Day 254: 10 Things That Make Me Happy

Dear Dayre,

I don't mean to be annoying with all the "ten things" stuff, but since dear Roseanne tagged me on Instagram to list down 10 things that make me happy, I thought that Dayre would be a better platform.. I can type more here without feeling guilty for having too much text if it were Instagram!So today's entry is gonna be..

“10 things that make me happy! ”

If you are my real life friend, or you know one of my friends, I think generally people will tell you that I'm a very laid-back and happy person! I don't really get sad or very angry or emotionally down. I guess part of it has to do with my childhood and the way I grew up. Not to sound like I was a pathetic little thing, but I really did get teased a lot when I was younger. For my 大小眼, for being a 胖妹, and for talking like Daffy Duck. Of course I did feel upset at times, but most of the time, I just shrugged it off or laughed it off the best I could. Maybe I just always had an overwhelming amount of confidence! I always told myself that it didn't matter what people who didn't love me thought of me, cos they are not the ones that matter to me.So even until now, if I get negative remarks or comments or haters, I really just find it very amusing and I laugh it off without feeling offended at all. 

But this post is about what makes me happy! And happiness is something I value very much. I honestly seriously think that the pursuit of happiness is the most important thing that anyone could do in a lifetime! Human beings are actually very transient creatures. The earth and the rest of the universe have been around for billions of years, but we only live a short life-span of at best 80-100 years. That practically makes us as minute as a tiny little ant in our huge huge universe.When you start realizing that you're actually but a very unimportant and tiny speck of dust in the universe, you might then ask yourself, so what is living all about? Is it about the fast cars, the money, the branded bags or some kind of status that makes you more admirable or a cut above the rest?

I guess at the end of the day, what everyone really wants is to feel like more than a speck of dust, be recognized and have our self-worth validated. We want to feel like a success and not a failure. But if you come to terms with the fact that our time on earth is really extremely short and transient, it makes more sense to focus on what's important. And that's living a happy and fulfilling life day in and day out. 

I have to admit that I get side-tracked too. Sometimes I let silly things bother me. And the worst is when you start playing the comparison game and you know you're never gonna come out on top cos there's always gonna be someone better.

So at the end of the day... Stop comparing and stop chasing ideals. Stop letting society dictate what you do and do something for yourself.Do what genuinely MAKES YOU HAPPY! (Within limits of course. If you're an axe murderer and killing innocent people makes you happy, then you obviously have a problem somewhere.)So yes, happiness is very very important to me and I try to be happy all the time. It's as simple as that.

The best way to start with happiness is always to give thanks and remember the little things that make you happy. Here's the ten things that make me happy!

“1. Music/singing makes me happy! ”

Maybe it's ironic that I love to sing sad sad songs, hahaha. But I just feel that the depth of human emotions can only be fully expressed in music and I enjoy immersing myself in the music and being able to touch a chord in the hearts of listeners. Probably in the bigger picture, it means that being able to connect to souls out there makes me happy as well, cos that's what my blog and social media platforms are about?

“2. Travelling and discovering the world makes me happy ”

I'm not sure what's the magic in travelling and seeing the world. But it gives me SO much wonder and so much joy to step onto foreign soil and to view the world with eyes like that of a newborn. Every sight is new and every sound is interesting.

Seeing how big and beautiful the world is also makes me realise just how TINY I am. I am indeed just a speck of dust. And that makes me appreciate all that I have even more which makes me happy!

“3. Spending time with my loved ones make me happy ”

When you find kindred souls who are able to make you feel so at ease that you don't have to worry about being judged or mocked at or teased or exploited, you can then truly set your guard down and really wholeheartedly love and enjoy each other's company.

Humans can never be lone islands, and I am ever so grateful for the kind of happiness my friends bring to me. Support, encouragement, advice, chiding, I know they really care and they're my solid rocks through the good times and bad. 

“4. Doing what I love makes me happy! ”

New arrivals on www.thevelvetdolls.sg!

And right now, doing what I love gives me a huge sense of satisfaction and happiness. Starting up TVD, working and growing the brand over the years, painstakingly manufacturing and curating in designs, coming out with beautiful products and seeing them on sale on TVD, spotting customers wear TVD clothes makes me SUPER happy and proud.

Every time an item gets sold out and back ordered and every item that gets raves and compliments makes me real happy!


“5. My man makes me happy! ”

YZ really changed me a lot. Despite all I said about how I laughed off negative comments and snide remarks as a kid, I did still have a secret fear inside of me: that I'd never be good enough for anyone.I think this has to do with how I never received any words of affirmation or praise from my parents as a child. Third place in class? Well then, why weren't you first in class instead? 95/100 marks? You should be aiming for full marks, really.

My parents are awesome people, but I've come never to expect any positive reinforcement from them, and that fear of rejection and of never ever being good enough crept into me even as a young adult.I was really afraid of getting into a relationship because I was fearful of letting my guard down and allowing someone into the innermost crevices of my heart. But he loves me wholeheartedly and makes me believe that I am a person worthy of being loved, and he makes me happy in the simplest ways.

“6. Yummy food makes me happy! ”

I love to eat so much it isn't even funny. Food makes my tummy really happy and satisfied, especially when I'm sharing a meal with people I love! Though I don't love the getting fat part, so at the end of the day I have to balance out the two and try to keep things somewhat neutral. I still wanna enjoy my food but I'll be a bit more careful about my portions and try to go easy on the bad food. Overall though, I find it too hard to resist yummy good food. Happiness comes from a content belly!

“7. When you leave a comment or send me an email, it makes me happy too! ”

There's a joy in knowing that something I wrote and shared was of value to someone else who read it.. I guess it makes me feel happy that what I share resonates with another person who might have been in need of a different perspective or even felt inspired or motivated by my sharing. That's the incredible power of the WWW and social media. It makes me feel like I'm not alone and knowing that you touched someone else's heart or mind is a very humbling experience.

“8. Sometimes, just having an off day or time to do absolutely nothing makes me happy!”

Being self-employed means I run around doing stuff 24/7 and having a weekly launch schedule on TVD means I almost perpetually have something to do all the damn time. I don't know how some people can keep their engine on 24/7 and work non-stop, but I love having days when I can just put everything aside and do absolutely nothing!

Usually that entails chilling at home and reading a good book while rolling around in bed. You know what they say, time you enjoy wasting is never time wasted. 

“9. Seeing my three adorable pooches make me really happy! ”

Ok, I just realized that I'm a very repetitive person cos a couple of my "happy" points came up in my "about me" entry too?! But it's all related since it's all about myself.

Seeing my dogs run up to me excitedly whenever I get home makes me feel happy! I have to admit I'm more of a dog person than baby person (why do those two always get put together?) at the moment. Probably since I've yet to experience the greatness of motherhood.

My favourite saying used to be "When the whole world has turned its back on me, I still have my pet dog."

“10. Creating beautiful things make me happy! ”

Beautiful things make me happy, in general. I love beauty in any form, be it a stunning sunset, a beautiful face, a wonderfully done artwork.

So this also branches out into me loving makeup/beauty, enjoying the creation of and listening to beautiful music that stirs emotions in me, loving photography and taking beautiful photos, even manufacturing pretty designs for TVD. Everything boils down to my love for beauty!


...And that's all!Took me so long to think of ten things that make me happy. HAHAHA. But I'm satisfied with my ten happy things! They're truly some of the most important things that bring me happiness.What are your ten happy things?

xoxo

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Day 251: Editor's Pick! // 10 Things About Me

Dear Dayre,

“I'M EDITOR'S PICK! ”

On "being the girlfriend that we'd love to have"... Reaaaally?  Not at all lah! And although I'm sure YZ is very in love with me, he actually really hates how busy I am and how little time I have for him some times. So now that I have some new followers who don't really know who I am.. Hello! *waves* If you're wondering why my friends call me "Tuna Goh", it's really quite a stupid reason hahaha. 

Since we're at it, let me do a "20 facts about myself" and see what I can come up with!

“1. Yina is my real name (on my birth certificate) and it's not my mandarin name but my English name.”

My sisters are called Gina and Lina and for some reason I got stuck with the most unique one "Yina" which doesn't mean anything and it is a made up name. But I love my name and identify with it so much because it's fairly unique and I have a huge sense of belonging to my name. The reason why my friends like to call me Tuna Goh is because iPhone sometimes likes to autocorrect my name sometimes so when you type "Yina" it autocorrects to Tuna instead..  Now you know why.

“2. I was born with congenital ptosis and had an operation on my eye when I was 8.”

How I looked like as a kid (and got teased terribly for)

Years before plastic surgery even became popular, I got cosmetic surgery done on my eye due to a birth condition: I was born 2 months pre-mature and spent my first month in the hospital. It affected me a lot when I was a kid because of the stares and rude/hurting remarks I would get. I would cover my eye and look in the mirror feeling sad for myself. 

But I'm healthy and happy now!

“3. I used to be a professional illustrator/comic colorist.”

I worked as a comic colorist/painter for about two years at Imaginary Friends Studio and did a lot of coloring work for American comic companies like Top Cow, DC Comics and Penny Arcade. I also illustrated game cards for WoW (World of Warcraft and Warhammer 40k.

My avatar (the one you see on top of this page) is illustrated by me as well. I spent a huge part of my teenagerhood online on art forums and honing my drawing skills, which is also when I met @evonnz online 10 years ago! Keke

“4. I speak with a lisp.”

A lisp, also known as sigmatism, is a speech impediment in which a person cannot articulate sibilants ([s], [z], [ʒ], [ʃ], [tʃ], [dʒ]). These misarticulations often result in unclear speech.

I hate hearing myself on tape cos I think it sounds retarded. And my classmate once sneered at me and called me "Daffy Duck" and imitated my speech.  It got better as I grew older I think! And now it's less obvious but I still try to avoid pronouncing "s" when I speak. Especially when I meet new people.

“5. But I love to sing! ”

I occasionally do pop music gigs, and I'm a singer with the SYC Ensemble Singers (a semi-professional non-profit choir made up from passionate singers) & have been singing in SYC for 7 years and counting. I love all kinds of music and my entire family likes to sing! From my mother who was belting out A-Mei to me since I was a toddler to my two sisters who also enjoy singing.

I take classical voice lessons every Thursday & teach pop vocals before heading to choir rehearsals every Saturday. 

“6. Apart from music, I love animals! ”

When I was younger, my first ambition was to be a vet. But then I realised how much I needed to study and also I might need to cut up poor little animals and I decided to switch from being a vet to a zoo keeper. (Lol, so much for my lofty ambitions) 

I've owned countless pets from hamsters to rabbits to sugar gliders to dogs and my reward for getting a good PSLE score was a pair of hamsters in a luxurious 3-storey tall enclosure. 

I now have three adorable dogs and an entire aquarium at home!

“7. I am a bookworm ”

I loooove reading anything, from the back of cereal boxes to Wikipedia. I'm not picky about what I read usually, but I like fiction a lot and I enjoy fantasy genres! Usually the longer the book the happier I am because it gives me greater joy and a longer time to enjoy the world of the author and his characters. 

Harry Potter is a frequent re-read, and I read lots of random authors from Murakami to David Eddings. I like brainless chick lit too like Sophie Kinsella! Not fussy at all.

“8. I've been battling with weight loss since I was an overweight kid ”

That's me, the pink whale on the right. And although I successfully managed to lose about 10kg when I was 20 years old through prescription pills and a crazy diet/exercise routine, I find it extremely hard to keep myself slim and healthy. I LOVE to eat. Especially carbs, junk food and all things sinful.

My weight has been yoyo-ing back and forth in the 50s range and I really want to lose 5kg in time for my wedding. Currently I'm going for regular TCM sessions at Slim Couture to help with slimming.

“8. I'm getting married on January 1st 2015!”

To my partner of seven years, YZ. He's my first boyfriend and my first relationship was when I was 20. Super late bloomer hahaha. It's less than four months away to our wedding day and I'm starting to feel the stress... I'm not a bride-zilla and I'm not very fussed about the wedding but there's SO many things to do it's kind of overwhelming right now.

“9. I have bitchy resting face but I'm actually quite friendly really ”

Some people tell me that I look really fierce when they see me on the streets and all that but really I just have a very fierce looking face when I don't smile and I'm quite friendly actually! So if you ever see me at events or like on the streets or what.. Can say hi to me la I will say hi back! 

OKAY.... I give up.

I must be so uninteresting that I can only find ten things to say about myself, so let me present you with one last "about me" fact..

“10. My greatest ambition is to be 张惠妹's (A-Mei's) back-up vocalist!”

I know it sounds totally ridiculous.. But I would love love love to be Amei's back up vocalist hehehehe. I love her personality and her voice and her songs! I would much rather be her back up vocalist than be an artiste myself. Not that I'm even at that level teehee but that's why it's a dream right?

There you go! Now you know ten more things about me and I hope you'll enjoy more of my sharing along the way! 

xoxo