Why Manual Transmission Cars ROCK BALLS

Don't give me that look or say, "WHY?!?!?!?!!ONE ELEVEN".

Happy stick for the superior mind, death stick for lesser humans.

Imma tell you. I never once shied away from driving manual cars. I was in fact excited over them. For me, the ability to drive a manual transmission car is absolutely a must-have skill. You'd never know when you'd be needed to drive a truck. Or something that isn't automated. 

When I started enrolling into driving school, I insisted on learning on the manual cars when my school offered packages for auto cars. For me, having a licence for only auto cars is a loss of skill. 

Here's the breakdown:

For someone's who is not a morning person, driving an Auto car would mean stagnancy in brain activity. Because you only have essentially two gears to maneuver with: N while stationary and D for driving and finally P once you reach your destination. R for when you need to back the fuck up, DUH.

With Manuals on the other hand, you need to be constantly alert. Like, you need to gauge whether you want to go on Speed 1 or 2 when the traffic jam is crawling, and Speed 3 or 4 when the highway is fairly spaced out with cars and if the traffic is at a standstill, you can simply free up your gear and pull on the handbreak. And you need to mentally memorize the positions of each function on the gearbox. You don't actually see the gearbox while you're changing gears, you sort of use your mind's eye when you do this and it asks you to STILL concentrate on all your vital angles and peripherals. 

See? For a morning person, a manual car is a must-have to give yourself that little jolt to being awake because you cannot afford to be a caffeine-deficit zombie as you'd be with an Auto. I found, over the months of driving to and from work that my mind is constantly alert and sort of...exercised? Like, there's serious brainpower involved in driving a manual car. For those of us who's just a slut for challenge, I DARE YOU. It is also easier to control the speed of your car in a Manual. The speed indicators 1-2-3-4-5 (some cars have up to 6 and I know one model of an Audi car has up to 7), controls how fast you need your bad boy to be. 

WHAT ARE THOOOSEEEE????

Driving a Manual car is seriously a lot of fun, depending on your personality. I agree, during traffic jam, driving a manual car is an absolute pain in the butt. But look at the positive, and think, well; toned calves! 

Say suppose you're driving on the highway and you want to change channels on the radio, if you had been driving on 4 or 5, you can change to 3 so that you get to slow down just a teensy bit to give yourself that quick timeframe to change channels. Of course not recommended on a busy road, use common sense and gauge the distance and sparcity of cars on the road. Had you remained on gear 4 or 5 on the highway, there is an increased risk that you'd underestimate actually how fast the car is going because you're at your maximum speed. You'd keep pressing the accelerator unknowingly. By changing gears to a slower level, you'd never exceed the speed limit of your gear (gear three gives you a maximum of 60 - 80mph while 4-5 gives you above 90mph). The "slow motion" in a dire situation gives you a leverage to quickly sort things out. 

The pros of an Auto car far exceeds a Manual, this I acknowledge but you cannot deny that driving a Manual is just so. much. FUN.

Susu Rizqi Mamadil ~ HOLY SHIT

This has got to be the first time I did a review on a local product. (Date written: 03/04/2018).

So I recently moved to a new job where I am surrounded by lots of Malay people. And one thing I learned from Malay ladies is that they're the most tip-top in anything related to jamu products. From makeup, to home recipes for better skin and internal health, and urm, bed business, they're somehow always on the update. Of course, since the brands are all locally made, I listen with a pinch of salt. Some I heed because my own Indian culture has something similar and it's tested & tried, some I just...NO THANKS.

So enter Mamadil. My colleague is a HUGE fan, she bought Mamadil Women Love, the milk (Susu Rizqi) and the Hydro-Wash. 

I am of course quite interested in Susu Rizqi. Why the hell not? It's goat's milk! Goat's milk is not only expensive, but contains more nutrients than cow's milk and the benefits: tenfold.

So when I looked at the ingredients...

Taken from here. 

Let's explore the powerhouse of an ingredients list: goats milk, olive oil extract, black seed, honey, dates extract and raisins. All superfoods blended beautifully to conjure an addictive and delicious of a health drink. I can honestly see why people love this. 

Now you see, the first time I was exposed to this milk was when I received a free sample from this colleague to "try first and judge". I was given the chocolate flavour which was not to this colleague's liking. Neither did I find it delicious. I was then informed by this colleague that she is getting a new packet, with the Vanilla flavour. I was promptly given a free sachet to try the vanilla flavour. 

My, my my! I must declare the vanilla flavour is SO MUCH BETTER than the chocolate one. This prompted me to buy my own bundle (vanilla flavour because it really does taste like ice cream!). Let me tell you the chocolate flavour did nothing to give me any sort of difference but the vanilla did...WITH ONLY ONE SACHET. Read on.

Mamadil Vanilla Flavoured milk made me feel:

1) Energized to wake up in the morning. Seriously I have never been a morning person but drinking this milk prior to my bedtime really made a difference. I have never felt such a wonderful clarity of mind upon waking up. So this is a yes for me.

2) Bowel movements was right on time. I usually poop much later in the morning after my coffee and nasi lemak has settled in but with this milk consumption, the next day (keep in mind all this is the next morning after drinking one sachet the night before!) I pooped right in the morning. Taik Susu Rizqi kekeke.

3) I noticed a certain glow to my face. Like I am a dark skinned Indian, but there was a "freshness". In Tamil, it's called "Saraswathy Latchanam". And I noticed this with another colleague who drinks this too. Her face is usually dull and lifeless in the morning but her dark circles have reduced and there was this unusual "glow" to her face. She even looks happier. It could be something else of course just coincidental with her taking the milk at the same time heh heh. 

4) This has nothing to do with physical manifestation but OMG the Vanilla flavour is so delicious and addictive. You just wanna finish the entire box of 20 sachets. OMFG such an incredible taste. Even as I am writing this I am savouring the taste. 

Now you see, the bundle that I bought came with three (3) free sample of the chocolate flavour (meh) and 2 booklets, each of a testimony of users and another one containing testimonies and other products available in the Mamadil collection. I plan to finish the Mamadil chocolate flavour in the morning because I really am not too fond of the flavour. Get rid of it eh. 

This is what arrived in my package. Free samples heh heh. The bundle contains only 20 sachets. Which means you have to buy them every 3 weeks or so to see the difference. Each bundle costs RM79 and I bought them directly from www.mamadil.com.my. Paid online and received it 3 days later. Very fast service. 

Mamadil is a very professionally packaged local product that was marketed very well and so far with the milk products the quality seems to keep up with the claims. 

The main reason I have fallen in the Mamadil bandwagon is because I want to see an improvement in my overall health. There's no harm in drinking a milk product that uses natural and healthy ingredients. I do not want to believe the testimonies that I have read online because most of them seem to be dealers of the products so there's a bias there. I want to be a completely independent reviewer of this product and confirm whether or nor this milk is a pass or just a overhyped flop. 

Oh at the bottom of the deck you can scan the QR code, scratch the little grey line to see if you're the lucky winner for a free Mamadil product. Malang tidak berbau, I takde RIZQI ini hari. Moga-moga orang yang beli ini RIZQI dia lebih bagus dari saya wahuhu...only wish the best for others!

Okay after I have completed the box and hopefully purchased a new bundle, Imma come back to you in like...3 weeks? 

Keep this in your bookmarks and explore my other pieces!

02/05/2018

Here I am almost a month later. Don't judge, everyone's get the Lazy sickness from time to time. Or in my case, 24-7. 

I meant to do this at the end of April but some romantic episode had kept me occupied *wink wink*. 

My previous claims still holds true. This milk really does enable you to have a good's night sleep, pass BMs easily etc. I have yet to see any improvements on skin to be honest. I just see a glow but nothing that improved skin texture or condition.

Another thing I noticed about this milk: it keeps you full for hours to come! It's an excellent meal replacement. I am seeking to lose weight safely (I couple this with exercise) and I can see a difference. It does keeps you energized for workouts and it's a great source of boost. You do not feel hungry after working out. I use it as a breakfast and dinner meal replacement. My wallet is not thanking me because it is on the pricey side and I've taken to buying two boxes every 3 weeks. I have recently made my 4th purchase last week. It arrived the next day of purchase so...yeah. Still no luck on the scratch-and-win thing that comes with the box. 

I can really see this as a staple in my diet, though I hope for a long term because I think this milk is doing a great service for what I need it to do. 

Maybelline Fit Me! Poreless + Matte Foundation ~ Review

Hello there~~~

I am generally impressed with Maybelline products. This Fit Me! line is all the rage in Youtube and Instagram. Many dark-skinned beauties (such as myself ahem) have found the shade range in this line to be absolutely phenomenal. In fact, I dare say that Fit Me! is more dark-skin friendly as compared to their other lines. I made a review on their Dream Velvet line here. 

The above colour is 338 Spicy Brown. Their darkest colour. And very beautiful colour.

The only downside it is absolutely the wrong shade for me! In my excitement to have found foundation for darker skin, I bought this because when I tested it under white light in Guardian pharmacy, it flawlessly covered my hyperpigmentation (caused my years of acne scarring). 

This glass bottle doesn't have a pump, which means you have quite a bit of wastage pouring it on your hand and using a makeup brush for application. I cannot understand why it doesn't have a fucking pump. 

The thing about the shade 338 Spicy Brown is, it is made for those with red/brown undertone in their skin. I have yellow undertone. Which means I need to use foundation with a lot of "yellow" in it. Thankfully my mom has red/brown undertone so I could give this to her. =P

I'll tell you what's absolutely amazing about this shit:

• It really is full coverage! OH. EM. GEE. It's so fucking full coverage. With my severe hyperpigmentation, I did not even need concealer. 
• It gives a smooth, flawless finish. I have enlarged pores on the apple of my cheeks and it smoothed it out!
• When I poured some product on the back of my hand, the solution was thick, creamy and a little runny, but once it's on your face...MIRACLE. It was lightweight, airy and absolutely a comfort on the skin. You could feel your face becoming fresher.
• It's buildable but one coat really is enough!
• It's a perfect everyday foundation. 
• It's extremely long lasting. My face was shine free for a long time!
• It has very little transfer. You can get away with not using a setting powder with this one. 
• It's a perfect night-time foundation. My face looked amazing when someone took a photo of me with flash on.
•  This is generally touted as a perfect foundation for those with oily/combination skin. 

What I didn't like about this:

• It doesn't have a pump so if you are using this foundation for everyday (work, school etc) you better give yourself a little more time before you head out of the house. Messy eh. 
• No SPF! So not ideal for being out under the sun.
• It oxidizes like CRAZY. Like cray cray oxidize! I recommend you get shades 2x lighter than your actual skin tone. I looked like I slathered chocolate on my face! I am caramel/tan this was waaaaay to dark on me. 

Would I recommend this? Absolutely. For my dark skinned sisters, you have found yet another affordable foundation for your skin tone range.

*Honest UNPAID review by a customer who tried and tested this with her own money. 

Maybelline Dream Velvet Soft Matte Hydrating Foundation ~ Review

In the last couple of years there has been more awareness of creating shades for people with darker skin colour like mine. With drugstore brands releasing some shades for darker beauties to compete with high-end brands, the everyday dark-skinned woman is happy to have access to products that match her skin tone (and friendlier to her wallet). Maybelline as I understand it have made a small attempt to release foundations for darker skin tones. I'd like to believe this.

The above product you see is their very popular Dream Matte line that was tailored for those with oily/combination skin, whereas their Dream Satin line is more for those with normal/dry skin.

I am actually terribly disappointed in this one. I was really excited to see a matte foundation catered for those with problematic skin like mine AND a shade range that matches mine. But the problem is, it only matched me when I was under the white light in the Watsons branch I bought this. 

It applied smoothly, the coverage is amazing! This is their darkest shade and within the range of caramel/tan skin tone that I am. It has a mousse-like texture and feels very cool when smoothed out on the skin. You really feel refreshed on this foundation.

It was chalky as hell. If foundation oxidation is an issue, a foundation that loses it's colour upon application is no less better or worse. It's just as bad. 

Even though the shade is a match for my skin but when spread out with a professional foundation brush, it was chalky and looked like I slathered talcum powder on my face like a schoolgirl from 1950's. 

I love, love, LOVE the feel of this on my face: it's airy and lightweight. You don't feel like there's something on your skin. It doesn't transfer too! So that's great. And it's definitely matte. My face remained shine-free and matte for a very long time. =) 

I just don't like how the shade is delivered on my skin. Maybelline should reconsider the formula on this Dream Velvet line to ensure their shades deliver for their intended skin colour. Beauties that are darker than caramel/tan...I am sorry but absolutely stay away from this tube! Oh yes, it's a relatively small tube (small standard 30ml). You may have better luck with their Dream Matte Mouse that comes in a really cute tub packaging. Not all Maybelline carries this in Malaysia so you're better off buying this online. 

*This is an unpaid review. A customer who purchased and tested from her own money. 

Sephora Collection: 10HR Wear Perfection Foundation ~ Review

If you don't know Sephora, you living under a rock.

For someone with a dark skin colour like mine (I'm like chestnut coloured), Sephora is a holy grail for makeup. Especially foundation. You East Asian and Caucasian folks wouldn't understand how hard it is to get foundation for my skin tone range.

This one is called the 12HR Wear Perfection Foundation formulated for oily-combination skin. Hence the label "oil-free". This is the shade 50 Deep Mocha. Matches my skin perfectly. One pump (yes, it's a pump, not a open glass bottle) is enough to cover the whole face and neck.

It's glides on smoothly on the face, has very high coverage. My face is riddled with scars and hyper-pigmentation. This liquid foundation makes my skin look absolutely flawless. You don't even need concealer if you're wearing this foundation. It's a matte finish that blends in with your pores.

It's not lightweight though so even in the first application you can feel it on your face. Which is why one pump is enough. Anymore than that you'll have a cake. The shade range in this series is pretty incredible. People with dark skin tones would appreciate the selections available in this range.

I used a flat top makeup brush to spread out the foundation after dollop-ping the foundation all over my face. I used a circular motion.

The only con about this foundation is that on a hot day it melts off your face. I use PORE-fessional by Benefit and I still have shine and oil from my T-Zone. This foundation is not long wearing as it claims. Use a good setting powder and primer for this foundation. I truly believe this one would work well on cold days or if you're only ever exposed to air-conditioning in the office. Keep a compact powder of the same shade to touch up throughout the day.

It is definitely on the expensive side for an everyday use foundation costing at RM78 per bottle. Mind you it's a pretty small bottle. Drugstore dupes of similar quality can be found for cheaper but drugstore brands don't carry too much of darker shades. They'd have 10 colours for light-skinned gals and maybe 3 for supposedly "dark" shades. They're caramel to tan at most. Ugh.

Do I recommend it? Yes for my darker skinned beauties because it does give a flawless finish. As said use a damn good primer and setting powder. 

Travelling to Hat Yai by Land: An Experience

I went with my family. We rented a bus decided to save on flights. This means that instead of reaching Thailand in one hour, it took us about 10 hours.

And that's just on the road, not including border control from both Malaysia and Thailand.

Because I travelled from Malaysia, passing through Malaysia land border was a breeze. Malaysian Immigration is suprisingly efficient this way.

It was the land border control at Sadao that killed us the most time.

Because our destination was Hat Yai, we need to pass through the land border control in Sadao. In the olden days when the old immigration office was in effect, my dad recountered that it took only 15 minutes between queue and stamping despite not being electronic. Now that they have moved to a new building with supposedly tighter regulations and modern equipments, it took me one fucking hour.

I'll tell you the "fun" facts now:

1. There is no crowd control in Sadao Immigration Office. So you see people cutting lines and pushing people like neanderthals.

2. There's only one queue line. This means the red-banner thing that supposed to keep a queue, only has one. You kind need to push people around JUST to get into the "actual" queue line. Picture this: a school of sardines pooling outside a cavern because only one fish can pass through at a time. It's absolute hell. I was lucky that we departed quite early in the morning and there were only 80 people at most. By the time I crossed, the queue had trailed way into the main road.

3. Immigration officers are rude as fuck. Just answer their question and smile. They can deny you entry simply because they are in a bad mood and can choose for the heck of it.

4. The new immigration office is extremely small and has no proper air conditioning. Be prepared to rub with sweaty, smelly, sticky people. DO NOT carry too many things with you except absolutely the necessary things. Forget about buying things in duty free during departure. Your priority should be standing in line first.

5. Empty all tanks and bring plenty of fluids, sunscreen and a hat. There's very little shade if the queue trailed way outside into the main road. They DO NOT make special arrangements for the elderly or disabled. You queue like everyone else.

6. Granted the new Sadao Immigration Office has only just begun operation but it's seriously badly managed.

7. If you must buy stuff in duty free, wait until Changloon Duty Free Complex. Throw all hope at Sadao Departure Immigration Office. Changloon has pretty nice chocolates.

8. Despite the general bullfuckery, it's a very clean place. You can shower and get spruced up there.

9. Because there will be shitloads of buses around, those with respiratory difficulties are advised to bring the necessary medications and supplies. Pollution is very bad there. Extremely important to stay hydrated. 

10. Once you have passed through the departure immigration office, go get you a nice cup of coconut water. It'll help with the heat wave, hydration and any pollution you inhaled. There are plenty of hawker stalls selling organic drinks like coconut water etc.

11. Don't be one of those nutters that wear heels during travel. Wear sensible shoes.

12. They sell freshly cleaned petai for dirt cheap. My mom bought 2 packets. My dad also bought larger than usual cashew nuts from the hawker stall areas.

About Hat Yai

Hat Yai has a significant Muslim population because it's so close to the largely Islamic population of Northern Malaysia. They have a very beautiful integration of Muslims and Buddhists living together in perfect harmony. Hat Yai has many Hindu temples (Vinayagar and Ganesha temples)

Floating Market is a MUST-SEE. You get excellent street food and very nice clothes for dirt cheap.

If you visit Buddhist of Hindu temples: make sure you get blessings from the monk to ensure a safe journey for you wherever you are. They ask only that you make a small donation for the temples maintenance. They'd give you a divined necklace or cloth bracelets as gifts. It is an experience in itself.

Muslim food is Hat Yai is not very nice in my honest opinion. I had it only once and never wanted to eat them again. Go for genuine Thai or Chinese food. They're better.

If you pass by Perlis highway to enter Malaysia from Hat Yai make sure you eat at the Indian-Muslim (Mamak) shop near Changloon Shopping Complex (not to be mistaken with Changloon Duty Free Complex). It's a little corner restaurant. I believe they have a Marry Brown in the opposite of you want fast food.

Any questions feel free to ask!

Castaway! Love's Adventure

It's part of Voltage Entertainment Inc USA romance POV game Lovestruck Series. You can download it in Android app store. You can buy Passes and Gems/Hearts if you need them for certain route choices. I usually buy passes as I cannot wait until the next chapter. By default you're given 2 passes but that's not nearly enough and you have to wait some time before they recharge.

Story is simple: You and a bunch of others are in a cruise ship. I have no idea where we're going but you guys for some reason are in the cruise ship. I was too distracted by the gorgeous characters to pay any attention. You are an aspiring and talented journalist, travelling with you is your colleague TK Yoon the Photographer, the ship Captain Clyde Hughes, the young millionaire funding this expedition Arthur Singh, a genius engineer who built the ship Logan and finally the ship's doctor Serena Zhang.

The ship capsized in the middle of the sea and as far as Otome goes you're all beached as Castaway in an unforgiving and beautiful island.

The MC appears to be a woman of colour and has a very curvy body. She's very beautiful and natural looking.

Now the characters:

Now you see our captain here is a total daddy material. Oh Captain, My Captain. He's reliable, mature, calm and will definitely keep you safe. Has a body you wanna bring home to mama. Oldest at 36.  

I suppose he's your jerk with a good heart. He's totally insufferable at first but he'll grow on you. Surprisingly reliable.

This mofo over here is straight up husband material. Ridiculously handsome with a good personality, how can you not catch on him? Plus he can cook. 

The genius engineer that created a drone from a bunch of coconuts. This guy you wanna keep with ya in case you need emergency helicopter or something. He's really cute but can be a little focused to the point that people can feel abandoned.

This snarky, no-nonsense doctor is your LGBT route love interest. She's brave and doesn't give a shit. It's hard to break through her shell but once she does, oh man she's irresistible. 

This motherfucker right here is straight up sexy man. He'll give you one hell of a good time but he's afraid of commitment. Plus, he's into BDSM. He's quite similar to Serena in the sense that he's a pretty difficult code to crack. He also doesn't take himself seriously so he's difficult to understand.

I would seriously recommend this game. I think it's meant for an older audience like myself. If you're more than 20 years old you'd appreciate this game more than teenagers.