Mia Suraya

Hello netizens, my name is Mia Suraya. I’m running a personal blog called Stripped. Sometimes I feel like I’m leading a double life — during the day, you’d spot me in a suit, dealing with numbers and writing memos (yawn), but at night, I’d be rolling on my bed and blogging about whatever that tickles my fancy.

For a moment, you may wonder, “Who in the right mind would name a blog Stripped?!” That’s because I liken blogging to the stripping of thoughts and experience. Does that make any sense?

Birth of the blog

I began blogging as an angry teenager who needed an outlet to speak her mind. There were two things that I was good at — (1) building my own websites, way back when connecting to the internet would include the disturbing noise of a 56k modem (that tells you I’m ancient) and (2) expressing myself on paper.

Blogging is like having these two favorite pastimes of mine combined, so it made perfect sense to me. Don’t worry, you’re all spared from the rants because thankfully, the angry teenager grew up. Heh.

These days I blog because I find the need to record my life somewhere. Actually, also because I have bad memory e.g. sometimes when I read posts I’d written months ago, I’d go, “That happened???” A blog is a convenient place to record everything!

The things I write about

My blog revolves around my life — what I’ve done, where I’ve been, what I’ve eaten, what I’ve tried. You get the gist. Below are the things that I’ve written about:

My problems. Most of them involve whether or not I should buy something, like this necklace that was worn by the lead character in Hana Yori Dango. Yeah, first world problems.

The places I go to, like Japan. I’m obsessed with the country! Most of what I earn is spent on air tickets to the land of the rising sun. Read about related posts here.

The things I put into my controlled wardrobe, like this DvF wrap dress.

Or these pants.

I also discuss the things I’ve tried and tested, like this Benefit mascara.

Oooh! I’m getting married to my high school sweetheart, so you can expect me to blog about my wedding preparation. This is me in my engagement dress. Read posts on my engagement here.

And about my other half, we used to be in a six-year long distance relationship because he was studying in Japan (see how everything is linked to Japan?) But he’s back!

Last but not least, I blog about the things Asna does next. Asna is my nine-year-old kid sister who says the darndest things. One thing I’m sure of, is that my readers visit the blog often to know what she’s up to. Read posts about Asna here.

The awesomeness that is blogging

I’m driven to blog as it provides me a platform for unlimited narcissism.

No, I’m kidding lah.

Apart from being able to record my life, I find that blogging is rewarding as it enables me:

• To keep in touch with friends
• To meet like-minds who add value to my life
• To meet people with different opinions who add value to my life
• To help my readers by sharing my experiences and reviews

Thank you readers, you keep me blogging!

Being with Nuffnang

I’d signed up with Nuffnang without expecting much. When I first started, sure, it was nice to earn a little from doing what I really enjoyed. As I got more involved though, it’s amazing to realize how Nuffnang has opened doors for this blog… and look where they’d brought me!

Meeting international makeup artist at the Kanebo Kate workshop, Mikiya Hirai. I got to play with makeup! Who doesn’t love playing with makeup?

Thank you Nuffies, for giving me a chance to be the Featured Blogger of the Month. Super honored!