and stylish people in his lens. Working mostly in Europe and the States, he has recently visited Seoul and took a few snapshots. But only if you are aware, that a lot of the people he featured are not random people in the street; they are celebs, like the Korean woman he shot in Gangnam.
Whereas there's no lack of Euro-American fashion blog, I especially wanna introduce FeetManSeoul, who's got Korean high fashion  as well as down-to-earth Seoul street styles.

也許你想過,有沒有一個韓國版的The Sartorialist? 我想是有的,差別是,這個韓國版的fashion blog,比鏡頭下多為模特或名人的The Sartorialist 親民得多;他眼裡有韓國的high fashion,也有首爾街頭的street style - FeetManSeoul.

(Alright, all images courtesy of FeetManSeoul, guys should all go there and check it out!)

MVIO is a mid-priced Korean fashion brand with a neat and dandy feel. I like it.
MVIO是韓國中價位品牌(襯衫大概十多萬韓幣這種等級),各大百貨(甚至九老區的outlet)都有櫃。質感很不錯,英倫風格裡透著點韓風,我喜歡。
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Hey, this is how the majority of Seoul girls really look like! I really adore the girls FeetManSeoul features, I think he's got a distinct taste of Seoul girls.
也許因為是老外的關係,FeetManSeoul看韓國女人的眼光相當獨特。我特別喜歡看他拍的韓國女孩,長像和風格都很有特色(也很多正宗韓妹臉)。
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Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Starbucks Card in Singapore

先來一張合照,我的4張新加坡星巴克卡(按圖放大): 派克市場卡(左上)、新商標限量卡(右上)、2010耶誕限量卡(左下)、常態卡(右下)。卡為免費,充值10元新幣(約台幣225)即可獲得;此後每次充值金額皆至少為10新幣。

購買派克市場卡時有送一個小信封:

星巴克卡好在哪裡?
  1. 上網登記該卡(一個mail地址可登記一張卡),即可享有飲品任選(罐裝飲料除外,下同)
  2. 消費滿12杯飲品,可享有任選飲品一杯(需在一個月內兌換)
  3. 生日月份, 消費飲品即贈一片蛋糕(Happy Birthday!)
  4. 購買正價250g咖啡豆可享本日咖啡一杯(不限size)
  5. 購滿10包250g咖啡豆即贈一包250g咖啡豆
  6. 其他不定期優惠
上網登記星巴克卡後的管理頁面,首先可以看到卡的圖樣:


可查詢近20次消費紀錄,及回饋方案的進度:


此外,不論有沒有用卡,自備環保杯可享杯扣50cents(約台幣11元)。

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Lördag - My Home in Sweden

Early Autumn in 2008, my second time to Sweden; this time, for my Master degree.
This house is where I lived. It's owned by a Swedish couple, who were retired professors from Uppsala University. They have lived in this house for more than 4 decades, from a newlywed couple to grandparents of a bunch of cute kids.

My room is called Lördag (click to enlarge), "Saturday" in English. Just a year before I moved in, it was a tiny boutique owned by the landlord granny, and because it opened basically only on Saturdays, hence the name. It's a semi-basement, somehow a bit damp, protecting me from the dryness of Sweden.

This is what you see when you enter the room.

Other scenes of the room. You can see me studying hard in the top 2 pictures, haha. Sometimes at my desk, sometimes at dinner table. Maybe you can guess where the kitchen is. I did not have picture for the washroom, but it was the best in the world. I used to make calls to KC in the washroom, and I also love to read in there too. It's just adorable.

Because this place is so cozy, sometimes I could even stayed indoors 2 to 3 days without walking out in the freezing open. In Winter, counting how deep the snow has become used to be my daily practice. It really made me think.

Monday, May 2, 2011

My 2X3 Square Meter Home in Hong Kong

Previously I had shared my current room in Singapore. Now I am gonna recall the smallest-ever room of mine, back in Hong Kong (2007~2008).

The landlord remodelled her flat into 4 individual rooms of different sizes. Each room has a tiny washroom inside, but no kitchen. This is the door to my room.

Mine is the smallest among the 4 rooms. It's about 2X3 square meters, with a mini washroom. I have a whole side of windows to the right of my bed. Otherwise I wouldn't be able to stay in such tiny space. I am claustrophobic.


My last days in HK. Position of bed was changed by then already.

It's my smallest-ever living space, but a place where I had the biggest-ever dreams.

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Singapore's Black and White Blessing ( 有寫有保佑 )

At Starbucks - "Please refrain from studying during our peak hours."
星巴克 - "門市繁忙時段,請節制自修活動"。

At M1 (telecom outlet) - "We reserve the right to refuse service to customers who are abusive."
M1 (通信公司,辦手機網路那些的) - "我們保留不為奧客服務的權力"。

My first thought - Oh, see, they are warning because Singapore's got this whole lot of abusive people.
Ah-ah, on second thought. I do not think Korea's got fewer abusive people than Singapore. So a better explanation for signs like these is probably the embodiment of Singapore's black and white culture, that everything has to be written down as evidence. Because it's written there, the Starbucks partners got every reason to ask a customer to leave if his or her drink already runs out, or, the M1 clerk can refuse to escalate customer's complaint as the in-store notice already said they do not serve whoever they deem as abusive customers and now YOU are deemed by them as abusive customer deprived of the right to make complaint.

Hence wonder not why emails are forwarded around all Singapore offices, wonder not if you received something that might not relate to you in a million years. Because by doing so, one day those forwarded or written can be the best weapon to serve certain purposes.

第一眼看到那些告示,嘴角嘲諷的微微揚起,"看吧! 新加坡就是奧客多,多到商家得寫公告"。轉念一想,也不盡然,韓國奧客的數量和功力畢竟還是新加坡奧客望塵莫及的,怎麼人家就沒想到也寫呢?
一個可能的解釋是,新加坡人有講究白紙黑字的文化 --- "不要說我不能這樣做喔,你看,我都寫得清清楚楚的!" 於是,星巴克夥伴可以在你杯子空了時請你走人,商家可以拒絕處理你的投訴因為已經明文寫了不服務奧客而現在你已被歸類為奧客啦我當然可以不服務你。
新加坡公司裡總是無限forward或cc那些大部分收件者都認為是下輩子也和自己不會有關聯的東西。不單是因為守法啦尊重契約啦那些冠冕堂皇的理由,還因為寫了可以自保,必要時還可用來當武器,好用無窮,幹嘛不寫。
有寫有保佑。

Sunday, April 24, 2011

A Lower-Hip Exposing Virgin (露副臀的Virgin)


Source : CNEWS
Once again I felt disturbed by woman's image in Korea when I saw After School’s 3rd teaser picture for their first official album "Virgin"(버진). And I am to say, the K entertainment is definitely one of the biggest reasons to blame for Korea's never-improving sexism.

By showing your lower hips you are creating an image of "Virgin"?

While Korean male stars are obliged to showing their gigantic muscles (and god knows what else) as if boasting of their sexual potency, female stars are playing such correspondingly role to answer to the prevailing male dominancy.

In this country of wealth and high-tech, a fairer gender cognition is yet to establish, and the journey is uneasy.






關注韓國女性的社會形象的我,看到這張照片後,徹底崩潰惹(也沒有那麼誇張啦)。

韓國是一個標準的"偶像社會",人們有仿傚偶像(政客、運動員、演藝人員)的傾向,你會聽到人們說"買這個yogurt啦,金妍兒代言的!" "這個新的美妝品牌我沒用過耶,不過是卡拉代言的,應該不錯啦!"這類極不理智的決策。正因韓國公眾人物有如此大的影響力,當我看到韓國演藝圈將女性型像塑造得越來越令人髮指,我感到十分不舒服。

After School (애프터스쿨)用"露副臀"當做名為"Virgin"("버진")的專輯的宣傳照,此舉堪比日本AV寫真的文案,真不知是想滿足何等想像。當韓國男星極盡能事的展現胸肌雄風,韓國女星也總是稱職的扮演著迎合男性的挑逗角色,露個副臀,然後告訴你,"I am Virgin"。

Friday, April 22, 2011

IKEA Furnished Life in Lakeside

I moved from Bukit Batok to Lakeside this month. A comparison of both places? Pros and cons, as always. Some snapshots:


Living room and kitchen

My room 270° (Lacking the side of my desk)
 What I love most is its IKEA furnished environment. I miss Sweden.

Sunday, April 10, 2011

H&M - their new Android App and New Venture in SE Asia

I am checking the nearest H&M stores to me from their newly launched Android app (it's fab, download it now!). Right, 2578 km, in Central, HK. But haha, they are going to open in Singapore this Autumn, their first store in SE Asia!

  • News from the Local (Sweden's News in English)
  • News from H&M

Friday, April 1, 2011

惶恐之中感到的溫暖存在 - 推薦 이민헤어 的 민아 造型師

有時會想起一些八竿子打不著,回憶起來卻感到很暖的人。木洞現代百貨公司的MAC櫃姊최수연,總是面帶微笑的聽我用殘破韓語跟她對話;她不推銷,還會推薦我怎麼buy smart - 有次找她買38000won的眼部刷具222,她建議我買25000won的217就好,說用途其實差不多。2009年,是剛到韓國又不諳韓文的我最惶恐的日子,被人歧視被人騙是常有的事,僅管我是一個摸不著東西南北的外國人,她沒想騙我,還給了我美好的購物經驗。

再來是造型師민아,以前在木洞的 CASA Hair,現在轉到新林洞(신림동)的 Lee Min Hair (이민헤어)。

弄頭髮這事我一向戒慎恐懼,不料初次在韓國仍以失敗告終,瀏海被燙成Taeyeon和Sunny在Gee封面的造型,為此哭鬧了好一陣。直到認識민아(很年輕,20出頭),我再也不找其他人。現在搬到新加坡,好幾個月了,染過的頭髮早已變成噁心的布丁頭,我還是忍到2月回韓國時找她整理。

也許以後我可以寫個민아造型編年史。回顧一下2010年至今的變化:2010年初,她幫我弄了一個韓孝珠在燦爛的遺產裡面的髮型(下圖左上,燙完一個月後,有點長長了);夏天直接剪短也沒燙沒染,有點60年代中學生的樣子,很妙;秋天去新加坡前,燙了一個短髮(留了一個月後的樣子見圖2010 Winter),我覺得挺好看,但有些新加坡人覺得奇怪。品味果然不可勉強。

今年2月底,冬春交際時節,我回到韓國,這次她做的是有點復古的中長髮,上面拉直,下面往裡拉,就變得那樣了,燙髮約10萬,染髮7萬,漲價了不少,不過總價在新加坡只能燙個頭而已(我實在不理解為什麼以新加坡美髮業的水準,可以高攀日本的收費標準)。

我跟민아溝通的模式跟公館莊大衛Apple一樣,不用說太多他們就知道你內心所想;不扯淡,也不推銷美髮產品。這次回韓國,她挺開心我還記得她,染燙時多幫我加了幾道護髮程序,有點老友重逢的況味。台灣女生找민아應該可以很安心,韓文跟我一樣破也OK,只要有照片,應該都可以做成理想髮型。推薦一下민아,預約資料:

= Lee Min Hair 신림점 (Website) =
Name. 민아 선생님(雖然她年紀很輕,我們都稱她선생님啦~)
Address. 관악구 신림동 1638-16 3층 (2호선 신림역 3번출구방향 150미터)
Tel. 02-871-0022
Biz Hours. 평일 AM 10:00 - PM 11:00 일요일 및 공휴일 AM 10:00 - PM 9:00

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

LOW CLASSIC, High Fashion

A blend of European simplicity and Korean sophistication
LOW CLASSIC (로우클래식)

~All Photos Courtesy of LOW CLASSIC~

Newly founded by Lee Myoung Sin, Park Jin Sun, and Hwang Hyunji in 2009, LOW CLASSIC enjoys unparalleled popularity as a result of Lee's participation in Project Runway Korea.    
Their brand campaign started with hosting temporary pop up stores in Hyundai Department Stores, entering Seoul's hippest select store Åland (에이랜드, which I will introduce next time), and now they are also found in  ÅLAND after ÅLAND 홍대 OUTLET and LOCLE (situated inside Doota).

This is my first piece of LOW CLASSIC, after more than a year, it's still one of my favorite items("賣非佛",呵呵). I like it so much that I attended my thesis presentation in Sweden last April in this dress.

My second LOW CLASSIC, a suede clutch/shoulder flat folding bag. Price: 59800 won. As KC and I were such mysterious customers, Miss Lee gave us this bracelet as a souvenir.

Black chain bracelet, u.p. 12000 won.

Patched knit leggings. 32000 won. Comes in 2 colors (and I own both, hehe).

I like their sophistication embodied in a simplistic fashion. No mass production, but reasonably priced. Many Seoul fashionistas continue to keep a close eye on LOW CLASSIC. While stocks last