Two and a half months ago, I was still studying for my first quiz of the fall semester. Right when I was taking a break, an ad for Miss Chinese Vancouver Pageant 2012 came on the tv and I thought to myself, "what if...?"

Now, two and a half months later, I am still studying—studying all of my choreography, poses, expressions, and everything related for the final show on Wednesday. I remember when I decided to take the semester off to pursue this dream of mine, a friend asked me if it was worth it. To be honest, I couldn't give her a definitely "yes" at that time. But now, I can say with utmost certainty that it was worth every second of my time. Of course, sacrifices had to be made. The most important one was not having enough time to spend with the people that mattered.

Although I had to be away from school for a semester, it still feels like I am receiving an education. A different type of education, that is! You've probably heard the usual—learning how to dance, pose, model, do make up, speak, etc. But the most important thing I've learned from this experience is to work hard. And that's it! That's all you need. I truly believe that whatever your dream is, as long as you work hard towards that goal, you will definitely get somewhere.

While everyone else is still writing their exams, I am preparing for my own final exam this coming Wednesday. After two and a half months of training, I will use everything I've learned to perform a great show for you guys. Unlike some of the things I've learned from school, I believe what I've learned from this pageant will stay with me for a very long time.

I would like to thank all of my friends and family for their encouragement and support. I would also like to thank everyone for reading my blog and sharing this wonderful experience with me!

Let's do this, girls!

We went to meet with the judges yesterday! I was soo nervous but it went pretty well. Afterwards, we went to eat at a szechuan restaurant and the food was ohmygodly good (though really spicy, but GOOD!) I think I had a little bit too much...

I think I hid my nerves pretty well :)

Look who I found in a magazine!

And look who I saw on TV!

Waiting to try on clothes :)

We are the "pink ladies."

Guess who's dozing off?!

It was Clarissa!

Wanna know how we always look our best? Beauty facials!

Hehehehe :P

Today, we went to test out our hairdos for the show day. Here's a sneak peek!

Don't worry, it's not gonna look like this :D

My attempt at "chok 樣" :D

Until next time!

Can`t believe there`s only 2 weeks left until show day! It`s been two months of this amazing journey and the best part about this incredible experience is meeting 9 other sexy ladies (Ehhhhhhh sexy lady, Op op op op.. okay I`ll stop). Just like the theme of our promo video, I feel like it`s almost time to graduate. I can`t wait!

Speaking of graduation, I remember back in high school I used to love doing these little "surveys" whenever I'm bored. It`s sort of a way to share some fun facts about myself. Therefore, I`d like to use this blog post to share some fun (hopefully) facts with whomever who might be reading this :)

What is the last movie you watched? How was it?
Breaking Dawn part 2. It wasn't that good.. but the ending did get a little exciting!

How do you feel about your hair right now?
I actually want it shorter and I wish my hair was less.... flat :(

What is your favourite flavor of ice cream?
Green tea and any type of sorbet (expecially mango!).

Do you have a dog?
Yup, I have a mini schnauzer and she is soooo adorable.

My dog, 貝貝.

Do you eat healthy?
I usually eat whatever I want, but in moderation of course!

Who is your favourite movie character?
Mr. Darcy from Pride & Prejudice.

Are you allergic to anything?
Yes :( I have oral allergy syndrome which means I am allergic to many types of nuts and fresh fruits. How sad...

When was the last time you had a good laugh?
During model training last night! For some reason it's so hard to keep a straight face around our modeling instructor, Adam.

That`s it! I hope you learned a little bit more about me! :D

突然有一天媽媽跟我說，"我要買一套新的衣服，用來你比賽當天晚上穿。"

我聽到之後覺得很訝異， 因為媽媽平時非常節省又不愛花錢在物質上。但這次她竟然願意花好幾百塊錢來買一套可能只會穿一次的衣服，就證明了她對我參加華裔小姐的支持和期望。

媽媽，我會努力做到最好，希望你這套新衣服會有機會再多穿幾次!

Today, I had my first ever TV interview!

*happy dance*

First, we did a mandarin version for Talentvision TV and oh my, my mandarin turned out to be a little bit horrible... yikess! It usually sounds a lot better >=] Someone commented that I sound taiwanese, which is probably due to the fact that I learned my mandarin from all those years of watching 台灣偶像劇 like 流星花園, 惡魔在身邊, 命中注定愛上你, etc etc, hahaha :D

Next, we did a cantonese version for Fairchild TV and I was a lot more relaxed and comfortable. It was more like a casual talk show and I actually wanted the interview to last longer! I had a lot of fun and it was definitely a great first experience. I look forward to doing more of these!

With pretty Clarissa :)

Only 3 weeks left until the big day!

不知道大家有沒有看過我的 profile 呢? 裡面"夢想"的那一行我寫了"身為一個酒店的愛好者，我希望可以環遊全世界，遊覽各地華麗的酒店，最渴望到的是迪拜的 Burj Al Arab 酒店"。那看完之後會不會覺得這是一個很奇怪的夢想? 哈哈 :D

參選華姐之後，很多人都問我為什麼這麼喜歡酒店。其實我自己也沒有很明確的答案。我只記得七年級的那一年，我跟家人去了北京旅行 (那是我第一次去旅行哦!)，入住了一家很漂亮華麗的酒店。當時也沒有對那一家酒店有什麼特別的感覺。但是，那幾天我們幾乎去了北京的每一個景點! 例如長城，故宮，頤和園，十三陵，天安門廣場，天壇，王府井，等等。我記得每一天的行程都排得密密麻麻，回到酒店的時候已經累到不行了。那時候的我只想躺在床上好好睡一覺，養精蓄銳地迎接第二天。感覺就好像忙完一整天，回到家的時候就只想好好休息一下，什麼都不用管。就是因為這樣子，我發現我自己慢慢愛上了酒店，因為能夠在一個陌生的環境裡找到一個地方是可以給你一種"家"的感覺，這不就是一種很奇妙的感覺嗎?

我最想遊覽的酒店就是迪拜的 Burj Al Arab.

現在我想送上一些我這個夏天去墨西哥 Cabo San Lucas 拍的照片。 Enjoy!

Welcome treat.

天氣非常好

Pool time :)

藍天白雲，陽光海灘 <3

Infinity pool

自拍一下 :P

很多東西賣哦!

後面那位先生不要撞到我哦!

Jet ski 超好玩!

Para sailing 看風景!

太美了!

海盜船!!

很懷念那裡的甜品

我愛buffet :D

好吃好吃!

那當然不少得我入住的那一家酒店!

就這樣吧，晚安!

So the long weekend is over and everything is gonna get busy again!

Yesterday, we visited the elders in a nursing home in Chinatown. I must say, I haven't been in Chinatown for such a long time! It was interesting to drive around as everything looked so different from what I remembered. We each performed for the seniors and gifted them socks as a christmas present (寓意: 甜甜 "襪襪"). We also made a mobile featuring ten different ornaments made by the ten of us. My ornament was Christmas-themed (because I love Christmas!).

Our mobile!

They look so happy!

Today, we met with Erica, Allyssa, and Natalie (the contestants and winners from last year's MCVP) and they shared their experiences during the pageant along with many tips and advices. During our Q & A section, we got to the topic of how to cope with stress. Some people like to hang out with friends, work out, sing, dance, buy shoes, pig out, etc etc to relieve their stress. What's my personal favourite method you may ask?

Grocery shopping!

Perhaps it's because I love to cook (or perhaps it's because I love to eat!), I've always used grocery shopping as a way to reduce stress ever since high school. So around midterm and exam season, you can be sure to catch me shopping at your local grocery store! (Just kidding...)

Anyways, after the seminar I went out to have dinner with my friend and did some catching up. We went to this little French bistro in Steveston and the food was pretty good!

Here we have tapenade and beef carpaccio :P

My entree: pan seared albacore tuna. So good!

I said to my friend, "It's for my blog!"

"The food's getting cold....." Hahahaha!

Anyways, time for bed! Have a good one :)

It's exactly one month till show day. Let the count down begin!

The past weekend was very relaxing for me. Yesterday I went out to do some shopping and some catching up with friends. It was a great time to slow things down before getting busy and hectic again. But nonetheless, I'm very excited for the days to come :D

Now I know I'm not supposed to have coffee, but I love starbucks too much!!!

My favourite caramel brule latte again -.-

Nomnomnom

With my friend, bernice :)

Lastly, I just wanted to share a song from one of my favourite bands, Hedley.

Have a good one <3

Hmm, I wonder if there's a limit on how many pictures I can upload, because I'm about to upload a lot! Hehe :)

Yesterday's press conference was a blast! As always, the day started off early with hair and make up. Although I only had 4 hours of sleep the night before, the excitement definitely kept me awake!

Here`s a little camwhore-ing :)

And more camwhore-ing :P

Clarissa, Tiffany, me, and Veronica.

After we arrived at the venue, everything suddenly got sooo hectic! Make up, hair, clothes, accessories, shoes, people running around trying to make everything perfect.

Busy make up station constantly doing touch ups!

Finally, it was time to face the media after a month and a half of training. There was a little segment where our instructors would share their impressions on each of the contestants. When our modeling instructor, Adam, shared his thoughts about me, I couldn`t help but feel a little emotional (and that was like 5 seconds before I had to step onto the stage!!). Good thing I held my emotions back, or else that would`ve been enbarrassing ......

Right before I stepped onto stage, I suddenly recalled an equally exciting day that happened about two years ago. It was the night of my Enchanted Miracle 3 fashion show. I remember I was soooo nervous backstage, but the moment I strutted onto that runway, all those nerves and tension immediately vanished and what`s left inside of me was a pure rush of adrenaline and excitement!

I absolutely love the runway! (2010)

Talking in front of the audience was nerve wrecking but I think I did a great job. Overall, the press conference was a success! Everyone else did a great job as well, I am so proud of us all :D

That's me, that's me :D

柔情蜜意，成就美麗人生

We finally got to eat after! Everything tasted sooo amazing :)

Can`t eat too much though :/

Thank you betty for making me look fabulous *muah*

Kelly 媽, always taking care of us <3 and Ah Ta (I can't believe I didn't take a picture with you!)

Didi 老師, our amazing dance instructor!

Thank you Daisy, our hair stylist :)

Joey, you are so sweet and supportive <3 (and Diana photobombing)

My wonderful make up artist, Yvonne :)

Please don't hate me :P

Jackson, you did a great job as the MC!

Thank you to the entire crew for their amazing work! Wearing this ribbon makes me feel sooo special :P

Now I'm gonna go enjoy my long weekend! Cheers :)

很久沒有update啦! 我想也應該是時候跟大家分享一下最近的狀況吧! 過去的幾個星期都忙著華姐的訓練，而其他時間通常都是在家休息。雖然要減肥，但是我還是吃了很多不太應該吃的東西 :P 讓我用照片來跟大家分享一下吧!

一邊看電視劇，一邊吃我最喜愛的 tuna 壽司，太棒了!

終於可以吃到火鍋，真開心!

吃完火鍋還要跑到 downtown 吃 frozen yogurt :D

好消息，好消息! Starbucks 的 holiday drinks 回來了! 這裡有我最愛的 caramel brule latte <3 那個杯子也太可愛了吧!

上星期拍完 VT 之後，還有個這麼漂亮的 cupcake 可以吃，好滿足哦!

晚一點我會 update 一下剛剛完滿結束的記者招待會，等會兒見!

Yay, finally a day off after a hectic week! So the past weekend we had our official promo/photo shoots. Let's do a little recap, shall we?

Day 1: Lulu Island Promo Shoot
So the day started off for me at 6 a.m. (yes, I said 6 a.m.) and first off was hair and make up. I like getting my hair and make up done because it makes me feel so pampered and special! The theme for the promo shoot was prom/graduation so we got to wear pretty cocktail dresses and had to smile a lot. By the end of the day, my facial muscles were rather tense >< Although this wasn't my first time acting in front of a camera, I admit I was very nervous and stiff. But as the day went by, everyone became more relaxed and comfortable. I would like to thank Daisy and Nelson for the beautiful hairstyle and Yvonne for the stunning make up!

With the Sunshine Boyz and the hair stylists.

At some point we had to go outside to film a scene. You can't tell from this picture but it was freeeeezingg!!! x_x

Day 2: Studio Promo Shoot day
Once again the day started off at 6 a.m. with hair and make up and afterwards we headed FTV for the promo shoot. I quite enjoyed the day's work because I could finally relax my facial muscles since we were encouraged to "smize" (smile with your eyes) instead. Hmm, I wonder if all those years of watching Tyra Banks on ANTM paid off? =P I can't wait to see what the promos would look like! And of course, I got to wear this stunning dress:

I absolutely adore this dress!

Afterwards, I went to attend my cousin's wedding. I love weddings!

Congrats to Daniel and Stephanie! I wish them the best :D

With my little cousin :)

My favourite part was, of course, the food! I had to forget about my diet just for the night =P

Day 3: Official Photo Shoot
Good news, good news! The day started off for me at 8 a.m. instead pf 6 a.m. However, this was the most tiring of them all. Perhaps because of the exhaustion resulting from the previous two days :( We had to change into multiple outfits and pose, pose, pose.... and more posing!! That pretty much sums up the whole day.

Posing, posing, posing.

Lastly, I would like to thank the entire hair, makeup, and FTV crew for their efforts during these 3 days, especially Betty, Kelly 媽, Rita, and Joey for their hardwork and patience.

Have a good one!

Those who know me know that I am a huge nail fanatic. One of my favourite things to do when I am bored is to do my nails, whether it be regular nail polish, acrylic nails, or gel nails. Therefore, I was super excited to have my nails done today!

Here's what my nails look like:

I absolutely adore them! Thank you Betty for choosing this awesome design. At first I thought we were doing a simple French design (which is totally fine because I love simplicity) but when the nail technician took out the jar of glitter gel, my face instantly lit up! I am definitely a sucker for anything glittery, hehe!

I also want to share some of my own gel nail creations:

As you can probably tell, pink is my favourite colour :D

And last but not least, a little camwhoring of course :D I was heading out to model training and thought I looked a little too wintery, haha!

P.S. I love this jacket! (Plus, it's pink!)

Time for bed now, have a good day everyone!

時間過得真快，一眨眼就到了華裔小姐訓練的第三個星期。在這短短的時間裡，我們十位華姐已經學到了很多新的東西，例如舞台訓練，走貓步和化妝。我認為這種體驗是once in a lifetime的 (很抱歉，我的中文已經慢慢的在退步。。。)，所以我覺得自己非常幸運可以有機會參與其中。

但是非常的不幸，可能因為天氣轉變的關係已經有幾位華姐病倒了，而我自己也不例外。我在這裡祝願大家要多多保重，好好照顧身體，不要讓病魔有機可乘!

吃完藥的我馬上就要睡覺了，晚安!