Volunteering Journey - Grandma Maria

This has got to be one of the few moments that I choked to fight back tears.

With thanks to The Singapore Eurasians (TSE) for the invitation in having me bring cheer to perform for the children and elderly of the less fortunate, I witnessed many life-changing emotional moments today.

I was in my Satarina costume and Grandma Maria showed immense happiness when I approached her. To my utmost surprise, she held my hands tightly, kissed them and laid her head on my shoulder which I reached out to give her a big hug. She couldn't stop smiling.

Although her voice was not really audible, I managed to make out some of the words as she commented about her liking of my costume.

At one part during a game segment in progress, she turned to me. "I'm happy.. I'm happy. I'm very happy", she said, beaming. I felt tears welling up in my eyes as I shared the moment of joy with her.

Before I changed out of my costume, I decided to see her one more time before I called it a day. She smiled as she saw me walking into the room and held my hands again.

We shared a little chat session and she told me how the gold ring on her finger was given to her by a friend. She was such a lovely lady who found joy in everything.

"I'm so full. So full," she suddenly said.

I looked at her stomach and patted it. "Hey! You can be Santa Claus now!" 

She exploded into laughter.

Granted that she might not have a positive family history, but yet she appeared to be one of the most cheerful people I've ever met. 

It was soon time for me to go.

"I want to give you a hug", I said softly. I stood up and wrapped my hands around her. She gave a joyous laugh and returned me with a huge hug and thumbs up. 

"Come and see me Maria always ok? Come and see me...." She patted my hands and gave a hearty laugh. I felt a sting in my eyes and tears welled up. I nodded.

"Good bye", I said. "Please take care and I will see you soon, ok?" 

Grandma Maria nodded and smiled. I stood up and left the room, overwhelmed with emotions.

Sometimes, happiness can be achievable with such simplicity of life. 

I was glad I managed to take many precious photos and videos (but due to protection of their privacy and confidentiality purposes, I will not be posting them online.) 

One thing for sure, they are precious memories to keep and remember by. Grandma Maria, may God bless you always and I'll definitely hope to see you again soon. 

[Review] Online Durian Delivery?! LEGIT OR NOT?!

Attention to all durian lovers out there: RED ALERT. 

Just be warned. This post is not for the faint-hearted.

I am a mega HUGE, HUMUNGOUS, GIGANTIC fan of durians.
(Yes, I am those kind that will wait for durian seasons to enjoy the great taste of durians. I am sure fellow durian lovers can relate to this, right?!)

When I had the opportunity to review durians from Durian Delivery, it got me really excited and hyped.

Initially, I was very surprised - I have been very much of a shopaholic online and would often shop for products ranging from beauty items, houseware, etc .... And never have I imagined that one can even shop for DURIANS now. 

The first thing that caught my attention was their line stated on the website
"Freshly plucked durians delivered straight from the farm"

What impressed me most is the source of their durians.
As stated on their page: (You may feel free to head down to their website to understand more about the origins of their durians, too)

"Our trucks coming from Malaysia are a dedicated durian delivery fleet. These drivers are trained to pick up durians, and speed all the way down from our plantation to our packing area in Singapore with no other stops. While our drivers are driving at maximum speed, safety is of the utmost importance to us."

SOUNDS INTERESTING RIGHT?!?
It's like a direct source from the trees and into your mouth within hours.

(Note to the efficient drivers: But please do be careful on the road, okay?! While delivering fresh durians to customers are important, SAFETY first!!!)


After an arrangement with Durian Delivery, the durians were delivered straight to my doorstep at night.

They really did deliver at the fastest speed!

I was VERY impressed by the tightly-sealed packaging.

It has ZERO smell at all - Literally nothing.
To the extent that you can even place it in your bag safely without any tinge of smell at all.
Not a single worry that you won't be able to take public transport without smelling like a walking durian, too. 

After taking some photos, it's time to reveal the contents...

Once I tore open the seal, the STRONG fragrant scent of durians filled my whole 3-room flat with immediate effect.

Please do take note that ALL of my durian photos are totally UNFILTERED for utmost accuracy.



Here's a close-up:

POWER. POWER. POWER.

I touched the first small piece - The texture was kinda' firm (not soft and slimy type).

Time to take a bite.

(Pardon the bad shadow)

I am not trying to exaggerate here, but I almost SQUEALED with delight. 

I was expecting the durian to be hard, but to my utmost amazement.... It was SUPER (NOTE: SUPER, REALLY SUPPPPERRR!!!) soft, creamy and juicy at the same time once my teeth sank into it. 

I LITERALLY HAD GOOSEBUMPS.

It was an explosion of rich durian taste in my mouth - and I was struggling to find the exact adjective to describe how good it was. Being a durian lover who has tasted countless of durians before, I have to say that this is simply the definition of what a premium durian sensation is like.

The taste: -

I was greeted by a surge of sweetness during my first few bites, and the taste steadily transitioned to a tinge of bitterness, forming a pleasant bittersweet experience - Totally perfect for people like me who enjoy both the sensation of bitter and sweetness in durians.

Honestly, I am not going to see durians the same way again. I have known durians can taste good, but  this has far exceed my expectations by heaps and bounds. 

My dad isn't exactly a durian lover but his first bite took him by surprise, too. His first word was a simple "WAH" and he commented that this isn't the "typical" durian that he tasted before. 

The price may be a bit on the higher side ($27.90 for 400g) , but trust me - If you are a LEGIT durian lover, you will feel that this is really worthy once you've taken your first bite. Just ONE bite and you will have your verdict.

There is NO WAY... NO WAY that durian lovers will dismiss this.

If this isn't premium quality, I don't know what else is. Pardon me if I have to break into Singlish... but HIGH LEVEL THIS ONE AH.

There are many other varieties of durians on their website to suit different individual's taste, too, ranging at different prices!
(such as the normal Mao Shan Wang, Red Prawn, etc)

The ones that I had for this review were TSW durians. (Hand-picked Old Tree MSW durian!) 

You can read more about the durians HERE (I find it really captivating to read!)

You've been warned. 

All it takes is just to try it once for yourself to see the difference between them and the usual durians!

Other than their main website at Durian Delivery , They can be reachable via WhatsApp too at 93874394 or e-mail address at: admin@duriandelivery.com.sg 


THANK YOU, DURIAN DELIVERY! My durian season experience is made awesome because of you! :)

When Virtual meets Reality

As ironic as it may sound, I do have my dislikes for social media at times.

The impact of social media can be huge. 

Every single word that you post after pressing that "Enter" key on your seemingly harmless keyboard can be seen by the kazillions of people online (and that includes your family members, spouse, relatives, etc).

You'll have no idea who are the ones reading it, just like how I am clueless who is reading my current blog entry, too.

As much as I love social media (which explains why I became a blogger to begin with), I have had my fair share of negative experiences that changed my perspective towards the impact it can cause in real life.

I was someone who did not give second thoughts about ranting online, and did it one day when I was upset with a classmate. 

Everything happened a long way back.

While I did not name names, she happened to read what I wrote (which I had no idea she read my blog as I was not really high profile back then). Things somehow got out of control and we engaged in a "keyboard" war. 

Our friendship took a bad turn as we eventually brought it to real life by giving each other the cold shoulder since then.

Things were never, ever the same again after the incident.

And it all started only with just a blog post.

See how powerful social media can be?

It may be a spur of the moment, but there is no turning back once the damage is done.

That is one of the reasons why too much Facebook-ing can be bad as well. With Facebook, one is able to post his/her thoughts online instantly within seconds, and it is not helping that many are using it as a platform to express their emotions and thoughts. albeit the negative way.

(Yes, I am not afraid to admit that I am guilty of being one of these people)

Don't get me wrong -I love Facebook. I use it as a social platform to interact with my friends (and it has helped me to re-connect with long-lost ex-classmates too, which I am thankful for), share my blog posts to a larger group of audience, promote my blog, etc. Not to mention that I enjoy reading the random posts shared by friends on there as well.

It's just that most people have underestimated the power of Facebook and its influences.

There were times when I was aware certain people were posting about me (without naming my name) as those posts were simply too obvious.

Of course, feigning ignorance is my forte.

多一事不如少一事.

Always remember, think twice before you post. 

Unless you are mentally prepared to sacrifice the relationship or friendship, that is.

Xiaxue VS Gushcloud Saga - A Publicity Stunt?

Wow. So much drama over a short period.

I believe most of you would have heard about it by now - It's all over the media. (If you haven't, then I guess you may be living in a well or something)

Yes, it's the recent Xiaxue Vs GushCloud saga.

Granted that both sides have given their say, can you tell who is the REAL victim here?

The blogging industry may not be as glorious as it may appear to be, and yes - It has its really dark side, and I would say these are the few possibilities: (I am not making concrete assumptions;but just merely noting down points that MAY be POSSIBLE)

1) Everything is a well-orchestrated publicity stunt (You never know)

Win-win situation. Nobody is suing anyone here. Nobody gets hurt, but everyone involved gets the publicity. Even those previously unknown bloggers can get that bit of limelight from this saga.

2) It's a competitor thing

It's common that this industry is getting competitive now. With so many companies (including those big brands) seeking bloggers as part of their marketing campaign (Do not belittle the power of social media), bloggers form a huge part of the influential process in the world today.

It has always been known that NN and GC are competitors, and it isn't unusual that such methods are "implemented" to kill off the other party once its a rising threat. Jealousy kills.

Whatever it is, everyone has gotten their piece of cake - Bad publicity is publicity, too. There are many bloggers out there who depend on blogging full-time as a living, and such publicity is pretty much needed. It's their main source of income, you know?
I will not be surprised if most of them GAINED and benefited from the saga more than losing their reputation. Afterall, the "damage" has been done and they are having everyone's attention now.

I am definitely not taking any sides here.

At least... I'm still a decent blogger and am glad to be out of these mess.
(I was actually approached by Gushcloud once, but I guess I still prefer to be my own influencer. LOL)
 Now let's sit back and watch as the episode unfolds.