DermaGenesis: My Experience - Part 3

Part 3

29 Jan., 09

I was actually looking forward for my 3^rd treatment which is IPL. Cause the doctor promised me a pain free, downtime free and fast session. But he lied….IPL does hurt (a bit). So you see, none of my treatments are actually pain free! It just gets less painful each time but still there’s pain in every session. Sigh…..

Anyway, IPL was fast. It only took like 20 minutes? And you are up and away doing your everyday stuff (like normal). The process include the usual face washing and then my face was being shot with (like said) intense pulse lights which finally was ice gelled. Each shot smells like something burning. I don’t know how to explain it, but at every shot, you will be able to smell as if your skin was being burnt at that very spot it was shot. The pain was there, like I said, pin point….but thank goodness it was brief. Like mili of a second. But enough to make you jump at each shot. Sigh….the price of vanity sure is painful. But what to do? It’s a beauty eat ugly world out there!

-The laser machine- :-O

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So, this is basically what I've been through for sake of a more beautiful skin on my face! I hope to say that it takes only 7 treatments to get to the skin I have now...... but the truth is, after this treatment plan, I had had underwent an additional 3 more Fraxal and 1 IPL. The results weren't immediate! I was at first wasn't as satisfied as I thought I would be......

But.....after more than half a year, my skin improves significantly! Apparently, the effect of laser and light therapy doesn't produce immediate effect! You have to wait at least 3 - 6 months to see the real results! Well.... this was actually being said in some articles...so I don't know but I think it's true for me! :)

So, yes.... so I would highly recommend people to go for such treatments and not being conned by expensive, non-scientifically proven, and dangerous beauty centers! Trust me....they do nothing but harm to your skin! Experience speaks for himself!!!

Project-κ 20 : Pork Belly Noodles (Chu Lam Fun)

Seremban beef noodle is no stranger to anyone now. Come Seremban, the few first things that a local will recommend would be the beef noodle itself, located at Seremban Wet Market. Recently, there's this restaurant made a few adjustment to the famous beef noodle by catering it to the non-beef eater, like me! What they are selling is somewhat similar to Sin Yee Kee's signature dish, only that they replace beef slices with pork belly slices! And beef balls, with pork balls....

The reason why I choose to blog about this place is not because it is exceptionally tasty (it's not bad I would say)...... but I find it to be kinda special... I mean, why in the world it takes people SO LONG to come out with a pork version beef noodle???!!! Padahal, it's just replacing those miserable slices of red meat! >.<

Anyway....... The place is located at Jalan Rahang Kecil, opposite Jabatan Kerja Raya (JKR) Seremban. Right after the traffic lights (if you are coming from Bukit Blossom or Taman SEA) at the flyover, take an immediate left and it's there! The restaurant reads, "Restaurant Hing Hoi", with a big, bright yellow signage.

There are quite a few other dishes being sold there like Fish & Chips, Fried Chicken rice, Chicken Chop, Century egg porridge; but the only things worth mentioning are its Pork Belly Noodles (Chu Lam Fun) and Paper wrapped chickens (Chi Bao Gai).

Priced at RM4.50 per bowl, its Chu Lam Fun is not bad, really. Just like the beef noodle, it has the usual fried preserved vegetables (char choy), sesame seeds, peanuts and thick gravy! Tastewise, I can't compare to the beef noodle because I don't take beef (remember?). Though not very generous with the pork, the tenderness and flavourful slices made up for it. By looking at the picture, it doesn't look appetising right? Yeah I know.... the cook could have spend some time on presentation! LOL! But it tastes better than it look. You should try it... just for the sake of the owner coming up with this idea! Hahaha.....

Paper wrapped chicken (Chi Bao Gai) is sold at RM3 each! I find it rather pricey. But its their signature dish! The chicken is wrapped in a piece of paper (yes! literally!) and deep fried! So, you've got to tear the paper before eating the chicken. The chicken is less oily if cooked this way. The juiciness of the chicken is retained but the only messy part is tearing off the oily piece of paper.... Of course, this is a favourite among lots of children! :)
I didn't order it this time because I don't feel like eating oily stuff then.....

The place was kinda crowded initially when it opens. But yesterday when I went there, it looks rather quiet. I am not sure why..... maybe it's because of the service... I was shocked when a customer shouted at the waiter for showing attitude when he was short changed. I don't know who is right or who is wrong.... but it wasn't a pleasant sight.... lots of tension I tell ya!
Sometimes, good food but bad service would make a horrible experience.

But for me..... it's OK lar~~~

Nokia N8: A Review (not by me) :P

Now, my friend, Fong Kin Man has been pestering asking me to review on my new phone, the Nokia N8 as he was curious to know more about it; and maybe it's because of my crude honesty that he knows I won't be blowing trumpets or bull shits! Whatever it is, I wanna tell him that "Fong, no matter how crude I am, I just can't review a gizmo!! The technical terms just kills me! I would love to be a tech junkie but somehow it's not my calling and I need time to learn.... :P"

But anyhow, I've found a great review about the Nokia N8 on the web! The blogger, Alvin was at first sceptical and totally hates the N8 if compared to his favourite iPhone 4! Somehow, during the product review period, he changes his mind about the N8 after all. Read on fellow followers! This is to you, Fong! :)

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Nokia N8: I want one after all

by Alvin

My #N8Productions entry isn’t near completion yet. Yes, I should probably hurry – the N8 goes back on Thursday and I won’t be able to create any more content. And truth be told, I’m going to be rather sad when I hand the package back to the DHL guy. I know I’ve changed my mind about the N8, and all my gripes about it not feeling fresh and lacking any major improvements in user experience don’t really matter after all, at least out in the real world.

Frankly, the N8 is aimed at a different audience as opposed to the iPhone or the dizzying array of Android devices out there. And that’s perfectly fine. Smartphones don’t all have to cater to the people who’d be likely to choose an iPhone over anything else. To put it simply, I cannot imagine anyone switching from an iPhone to the N8, and neither can I envision the N8 winning over a single iPhone user out there. And the reason for that is simple. While the N8 remains lacking in terms of user interface polish, ease-of-use, pretty apps and cohesive, integrated user experience, the iPhone remains equally lacking in terms of imaging prowess, advanced features, customizability and even versatility as a converged device. In my opinion, the main reason why the N8 has been slammed so much by certain US-based established blogs (cough, cough…) is because the reviewers contributing to those blogs have no understanding of who the N8 is aimed at, or even the reasons why folks continue to buy Symbian devices when there are, in their opinion, much better choices out there. Furthermore, most of those reviewers would be using iPhones to begin with, leading to them declaring that the N8 is a shit phone simply because it has zero similarities when compared with their favourite fruity device.

No device is ever perfect. I admit I haven’t ever met a disappointed iPhone user, but I could find tons of reasons why the iPhone is a shit phone if I really wanted to. I still stand by my statements in my impressions post that the N8 does need a revolution in the form of a fresh new user interface focused on ease-of-use and a less head-scratching, more enjoyable user experience, but it would be wrong to dismiss the N8 merely on those grounds. The N8 has the potential to be one amazing device. It’s completely amazed me over the past few days. You’ve just got to look past the user interface, at least for now. Maybe it won’t be such a big deal when you consider the fact that:

1. Not every smartphone has to emulate the iPhone

2. In the real world, user interface and user experience isn’t such a big deal for most people

3. It is possible to get used to various user interfaces, even the most clunky and quirky examples around

With that in mind, the N8 doesn’t look so bad after all. For starters, its imaging capabilities are beyond praise. It is, without a doubt, the best cameraphone that money can buy today. Image quality in just about every situation is nothing short of superb, and its low-light performance is miles ahead of any other cameraphone. The N8′s camera has stunned me time and again with what it could achieve in the couple of photoshoots I did with it in Melaka and by the Singapore River, and I couldn’t possibly imagine myself ever needing a dedicated compact camera if the N8 served as my everyday phone. I know this paragraph is beginning to sound like an advertisement, but I can’t help it. The N8 is simply amazing in this regard.

So the camera app could do with a complete user interface revamp, but when I was out taking photos the user interface didn’t bother me in the least. I daresay it won’t really bother you either. You’ll be too pleased with your results to really nitpick about how menu options in the camera app still require double-tapping.

Another aspect of the N8 that really struck me was how versatile it is as a smartphone. The built-in USB Host functionality allows for the connection of standard USB peripherals such as flash drives and mice and keyboards through an adapter connected to the microUSB port on the device. What other device, apart from the N8 and its sister Symbian^3 devices, can you think of that comes with this feature? Of course, the fly in the ointment here is that an adapter(included in the N8′s package, by the way) is required for this to work, but it’s undeniably cool and might even have some rather valid real-world applications. Just the other day, I plugged my flash drive into the USB input on my DVD player with the intention of playing a movie off it, but apparently the movie’s file format was not supported by the player. No issue at all – out comes the N8, a TV-out cable and the USB Host adapter, and the N8 played through the full 120-minute long movie successfully and even had 50% battery left at the end of it all. N8 1, DVD Player 0.

It’s not just USB Host that’s worth having around – the N8 also has a built-in FM transmitter that became tremendously useful during the drive up to Melaka. No radio stations? No CD collection in the car? Loads of music in the N8 that you’d like to play wirelessly over the car stereo? No problem – the FM transmitter worked perfectly with the N8 providing hours and hours of aural enjoyment during the drive. Your friend’s iPhone couldn’t possibly do that without an add-on accessory that costs extra.

When you consider these 2 features on the Nokia N8 alongside true multitasking, filesystem access, microSD expansion on top of 16GB of internal memory, support for Bluetooth keyboards and mice, unrestricted sideloading of apps, support for Bluetooth file transfers, built-in 3G videocalling, themes, profiles and support for both HD and SD TV-out through HDMI and the 3.5mm jack respectively, the N8 appears to be almost a computer in your pocket; not just a mere smartphone that excels in just a few specific areas. The N8 is a fine example of a truly versatile, converged device, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with it having a slightly greater learning curve when it packs in so much more functionality than more user-friendly but also more limited alternatives. I mean, folks can learn, can’t they?

I mentioned all the other positives of the N8 in my impressions post, so I won’t run through them again here. It’s true that the N8 does have several flaws and foibles, but almost all of them are software-based and might be fixed eventually. New Symbian is supposed to iterate and evolve much faster than before, so I’ve got renewed hope regarding the future relevance of the platform. In many ways, New Symbian on the N8 is a stepping stone to the true revolution; it’s something to keep existing users happy and solve the problems that plagued S60v5. Since it’s a mere starting point towards what’s to come, all the clunkiness of the current, legacy user interface can be forgiven, somewhat. Furthermore, Nokia resuming complete control over Symbian development can only be a positive sign; ditto for the focus around QT as a platform for app development. And the N8 will definitely benefit from all these efforts together with its sister New Symbian devices. Regarding the few hardware flaws, the only one that really stands out is the lack of a lens cover. Nokia has justified this omission numerous times through its PR channels but constantly wiping the N8′s Carl Zeiss lens on my shirt before taking a shot sort of gets old after a while. And of course, many would have loved to see a removable battery. However, the N8′s stamina is definitely commendable – it lasted 2 days with moderate use for me. I just wish the microUSB port weren’t so awkwardly placed.

Would I recommend the N8? Yes, definitely, to anyone who wants the most cutting-edge Symbian smartphone available today, or wants stellar camera performance both for stills and video, or wants a device that isn’t arbitrarily limited in terms of raw functionality and capabilities. Do I want one? Ohh yes. Unfortunately, I have to admit I’m loving the N8 – it isn’t the sleekest or slickest device around but it does everything I could possibly want my smartphone to do and does it without fuss. Now that there is a solution available to allow for the reinstallation of the Ovi Store client after a hard-reset, it isn’t really an issue for me anymore. This issue shouldn’t have occurred in the first place, but as long as there’s a workaround, all is good.

While typing my impressions post, I felt rather sad that my expectations of its user experience hadn’t really been met and I was feeling completely bored with it. As I type the last words of this post, I’m still feeling rather sad. The N8 has to go back to WOMWorld/Nokia this Thursday. Oh boy. I’ll really miss this device.

I want a N8. In orange. Please?

See the results of the Melaka and Singapore River photoshoots over on my Flickr page here and here.

Thanks to WOMWorld/Nokia for hooking me up with a #N8Productions pack and giving me the opportunity to participate in an exciting competition and blog about an excellent phone, all at the same time.

 More great reviews on mobile phones are available here at: http://phonecentral.wordpress.com/

DermaGenesis: My Experience - Part 2

Part 2

11 Jan., 09

I really couldn’t tell how long the subcission’s downtime took. I think it was about 7 days cause I really can’t tell if it was the redness of the needle point made or was it my old scars. All I knew, it was way better now since the horrible 1^st day of subcission made on my face.

Anyway, today is my 2^nd session – Fraxel laser. Before starting, the assistant washed my face twice with a mild cleanser and gently ~ ~ ~ very….gently dabbed it all away. It was so good I tell you….felt almost like a baby touching my face. Soft and gentle…..aaaaahhhhhh……

Ok…so…as I was saying…got washed, dabbed and in came the doctor. He was in his jolly mood as usual. We shake hands, “how are you? I’m fine” for awhile and then on with the treatment. Now, the word “laser” probably is quite scary to some of you. I don’t know….I personally think that laser sounds cool but after going for it, I beg to differ my opinion. The doctor did a few test shot on the side of my jaw (just to see how I react)…….you know what….I don’t know what’s needles are to my skin cause EVERYTIME (oklah…it’s only the 2^nd time) I go for treatment I keep getting the “needle sensation”, if you know what I mean. The laser felt HOOOOOOOTTTTT!!!! It was as though I was shot by countless burning, red hot needles on my face! Now, I’m not exaggerating. It’s true! Perhaps I had a low pain threshold, I don’t know but the laser hurts! Well…..it’s still bearable though. I didn’t start shouting and crying on the “operation bed” (that’s what I called the bed I’m lying on….just to give a little “advanced” feeling to it). Imagine a tiny machine gun that was fired in a straight line and each shot, probably, 10 – 20 burning needles were sent to your skin. It was exactly how this felt. The doctor did half of my face 1^st, then smeared ice cold gel on the area. It was instant relieve man! You know…it’s like going for a 10km run and the very first thing you were given was ice cold water. It’s bliss at that moment! And so the doctor did the second half of my face, put ice gel over it and done. The whole session took bout half an hour. Then, I was left in the room for like 10 minutes with more ice cold gels to cool down my burning skin and was “discharged” from the “operation theatre”. And oh, I was advised by the doctor to use nothing but just moisturizer, sun-block and mild cleanser for the next 5 days.

Now, comes the climax….looking into the mirror. I closed my eyes, stepped in front of one….take a DEEP breath…slowly, open my eyes and……………………………………

…….

…….

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….Ok….it was not that bad. My face was fine. No bleeding, no scars, not distorted…..it was just a little redder than usual. But really….there was no change on my face at all besides the burning sensation that still lingers. So, I made a deep sigh of relieve. Thank God. But I warn myself to not be so happy yet! I was told it will form scabs on my face tomorrow. And now…my heart is beating so fast every time I think on how I will look the next morning. Just hope I will be fine. God! PLEASE…..make me look fine tomorrow. If there are going to be scabs, PLEASE make it look not obvious. PLEASE…….*counting the hours for the next day light* Worse to worse…..I’ll have to skip class tomorrow. And this is the price to pay for beauty. Sigh…..

13 Jan., 09

Take a fine sand paper and feel it. Well, that’s exactly how my skin on my face is right now. Ok, it’s the 2^nd day after my Fraxel. So far, there’s nothing UGLY bout my skin. No obvious raised bumps, no redness, no pimples, no scars. The only thing that concerns me is just the roughness of my skin. I was told by the doctor that I will develop scabs throughout my face and that scared the shit out of me. During the last 2 days, I was so nervous on how I look that I couldn’t even sleep well and the 1^st thing that I do when I woke up was to look into the mirror. Hey…I’m not being vain ok. It’s just that…..try to imagine lah…..how would you feel if there’s something seriously wrong with your face and it doesn’t look natural? My classes were commencing throughout the week! I can’t be looking like…..I don’t know…..ugly, maybe, in front of my whole course mates, lecturers and college mates! It would be very traumatic. SO…..THANK GOD that my face looks fine.  Under bright light, there’s nothing wrong with my face. So, the doctor was right…there wasn’t any downtime. But if you notice it very veeeeerrrrryyyyyy closely, you probably can see many tiny-weeny “goosepimples” on my face. I can’t really see it but the friend who knew I went for face treatment said he can see them. Not only when I told him to look very closely and under lighting that contrast my skin tone to my surroundings. So, it’s not noticeable really. Well…..not sure till when will this roughness lingers. All I hope it will turn smooth soon and applying oil (I used “Bio-Oil” instead of moisturizers to give it a little more boost on moisture) on my face doesn’t really look….nice…..cause it’s oily. I even get comments like “why are you sweating?” and I shy away and smiled….”hehe…cause it’s hot! Phew…*takes out handkerchief and dab unseen sweats*”

DermaGenesis: My Experience - Part 1

Now, I've written this post years ago but never had the courage to publish it until now! It is my experience of a journey to beautify my skin (not that it is super beautiful now! But better lah...) at DermaGenesis (now known as Skin Club @ Menara Hap Seng, Kuala Lumpur). Rather than it being chucked and occupying my laptop's hard disc space, I think it is better for me to share it to all of you..... Enjoy! And please... don't squeal! :P


Disclaimer: "DermaGenesis: My Experience" will be broken up into 3 parts and was written few years back. If you found out any disturbing personalities that may or may not depict the current me, please ignore, as it was written in ignorance. And cherish the present, better me! :D *wink*

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Part 1

27 Dec., 08

I am a person who likes the finer things in life and looking better is not an option, it is a must. And I can tell you that I am fed up with the way my skin looked. It’s oily, red spots all over and numerous scars on it!!!!! Every morning I look into the mirror, I pray to God to grant me a flawless looking skin, 99% if not 100% flawless…..and this prayer had been my routine ever since my 1^st break out when I was form 4, which is 5 years ago. Once in a while I’ll break down and cry and blame God for what skin He gave me! I’ve tried countless products, facials and medications but my problem lingers like a bad smell after you come out from a smoking restaurant. My skin changes like the tide in the sea. It goes from good to bad to worse; then, to slightly better and better and finally became horrible again! I don’t know bout you guys….but for me, there’s 2 things one should never compromise!!! That is 1) Hair. 2) SKIN!

First impression is important…and heck it sure is!!! Come on, the 1^st thing you look when you see somebody is his/her FACE!!! And how can anyone NOT care bout how he/she looks when you bloody know it that face gives such a lasting impression???

Well, today’s blog is about my experience to a well established, quite famous and a little on the high end treatment centre (note that I use treatment NOT facial centre cause it is done by qualified DOCTORS and NOT stupid beauticians) called DermaGenesis. It is located at Desa Sri Hartamas but will be located to a bigger, better, more luxurious building at Menara Hap Seng in Jalan P. Ramlee, Kuala Lumpur. They provide complete skincare solution; total makeover & facial recontouring; facial lines & wrinkle reduction; permanent hair removal; slimming & spot reduction; cellulite reduction; and anti aging & wellness. The programme that I got my enrolled with is Scar reduction programme for my face. DermaGenesis caters for everyone and treatments are customised according to each individual needs. Mine includes 2 Subcision, 3 Fraxal (laser) and 4 Intense Pulse Light (IPL). These are customized to me after a consultation with the doctor as well as the CEO of DermaGenesis, Dr. Morthi. The types of scar I had was quite a few ice-picks, some box scars and mostly rolled-out scars. None of these are hard yet (thank God) so…the treatments mentioned earlier suited me the best.

Subsicion means the doctor will use a very fine needle to break off fibrotic tissue that holds ice-pick scars (reason why scars are depressed, these fibrotic tissues are holding them down). Of course….this will involve pain and bleeding and produce scabs. Which means there is a few days of down time involved. Fraxal is laser….which is used to stimulate collagen synthesis again at the site of scars. While IPL will remove any unsightly pigmentations, marks, minimize pores and shrink sebaceous glands.

Notice there is NO facials involved? As I’ve said, DermaGenesis is NOT a facial centre. In fact, it is an advanced cosmetic procedure centre. Now….I bet some of you are asking bout the price already. Of course, I was waiting for this too when I 1^st went for the consultation. Well…..it may be a little high for those who are on a tight budget but really…..for such advanced treatment, I consider it to be fairly reasonable. Ok ok…..I’ll quit yakking… My programme costs me RM 1760. Hey hey…. don’t go spraying blood on your computer screen now! Listen….. the usual price is at RM 4050! But I was a given a discount (50%!) and a complimentary IPL….so in the end the total amount that I need to pay was RM 1760. I’ve got to admit, it is a huge amount for a student to fork out but then think again….. what I am doing can be considered as part of cosmetic surgery procedure….. and professional doctors are handling your case with state-of-art machines. So, don’t you think it is quite reasonable?

Anyway…I’ve went for my 1^st session today. Subcision….

Went at 1.30pm, started at 1.45pm. The assistant wiped my face with alcohol at 1^st. Then on with local topical anaesthetic. The doctor came in, took pictures of my face (I’ve always wanted to have a before and after picture taken….Hehe…. :P). Wipe my face with antibiotic creams and spirit and on he goes with his needle…

It hurts I tell you…..but it was bearable. Anyone of you been for facials before? It feels like those stupid beauticians picking your pimples all over again. I even let a tear drop. Paiseh….the doctor was like “are you Ok?” and wiped it off for me. Hey…..at least I didn’t scream in pain….I was holding it. During the consultation, he said it will feel like ant bite but heck! It’s nothing like it!!! It just hurts…. But for the name of beauty….I’ve willing to go for it….

Right….so after 20 minutes, he is done with the poking and I was swept again with some alcohol (I think) and more antibiotic creams, in fear of infections due to the open wounds. I thanked the doctor….went out to the restroom. Pee a little….wash my hands and look up into the mirror…………………………………….

*A whole solid minute of silence*

I stare and stared at myself in the mirror…..I LOOK HORRIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!! There were so many cuts here and there and blood are still oozing out!!! I could almost scream right there and then! My heart broke a little and start taking hand towels and dap onto the blood. My face was lacerated! Well….it’s not THAT bad lah. But still I look like I’ve involved in an accident and glass shreds cuts into my face! “How am I going to step out from the toilet???” And what make things worse was….I need to take public transport back to Seremban!!!!!!!!!! Haha…..it was hell I tell you! Thankfully I had my friend with me and he drove me right at Pasar Seni and from there, I dashed to get into the bus and just stay away from the stares of others. I looked like a monster.. and this is probably the worst day of my life. But my friend did consoled me to not think bout it….it is the end result that you want….not the mid progress that looks good. “In the end, your skin will look flawless….and so I trust him and hang on to my face until I got back home.

Of course, my mom was shocked to see all those scabs on my face. I can tell it in her eyes. She was quite disappointed. She came and asked me why does it looked like this….but I assured her it is normal. Poking needles into your face will DEFINITELY cause bleeding and form scabs. My grandma, however, was pretty calmed bout it. She sees through all those scabs and looked at my scars….and say she can see the results! My scars were not as deep anymore! Of course, that made me happy (at last….SOMEthing for me to feel good). My dad was unhappy of course…..even more angry when he knew the amount I paid to get my face done. Sigh…..but it is MY money! I hardly spent so…this is the 1^st time I spend more than RM 300.

I hope I did the right choice by choosing DermaGenesis….will update more on my skin’s condition next time. I’ve got to wait 3 more weeks for the next treatment – Fraxal. And hopefully I won’t look horrible again.

1 Jan., 09

It’s been 5 days now. My face had improved. I notice my scars are improved but of course, some deeper ones are still visible but have been shallower. Those red marks are slowly fading away. I’ve been very impatient these few days. Every morning, the 1^st thing I do, is to look into the mirror looking at my skin’s condition. Sigh…still got red marks. But look at the bright side! They ARE fading. But slowly…. Very slowly… Holidays are almost over. Hope by the day before I head back, my skin is 90% clear.