Why Do We Always Want The Things That Make Life Difficult?

Had a special request by a certain someone to post something on this. So here it is.

I was wrecking my brains finding the answer to this question when I decided that perhaps I should do it differently this time and pick the brains of whoever reads or happens to chance upon this post.

Boredom. I personally think it boils down to humans being difficult beings, never contented with what they have. So when life gets a tad too predictable (read: boring), these bored beings inevitably steer in a different direction that is somewhat more challenging and exciting. And that's where difficulties and complications arise.

Oblivion. It could be that a person is oblivious to the difficulties, impossibilities and dire consequences in attempting to do certain things. Fighting a lost cause. Flogging a dead horse. At the point when heeding a third party's advice might be wisest, understanding and listening to the advice seem the hardest thing to do.

Or perhaps it simply goes back to the saying that "the grass is always greener on the other side". Which goes back to the contentment bit.

Or maybe people just don't know what they want.

That's my 2 cents worth.

So WHY do we always want the things that make life difficult?

To the 'requestor', do give me your thoughts on it.

To the person who mentioned that you know why, please do share.

To everyone else, your insights will be much appreciated.

The Purple Pen

I was looking for a gift at Bugis today. I managed to find it, but check out what I ended up getting for myself as well. I selected the gift and went to the counter to pay for it. There, right under my nose, was a sign staring straight at me, saying that with every $10 spent, I could get this (I forgot what they called it. There is a name for it) pretty glittery purple pen with a purple pom pom and a purple star that lights up in different colours for a mere 50 cents!

It’s really pretty, isn’t it? Looks like it was taken right off the set of Clueless or Legally Blonde. I wonder what my clients will think if I whipped it out to use during meetings though.

The wonders of marketing. Gimmicks.

The simple things that make people happy on a Monday.

Perfect Party Games

Taboo. Cranium.

It's been a while since I played them, but I took them out again last night and had SO much fun.

Birdkeeper invited us over for dinner. This guy can really cook! I ate so much of the pasta and chicken that he whipped up!

And he makes the most amazing flan! I'm sure it was loaded with calories, but what the heck, it was SO yummy. I asked him for the recipe and all I got was this:

"8 eggs, 2 egg yolks, 6 cans cream, sugar. Then all mix together lor."

Tsk. What kind of recipe is that? So I asked, "Tell properly can? The eggs must beat or what. I need the steps la!"

"Of course the eggs must beat la!" came the answer.

Tsk.



Anyway, that's my dessert contribution. Cheesecake (check out the highly fatty ingredients). For some reason, RT had the rest thinking it was a pandan cheesecake. I think it was the colour. But the supermarket had run out of lemon jelly crystals, so I had to make do with lime ones. So that explains the colour. But lemon yellow or lime green, the taste is just as good what!

So after we were stuffed with all that food, we proceeded to play Taboo and Cranium. It was hilarious. Check out some of the funny bits.

#1 (during Cranium)

Team A Player 1: "I'm a boxer. I got jailed for rape and I bit off a fellow boxer's ear. Who am I?"

You would think that this was clue enough right?

Team A Player 2: "Vincent Van Gogh?"

#2 (during Taboo)

Team A Player 1: "You get this when you make erm you know you know. It's something like the wolf....."

The answer was "hickey". What wolf ah?

#3 (during Taboo)

Team B Player 1: "Ok, not earth but?"

Team B Players 2, 3, 4: "Heaven?"

Team B Player 2: "Ya. The scientific name for heaven?"

Team B Players 2, 3, 4: " Paradise? Sky? Clouds?"

Team B Player 1: "Ya! Sky, sky.... sky what la?"

Team B Players 2, 3, 4 looks at each other, confused. What sky what?

The answer was.......skydive. ???

Shades of Pink and I spent most of the night in stitches.

Good food, great company, intellectually fun games. What more could one ask for? :)

Medieval Music

On the way back from Mid Summer Nite Breeze the other night, YJ introduced Shades of Pink and I to medieval music. For someone who also got me liking Meat Loaf's "I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That)", I was expecting something noisy and headachy.

Surprising, the songs were really nice and soothing. This husband and wife team's called Blackmore's Night. Haven't really heard of them but they're apparently pretty popular in Europe. It's rare to find music that's got nice tunes AND meaningful lyrics.

Here're two of my favourites...

I Still Remember

I thought of you the other day
How worlds of change led us astray
Colours seem to fade to grey
In the wake of yesterday

*You looked into my eyes
You had me hypnotized
And I can still remember you*

I had a dream of you and I
A thousand stars lit up the sky
I touched your hand and you were gone
But memories of you live on*

Those moments spent together
Promising forever
And I can still remember you

Do you ever think of me
And get lost in the memory
When you do, I hope you smile
And hold that memory a while. *


Waiting Just For You

They say that it's always darkest right before the dawn
They say that I must be strong just to carry on.

But they don't know that I would wait my whole lifetime thru
Because you know my love that I'd be waiting just for you.

There you stood amazing, shining for the whole world to see,
And I knew an angel had been sent to watch over me.

So I'll be here waiting, hoping, dreaming, loving you,
Because I know my love that you do love me too.

My favourite lines are those in purple fonts. Nice hor?

When I listen to these songs, I can actually visualise kings and queens, princes and princesses on horses, galloping through the woods and back to the castles!

The above two songs are from the album "Fires of Midnite". All the songs are good - can use for wedding type. No need to crack your brains compiling songs. Just use this album wholesale.

To complete the whole medieval ambience, make sure your first march-in (or gallop-in) is on a horse. :)

Work Destressers

Sometimes when work frustration (and sometimes boredom) sets in, this is what you might find on our screens. A friend of Cooking Girl discovered this game, HK Cafe, and sent it to her. Cooking Girl, in turn shared it with us. It's basically a game where you're the owner of a restaurant and have to take orders, cook and serve simultaneously. Sounds simple right? Not really. Cos if the eggs get overcooked or the toast gets burnt, it's considered a loss to the business and the potential revenue is offset from the profits you make. It can't be undercooked too. I've tried that. It's still considered a loss. At the end, your total profit for the day is worked out. It's really quite fun.


Another destresser at work, or for that matter, for anything would be food. Just yesterday, a vanload of keropok and other tid bits came by our office. Ms Troublesome and I went out and bought us these 2 huge bags of keropok to add to our already stocked up food corner. Huge, aren't they?

Go try your hand at the HK Cafe game. Here's the link: www.eddiezone.net/flashgame/Restaurant.swf

Oh, do make sure you have a spare mouse somewhere around.

Cooking Girl killed her mouse. :)

Nobody Ever Affects Me This Bad.

Ever.

It makes me sick.

2 Against 1... Again!!

Once again, we had a family lunch. That's the beauty of having a closely-knit extended family. There's always something to meet up and celebrate about. This time, it was to celebrate my niece, Lil N's 7th birthday. For the longest time, family lunches were usually dim sum. Somehow, that has recently changed to Italian cuisine. Just 2 weeks ago, we had an Italian lunch at The Turquoise Room at Gilman Village. Today, we went Italian again, but at Pepperoni at Greenwood Ave. Among the twenty or so of us, we had five, 21-inch pizzas and some pasta! All yummy!


In the evening, at YJ's suggestion, him, Shades of Pink and I decided to head to Pasir Ris for a drink. Mid Summer Nite Breeze was a quaint, non-poser place to chill out by the sea. Great ambience and pretty decent food. It was Tomato based Seafood Spaghetti with Sausages for YJ, while Shades of Pink and I shared an extra spicy Tom Yam Spaghetti. Not forgetting the Chilean wine YJ ordered. We were, afterall, there for a drink, right? :)




Since the food was so good and we were so greedy, we decided to order more food. Finger food. We had the option of calamari, spring rolls, squid balls, samosas, french fries etc. Wanna make a guess what we eventually had?

Spring balls. At least that's what YJ told the guy who took our orders. Check out the delicious spring balls we had...

It's actually a serving of spring rolls and squid balls la. SPRING BALLS? What was he thinking??

After some really good food and wine, we took a little walk to the breakwater and engaged in a rather interesting conversation on relationships. Learnt some things about Shades of Pink and some of YJ's thoughts that I never knew before. Fun. We should have more of such sharing sessions ya? ;p

Then somehow, the topic got steered back to the continuation of Purples' story at a coffee session just two days ago. And, like two days ago, it became a 2 against 1 conversation. Again. YJ had replaced BFC. Needless to say, the fun was gone.

Tsk.

But I had a great time nonetheless.

My english question for the day... ...

"She _________ got my number and called me."

1) sluttishly

2) slutlessly

3) sluttily

Now, which is it?

They Ganged Up Against Me!

Once again, I met up my other 2 witch counterparts for our usual catch up session over coffee. Only this time round, they ganged up against me for something I had done.

To start off the update session, BFC told us about her dream of being served a bowl of piping hot soup by a certain someone, only to realise upon drinking it that there was a pair of dirty socks in them! Then she ended it looking really deep in thought and saying, "There must be a meaning to it you know, but I just dunno what." That statement, coupled with her 'deep-in-thought' expression got us laughing. Funny as the dream was, what really bothered her was the fact that this person would occasionally appear in her dreams. You know what BFC? I get these dreams too with people who shouldn't be appearing in them appearing. But I guess they will fade with time. Dreams are funny things really. Despite being just that - dreams - they make you wonder and re-think about life's certain episodes. Shades of Pink says that things WILL get better. Hor, Shades of Pink? ;p

BFC: "Shades of Pink, did you know that Purples did such-and-such today?"

Shades of Pink: "Ya. I know la. So Purples, why ah? And what happened?"

Purples: "Oh. Like this lor. And like that lor. Because like this and like that la."

And that's when they ganged against me. And as the expression goes, I got it left, right, centre.

BFC: "Can you believe her?"

Shades of Pink: "I think there's something really wrong with her brains you know."

BFC: "Ya! I bet she went, 'I neh neh neh neh neh, so neh neh neh neh....' SHEESH!"

Shades of Pink: *bursts into laughter* "BFC! You are so funny!"

YJ: *wants to laugh but tries to stifle it*

It's not funny hor. And YJ, luckily you had the sense to stifle your laughter. Still can laugh with the 2 witches! Want to die is it?

Anyway, all said and done, the session was a great one. I simply love you both to death. What would I do without you two?

As with most of our sessions, Shades of Pink whips out Kelly (her cam) and we pose for a picture. And as with all vain pots, witches or not, we had to do a check in the glass window to make sure we looked ok for the picture. Funny how we did this unanimously. Just look....

Make A Guess...

From where, this dress?

If you've read my previous posts and think,
You'll arrive at the answer in a blink.

The purpose of my visit to the area was really just dinner,
But somehow, of the lure of this shop, I was much keener.

Dinner would take a while to arrive, I knew
So to this boutique I went to see if they had anything new.

They did, and quite a fair bit I must say,
Thank goodness it's tomorrow that I get my pay.

Did You Guys Really Think I'd Say That?

I'm sure you've experienced one of those instances when people mistake things you say for something else and vice versa. Well, I had one of those days this week. It was hilarious.

One of the many things planning for a trip with friends entails is sorting out the rooming arrangements. So while Digital Curls, Ms Troublesome and I were planning for our trip in December, we were discussing how the rooming was to be since Digital Curls' hubby and RT might also be joining us. Here's the bit of the conversation that went awry.

Me: The 2 guys can share a room and the 3 of us (Digital Curls, Ms Troublesome and I) can triple share a room.

Then I thought about it and decided that it wasn't nice to separate a pair of newlyweds.

Me: Or Digital Curls and hubby take one room, Ms Troublesome, RT and I can triple share. Alternatively, we could book a suite la, if the…

Before I could even finish my sentence, I had 3 pairs of bulging eyes staring at me. Accompanied by 3 faces with horrendously shocked expressions.

Ms Troublesome: Huh? You want to switch with who? Can switch with Digital Curls meh??

Me: Switch what?

Cooking Girl: You said Digital Curls and hubby take one room, Ms Troublesome, RT and you triple share. Then can do a switch!

Me: No la! I said 'Book a suite' la!

Cooking Girl, Digital Curls, Ms Troublesome: You said ‘switch’!

Me: ???

Really meh? Is my diction really so bad?

The Shoe & Shoo Elves

Why do my shoes always do this to me? Hmmm.

Today, it wasn't one heel, but both heels that were making embarrassing nail clicking noises. I decided to wear them to work anyway and get them fixed somewhere within the vicinity of my office.

I checked with YJ and he mentioned that there was a cobbler opposite both our offices that opens at about 9ish or 10ish. So while my coffee and lime juice buddies went to get their morning doses of caffeine and citric acid, I tried my luck at the cobbler across my office.

On the way there, YJ messaged me, saying, "the shoe elf is setting up...". I personally thought that was quite funny. Shoe elf?? It's been so long since I read "The Elves and the Shoemaker", I can't even remember the story! That's how old I am......

So, there I was at the shoe elf getting the heels of my shoes fixed.

Seconds later, my phone rings and a laughing YJ goes, "Why are you dangling your feet in the air like that?" What did he expect me to do la? I didn't have an extra pair of shoes with me. And if I didn't make some effort to lift them in the air, they'd be on the ground la! Dirty you know?

At this point, the nice shoe elf offered me a pair of 'ah pek' slippers to slip into while he fixed my shoes.

My phone rings again, and a still-laughing YJ goes, "Now what did you just slip you feet into?"

Tsk. Weren't you supposed to be working???

I'm thankful for these shoe elves who are available within the CBD area, surprisingly. Thankful that I can get my shoes mended at a fraction of what it would cost at some places where it's probably more worth it to buy a brand new pair than to get an existing pair fixed!

For the Shoo Elf, aka Shades of Pink, I'm thankful for all the times she's listened to me repeatedly about the same issue. And not shoo me away. She will manage though, at that moment in time to shoo the issue away. Thanks for keeping me in your prayers. I do believe things WILL get better. But when huh? ;p

Childhood Biscuits.

Sometime last week, Oyster, Cooking Girl, Digital Curls, Ms Troublesome and I trooped down to Whampoa for a visit to Jolie Femme. Yes, to Cooking Girl and moi, I know some of you would like to say, "Whampoa?? Again??" Well, the garments we came back with on our first trip there inspired many others to want to make a trip down. I know at least 2 others who have mentioned that they have made a trip there after reading my post on it.

Only somehow, we didn't manage to find anything that really interested us. Ms Troublesome commented that we (Cooking Girl and I) must have bought up all the nice pieces the last time we were there. Heh.

But it wasn't a wasted trip though. On our way back, we passed one of those ancient provision stores selling those really hard-to-find-nowadays biscuits. Not that surprising actually, given that Whampoa is a pretty mature estate. Anyway, the biscuits were those that come in huge tins and are sold by the kati. Know what I'm talking about or not? Or as RT calls them, the suaku biscuits. Haha. I didn't get a shot of the tins they come in, but here's what they look like after you've made your selection of buscuits.

Very unglam right? But the contents are very yummy, mind you. And really, you can find all sorts of biscuits you can think of from your childhood days. Like those belly button biscuits with coloured icing on top or the cookies laden with pineapple jam that's so sticky-you'd-get-a-tooth-decay (these are in the pic). Ms Troublesome even managed to convince the aunty at the shop to mix $2 worth of different buscuits together cos she couldn't decide which ones she wanted. Champion hor? That explains the nick I've given her.

Anyway, Cooking Girl has reminded us to look out for this week's HDB Tai Tai, as they will be featuring another Jolie Femme type of store.

Hmmm. Guess who'll be skipping lunch this week? ;p

You would think that all this lunch-forsaking for the sake of shopping would result in some weight loss right? You're wrong, you know. See how the trip to Whampoa in a bid to buy clothes resulted in the eventual buying of so much junk food? Our office cubicles look well stocked up for war.

Digital Curls, can you quickly go find out about that fruit juice detox thingy?

Post Edit: Thanks to RT, I've now got pictures of the tins that these biscuits come in. Take a look! Don't know why, but these were in RT's office pantry! Since when do office pantries stock up on such things???

Of Mice and Moose

Met up with RT for dinner today as the guy's just gotten back from his 10 day long business trip to Colorado and Taiwan.

Dinner was at Zen at East Coast. I decided on a Crab Meat Mee Sua and he, a Red Curry Chicken Laksa. Along with that, we shared a portion of soft shell crab and a serving of tom yam soup. I didn't exactly find my dinner that fantastic, so we popped next door for some strawberry milkshake and chocolate sundae.

Here are some little gifts which he'd brought back for me from his trip. There was a keychain from Coach, a top from Levi's and a cap and t-shirt set he'd gotten from his trip to the Rocky Mountains. Thanks! Good taste for a guy, I must say. The keychain's a perfect blazing fire-engine red, the cap and t-shirt are in one of my favourite colors pink, and the top is certainly something I would pick out myself. Only thing is, RT must have thought that I'd signed up for a crash slimming course or something during the 10 days. The top from Levi's was a size 'S'. How to fit ah?



Anyways, check out the animal on the cap and tee. Familiar? Well, it's an elk and it's used on Abercrombie clothes! Ms Mountain Tortoise here just found that out from RT. But hey, it could very well have been a deer, gazelle, antelope or moose right? The elk isn't really that common an animal to most (i think).

Speaking of moose, anybody knows the plural of moose? Make a guess. Is it mooses, meese or moose? Someone once said that the answer is mice. *fainted*

Even if I weren't sure what it was, I'd know for sure it's not mice lor. Sheesh.

Subtle, Little Realities of Life.

Received an email from a friend today containing lyrics of a song which he was trying so hard to recall yesterday. He said that he really loved the lyrics. It isn't often that this friend of mine actually tells me that, and even goes to the extent of searching for the lyrics to send them over. So, the lyrics had to mean something. And they did.

"Everybody's Free to Wear Sunscreen" by Baz Lurman

Ladies and gentlemen of the class of '99:

Wear sunscreen.

If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long-term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience. I will dispense this advice now.

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Oh, never mind. You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they've faded. But trust me in 20 years, you'll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked. You are not as fat as you imagine.

Don't worry about the future. Or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra problem by chewing bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind, the kind that blindside you at 4 p.m. on some idle Tuesday.

Do one thing everyday that scares you.

Sing.

Don't be reckless with other people's hearts. Don't put up with people who are reckless with yours.

Floss.

Don't waste your time on jealousy. Sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind. The race is long and, in the end, it's only with yourself.

Remember compliments you receive. Forget the insults. If you succeed in doing this, tell me how.

Keep your old love letters. Throw away your old bank statements.

Stretch.

Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life. The most interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives. Some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still don't.

Get plenty of calcium. Be kind to your knees. You'll miss them when they're gone.

Maybe you'll marry, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll have children, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll divorce at 40, maybe you'll do the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary. Whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much, or berate yourself either. Your choices are half chance. So are everybody else's.

Enjoy your body. Use it every way you can. Don't be afraid of it or what other people think of it. It's the greatest instrument you'll ever own.

Dance, even if you have nowhere to do it but your own living room. Read the directions, even if you don't follow them.

Do not read beauty magazines they will only make you feel ugly.

Get to know your parents. You never know when they'll be gone for good. Be nice to your siblings. They're the best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.

Understand that friends come and go, but with a precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle, because the older you get, the more you need the people who knew you when you were young.

Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard. Live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.

Travel.

Accept certain inalienable truths: Prices will rise. Politicians will philander. You, too, will get old. And when you do, you'll fantasize that when you were young, prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders.

Respect your elders.

Don't expect anyone to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund. Maybe you'll have a wealthy spouse. But you never know when either one might run out.

Don't mess too much with your hair or by the time you're 40, it will look 85.

Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia. Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than its worth.

But trust me on the sunscreen.

Doesn't reading this make you just want to go out there, do something meaningful, cherish and live life to the fullest?

Song Affiliations

You know how we tend to associate certain songs with different people or phases in our lives? Well, I do at least. Let me give you some examples.

When I hear Beverly Craven's "Promise Me", Madonna's "Crazy For You", or MLTR's "25 minutes" I think of the nights that these songs kept me company during my preparation for my 'O' levels. There was always someone who would put up these songs as dedication requests over a programme at a dedicated time slot over the radio. Can't remember what it was though. "Say It With Music", I think.

Then when I hear Tommy Page's "I'll Be Your Everything", I go back all the way to Primay 6 and inevitably think of my dearest cousin, Kayestercan, and a polo sweet. (Haha, wei, you can remember why or not?)

And when it comes to realationships, there are the typical songs like Martina McBride's "Valentine", Chris De Burgh's "Forevermore", Daniel Beddingfield's "If You're Not The One", and the ever so unforgettable "My Heart Will Go On" from the movie Titanic. I watched that 3 times. Quite mad huh?

Just last night, I was taking a drive with an old friend and talking about random topics, when we broached the topic of relationships, why they didn't work out, why some are harder to let go of, what we would have done differently back then, our reactions if a certain ex came back etc etc. Then we went into this song affiliation thing.

So we continued talking whilst driving when all of a sudden, this friend went, "Ok! This is your 'Xxxxxx' (referring to an ex) song." when the track changed.

"You with the sad eyes
Don't be discouraged
Oh I realize......."

I listened to the start of it but couldn't remember the title of the song, despite its tune being familiar. Curiosity set in.

"It's hard to take courage
In a world full of people
You can lose sight of it all
And the darkness, inside you
Can make you feel so small..."

So I listened on, but I still could not associate it with anyone lor, let alone Xxxxxx. This song was never associated with anyone for that matter. In any case, how would this friend know which song I had associated with Xxxxxx anyway? Confusion set in.

And then the chorus (which contained the title of the song) played, and I immediately turned to look at my friend and grinned. Like a Cheshire cat. And then I laughed.

You see, this particular ex was pretty well known for his ways of ensuring that he did stuff which nobody could fault him for (read: had his ass covered). In the process, he had to sort of do things which he knew people would expect him to (regardless of whether he truly wanted to do it or not). Just so that he was always reigned as the "Ever-Righteous-Almighty-Who-Never-Does-Wrong" But one can't keep putting on a facade right?

Anyways, here's the chorus.... See how apt it is?

"And I'll see your true colours
Shining through
I see your true colours
And that's why I love you
So don't be afraid to let them show
Your true colours
True colours, true colours"

You tell me la. How not to laugh la?

This friend said, "I wish I could have captured your expressions. They changed from curiosity to confusion to delight. Priceless lor."

Stingray Fashion

Thanks to Shades of Pink for getting us invitations to the fashion shows at Paragon. Some of the brands being paraded included Armani, Diesel, Miss Sixty, Calvin Klein and Maxstudio. Nothing really caught my eye as most of the clothes were fall/winter collection that weren't quite so appropriate for tropical Singapore. We did come across some interesting local fashion from amongst the audience though. :)

One thing I must say though, is that the late Steve Irwin sure did inspire some of the fashion. Stingray fashion is in.....tops and dresses with no defined differentiation from the armhole to the waist. Think stingray and I'm sure you'll figure what I'm talking about.

Anyways, till I think I can carry off this stingray fashion, stingrays shall be enjoyed IN, not ON my body.

"Starlight" Night Worth Seeing Stars For

Had a bit of trouble waking up this morning as I entered dreamland at almost 2am last night (this morning?). It was worth it though. Here's why.

Shades of Pink, Vandice, BFC and I caught up over a quick dinner. It's been so long since the four of us actually got together, I can't even remember when it was. After that, Shades of Pink, Vandice and I proceeded to the Padang for Nokia Starlight Cinema which was screening "The Break Up". BFC gave it a miss as she had already seen it, and was in fact, trying to dissuade us from watching it.

Not knowing that the organisers provided mats, I had, thanks to YJ, during lunch picked up not one, but two table cloths to use as mats. "It'll be more comfortable" he quipped. What was he thinking? One would have fit us 3 just fine. So now, I have 2 blue checkered table cloths at home for I-dunno-what. Just as I was wondering if the table cloths would be quite an embarrassment to take along, look what some of the Starlight Cinema-goers brought along!!!! Bet they would have lugged their whole bedroom along if they could!

The movie turned out to be pretty good. Very real, with scenarios I'm sure many of us could easily relate to. No sweetie-pie, honied-cupcake, sugary-muffin, kiss-and-make-up ending. Which is real, don't you think? So I texted BFC and told her how I felt. To which she replied, "Why do you need to watch a movie that mimics life?" Hmmm.

Anyways, after the movie, we decided to head down to Wala's for drinks. I wasn't too keen initially but was eventually glad I did. It was good talking to them both on certain issues and getting certain other issues and stuff out of my system. In the first place, I really do not understand why some of the stuff is still there. Shouldn't be one, you know? It should have been long out and in the gutter. But it's not entirely.

So at Wala's we stayed till the band, UnXpected played their last song at about 1am.

And here I am today at work, seeing stars, and needing forty winks. Good thing the end of the day (and week) is drawing near.

Shades of Pink, you think it was them stars that made me do what I did this morning? Hmm. Like you, the head must have gotten like the weather. All hazy. Haha.

Whoa Whampoa!

Sometimes, the female species decides to forgo lunch and do some shopping instead. This was exactly what Cooking Girl and I decided to do today. She had seen a programme on telly featuring a boutique in Whampoa, and suggested that we head there during lunch today.

It was a bit of a maze walking through an area that was undergoing major renovations. But being women, we eventually found the boutique. I mean, look at it, how could Purples possibly miss it? From the ceiling and dressing room walls to the feather boa twirled around the lamp shades, everything was a variation of the colour purple! Awesome. This could potentially be what Shades of Pink's enterprising suggestion of Purple's Pearls Galore might look like.

Visiting "Jolie Femme" totally changed my impression of heartland shopping. Cooking Girl and I just couldn't decide from the many shortlisted pieces which ones to buy! Yup, the clothes (the dresses in particular) are very nice, and originate from Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Europe.


As I was saying, we had a hard time deciding what to buy. So the inevitable took place. We bought them all!

Plus 2 little baskets of piggies. Given the purplish-pinkie mood I was in, the colour of the baskets had to be purple and pink, of course. :)

Pearls Galore

Had an extended family lunch to celebrate one of my uncle's birthday. As always, such family gatherings see three generations within my family coming together. My friends often tell me how amazing it is that my family is so closely knit, and I must agree. :) Somehow though, we seem to always have dim sum. I'm not complaining cos I like dim sum actually. Today's lunch was at Jade at The Forum.

So it was lotsa prawn for lunch (have you ever noticed how almost every dish has prawn in it?), then after the prawny lunch, Mum wanted to go to OG to look for a pair of jeans. So we went. She ended up buying a pair of shoes and so did Grandma.

I didn't buy anything, but from the shoe purchases, I could redeem 4 pieces of cultured pearls. So to the redemption counter I went to redeem the pearls. The pearls really came out from oyster shells one you know? This guy at the counter would pry open the shells, and depending on your luck, you get either a pinkish or creamish pearl in whatever shape and size that particular oyster shell holds.

Anyway, the counter turned out to be more than a redeption booth, really. Apart from pearl redemption, they also provide jewellery setting services for the pearls. So yours truly decided to set a ring, since I already had a pearl necklace and a pair of pearl ear-rings. As that used up only 1 of the pearls, I asked Mum and Grandma if they wanted something pearly, and Mum decided on a pair of ear-rings. So, it was a pair of ear-rings and a ring, which totalled up enough to get me another 2 pearls! By now, I was beginning to think about purchasing more stuff, so that I could get enough pearls to set a bracelet to complete my pearl collection. Heh. Decided against it cos I had spent enough already. Besides, I could forsee that there would be no end to this "buy things, redeem pearl, set pearl, get more pearls" cycle. :)

Here's a peek at the pearls I got. In case you're wondering how come I still have a total of 6 pearls, it's because when you decide to set the pearls you redeem, you get to pick from another box of pearls. The ones straight from the shell, you can keep. See how they get you caught in the vicious "buy things, redeem pearl, set pearl, get more pearls" cycle?

Mooning & Ballooning

Mooncake Festival, or Mid Autumn Festival. One of those times of the year when my face starts mooning and my tummy starts ballooning from all the high caloric mooncakes I consume. A good thing I don't fancy the ones with yolk, cos then my cholesterol level would suffer too. I can never fathom how people can eat mooncakes with 4 yolks in them!

One thing I do not like about the festival though, is the need to send boxes of mooncakes to clients. It is just too tiring. Too unglam. The paper bag is humongous and clumsy. Perhaps the hotels and restaurants that sell mooncakes should consider repackaging the product.

RT recently gave me some mooncakes that came in a really classy and not-so-bulky packaging. See? Nice right?

If you've read my post on my knowledge on Chinese history/legends, you'd know that my knowledge is close to zilch. When it comes to Mid-Autumn Festival though, I'm quite sure it's associated with Chang-er and the rabbit. What the story is though, I'm not quite clear. Some say that upon the appearance of the full moon, Chang-er turns into the rabbit, or vice versa. Others claim that the rabbit is Chang-er's pet.

Whatever it is, the mooncakes that come with the season are good la. 1000 calories per mooncake though. Scary huh?