Skye Soon
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Hey guys! How ya doin.

February is usually sweet and festive, but the coronavirus really did add a sad sheen to everything you did and everywhere you went. Nonetheless we must still make the best of the situation! I hope there will be less cases and more recoveries though. Fingers crossed.

Feb Highlights

I joined the Huayi U-Sing 2020 Competition! It was my first time joining a Chinese singing competition, as well as my first time performing at the Esplanade. It was a memorable experience for sure! I have regrets about my performance because it was definitely not my best, but there were loads that I learned anyway from the judges, the other competitors, and the entire experience. I wish I took bigger risks, took care of my voice better, and got into the zone before I went up on stage. If I had the chance to do it again, I just want to give a performance that I would have no regrets about, regardless of whether I score well or not.

Still a big milestone in the music journey though, and I want to give big shout outs and hugs to all who supported me all this while - being there at the show, and through your kind and heartfelt messages too. Thank you ❤







Cooking and Baking

Baked Multi-grain Bread
Going to try this out with a few tweaks to the recipe in March! I can't wait! Meanwhile I have been watching a ton of croissant making videos. The effort involved is INSANE!

Tried to make a chicken roulade (a chicken breast, rolled) stuffed with cheese, carrots and vegetables. It was a huge failure! I had fun making a butterfly cut for the chicken fillet, but boy, was it hard to roll up the chicken well!

Movies


I finally got around to watching A Quiet Place! It doesn't rank high on the scare meter as compared to movies like The Ring. However, I still get a good scare even when I expect something to jump out. Scaredy cat me. I am really not cut out for watching horror movies. A Quiet Place II (out in March) would seem to be more like The Walking Dead series, which focuses more on people and how they are cruel or kind to each other in a lawless society.



I also caught Porco Rosso on Netflix. Happy to explore all the Ghibli movies, especially the older and lesser known ones. Porco Rosso is the story about a pig-man pilot and his adventures. I love the graphics and the female empowerment throughout the film!

I also watched To All The Boys 2, which I found adorable.

Books

Read a bunch of cool books! Wrote some posts about Latte to Lathi, a biography of politician Chiam See Tong and a great book about Malay culture! 

Unfortunately the Korean anthology of sci-fi was a miss for me, what a disappointment.

Exercise

This month I tried to work out more regularly. My SJ friends and I have a little competitive thing on Nike Run where we try to one up each other on the leaderboard. It makes running more interesting for sure! I have also started to do some squats with my runs because of good influences like my friend Wenxin.

Runs: 18
Swims: 1
Bike Rides: only 8

Bike rides are way fewer this month because my bike was broken. I have already sent it for repairs several times, even tried to do so myself sometimes, but this time I think it's time to replace it with a new one.

Looking Ahead

March is a busy month full of work and projects. I'm looking forward to it! Are you? :)

Wishing you guys health and happiness always. (Cheesy but completely sincere, in light of the virus!)

Love, 
Skye

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Hey yall,

I'm excited to share this find with you! This book is super useful for anyone clueless about Malay culture and elucidates many rituals and practices that Malays have. There book is also packed with fun trivia and facts.

The title, 'Malay Weddings Don't Cost $50', stems from a racist rant from Amy Cheong on Facebook. In 2012, she mocked Malays for low cost weddings held in void decks. Her remark - "How can society allow ppl to get married for 50 bucks?" - drew backlash and she was issued a police warning, and was later fired from her job. 

Besides wedding rituals and preparations, there are also chapters on childbirth, distinctions between Malays, folk tales, Malay films, funerals etc. You may know that Malays who have passed are buried in soil, but did you know that they don't use coffins?? Now you know.

Some of the rituals or practices are not even being practised anymore, so it's great that the author Hidayah Amin preserves these old traditions with a written record, for future generations to learn about their ancestral past and as a bridge for different cultures. 

Let me share some of the info with you!

  • Turun Tanah / Jejak tanah (tread the ground)

    The Javanese influenced ritual welcomes a seven month old baby to set his foot on the ground for the first time. One part of the process is as such. The baby is shown items like the Quran, a pen, book, comb and money. It is believed that the item chosen will give some indication of what kind of person the child will grow up to be - pious, intelligent, handsome, rich.

    I was tickled to know that Malay families do this practice of putting a few objects and letting the baby choose. I never knew! Is the Caucasian equivalent (in popular culture) to let the child pick between Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle? For the Chinese, I think similar items such as a pen, book, or abacus are shown to the baby. 
  • Stereotypes of the Malays 

    This one is a little bit like horoscope. Basically there are traits associated with different types of Malays, and the author advises you to take this information with a pinch of salt as it is a generalisation of an entire group of people. Still interesting tho! It's like how you would categorise a person from a certain area/state they come from. For example, some people from a certain province may be more brash in personality, while others are more soft-spoken. Like it or not, it is human nature to categorise, but that doesn't mean that these judgments are accurate.

    From the book:

    Javanese: hardworking, kind-hearted, gentle, soft-spoken
    Banajrese: brave, aggressive, authoritative (men)
    Bugis: seafarer, brave, warrior-like, risk-taker, entrepreneurial
    Malays: kind, gentle, laid-back, relaxed (unfortunately often mistaken as lazy)
    Acehnese: religious, more God-fearing than the rest of the ethnic groups
    Cocos Malays: ignorant about religion, very Westernised in thought and actions
    Minang: creative, entrepreneurial, adventurous, of a matriarchal society
    Baweanese: seafarer, religious, Baweanese women love gold jewellery, husbands are dedicated
  • Westernisation of Names
    This chapter on names and surnames was very interesting to me! Globalisation makes the world seem a little smaller, and trends take place, according to the prevailing language spoken.

    "Some Malays with long names often shorten their names for convenience. Nowadays, there are Malays who give their children English names. Some even adopt the English version of their names. Sharifah is now Sherrie. Surya prefers to be called Sue. Melhan is Mel for short."

  • Halal Food
    The food that Muslims cannot consume is actually very reasonable, and not as limiting as people may think. Take a look:

    -Carrion or dead animal that has been clubbed to death, gored or killed by another animal.
    -Pork and lard (considered unclean)
    -Flesh-eating animals like bears and tigers
    -Birds with talons and animals with fangs, like eagles and snakes
    -Amphibious animals like frogs and alligators
    -Domesticated animals like dogs and cats
    -Blood


    Right? Most of us don't eat animals like alligators or bears. The list seems more like to protect you from consuming strange, unsuitable or unclean animals (and maybe some to protect animals too). More to protect than restrict after I read it. What do you think?

    Also, the idea of a kinder way of slaughter is important. The animal is not to suffer unnecessarily. Muslims may not eat animals that were killed via boiling and electrocution. Also, the author notes that Jewish kosher laws and Muslim halal laws are almost similar*. I think that while food is important to us, we should also consider the animal lives that were sacrificed. I am in favour of kinder and thoughtful killing of animals for their meat.

    *On this note of drawing comparison to another religion, I didn't know that Malay boys had to go through circumcision. I always thought that this practice was for Jews!
  • Potong Andam
    A dying ritual to determine the virginity of the bride. I don't really get this ritual because (a) the results are only known to the Mak Andam (the woman who beautifies the woman for the wedding) and the bride herself. Usually people (heads of families, husbands etc) want to ascertain the purity of the bride before marrying, but since the outcome is secret, what is tehe point?

    Also, the bride must consent to the ritual before it is carried out. So I wonder if this practice was just to pressure brides in the past?

    (b) Furthermore, there is much controversy over this ritual because the status of the virginity is told simply from the way the bride's hair falls. The ritual (probably from pre-Islamic days) also clashes with Islam as it connotes that you believe and rely on supernatural powers, which is not allowed.
  • Malay Proverbs (Peribahasa Melayu)
    These are super interesting!

    Hangat-hangat tahi ayam
    Literal translation: Like fowl dung (initially warm but soon cools off)
    Meaning: Someone who is initially very enthusiastic in doing something, but gives up too easily halfway.

    Ketam menyuruhkan anaknya berjalan betulLiteral translation: Like the crab asking its young to walk straight
    Meaning: Someone who gives others advice, but yet does not himself practise or follow the same.

    Ringan sama dijinjing, berat sama dipikulLiteral translation: Carry light and heavy things together
    Meaning: Togetherness in joy and sorrow

    The author shares a creative modern day peribahasa too:

    Seperti tetikus tanpa wayar
    Literal translation: Like a wireless computer mouse
    Meaning: Someone who is free to roam, without restrictions imposed by his parents.
  • There's a chapter on Hantu (ghosts) and an entire glossary of different ghosts, including pontianak, kitchen ghosts and murderous ghosts. I decided to skip this because too many details will give me nightmares 😅 
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Overall you can say I definitely learned a whole lot from this book. I'm sure you will enjoy it too!

The foreword of the book is by the late President S.R. Nathan. In his words, "this is a delightfully engaging book to be read from time to time and treasured always." I completely agree!

Happy Reading!
Skye

Hello and welcome back!

I borrowed this book about Chiam See Tong from the library, alongside Latte to Lathi and it was a GREAT read! I started it in the evening and was so entertained by it that I had to finish the book in one sitting. I was done with it at 1.30am.

I am not the most educated about the political scene in Singapore but it never hurts to start somewhere. I don't want to be so politically ignorant. 

There is always some tension and maybe even fear when politics are discussed in Singapore. I must say I was apprehensive about reading this book in public so I read it at home. 😂 Nevertheless it was a wonderful decision to read this book.

Introduction:
Chiam See Tong is a name you must have heard of in Singapore, even if you are not sure what he exactly he did.

He used to run for elections as an independent party before becoming the second opposition MP of Singapore with the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP), which is no mean feat. He then served Potong Pasir for 27 years. He has since retired from politics following a stroke. He was also ousted from his own party but I have not read up on this yet.

This book chronicles his life and how he came to be part of Singapore's political landscape.

CST studied in ACS and represented his school in many sporting events, winning many medals. Studies were not his forte. His life was also very different from the students in the nearby Chinese schools where protests on anti-colonial issues were staged. Some escalated into violent riots.

It was not until he studied Engineering in New Zealand that he got introduced to issues such as Marxism and various social and political matters. His new friends introduced him to Chinese language films, music and revolutionary ideas, a stark difference to the Western films Chiam was consuming in his teens. Chiam started to develop an interest in politics. He later became a teacher, then a lawyer, before his foray into politics in Singapore. 

Memorable Parts of the Book

Funny Campaign Tactics
Francis Tay, an activist with opposition parties and founding member of SDP, had great ideas for the opposition's campaigns.

"He was known for a popular ploy of his in tapping on reverse psychology, which he would use when trailing Jeyaretnam (first opposition MP of SG) on the Workers' Party's walkabouts. He would keep some distance behind Jeyaretnam and shout out to the people around him while pointing to Jeyaretnam: "Stupid man! Can be a judge but don't want! Join politics for what!" 

This caught the attention of bystanders who would otherwise not have given further thought to Jeyaretnam, It alerted them to the fact that he was a qualified professional - a magistrate and a district judge in  the late 1950s and 1960s."

I laughed out loud at this. Hilarious but probably effective!

Tay did the same for CST, except this time he would say something like "Stupid man! Can be rich lawyer but don't want."

Mud-slinging
During election periods, politicians can expect quite a lot of mud-slinging and even personal attacks on their character or actions. (Side note: This actually happens all year round in Taiwan)

It was an eye opener for me because I've only been able to vote once so far. The things respected statesmen can say... are rather horrifying. 😂 Innocent sounding comments can be taken out of context and twisted to frame someone in a negative light. Being a politician is not easy at all and definitely not for the fainthearted.

In this book you will read about how the opposition collaborated to increases their chances of winning. There are some things I never knew - such as SDP printing their own party newsletter called  the Demokrat. The Demokrat was a bilingual publication that cost 30 cents. Issues focused on topics like education, public housing policy, CPF etc and most importantly offered alternative analyses of thought apart from what was published in mainstream media. This was especially crucial since you could not discuss matters at depth in a short conversation during walkabouts, and also when mainstream media merged into one entity (SPH).

I would love to read these issues actually. I wonder if we can find these materials in the National Archive.

Choice of words
In the book, there are some curious choices of words used. For example, instead of the word 'stronghold', 'stranglehold' is used instead to help convey the idea of domination. 😂 It's not every day I see this written about the dominant party so I must say I chuckled to myself.

NCMP

I also learnt more about how the NCMP (Non-constituency MP) scheme came about. In this scheme, three best performing losing opposition candidates would be entitled to sit and vote in the Parliament. This move mostly outraged the candidates and they stated that they would not accept the position if the situation arose. Some people called this new scheme the 'second class MPs'.

There are plenty more stories in the book, from how Chiam became a teacher, how he courted his wife Lina, and how he improved his campaigning methods each time. Of course, there are mentions of how he hangs out at the coffee shop to talk to members of the public, something that residents will speak of fondly. He also went on a road trip, driving from London to Singapore, with his wife in his iconic Beetle, which will later be part of his campaign efforts too. One of my favourites would be how supporters waited with bated breath and later celebrated Chiam's win in the GE 1984, with 60.28% against Mah Bow Tan for the Potong Pasir Constituency. An underdog victory and story is always heartening!

This was also very sweet to me:

"A few days before polling day, Chiam met an old man on his rounds. In Hokkien, he said, "You don't need to come here anymore, we already support you. You should go campaigning more at the ang mo chu (white people's houses)." 

I also laughed at this:

"Once when Ricky Toh went to see his MP of his own constituency (PAP), he felt like he was 'meeting God'. In an austere looking office, the MP was seated in front of the portraits of the president and the first lady, and the national flag flanked his grandiose table - the chasm that separated Ricky and him." 

On a more sombre note the ISA section of the book was very depressing. 

There's also a photo insert section in the middle of the book. It's funny when you discover that all these serious looking men in the government used to look so boyish and rakish in their younger days. 

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Overall I think this book was a good introduction to CST. It is written by the assistant secretary-general of Chiam's SPP (his second party after SDP), so some bias is understandable. It also provides an alternative perspective to mainstream/textbook history. After all, as the saying goes, history is written by the victors. In this information age we should consider different sources and make our own judgements.

If you have the slightest interest in Singapore politics or history, do check out the book! The last political book I read was 'Hard Truths'. Would love to read more!

Happy Reading,
Skye
Heyo!

Last year I baked white bread for the first time. This year we tried a new recipe, using multi-grain flour!

We stumbled upon this multigrain mix in Bake King. It's a mix of barley, wheatgerm, buckwheat and more. I somehow can never find whole wheat flour in the supermarkets so I'm glad to try this out! A little pricey at $7.80 but I only need to use a bit to mix with my plain flour each time so we went ahead and got it.


Bake King also has many appealing mixes on sale - think sponge cake mixes, bread, and even a mochi bread mix! I am loving the packaging and design.

We used the recipe printed at the back of the packet. We only need to stir the mixtures - no kneading?!?! We didn't have a dough hook so we (he) just manually stirred the mixture.

Rather fragrant! Using an old rice pot as my bowl as it is taller and works better as a mixing bowl.
This dough was rather sticky and we let it rest and rise twice. We also added some chopped walnuts, though you can add cranberries and various other nuts. I miss kneading though.

We halved the recipe and only made 6 buns to try. Homemade breads do not have stabilisers so their shelf lives are dramatically shortened and can grow mould very quickly.

Popped them into the oven and waited. We skipped the egg wash step (which I saw online) so the resulting buns looks rather pale.


I pinched the two left buns on the bottom like how a YouTuber demonstrated, and to my surprise, they turned out looking rounder and better than the rest!



We much preferred this texture to the previous bread we made. It is chewier and more delicious IMO, thanks to all the different types of grains. We are definitely going to have to improve on this recipe though - I suspect we may have used too much water. I also want to knead the bread a bit. The good news is that the mums and aunts seemed to like the bread!


Honestly we thought this batch would be a wreck so it's really nice that it turned out so pleasant! Needs improvement for sure but it's always nice to spend some time on the weekend unwinding and baking from scratch. We have aspirations to make chiffon cakes next! Wish us good luck.

May your breads and cakes rise to great heights,
Skye





Hey guys!

I must admit that I picked out this book from the library because of its cute illustration... without knowing it was a non-fictional book about a Singaporean girl's mission trip to Nepal. 😂 Classic case of judging a book by its cover indeed.

Though I am not Christian, I like to learn about different faiths. Therefore it was still a very enjoyable read for me!


What's it about

Author "Jea Ng" left her comfort zone in her twenties, and headed to Nepal to spread the word about her faith. She joins other women from an international community, undergoes a training program and treks long journeys to visit far flung villages. Sometimes, these treks can be long and arduous. In her words, it took 5 days to get to a village Sanogaun, but only 5 hours to take a plane back home to Singapore. Jea also experienced Nepal's biggest earthquake of magnitude 7.8, and witnessed its destruction.

I would imagine this book has greater impact for those who are Christians as there are lessons about faith and passages from the bible, but nonetheless I enjoyed the stories about how she experienced life in urban and rural Nepal!

For the unsure, Nepal is situated between India and Tibet, and has eight of the world's ten tallest mountains, including Mt. Everest. It is a beautiful and colourful country with warm locals.

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These are some things I found memorable from the book:

Faith Day
On the second day of arriving in Nepal, the team had a 'Faith Day'. They were blindfolded and dropped off in different parts of the city with just 100 Nepali Rupees (USD $1). Their tasks were to ride in a bus or tuktuk, get to know a Nepali, drink a cup of Chiyaa (Nepali tea) and to get home by 3.30PM. There were no numbers on buses, nor were there street names, and most of the team did not speak Nepali. What a cold sweat-inducing adventure that must have been!

Ke Garne
Ke garne is translated to "what to do?" This is a mindset that Nepali have, a way of expressing resignation when electricity stops, water stops, or whenever something does not go to plan. The Nepali accept the situation and move on. 

Kumari (The Living Goddess)
Kumari are young girls believed to be an incarnation of a Hindu goddess that protects Nepal. Both Hindus and Buddhists worship her. Girls aged two to four have to undergo a selection process and go through rituals before they are considered a goddess.

Kumari's feet are considered holy and should never touch the ground, so caretakers carry her from place to place. They do not go to school or play with other children. In the past, even the king has to receive her blessings to rule the country. Kumari are believed to be all-knowing and all-seeing.

Once kumari begins menstruation, or loses blood from a cut on any part of her body, it is believed that the goddess has left her. The kumari will then undergo a ritual and she would return to her normal life and live with her family. 

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I also enjoyed the beautiful coloured photo inserts in this book. It really brought to life the stories. Here are some of the pictures!




The author follows 'Aunty' around for a day. Aunty does many chores at home and in their farm, gathers wheat, grinds them for 4 hours, before making a dough for roti. I loved this slice of life section!
Other things the author observed:
Aunty uses plants she has picked from the ground to scrub her pots and pans.

She collects water that flows down the mountain. When a water point runs out of water, villagers use an alternative water point. Nothing is as sure as the sun - gas and electricity supplies can suddenly stop. 

She also cleans the floor of the house with cow dung, which the author finds absolutely bizarre. 

Time in Nepal also flows differently - people do not adhere to a strict timing. Church only starts when everyone is gathered at a 'magical' time, and sometimes even a plane flight may not take off at the stipulated time and instead be delayed for 5 days. A journey by car or bus can also take ages to complete, and bus accidents where the bus falls off the cliff are common. Gulp.

It truly is very different from our lives here in Singapore. I think we truly do take many things for granted. I remember the time water supply was cut in my home for an entire day because of a broken pipe. You could not wash your hands, flush the toilet, or take a shower! It was an absolute pain! 

This book is a great reminder for us to appreciate what we have instead of complaining all the time about inconveniences. 

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Overall I had a fun time learning more about life in Nepal. It takes guts to immerse yourself fully in a new culture with nothing much more than your faith!  

Recently the books I borrowed from the library has been ultra-compelling and I can't wait to share more about them with you. Stay tuned! 

Love,
Skye

Hey guys!

Recently I brought my folks out for dinner at a restaurant in Tanjong Katong. My family can be fussy about food so I am always apprehensive about bringing them to restaurants that I have not tried. 

It is interestingly named 'Chao Ta', which means burnt in Hokkien. My dad asked if the owner was Hokkien, and the lady explained that they were Hainanese but thought that Chao Ta was a good name because it also meant 'hello' (I guess like Ciao). 

A peek into the restaurant. Love the chic furnishings.



The menu.  Loving the flowers and little touches here and there!

Enter the appetisers!

Chicarron - Homemade pork crackling with spicy dip ($6)
This was excellent! Crispy pork crackling (pig skin) went so well with the spicy 'hell water' dip with chilli salsa and sour cream. Highly recommended.

Chao Ta Beef Cubes ($16)
Exceptionally tender and tasty! Mired in a black pepper sauce much like those used in teppanyaki restaurants. 

Close up
ChaoTa Fu 
Deep fried goodness. The Japanese fusion style shines through with a mentaiko, tobiko roe and bonito flake topping. Don't forget to slurp up the sauce.

Next up, the mains!

ChaoTa Pork Ribs ($28)
Though this was on the Burpple exclusion list, we could not miss the signature dish! Wonderful tender pork ribs. Didn't care much for the sauce and salad though.

Asari Clams Aglio Olio $(18)
This was our carb choice for the night. Perfect al dente spaghetti. Flavourful, though my mum says it's a tad too salty. My sister and I thought it was fine though.

Chao Ta Belly Good ($18)
 The star of the night. This was our favourite! Very tender, melt-in-your-mouth pork. Belly, belly good indeed.

Brownie with Ice Cream
You have just two choices for dessert - brownie or banana cake. (There are plenty of alcohol choices though!) Also, I am 90% sure that this vanilla pod ice cream came from The Ice Cream and Cookie Co! The brownie is small in portion but is really gooey and fudgey. For an extra dosage of sweetness, accompany it with the drizzled caramel sauce.

Overall: We enjoyed our meal here, but wait times can be a little long. Overall great food quality and ambience for the price. 9/10

Bookings available via Chope and Quandoo.

P.S. Chao Ta is on the same stretch as Punggol Nasi Lemak and opposite TKGS. 

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Chao Ta
232 Tanjong Katong Rd
Singapore 437020
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Hey guys!

Just a little update here.

I'm glad to say that I have finished recording another original, called 'Earlier'!

HOWEVER, this time I wanted to challenge myself further, and therefore I will be embarking on an ambitious animation project to accompany the song release.

I was actually going to be really lazy and just release a simple album cover style kind of static video on YouTube, despite already having developed the initial sketches of characters and story lines for the video. Then I chanced upon this video, which I found really useful.



Basically the video tells you to just DO. Just create. (In other words, SHIP! DELIVER! JUST DO IT!)

"Thinking is a form of procrastination though it may seem very productive." E.g. You may think that you are carefully biding your time, thinking of the best solution or thinking up the best plans. However you're honestly just procrastinating. Get to work.

If you're like me and have multiple passions and ideas, then "All you're doing is laying a single brick brick of a million different houses and expecting that one day it'll magically become a mansion. It's not gonna happen." Focus and pour in efforts into one venture for the fastest evidence of improvement.

Well, I want to make things happen! I'm done with the song, so I need to figure out how to improve my videos.

I decided to make a more detailed storyboard today (which I have since completed), and tomorrow I will get started on some of the illustrations. Of course, my drawing skills are not up to par, but they will have to do for now. I'm hoping that the skills will get honed along the way.

I'm prepared to fail spectacularly, and that's the beauty of it - it frees you of the fear and allows you to just create whatever you want to. Great feeling of liberation.

I hope that you guys will work hard on your own goals! Don't lose heart if you're not as disciplined as you wished you were. Everyone starts somewhere, the important thing is to simply begin.

Lots of love,
Skye

P.S. Anyway, side note but I've recently been hooked on this song, Tears by Narelle! Been looping it as I work.
Hey guys!

Awwww! I just watched the sequel to To All The Boys I Loved Before. Netflix definitely timed the release of the second movie just in time for Valentine's Day. The new movie comes with a quick recap of the first movie, which is very aww inducing. Well, as a sappy (teen) romance movie fan, I had to get on this!

Lara Jean's face really grows on you. She's so cute! I love that they casted her.

SPOILERS EVERYWHERE, leave now if you don't want to see any.

What's Happening in the new movie: Lara Jean finds that having a relationship is not as easy as it seems... it may seem like a fairy tale at the start, but how do you navigate unexpected arrivals (like your old crush) and insecurities that can't help surfacing?

Overall this movie is less hefty than the previous, but has enough drama to create interest and keep the movie going. It also retains its beautiful aesthetic, made even more charming if that was possible.

Some screen caps for you:






Her earnestness here is soooo endearing.

The film takes these happy excited puppy feelings of LJ and juxtaposes it with Peter, who exudes a calm demeanor cuz... he's a 过来人 with a previous relationship.

The mismatch of life stages can truly kill a relationship though, if not handled well.

When every special, momentous 'first' that you experience, it's actually his second, or third, it definitely kills some vibes. Nothing seems to be exclusively 'ours' anymore. He's always in the 'been there, done that' stage - maybe he doesn't think some things are special anymore, like your first year together, or your first Valentine's celebration. But it may mean the world to the person who is in their first relationship.

AND THEN, you start to wonder if he would ever love you more than he loved her. If he did the same things together with her, or for her. The comparison is hard to avoid especially when you still see her around or if the previous relationship was a high profile one that everyone knew about.

It's devastating actually. And made a thousand times worse when the his ex is someone you think he's still in love with/prettier/better than you/someone you used to be close with.

You gotta be super strong mentally and not overthink. It's super intense. The movie could afford to play it up more, I feel. But I guess they wanted to keep it light.

I think that the only way out for such a situation is to trust your partner. He can't restart his life or wipe away his history. It was his life, and all you can do is to accept it, and make new decisions and memories together.

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I loved the little snippets of Korean culture in the movie.



They look great in a hanbok! Sometimes traditions and rituals really help make an occasion special, and keeps a culture that is otherwise forgotten in the daily grind, alive.


Young Lara Jean as a 'French Toast' for Halloween. Insanely adorable. 


I laughed when I heard Blackpink singing 'Kill This Love'. In hindsight this was a great song as foreshadowing. Haha.

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I also appreciated this sequence of Lara Jean baking. Very much in touch with YouTube cooking videos HAHA! Very satisfying and cute.


•·················♡·················•

Here are more aesthetics....of a modern fairytale romance.




'Tangled' feels everybody.


Hello? Attic vibes, cute boy and a piano. How cute and wholesome.

Don't forget to go to a carnival! Classic date!



•·················♡·················•

Lastly, my favourite emotional scenes.


Peter being a uncertain, vulnerable lil puppy-eyed boy.


This scene got me tearing. Lol. I think it's because Lara Jean looked so wrecked.


•·················♡·················•

This movie makes you want to paint your room pink, lie in your bed, write in a journal, draw hearts and bake things for your crush. Yup. A very cute, fluffy movie, with messages that remind but don't preach.

Would probably love it more if the fights were more resolved and developed. Mostly the main couple just mope, hug and make up. We usually see a lot of how Lara Jean arrives at her conclusion (through a lot of self-reflection and thinking), but I don't know, I can't be the only one who wants more evidence of Peter being a better boyfriend rather than just Gen saying 'he's crazy about you'. SHOW US THE EFFORT, PETER! 

I felt that Peter was very muted during this movie. He didn't really fight for his girl!!!! How could he remove the necklace?! How come you didn't chase your girl?! Heartbreaking.

Maybe the movie was portraying the 'comfortable coasting' feels that people do when they are in a relationship. They stop putting in as much effort as before because they think they sealed the deal. Meanwhile, the girlfriends are so emotionally unstable, when the guys are all settled down. I definitely know a few friends in this situation!

That said Lara Jean is definitely also in the wrong... all that business with John Ambrose is no good for a relationship on shaky legs. The movie looks all set for a third installment!

•·················♡·················•

Okay, goodbye for now! You guys have a good Valentine's Day, whether you're single, attached, or confused. You are loved! :)

Love,
Skye
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Skye Soon : lifestyle blogger in Singapore, street busker and enthusiast of chocolates and books

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