xiexie.

For creating my life, with or without reason, this life - my life. Is because of them.

Because of them I have healthy eyes to see (without great prescription boundaries that tie me to spectacles) in which I have been blessed to enjoy the sights of the world from vast landscapes, sea views, minute details, things that even the best SLR can't pick up as beautifully as ones own retina.

Because of them I have ear that may or may not have selective hearing at times, but it allows me to enjoy a passion of mine that is, music. To hear every note, is to feel every beat. A babies laughter, the leaves rustling in a gentle breeze, the soft crashes of the waves at the beach.

Because of them I can enjoy the sense of touch, the most physical form of pleasure and pain. From stumping my toe on the corner of a cupboard to the warm sunrays shining down on your face on a cold winters morning. Thankfully I've run my life so far with all limbs intact enough to feel the crunch of snow beneath my feet, or the new soft warm towel after jumping out of the shower.

Because of them I have a tongue that not only allows me to communicate however it's packed with tastebuds in which, being a conplete foodie, allows me to taste from all corners of my mouth, aside from spicy food, there is little to no tolerence for spicy food.

Finally, because of them I have healthy nose receptors, although in the summer it may not be too happy when it comes into contact with pollen, neither does it always listen to me when I'm sick, in which being hand in hand with my sense of taste may hinder my eating experience, but at least for thr other 70% of the time, is another one of my best friends.

Why you ask? Because individually these senses make every living experience that much more interesting, more enjoyable, interactable, memorable. A sympthany of them all together or a combination of a couple at a time just makes everyday life beautiful in the details. 

Finally I'd like to thank the three of them for giving me opportunities and the upbringing to enjoy these senses and not to let them waste away. In which I'd like to give you all a quick reminder that not every person is fortunate to have all senses, yours are your best friends too so make the most of them take them out to enjoy life because there isnt one day or minute that you dont deserve to not enjoy and appreciate the life that you're given.

Thank you my dear parents x

Book Covers

It's funny how people say don't judge a book by it's cover, yet when you meet someone for the first time what you portray yourself to be largely effects the conversations that follow. There are a few characteristics, however that people see as negative aspects that I for one do not comprehend.

Smokers
Quite a large population of people frown upon smokers, of course I understand you don't like the smell but that doesn't necessarily mean that a smoker is a bad person. Yes, they maybe damaging their own health and by smoking around you it can cause damage to yours too however the act of smoking does not in any way mean that they are a bad person, even in my short life I have seen different people from different backgrounds in professions across the board smoking, there is no link to what 'type' of person has this habit.

Tattoos
Because someone has some ink beneath their skin, automatically the character is a reckless rebel without a cause. Once again frowned upon by society, yet there's only one thing I can say to this subject as one person having a tattoo does not in any way effect any other person and the difference between an inked person and someone who isn't inked is that someone with tattoo's doesn't care whether you have one or not.

Drinkers
Now there are many different kinds of alcohol in this world, beers, spirits and wines, and they are used for a range of purposes. How could you downright pinpoint and judge someone for enjoying a beverage? Will anyone judge you for drinking water?

Party go-ers
Somehow these people are often associated with being drunks, players, young and unstable. People go out for many reasons and they aren't all to have a night they wont remember. A club just offers an environment for people to meet one another and enjoy themselves, what you take from that is down to character themselves.

All I have to say about these main issues is that your general perception on these groups of people, or your experience with one individual from these characters does not have a direct correlation to another. They are all people, they are individuals.

dont judge a book by its cover.

k x

disclaimer:
I'm not promoting these things, I'm just simply saying that they don't mean that an individual is necessarily a 'bad person'. Please know your limits and take care.

eenie meenie

I had another blog brewing but I felt the need to get this out first. A little bit of an epitome that I'd stumbled over within the past few days that I'd dipped my feet into the topic of (if you're an avid reader) but I hadn't quite gone too far in depth with.

I've always said that life can be like the lottery, sometimes you get lower prizes and sometimes you hit the jackpot, a prize is still a prize nonetheless and 'losing' never stops you from buying another ticket. I usually use this as a 'pick-me-up' to my friends when they feel low about a short fall in their lives. But moving on from this I've come to realise about how severe gluttony has become within today's lifestyle.

The problem that most people have is that they are convinced they aren't happy, or satisfied because hopes and dreams are always set so high that they will never reach them. Yes, this is good for self development to feel like you're constantly 'progressing' with life, but is that a need? The issue with it all is that everything is so exposed and 'available' in modern day life that since a young age you're completely spoilt for choice, like a kid in a candy store, you don't know what to go for first, neither do you know which is best for you, so all us 'kids' tend to go for what everyone else seems to go for as it seems like the best thing.

But is what everyone else wants, what you truly want and need? For example, many people go into education and choose subjects their friends all choose and end up flunking, even after uni people aren't sure where they want to go with life, even in the working world people jump from job to job finding a 'purpose'. All we know what we want in life is money, money will make us happy, money will get us where we want. I remember watching "Who wants to be a millionaire" as a child and thought to myself if I got to a couple thousand I'd be happy to walk away, but everyone has their sights on the millons. 

On the other side of the boat people find love of interest, now as I get older my old thoughts and and connotations of love have completely bent and moulded and soon I've realised everything I'd learnt as a child has crippled my vision of 'love' to the point where I've grown to realise the older I am the less I really knew. You grow up to think that there are a lot of wants and needs in your partner, but in true fact you're learning to be selfish and finding how well you want someone to suit you as opposed to how to truly see someone for what they really are. You go into the world chasing mythical white knights on horses as you've seen glimpses of him within the movies / characteristics of others in which you bend and mould your brain to create this hyperreal character that is too high to reach. Ask yourself if you deserve the knight in shining armour, now this isn't to kick you down rather, it's an open invitation for you to reflect upon yourself. The amount of times I've seen people get married and I hear off others, "to think they really got married! I never thought they would be together", and when you hear their vows and reasoning for choosing each other - a lot of the time it's because "he/she makes me a better me" not because he's ravishingly good looking, not because they have common interests, not because they have a large bank account, not because of his car, it's down to who they really are as people.

I suppose the main message I'm trying to get across through all this is, stop trying to compete with each other on a materialistic level look past all the exposure of choice, take your time and think about everything, what is the best choice for you. Some people might be cola bottles, some could be lollypops, a friend told me once:

Don't let anyone stop you from being you. You wanna be a unicorn? then fuck it be a unicorn.

kx

p.s. anyone does include the media brainwashing.

If you're still not tired form reading and you're not afraid of biting on a lemon, this guy has  pretty much hit the nail on the head with a more money related viewpoint. Click here to be directed!

852

So today marks my one year of being in Hong Kong to mark this day I thought I'll pop onto blogger to answer and share a few questions people have asked me over the year about life and experiences here - as per usual non too personal.

Going to another country for a 'longer-than-a-holiday" time period.
My first advice would be, prepare everything and give yourself enough time to. I left myself about a fortnight to get my act together and prepare myself to go somewhere in which I won't easily return for a period of time that I wasn't sure of (to answer questions - I'm still unsure of how long that will be). Now in terms of preparing yourself this breaks down into a lot of categories;

Emotional preparation is key as you need to accept that you won't be back for a long time, I spent a good chunk of my time in the UK visiting family and friends dear to me as I never knew when I would see them again, even to this day it breaks my heart about how I selfishly moved away, so before making the decision of moving for a long time ask yourself seriously if it's really what you want.

Financial preparation, this is standard procedure, ensure you have enough to last you and ensure that you have a safety to enable you to go back to where you started. After all if it's hard for you to leave, you don't want to have the mistake of not being able to return should you want and/or need to. Tying up loose ends is also a good thing to do, ensure you have enough left over to pay any outstanding direct debits should you find yourself tied to contracts, I know this maybe an obvious point but sometimes it's the most obvious that you'll leave out. This also goes across the board for any contracts/legal documents/business related issues, make sure that they're all cleared for you to leave for whatever the time period it is that you're going for, it's a bigger hassle trying to organise such important issues across different timezones (not to mention being on hold for hours whilst paying an overseas surcharge)

Belongings preparation, pack things to remind you of where you came from, things that you hold dear to your heart. At the same time you can't take everything so you need to think wisely about this. You'd want to go out and pick up a few things (backups) of items you can't live without especially if they're not easily accessible where you're going to. The worst thing you want to do is be in a panic situation and not have a clue where to find these items, neither if the products from the foreign companies are trustworthy, different countries have different consumer standards so if it's important than stock up on things that you trust and know.

Physical preparation, like my last point, if you have any health issues you'd want to go get medication and check up in a hospital and/or with a doctor you know and trust, foreign countries also have different health standards and systems in which you may not be familiar with. Dependant on where you'll be travelling to there could be health issues you may need to be assessed for, including vaccinations should you need any - after all if you're planning on staying for a long time you would want to make sure you'll still be alive when you come back (touchwood).

Attitude preparation, just because you've spent a long time in one country and things work well for you it doesn't go to say that they will all work smoothly in another, keep an open and positive mind, stay curious, and of course be humble. After all you are part of the minority now, you should learn to adapt to their culture, I'm not saying you should become one of them, but look past the negative sides of the cultures and embrace the positives they have to offer - you chose to go to the country for a reason didn't you? So don't focus on the negativities, it'll make you homesick and you'll only begin to question your own decision which isn't a good road to go down. Friendliness is key, building a contact base of locals in which will provide you with advice and invaluable knowledge of the area, social skills within reason are essential here.

Little London
Or some of you may refer it to being Hong Kong, this place is rather comparable to London in terms of convenience, in which allows you to be a stones throw away from society, there's a wide variety for food and activities to suit any liking. Lifestyle really does boil down to mentality in which you have the choice to do what you want so long as you feel like it, which in different peoples eyes can be either positives or negatives, it's hot and humid here from time to time, it can also get really chilly, so adapting to climate change and processed air would be essential here, learning to air out your washing properly to avoid the horrifying damp smell as well as finding the perfect deodorant for yourself, tweaking everyday routines and healthcare for climate changes is a minor adaption.

Home
They say your heart is where your home is, in which inevitably is true. Home is within the memories and experiences that we have created and engraved into our hearts. As it has become something we know well it's where we feel at ease, in which is why we feel at 'home'. This doesn't necessarily mean that it is down to the precise neighbourhood you grew up in, because as time goes on the people and the area changes and it wouldn't be the same as you remembered. So home to me, is within my heart, and that will never leave me.

I believe I've covered most topics aside from the touristy questions, but that's all down to individual preferences and tastes so I won't cover that here.

Who knows where I'll be next

with love,

k x

forever and ever

Do you know what's beautiful? Every person you meet is essentially a one life stand. You'll only meet someone for the first time once, ever - what you do from there is up to both of you. But that first encounter, that initial moment, is once in a lifetime.

enjoy appreciating every person you've encountered!

it's a short one today.

k x

I know you're somewhere out there

There's only one issue with moving far away that has become quite a topic lately, now I don't know about yourself but I'm not the best at keeping in contact with people, least to say any kind of long distant relationship isn't ideal. Needless to say I keep to myself alot in which if it doesn't need sharing I won't bring it up, day to day banter and that.

What I'm trying to project in this little exerpt of my blog is that you shouldn't be afraid of distance and 'growing apart'. I have a good handful of people, about 6000 miles away from me now, that I will keep deep in my heart - even years from now. Because with them, I carry some of the best memories of my life. In fact, this can apply to every person that you'd come into contact within life in which at any point you'd grown close to, because people in fact do change, feelings will change, but what will change is what you've already experienced together. That, exactly that, would be why they would be in your heart forever regardless the distance.

Dear _____, if we (dont) ever see each other again. Know in your heart, that you're in mine eternally x

k

the lights will keep changing

Ok, so there are various issues swimming around my head right now so do forgive me if the message is unclear, but they all seem intertwined in one way or other.

So far in my short life, one main thing that I have grown to know is that we are always students, life has a funny way of always giving us new lessons to learn. At any point in your life when you think you know it all, I'm afraid that a lot of us - even at the end of our lives, still haven't learnt it all, possibly some learn more than others, and at times you may be fortunate enough to not have to go through issues that others had to.

However, these lessons may not necessarily have to be a hard time to go through, looking back at the past recently I found myself just smiling, I truly believe that it's not because I've only been looking back and forgotten about the bad times. However as time has passed and allowed me to think it over, I had learnt to accept that all events in my life have in fact happened, and regardless the outcome I am where I'm standing now regardless of the emotional ups and downs. Even if you're going through a tough time now, cheesy as this may sound but even when they say life is short, they only mean it because no matter what emotions you feel at this point, time will only keep rolling and pass you by, and time wasted on looking back bitterly you'll only miss what may be infront of you.

To be honest with all 'issues', I had learnt that there are no right nor wrong answers to things, just the way of thinking. So if you aren't happy about something, try change your perspective and soon you will see that things aren't in fact as bad as you may think they are. So there you have it boys and girls, my secret to be happy - acceptance.

smile, k x

summer ombre

Hey guys and dolls, it's been a while that I've blogged anything remotely beauty related so I went and did my huuur for the summer! Got me some pre-lightener kits from my good ol relly who came to stay for a lil while - cheers for that! So here's the stuff and how I did it!

lekit

Wrapped tips in tin foil 20 mins from root to..where ever that it... 3 inches below my chin?

Then after that I applied it to up to my chin for another 25 minutes and voila! Loving this look for my summer hair.. and that's all I have time for folks!

kx