What is Love ? I Don’t Know !
Love is lots of things to me.
I can go on and on about how different people may interpret ‘love’ as.
I can tell you all the different definitions you may find online and stories about how love “should be” like.
There is no singular explanation for ‘love’ because it is a special feeling deep within us, one that makes your heart flutters and yearns for more.
It has something to do with everything when it comes to ‘love’ and the only thing that matters is really just the two people who are in love with each other.
I happened to come across this old song by Joni Mitchell, “Both Sides Now” and I liked this part of the lyrics most :
I’ve looked at love from both sides now,
From give and take, and still somehow
It’s love’s illusions I recall.
I really don’t know love at all
I can’t say I am a love guru but I have seen happy stories and way too many heartbreaks since I first came across ‘love’.
I believe that there is no such thing as “Mr Perfect” or “The One” out there but that doesn’t mean you can’t find that special someone in your life.
Of course, I’m still at an age that I can’t possibly declare now that the boyfriend is the one I want to spend my entire life with (even though I do want to, haha)
If you ask me “So is this the true love you’ve been waiting for ?” – I honestly don’t know and there’s no way I can tell you the answer.
But he is someone special to me. I may not know how ‘love’ should be like but I think as long as the two people are comfortable with each other and have a certain level of trust and love between them – that’s all it takes to keep the relationship going. (Of course, communication is really important)
I think I have been reading too many relationship-related books lately, just finished “He’s just not that into you” ! Will review it soon 
Actually what triggered this post was thanks to the boyfriend, was quite a sweet surprise to see him at my voiddeck today 
Especially when he stays at the other end of the world is not exactly an ‘Eastsider’ like me. (and I was late for at least half an hour..haha)
These are the small things in life that makes a difference, and how special love can be.
It is the thought that counts (as cliche as it sounds) but it’s true. Really! Try it on someone you love =)
P.S : No, this is not a mushy post ! I just want to share how people can keep a relationship going strong ! 
Fresh Blood On Max : True Blood
Just a couple of months ago, my friend in Canada was telling me about this new vampire show that I might like (I’m a fan of fangs and supernatural beings). You have no idea how excited I was when Daryl showed me the invite to HBO Asia’s blogger event for the new drama series, True Blood.
Being my first time to a “Blogger” event, I didn’t know what to expect but I have to say I really really enjoyed myself that night. I liked the idea of this small cozy gathering where people just hang out and chill while Karen from HBO talked about the show and the brand new Cinemax, “Max”. We then got to this really long trailer (which can probably pulled off as a summary of the entire season, haha) before the fun begins.
After learning more about the show, a bartender demonstrated how to mix the drink we were actually served that night “Tru Blood“. Being an alcoholic, the cocktail was yummylicious and3 bloggers were later asked to take the stage and gamely took up the challenge to whip up the same drink.
Enough about the event, let’s move on to the show ! Why should you watch True Blood ?
Here’s 7 (and probably there are more) reasons :
1) It is created by Alan Ball – the guy who created Six Feet Under.
2) It is based on the popular Sookie Stackhouse novels, move aside Harry Potter and Twillight.
3) There’s Anna Paquin (newly crowned Golden Globe winner) and hot Stephen Moyer in it, quite mismatching but we can always drool over them as individuals.
4) Sounds like Twilight ? Hell no ! It’s far more sexy, flamboyant, entertaining and engaging. (I’ll say Twillight is for teenagers while True Blood is for the mature audience) Just look at how creative their marketing is (sadly, this is not found in Singapore).
5) Did i say SEXAY ? Girls will want to date someone with fangs from now on, and guys…don’t feel too upset over the adult scenes. lol
6) Yes, the adult scenes with the vampires were…interesting i must say. lol
7) And thanks to the generous people at Max/HBO, You can stand a chance to win HP Mini 1000 notebooks and HP iPAQ Pocket PCs when u visit the game site !
I’m really looking forward to finish the season once exams are over (yes, I’m actually having exams next week! Yikes!). Anyways, earlier that night we were also asked to take pictures of ourselves mimicking the True Blood poster (hur hur)! It was a refreshing twist to what I initially had in mind of what a Blogger event might be – sitting down in a room with boring press kits and information shoving down your throat. Nothing like that ! Thanks to the awesome HBO team for the wonderful night ! =)
P.S: True Blood premieres in Asia today (April 9) on Max, Starhub Cable Ch 59 ! ( Encore broadcast on Saturdays 1pm and Sunday 11pm!)
Social Media Breakfast 6 (SMB6)
It’s been awhile since I’ve last updated the blog, been tied down by school work (last 2 weeks of the ter, yay!)
There’s just so much to blog about (HBO True Blood event, my overdue blip.fm review, SMUBE Campus Radio etc), so do keep checking the blog in the next few weeks to come !
Anyways, attended my “virgin” Social Media Breakfast (SMB) yesterday night and boy, I’m glad I took the time off from work to.
SMB6 was held at Island Cafe, Tangs at 7pm in conjunction with Tangs virtual launch of its SecondLife store and Earth Hour. (That probably explained why it was not a “Breakfast” but a really late one instead 
)
Being my first SMB experience, I was looking forward to meet new people and mingle around. (which of course I did)
Seeing familiar faces from Plurk was great because I can’t exactly call myself a Social Media Junkie or a Blogger per se , was feeling rather “extra” in that sense.
As for the consumer panel, I will not go into details of what the discussion had to say as you can read Dorothy‘s live-blogging action here.
Just a few words on the event itself as a participant of the night
1) Venue and Technical Glitches – I guess the SMB team is unable to do much about such constraints, the venue was indeed alil small for such a crowd (I’m guessing at least 80-100 people turned up?!) but I felt it was rather cozy and a smaller area tends to bring people together easily (like you have no choice but to mingle around..haha) It was quite disappointing that the venue caused another problem which I’ll mention next.
The audio system was rather flop right from the start, but such technical glitches are not to be blamed ? Coming from SMU Broadcast & Entertainment, I know best that such problems are the last thing an organizer would have wished for, especially after soundcheck etc…but there’re really nothing much to be done during the event itself if sh*t happens. I guess the team will probably learn from the “mistake”. 
2) Type, Not Chat- I understand that alot of people were there to network/mingle around, but I feel that it’s only basic courtesy to respect the panel and listen to what they have to say. Like hello, there ARE people who are straining their ears and trying to catch up on the conversation betwee n the panel. Ok, maybe the audio/venue problem has a part to play but I was rather annoyed by the fact that it IS already difficult to listen to the discussion and people are chattering away at the back. I’m not saying that it’s bad (ok,quite rude actually) to talk or comment here and there but be alil more considerate ? If you are there to catch up with a friend, kindly do it outside. Maybe SMB should have this “no talking,just typing” rule in the future. haha 
Of course, I understand that people were late and pretty much jammed outside the main discussion area, but bear in mind that it IS rather small, and people don’t exactly “whisper”.
3) “Social Media…what ?” – I was quite amused by the fact that those sitting down were whipping out their netbooks and 3G/WIFI devices during the event. But it was rather sad to see the discussion(s) were not exactly about the consumer panel. I was probably one of the few who tried to twitter away during the event, mainly to keep track of the discussion and make notes. Plurk was as usual a more “informal” topic starter with the usual plurkers plurking about random things. I thought the SMB participants could have been more involved via these platform if you’re like some “introvert” or too shy to speak up during the panel discussion. In fact, I was quite surprised that not many people were involved with the panel discussion or twittering questions/comments regarding the topics. In the end, I find that Plurk and Twitter have become a feedback outlet for the SMB team instead, with people commenting or complaining on the venue/sound etc.
4) Cheep Cheap Cheep,Free ! – Is this a Singaporean (bad) habit/trend ? Are people turning up for events just for the free food/drinks ? I overheard someone going “wah..so fast no more drinks already..yadda yadda” and I’m quite sure I didn’t see him/her was not very active (or rather,not even there) during the panel. What’s an event without food you say ? Sure, food can still be provided but at your own expense. “How can like that !” So does that mean you are NOT coming for the event IF you were to pay for your own meal ? I do think that less(er) people will turn up because of this change if the team decides to take away the “free meal”. But hey, I’m sure you guys out there are really turning up for the content and not the free meal right ?
5) Discussion Topic (s) – Perhaps because it’s a consumer panel, I felt like I didn’t “learn” much about Social Media/Marketing but I could relate to them as a whole. I understand that SMB acts more like a “beginner/introduction” to Social Media but I think some of the participants were looking for more in-depth discussions. Perhaps a closed-event would encourage that. But having an invite-only event also defeats the purpose of “introducing” Social Media to more people out there and engaging them. I guess the SMB team will have to consider alot of factors to see how the next SMB can cater to both groups. 
6) Tangs Virtual Launch – I was quite “lost” during this segment because 1) I didn’t bring my specs (haha) – it was too far away and the screen was kinda tiny. 2) Maybe a live Demo and hands-on will be more interactive 3) Explain why Tangs decide to use SecondLife which doesn’t seem to be a very popular platform for Singaporeans ? (correct me if I’m wrong, because I’m not a SecondLife fan)
7) Earth Hour – “errrr…so what do we do now ?”, “lights off ! yay!” was my reactions before/during the lights off period. I was expecting more but I guess with people streaming out of the room, the “atmosphere” was kinda dampen. It was still rather interesting to talk to people in the dark (that explains why I’ll probably NOT recognize/remember the ones I’ve met..haha..excuses)
These are just some personal thoughts on SMB6. I’ve enjoyed myself a great deal and great to meet some of you out there (do leave a comment/drop me an email at ingridmak (AT) gmail [dot] com if you happened to be one of them!). I’m looking forward to SMB7 already. 
You can read Daryl‘s personal comment on SMB6 here as well. I think some of my concerns were explained/reflected in his post.
P.S: I figured that I need some grammar/spellcheck plugin (haha), too lazy to edit. Sorry ! Not many photos taken either, too dim for my N82..anyone wanna sponsor me a proper DSLR ? =P
Giselle loves the tote from Tangs by the way, it brings out the “little aunty” in her. HAHA
and don’t ask what’s with the 3G “joke”…it’s MORNING and i have 4 more reports to complete 
Thinking Aloud : Gen Y
So after the post on how I believe Design should affect real social changes, I believe that blogging should too.
Although I’m still relatively a “fresh blogger” (and definitely not the most interesting one around), I see blogging as a platform to give voices to those who don’t have any but dying to be heard. Blogging (or writing) is a form to release, a way to make us feel better. But if technology (I’m thinking of social media here) allows, with the resources – why can’t we create real changes and raise awareness ? It’s time for us to get involved. 
The question is “Do we care enough?”. Gen Y have always been labeled as too”self-absorbed” or plain “whiny” or the “Gen-WE/Gen-Me“. I guess to a certain extent it’s true, what we blog about is ourselves,our lives, our everyday happenings etc. I (sadly) probably belong to the same category. We sometimes forget that blogging is really more than just ourselves alone. People from the various generation may have valuable perspectives but they are usually different from THE generation itself. 
For instance, I’m pretty sure the analysis of Gen Y-ers (interesting factsheet on Gen Y) may not be entirely true/inaccurate. So why not let others understand us better via real action instead of just whining about how others view us as ? It may be difficult for us to define ourselves when we’re on the inside but the least we can do is educate,discuss,share ideas, and create changes. I believe that if you write well enough, people do listen.
So to end things off, here’s a bunch of Gen Y-ers who produced a podcast “GennY” (pronounced as Jenny) from the Singaporean Gen Y’s point of view. 
I do believe that it just takes alil effort to make ourselves heard (and known, instead of misconceptions of us), so yays to the team behind this. Looking forward to the next podcast (not being biased here), personally I think it’ll be interesting to discuss more on workplace relationships and (maybe) family topics.
Maybe I should start a dseign project on something too. (Haha)
