Time to say goodbye
I've had some two great years on Blogger. Dressing my blog up and down over and over again is the most thrilling discovery I found on the Internet. Needlessly to say, a larger than recommended proportion of my sleeping hours went into html playing. Once in a blue moon, Blogger would fly into a tantrum and flush my posts down the virtual drains. Writhes painfully. After donating a couple of posts to the virtual environment conservation campaign, I experimented with other platforms including Wordpress. Wordpress was my faithful hidding place whenever Blogger flung me over the garden hedge. Even then, I never thought I would leave Blogger. I've some stubborn and often irrational habits, blind loyalty is one of them.
But the recent tantrum caught me off balance. I felt it won't be inappropriate to mouth a few oaths at the LCD. It's just so annoying and totally distorts the spontaneity of blogging.
So, I'm moving to Coffee with Roses.
I'm leaving the old posts at Blogger. As mentioned, Blogger holds some of my best and worst moments in the past two years.
I'll always love you, Blogger.
The demise of a blogger
Note: For reasons unknown to me, Blogger has unceremoniously thrown me into exile with an ultimatum: Could not connect to Blogger.com. Saving and publishing may fail.
This post was dated Nov 14, 2006, 10.26pm. Initially I dismissed it as a scheduled maintenance but for five days?! The urge to run to the open arms of wordpress is insuppressible after waves of rejection. If this post doesn't see the world, I'd join other deluded fellow bloggers on the other side of the riverbank. Let's just pray.
My peanut of a brain
Thank god I'm not an elephant for I've only a peanut sized brain. The velocity at which my mind unloads unpleasant luggage and life-and-death notices is sheer amazement. It's like they've eloped with the wind on the back of a kite. Hmm...this puts new meaning into the famed phrase Gone with the wind.
If I'm a rich girl
1. I will buy myself a pink laptop.
Sony Vaio C Series - Delicious
Blush Pink!
These gorgeous laptops have just made their debut in US for USD 1350 (SGD 2112). Wonder when the Heidi Klum of Mobile PCs will come to Singapore. I can't wait to wrap my lusty fingers around a fresh face Blush Pink!
Frankly, a pink laptop will make my gadget family so happy like this: 1. Jump, 2. Leap, 3. Banana Split!
2. I will revive my uninspiring silver laptop with a
pink makeover.
Love offerings from Skyn!This glossy hot pink skin pampers your beloved laptop with Swarovski Crystals. Choose from a palette of 8 dazzling colours to adorn any letter of your choice.
Diva Quotient: 5/5
If you are a retro yuppie, the eva collection will definitely catch your eye.
Envy meThis retro-floral print is available in pink, purple and blue. The first image that flashed through my mind when I saw Eva was Liv Tyler as Arwen in Lord of the Rings. Eva exudes a subtle luxury without being ostentatious. One can't help but be drawn to its magnificent display of floral wilderness. If Eva is not high fashion laptop skin, I don't know what is.
Price: USD 40 (SGD 65)
Stand Up for Children
I like the way my brother calls out my name in a crowd and holds my hand warmly. The unconditional trust from a child is so precious. I want to protect the childhood of the marginalised children, be it the latchkey children, children with life-threatening illnesses or children with special needs. Love from parents can change the direction our lives may take. I just hope by sharing my life with the little ones and writing love into their lives will make 'growing up' a happy future to look forward to.
Image taken from Children's Cancer Foundation
From
Autobiography of a Geisha by Sayo Masuda,
"If you have the heart of a human being and you become the parent of a human being, then even if it exhausts every bit of your energy, until that child can walk alone I want you to do your duty as a parent."
Babes: A programme by Beyond Social Services to support pregnant teenagers.A person can be bought and sold. But not a person's life. The life of a child is too precious to be discarded.
Monday Muffins
Happiness is an ordinary ability that eludes me. For a devastating rental rate, I purchased a few weeks' worth of fluffy air castles mapped from fantastical Korean drama. Crisp banknotes buy me shortlived happiness from clothes, bags, shoes & accessories. It butters up my vain ego and assuages my guilt from parting with my dollars. If ego inflation is positively correlated with inner fulfilment, I'd be the happiest man on earth. Sadly, a soaring ego index only magnifies the emptiness in the smallest of everyday happenings. I was ensnared by an age-old trap laid for the careless traveller. Selfishness, cowardice and proscrastination clung steadfast to my entire being, draining my energy like leeches savouring fresh blood.
We come to earth with no memories and material possessions. As we stumble along the windy path called life, we fill up our invisible sack with pieces of recollections for the uncertain future like a farmer keeps dried bread for winter. Quoting from a friend, I've overloaded my emotional baggage and crippled myself. So what now?
I clip new wings onto my back and learn to fly. A seagull who never thought beyond fighting for the occasional bread crumbs thrown by the children or inexperienced fish swimming near the water surface, is contented to live among his raucous compatriots. A seagull doesn't know the infinite capacity of flight. The primitive function of feathered wings has been forgotten through the generations. The first seagull might have soared like an eagle to any destination his heart desired.
Overcoming physical constraints to realise the infinity of one's intangible constraints is akin to questioning a drug addict's willpower to quit drugs. I'm making regular donations to my willpower bank. This aerospace project is a costly long term investment that suppresses an investor's risk appetite and raise the riskiness of the asset. Volatily in the macro environment imposes external factors beyond our control. Tomorrow is unknown to me. With limited discretionary income to absorb potential losses, suppose I didn't succeed in flying, the reality of immobility will kill me. I'm naturally more risk averse and hence, demand higher risk premium.
I'm putting high stakes on this hand. Disregarding the absolute comparison of input-output ratio, I'm happy with the returns. They satisfy my cravings for human interaction and communication. I'm smiling more and perversely thrilled by the dull ache from stretching my stiff, underused facial muscles. Joel described this form of happiness aptly as "smiling in my heart".
Every smile fills up my happiness deficit. I'm very grateful for every exchange of friendly gesture and smile. There're some stubborn knots I haven't figure out but I'm not demoralised. After all, I'm highly motivated now :)
After feeding my imagination with cheap entertainment, I renew my intimate bonds with Asian literature. I read this sentence after a dinner of meaningful emotional exchange:
"I passed through her life, but it was a one-way trip." (The Girl who Played Go by Shan Sa)
Maybe it was the coincidence of residual memories from a dinner rich in Japanese flavour and the heart-wrenching reflection from a young Japanese officer stationed in Manchuria in the 1920s. Or perhaps it's the uncanny reality that Shan Sa gives to the Japanese quest. That sentence just sticks itself to the ends of my nerves.
According to a Japanese legend, Japan lies on the back of a giant catfish. Every flick and turn the catfish makes in the ocean creates earthquakes. The Emperor fueled the paternity in his soldiers with this simple yet powerful reason: Only China with its large and stable land can secure a safe future for our children. The insatiable greed of one man lent illegitimate power into the greatest pillage of Asian civilisation.
The names of the Chinese girl and the Japanese officer were veiled but the intensity of war and fierce willpower of the lifeless people buried under the glory of a greater war are compounded throughout the book. Another poignant quote:
"Life is a castle of lies slowly dismantled by the passage of time." (from the Chinese girl)
How many of us can dispute with that?
Miracle Oil
I discovered a great product from Fancl recently! Fancl's Mild Cleansing Oil is a definite must-try for lazy girls who just want remove their make-up quickly and head straight for their plush pillows! Here's why:
- You can use it with either dry or damp hands.
- Massage a modest amount of Mild Cleansing Oil over your make-up, clean off with warm water and voila! Complete your cleansing with your usual cleanser.
- My skin feels clean and doesn't tighten after the wash.
- It's gentle on sensitive skin. No breakouts after using!
- Affordable pricing for girls surviving on a shoestring budget. S$17.50 (60 ml), S$30.50 (120 ml), S$58 (120ml x 2)
- Gorgeous limited edition packaging!
Japan by Swedish designer, Annikka Wester.
This is what I bought 2 weeks ago. If only I know a limited edition is coming up... :(
