Baby Photography

Being Grateful

It has been amazing how quickly time passes by. I sincerely apologise for not updating my blog. There has been some changes going on in my life and I'm taking some time to get used to it.

I have settled down in a pr company as an intern and is enjoying the things that I have been doing. Though it may be tough at times and there are so much things that I have to understand, i know that i can make it through.

I have started reading this book by Nick Vujicic called Living without Limits. I did not expect myself to feel so strongly with him throughout the book. The struggles he went through emotionally, the negative thoughts he tried umpteen times to push away, and coupled with tribulations which seemed to stubbornly stay on with him during his growing up years.

Somehow, what he had gone through just reminded me poignantly of the struggles I had encountered when I had serious dry eyes then. It was hard for people, even my friends, to understand what i was going through. Some would just give sweeping remarks, such as "Why can't you just use eye drops?" Duh, of course, i have tried eye drops, medications and everyhing. They werent working for me. What i need is just some kind considerations on your part. Nonetheless, through this ordeal, I always wanted to feel angry with them but I guess it is a waste of energy to be angry with them. I constantly remind myself to be cool about it, and hopefully, forgive them.

In my third week of work, I am truly thankful to have met many interesting people.
For example, during an event, I had the chance to meet a photographer. He told me lots of things about photography, such as the lenses and how I could improve my phorography skills. This includes practising taking photographs with a DSLR in its manual mode. Most importantly, constantly imagine how the scenes would be like.

On the next day, I was reading Living without Limits on the train. A lady spoke to me about how inspiring the stories are and where I can read for such stories.

It is truly an amazing experience to meet such nice people. And I hope to meet many more such people in my life to come.

Beautiful Days of My Life: I'm grateful to any experiences that I have received, and any strangers that I have met. 

R.E.F.L.E.C.T.I.O.N.S

http://www.christinehassler.com/2012/11/wondering-if-your-dreams-will-ever-come-true/

 This past week has been happening, like the whirlwind. Sweeping me off from the land of rejection to the heaven of acceptance.  Faced with utmost rejection and losing hopes of pursuing my dreams, i wonder whether have i really reached the point, where suddenly things start to work in my favour?

I have finally gotten my internship in a good PR agency. Why am i still on an internship after graduation? Reason being that I do not have adequate experience in public relations which make me inadequate to try for a full time job. I'm not sad at all. In fact, I'm entirely over the moon! A deciding factor is the corporate culture of the company. I love it when company directors are down to earth and willing to know each other better, regardless of who you are. I am confident that my future environment will be conducive for me to learn the ropes of PR.

I feel very honoured and privileged to have met nice directors throughout the past two weeks. Despite their amicable personalities, i know that they have high expectations on the work requirements. I would do my best to achieve that!

Joining the workforce in the future means that I now have to make adjustments to my life. This includes figuring out how to bring my chrysanthemum tea (with goji berries) to the office, ensuring that my eyes are in optimum health, keeping myself from occupational hazards. At the age that we are living in, it is always important to engage in preventive measures rather than healing oneself (for the recovery journey is not easy).
It took me almost 2 years to figure out the solution for dry eyes and the emotional burden which comes along with the physical illness is not light at all.

I will be sharing with everyone my daily food routine to help in my dry eye recovery soon.

Till then,
Josephine

Beautiful Days of My Life: I hold onto my dreams.

Blessing in Disguise

Today, for once, I would like to bring the focus to a significant meeting that I had yesterday. How should i describe it? Can I say, that after the meeting, I feel that there has been a reason for everything. And that things just feel that things might go positively well from today onwards. Previously, there have been moments where I have felt that things were not going my way. The amalgamation of negative feelings set in. Frustration, anxiety, sadness - you name it. However, I have been reminding myself of the need to stay positive, for fear of the negative feelings culminating into a self-fulfilling prophecy. Not forgetting another important reason, I strongly believe that emotions have an intimate relationships with your health. Therefore, it is very important that we keep our health in check.

I feel very honoured to have met this guy (Director of Mulberry Marketing Communications Singapore). What was truly unforgettable when he introduced me as a friend to his friends. His friends were busy preparing for the launch of their restaurants at Marina Square. I shall not disclose too much. We had very wonderful conversations and he offered great advice to me - which type of PR companies i should look out for, how I should prepare myself for interviews and steps that i should undertake. At times, I do have doubts about myself. I feel encouraged after the meeting and strive to put in all efforts to achieve my dreams. The chase is still not over yet. I know i have much to work on, and I know it is not time for me to give up yet.

I recalled what my primary school teacher has just told me, " there are times where you seem to be going through a rough patch, but once you reach the ultimatum, good things will start to come your way. of course, you need to put in some efforts."

Beautiful Days of My Life: I have the courage to go overcome any limitations, including limitations of myself.

Fennel Tea



Image Credit: Britanie Faith


Get ready to leave your green tea leaves on the self & embark on this new love of mine! Fennel tea! Yes, I have started falling in love with this new fennel tea. Having drank consistently for the past 1 month, I have noticed some improvements in my overall health, especially my eyes. This drink was recommended by my naturopathy practician and i bought it from him in fact.

Fennel has been historically used for medical & culinary purposes. Recognising the benefits of fennel tea, it is not surprising to see fennel seeds still being used in culinary dishes such as Malay & Indian cuisines in Asia. For Chinese cuisine, I rarely see my mother prepareing her dishes using fennel.  Fennel has this slightly sweet & savoury taste when you sip it, with a slight bitter aftertaste.


Benefits of Fennel Tea

• Neutralises stomach acid, prevent heartburn.
• Ease digestion especially when you have a full meal
• Alkaline the blood
• Improves eye conditions (something which i can strongly attest to. I have not experienced bloodshot eyes for a long time)
• Anti-inflammatory
• Menstrual cramps

There are also countless benefits if you do a google search on the internet. Some benefits include "promoting lactation etc" which I, unfortunately, am unable to attest to that (young adult with no kids, unmarried). Therefore, I did not list them down on

When do i usually drink it?
For the past 1 month, I have been drinking fennel tea first thing in the morning. It awakens my liver and kick starts my bowel system in the morning. A common ritual done by many people has been to drink a warm glass of warm water with half the lemon. I find it harder to start my day with half the lemon. Just like any ordinary human being, I always wake up with my eyes half-opened. Groggily, i would walk to the kitchen, grab the sharp menacing knife & try to cut the lemon into half. Having realised the risk involved, i decide to search for the alternative. It has been recommended for fennel tea to be drank on an empty stomach. What good timing it would be to start drinking in the morning where your stomach is grumbling, hungry & empty? Simmer the tea bag/seeds into the cup of water while you shower & get ready for the day!

I would also drink the tea before i sleep. It helps to ease my digestion & helps my liver to function & heal well for the night. According to TCM, the liver and your eyes have a close relationship. Therefore, caring for your liver is the utmost important thing to do.

Of course, too much of a good thing may do you harm. Therefore, though i drink two cups of fennel tea a day, coupled with my chrysanthemum tea in the afternoon (how did i do that? i will explain next time), i will at times take a break. Some days, i will reduce my consumption. Or perhaps on one single day, i would not drink fennel tea at all. It takes some time to figure out what is best for you!

I got my organic fennel seeds (grinded i think) from Sebestian Liew Centre (naturopathic & phytotherapy centre). I forgot the price, unfortunately (Sorry!).

Hope that this post inspires you to start drinking fennel tea. Get going!

Do let me know if you have found other good benefits of drinking fennel tea!

Beautiful Day of My Life: Each day, I take positive step to improve my life.

This week at a glance (Haze & Job Hunting)

I apologise for not actively posting lately for I have been busy with my job interviews and preparations. I have planned entries such as posting a recipe on osmanthus jelly, updates on my eye health, fennel tea etc. I will post them soon over the next few weeks. Do bear with me.



Taken from my bedroom window

 


Image credits: Channel NewsAsia



These few days, the smokey haze situation in Singapore has been really bad. The Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) exceeds 100, which is considered unhealthy, at certain times of the day in different parts of Singapore. This is partly a result of forest fires, caused by deforestation, in Indonesia. Burning the forest fire is known as the quickest way to clear the land for agricultural or commerical purposes.
Of course, though i mention that my eyes are still healed, it is always on the road to recovery as i can feel my eyes irritated by the haze very easily. I am still taking note of the things i eat. Will definitely share more once i found the perfect formula.

Tips on how YOU can cope with haze:

1. Drink more herbal tea such as chrysanthemum tea/honeysuckle flower tea/green tea when you feel dryness at the eyes, nose & throat
2. Boil herbal soups for detoxification (green bean soup, radish soup, watercress soup)
3. Eat more vegetables to build up your immune system.
4. If necessary, wear a mask when you head outdoors. (if it is really bad)
5. Cut down on outdoor activities for now.Good time to invest in more yoga or pilates activities.
6. If your eyes are irritated, wash your eyes with Optrex Eye Bath often. If not convenient, just grab a bottle of eye drops.

Recently, I have been preparing my job interviews to get into my dream industry. I was almost so close to getting it when i received a rejection email yesterday. It was kinda sad for me as I was the final 2 candidates shortlisted but eventually they chose the other candidate over me. I guess it was all right. Every moment has its ups and downs. I know it is never easy to get it but i will still try. All hope is not lost yet. Various interviews have taught me what and how to prepare for interviews and i am truly grateful for the experiences different interviews have offered me.

I also noticed that there are many silent viewers on my blog page over the past weeks. If you have any eye concern (especially dry eyes/red/itchy), i welcome you to talk to me. I have gone through the emotional turmoil with this chronic eye problem and I cannot again emphasise the importance of talking about your struggles with your loved ones and friends. You can email me at josieeprt@gmail.com if you have any issues. I look forward to reading your emails.

Beautiful Day of my Life: I have the courage to climb up again with every failure/rejection i receive. 

Eye Health Assessment

My Happy Purchase of Contacts! (Have regained optimal health for eyes!)

I went for an eye checkup a few days ago, but I did not have the time to write down my experience and the results of my eye health assessment on that day.

I constantly experience a slight stinging feeling when i insert my Acuvue Trueye into my eyes (oh yes, have recently started wearing contact lenses). After reflecting my concern to Acuvue, a kind lady from their Professional Affairs Department contacted me very soon via phone and email. They asked me some questions and recommended that I go for an eye examination to check my eyes. It is definitely a logical step to check one's eyes to exclude the possibility that my eye condition influence the comfort of wearing contact lenses.

The eye health examination was quite long. I am truly grateful for the extensive examiniation procedure provided by the optometrist - measured the curvature of my eyes, my overall eye health using the instruments & tried ways to wear contact lens comfortably. Alas, I managed to find out the way of wearing contact lens comfortably into my eyes.

Results of everything:

1. My eyes are in perfect health!
2. The possible reason for contact lens discomfort is due to the strong buffered saline solution Acuvue used to store their dailies. Therefore, people whose eyes are sensitive (like mine), will likely to experience some discomfort.  A solution to cope with the possible discomfort was to always rinse my contact lenses with fresh contact lens solution before inserting into the eyes.

I was truly over the moon when i heard that my eyes are in good health! I will continue to maintain my myopia degree and make sure my eye health does not deteriorate! Happily purchased another 2 boxes of Acuvue Trueye since my current supply is ending soon. The optometrist was very kind to insert extra pairs of contact lenses for me, with a small sample bottle of Opti Free Pure Moist.  They also allow this flexibility for me to change my contact lense boxes if my eyesight were to improve or deteriorate. In the meantime, i also vow to myself that i would go for annual eye-checkup.

Note: Today, I have tried wearing contact lenses for 9 hours. It feels all right. But i did not have any mirror to check my eye health. My friends say my eyes do look slightly tired, with slight redness. I guess it takes time for my eyes to be completely healed. I look forward to that day!

Beautiful Day of My Life: I feel excited living a fresh new life.