Of cheap thrill and a dead squirrel

I feel a wee bit uninspired and bored. What do you do when the daily routine and everyday drone make you feel stuck in a rut? For me, I go look for cheap thrill of different forms to get myself excited. It usually involves buying something small and cheap to keep myself amused for at least a couple of hours and let me have something to look forward to. Here's my cheap thrill list:

• Watsons! Yes, I'm a fan and I even have the membership/loyalty card. I go there so often that people question if I'm a shareholder. I'll go there to get cheap toiletries and cosmetics like a new shampoo, body moisturizer or eye shadow so I'll be looking forward to trying out the new stuff when I get home or applying the new make-up the next day (makes it a wee bit easier to get up in the morning...erm maybe not actually)
• New Weekly Magazine. Tabloid in its finest, I've surveyed many trashy tabloids in my oh-so-serious tabloid research and the Australian New Weekly is really the best. It's got the most up-to-date gossip and juicy scoops. Comes out every Thursday afternoon. I'll get lost in the glittery world of celebrity, live vicariously through their exciting lives and forgot my own boredom...for roughly an hour or two
• Kinokuniya Book Store. Okay, fine, I'm not just about trashy tabloids. I love to read too. When it comes to books, I'm a purist and I only read good literature so no chick lit or rubbish thank you! I'll go do my "book whoring" and check out new books and buy them, despite the mountain pile of books waiting for me to read at home...so many books, so little time!
• Hair cut. I just cut my fringe...bored. If the cut is good, you'll be happy and the compliments from people keep you chirpy. If it's bad, it'll keep you busy while obsessing about how to style it, tie it, and rescue it to look better. No time to be bored that way
• Online shopping. Only cheap clothes please cos you can't really try it so I wouldn't buy anything more than 50 bucks if it's online-shopping (with the exception of certain brands and size that I'm so damn sure of). I love www.mdscollections.com They sell lots of dresses. New stocks come in very regularly (every few days in fact) and most frocks average about $30 a pop. Cheap thrill indeed. You order, they mail it, you wait, you get excited, you get dresses, you get amused. Mission accomplished

Well, thing is, today, I intended to get some new toiletries as cheap thrill, so as I was leaving office, I was thinking of making my dutiful pilgrim to Watsons. As I was thinking where to go and walking from my office to the bus stop, I was suddenly horrified and traumatized to see the corpse of a dead squirrel by the side of the path next to a bin. POOR THING!!!!! It was a very pitiful sight whereby the poor fellow was lying dead sideways, blood in its mouth and tongue sticking out. It made me want to cry :(

RIP my dear little squirrel :( :(

Our office is surrounded by lots of squirrels and everyday, my colleague and I would wait for them to come out and we have such a good time watching them jump around the trees, chase each other and attack the jack fruit outside our windows. We even have names for them! They're our friendly furry neighbors, our virtual pets and to see a dead body of one of our friends was depressing and mortifying to say the least. I was so shocked and affected that I have no more mood to go "cheap-thrilling" :(

Instead of going Watsons to get new stuff, all I wanted at that moment is to run home and hug my cat cos sometimes, it takes life's little misfortune to make you realize how precious what you have is. It makes me realize there's more to life than just a new bottle of shampoo cos it seems like I'm taking what I already have (which is my lovely Mr Bond) for granted. Why would I need another new muse to get excited about when I really ought to focus my energy on him?

That woke me up a bit. Yes, I get bored all the time but again, I take things for granted and forgot about the little things in life that actually mean something....So yes, no cheap thrill for me today. I don't need it for I have my little furry feline friend at home :)

It's okay to say NO and ways to say it nicely

Some guy asked me out on a dinner date last Sunday. We've been talking on email for at least the last 2 weeks and by that, I mean seriously loooong emails where we talked about every thing from relationship, to food to music. He even showed his vulnerability by talking about loneliness etc so there's definitely some bit of connection. The date was good and we talked quite a bit, had dinner at some dodgy Japanese place at Cuppage Plaza for 3 hours and then we hopped over to the old post office for a drink. It was nice and he's interesting. After I got home, I texted him to thank him at the end and said I had fun and he replied saying the same. BUT, yes, again, as with most things in life, there's a BUT. So there, BUT he's got no social grace!!

The next day, my colleague told me she's got some free tickets for the Asian Festival of First Film and there're quite some free tickets circulating around and knowing that he's the super artsy sort (he's some artsy lecturer after all), I texted him asking if he'd like some free tickets. And guess what? He didn't even reply me. Didn't even bother to say "Thanks, but no thanks". I wasn't even asking him out cos I only asked if he would want some tickets.

Now first thing first. I'm NOT smitten by him. Yes, I'm interested cos he's got depth and so far, he's one of the ones I can really talk to among the guys that I've gone on dates with and yes, it'd be nice to see him again. BUT, I didn't think THAT far to even picture a romantic future together, let alone the fact that I'm in a phase where I'm actually quite happy being single and at times would rather be left alone.

Nonetheless, I assumed after tons of very long emails, I do consider him as a friend and would like to keep in contact cos we have common interests. So I'm perfectly cool to just be friends cos after all, he's not exactly that physically attractive to me. Much as he's got substance, he's got crooked teeth, narrow shoulders, very small hands and he isn't that tall too. (oh well, the thing about man with small hands? It's really true...you go figure). So it's not like I'm dying to go on dates with him.

So thing is, instead of texting me back to say that he wouldn't need the tickets or that he's not keen, he just didn't reply. And that was me being nice and offering him free movie tickets. It was a nice gesture, a kind favor. So even if he hasn't got any intention to go on dates again, he should at the very least have the courtesy and decency of an educated, good-mannered homosapien to just decline the offer.

What he's done simply displays a lack of social grace...(and perhaps a lack of testicular fortitude too?). You know what? It is perfectly OKAY to say no but there's simply no social grace in ignoring an sms that warrants a reply. Now I'm no angel myself cos I met some guy I'm totally not comfortable with for coffee the other day and when he called me the next day, I simply didn't pick up the phone but think about it, seriously, a text message is different. You ought to reply because it's not intrusive and even when the guy I'm uncomfy with texted me after the meet-up, I replied him. So let alone a nice gesture to offer free movie tickets. But if it's a phone call, it's probably a bit different cos I think it's okay to not pick up. You can't expect me to pick up the call and say "Hello, but you know what? I'm not comfortable with you and I have enough friends and I don't need anymore and I don't wanna small talk with you nor deal with you, so don't call me"? I think a more tactful way is to not pick up the phone really. But message? It's different....

So here's how to say NO nicely....

Scenario 1: My situation
You: Hey you have anything on Thursday night? Cos I have a bunch of free tickets for the Asian Festival of First Film, are you keen to get some?
Date: Hey thanks for the offer, but I already have plans so another time maybe
OR
Date: Hey, I'm really not that keen, you should give it to someone who's really interested but thanks anyway.

SEE! No need to do the whole ignoring sms thing! You say NO while showing that you're a well-brought up sensible adult with good manners

Scenario 2...you're not keen after one date and the guy or whoever's keen and text you
Date: Hey, it was great meeting you. I had so much fun and let's do this again soon!
You: :)
Now, you see, instead of promising statement/reply like "Oh I had fun too, sure thing, see you soon". Just put a smiley face instead and if the dude asks you out again, just nicely decline by saying you're busy

Scenario 3...Date tells you that he/she really likes you
Date: Hey, I'm so glad I met you cos I really do like you. I had a fun time.
You: Hey, nice to meet you too and I'm great to have a new friend
Here, the use of the word "FRIEND" conveys the message....so again, no need to ignore the sms

So you see, you don't have to give a bloody cold hard NO or do the chicken thing by ignoring the sms! You can say NO in a tactful manner and STILL maintaining your SOCIAL GRACE! As for my disappearing guy, well, after displaying a lack of social ettiquette and testicular fortitude, his tiny hands situation and crooked teeth do bug me big time...so Please exit stage left thank you! NEXT! psssst....I've got another 2 more dates lined up anyway ;)

Reminders to self

1. There's a place for who we are, what we do and where we're from. Enjoy that and never wish that you're someone else
2. It's better to be hated than love love loved for what you're not--Marina & the Diamonds
3. Never compromise and don't doubt your gut feel
4. Give, but never give others something you don't want
5. Be thankful for the warm comfort of your own bed
6. Give and show respect only to those who deserve it and not because of their ranks or social statures
7. Never make excuses for those who treat you badly. Give energy and effort to those worthy of it
8. It's okay to be skeptical but never lose hope in the fact that there ARE some good things in life and your fellow homosapiens
9. Never lose the child in you and don't ever lose sight of things, no matter how small, that make you smile and excited
10. Everyone makes judgement but do not criticize and condemn. We're all human and we're all the same. To quote my grandma "We all poo the same poo, everyone's poo smells like shit and nobody poos rainbows"
11. Maintain a sense of equinimity. Be thankful of what you have and enjoy them but also be fine if you lose them too
12. Don't bother wasting energy and time in being fake and plastic. It gets you nowhere
13. Pride is not about maintaining a strong front and brave facade, it's about knowing what's best for you even if it might make you seem weak and appear vulnerable to other people
14. Never force yourself to feel what you're not feeling. If you're moody, be it and don't pretend to be happy just because others say you should. Pretense of all forms breeds misery
15. Sometimes, to progress, you have to take a step back
16. Trust that there's karma
17. When it's time, let go. You'll know when the time is here. Just go with the flow
18. When you decide to help others financially or otherwise,don't doubt whether the person's trying to take advantage of you. Skepticism has no place in genuine kindness
19. Eat well and treat yourself well. You'll need to use this body for as long as you're alive and there's no spare
20. Live up to the potential of what your resources enable you to and never short-change yourself and what the universe gives you
21. Sometimes you need to kiss a thousand frogs to realize it's actually a whale that you've always wanted
22. Shit happens to everyone and statistics show that majority of them survive. Try not to whine too much, it's unattractive
23. No matter how big you feel, always remember you're  nothing more than a tiny speck in the universe
24. Being loved and having love are not a given. Be thankful of all forms of love you receive
25. Say what you mean but mean what you say

Kitty Lab!!!! Kawaiiiiiii

So I went to the Kitty Lab!! Yes, I shamelessly love Hello Kitty. I know a lot of people hate her but I don't care. It's a big part of my childhood and it's here to stay. At least I'm not one of those freaks who's got the whole apartment full of Hello Kitty everything!

But before I even got there, my right shoe LITERALLY fell apart. Not just broken, but it FELL APART. Split into parts. Destroyed. Yes, it's that dramatic and my cousin who happened to be selling Mac Book at Hall 6 witnessed the shoe crisis. I haven't worn this pair of glam diamond skull flats for a looong time and the glue has peeled and there, it split apart while the moment I reached Singapore Expo and it looked like THIS:

I LITERALLY could NOT walk cos all my toes were jutting out and the damn thing LITERALLY came apart. Yes, LITERALLY. And the fact that Expo was so freaking crowded didn't help cos you constantly need to dodge people. John Little was having some crazy sale and the IT fair was a nutcase. So I had to go buy new shoes and luckily there's some branded shoe sales and I had to buy a pair of Adidas sneakers that I don't really fancy for $70. I'd rather spend it on food cos I don't need another pair of sneakers...bwahhh...

 Check out the cool booth. The kitty is Dr. Kitty, Kuromi & My Melody are her minions. Kitty's hair's curly cos there was an explosion in the lab and her hair got fried

Okay then off to Kitty Lab Pei Jun & I go and there's no photography. Supposedly. But we obviously didn't give a damn. If they made us pay $38 to get in, I'm taking pictures....

This bit still allowed photography but anything else after, they had staff in hello kitty lab coat telling you "Sorry, no photography please, thank you!"

Oooohhh, Chanel inspired Kitty 2.55. There's no way I wouldn't take a picture of this!

 

The central clock tower and yes, as usual, picture taken secretively. The one on the right's the kitty lab map

 

It's the Kitty Cafe!!! Only that it's not a real cafe and the cakes in there are all fake...all the booths are for games really. I was hoping that it's for real...

The candy-colored Kitty Boutique, again, it's for games, not for real.....

 

Wanted: Kuromi's tricycle gang members (left)   Doggy statue outside the "Police Station"

 

And some random shots along the "streets" in Kitty Lab

Honestly, the exhibition/lab wasn't as big as I expected. It's rather small and we probably just spent 40 minutes there. It's a bit pricey for the tickets ($38 bucks) cos we only got a hello kitty lanyard, a card and a pin as souvenir. We were a bit peeved cos photography wasn't even allowed.....It's more suitable for younger kids really but then we strangely saw grown men, yes, two grown men, happily playing all the kiddy games in there and totally amused and they don't look gay to me. It's kinda cool. Despite feeling a bit ripped off, it's still okay...well, it's a childhood thing after all....

 

 

I'm not a robot

"You've been acting awful tough lately
Smoking a lot of cigarettes lately
But inside, you're just a little baby
It's okay to say you've got a weak spot
You don't always have to be on top
Better to be hated than love, love, loved for what you're not

You're vulnerable, you're vulnerable
You are not a robot
You're loveable, so loveable
But you're just troubled

Guess what? I'm not a robot, a robot
Guess what? I'm not a robot, a robot

You've been hanging with the unloved kids
Who you never really liked and you never trusted
But you are so magnetic, you pick up all the pins
Never committing to anything
You don't pick up the phone when it ring, ring, rings
Don't be so pathetic, just open up and sing
Guess what? I'm not a robot"

- Marina and the Diamonds, I Am Not A Robot


Love this song......

Top 10 All Time Fav Beauty Essentials (not in order of preference)

1.     Tiss Facial Cleansing Oil. Removed all traces of make-up and even unplugged blocked pores. Better than Shu uemura…Have to buy overseas too but the closest to get it is Malaysia Watsons

2.     Balance Me Rose Otto Body Wash. It smells heavenly and it’s organic without harsh chemical. The only catch is, it’s no longer available in Singapore L And you gotta get it from UK cos the only shop in Palais Renaissance that used to sell it has closed L

3.     Clarins Bust Beauty Firming Lotion. Keeps things perky

4.     Palmer’s Cocoa Butter Body Lotion. Smells divine with a chocolate scent and it moisturizes perfectly, doesn’t feel greasy and evens out skin tone! Cheap and good!

5.     Bliss Triple Oxygen Mask. It’s foamy, it’s quick (5 minutes only), and it brightens your skin. Perfect!

6.     Ettusais Tinted Color Eye Essence. It’s a concealor WITH treatment essence and the color is pretty damn good with decent coverage

7.     Aesop Parsley Seed Anti-oxidant Serum. I’m blessed with decent skin and most products don’t really show much difference on my skin but this one DOES!

8.     Burt’s Bee Lip Balm. I cannot live without it!

9.     Za Cutie Curl Mascara Volume. Look, I’m a mascara-phile and I’ve tried 93847037483798 different ones and THIS one works the best. Lengthens, thickens and stays put without smudging. I’ve tested drive it surfing in Bondi, Sydney and the crazy waves didn’t even wash it all off (okay, it comes off a bit obviously but still!)

10. Bourjois one-second nail polish. It’s got a fan-shaped brush that makes application relatively fool-proof and easy. It’s the easiest I’ve used

 Pssssst....I'm going to the Kitty Lab tomorrow!!!!!! Tickets booked and super excited! They said no photography but I don't care! Will upload pictures soon!

How to get a loooonger shampoo head massage from your hair dresser

Okay, so I went to cut my hair yesterday and the hair guy cut my fringe too short....horror cos now I have to wait for 2 weeks before I'll get what I originally wanted. I dunno which part of "long choppy grown out fringe" did he not understand....BUT yes, there's a but. BUT, the hair wash was super orgasmic!!!! And after numerous trips to the salon, I now know the knack of making your hair guy give you a loooonger, better hair wash sud massage! And here's how:

• It always helps to choose the opposite sex (depending on your sexual orientation of course) when it comes to the hair wash person. A little flirting goes a long way
• When the sud massage starts, say "oh, head massage is so nice, that's my favorite part of salon visit!'. Now this makes the hair person feel a bit more obliged to give you a better one
• Next, every now and then, say "oh this is so nice"...now make the hair person feel even more obliged
• Then, you say "Hey, you're quite good at this, you know not everyone gives good hair wash massage?"...now this praises the person and makes the person feel good and pride will prevent him/her from giving you a shit massage
• To really make it work, you recount how you got a shit one another time at some other salon. You say something along the line of "The other time I had such a bad one, the person's got such long nails and it scratched my scalp. It was painful and I wanted it to stop asap! Today's my lucky day cos you're good!"...now more doses of pride and the competitive edge in everyone will wanna outdo the crappy hair wash you describe
• When it's done, compliment! So the next time when you're back, you'll get a good one again!

Now try this cos this really works. My hair wash yesterday was almost 25 minutes!!!! And I've never gotten anything less than 15 so there you go! Try it and let me know how it goes!