Wow has it been a year since this liar friend absurdity (hop over for some refreshing before grabbing popcorn for part two)? Charlene and I have largely moved on with our lives, only revisiting this incident to laugh about Christina Koo's lies. But guess what? A leopard never changes its spots. We all know I don't speak without evidence so here we go.

A week before Christmas, I received this message from her ex-boyfriend. They met via OkCupid and dated for three months. I censored his name for privacy purposes but y'all can be sure I'm not so boliao to come up with such lies... 🤪

I'll let the dude speak for himself.

The text Christina Koo sent to her ex-boyfriend

Hello, what McDonald's?!?! Christina Koo owes Charlene $400+ and she made it sound like it was $4. And also, what's up with her ghost stories?
















$5000/month?! Like this I also quit school and go be intern already wtf. I asked my best friend (who's from NUS YLL).

This was what my best friend said

Of course, once again, I verified with my best friend again.


Okay the end... For now. Please DM me on Instagram if you happen to have more stories about Christina Koo LOL. She now goes by Christina Thea Koo.

Merry Christmas everyone!

[Last updated on 26 December 2018. The post is already long enough so any further updates will be done on my liar friend part 2 post (click)]


Because of how complexed and preposterous this story is, I’ll introduce my characters.

Christina Koo, the antagonist, the supposed liar.

I met Christina Koo in university and together with another of our classmate, Charlene, we became good friends who talked almost every hour and spent many days a week together.

Christina Koo had two other good friends, Matty and Edwin, whom she knew from when they were kids. Jones is Matty’s older brother who supposedly passed away during a freak accident that involved Matty and Jones.

Matty and Christina Koo shared an unbreakable bond because he was always there for her when her foster mom was abusive and provided her a roof over her when she was chased out.

(Matty and Edwin are pseudonyms to protect their privacy. Charlene gets to keep her real name because she doesn’t care and she wants Christina Koo to be exposed.)

Remember I mentioned in my Gold Coast graduation trip travelogue that travelling makes or breaks your friendship? I shared my worries with Chelsea before we departed, but we were fairly certain that we'd do fine since we shared the same interest and were the same kind of travellers (i.e. damn kiasu, everything also must try HAHA).

By the end of our Hong Kong travels, I was so glad I brought her along because travelling together defined Chelsea and my friendship and we've been closer than ever since our grad trip... two years ago. I can't believe I'm so behind my backlogs I'm only writing about my Hong Kong trip now when I already look very different from the photos taken then :')

I actually wrote this post in 2017 but never got down to publishing it for god knows what reason. Our travel dates were 7 March 2016 to 11 March 2016 for reference, so you know how much I procrastinated. I also lost the psd file to my cover photo so only the prelude post will have a cover photo hahhahaha.





This Hong Kong travel was significant for me because it was my first time taking a flight alone! There's a long story behind why Chelsea and I flew separately despite heading to the same destination — this epic story, which most of my ex-colleagues were familiar with, was probably my friends' favourite story in 2016 because I was filled with so much salt I possibly had higher salinity level than the Dead Sea.

You have time? Good. Grab some popcorn, it's story time.

I'm a solo budget traveller and hostels are my go-to whenever I need cheap accommodation. But my terrible experience with a mixed room with shared bathroom in a hostel in Taipei is where I draw the line. I could pay a little more for comfort and safety.

After checking in, I was uncomfortable upon learning that the bathroom is in the room — I had expected a gender segregated bathroom — but I could live with it. I thought. My experience was mortifying. Shavers, with hair from god knows where, left on the toilet bowl. Toilet paper stained with you-know-what left in plain sight. Hygiene standards? Sorry, what hygiene?

With the walls paper thin, I could hear every movement in the bathroom. Yeah, go figure. They also knew my every move, which made things awkward when I had to rip off my pad.

Additionally, males are, I'm sorry, less considerate. They often switch off and on the lights as they wish and make loud noises. If you're unlucky, you get a group of male friends travelling together. You know how males are around their friends — obnoxious. Loud chatters can be heard throughout the night as they nudge each other on doing stupid things.

Because most hostels have the option of females only or mixed dormitories, the mixed dormitories are dominated by males. I was a single female with five males in that room. It was slightly intimidating and my mom would have screamed bloody murder if she knew. Granted most of the males I spoke to were polite and merely wanted a cheaper accommodation alternative but I had better experiences with females-only room during my hostel stays.

Thankfully, as I continued travelling around Taiwan, I had better experiences in other mixed hostel rooms, thus slightly changing my initial stance about never booking a mixed room ever again. Will I stay in mixed room in the future? Yes, only if the bathrooms are gender segregated or at the very least, located outside of the mixed rooms.

(Read my full review of the hostel here.)

Yeah I spend a bulk of my pay on travelling and on Instagram, it seems like I live a life out of the suitcase. Carefree and no worries, I do look like I live the dream. But you know what? I deserve every single thing I own. Enough with the "you rich what" comment I hear from priviledged kids every time I travel. Contrary to popular belief, I am NOT rich — I am just FREAKING HARDWORKING AND THRIFTY.

Please stop calling me rich, even as a joke. It's freaking disgusting to hear those words from your mouth as you sit in the comfort of your own room, carting out branded bags and planning what to order from FoodPanda. While you spend $4 on your LiHo bubble tea without blinking, I hestitate thrice before ordering a $1 drink in a coffee shop — and my eventual decision is typically to walk away. When you take Grab daily because of its $5 promotion, I haven't taken a taxi if I could help it in years. No, Singapore's humid weather is not an excuse to take taxis, in case you're wondering. I made sacrifices. I cut down on drinking, clubbing and socialising so I could save money.

I spend a lot on travelling but I spend only what I earn. I pay for all my air tickets, shopping and eating. Sometimes my accomodation is sponsored but I worked hard for those sponsorships. While you complain about sleeping late at 1am, I stay up till at least 3am every ight editing my photos, writing my blog posts, putting together my travelogues on YouTube.

I've been working constantly since I was 15. At a point, I held three jobs to support myself. What were you doing then? Tiring as working and studying was, I never whined, never complained, and never asked my mom for a single cent since my first pay check. I wasn't born with a silver spoon in my mouth — I was poor and my family couldn't afford food. Till today, I haven't gone on to university because I can't afford it yet.

Desipite my family's financial difficulties, I saved a neat five-digit figure in one year since I started working full time, while travelling. I can do so much and go so far because I knew what I wanted since I was 15. I decided as a kid that I wanted to see the world so for the past seven years, I've been working damn hard towards my goals. Unless you've been planning your finances and mapping your future since you were 15, you have no rights — no rights AT ALL — to criticise my seemingly extravagant lifestyle.

You don't know what goes behind the scenes.

Dear Kelly, I was appalled when I read your response to the letter "Raped After Lying To Mum" on Teenage Magazine. I was so disgusted I couldn't finish the letter. Admittedly, I haven't been following Teenage since 2013 but I was an avid supporter of Teenage, and your column, when I was a teenager. I know how damaging it must have been for that poor girl to read your response, blaming and shaming her for something that was beyond her control because I was once a highly impressionable teenager who put trust in your words.

Unfortunately, I don't have the credentials and experiences you do to back my words. Heck, I'm not even a psychology graduate but I am definitely more than qualified to speak because I have been a victim of sexual abuse, and I am furious beyond words with your response.

There's no way around this. The moment you blame a victim for something that happened beyond her control, it is victim shaming. And it's terribly disheartening to know that the editor of Teenage Magazine actually approved of this response,. It's even worse knowing that if this saga didn't happen, the victim might live her entire life thinking it's her fault she trusted someone.

Then people wonder why so many cases of rape went unreported. Because when someone reports it, s/he is met with doubts, responses like this, and the blame is on the victim. Stop shaming victims into silence because the world needs to speak up on this.
Dear Kelly, I have so many questions.

Why should this girl feel ashamed for something that happened beyond her control? Yes, she lied to her mom but the boy she naively trusted betrayed her trust. Why, Kelly, should girls taught to act prim and proper so guys will think of them as virgins? Are you implying that virgins wouldn't get raped? If that's the case, I'll need some statistics on your end to back up that claim. 

How is staying over at anyone's house an invitation for sex? How does that even begin imply that a girl, in your words, "has been around"? So what if a girl has slept with other guys? So what if she isn't a virgin? It's 21st century, why is slut-shaming still a thing? I want to know why you think it even matters whether the guy in question thinks she's a virgin or not.

As a woman yourself, I hope you can give me an answer I've been desperately seeking: how is a guy sleeping around any different from a girl sleeping around? Maybe I'm nitpicking a little here, but I hate the part you mentioned about "parents being protective of their daughters" — guys can get raped too, in case you weren't aware.

Dear Kelly, may I just check with you what do you think can happen when a pair of platonic friends stay over? What was the "expectations" you mentioned? Sex? Because when I say dinner, I expect dinner. When I say drink, I expect drinking and nothing else. When I say sleepover, I expect actual sleeping.

If a girl is drunk, she deserves to be raped? If she's wearing short skirts, she deserves to be raped? And you think she should be grateful her rapist wore a condom? No, he should be grateful she was foolish enough to not report the matter to the authorities immediately — and she totally should.

Rape is rape, and it is neither tolerable nor acceptable in any circumstances. 

If anything, Kelly, your official response made me sicker. You got the whole point wrong; we're not livid about the strict tone adopted. We're disgusted by your mindset. Our society has progressed, but your narrow-minded self is left in the 1950s.

Tough love? No nonsense advice? 
Oh, please.


One of my favourite ad campaigns ever shows it best: if you have to use force, it is rape.

Just because she's at your house doesn't mean her body should be at your mercy.
If she's not sober enough to give you permission, you have none.
If she doesn't remember saying yes, it's a no.

-

In case anyone isn't Singaporean or lives under a rock, this is what I'm responding to:

8 years ago, the world saw Obama, America's first black president. Today, the unthinkable happened, bringing our society one step back: America voted for Trump, a man endorsed by KKK.

Trump suffered numerous scandals before his term even began, made derogatory remarks towards and about women, and he based his ENTIRE presidential campaign on ridiculous statements without an ounce of truth. The world called him a joke and laughed at him but at the end of the day, the choice is clear.

America would rather elect a homophobic, racist, sexist and disrespectful man with aggressive intentions and no political background — someone who instilled fear in citizens as president — than to trust a woman. To know that America is more sexist than it is racist, as if it isn't already racist enough, is disheartening.

It saddens me to know that even in the 21st century, women still get discredited for our gender. If a nation can exhibit such blatant sexism at a national level, can you imagine what we go through everyday just to prove our abilities? Feminism isn't about treating women right, it's advocating for women's rights, it's fighting for women to be treated EQUALLY because gender DOESN'T determine capability.

Brutal as it sounds, my life goes on as per normal tomorrow and I'll forget this disappointing election results in a few days, largely because I'm located so far away that the elections doesn't directly impact me but I fear for the minorities in America.

It's not just women who lost today; it's the underprivileged, the poor, "coloured" citizens, LGBT, all minorities who aren't rich white men. I cringe to think what this election means for them.


11/9 is a depressing day for mankind. America, you made your choice and I have to accept it, but that doesn't mean I won't fight against it. I always believed that sunrises represents a new beginning, an opportunity to correct any previous wrongs. Tonight, I'm choosing to make a difference with more than just lip service.

I made a donation to Liberty in North Korea (LiNK), a non-profit organisation that helps North Korean refugees resettle in South Korea or America. You can read more about LiNK here or visit their website to know how LiNK helps North Koreans escape from North Korea and seek resettlement.

We're lucky enough to hold a pink IC, with a safe place like Singapore we can call home, but some citizens of the world aren't as lucky as us. With a xenophobic president like Trump, LiNK needs all the help they can get to aid the North Koreans resettle in America. I made my donation but me alone cannot change the world. This is how you can help — even a dollar from each of you will help the North Koreans resettle and live the life they deserve. Please make a small donation instead if you're intending to get me a gift for my 21st birthday. Thank you :)

(Edited 10 November 2016)

LiNK has reached out to me and I've updated the link for the fundraising campaign. Here's also a short video so you know who you're helping and what we're campaigning for:

(photo credit: Reuters, grabbed from Channel News Asia)

As Singapore praises our golden boy, who's also a record breaker by the way, for making a splash at Rio 2016, celebrates our first ever Olympic Gold at Rio 2016, and listens to the sweet, magnificent sound of Majulah Singapura being played in the Olympics for the very first time, I can't help but wonder — what if Joseph Schooling was born poor?

Preferring to read a book if I was really interested in a story, I'm not particularly entertained by watching movies — every time I step into the theaters willingly, it's always for a Taiwan movie. I can't explain my attraction to them, but everyone knows I'm pretty damn passionate about my Taiwan movies. I've been counting down to the days At Cafe 6 (六弄咖啡馆) hit the shores of our sunny island, announcing daily in the office that I'm one day closer to catching the movie.


Before my movie, I did a quick google search and every Singaporean blogger who reviewed the movie raved about it so naturally, I was thrilled. Expectation breeds disappointment and I'll start by saying the movie fell flat of my expectations.

Yes, I wept. Not once, not twice, but I wailed for a grand total of FIVE times throughout the movie, yet I'd say that I was disappointed by the movie. A self-proclaimed Taiwan movie addict, let me explain why I walked out of the theater feeling upset by the outcome of the movie.

(Warning: lots of spoilers ahead)

Do you remember the first time a good friend sold you out? I do. I was 11 and I remember feeling pain from the betrayal. I couldn't believe that someone I loved and cared so much about would do something like that to me. Slowly, as I grew older, I realised that this is life.

Sometimes people just screw you over for the fun of it, for their sick, twisted pleasure. No explanation needed. With that in mind, my circle of friends became smaller and I trusted less people. It was only beneficial to build walls around me and remove all toxic friends immediately.

To you:

You should have realised by now - missed calls, unreturned texts, unanswered tweets. They didn't happen for no reason, I didn't just ignore your attempt to reach out by accident.

Disgusting. I call your behaviour utterly repulsive and distasteful. Your words were so venomous I felt nauseous when I first heard them. I wouldn't lie - I was livid. I couldn't believe you could bring yourself to even mutter those words.

But I didn't say anything to defend myself. I didn't want you to have the satisfaction of knowing that your words affected me. I didn't even acknowledge your lies till today. I know I don't have to address those untruths - the discrepancies in your lies will speak for themselves. In time to come, those who believed you would see the kind of person they put their trust in.

I finally see who you are and understand what I've been told. You are the kind of person who would throw your friends under the bus for your own benefit. The kind of person I despise. You are revolting and obnoxious. You are the worst kind of liar out there - the kind who believe whatever's coming out of their mouth is the absolute truth.

You know it yourself. We never contacted each other since that fight, as if it's an unspoken rule that the first one to speak loses. Maybe it's my pride or another of those games you play. Or it's just that our friendship was only meant to last a few months. Those months flew by and soon it was too late to mend anything so I accepted the loss of our friendship and let things go.

When you gossiped, you always said to keep it low. The walls have ears, you'd say. The same logic applies - just because we no longer meet doesn't mean I don't hear about you. When I heard what you said, of course I was irritated. If you had meant to invoke my anger then congrats, I'm not ashamed to say that you won the game. I was both resentful and distressed.

After I've calmed down, I asked myself why did I let a petty rumour like that affect me? You know me; you know I never let anyone's words get to me. More so if I know it's not true. Then I realised it's because I cared deeply for you as a friend.

Despite all the accusations thrown at you, I've always defended you and I've never once opened my mouth to even mumble something bad about you. Never ever. Ask anyone I've spoken to - I spoke nothing but the truth and even defended your character. Many disagreed with you, but I tried to get them to understand the rationale behind your actions.

I never once said I wasn't at fault too. I was partly to blame and this, I admit. When I spoke of our fight, I always told people to keep in mind there are three sides to every story - yours, mine and the truth. Unfortunately, you only remembered one. And so you used what you saw as the truth, as a tool to hurt me.

Yes, you hurt me. Yes, for a moment I felt betrayed and was left with a bitter taste in my mouth. Just for a fleeting moment. Because when that moment passed, I realised this is the best ending I could get. Knowing that I've moved on and you haven't, I've learnt to forgive and you haven't, I've grew up and you are still there spreading a rumour a secondary school student would be proud of.

I did what a good friend would have done to the best of my ability but I can't say the same about you. You lost me, I lost nothing.