Goodbye my Lover … Dayre.me

This is probably going to be my last Dayre post, so here goes nothing. It’s going to be incoherent because I’m writing this on impulse with so many emotions going on in my head right now.

While reading @braintango’s post, I found myself nodding in agreement because you know what?

Dayre – you truly don’t deserve your users, not with the current management anyway.

19 Jan 2018

Blog first talked about wanting to make Dayre sustainable beyond APRIL 2018, hence the launch of the sticker sale.

The sticker set is priced at 500 coins – which is 5x the usual cost of a regular sticker set.

09 Feb 2018

We were informed that 113 people purchased stickers and USD700 was raised. Not enough to cover the cost of running Dayre for a year – SGD150K.

Let’s convert SGD150K to USD using xe.com okay 🙄

That’s USD112,846.22.

Divide it by USD5 (because that’s the cost of the fundraising sicker pack) and that means..

A whopping 22,569 users had to purchase the sticker pack.

Is it just me or does it seem pretty much like they were setting themselves up for failure with this whole fundraising sticker initiative?

Also, why was the timeline shortened from April till the end of this month??

Don’t even get me started on how half-assed the stickers were.

Let’s play a game of spot the difference, shall we?

🤔

I applaud sgbudgetbabe for her efforts in coming up with a petition but I can’t bring myself to support Dayre under the new management simply because the soul that drives this app is gone.

It’s almost like convincing your lover who no longer loves you to stay. So what if he/she stays on for a little while longer? If the love is not there, the relationship is no longer the same.

I love this platform, I love this community but to me.. 長痛不如短痛. 不在乎天長地久，只在乎曾經擁有。

Even if some rich person decides to throw some money and buy over Dayre, I think this app will still meet its inevitable fate without the same TLC that its previous management provided or the same vision and passion that Ming had.

Just my two cents.

In a blink of an eye, I've been in Dublin for a week now.

The city doesn't feel as foreign, as I'm starting to recognize places and not feel so lost. To make the best of my trip here, I decided to do some exploring over the weekends.

Since there aren't many interesting Airbnb experiences available here, I decided to book additional tours from GetYourGuide!

Western Ireland wasn't on my list, but one of the cab drivers told me to check it out – said it was beautiful.

So of course I had to!

Cliffs of Moher

One of the touristy spots apparently!

Unfortunately, it seems like most tours do the coach drive you up to the cliffs thing but it's not guided while you're on the cliffs itself.

Of course, you can opt for an audio tour but I didn't bother to.

Despite the unpredictable weather in Ireland, we were blessed with clear skies for the most part of the day! Our driver said that we were extremely lucky as we would have came for naught should the skies be gloomy.

As if you didn't know you were at the cliffs…

Cows, cows and more cows.

The cliffs keep getting cut off at an angle.. so it kinda look like steps I suppose.

What a sight!

I plucked the courage to ask some Chinese tourists to help me take a photo.

They were shocked to see that I could speak Mandarin 😂

Asked me where I'm from and if I'm travelling alone – then proceeded to say I'm very brave for doing so 🤣

We got to spend an hour and a half at the cliffs – free and easy.

Honestly speaking, I think that's not enough time if you wanna keep walking on and on till you're super deep in, considering that there are 2 sides to the cliff.

If you just wanna get the feels of it without walking too much, 1-1.5 hours probably is a good duration.

As part of the tour, we would drive down to Galway city.

Saw this at one of the cafes along the way..

Got some truth in it eh? 😛

We stopped by The Burren for a bit. Basically, this place is just covered in limestone – supposedly left over from the last Ice Age.

The only Ice Age I know is a squirrel chasing after his nut 🙃

We didn't stop here for long, since it was just rock everywhere. But still, it was nice. Something you wouldn't usually see.

When I was a creep and took photo of my new friend, Akari.

Akari was travelling alone and decided to sit beside me on the bus. For the entire bus ride, till we were done with the cliffs, we hadn't spoke a single word.

When it was time to settle our own lunch, I decided to not be so anti-social and asked if she wanted to eat together. To my surprise, she accepted my offer. So we ate!

Initially, she was a little awkward and was fumbling with her words.

To make her feel better, I asked her "お名前は？" (what's your name?)

She gave a look of surprise, which turned into relief almost instantly when she realised that I could speak (just a little) Japanese.

We started to converse a little.. somehow she understood my broken Japanese – god bless my grammar – and that's when I learnt that she's here alone studying English and Irish history.

So that was how I made a new friend!

We finally got to Galway, and to our surprise, it was a bustling Sunday.

The streets were crowded and there were a handful of street performers wowing us with their singing and dancing prowess.

SO. MANY. PEOPLE.

I mean sure, orchard road gets really crowded on weekends.. but I've been so used to the empty streets in Dublin that this took me by surprise.

We passed by Murphy's, and since it was highly recommended by a colleague, we decided to hop in to try their ice-creams.

One of the more interesting flavored was brown bread icecream. Pretty yummy! But I deviated back to flavored that I'm more familiar with, like sea salt caramel and hazelnut 😆

Nothing quite like an ice-cream in this chilly weather.

We had an hour plus to explore the streets a bit.. which I thought was sufficient since the stores were pretty meh.

Overall, you spend more time on the road than exploring places because it takes 3 hours to travel each way. So most of the time is, you're really just on the bus.

Our driver was pretty good though – he explained quite a bit of Irish culture and history as he drove along Dublin city, to the outskirt villages etc.

Time Trek at Howth

📍 Howth – pronounced like 'both' but with an H

This was my second Airbnb experience and Howth + this experience itself was highly recommended by both my Singaporean and Dublin colleagues.

When Experiences was first launched in June this year, this was one of the first few experiences that Dublin had.

Our guide, Shane, mentioned how he worked closely with the office as they wanted to know how to better improve this new product.

So far, 2 experiences in – I'm loving it! Unlike most commercialized tours, experiences are hosted by people who are knowledgeable and passionate about what they do.

It's the fire and passion that makes the tours so different I suppose?

Before the meetup, I grabbed breakfast at a cafe nearby… even though the description said that we would meet for elevenses, I wasn't too sure that would fill me up.

It definitely was no joke trying to wolf this thing down in 10 minutes. Impossible! 😂

When we met up, we were treated to scones and a drink. The scones were some of the best I've ever tasted. Flaky on the outside, fluffy and crumbly on the inside.

It was the perfect balance of sweet and savory. Coupled with jam and cream.. YUM!

The initial short hike up and we were greeted by this scene.

Again, I was so lucky because the skies were so clear!

I was so worried that it would pour so I wore thermal wear, long-sleeved top, jacket, uniqlo blocktech jacket and brought a poncho just in case.

Turns out I was so over-dressed – literally! I was sweating buckets in no time! But then again, you can't quite take chances with Dublin's unpredictable weather 🙃

Beautiful trees

Shane took us on the unconventional paths less walked by others – which made the hike a lot tougher than expected.

We had to crouch through trees, hike up places that didn't even seem to have been walked enough to form a proper pathway, climbed up and down rocks which didn't even seem possible.

Look at this amazing sight!

And Bruno, his dog companion!!! Oh gosh, be prepared for a Bruno pic spam…. cos I definitely took more photos of him than the surroundings 😂

SO DERP!

One of Bruno's favourite things to do is to bring a branch to you! LOL!

Sometimes he would bite onto an incredible long and huge branch and walks past you.. knocking you out of the way!

Told ya!

Ain't he such a cutie? 😍

Caught him yawning.

Don't sleep on the hike just yet!!

Who am I kidding? He had so much more energy than every one of us.

Just a really old tree that is leaning to one side.

Such clear skies and seas!

Since the weather was ultra good, Shane took us below the sea level when the tide was low.

We explored a couple of caves – where I might have breathed in and swallowed an insect 😩

Apparently Reebok came here a couple of months back to film an advertisement with a Conor McGregor and Shane was the one who brought them around.

He said he might come up as a special appearance either as McG's dad… or an older version of him 😂

Since we went so low, we had to go back up some way or another…

That was the start of my nightmare because I'm such an amateur hiker. Also, hiking at Bukit Timah or MacRitchie is completely different because we have proper pathways!! The trail here was just whatever you made of it.

Almost everyone in the group had proper hiking shoes while I was in my Timberland boots. Not exactly the best since they are heavy but they did protect my ankles quite a bit. Pretty sure I could've sprained my ankle somewhere as the rocks were cut at an angle.

The worst part was having to ascend an extremely steep and rocky bit so we literally were using our arms and reaching out to rocks and climbing back up 😱

I was so afraid that I would fall and die. Really think this is abit too expert level for me.

Everyone else was so steady and moved on so quickly whereas my limbs were shaking. I felt so helpless midway and wished L was with me. If was around, he would've helped pushed or pulled me up and make sure that I get my footing right.

Haiii what do I do without him? 😐

But well, in the description on Airbnb, it does say it is a tough trail. So…. try at your own risk ya!!

We stopped midway for a little snack… and look at this doggo 😍

WHY SO SERIOUS???

Bruno takes his job very seriously 😌

We had a nice little ham sandwich and salad packed by the people from The House!

It was so yums – probably extra tasty since we were tired and hungry from the hike. The salad was also very light with the nice fruity sauce 😋

And we continued on with our hike!

Shane decided to split the group into 2:
One to go back down to the rocks at the sea level and the other to hike along the normal trail where we could look down at the sea.

Of course I went with option 2… my poor heart and ankles cannot take another round of that rocky terrain 😂

It was just Chris and I.

Chris had back issues and it was hurting. And I, well, was just not gonna take chances!!! 🤣

Doesn't this look abit like the Great Wall of China?

See how the little wall winds…

The Great Wall of Howth!

Yep we definitely did get a clear view of the others below alright.

Can you spot Bruno?

He just keeps running around – it's almost as if he's the one leading the group instead!

Look at this playful doggg!!

One of my favourite Bruno moments!

Shane picked up a stick and was playing fetch with him. He then threw the stick up high and it was wedge on the rocks above.

Bruno kept his eye on the stick… hesitant about whether or not he should go up. After a bit of egging, Bruno started darting up a side path, went to the trail above and started going down the edges to pick up his stick.

SUPER SMART DOGGO!!!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Nothing pleases him more than his stick!!

He also had the habit of gnawing leaves wherever he went. What an omnivore!

Towards the end of our hike, he suddenly stopped walking and regurgitated a pile of green vomit in the middle of the pathway 😂

"Of course you had to do it right smack in the middle 🤦🏼‍♂️" Shane exclaimed.

Before we knew it, our 6 hours with Shane was slowly coming to an end.

It was definitely a tough, tiring and torturous hike. But the guide was great and so was the company.

Shane shared with us quite a fair bit about Irish history, his own stories on Howth as well as the myths and legends of Howth.

It was definitely a small and intimate experience as it was just the 6 of us! Usually his experiences can accommodate up to a maximum of 10 people.

Not forgetting the cutest hiking companion ever!

Bruno was sleepy at the end of it and was lying on one of the cuddles while he slowly faded off into snoozeland ❤️❤️

But a small group is definitely great and you don't end up missing out on what he has to share.

So that marks the end of my weekend last week!

It was a little difficult for me to start my engines and type away on the app because I was trying to have a social life and go to the gym at the same time!

I'm currently doing this while on my Game of Thrones tour and am super excited to share more pictures. Any GoT fans out there??? 🙋🏻

Till the next post!! 🙇🏻‍♀️

Hello Dayre, it's been way too long since I last written.

Where have all the time gone?!

I was in Cebu for a week – cheered L on for his Ironman 70.3, met a bunch of new people, jumped 40ft off somewhere at Kawasan Falls and swam with whale sharks.

The same day that I touched down in SG, I started work at my new job.

And then, slightly more than a month later, here I am – in Dublin, Ireland!

I know I know… I'm using the London sticker.. but close enough! Especially the wet and gloomy weather.

Before I get to Dublin… let me rewind back to the first couple of weeks at work.

I remember the first time I stepped into the office for my interview. It was absolutely nerve wrecking but everyone that I had contact with was so nice.

Entering for the second time filled my mind with "wow I can't believe I'm working here for real."

I must have looked like an awkward turtle on my first day. Due to my trip to Cebu, I had already missed out the first 3 days of onboarding.

I was part of the last batch of hires for the year and they had competed their orientation. That meant everyone has already gotten to know one another.

How was I going to fit in… I wondered.

Thankfully that was the last of my worries as my new batch mates were so warm and friendly.

Since the first week was the regional check-in, we had new colleagues from around the region and we brought them out to Timbre during their last night here.

For the rest of us in the same team, we continued with our foundational training and officially graduated from it on the second week!

The interesting about this bunch of people is that we all come from such diverse backgrounds and hold such different skills… but here we are, colleagues who will be working alongside one another and tackling the same problems.

We were such an overly attached team… hanging out together way too much.

I know it's only been a month – but I'm thankful for these people 💛

There are many things I love about the company – the people, the structure, the food etc.

The IT guy gave me my laptop (brand new for every newcomer), set it up for me and told me to do whatever I liked with it (nothing illegal) and treat it as my own personal laptop.

And so I did!

Decorated it with cute stickers from Glossier and iamkai!

It's interesting when you take the time to observe how others decorate their laptops because it does say quite a bit about themselves.

Then it happened…

2-3 weeks into the job, my trainer casually mentioned over breakfast that I may have to go to Dublin from mid-Sept to Oct for my specialized training.

I swore I almost spat out food at his face.

A part of me was excited; the other part of me was in panic mode.

I was worried because:
1. Omg I need to fly long distance.
2. Omg I need to fly alone.
3. Omg HDB said that appointments are starting in Oct – what if they schedule it on a day that I'm not around.

Thankfully the company accommodated to my schedule so… less than 2 weeks later, I was all packed up and ready to go!

Even though we were only going to be apart for just 3 weeks, I was already dreading it.

I won't get to see L, I won't get to see the dogs 😭

L made sure I went down to his place to properly say goodbye to them before I left 🤣🤣

So here I am now, in this little city, where the weather is erratic.

One moment you have the sun blinding you and another moment, it starts to drizzle.

The weather can never make up its mind, so you gotta be prepared – shades in one hand, umbrella in the other.

It was also my first time booking my own Airbnb rather than being the additional guest added into a booking, so I wasn't too sure what to expect.

Turns out, I worried for nothing!

My host was extremely enthusiastic, passionate and welcoming. He spent a good 1-1.5 hours explaining the house rules, sharing with me his favourite restaurants, places to go, his experience as an Airbnb host etc.

I was considering between an entire apartment vs a private room.. and I eventually went with the former.

I love meeting my hosts and interacting with them, but I think 3 weeks of doing that is quite an overkill and I'd love my own privacy without having to feel bad about disturbing others.

Checking out one of the recommendations from my host – Coffee from a supposedly popular cafe.

I did enjoy this avocado toast very much.. the sourdough bread, the tomato jam that was just the right amount of tangy and sweet, the poached eggs which weren't overly vinegar-y.

Everything was perfect except the crazy weather and strong wind that threatened to blow that beautiful bed of baby spinach away.

While running some errands, I saw this and it sort of brought me back home. Kinda reminded me of the National Stadium 🙂

Since I was all alone, I decided to do something different. So I signed up for my first ever Airbnb experience…

Bread, Beer and Bia!

*Bia = food

It was a simple affair – learning how to bake brown soda bread and make Irish stew.

I arrived at the host's place… not exactly sure what to expect.

There were containers and containers laid out on the table. I was the second to arrive.

The awkward Asian that stood out like a sore thumb. I just sat in one corner, pretended like I didn't exist so I don't have to feel like these people were obliged to talk to me.

But they did! One of the guests was an American and we started talking quite a bit about travelling and all.

So I shared with her that I went to Buffalo for a semester and she replied, "WHAT!?! I'm from Buffalo. I studied at UB!"

The world works in wondrous ways I suppose 😱 And I guess that's the magic of travelling!

Our host, Eimhear, started to share with us what were some of the cooking and baking tricks she used.

Finally done with our bread – all ready to be whisked into the oven and begin baking!

Headed to a nearby bar while waiting for our breads to bake and stew to boil.

Not a drinker, but I decided to get a cider and I loved it! Light and sweet… but I got full about 1/8 into the glass 🙃

The final product! Beautiful brown soda bread topped with oatmeals and sesame seeds!

While it was a fun experience, the bread was too dense for my liking 😆

I'm still a sucker for a good old baguette or batard!

We ended the night with hearty conversations and delicious Irish stew – perfect for the wet and cold weather ☺️

Eimhear was just the sweetest lady!

I would recommend this experience if you wanna hang out with new people and do something a bit different.

Food wise – don't expect it to be some sort of pro-cooking class because that's not what it is.

It's a little experience to get a feel of traditional Irish food and for foreigners of Irish descent to get in touch with their roots.

First week in the Dublin office

It's been close to a week since I've got to Dublin and started training at the office.

The environment is absolutely lovely – stunning office, great people, even greater food.

The office is so lovely; I can't wait to take nice pictures of it. If I thought that I was spoilt enough in the SG office, I couldn't be more wrong.

Sure we do have fresh croissants, avocado, salad and all… but here, they've got guac, fresh salmon, assorted bread, muesli, yoghurt and more.

The carb monster inside of me gets so tickled whenever I see this every morning.

And for lunch…

We're served up super yummy and healthy food everyday – gratin, butternut squash, fish, chicken…

Completely different from the usual catered food we get in SG. Can't decide which I prefer – but I do enjoy the occasional unhealthy indulgent food like fried chicken wings and chicken curry.

Love how there's a great variety of fruits as well.. stone fruits, tangerines, bananas etc.

And apparently, we've got sweets on Thursdays!

It was sticky toffee pudding today and I loved it!!! So sweet but so delish 😛

When you have too much of healthy food, sometimes you just want something so sinfully indulgent and this hits all the right spot.

While I do kinda miss home, I love this odd sense of tranquility I get from being here.. being alone.

Having the freedom to do what I want and doing things the way I want.

I also decided to be yolo for a little bit and have made plans to travel out of Dublin during the weekend.

Am super excited to see how things will unfold!!

You've been great so far Dublin!

1 week down, 2 more to go.

Hello Dayre,

I just came here to say that I'm not dead!

After my last post (which I've privatized due to my dad's request), I'm thankful for the heartfelt comments that I've received 🙂

My post may have missed out on many other details which I wished I had covered but didn't because it wasn't like I was planning to write this for a really long time.

But I just wanna say it was extremely cathartic writing it. I'm not angry towards anyone or anything – I'm just glad to have found my personal resolution 😊

So to everyone who showed their support, thank you for showing me the power of the Dayre community.

To those who shared their own personal experiences, thank you for being brave and I wish you the very best in overcoming your own situations as well.

To the small handful that questions the legitimacy or severity of my problem, I just wanna say abuse presents itself in many forms.

Just because one is more visible than another, or supposedly more damaging doesn't mean the another form of abuse should be taken lightly.

Emotional and psychological abuse have their own lasting effects as well.

Just imagine this – one bombing has left many people dead while another has left one person dead and a handful of others injured. Do you tell the victims of the latter bombing that they should just suck it up because they are not as badly affected?

The answer is no? (I hope…)

So ya… my point is, this is not a competition to see who is the biggest victim.. it's about acknowledging something bad has happened, and how do we learn from it and to rise above it!

Anyhow, sorry for the long break! A week after I posted that entry, I went on a short holiday, came back just this week and immediately jumped straight into my new job.

There are so many exciting things that I would love to share in this space just to pen down all of the nice memories I've had!!

Crossing fingers that I don't procrastinate hehe ✌🏼️😸

Hi Dayre, it's been a while. 1.5 months to be exact. Where do I begin?

Back in May 2015, I received a call from @michelletay to schedule an interview for the Sales position. I was very excited because I was a fresh grad back then.

I remember coming out of that interview feeling like crap. I knew that it wasn't something I was suited for. Through sheer luck, I was informed that i might be more suited for the Regional Exec role and soon, I was back for another interview.

The whole process was so quick and before I knew it, I was scheduled to start on 16 June 2015.

Today marks my 2nd year with Netccentric….. and also my last day here.

A part of me questions this reality but then again, I've been preparing for this day since the end of Jan this year – which was also when I started posting less on Dayre.

When Ming first broke the news of him stepping down as CEO, a small group of us was well aware that our jobs would be at stake. Hence, I guess I've been mentally preparing myself for this day for close to 5 months now?

Things were finally set in stone when more staff were made to leave, me being a part of them.

Even though I knew it was coming, I couldn't help but shed a few tears when Wen broke the news to me. How could I not be upset? This is my first job after all, and the thought of not working alongside these colleagues who have became my close friends saddened me.

Looking back on these 2 years, I'm truly thankful for the opportunities that @bossming and the Regional team have given me.

My first week of work here was intense. I had to learn the functions of each department and all the SOPs. During my second week, I spoke with Ming for the first time and was so terrified 😂😂

He explained his vision for the Regional team that he wanted to build as it was just @davienne and @rebekatee back then.

He wanted a manager for each department – Sales, Talent, Core Products and Dayre.

The one that truly caught my eye initially was Talent… but thankfully, I didn't choose that because I can't imagine anyone else being more suited for that role other than @iamselheng! I said this before at last year's NCL annual summit and Sel jokingly said "why are you so PC" but I really mean it!

Core Products was my final decision and this kickstarted my path as a project and product manager.

The journey has certainly been bumpy and rough as I like to call what I do "firefighting".

I used to always tell L "aiyah so busy putting out fires today. Extinguish one and another comes up."

But the work was fulfilling.

I went in to office daily with a purpose and truly enjoyed doing what I had to do.

Being a regional manager also meant that I was able to travel to other regional offices to meet and work alongside other colleagues.

From KL

To Bangkok…

These work trips led to interesting experiences such as,
📎 Flying alone for the first time: @huienloi:210616
📎 Narrowly missing our flight back home: @huienloi:160716

So #thanksbossming for the steep learning curve and all these opportunities that pushed me out of my comfort zone.

From things like planning budget, forecasting revenue, staff training and presenting my ideas….

I never would've dreamt of doing all these during my first 2 years of entering the workforce!

These 2 years have been a rollercoaster ride but great memories were forged along the way 💛

My first and last company trip with you guys to Guangzhou 😢

@rebekatee's hair was so long!! 😱😱

Remember when Brick Alley Girls were a thing?

來 擺個 pose!

Celebrating NCL's 10th birthday and sharing our various #welivesocial stories!

✏️ Part 1 @huienloi:160816
✏️ Part 2 @huienloi:180816

Attending weddings together

So many of my ❤️s in one photo!

Goodbyes became more frequent over the last couple of months… Last photo of the Regional team with the exception of @hellokatetan 😢

안녕 친구들
Goodbye my friends

Farewell cards for the daily lunch kakis 🌻🌺🌸🌷🌹🌼🌾

Of course, with every farewell, there's bound to be a photo shoot…. I'll put up just the funny ones hehehe! 😘

@missy_ada my fellow gym rat

I realized we didn't have a dorky photo 😅

@gilliansng the most influential person in my life – influencing me to spend all my money 💸💸

Having bad stomachache with Ruth 😆

@ccharrmaine who's always so full of sunshine

Ugly crying face with @yespleaseashley 😫😫😭😭

頭痛 pose with @thejadeflower! 😂

👯 with our youngest intern Kai Li

Being gangsterish with Matilda. 找死嗎?!?

Attempting @rebekatee's famous mango fez…. but I cannot ☠️☠️

I look more like a flounder fish.

RBF is more like it 😎

The #02-04 girls – missing @missy_ada @davienne and @hellokatetan 💕

Thank you girls for being such an integral part of my daily life ❤️

From colleagues to friends – I love you all 😘

Not forgetting the video that took us many many tries because it was too darn funny.

Are we as cool as Girls' Generation yet?

Thanks @chrislovee for starting this trend 😂

醬 sweet 的 😢😢

Goodbyes are tough, but they don't always have to be sad.

Maybe that's the good in goodbye.

Till next time!

Late November last year, Coldplay made an announcement that they were gonna kick off the Asian leg of A Head Full of Dreams tour in Singapore.

After much contemplation ( @huienloi:211116 ), I managed to snag 4 tickets ( @huienloi:251116 )!

Can't believe that was November last year and then March 31st came!

I still fondly remember counting down…
In January: Coldplay concert this year!
In March: Coldplay concert this MONTH!
One day before: COLDPLAY CONCERT TOMORROW!!!! \O/

Of course went with the coolest crowd – L, my bro and my mum 💁🏻

I was partially panic-striken that momsy might not enjoy it but she loved it so much and couldn't stop raving about it to my dad 🙊

Also, I've always liked listening to them, but didn't consider myself to be a huge fan – i.e. know every single song, know all the lyrics. Wah, but this concert really just blew my mind and I'm having terrible post-concert withdrawal symptoms.

The last time I felt like this was in 2008 after The Click Five's Modern Minds and Great Times tour.

Wasn't a huge fan either but I left SIS feeling soooo overwhelmed!! The withdrawal symptoms were bad, coupled with extreme fangirl mode – I would dream of the band and cry whenever I listened to Empty.

I didn't have it that bad during Bigbang's Alive and 2NE1's All or Nothing tours ya – and that was when I was a huge fan – like know the fan chants and all the songs.

Being typical kiasu Singaporeans, we got to the venue at the recommended timing of 6pm which we really didn't have to since we were seated.

So kiasu that I actually took half day leave but ended up still battling work from home and didn't get to rest as intended 😥

L was luckier as his office closes early on the last Friday of every month 🤗

Of course must take photo since it's very rare for L to see me in full face of makeup.

Unlike other couples, L usually sees me in my worst form as I've got no reason to dress up when with him.

It's always gym then home. Or movies then gym 😭

Will you guys still dress up for a movie date if you were to go to the gym after? Or is it just me being lazy?

Such a heavenly view.

You're such a heavenly view 😘

L also specially went to buy some glow sticks for the concert!

Of course no colour better than Yellow because… Yellow? Ahaha.

Then I proceeded to tell him it's Bigbang's fan colour and he was like 🙄

The opening act (Jess Kent) felt like forever but before we knew it, the time has arrived!!!

Everything went dark and the LED wristbands lit up – dotting the entire stadium in red.

The crowd cheered because it was finally happening!!

The iconic rainbow colours 🌈

They kicked off with A Head Full of Dreams – one of my favorites from the album.

I came to know of this song from RPM72. Such a great starting song that helps set the mood to prepare you for the next 50 minutes of spinning on the bike.

And they were all yellowwww 💛

Would never have dreamt of hearing this live yet here I was… with my favourite person 😍

The crowd were in for a spectacular show – not just the band's performance.. but the lights, visuals and more 😍

Chris Martin on the piano as he sang The Scientist…

And he got the crowd to sing the chorus one more time because we were so good 😆😆

Loved the colours!!! It was so great to be there to soak in the atmosphere.. 😅

After a couple of songs, the band went closer to the crowd and charmed us with slower songs like Magic and Everglow 😌

❤️

Me to L: The laser beams look a bit like 九層糕 hor

We were brought back to an all time high with Hymn for the Weekend 🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼

🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼

TI FA LA!

Truly an adventure of a lifetime!

The surprise moment when there was a special stage!

The band performed Don't Panic and Til Kingdom Come (fan requested)!

When I found out that In My Place was the requested song for the second show, my heart was like nuuu 😩

That was the very first song I've heard from Coldplay, back in 2003 when I was just 10. It was in those top hits compilation CDs along with artistes like Evanescence and Jason Mraz.

Something Just Like This came on and needless to say, the crowd went wild!

Loved the graphics for this song.. the lyrics and animation along with the filters on the band 😍

I'm not looking for somebody with some superhuman gifts

Just something I can turn to, somebody I can kiss ☺️

When they performed A Sky Full of Stars!

According to those in the standing pen, the confetti were actually stars 🌟

It all sounded very fun and nice to be part of the mosh pit, but being seated has its pros to. Like enjoying the laser show, witnessing all the blinking lights and clearly hearing the audience singing along.

This song brings back such great memories during UB bound ☺️

The road trips that I would take with my housemates and L. The long drives. The late nights 😌

Admiring the beauty of all the lights ☺️

So spectacular 🌟🌟🌟

When it was Up & Up and we all knew the concert was going to end…

But it's okay because things are going up and up and up 👆🏼

Everything seemed so surreal.. Guess the performance really blew my mind.

Chris Martin's energy, as he belted song after song and barely rested in between for 2 whole hours.

While Fix You did tug at my heartstrings, i didn't cry like I thought I would. Probably was a little too impressed with the guitar solo that my mind just kept going wow 😍

Our satisfied faces!

Glad that L loved every bit of it! The last time he went for a concert was when NERD was in Singapore??

When he told me NERD I was like "huh who?" 😰

Then he said Pharrell Williams and I'm like "ohhhh" 😅

Not sure how to end this post… so uhhh how about a haiku? LOL

A head full of dreams
We didn't want the night to end
Till we meet again

👋🏼

Hello Dayre, has it been a month already?

Time seemed to have passed so slowly… yet a month has gone by. What have I been doing the past 4 weeks?

Let's see…… 😅

Seoul Spicy!

As usual, whenever McD releases a new burger, the office girls are always down to try it!

Guess we are all burgirls??? 🍔😛

Got it in chicken because it was a proper chicken rather than a minced chicken patty!!

The sauce was like any regular yangnyum sauce – tangy and spicy. Slaw was pretty good but overall, McSpicy is still the winner in my heart 👑

Nothing beats a well-marinated juicy chicken thigh 😋

The burger was a little messy to eat and I still prefer my Korean chicken plain… cos I'm weird like that 😬

The Kimchi shaker fries though…… 👎🏼

Pets pets pets! 🐾

Pretty much what I experience every weekend – having a furry butt in my face 😳

What chu looking at Stephi? 😛

"Yes? Were you talking to me??" 👅

Who's this lucky girl???? 😳😳

"Who???"

"You mean me???" 😳😳😳

Hoppy taking over the IKEA doll bed 🐰

Caramel and Toby (what a fatty) eating NONSTOP!

Cream being all shy and timid… ☺️

Apparently she's a show bunny!

Trying to get Caramel to ring the bell! 🔔

"What's this hmmmm?"

"Got it!!"

Smart bunny, using her chin to ring the bell 😆

Giving Rusky some love too 💕

This naughty cav jumped onto the table and almost got away with some Tai Cheong egg tarts 😅

Maoster! 😻

Maoster has captured the girls' hearts and we have definitely captured her interest in us too!

She has been so much more receptive… meowing at us, rubbing herself against us and all. Probably because she knows we've got food 😼

Last Friday, we decided to give her a fancier treat – canned food.

The girls were just standing around, watching Maoster eat, while random people walked by and wondered what on earth we were doing 😅

"Maoster can do CATuranga"

@rebekatee and I found Maoster lying outside and she started meowing 🙀

"What's this packet of rice doing here? I, Maoster, don't eat such food?!?"

"Where's my proper meal???"

"That's more like it!"

"RAWRRRR"

"Now give me some rubs!!!!"

Really slaves to cats sia 😹 #crazycatlady

#OBC

Finally getting around to blog about #obc bralettes!

I actually joined the bandwagon early this year if I'm not wrong… and bought the lavender daydream!

Soon after, I got my hands on 2 of the Vday sets – both of which are gorgeous – but I won't post photos online because awkward much to have your colleagues see you in lingerie LOL

During the backorder a couple of weeks back, @braintango very kindly offered a bulk purchase discount for the office girlies which I extended to L's colleagues as well 😘

The girls who ordered all ran into the room as soon as they got my message!

On hindsight, I should've arranged everything properly first so they could've taken proper photos and not wait for me to slowly sort out which is which.

"Lelong lelong!"

"Ah girl, bralette for you???"

It's been a while since us girls did a bulk purchase of items together so this was indeed quite fun!

But if there were going to be more orders, I would have freaked out because I'm so terrible with numbers!!

Anyhow, you see, that's the wonder of Dayre.

You connect with strangers and reconnect with old friends. Chow and I were schoolmates for 6 years and it's funny how this platform reconnected us over something as small and simple as bralettes! 😊

Fashion – yes or no?

Uniqlo has been launching some pieces recently that have caught my eye…. but I'm a bit hesitant…. to shop or not to shop?? 💸

Dusty pink/Rust blazer + white top + boyfriend jeans!

Yes???

I saw this combination on a mannequin (jeans were pale blue) and was instantly sold!!!

The blazer screams YASSSSS but do I reaaally need it??? Especially when those are faux pockets 🤔

Black camisole + white bf jeans

Tried out the light blue wash as well!

Love this colour but I don't think I look good in it 😩

Also I've got way too many pair of jeans but none in such a relaxed fit. SO TEMPTING.

Hello Friday!

It's been about 3 weeks since I last posted. I would say a fair bit has changed and a part of me don't quite know how to put my thoughts together… but then again, there were little moments last week and this week that I wanted to record down… also because I took quite decent photos 😆

When you don't write, you really lose all that momentum 😖

So last week….

It was my first time trying the highly raved Birds of Paradise.

In my dictionary, BOP is a yoga move where you bind your arms around one leg, lift your body up and stretch that binded leg up… and I guess you look like a flamingo of sorts – except with one leg sticking into the air 😂

Anyhow, the flavor I got was White Chrysanthemum!! It was so light and refreshing, and the cacao nibs elevated the flavor profile so subtly. YUM 😋

Was so pleasantly surprised as this was the exact ice-cream Nespresso used for their CNY special affogato!

Espresso shot + chrysanthemum ice cream + goji powder = YES PLEASE 🙋🏻

Everything looked so good!

Can't wait to bring L back here! The last time we went, it was closed!

And the thyme cone!!!!

What I loved about BOP was how the place smelled so heavenly when you first open the doors.

So gonna get the cone next time when the glutton feeling kicks in 😛

Beautiful plants framing the shop!

Loved how simple and clean the decor was!!!

Thank goodness this place is quite near home so travelling here wouldn't be a chore ✌🏼️

Last Friday

It's been quite a while Marmalade Pantry! 👋🏼

So, last Friday was Huiying's birthday!

Coincidentally, quite a few of my favourite people's birthdays are on 10 Feb! Ying, Ben Romans and Sooyoung, just to name a few!

About 3 years back, the both of us wanted sticky date pudding. But we were poor undergraduates, so we opted for the cheaper version at Pique Nique.

We made a promise – when we have more money, we'll go for the SDP at Marmalade Pantry.

Fast forward to last week, I told Ying, "Remember years ago when we ate at Pique Nique and said we'll go for the one at Marmalade Pantry some day…

Let's make "some day" tomorrow?" 😬

Craving for some fries so sweet potato it is!

I still remember the first time I had sweet potato fries at The Cheesecake Factory…. 😍

Had this pasta with prawns and scallops, dunked in some sort of prawn sauce…

Sadly it wasn't as nice as the other mains that I've tried. But they were generous with the ingredients?? I definitely wasn't expecting 5 scallops heh.

"Baby, this is what we came for" 🎶

It wasn't my first time trying this so I already knew it was good.

But I'm just glad Ying loved it as much as I did!!!

It was so warm, moist, not too sweet. And the vanilla bean ice-cream balanced it out. SHIOK!

Some things never change. And I'm glad it's us 💕

Online purchases

When Feb rolled in, I did a fair bit of online shopping 🙈

Thought that they would take quite a while to arrive but the efficiency surprised me!!! My loots both came on Vday! What a pleasant surprise!

First up…

This comic book by Liin!!!!

謝謝你把我當公主! 我是公主命!不是公主病!

I believe the artist only released about 200+ copies via a Taiwan website, books.com. Didn't think that I was gonna get my hands on it but one evening, she was doing a FB live video and she said "新加坡讀者也能買得到" (Singaporean readers can get it too) and I immediately camped for it!!!

It was such a headache maneuvering through the site since everything was in traditional Chinese, but I managed to purchase it in under 3 minutes! 🙌🏼

I love how TW has this thriving community of webtoon artists and they are just so creative!!!

This particular comic stood out to me because it was so relatable 😆

Typical couple scenarios and issues. Some are exaggerated but all so cute nonetheless 😍

And also this – Fitbit Charge 2!!!

Ever since my Charge HR died a couple of months back, my arm feels so naked… it was weird – not tracking my workouts, not knowing how many steps I've taken etc.

It was also sort of invigorating because I wasn't shackled by my fitness wearable..

Got it in lavender and rose gold 😍

So gorgeous I can't even. Absolutely love how the screen is larger now!

With the previous Fitbit, every time there was a formal occasion, I'd feel so sian that I couldn't wear it.

So the problem was resolved through buying another strap!

Pink leather strap!

It was definitely terrible of me to splurge like that but the Fitbit really helps a lot in tracking my workouts!

The best part? @missy_ada alerted me that Hachi Tech was having a discount and I saved almost $60 in total, for both the Fitbit and strap.

I had been waiting for the upcoming IT fair but thank goodness this came early! 🙌🏼🙌🏼

Haven't been doing much #engetsfit post… maybe sometime soon 😆

Early last week, L received an invitation from Fox for National Geographic Live with Thomas Peschak – an award-winning photographer for Nat Geo magazine who specialises in conservation stories about the world's oceans and islands.

The talk focuses around Peschak's experiences as he goes on expeditions to capture photographs of sea creatures (think sharks, whales, huge fishes etc) for the magazine.

Initially I wasn't too keen as L and I aren't big on sea creatures and there would be a cocktail session following the event. The alarms in the anti-social me were sounding but okay, no harm. Why not ya?

I'm glad we went for it because we've both learnt so much from Thomas himself!

Credit: @thomaspeschak (IG)

During the session, Thomas was very passionate about what he had to share. He also injected quite a fair bit of humour which left the audience chuckling from time to time. Apparently he loves the SG audience because we ain't deadpan which allows him to play on our responses and adapt along the way!

However, I was so drained from the lack of sleep, exercise and lack of caffeine so I admit that at some points, I was struggling to stay awake.. but hey!

He definitely was such an interesting speaker. I really regretted not slapping myself to remain attentive at all times.

Thankfully, during the Q&A bit, I was wide-awake and it was not hard to see why! The short Q&A session on its own opened my eyes to so many things..

It's also funny how the kids asked the most poignant questions!

The questions ranged from light-hearted ones like "what's the favourite photo that you've taken" to somewhat somber ones like "how has this affected the way you eat fish to the dark ones like "do you enjoy taking photos of dead animals".

And the way he answered these questions with such wit and humour made it seem like it was an easy feat but it definitely wasn't!

After the talk, we were treated to a cocktail session nearby at Indochine @ Chijmes.

I was partially dreadful because this girl here definitely doesn't like networking. I had expected it to be a networking session but to our surprise, it was an extremely close and intimate affair as a small group of us just set around a table and interacted with Thomas himself!!

TOTALLY WASN'T EXPECTING IT! 😱

During the short 2 hours session, I had learnt so so much from him.. Everyone just sat there, listening to him and being completely captivated by what he has to say.

The photographers with Nat Geo are scientists who specialise in a specific field.

Most of the photographers' backgrounds are related to their field of study. In Thomas's case, he's trained as a marine biologist so he's an expert in these sea creatures, in terms of their biology, behavior etc.

Photography is the added skill where they've just honed and practised so much till they pretty much just auto-pilot and are able to shoot without looking into the camera.

Many of their great shots are also accidental as they've been trained to snap while diving into the waters.

When he conducted a talk in NTU, there were students going up to him and enquiring about being his assistants and you know, his field of work isn't that simple. You really need to study and know these creatures so well, and to be experienced. The term "assistant" doesn't do the requirements needed to work with him any justice at all!

Not every photographer can be a Nat Geo photographer.

What's different about their photography is how they photograph certain scenes to tell a story. Hence, there has to be a flow, something like this – beginning, climb, climax, drop, mini climax, ending.

It is indeed very challenging, considering the requirements:
– Study some form of biology (marine biology, zoology etc.)
– Have decent photography skills
– Able to tell a story using photographs

It's the last part that kinda throws people off because not every photographer have that necessary skill to conceptualize a full story.

Of course, the articles that you read are a combination between good photographs by the best photographers and good articles by the best writers.

The Nat Geo articles and documentaries that you see are 90% planning and 10% photography/filmography.

In order to capture all these beautiful and fascinating shots, a tremendous amount of preparation work is necessary.

Think of it like a movie – you'd need to do lots of research. For example: location, time, creatures, sea/ocean behavior.

You'll still need some sort of a storyboard – visualise what are the shots you need to take, how do you go about framing the sea creature etc.

Prior to the actual shoot, you still need to do some site recce and test shots.

Sometimes you may not get your desired shots all in one day. After all you're dealing with nature! The creatures and/or the weather may not cooperate.

There's just so much time and effort put into a editorial and documentary! I really respect what Nat Geo is doing now that I understand what actually goes on behind the scenes.

With that said, it made us curious about the timeline of each article/documentary.

It takes about 1.5 to 2 years from pitching an idea to publishing it.

😱😱😱

When Thomas said that, our jaws dropped in disbelief… WHAT?!?!

He then explained to us.. it takes about 1-2 weeks for the idea to gets approved. Upon doing so, you may have missed the right moment so that sets you back a year.

If not, there's still 4-5 months of research and even more months planning. Every little detail has to be looked into because there are just so many risks involved.

Shooting these wild life creatures is not all about luck, but mostly immaculate planning.

Then there's site recce, test shots, actual shots, retakes. And once all that is done, you have to select the best shots and edit them. The writer does his magic in 2-3 weeks. It then has to be vetted, edited, sent to 20+ countries for translation, another round of vetting before being printed and released.

Can you imagine how much effort goes into just one article alone?!? It's intense!!

He even mentioned that in January, they're already prepping the articles for the June issue. That's crazy!!

Sharks are such misunderstood creatures.

Credit: @thomaspeschak (Instagram)

Don't get me wrong – sharks are dangerous. They are predators after all, just like a lion or a tiger.

However they aren't like what we've seen in movies or hear from the internet?

Look at it this way – Us humans, we've got hands. When we're curious about something, we reach out to them and touch it.

Like "oooh wow this cup" and probably pick it up to take a closer look at it.

Whereas for sharks, their sensing organs are in their snout or mouth. Hence when they're curious about something, their instinct is simply to get close to it and put that thing in your mouth.

However the human body is fragile so if the shark gets curious, what's left is probably a dead human or a half-torn limb!

Also since the snout is their sensitive area, if a shark gets too close, Thomas says he would simply hit them in the face with his camera and they would know to back off.

He also mentioned that with years of experience, one would be able to swim with sharks outside of cages. You'd definitely need a team though because you need eyes everywhere to let the shark know that you see them.

Once eye contact has been established, the shark knows not to approach you sneakily.. as compared to you doing your own thing and then OMNOMNOM you be ded.

I can't believe I learnt all of that in just a short afternoon and evening. It was so enriching and I'm glad L dragged my lazy ass to experience this!!

Can't wait for the next session… Apparently Nat Geo does this twice a year!! I now know better and will down some shots of coffee prior to the talk 😜

Lucky lucky us for being able to have such a phenomenal night!! ☺️

Hello Saturday!

It's rare that I'm going out to be social because my handful of friends and I rarely do ever meet up.. or see the need to 😅

Today's somewhat special since @bryntjoa is finally back from US last week 🙌🏼🙌🏼

On the way to meet him now.. and after reading all these #dayrehorror stories, I suddenly remembered this funny "horror" incident I had with him!

It was about 6 years ago I think… Definitely during J2 because it was during the period of time where we stayed back a lot to rush out our A level art projects.

Staying back till 10/11pm became a more frequent thing as our deadline slowly drew closer…

The art room was at the new block, however after a certain hour, the shutters would all be down, and the only way out would be to get to the old block where 正心園 was and to take the spiral staircase down.

We must have left around the usual 10+pm time as we didn't wanna stay any longer. Of course, the school was eerily dark by then. The corridor lights would be switched off, and we had to half grope our way to the old block.

Near the spiral staircase on the second floor, there would be a row of lecture theatres and then there would be the toilets, which was a long and narrow walk in.

Rumour has it that the male toilet is haunted or some nonsense.. people claimed that they've heard weird sounds in there before, like someone crying or water sounds when the toilet was not functional last time.

Don't know how true also lololol. I don't usually believe in such things but I also don't wanna take chances.

So it was late and dark (the only light source was the moon wtf) but to get out of the school, we had to walk past said toilet and LTs. NO CHOICE!!!

So when we got to the area, I don't know what came over me, and I decided to look into that narrow walkway which led to the toilet……..

As I looked in, I thought I saw something moved… 😰

And then I said, "Ermmmm…. LET'S RUNNNN!!!!"

Bryn was like ?!?!? but he followed me and we both ran as quickly as we could until we were all the way down to the first floor where it was brightly lit.

So Bryn asked, "What did you see omg???"

And I was like 😨😨

And he was like "WHAT?!?"

I sheepishly replied….

"I think it was my own shadow."

😂😂😂

I can imagine Bryn's eyes rolling to the back of his head 🙄🙄🙄

Sorry for the lame story but it was really quite funny! Hahaha both of us were running at mighty speed while shrieking 😂😂

For some reason, I really wanted to try Kith Cafe, but as usual, I don't get impressed by cafe food. LOL.

Everything just seems very mediocre. Nothing that I've eaten seems very WOW except for a handful 😳

We were supposed to go check out the Biennale but Bryn wanted to go for something else…. and of course, as a loyal friend, I'll do my necessary friend duties lolol 😂

This was what we came for.

I thought it was going to be a simple meet and greet session…. then we were led to this little cordoned off area right in front and I was damn embarrassed 😳😳😳

Since I'm already here, might as well 😂

Waiting for Bryn to be done with a phone call, so since I had a silly "horror" story above, I shall make it up with a spiritual encounter shared to me by my friend many years ago!

So apparently he has this 托夢 gift… He has received messages from people who have departed this world twice.

The peanut porridge

This was the very first time. He dreamt of his grandfather who had passed away before he was even born. In the dream, the grandfather was having a bowl of peanut porridge while telling him to study hard and to be a good boy.

The next day he told his mum that he dreamt of grandpa and the mum was like "eh?? But you never met him before. How you know it's ah gong?"

And he pointed to the photos at home and said "there. Ah gong in the photo."

When he told her about the peanut porridge, she exclaimed "that was ah gong's favourite food."

😮😮

The orange huat kueh

For some reason…. it's always about food 😅

So I believe the second dream happened a few years after the ah gong dream.

This time round, their neighbour had passed away… One night, my friend dreamt of the deceased telling him that he wants his favourite orange huat kueh.

The next day, he relayed the dream to his mum… and after the very first dream, his mum didn't wanna take chances so they went over to tell the neighbour's children about it.

The neighbours immediately went to check on their offerings and they exclaimed, "EH! Really don't have the orange huat kueh!!"

😯😯😯

So weird hor. But so interesting!!!

Inserting an #ootd shot since my buddy is back.

Thanks for making my legs look so long 😆

Signing off with a bitch face selca hehe 🤗

Can't wait to get home to finish up on some work before indulging in Goblin!

As much as I like Gong Yoo, I find the Grim Reaper's character a lot cuter!! Anyone who thinks so too??

Of course GY is very cute but I think there's a lot of his own on-screen persona in this Goblin character as he does very similar cutesy stuff that he did in Coffee Prince and Big.

Whereas for the Grim Reaper, there were small characteristics that made the role very adorable. Little things like how he doesn't know how to use the smart phone or the way he acts around Sunny makes him very adorable.

Or maybe I just don't watch any Lee Dong Wook shows to know him well enough 😅