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?