Yearly Archives: 2009
I was about to write my blog today, then someone smsed me and told me that I was featured inside the www.divaasia.com (http://www.divaasia.com/article/6241)
What a good news! I did the interview with Diva not long ago and was looking forward for the article. Therefore when I received the sms, first thing that I did was to read the article ! It is a very well-written article. Thank you DIVA =) and thank you FEMALE for this opportunity.
Tue, Nov 24, 2009 Diva
A LADY OF STYLE AND SUBSTANCE
Only 29 this year, she not that much older than the 49 other Female Gorgeous People but she has had some remarkable firsts in her life. Merry Riana made her first million at age 26, and later went on to publish her first book. She gave birth to her first child when she was 28, and now she is participating in a personality contest for the first time. When the entrepreneur/ author/ trainer first got scouted by the organiser, she wrote on her blog entry stating that she was very flattered and said: "Never in my imagination or plan would I ever stepped into this side of life whereby I'd be one of the 50 Most Gorgeous People." (But seriously we cannot think of a reason why not?)
When asked to describe herself in five words, Merry conveniently breaks down her five-letter name: Motivating, Entertaining, Remarkable, Radiant, and Youthful. We found out from her blog that while her first name Merry means 'happy', apparently 'Ria', the first part of her last name, actually means cheerful in Bahasa Indonesia. Could that explain why she's always exuding joy and brimming with positivity? When asked if she had a nickname, incidentally it was also 'Merry'.
The live wire told us the reason why people call her that is because she is really a happy person. "It is very difficult for you to catch me not smiling," she adds. But it is not her smile that Merry finds is the most gorgeous body part. "My eyes. I agree with the saying, 'Your eyes are the windows to your soul'. "Through my eyes, others will know, and most importantly feel, who I really am."
Her formula for looking good? The beauty told us that it is "simply by feeling good." Merry also believes that there are no ugly girls, only lazy girls. "I believe every girl can be beautiful, if only they take a little effort on their part. And being beautiful does not have to be expensive too. Even with a simple budget, you'll be able to get a hold of great stuff to beautify yourself. "Most importantly, always remember that beauty is generated inside, and then it flows out. So, make sure you feel good at all time!"
Looks aside, Merry has a purpose for being in the competition. She wants to be of "style with substance" and through blogging, she hopes to positively add value to others by dropping the occassional quotes of inspiration. Get to know Merry better with the rest of the interview below:
Tell us about your favourite hobby / area of interest.
Previously, my favorite hobby is watching inspirational movies with my husband. But ever since I had my first baby girl, my number one hobby is to spend time with her.
Name one strength and weakness about yourself.
My biggest strength is my personality. I'm so blessed to be able to enjoy the privilege of making a difference and impacting many lives through my books, seminars, TV shows, etc. My weakness is my workaholic attitude towards life. When I'm doing what I'm passionate about, I lose track of time. I do my best to balance this and maintain my health by always making sure that I have enough sleep and by exercising regularly.
Tell us about your relationship with your husband.
I am very blessed to have met someone who shares the same faith, believes in the same vision, and has the same passion about life. And at the same time, he really complements me as a person. That to me is the criteria of my ideal partner.
Tell us about your profession. Is it ideal for you?
I am an entrepreneur, trainer, and author. I'm running my own businesses in 3 different areas: Training & Consultancy, Financial Services, and Non-Profit. At the same time, I'm fortunate to have my book "A Gift From A Friend" which became a best-seller in Singapore and Indonesia when I first published it in 2006. This is definitely an ideal job for me because I have the freedom to do what I love. I always believe that you must do what you love, and then success will follow.
What is your internet guilty pleasure?
I just started blogging and set up a Facebook account since middle of this year, and I'm now spending more and more time on the Internet.
Her life motto?
Touching hearts, changing lives.
Jasmine started singing when she was 8 years old. When the Singapore Idol first started in 2004, Jasmine already wanted to participate. Unfortunately at that time she was too young to join. So when the registration for Singapore Idols season 2 was opened, she didn’t need to think twice to sign up. From audition, She climbed herself up top 50, to top 10 finalist, to top 5, and finally she was the 2nd runner up.
If you are wondering, What is she currently busy with? Jasmine is currently busy preparing for her upcoming concert “A cozy Affair”. This is a join effort between Jasmine and a group of her friends. Jasmine will be singing her own self-composed songs and remix versions of billboard covers. In this 1 hour concert, she will also be collaborating with other artists to bring you a mix of bilingual songs, dances and other surprise acts.
Her former Singapore Idols friends will be there to support her too. Here’s the details: Date : Wednesday, 2nd December 2009 Time : 8pm – 9pm Place : Marine Parade Theatrette. The concert itself happened to be the same day with Jasmine’s birthday ! 
And moreover, the profits from the concert will be donated to charity. Ticket is $25 and it’s selling fast !!
So wait no more, you can email Jasmine at jasminetye.tye87@gmail.com to book the tickets NOW !!
I’ll upload my complete article from my interview with Jasmine in the next post.
In the meantime, below is part of my Audio interview with her. (You can actually listen to her singing LIVE for you in this audio interview)
Just click the picture
click the picture to listen to the audio interview
Christmas is coming !! Yeah..
Here are more photos along Orchard Road (all taken with CANON EOS 5D)
Orchard ION is so grand rite?
And the Christmas Tree is so special…
Not only it is HUGE….
but look closer…
you can actually go 'inside' this GIANT CHRISTMAS TREE =)
Wondering what is inside?
Well.. here it is….
SIMPLY BEAUTIFUL =)
Also.. if you are walking down Orchard Road and thinking what kind of christmas gift you want to get for yourself this year?
Well.. how about an ALL-NEW SUBARU LEGACY car ?
….
for FREE !!
According to what is stated there
you just need to sms 'wisma' to 9734 4058 or visit inspireawe.sg
and participate in their lucky draw.
For me, actually I never won any lucky draw in my whole life…
but who knows..
you are luckier than me hahaha..
Anyway.. I would like to end my post with something for you to ponder about.
"Friends are like STREETLIGHTS along the road. They don't make the distance any shorter. But they LIGHT-UP the path and make the walk worthwhile"
Hope you can spend time walking down Orchard Road,
enjoying their amazing Christmas – StreetLights with your friends this weekend.
I'm sure it'll light up your night ! =)
You would probably know Irene Ang from her appearance as Rosie in the award winning local sitcom, Phua Chu Kang. Not only is she an actress, but she’s also a host, stand-up comedian, entertainer, and the CEO of FLY Entertainment Pte Ltd, Singapore’s first and largest Artiste Management Agency
How did she get started all this? Well, Irene shared with me that she unofficially started hosting at a very young age during family functions where she will dress up as celebrities; she just enjoyed the process of bringing laughter to people. Now being a professional entertainer and a CEO of her own talent management company, she conducts lessons from time to time, teaching the skills of hosting. Irene did not grow up with the intention of being an actress or a star. Instead, she had aspired to be a Sportswoman. At 20 years old, she was one of Singapore's most talented female fencers. She was the silver medalist holder for the Singapore's women fencing team in the 1991 Southeast Asian Games. She gave up her fencing dreams due to financial difficulties, she then went into the corporate industry and at the same time, continues to volunteer her services as a host for charitable organizations. Her debut on TV was in the award winning sitcom, Phua Chu Kang, where she acted as Rosie, the wife of the lead actor. Since then, audiences have liked her and embraced her appearances on TV. She shared with me one valuable lesson. She said “acting is not acting; acting is reacting”, She then continue her explanation “you should try not to act, instead you should try to be that person. Put yourself into the character.”
So, Does Irene think anyone can enter the entertainment industry? “There are people who are talented, but they don’t dare. Or there are people who are talented, but lazy. There are also people who worked very hard, but they’re just not talented,” she says. There is no shortcut to success, and good looks alone get you nowhere in the entertainment line. Especially for people who enter this line, they would have to continually sharpen their abilities and skills through numerous attempts, and not to be afraid to make mistakes. “If you choose to come to this path, you have to invest a lot of time, make a lot of mistakes, try, and try, and try, and try, and practice and practice, and practice.” she added. Irene’s advice to all people out there is to keep on practicing, work hard, grab every opportunity, and never give up even after going through numerous failures.
Knowing that many of you who read this post might be an aspiring artist or model, I then asked Irene what are things to look out when searching for a talent management agency? Her advice was to always look at the company’s track record. Don’t forget to also read the contract carefully before putting down your signature. Make sure that you go for reputable ones, as there are people who sell fake hope and dream to young people, like you, ask you to pay a lot of money to go for a grooming course, and promise you that you can become a model. And then you realize that all you get is just some photographs.
In FLY Entertainment, Irene and her team generally take up two kinds of people. One is those people who have already proven themselves in the media industry, and they require people to handle the management on their behalf. The other type of people is those who are very raw, but they possess great potential, and FLY would nurture these raw people into diamonds and eventually into stars. The qualities that Irene looks at are not much of the looks, but more into the talent, hunger, and the attitude. Two of such examples are Chua Enlai and Mindee Ong, where the former may not have a pretty face, but he carved out a remarkable career in theatres and TV. The latter has the looks and talent, but not the timing. Before getting her big role in the local hits movie 881, Mindee worked for 5 years in short films and surviving through taking part time jobs every now and then before making her mark in the industry today. A pretty face may not be the necessary prerequisite for anyone to enter the entertainment industry, but it can be of some help.
Being in the entertainment industry for so long and having seen so many beautiful people, Irene’s definition of a gorgeous person is“someone who encompass a lot of personality, someone who is popular, someone who exudes a lot of charm, but not essentially good-looking”, Irene says.
Lastly, if you are looking for more information about the entertainment industry, you can either go to www.fly.com.sg or follow Irene on her Twitter.
Here's part of my audio interview with Irene.
I was down at Orchard Road with my husband, Alva and my cousin, Joshua. My cousin has this awesome camera, and guess what is the brand? ….. You all are absolutely correct, it is CANON ! But his one is more pro, because my cousin really LOVES photography. He has CANON EOS 5D. Anyway.. while we were walking down Orchard Road, I then saw this very interesting decoration
Does it remind you of something? …… The RUNWAY for the FINALS !! hahahah…
Knowing that nobody was around, I was so tempted to do my pose on the runway.. And yes.. I DID IT ! hahahha….
After that.. more people stopped by and looked at me.. some even took picture.. hahaha.. most likely they were tourist So paiseh… hahaha.. but I guess it was nothing compared to the attention that we are all going to get on the runway during the finals @ Zouk.. It's exactly next week guys ! Hahaha… I can feel all the excitement already =)
Yesterday was my fitting day for the Finals. This time round we went to the Bebe outlet at the ION Orchard. I was supposed to be there at 2.30pm. I reached there at 2.25pm, but as I stepped in I didn’t see any familiar faces. For a moment I thought “Oh no.. am I going to the correct outlet? Is it supposed to be at Bebe Vivocity like last time?” Hmm… I then checked my blackberry, yup.. it is correct. BEBE at ION. But where is everybody?
Then I realized, they are all actually at the other entrance of BEBE. BEBE @ ION is so huge.
Also, as you can see from the photo, Bebe is having their end season SALE up to 80% !! Wow.. you gals definitely dun want to miss it. =)
Anyway.. when I stepped in, I met with the other 2 gorgeous people, Raine and Agnes ( apologize if I remember wrongly, but I’m pretty sure it’s you, Agnes rite?) Hahaha.. First time I met them in person, because they didn’t come for the preview last time, so can only recognise them from the photo Well, we didn’t really have much time to talk, cos we were all busy going in and out the fitting room .. Hope to catch up more next week during the finals =) While I was talking to Dee and the stylist, Verna, suddenly someone opened the fitting room curtain behind me. I looked back and we both got a shock and eventually laughed together.. it was Lili !! the one behind the curtain.. hahhaha =) And here’s the photo that I took with my Canon camera on that day:
Nice picture rite? =) I'm so happy to finally meet Lili again. After trying a few outfits, I finally settled for 2 super cool outfit! Will reveal it next week @ Zouk. Lastly, before I left the place, another photo session, this time round, is with the expert Stylists =)
Yeah.. hahaha.. no kidding !! I have been using Anna Sui for many years already. Guess what was the very first Anna Sui item that I had? It was actually an eyelash curler. I bought that about 3 years ago, recommended by my make up artist. And until now I’m still using it and it is still in a super good condition.
I have been blessed to have quite long eyelashes, Thanks to my mum who made it possible. Do you know that actually there is a trick to make your eyelashes longer? Many people said that you have to cut a bit of your eyelashes when you were baby, then it will grow longer and have more curl. So my mom took the courage to do it for me, and it works! If you are wondering whether did I cut my baby Alvernia’s eyelashes when she was born, you bet I did ! Hahaha….
Anyway, why today I talk about eyelashes and mascara, is because recently I read from the news that the Desperate Housewives star, Dana Delany, actually suffered an eye infection after trying to compete with her costars’ bushy eyelashes. She revealed that she tried his new cosmetic product which promises to help ladies grow lush lashes – but she struggled with the side effects. That’s why, for me it is very fortunate because I dun really need to put fake eyelashes or even use such products who claimed can grow more eyelashes. All I need is just good mascara. And ANNA SUI is definitely the one. My favorite is the ANNA SUI Super Black – Full Mascara.
Initially I just went to the ANNA SUI counter and buy one mascara, but then the sales girl asked me whether I want to buy the Mascara Base too, Well, I never actually used Mascara Base before, but after her explanation, she finally managed to convince me. She said by using the Mascara Base, it will hold the curl even longer and the results will be more define. So I decided to give it a try. In the end I ended up buying 2 mascaras and 1 mascara base =)
But I’m quite happy, because in the end, the sales girl actually gave me a FREE Anna Sui Make up Bag..
Here it is.. Nice rite? =)
If you like the make up bag, you can get it for FREE too, simply just go the the ANNA SUI counter and spend min of $120. While stock last ! Anyway.. …so late already, I better go to sleep now.. Tomorrow have a few meeting in the morning, and after that going for my fitting for finals in the afternoon =) Hope to see some of you there tomorrow. Gd Nite everyone !
Recently, I read the news about a famous couple in Indonesia who recently just got divorced. Ironically, when interviewed, both sides can easily talked non-stop about the other partner’s weaknesses and faults, as if there is really no end to it. And I wondered, this was the person that he/she was married to and fell in love with before. How can everything be that bad? Did they really change as what the other partner said? Personally, I think it’s all a matter of choice.
I believe relationship is about making choices. A choice to emphasize and concentrate on our partner’s faults or on our partner’s positive qualities.
Let me give you this analogy.
There’s a huge difference in the feeding habits of vultures and bees. Vultures are scavenging birds, feeding mostly from carcasses of dead animals. They fly overhead searching for dead animals. When they spy a decaying animal, they fly down to satisfied their needs. Honey bees, however, look only for sweet nectar. They are very selective as they search through the flowers in a garden. Just as the vultures and the bees always find what they are seeking, so we will always find what we look for in our relationship. If we focus on our partner’s faults or mistakes, we will always find them (anyway, who never make mistakes, right?) and our relationship will be colored by that negative attitude. However, if our daily quest in our relationship is to find and affirm the positive qualities of our partner, we’ll be surprised at how many we find and how those discoveries will enhance our relationship.
Our choices and experiences result in the building of memories, feelings and attitudes which couples carry through to our later years.
Ask yourself honestly, when you think about your partner, what is the most recent thing that you remember about him/her? Is it about how he was late in fetching you from work? Or when he forgot to accompany you to go shopping? Or is it about how nice when he give you a shoulder massage? Or leave a cute note on your desk?
Well, whatever your answer is, if it is the positive experience, I would like to congratulate you for being the ‘bee who seeks the honey’. Well done! But if what you’ve remembered is not a positive experience, well it’s not too late. I would also like to congratulate you for at least you’ve read my post and you know that you can start to do things differently from today onwards =) You may be just starting a relationship, or you may be enjoying your 10th wedding anniversary. No matter what your age or length of your relationship, there is still time to make a choice. The memories you are gathering for the future will be influenced by the way you think today. Make your choice today!
