Fashion observations while taking a break from last minute Christmas shopping as viewed from a bench in a small town mall

Fashion disaster No. 1:
Victim wears tight lurid apple-green pants held up by sparkling diamante belt matched with pink spaghetti strap and toting a pink (what else?) handbag. She nicely rounds up the sugary sweet cavity-inducing ensemble with pink lipstick and green eye shadow. Winner in the colourblind category of taking matching wa-a-ay too seriously.

Fashion disaster No 2:
Victim appears like an unassuming middle-aged mum in t-shirt and jeans. Closer observation however reveals that her jeans seem to be missing several sizeable pieces of fabric. Diamond-shaped, playing card-sized cut outs on front upper thighs leaves lasting disturbing image and invokes pity for teenaged daughter (who also appears ordinary, but with such a role model, who knows?). I am still thanking my lucky stars that as she turned to go, her rearview was amply covered.

There was one saving grace though..

Most Fashionable Award:
Pint-sized and impossibly cute 5 or 6 year old boy in knee-length cargo shorts, rugby shirt with turned up collar and an over-sized cap turned sideways on a jaunty angle. Pair the clothes with an attitude to match: both hands in pockets, nose turned up and a swagger to die for. This one’s going to be a lady killer when he grows up. There’s hope for Ipoh girls yet!

PS: And finally, Christmas shopping is done. Hallelujah!

The one where I suck at wishing others

This year, it’s taken quite a bit of effort to muster up the spirit to say the “Merry” before the “Christmas”.
(Insert a contemplative “Hm” here)

Maybe things will change when I go home to the Christmas tree and the mountainous presents under it, the turkey and its trimmings, and the alcohol infused fruitcake with the accompanying wine. But for now it’s a matter of going through the motions with the heart and mind somewhere else (and no, I don’t know where they've gone, they do tend to wander off on their own accord).

I know this absence of feeling is real because I’m not even looking forward to presents, which in my opinion is the best part of Christmas no matter how much the presents have consistently sucked year after year. This year I really think I couldn’t care less.

However, I do want everyone else to be happy and merry and whatnot even if I’m feeling less than joyous. So folks, here I am making a superhuman effort to be cheerful while I wish you a very…..

Merry Christmas!

(….and may your presents not suck like mine. But for the record, they will. You know that right?)

For Smiles: What to do in KL when your boyfriend forces you to drive down with him.

Disclaimer: I'm not an original KL-ite leh, so don’t take my word as the gospel truth.

But I'll try anyway.

Shopping:
For a conventional mall I usually go to 1Utama which is pretty huge after the extension. For a less conventional mall with a laidback airy (read: less crowded since it's small and therefore not worth the time to most hardcore shoppers) feel and lots of food choices, I like The Curve in Mutiara Damansara (opp IKEA, further down past 1U). If you go there, check out this little clothes shop 'Tribeca' that I absolutely love.
For casual 'happening' clothes (they get their merchandise from Bangkok, Hong Kong etc) I've been patronising boutiques like Cat's Whiskers, Blook and others in the vicinity of Sri Hartamas, where there's passable food and pubs as well for you to check out.
If you’ve noticed, all these places are in PJ as I rarely go down to KL for shopping. The Golden Triangle: Bukit Bintang/Sg. Wang area, gives me a major headache as I find the crowds too stifling and disorientating.

Nightlife:
Heh. I've stopped clubbing for quite a while now. Let's just say I lost my stomach for it (and no, it has nothing to do with alcohol which come to think of it, I probably love more than ever!) I do sort of miss the dancing though *big sigh*. Anyway this means I'm pretty outdated knowing the high turnover in the clubbing scene here in KL (and in Spore too?). Hm.
I'd advise you to give Bangsar's Telawi a miss if you want a more happening night out and head into KL instead. I used to go to Passion and Poppy Garden on Jln Sultan Ismail. There's also the Asian Heritage Row, next to Sheraton Imperial KL, with a few clubs. I've heard Luna Bar in Menara Pan Global is pretty cool too with a fantastic view as it's on a high floor.

I can't seem to think of anything else tourist-y to do in KL...sad isn't it?

PS: I love the Christmas decorations at the Centre Court in MidValley ;)
Suria KLCC on the other hand has some sorry excuse for decorations this year. It looks like the artist department couldn't decide on a theme and therefore combined Hari Raya, Chinese New Year, Deepavali and Christmas elements into some cost saving ugly contraptions. Well that was last week anyway, hopefully they've done something better by now.

Here’s hoping you have a fun trip down here ;)

Famous last words

I'm back (and feeling lazy).

I was going to write, but then I saw my unintelligible notes and thought, *gulp*..... maybe later-lah.

Btw, "famous last words" has become one of my most favourite, favourite phrases to use. I spout it all the time to the utter annoyance of many people I would imagine. But does that stop me? Obviously not, heh.

Goin' down south

La, la, la, Singapore here I come, again!

Heh.

It’s my annual trip down south, and this time, finally, I’ll be in town at just the right time to see the Christmas decorations. Whoopee!

People have asked what it is I find so fascinating about Spore (people ask the same thing about Bangkok, but that’s a love story for another time). Well for one thing it isn’t Singaporeans, they do tend to be a necessary nuisance (but I’m generalizing, so don’t get all hot under the collar and start hurling abuse ok?). So here’s a list of things I do love about Singapore:

1. SHOPPING
In case you were wondering, it’s in uppercase for a reason.

2. Cleanliness
Something every Malaysian would agree with, seeing as what we have to put up with.

3. Courtesy on the road
Cars actually stop for you to cross!! What a strange phenomenon! Anyway I’ve been told that the disbelieving look on this Malaysian’s face the first time this happened to her was priceless. I had to be dragged across by a very embarrassed friend and still managed to throw suspicious stares over my shoulder at the poor driver. He, he!

4. Efficient public transportation
You can take public transport anywhere, at any hour of the day (well until very late anyway) and still feel safe because so many other people are doing the same thing.

Now if only I had more money to splurge, sigh…

The agenda for this trip? I thought I’d slip in a touristy thing or two and actually go to Sentosa for the first time. Roller-blading! (I am so going to spend the better part of my time on my ass) Luge! Err….anymore suggestions? Places to shop, things to do, food to eat?

Oh, and there is one more reason that I go to Singapore: a certain childhood friend that I never see enough of. Come to think of it, make that the primary reason. ;)

Here's to the good times we had

I think I’m out growing my friends.

Every time we meet it’s the same inanities we talk about, recycling the same old tired topics again and again. Each tedious session must have the requisite “Remember when…” stories until you get so sick of them you wonder what was the big deal about the oft repeated memory anyway.

It’s about being sentimental I suppose, holding on to the fraying threads of friendship buoyed by the fading memories when being together meant so much more. Holding on even though the passage of time has taken its toll and you’ve become virtual strangers with an increasingly pervasive contempt for each others previously charming idiosyncrasies. The once lively conversations we used to hold have now morphed into painfully plodding, dull drudgery.

These people used to be important to me, but perhaps I’ve come to that point in time when I realize that they’ve slipped down the scale of important people in my life and vice-versa.

And yet, and yet, and yet, instead of letting go we keep trying to recapture that elusive moment in time when we, together, were the centre of the universe, when we, together, were exactly where we wanted to be. This is a recipe for disaster because it doesn’t ever work and we just end up disappointed and frustrated with each other. And so we’ve begun to fade away, seeing less and less of each other, gradually forgetting each others birthdays and replacing each others numbers on speed dial.

But herein lies the paradox: sometimes, just sometimes, people you grew apart from can come back into your life unexpectedly and it can be like they never left in the first place. And somehow it can become so much better than before.

.

.

.

I think with friendship, like with any other relationship, there are peaks and valleys. And it all has to do with timing and similar or complimentary circumstances; if they’re favourable then the friendship blossoms and thrives. But friendship is also a volatile, dynamic creature because there are so many variables involved. The tiniest tweak can send it spiraling downwards.

We like to believe in lifelong friendships and forever afters, but I’m beginning to think that’s too idealistic, like looking at the world through rose-tinted glasses. Pretending we still know the strangers we call ‘friends’ when in reality we’ve become poles apart.

People change. Gracefully letting go would be the mature, dignified thing to do.

If only it were that easy.

Euphoria

I revel in:
The early morning drive home,
When the streets are empty,
And the trees stand to attention,
Dark and still in their silent vigilance.
The brisk air condensed,
Moist mist hanging low,
Illuminated into shimmery halo’s
Under softly glowing lamps.

The world slumbers,
Peace permeates,
And I am
wishing I could drive and drive,
hoping it would last forever,
The exhilaration
that I am,
alive.

Before you say anything...

You know how when someone says something to you about you and it irritates the hell out of you and makes you strangely uncomfortable but you can’t put your finger on it?

So you struggle to figure out why something that sounds soo innocent, even justified, chafes you soo much. You try to figure out why it makes you feel like something is ‘off’. Eventually you do figure yourself out but sometimes there’s something missing and then you realize what it is: the unknown element that is/are the motive/s of the ‘casual’ questioner or the accuser, that someone who brought it up in the first place.

In every likelihood (and very often so) that person itself is seemingly unaware of their own motives. After all, in their own defense, it was a comment or question about you and therefore they’ll vehemently deny any forethought or investment of their own designs in it. Liars.

I know I’m perceptive enough to catch this, but there’s nothing much I can do if they dismiss my probing with a remark like, “You’re too sensitive!” An openly cunning response calculated to again make me feel like an idiot for being soo paranoid.

I’m sure I do it all the time too. And now that I’m more aware of it (have been made aware of it actually), it’s sometimes hard to get out the words that instinctively come to mind as I have to turn each little sentence, each little question inwards first. Examine all my motives before my mouth blurts it out and it’s too late to take it back. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, introspection couldn’t possibly be so, but if done too much there’s a great possibility of becoming mute.

(Less cryptic, less cryptic, I know…)