Diary of a Singaporean now living in Rome, Italy
Hi everyone!
Cart and I just got back from a 4 day trip from Capri and Napoli to attend our friends’s wedding. It was so beautiful and everything went so lovely that I feel so blessed and humbled.
Yes, that’s a baju kurong I am wearing there
I’m feeling a little tired from our long train ride home to write a proper post, but I’ll try to blog more about it as soon as I can. In the meanwhile, here is something to whet your appetite 
So beautiful!
Hi everyone!
My birthday will be coming in about a month’s time (August 1!)and it’s starting to be kind of like a tradition for me to make a video tribute to all whom have been wishing me happy birthday (like this one done last year)
So this time round, instead of it just being me making a video, I was just wondering if anyone would be interested in participating in a sort of video-wishes collaboration. I think it’s gonna be fun! Just like this one I did with friends over at ping.sg.
It can be a simple as just you filming yourself saying “Happy Birthday Marina!” or dancing around with a placard that says “I love rinaz.net!” or shooting yourself eating my favorite food, Ayam Penyet on my behalf … or anything crazy! Anything goes!
To sweeten the deal, best video will get a fantastic prize! Of which at this point of time I have no idea yet. Italian Food Ingredients? Italian Mekap? Or a first class train ticket from Laurentina to Rebibbia! (That’s like from Boon Lay to Tampines) 
Just let me know in the comments below, what you think. If there are at least 10 people willing to do it, we could give it a try 
P.S If anyone is wondering about the chocolate cake picture, I made it! And here is the recipe how 🙂
My bestie Hema was ambitious and decided to go on a two week Europe tour. Personally for me, I wouldn’t recommend such a compact trip as it would be such too rushed to be enjoyed properly. Nevertheless, I had to respect her decision.
Anyway, Cart and I managed to meet up with Hema and her hubby for pizza and they started to talk about their experience in Rome. And just as I’ve expected, it was a tiring day for them, as they walked all over, visiting all the major monuments in one day.
And then we started to talk about the comparisons of prices. Like 4 euro for a gelato while my favourite gelateria would be 2.5 euro. Nevertheless, it was understandable since they were in a touristy area after all.
But the scandalous part of all was when she told me, “The tour agency said that the water fountains next to the road is not safe to drink” I was completely dumbfounded.
“They said that this is because the components of the water is different compared to the water in Singapore” She added.
It was just so incredulous to me. This is unsafe? This?
This is a Nasone. Literally translated, it means “Big Nose”. It’s a water fountain where anyone who is in Italy can drink from freely. The source of the water is from a spring and while some fountains may look dirty, it is completely safe to drink from.
I mean, I’ve been drinking from this since 2005 when I first visited Cart and Cart as well as a zillion Italians has been drinking this since they were children and no one has been dead from water contamination yet. So what gives?!
You can check this out in the 7.50 mark in this video I made in 2007
It was then when I learnt that the agency charged money selling their own bottles of water for about a euro each. Sound cheap? You could get them for 30 cents in a regular supermarket here in Rome.
Imagine the profit you’ll have for one person. Now imagine it for 40 passengers. Now imagine it for the next 14 days. All for just water.
And that’s just the water part. I haven’t included entry tickets for monuments (They had to pay 3 times more to enter monuments compared to regular ticket prices) additional bus petrol fees (wtf? Shouldn’t that be included already?) and other transportation fees as well as TIP for the bus driver.
Woah. What a rip off. I’d rather travel by myself.
Me as a teenager
Friend : You studied at Jurong Institute?! You MUST know Soandso! She studies there!
Me : Err …
Me now
Friend : You live in Rome now?! You MUST be familiar with Hotel L’Albergo!
Me : Err …
After hosting the lovelies Daphne, Serene and Nick for 5 days, they left Rome just a few days ago.
I’d have to say that I’m very impressed by their stamina … It seems like they could eat and walk and eat and walk non stop! Funny thing is that whenever I asked their opinions, they’d always reply … “It’s ok!” … What kind of answer is that? 
Anyway, we visited touristy places such as the Saint Peter’s Square, The Vatican Museum and the Colosseum.
And we visited non touristy place like Tony’s Gelateria, The Torre Agentina Cat Sanctuary and the wet market.
I took some video shots and so hopefully I’ll try to update this blog with some video blogs the next few weeks. Cart and I had a blast hosting our guests that I feel withdrawal pangs at the moment …
I want to eat my gnocchi con asparagi again … 
Sidenote : I think Cart and I have potential to be a husband and wife run tour / homestay agency
I started to swim at about 9 years old – it was part of an after school enrichment course I suppose. But all I can remember was how much fun I had. Swimming came naturally to me. And I used to swim so much that people thought that I was an Indian for a while.
My best friend E1 and I would head to the Jurong Town Swimming Complex. It was interesting as I remember that it had a very tall diving board and that edge of the pool was about 4 meters deep.
Picture by Good Morning Yesterday
As kids we’d do silly things like rolling off the edge and into the pool. Impulsively, I pushed him down the pool and ran away. Later, he looked at me all bewildered, and told me that he hit a couple of swimmers below. I was such a naughty kid.
The pool has since been converted into a hockey rink, much to my horror. So we had to travel a little more to go to the one in Jurong East. Come to think about it, even the stadium next to the pool is closed to the public. My mum can’t do her morning jogs there anymore.
</grandfather stories>
Anyway, I miss going swimming. Although I balk at the thought of paying about 10 euro just to swim at a public pool here in Rome, perhaps going for a course at one could be cheaper.
And so I dragged Cart to take me to a couple in the neighbourhood. After searching and inquiring, I signed myself up for aquagym at the pool which is within walking distance to my house. If you’re wondering how much it costs there – it costs a yearly 30 euro sign up and 11.50 euro for two times a week. Oh and it is also compulsory to show them a medical certificate from a doctor.
The Piscina Communale Roma 12 isn’t a classy looking place, but it isn’t a bad place either. It’s an indoor pool, the place is clean and the pool is heated.
I can’t take pictures in the pool, so here is a swimming kitty instead
And so I went to my first aquagym class yesterday, I took my pass at the segreteria and then went through the ladies to change. There is a connecting door to the pool and then I handed my pass to the caretaker there.
I met a couple of ladies there and we started our aquagym proper. It was a lot of fun. It’s kind of like regular gym, but only in water. Every movement feels slowed down and less rigorous. But it was still a challenging workout anyway.
After our our course, I headed off the to shower to clean up. But when I reached there, I was very puzzled. I see shower heads … but where are the doors? Where are the curtains? Huh?
And that’s when I saw a lady showering … naked … She looked so noncholant. Like it was natural for her. And then two of the ladies from aquagym started to strip off their swimming costumes while all the time, chatting animatedly to each other.
I.. Uhm… Ehm… Uh…
My heart just sank momentarily … I don’t want to show my naked self! I felt so panicky and so out of place that I just jumped in and jumped out of the shower and hurriedly found a corner to dry myself and put on my regular clothes and got the heck out of there.
I know. I know. It’s just me. Most Europeans wouldn’t bat an eye to nudity. There are even topless women on Italian television. But nevertheless, I feel so shy uncovering myself in the open …
Remember my post about a room makeover last month?
Cart and I have been rather busy last weekend doing a bit of spring cleaning and also moving some furniture in anticipation of a couple of a new table and a sofa-bed.
One of the changes is that my computer was shifted to the bookcase. While it looks pretty good up there, I still have got to get used to typing in a new position. It’s strange having the window to the back of me. Even more awkward having to keep standing up.
I could take a chair and sit down across the room. The wireless keyboard and mouse works, but then the words are too tiny from the distance.
In any case, Cart and I were at Mondo Convenienza last Saturday. Mondo Convenienza is kind of like the Italian version of Ikea. Cart seems to prefer the Mondo Convenienza compared to the latter. We’ve already a couple of pieces like the dining table and the kitchen cabinet.
Anyway! The delivery guys arrived Tuesday afternoon … and here is our sofa-bed! In sexeh red.
Not wasting time, of course I’m sitting on it to enjoy the full value and experience. In fact, I’m sitting on it right now while writing this post on my netbook.
Anyway, because I’m totally jakun, I thought that I’d share a very quick video about the sofa-bed :
Hehehehe! Next to visit Cart and me can sleep here 🙂
It was like any other night. I was in bed sleeping. And I awoke to find a woman slowly and deliberately going through the cupboards stealing my jewellery. I saw her taking one of my favourite necklaces.
I asked her worriedly, “Please don’t take that. That used to belong to my mother. And my grandmother gave her that. It’s very precious to me”
The woman laughed, continued rummaging through the drawers but later on left the jewellery on the bed and eventually went out of the room.
I was surprised and asked Cart to call the police and I walked out to investigate.
But I was stunned to see on the dining table, all full of food like Curry, Rendang, Ketupat Ayam Masak Merah and all the other types of food that my mum used to cook. I could hear them. I was touched that my family would come all the way and give me such a nice surprise.
But when I turned my head to say hello. They were gone.
I woke up sobbing uncontrollably. I’ve never cried from a dream like that.
I’ve been using mineral makeup regularly ever since I’ve been introduced to mineral makeup. I liked them mostly because of how natural it looked like on my skin. After using my Revlon one, I switched to Everyday Minerals which to me was probably THE best mineral makeup in 2008.
These are just a few of the base powders that I’ve hit the pan.
Everyday minerals used to have a 45% discount of 12 items or more and I used to do a personal spree once a year as they had But recently, without any notice, Everyday Minerals has taken away this promo. I didn’t like how they are giving me the impression that they do not value their customer, swaying me to switch to something else.
I’m not the only person who’s not happy about this change. But what a pity though, because I thought that the Medium Tan base powder was a nice match for my skin and I really liked their brushes.
Anyway, I was in Cozycot and that was when I stumbled upon this post and I was intrigued. But doing a little more research about Lucy Minerals and it was actually this particular blog post which really clinched the deal.
Makeup that can hide blemishes and still look natural? Woah. I got to have it. So I went ahead and looked through the website. It can be a little confusing trying to navigate through the website as there are a lot of links.
The foundation powders for example, there are three types alone – Original, Oil Control and Light. Original which is said to be creamy, water resistant, free of preservatives and has super antioxidants like apple polyphenols. Oil control is the same as original but more suited for oily skin and light is the same as original but without any additives.
And then you’d have to figure out your shade out of the 19 different foundation shades. Thus it is definitely best to get samples before committing to full sized ones. By the way, this is one of the reasons why I prefer buying foundations online compared to over the counter, since I’ve brown skin and living in Italy, I don’t really have that much choice in darker shades.
I got 6 samples which costs about 11 USD including delivery and it took under 2 weeks to reach Italy. The sachet samples look like these :
Some people might prefer their sample to come in little jars but I didnt mind sachets so much since it brings costs down for delivery charges.
The first test was to check for skin colour match. I’m using the original foundations and tried it on clean, moisturized skin.
Here is how Medium Caramel, Tan Olive and Golden Medium (top to bottom) looks like after 5 minutes on my skin.
And here is how Caramel, Toffee and Medium Caramel (top to bottom) looks like after 5 minutes.
Not the most perfect match, but it looks like Medium Caramel suits me the best out of the 5 samples that I got. So I’ll stick to that for now. And yes, like most people, I do have blemishes like large pores and pimples. Get over it
The next test is the wearabilty test. As how we use other mineral foundations, the trick is to use a dense brush, dip it in a little of the powder and dab it on the face with swirling motions.
This is how much I use regularly. Don’t use too much powder as the foundation is actually quite concentrated and too much will make you risk looking like you’re wearing a mask later.
So far one sachet actually lasts me a good 2 weeks if I used it every day.
Contrary to many reviews saying how it feels creamy on the skin. I don’t really feel it, to me, it felt the same as other mineral foundations. However, I do like how very natural it looked like on my skin.
But most importantly, how it made my skin almost flawless. Take a look at my face close up. No photo retouched.
Woah, where are my pimple spots? My skin looks almost flawless. I can still see my pores but it’s not so evident as before. This is totally photoshop in a can.
And interestingly after several hours outdoors, my skin still looks natural.
Cat hat FTW!
Using the samples made me really liked it enough to get the full size and luckily Lucy Minerals have a set kit where you could get different combinations of foundation, finishing powder, blushes, eyeshadows, etc. for a cheaper price compared to if you bought each separately.
I got for myself a “Face It” Kit and Sweet Dream Ambrosia sample size to reach 35 USD (+4 USD for delivery) to get a free Blush and Eyeshadow promotion which was going on in December.
It took under a month to be delivered this time due to the busy holiday season but anyway here is how my package looks like! It’s a regular brown envelope and inside it are these packages wrapped in blue crepe paper like presents waiting to be opened
And each package is wrapped and taped with bubble wrap so that the contents does not get damaged along the travel.
I quite like how charming and whimsical the design looked like. They are pretty much the standard size for mineral make up though – 10 grams for foundation, 7 grams for finishing powder.
But regardless, while it might look small, judging by how I used the sample sachet, this will probably last me at the very least 6 months if I used it every day and since I dont, this will last me a very long time indeed!
Oh! I forgot to mention the blushes that I got! They are really beautiful! I used them in the karaoke video back in February. Both of the blushes I got, Sweetcheeks and Petal are both very pigmented so use them with a light hand.
Nevertheless, the colours are beautiful and they actually look very natural on me, like how the skin looks like when you’ve gone exercising. But even if you put too much blush, they are extremely easy to blend away with the finishing powder.
Each foundation and finishing powder has a rotatable lid where you could open and close to prevent spillage if you’re taking it out for travelling. This is always appreciated for mineral make up.
I think that if you’re in the lookout for mineral makeup, try giving Lucy Minerals a try. It might seem a little bit pricier at first, but in my opinion, it’s totally worth it considering of the quality, the longevity and the range of choices. But best of all, the ingredients are actually good for your skin. So it is definitely a good buy.
Before I end, I’m going to put up a picture of me after I went jogging yesterday with Lucy Minerals foundation on.
Ehm. I don’t recommend that you go jogging with makeup on because of the risk of clogged pores but check it out, the powder still looks intact under heat, perspiration and oil.
I really don’t know of other mekap that can stand all that.
Disclaimer : This is a rant and may be offensive to some
Back when I was living in Singapore, I worked as a Multimedia Educator and used to teach students on how to use software applications. Normally, I’d demonstrate to them first, and then they’ll do the practise together with me and then I’d task them with an exercise towards the end of the lesson to gauge their understanding.
Theoretically, that sounds reasonable right? But normally at this point of time, the class will be chaotic with :
MISS MARINA! IS THIS HOW YOU DO IT?
MISS MARINA! DID I DO THE EXERCISE CORRECT?
MISS MARINA! CAN YOU PLEASE SHOW ME AGAIN?
It wasn’t bad if it was just one or two students. But imagine 40 kids all screaming the same thing. Sometimes I feel like Dexter with an entire room filled with hyper Didis
If they had paid attention in the first place, they would be able to do their tasks at hand easily. Instead, these kids are distracted by surfing to websites like lovecalculator and whatnots.
But in anycase, most of the times I had to be patient and understanding because they are kids after all, and their attention span is way shorter compared to a mature adult.
And a couple of years later, I’d have messages and emails from former students and many of them would say things like “Your lessons were so useful for my school projects. I wish I paid more attention in your class!”
And secretly I’d gloat inside. Just like how every parent gloats when their kids have their own kids.
Don’t get me wrong. I do enjoy teaching. I find it very satisfying to share my knowledge to others and even more when these people appreciate and do well in it. I just find it very disappointing when people, whom I know are intelligent and have the capacity to think, don’t even try to put two and two together.
I don’t think that I am asking too much. But like I’ve mentioned, these are kids with short attention span and I’ve to be patient.
But how about adults?
Ever since I’ve been living in Rome, people, mostly random strangers mind you, keep asking me to recommend them hotels, bed and breakfast’s as well as other type of lodgings. “Oh! She lives in Rome! And she’s blogging about Rome. Therefore she must know everything there is to know about Rome. Let me email her! And since she’s *just* a housewife, I expect her to reply back to me immediately.”
Lets think of it this way. You are a Singaporean. You live in HDB flats all your life. And all of a sudden you have a friend from overseas asking for recommendation specifying for a cheap and good hotel. And you think to yourself, “I don’t know. I’ve never stayed in one.” And then you think to yourself, “Maybe, I should help her anyway because she’s my friend” and then you do search on google and tripadvisor and wonder, “This is so easy! Why couldn’t she have done it herself in the first place?”
I get this with complete strangers every. single. day.
It’s very frustrating for me. Moreso because I’ve already blogged my piece on “Tips on visiting Rome” and if these people would have just taken the time to do a search, 99.99% of the time, their questions would already be answered.
I don’t understand! Is it so difficult to do?
Instead I’m constantly bombarderd by people who messages me thinking that I have so much free time and expects me to hold their hand all the entire time and spoon feed them the answers with a cheerful endeavour and smiles like this :))))))
NO! Not any more! I am really tired of all these people!
Listen, I may be a housewife, but contrary to what you think, I’ve a lot of wifely duties to do – grocery shopping, tidying up the house, laundry, and whatnots, Italian classes to go to and this takes up a large part of my time.
And through experience, when I do reply back to them, they don’t even have the courtesy of responding back with a thank you. I’m sorry, but whether these people know or may not know it, but they are plain RUDE and thanks to these people, I dread to reply to any messages at all!
It’s just not worth my time. What do I even gain in return? A favour? A postcard? A following on twitter? On facebook? A comment on this blog? A small thank you?
NO! These people get what they want, and then they disappear. What? How ungrateful is that?
Go away and leave me alone. I’ve already reached the threshold. Don’t email me and don’t message me if you have absolutely no intention of being polite to me.
Next time I do, I’ll just point them to this blog post.
Sidenote : Not to be completely negative, I did meet plenty of nice friends through this blog which means that there ARE nice people out there. Thank goodness for a bit of sanity or else, I will go crazy!