Author: sarah

Well, this is seriously Sarah and that's all you need to know for now.

App fatigue

Do you guys get app fatigue?

Recently Kopitiam is stopping their Kopitiam cards and are switching to an app based one. I do go there once in a while but let’s just say I’m not the target audience because I didn’t use their Kopitiam cards to have significant ‘discounts’. But their announcement to switching to an app based one while would be ‘easier’ to download it feels meh to me because that’s just another new app to register to.

Before this, the Passion card’s services for some places like Giant and Guardian changed to Yuu. I don’t know what’s worse. Hearing the song “Nobody like you” by Phua Chu Kang (the character, not even Gurmit himself) on loop as you go to these places to purchase your things or that now you have to install another app (Yuu) for rewards.

I liked the tap tapping for Passion card because it was there, it’s linked to the debit card for mine and I didn’t have to install anything if I wanted to use the points.

Then there’s the SimplyGo Ezlink app that Ezlink is promoting so people can use their wallets more too for more rewards and topping up stuff.

No, I’m tired even if you get a $2 cashback for converting your regular Ezlink card to a SimplyGo one. I’ll top up my ezlink card manually at the train or bus station with the machines there.

But Sarah, it’s just installing an app, easy one!

NO!

Bit by bit, installing more apps, you might think it’s free but at this rate. Guys. At this rate. How much space are these apps going to take? You might think ohh it’s just so small but no, at this rate, how much space is it really going to take up on your phone?

It might be even worse if you keep installing all of these apps and then you realize you run out of space for more apps that you need a smart phone with a bigger space or something.

I’m tired of apps. Can we just get multi usage apps in a digital environment instead of ‘solo’ apps just because management of whatever company says ‘We should have an app’ to track customer spending and rewards etc?

Surely ‘creating an app’ is not one solution to things.

Are you guys tired of this or do you like all these apps nowadays?

It’s raining today and probably tomorrow

It has been such a wet season. It’s raining almost daily ever since my post about going to the Istana during the holidays. It’ll only be sunny for a just a few hours and then back to rainy skies once more.

Having a dryer at home is really useful during this season. In the news it had said we were supposed to have sunny skies by this time in February but I guess, global warming’s affecting it.

Continue reading It’s raining today and probably tomorrow

Sustainable Exercise

It was a cool night

Firstly, this isn’t an advertorial post because I gotta pay for it but if you wanna try Gympod like I did. Might as well get 10% OFF your first paid booking.

Download The Gym Pod App and use my code SARAHGYM when signing up OR just download via my link: https://app.thegympod.com/refer/SARAHGYM

Ok, that’s done with. It’s that little button under ‘profile’ that you too can refer a friend for it.

This is a review of it. I had been looking pretty much at many gyms but I wanted something ‘private’ or something worth it, you know?

I went with gympod cause apparently if you book the session, the whole pod is yours! It’s true. Except for the bigger ones like “The Dungeon” which is made for sharing with others.

Continue reading Sustainable Exercise

The Istana

It’s open house time!

It’s been around 13 years since I went to the Istana. I remember posting about it on national day in 2010.

And this year, 2023, I went to the Istana once more during their open house!

For those who don’t know, it’s free for Singaporeans and Permanent Residents.

For tourists and others, it’s $2. Unlike 13 years ago, everything has to be paid via qrcode so you should have paylah/now or its equivalent ready. Ticket proceeds go to charity.

Do also note what you can or cannot bring into the Istana grounds, there are rules on their website and you can also take note on the dates they’ll have it.

Entrance also depends on the weather and if it is too bad, you won’t get in since it IS a large space and the probability of being struck by lightning is high during a storm.

Continue reading The Istana

First Hijabi Pro-Wrestler in Singapore

I’m not the first female Singaporean pro-wrestler, that’s definitely Alexis Lee.

I’m not the first hijabi pro-wrestler, that’s very much Nor ‘Phoenix’ Diana.

But I’m very certain I’m the first Singaporean hijabi pro-wrestler.

Sarah is blocking flames with her buckler and holding a sword
Photo by Mezame

So hi, if you haven’t known me yet. It’s me, Sarah. And I’m very sure you might have a mutual who knows me if you don’t know me yet especially if you live in Singapore because we’re indeed a small country.

Note: This post is pretty long so I’ll break it up in a few sections

  • The First Appearance
  • The Second Appearance
  • The ‘Last’ Appearance
  • Behind the Outfit
  • What’s Next for Sarah in Wrestling?
Continue reading First Hijabi Pro-Wrestler in Singapore

Finding Me

All this talk about finding another twitter equivalent such as Mastodon (I don’t know what that is), or going back to Tumblr (I know what that is) and retreating to even Facebook or instagram after that person bought over twitter made me go huh.

For now twitter’s the easiest to shout into the void. But because of that, well, let’s not get into it right now because of why people want to leave it, there’s plenty of articles out there talking about it. If you don’t know, that’s ok.

This is about finding me.

I’m not ‘leaving’ its platform yet but I want you to know there’s a reason why I kept the same online name although at times, I might cringe because it sounds pretty chuuni when stated out loud. (Short version: It’s based on an original character.)

It’s obviously not my real name but it’s something I’ve stuck to. I’ve see the cycles of the internet to know that not everything is forever. We can try to make things last, that’s the dream. (Which is why also decentralized data intrigues me especially E T H but this isn’t that kind of article.)

But nothing is forever when you don’t have control of it. Heck, even if you have control of it, it might not be forever but you’d have that glimpse of a chance of knowing how long it might last.

And that’s why I like to cast something akin to a digital spell. Like faery tales and stories, you have power in a name. And that’s why, I’ve made sure that whatever platform it is, if something happens, you’ll still be able to find me. Like a trail to a lighthouse, you’ll find me since I’ve left the trail for you, if you need to find me.

I know not everyone needs to find me, but. If you need to, the track is there and if you do know me, and are a mutual who wants to find everyone else if anything happens, well.

Start here.

Global Mat Soul Kitchen’s briyani

Disposable box of briyani and pineapple achar
The box of briyani with achar

It was more than a month ago (some time in September 2022) when I saw the notification from Global Mat Soul Kitchen’s instagram that he was opening orders for his “mutton ov doom” aka mutton briyani.

I had followed his account for much longer and since it was the first time in a long while that I finally got that notification, I knew I had to try it.

Were all those articles about his briyani being the best really true? What is all the hype about it? What’s this mysterious briyani?

To get it, you had to follow the exact instructions and be polite about it because hey, this person really did cook food for you if you managed to get an order in time.

What I had to do was message my order, follow said instructions and go to the specified pick up point with my own plastic bag. Remember! Bring your own bags and make it sturdy. There has been a sad tale when one customer’s plastic bag broke and all the beautiful briyani was strewn upon the cement floor.

At this point of blog post, you might ask me was it worth it?

Well, duh. Yes, it is.

But hey, this is a Sarah post, so heck that if you wanted a tl;dr version you’d read other people’s reviews with pictures.

Continue reading Global Mat Soul Kitchen’s briyani

The secret to losing weight (for me)

Before the Circuit Breaker (7 April 2020 to 1 June 2020) , I had been attempting to lose weight cause of the doctor telling me I need to (tl;dr health reasons duh and I know what they are so you don’t have to be all wew you don’t have to bla bla, no. I actually have to).

And I had been trying to do with by ordering those prepackaged meals from specific brands. Mind you, this was cause the area I worked at had such limited food options and they were so carb based. Sometimes I just wanted a nice soup but it isn’t available there.

Anyway, it didn’t exactly work out. I wouldn’t gain but I wouldn’t get a deficit either and sometimes the menu choices are kinda meh too that I wouldn’t finish it all since there might be too much kale.

Then there were the Korean grain-shakes which are delicious and are supposed to be a ‘meal replacement’. That didn’t work out too that it didn’t make me gain and didn’t get me have a deficit but it did taste good so it was still a nice option when there’s still nothing around and that the cost didn’t break the bank.

I’m not going to link you guys the brands since you all need to see what is suited for yourselves anyway and I’m not that sort of influencer.

Alright, so meal plans and meal replacement didn’t work out for me as much as I thought it would be. And you might ask, Sarah did you exercise? Yes, yes I did.

But the thing with both, I just got so meh over the menu after awhile cause it wasn’t what I actually wanted.

Now, you see. This didn’t discourage me cause I was still kind of experimenting. There was a period of time when I had work and I had to run around a lot and I ate kinda… actually it was a sucky menu too because shops closed when I got out of production for the day/night. But woah, it was so effective that I knew that it took that much of exercise of work to do so.

But that was indeed not sustainable.

It was then, that I didn’t do much during Circuit Breaker to go out that I found out the secret.

It was.

Eating the heck I wanted.

I know, what it sounds like. But I don’t want to gorge myself and whatnot. I just want food that I want and apparently on its own, they do not cross that calorie intake and it is so stupiiiid.

All I had to do was not eat what it should be “eaten” but eat what I actually want and that’s it!

And I only knew that during Circuit Breaker cause I had to work from home and I made my menu of food I actually like. Like, miso soup, salmon, salads with nice dressing or chicken and whatnot. And there was no delivery of food back then either because only essential shops were closed.

So I really ate home food and that’s it.

After this so called discovery, I know. It’s kinda duh when you think of it. By the time you read this post, I will do another ‘experiment’.

And that’s eating the heck I want. No deliveries (if I want it, I got to go get it myself). And the intensity of the exercise I did back then but ‘less’ and in a more compact timing form instead of a whole day.

Let’s see if this ‘experiment’ will work. All I got to do is just not forget these rules for me. And we’ll check in back with this in November 2022. Cause that’s when my next checkup will be and I’ll be talking to the doctor to tell her SEE I DID IIIIT.

Hopefully.

Just remind me ok?

The Mid SES life

I don’t know if anyone out of the Singapore context would know what “SES” means. It’s an acronym to describe socio-economic status in one of our textbooks here. The short of it, high SES means you’re rich as heck and low SES means you’re on the lower end of it with little income and such. Since we’re here, I might also let you all know high SES also means being atas which is Malay for “on top”.

But you don’t pronounce it in the Malay way to say it is high SES, you got to say it in a faux-English way where it’s “A-tas” for the extraness of it.

Anyway, as per usual, I was looking at instagram, scrolling through, seeing how some ‘influencers/celebs’ post pictures. That and I got ads before I get to watch a youtube video about how you can make ‘money online’ by going to their special webinars and all that.

For some influencer/celebrities especially actors and actresses, I just wonder. How do you make money? I know some of them are thankfully supported by family, work in some business, be a tutor/lecturer, be a real estate agent and whatnot.

No, those are pretty clear cut.

But there’s some that, it just seems that they do party (of course it’s just pictures, so they won’t post about their struggles) but what do they do to get money to party? What do they work as when they’re not on screen?

Then the money making youtube ads. I don’t believe they get money from whatever they’re doing. I’m just wondering do they get enough by making people ‘buy’ into their webinars and all that to create a sustainable life?

What is their actual struggle to make monies? Cause what they post looks just so dangerous to me in their expensive cars (maybe rented for a shoot?), fancy condos and whatnot.

I don’t want to know how you all ‘made it’. I want to know, is it all sustainable and why the heck are you all still trying to sell these investment courses if it works.

Is it to diversify income or something?

Which brings the point of my mid-SES life.

I know I’m not doing my most lowest, I know I’m not doing a high-SES life either. I’m just mid-range average. Maybe even slightly on the lower range of average.

If all these ‘high-SES’ people are diversifying in trying to get as much money from as many places as possible.

Then, am I doing enough?

When considering all the work I do, is that still enough? I don’t know what’s the average of enough at this rate. Cause if so called ‘high-SES’ people are doing so much to just get as much income as possible somehow.

Then, am I doing too little?

Of course I ask what other people’s plans are so here. Let me tell you what I do.

I work, get the income there, save bunch of the monies. And then on the See Pee Eff side, I do invest with it.

But besides that, should I be having more jobs or something? Is there something I am missing because all these people keep trying to gain more somehow?