拍写真 / Taking Photo at a Studio

这次去中国做的另一件事是拍写真。另一位友人说她的弟妹及侄女拍了一套写真集，拍得可好了，弟妹看起来特别显年轻，本来相貌一般的侄女更是一下子就变成了个小美女，简直赛过明星呢。听后心里顿时痒痒的，也想赶快拍一套，友人表示会带我去，可以问价钱不得了，原来她们花了￥7000+，这怎么得了？我哪能花得起那么多钱啊？有一次，我去Walmart购物时突然看到一个拍写真的摊位，拍18张成册加一个冰雕盘和一个有25张照片（其中18张加修版，另7张则不包）的CD共￥500。感觉这个价位还可以接受，而且他们的样品极为精美，变付了钱。等到了studio一看才明白为什么这家比较便宜，原来这是个家庭式的影楼，他们将一个住宅单位改造成studio，只有一位化妆师，一位摄影师和一位后期制作，摄影师连助手也没有，而且布景极为简陋，令人无法进入角色，摄影师能想得到的姿势也极其有限，他所教导的姿势我实在摆不出，除了第一集休闲外，越拍越扫兴，只好勉强拍完了事，故效果不佳，但想想便宜也就算了，下次要换一间影楼啦。

Another thing I did this time in China was taking photos for an album in the studio. My friend told me that her sister-in-law and her niece did so, and the result was incredible. Her sister-in-law looked very young and her niece looked even better than a movie star despite her being just an average looking girl! I was then very keen and wanted to follow suit. My friend promised me that she would take me there. But after having found out the price, I was stunned! It was ￥7000+. By no means could I afford this. Once, I saw a stall when I went shopping at Walmart. They charged ￥518 (S$104.02) for an album of 18 photos (including a touch up) and 25 (including that 18, and the other 7 without a touch up on CD) and one on the plate. The price was affordable and their samples were fantastic. So I paid. I realized why it was so cheap after I reached the studio. It was a small family business and they had simply converted an ordinary residential flats into a studio. There was only one make-up artist, one photographer and a digital media designer. There was not even one assistant for the photographer. The setting was so basic that it could not bring a person into his/ her role. The poses which the photographer could think of were also limited, and the majority I could not even follow. I could not get into the right mood and I lost my enthusiasm after the first episode. That’s why the result was not very ideal. Next time I’ll definitely choose another studio.

每日一照 / Photo Everyday

忽然惊闻有人每天拍一张照片，而且足足坚持了12年之久，他也由此成了网络红人，哇靠，这也能成名？哼，等着瞧，俺说什么也要打破此记录。不过话又说回来，这还真是个好习惯，起码能帮助你回忆往事，且能及时发现自己哪里出了问题，想来经常拍照的人会越变越美吧。当然这只限年轻人而已，俺就不行喽。
I heard that there is a guy who has taken his own photo everyday for 12 years. Now he has become famous on the internet. My God, can you become famous just like that? Wait, I will definitely break his record. It’s also a good habit which will help you to recall what happened in the past as well as find out one’s problems. I believe it will help a person to improve his/her look if he/she does so. Of cause, this only works on young people, not me.

P.S. I forgot to take on 24/7 and 25/7.

大头贴 / Stickers

我这次拍了一套大头贴，共36张，如不放大加洗则只要￥30（S$6.14)，人家可以免费给存在硬盘或是thumb drive里，只是我犯了一个错误，我让她们加洗了一套放大的，又花了150块（S$30.68)，爸爸说如拿到照相馆去洗同样大小的每张只要7毛钱，那36张也不过才￥25.2（S$5.15),我足足多花了将近S$25,而且质量还不如相关的好，唉，被人宰了一刀，就当吸取个教训吧。

I took one set of stickers on the machines there. Altogether 36 pieces. It cost ￥30（S$6.14）if you don’t enlarge them. They would give all the soft copies and save them inside your thumb drive. But I made a silly mistake. I asked them to enlarge them for me, which cost me ￥150（S$30.68）extra. Father said that since I already have the soft copy, I could easily get them printed in any of the photo developing shops which cost only ￥70 per piece. So it would be ￥25.20 (S$5.15) for 36 pieces. And the quality would be better. I learned my lesson.

Nail Art (3) / 指甲上的艺术（3）

这次我的指甲是在另一件店做的，我本来在这里剪头发，发行师不是原来的那个，不过这个也不错，尤其擅长剪刘海，价格只需￥29（S$5.93)。帮我洗头的美眉大力向我推荐在他们店里做指甲，那就试试看吧。这次连手带脚一共花了￥280（S$57.26），不算太便宜，但她做得还蛮细，据说贵是因为这是双色花，先要打一层底胶，然后再在上面画，画好后再上一层胶把花封在里面，着实有点复杂。

This time I did my manicure and pedicure at another shop. I went there for a hairdo. It was a different hairdresser from the last time. But she’s not bad either, especially good at cutting the fringe. It cost only ￥29 (S$5.93). The girl who washed my hair strongly recommended me to do my manicure and pedicure there. OK, then no harm to try it. This time cost me ￥280 (S$57.26) for both hands and feet. It’s not very cheap. It was said that because the flowers had two different colors, and that’s why it’s more expensive. She laid one layer of gel below, then painted the flowers and then put another layer of gel to seal the painting inside. A bit difficult. But it lasted only 2 weeks for hands. The ones on my feet are ok. Even now , almost 6 weeks have already gone by and it’s still perfect.

Nail art (2) / 指甲上的艺术（2）

This time I tried a different type called gel overlay. It was said that this would last longer. "It will last 3 months." the owner said with a smile. But the long lasting type will cost much more. For both hands and feet the cost will be S$50 (excluding nail extension). More than double compared to the last time. In fact it did not last that long. Based on my personal experience, for feet, the normal one (without gel overlay) will be better. It’s cheaper and will last about the same time. And most important, without gel overlay, the design looks more beautiful. For hands, with gel overlay, it does last longer. It will only last slightly more than a week if without. It will last at least 1 and a half months if with gel overlay. I suggest that it’s better to not do any nail extension (about S$1.1 per nail). The reason is that it breaks easily after a while (say a month and a half time) and it hurts.

这次回去我尝试了另一种不同的做法，叫做光疗胶，似乎也有人叫它水晶指甲。据说这种做法会持续较长的时间。"它可以耐3个月”，店主笑着说道。当然价格也更贵，手脚加一块儿超过S$50（还不包括贴甲片），比起上次来，价格翻了一番还要多。但根据我的经验，脚不需做这种，因为作了光疗胶在脚上不但不能耐久，比起普通指甲油那种反而时间更短了，再加上价格又贵，还不如指甲油那种好看。对于手来说，耐久性确实要好很多，但也绝不像她说的那样可以耐3个月，大部分将在一个半月左右脱落，我只有左手的无名指和小指超过了三个月。建议不要贴甲片（大约S$1.1一个），因为贴了以后一般会在一个半月左右折断，而且会有点痛。

About Closing Down of the ‘Wax in the City’ / 由美容院的倒闭所想起的。。。

Wax in the City 是一间连锁Spa Salon，最近倒闭了，引起了一阵轩然大波。其原因是由于业者在这之前还诱导顾客交完全部配套的钱，并拒绝退还；同时律师和消协的代表也纷纷发表电视讲话说顾客不该傻傻地一次就交清全部配套的钱，交钱之前要彻底查清它的经营状况。叫我说这简直就是屁话。首先，不交清钱没有一家美容院会给你做配套，再说了，我们消费者去那里调查？要查也得政府去查呀，政府应该设立网页，并对所有业者进行分级，把他们的经营状况在网上公布，这样消费者才有处可查嘛。或者政府也可以出台政策禁止他们提前收钱，每次做好后再付款。最奇怪的是有些顾客是分期付款的，当有些顾客发现倒闭后，通知银行叫他们停止分期付款，银行经答复说根据法律不能停，哪有那么奇怪的法律？明明可以减少顾客损失的，却偏偏不要做。实际上是政府管理存在严重的漏洞，却还要指责消费者不够聪明，真是岂有此理。
今天报纸登出来了，政府说他们改进了，首先，给五天的冷静期。其次，不得强行推销Package，第三，要提供明细账单条款，要让顾客明白他们到底买了什么。第四，提高专业素质，等等。我觉得这些并不是实质问题，最重要的是应禁止美容院提前收费，做一次收一次就好啦，为什么还要搞到那么麻烦？

Wax in the City is a spa salon in Singapore that recently closed down. Commotion broke out among those customers who could not be given a refund for payments made in advance of a full course of 10 sessions. Now lawyers and representatives from the Consumers Association have spoken out in a TV interview, saying that the customer should think twice, and should not easily agree to sign this kind of agreement without first carrying out a thorough check on their background. I think this is quite absurd. I believe that the government should come out with some new safeguards to strengthen the existing regulations which protect our customers, rather then we having to check for ourselves. We have to pay the full fee up front when we sign up for a package. This is the normal practice in Singapore. Where can we perform a search of the known information for any one given company? It’s simply nowhere. Government should monitor their business closely and setup a website to grade them. Otherwise all we can get from the internet is just them bluffing about how good they are. How on earth could we have known that they were going to be closing down soon? Or simply come out with a new policy that prevents businesses from collecting all of the money in one upfront payment. It should be paid each time after the session. The strangest thing is some customers pay by installment. Since they have closed down, the bank should have been advised to cease making regular deductions from the customers’ account! Hence, minimizing the losses incurred. But the bank has answered that by law they are bound to continue the transaction. Isn’t the law is very stupid? The Government having failed to manage the situation very well, now puts the blame on the consumers.

My New Shoes / 新鞋子

我最近买了六双新鞋子，其中四双我比较满意。下面我把它们做一个比较：

序号 颜色 价格 地点 舒适程度 美观程度 耐穿性
1。 粉红色 S$69.95 Takashimaya 1星 5星 只穿了三次后，钻石就掉了，不过商店说可以免费帮我修理。
2。 浅蓝色 S$74.95 Takashimaya 1星 5星 穿得次数很少，还不清楚。
3。 象牙色 S$33.50 IMM 4星 3.5星 穿得次数很少，还不清楚。
4。 咖啡色 S$31.70 IMM 4星 3.5星 穿得次数很少，还不清楚。


你们大家的意见呢？

Recently I bought 6 pairs of new shoes. I’m especially satisfied with 4 of them. Below is the comparison of them:
Serial No Color Price Shopping Mall Comfortableness Attractiveness Lasting
1 Pink S$69.95 Takashimaya ⋆ ⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆ the ‘diamond’ dropped when I wore them for the third time and the shop said they would fix it for me free of charge.
2 Light Blue S$74.95 Takashimaya ⋆ ⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆ only worn 3 time, yet to know
3 Beige S$33.05 IMM ⋆⋆⋆⋆ ⋆⋆⋆and a half only worn 2 time, yet to know
4 Coffee S$31.10 IMM ⋆⋆⋆⋆ ⋆⋆⋆and a half only worn 2 time, yet to know

What is your opinion?