Last week called me into the hair salon thrice. Twice to color my hair and thrice to snip away. It was all in preparation for Sunday mornings photo shoot. Two years ago, I did the same thing for the L’Oreal Talnet Quest. It was like dejavu taking a morning drive to Bangsar and finding a nice parking spot for free, walking in a little stoned from the night before. A flow of Coffee Bean cups were all over the place, filling the salon with the smell of coffee instead of hair products. For awhile, anyway.

This time around though, I had a friend to sit and hang out with, camwhore with and all that jazz. ShereenMak was one of the talents there too.

Shereen getting her make up done by Joelle Beh, who did my make up two years ago as well.

John and his bagel.

Joelle uses Stila makeup. It’s been a really long time since I last used Stila, especially since they closed down their booths in Parkson outlets.

Getting my makeup done. Hahaha! Kenneth (the color technician from Ish who did my hair) put me in jumbo curlers to  give my hair super volume. That Sunday I worked with three types of perfectionists: Joelle the makeup artist, Kenneth the hairstylist, and Ivan the photographer. Joelle had me in the chair for a total of 5 hours before I was PERFECT. Kenneth was constantly brushing, curling, blow drying and spraying products into my hair all day. Ivan gave very specific instructions to my poses and to Joelle and Kenneth when the lights didn’t catch my skin or hair the way he wanted to, even after adjustments!

Hehehe “Bao Choe Poh“! from Kung Fu Hustle!

It was a long, tiring and tedious process, but that’s the thing about working with perfectionists who are also professionals. They know exactly what they want and how to get it. It really makes my job a lot easier as well. To be honest, I think that this was the first time that I felt like everything was a job well done.

Anyway, right after I was finished with the shoot, I zoomed over to Chawan to meet up with SneakyNiki to register for Relay4Life. He held a Social Media Initiative there from 3.00pm-6.00pm (I was so afraid I wasn’t going to make it in time, with the shoot running late and all), but I’m proud to say that they successfully raised RM 2,000.00 in funds for the NCSM! And it’s only RM 15.00 to register! *beams* I signed up for KidSisterAmelia and The Dealer as well. So let me know if you want to take part too!

What happens at Relay for Life in KL
For 16 hours, thousands of participants will gather at the field near the MSN Training Stadium in Bukit Jalil and walk around the track in memory of those who have succumbed to cancer, in celebration of those who have survived it and in solidarity with those who are currently living with it. The whole atmosphere is one of carnival, tents are rented out for those who wish to stay overnight (participants are encouraged to stay for the duration of the event but it is not compulsory).

Throughout the night, there will be entertainment by local artistes and there will be fun “laps” as well. Last year, there was even a lap where everyone walked backwards! A participant is not expected to walk throughout the night. What is expected is that at least one person out of the thousands must be on the track at any one time.

The event kicks off with the Luminaria ceremony, where paper bags made in tribute of loved ones who succumbed to cancer are lit around the stadium and a moment of silence is observed. Then there is also the Survivors’s Lap, where cancer survivors take to the track. This is followed by several groups before the night continues.

Get involved!
Here is how you can join us.

1. Attend the Relay for Life. There is a RM15 registration charge and you will get a T-shirt. Bloggers and Twitterers will have access to a booth with (limited) power point to live blog or Tweet (just bring your own laptops and phone chargers). There will also be a couple of tents for us to hang out in between our walks. If you’d like to join us (Please do! The more the merrier!), drop an email with your contact details to relayforlife@nikicheong.com.

2. Help with fundraising. If you are participating, ask your friends, family and people on your social media networks to pledge a donation in your name. If you are unable to join us, but would like to help us raise funds, help us spread the word about Relay for Life and this social media initiative (link them back to this page!).

Fundraising
There are three ways for people to donate:

1. Collect cash (all registered participants will be given a pledge card – similar to the jogathon cards you had in school – to record donations).

2. Donate directly into the National Cancer Society Malaysia’s CIMB Clicks account (you can transfer money from almost every local bank). Click here to make your donation. Once you’ve completed the process, note the transaction ID and FILL UP THE FORM BELOW for us to make record of your donation. This also helps us identify which blogger/twitterer/social media networker you are pledging your donation to.

More information
If you would like more information about Relay for Life in Kuala Lumpur, visit the website for the National Cancer Society of Malaysia.

If you have any queries, please drop an email to relayforlife@nikicheong.com.

To read Niki’s blog post on Relay for Life – Social Media Initiative, click here.