Let's make Animal-Testing non-existent.

Have you got a pet at home, let's say a dog, a cat, hamsters, rabbits or even any other pets you might have as a companion?
Do you love them everyday that you would want to cuddle them and brush your hands against their furry bodies?
Calling out to them everyday when you get back home after a long day of work, and them running towards you seems to relieve all that fatigue you have?

Thank you for loving your pet. Similarly, I hope you would love any other any animals/pets even if they do not belong to you.
Whenever we purchase a cosmetic product, have we ever though of what goes behind the scene to manufacture and make these products?
In order to beautify ourselves, how many innocent lives have been taken away just to make sure these products are suitable for our skin?
I am definitely not a saint, there are times that I bought cosmetic products not knowing what went behind the scenes. However, as we start to gain awareness about how all these cosmetics are being tested, we can make a difference to the lives of these innocent animals!

The Body Shop and Cruelty Free International have united to bring about this awareness to United Nations. Recently, dogs were taken to the streets, right outside the United Nations headquarters in New York to protest against animal testing. It is shocking that approximately 80% of the world still do no ban cosmetic animal tests.
So right now, The Body Shop and Cruelty Free International are calling out to all of us to sign this petition, in which upon reaching 8 million signatures, this petition will be presented to United Nations and promote the opportunity of banning animal testing for cosmetic products.

Credits: The Body Shop

Across the span of 6 months, 4.1 million signatures have been collected, which makes us 3.9 million signatures away to make the lives of these animals a better one. Are you willing to be a part of this campaign and make these animals live a happier life like how your pets are in your household?
If so, you can pledge your support over at Forever Against Animal Testing.

I have made my pledge towards this, what about you?

Together, let's make a difference to our world. And to a happier world that we live in with all these cuddly fur balls that could possibly be alive 😀

love,
cynnie.

Train ride.

Travelling on a West Midlands train, bound from Birmingham towards London Euston.

I sat on a 6 seater area together with my dad and sister, as well as an unknown stranger. A 2 hours train ride.

My dad and sister fell asleep, but I didn't feel like it. A holiday that we had long planned before is almost coming to an end. I wanted to take more glances at them before they head back to Singapore.

Dad fell asleep. He looked tired. I felt sad.

How hard he worked for to bring me here, and always wanting to give me the best.

It triggered me so much, to how much I want to support him in the rest of his life.

It reflects very much likely to the stories back in the old days, how parents worked hard to give their child the best.

To what people of us nowadays say, it's just a story.

But how many times have we ever thought that it happened to us in our lifetime? It did to me, and I'm definitely one hell of a lucky girl(to myself). 

Love is so brave, warm, heart-wrecking, priceless and something that one can never force upon the others. Because love is so valuable.

Thank you dad, for loving me so unconditionally. For showing your pure happiness when you visited my school, apartment and my workplace. 

To see your loved ones appreciating what you have done, it is really a sweet moment. To be waiting for your daughters shopping, how tiring that must have been for you. My endless thank you(s).

My sister, despite small bickers(which we resolved quickly with laughters) made this trip really wild. We braved the winds of Louvre museum with my godparents and dad. A heavy downpour with 32km/h of wind speed was no joke. Even if it was a moment.

We made it together to the Eiffel Tower. Those moments are unforgettable. 

We raced for Disneyland rides together. Squeezing our bags through roller coasters with 360 degrees turn when we were secretly hoping that there were some compartments to keep our bags oops.

Taking silly photos and just enjoying each other's companion. Shopping for gifts and buying gifts for each other...sweet moments. Such sisterly moments are deeply etched in my heart, something we can't wipe off from our lives and mind.

Thank you for ensuring my silliness and stubbornness at times. I'm blessed, with a family that loves me so dearly(and all of you too!)

My godparents, who also took care of me throughout this trip. Despite me catching a fever for 2 days, my family gave me the strongest support throughout this whole trip. ❤️

-

And so the day came. The day that my dad and sister headed back to Singapore while I made my way back to Birmingham. We bid our goodbyes at Victoria Coach Station.
I gripped a hold of myself, with tears unknowingly streaming down my face.
As I caught my West Midlands train back to Birmingham, my heart felt empty.
The past few days, I had my dad and sister alongside with me on the train rides. but now, it's just me.
I couldn't help feeling lonely. I felt sleepy, but I had no shoulders to lean on.
I leaned on my luggage handle and fell asleep.
Why do good moments end so quickly?
Yes, people say a year will fly past quickly. However, there are some moments that a year feel like an eternity.
But I treasure it. My classmates, my colleagues and my family who had unwavering faith and hope in me. Thank you for accompanying me alongside this rigorous journey, a key part of my life.
I give thanks for everyday that I wake up to, and to everyone that is around me.
Thank you & I love you.

cynnie.

Future.

How will my future be?

Sometimes I get this question so often," What do you want to do after you graduate?"

Started pondering. Getting a job, yes. 

But I haven't exactly thought of where I would want to land my foot at.

A spot that fits me.

But besides a job, I have thought of what I want my life to be.

Something that is enough for me to survive on, and at the same time I could let my parents live a more relaxed life.

I would want to fulfil my dream of having 2 dogs. Maybe a Pomeranian or a Toy Poodle.

Living in an apartment and hugging them everyday when I come back from work.

Whether I'm married or not, that is part of my dream.

To be able to continue blogging, which after not blogging for awhile, I started to feel empty, and it seems like there's nowhere I could pour my thoughts out.

If you guys are wondering how's my life like in Birmingham right now, I would say it's been going great thus far! Since it's the holiday season, I have much more time to relax and sleep in because I really lacked sleep during school period while juggling with work and school work.

And this week my dad, sissy and godparents are here to visit!

A really packed schedule in London, Paris, Manchester and probably Birmingham as well.

Really excited to meet them once again in somewhere far away!

Fulfilling some of our childhood dreams together with my sister. 

I will definitely updating more photos over here to share with you guys!

So please stay tuned while I steer away any negativity here.

Hope 2018 has been a great start and stay happy as always :)

loves,

cynnie.

Save me.

Life. How fragile is life.

Alone in a café, watching people pass by under the drizzling of rain. 

"Baby I'm so lonely," played on my headphones.

Emotions wavered along with the song, and how it feels like to be pressured by everything else in life. 

Wishing that I could have another one of myself by my side. 

To lean on, to cry on.

Stress filed up 99% of me, with 1% of myself to allow oxygen in.

Felt myself in the shoes of someone else, who felt that he was always not enough.

Feeling that I am enough for myself, but to others I am never enough.

Needed an outlet to free myself.

If my soul could stand somewhere else and look at myself, maybe it would feel like I had another person by my side.

But I'm all alone.

Alone.

A loneliness that can not be hidden. 

A loneliness that can be seen through the window of my eyes.

How can I be better for the others.

Trees swayed along with the strong wind. But it didn't fall.

Will I be strong enough like the tree, and stay strong through all these pressure?

I asked myself. 

I don't know.

Save me, from drowning in an ocean of unhappiness.

Wet eyes, drenched tissues.

I reached out for a hand, but there's none to hold.

Save me.

I'm losing a part of me as time passes.

cynnie.

Thinking back about life.

& what is life?

Is life about socializing with friends, making the ones around you happy?

Or is life about appreciating the little moments in your life.. even if its just some alone time yourself?

Reading a book, staring into space, watching your favorite drama series, crowd watching or even just sipping on a cup of mocha, leaving foam on your upper lips?

We all have different definitions of life.

But have we ever tried putting ourselves into the shoes of the others, and truly think in the way that they do?

Perhaps some do, and some don't.

Nevertheless, we can't deny the fact that we can't be a 100% of the others.

Even if we could be of the same similarity, there would be that 0.000000001% in between.

And that's what makes us all unique individuals.

& the theory comes.

Why do we judge, scrutinize and criticize someone else's life?

When one starts, and the other begins. and it keeps ongoing.

And there are some times, that we feel like we ain't ourselves.

We are unknowingly controlled by someone's perspectives of us, we are afraid of comments.

We get eaten by our fear of comments.

But why do we have to succumb to them?

Do they know how we like how our life to be?

Will they ever appreciate if we explained it to them, or would they just define life as the way they define their life?

Life, is about happiness, smiles, sorrows, and being true to ourselves.

Life, is not about negative comments, wary eyes of the others and the fear of being laughed at.

If we fear, our confidence is technically slashed by fifty-percent.

If we smiled, we might boost our confidence, even if its a five percent increase.

Forget others, think about yourself.

That's when you shine the brightest, so much brighter than the others who wrap themselves in blankets of criticism and judgemental looks at the others.

& let them be.

For they will never be the same individual as you.

♥

Is it really all that I deserve?

Back in U.K for 2 weeks, and I am finally all settled in Birmingham.

I've faced so many issues along the way.

Almost being homeless for my semester in Birmingham, everyday I ask myself, 

"Where do I stay next?"

I moved between hotels in London, as I had nowhere to stay in Birmingham.

My parents were freaking out, and so did I.

Rooms in student accommodations were running out real quick.

If all was gone, where do I go next?

And right now, I'm glad I could be sitting comfortably in my room, typing out all these thoughts of mine.

The price of my current room almost doubled from my previous accommodation, which I had no choice but to take up.

Otherwise, I would not have anywhere to go.

As I thought about how I landed here, I thought to myself," Do I deserve to live in a place like this given by my parents?"

The truth is, I never felt that I deserved it.

I never do.

From all the worries and financial burdens I've given to them due to my education,

Was that even justifiable for them to let me be so pampered in a place like this?

I am lost for words for myself.

But what I can say, is that it's all parental love.

Parents; the ones who gave birth to us, were given the enormous responsibility to raise us up.

How many times have we let them worry, stress and upset about us?

And how many times have we yelled, fought and literally forgot about the pains they took to raise us up from babies to toddlers, preschoolers, teenagers and to a full-grown adult?

not everyone does that to their parents.

At least I am guilty for doing that sometimes.

But as I typed this out in my blog, I started to reflect on how blessed and pampered I am from my parents and siblings.

I know what's going on around me, and I need to know that too.

To my dearest parents,

Thank you for all that you've done for me.

Thank you for all the effort you have done to raise me up, to provide for my living expenses, education and accommodation.

Thank you for tolerating me all this while.

And what I want to do, is to bring a smile to your faces.

To earn and to lighten your burden, so that you could enjoy the retirement life in future.

And to repay for all that you've done.

It is something that I could never fully repay, but I'm going to try my best.

I love you both, a lot.

till eternity.

And to all parents in the world, you are all amazing human beings.

goodnight,

cynnie.

Summer is on the way!

S U M M E R VACATION: I'M ON MY WAY!

Yesterday was officially the last day of school for me!

Assignments were all cleared, and I survived my very first semester.

4 months of holiday, and I have not planned what to do exactly for my holidays.

So many places in mind... Brighton, Wales, London, Manchester(again!) and definitely Liverpool.

So I just came back recently from my day trip to London.
Being an ultimate Gordon Ramsay fan, I finally tried one of his restaurants in London.
So I went to Bread Street Kitchen...located right at Bread Street.

We ordered a Superfood Salad topped with Chicken and Lamb Cutlets.

May be considered one of our most expensive meals ever since we came to U.K., but it was nevertheless worth the money as the quality was top notch!

Soft, tender and chicken. It was not dry, unlike my usual cooking of chicken....

:( HAHAHA

Lamb cutlet was succulent, and you could easily get the meat off those bones.

Talk about eating easily in a posh restaurant.

You don't face the problem of getting your food flying off your plates and watching it land on the floor helplessly!

Just that expression of Mr Bean...

We wandered back to our favorite area in London, Soho - Regent Street.

Pretty much wish I could shop there but time was running short.

Leicester Square was our favorite spot - or rather Chinatown in London.

Waited to meet up with one of my Singaporean mates.

& guess what, we queued for the highly raved Bubblewrap while waiting!

Usual queue time is about 2 hours, and we probably got it in like 45 minutes - 1 hour.

People left the queue midway, so I guess that's how we made our way through it.

*Psst... you know the trick now!*

You still need patience though HAHA

There you go!

Berries & Cream w/ Nutella Sauce + Green Tea Ice Cream with Strawberries

Definitely loving those egglette waffles!

And so so glad to have caught up with one of my Singaporean friend, Yong Quan!
That feels when you meet someone from home :')

Sadly, good times always come to an end.
I had to catch my train back to Euston and back to Birmingham.
We had to bid farewell till then.
But nevertheless, that few hours spent were precious ;)
Thank you Yong Quan!

London, you're definitely some place I'm going back again.

Really missing those food from Camden Market, Burgers & Lobsters.
Of course, I've yet to visit Borough Market, Battersea and my Harry Potter tour!
I'm coming for ya!

Stay tuned while I retrieve more photos on my phone.
I hope summer will be a great period for me to revive this dying blog,
because honestly, I miss this feeling and all my readers :')

Cheers!
cynnieco.