As always, you can expect nothing less than best from Salon Number 76 and I like to call Amy the guardian of my hair. Hehe. Cheesie, thank you so much for introducing me to one of the best teams and for being such a style inspiration. Luv you guys~

How good is your math? Hehe.

Well, it is said that a single hair can support up to 100 grams in weight and that an African elephant can weigh between 4,762lb (female) to 13,330lb (male).

Meantime, the approximate number of hairs from a scalp vary between 120,000 and 150,000 so you do the math.

Interesting huh?

At the same time I also learnt that hair grows faster in warm weather (one of the perks of being Malaysian! *laugh*) and speaking to Ashlee and Yen-Nee of Sunsilk/Unilever, I also learnt that contrary to popular belief, frequent washing doesn’t damage the hair nor will it increase hair loss. We just need to pick the right shampoo.

While cutting hair does not influence its growth, hormone imbalance, crash dieting and stress can trigger temporary hair loss; which leads to the importance of having feel-good factors in our lives. Here comes the fun part.

“When I feel good about myself, things start happening for myself. When you look up, you go up.” -Herschel Walker

Since it’s not entirely human to be in love with what we do (work, studies, daily obligations, etc) or the people we’re with (family, loved ones, friends, colleagues, etc) every single day of our lives, it doesn’t hurt to inject the element of fun into our daily routine to spice things up once in a while. Ladies, do something spontaneous with your girlfriends, pamper yourself at the spa, go shopping for a new bright-coloured top, paint your nails in a funky bright colour… or get a makeover and dare yourself to do something fun you’ve never done before.  

So ladies, are you up for a challenge? Hehe.

3 days left for you to get a your makeup and hair done for free, and decide if you want to undertake the opportunity of a lifetime to be on the same stage as Girls Generation and some of the biggest names in Kpop on 12^th May 2013 for the Asia Super Showcase.

All you need to do is 3 simple steps:

STEP 1: Pick a date/location (between today and Thursday) to catch this pink Sunsilk truck

15 Apr 2013 Pusat Bandar Damansara
16 Apr 2013 Monash University
17 Apr 2013 Shah Alam Section 7 Pusat Commercial
18 Apr 2013 Setia Wangsa LRT Parking

STEP 2: Learn these simple moves (record yourself at home and upload the video on the Sunsilk FB page to stand a chance to perform with me on 12^th May, or move straight to STEP 3)

STEP 3: Be a diva for the day, get your free makeover and have fun on the pink Sunsilk truck

I had my dose of fun with the team during the shoot of the promo video you saw…

…but am definitely looking forward to more with you at the finale of the competition (at the end of the month), not the mention one of the most anticipated Kpop concerts in Malaysia next month. Exciting, exciting!

Looking forward to catching up with you soon! I’ll upload the rest of the behind-the-scenes videos and pictures in my next post ya! Hugs and kisses~ Mwah!!!!

For the month of April, the team decided on the 64G iPad Mini so we started brainstorming on the unboxing angle for the video. Doing my homework on YouTube, I found 7 pages of more than 300,000 unboxing vidoes on the iPad Mini…

…so we decided to shelve the idea of doing a conventional unboxing video. Instead, we unanimously agreed to experiment with something new and shall I say, wacky? *laugh* I believe that by now you would’ve already experienced an information overload on the iPad mini so let’s not get into the technicalities and boring stuff. What d’ya say we have a few laughs with this clumsy panda in a helmet and racing gloves? (The things I do to entertain you *sigh*) Ready or not, here we go!!

*No animals, plants or human beings were killed/harmed/disturbed in the process of filming this video. Nevertheless, please do not do this on your own. (Get an expert/professional to help you. hehe!)

Thanks for sticking to the theme of the month and I look forward to the April chapter of this which will take place towards the end of the month.

Meantime, hope you had a fantabulous start to the new Quarter. Catch up with you in my next Vlog ya! Love u! Mwah!!!

p/s: If you missed our February column you can always check it out here: http://www.hannahtan.com/journal/2013/02/february-2013/

]]> http://www.hannahtan.com/journal/2013/04/looking-good-feeling-good/feed/ 0 http://www.hannahtan.com/journal/2013/03/ask-hannah-march-2013/ http://www.hannahtan.com/journal/2013/03/ask-hannah-march-2013/#comments Mon, 25 Mar 2013 12:49:59 +0000 Hannah Tan http://www.hannahtan.com/?p=4887

“The higher your energy level, the more efficient your body. The more efficient your body, the better you feel and the more you will use your talent to produce outstanding results.” ~Anthony Robbins

The theme for March is “LOOKING GOOD, FEELING GOOD” so we’re on to the subject of health, wellness, beauty, grooming and anything related to looking and feeling your best. Since I’m not a health/beauty specialist/practitioner, if it gets too technical I will call in the expertise of our panel of advisors so ask away!

p/s: Closing date for your questions: Sunday 31st March 2013, 1pm (GMT+8). I’ll post my answers in a video on Monday, 1st April 2013. Keep your questions relevant to the topic ya! :-p

*If you missed out on last month’s “ASK HANNAH” column, catch up with us here: http://www.hannahtan.com/journal/2013/02/february-2013/

I spent an entire day trying to clean up the video because somehow the audio and video didn’t match (on top of a few other things). Some parts are still not in sync after the file was exported (I blame it on iMovie *laugh*) so just bear with me ya! So sorry about all the imperfections in this video edit and I thank you for your patience with this. I know some of you have been waiting for the video since earlier this afternoon (it’s 1.50am now) so after more than an hour of uploading, it’s finally ready for your viewing pleasure.

Meantime, this sleepy panda’s going to head to bed now. Brain dead and ready to recharge. Hehehe. Nite nite sweet dreams! Mwah!!!

It’s supposed to be recommended for recording Podcasts and interviews in noisy environments, although it doesn’t hurt to use it for your meetings and lectures too (whichever applies to you). For musicians and songwriters, this could come in handy for when you want to document your ideas, performances/recitals or just plug it in the next time you’re on FaceTime, Skype or Viber. *wink*

Obviously this unboxing video was shot in a rather quiet environment so we may not be able to notice the impact that this tiny thing claims to have, so what I’ll do next is record another video with my vacuum cleaner on to see if it really makes a difference. Now THAT would be something. *laugh*

I stepped into to a music shop a couple of months back and was instantly drawn to a room filled with pianos. It’s been quite a while since I actually spent time on an acoustic piano since the one I have at home is an electric one, so you can imagine the excitement I had stepping into that room. I felt like a little girl in a toy store. *laugh*

There was no need for an invitation before I started testing out the pianos in the room, starting from the one closest to the entrance door and eventually making my way to the biggest and grandest looking one near the room’s exit. Obviously the pianos in that room varied in terms of sound texture, responsiveness of touch and exterior but I couldn’t help but fall in love with the last one I played on, which turned out to be a concert grand piano. With its crisp upper register, rich mid-range, and a growling bass, it was by far the best piano I’ve come across. Hands down!

I got so carried away on that piano that I didn’t realize the price tag sitting on the front right of the piano. When I eventually did, I almost fainted. You won’t believe how much it was.

RM790,000!

Still in shock, I Googled the model of the piano – Steinway D-274 – only to discover from Wiki that the

“D-274 (or D) is the model name of a concert grand piano, the flagship of the Steinway & Sons line, first built in 1884. It is generally described as the first choice of most concert pianists.”

Wah, no kidding man. For the price of a home, how could you imagine otherwise?! Still trying to hard to understand why a freakin’ piano could cost so much, I decided to do a little bit of research…

On the first link I clicked on it said:

“A grand piano, depending on the year it was made and the size and the quality of the wood and finish, it can go for anywhere between 10 to 50 grand. A new one will automatically cost you as much as a new car, like in the 25,000 dollar range. But if you wanted one that was longer in size where it gives out a better sound then be prepared to see an extra 10,000 added onto that 25,000.”

Bear in mind that we’re talking about US Dollars here ya. *pengsan*

So back to my RM790,000 piano. Why on earth would it cost so much?!

Besides the fact that I was so hypnotized by the way it sounded, not to mention the satisfaction of having such brilliance in output (despite my below-average piano playing skills), I came to learn that a piano is made of up to over 12,000 parts in grand pianos with most of those parts made of select woods. We all know that high quality woods are quite expensive, but westmusic.com gave an example that,

“the sound board or “speaker” of the piano is made from Sitka spruce in the good pianos. Sitka spruce is found in one place – Sitka Alaska. Steinway goes as far as selecting spruce that is from only one area of the mountain, the coldest part, so that the growth rings are very close together, which creates the best sound in a soundboard. That part alone can cost well over a thousand dollars and much more in large grands.”

“Most pianos are mass produced meaning that there are assembly lines with robotics that cut woods and install certain parts but, there are always human hands involved. A robot can’t tell how musical a piano is or is not. The very best pianos like Steinway are all built by hand and can take up to one year to complete”

…not to mention incorporating over 125 patented features and processes while at it.

“In the end, the new piano is transformed from more than 12,000 individual parts into an instrument… and from an instrument into a Steinway.” –steinway.com

Amazing. How someone would be willing to pay so much for a piano. *laugh* Yes, I still can’t get it out of my head. But after searching the web for the price of this specific model, I discovered that you can actually buy a second hand one online for the price of an average car (in Malaysia). They didn’t say anything about shipping fee/duties but still, I doubt it would go up to RM790,000! Phew~

So with a more comprehendible price tag on that piano, it’s a car versus the D-274. westmusic.com pointed this out which makes sense,

“How much is that car worth when it leaves the lot? And, where is that car in about 10 years? Most pianos will work well up to their 50th birthday and very good pianos will live to be 100 and more and actually can appreciate in value a lot.”

True. Provided there is a ready buyer for when the time comes and you have cash to own it in the first place (I doubt banks would give out loans on pianos, or do they?).

I can’t afford to spend RM790,000 on a piano I’m in love with now, but I will make sure I’m able to have that choice in this decade. It’s currently the latest addition to my dream board and there’s no way I will let myself down. Haha. What’s on YOUR dream board?

The theme for the month is LOVE.

Do you need an additional opinion on a decision you have to make this month pertaining to a job your love, a person you’re in love with, something you’d love to achieve, or a gift ideas for the people you love this Valentines? Or perhaps random stuff like things you’d love to do during the long Chinese New Year break. LOL.

Whatever it is, talk to me but be nice or I’ll bite! *laugh*

Love,

HANNAH

27 February 2013: As promised, here are the answers to your questions. Hehe. Meantime, this column is closed for questions so stay tuned for the next one (March 2013). Save your question for Hannah till then ya!