bargain hunter

On Saturday before we went to The Church, The Boyfriend and I did some bargain-hunting at the Salvation Army.

They were having a sale and we wanted to browse - I specifically wanted to buy a poster : 'Palmer Tyres', which I saw the other day but hesitated, did not buy it and hence regretted till last Saturday. Thankfully it was still there so I scored a lovely vintage poster, which is in a beautiful glass frame as well. It is now sitting on my floor behind the door until I prop it up on my dresser.

The Boyfriend also bought a fan. A fan, those standing on the floor, looking like a vertical aircon - gray fan. It has a remote control too, I am fascinated by that fact. Because there was a 30% sale, he scored it for $21? Incredible. There were old drawers that we both loved, something that could sit well on the bedside, or as a phone-table. A low table with two drawers, made of good, dark brown wood for $100. After the sale, it's $70! And you can hardly buy good wood, or a good drawer, for that price. Sigh. If we had our own house right now I would buy it in a blink of an eye, and spend the next weekend sandpapering and painting it up.

My poster is mounted in a lovely dappled glass frame, and I bought a old-school 'Green Spot' glass cup they used for those old-school kopi tiams as well ($1!) Total amounting to $13.30 after discount, I think it was a pretty worthwhile trip. The last, I bought two books for... $3. One was Elisabeth Elliot's 'Passion and Purity', and I can't find that book in any bookstores, so to me, that is priceless. The other is a travel book which is a good read and I will sell it away during my end of the year book-sale... so that someone else can enjoy it.

We enjoyed ourselves so much that we are going to visit another Salvation Army Thrift store again this weekend!

On Sunday, we went to the olden Seletar Airport black-and-white. Lovely, lovely place, just enjoyed the slow drive - it was a rainy day, a slow cosy drive up the roads of people's houses, some terraced black-and-white old colonial houses, the others, bungalows, and even huge-ass ones which we wondered who would rent. Some of them are eventually torn down for the Seletar Aerospace hub, which we can see signs of being constructed. I think it really spoils the beauty of the area. For now, it still remains a tranquil, serene place with sounds of nature. I spotted 2 chickens roaming in a backyard, and lots of flora and fauna blooming in the people's yards. Who owns these places? I wondered aloud. We googled it later and found the past rent from the 90s to current times to be about $1.2k, which is quite affordable for your own piece of grass and backyard, but recently the rent trebled, leaving lots of these places empty. It is no longer affordable to us, and the main reason why people want to stay in such an off-the-road place is also because they want it quiet and peaceful. So, the building of the Aerospace centre there would give it a industrial, horrid feel with machinery sounds and all. While I know that advancement ultimately leads to the destruction of our natural habitat for tall, new buildings, I always feel sad when the last open places around my estate become some eaten up by the good of our economy. If only, we can have it all - the beauty of the old school places, and the revenue from our award winning industries. But we can't and I guess the ones with the least monetary value has to go. So now it seems we have to place a premium - PAY a premium for the things we desire to have. But if we were truly rich and able to afford all these, would we still want it, or would we have other 'higher' desires such as a 7-million condo in Balmoral? I have no answers for that, but I find it increasingly difficult to live within our means, here.

Love Story meets Love Story (Taylor Swift Remix) - piano cello - by Jon Schmidt

I love Taylor Swift's 'Love Story', love Jon Schmidt remixes and tunes - this is real talent, and I am going to buy this CD, once I figure out how.

Easy listening to ease away the Monday blues.

to begin with

Yesterday, I went to Raffles Hotel, after work, to purchase their chocolates from the chocolaterie at ThosSB inside the ground floor.

When I worked there as an intern about 7 years ago, the people were very kind to me and I could take a chocolate a day! I loved the ones of candied orange peel coated with chocolate, the tart taste of orange peel combined with the melty richness of chocolate reminded me of the happy days working there. I felt happy to be working my internship with a prestigious company like Raffles Holdings - although now the hotel is under Fairmont or something. The Boyfriend and I also love the courtyard, how nice if we can hold some party or celebration there! The chocolates have exotic-local flavors like lychee, jasmine tea, one of my favorites, the szechuan pepper... another unique flavor, which is lovely! I bought a box for The Boyfriend as a graduation gift of sorts - he had his convocation yesterday.

The person at the counter said he remembered me, remembered my face. Have I changed that little? I was in my teens when I interned there. Yet, he distinctly remembered me (though I can't!!!) Walter was really happy to see me and proud of me when I presented my namecard to him. He also told another guy who worked at the Raffles Shop, Boon Cheng, about me, and together we chatted about the various people that used to work there and where they were, now. I was so touched that he remembers. It's rare these days to find someone who can remember your face. He is one of those who remembers, and that just stirs up a warm feeling in my soul.

I've been busy. Lilo asked me recently, 'Is that all life is about?' Getting attached, married, having kids, looking after them, getting old...
Well I responded that, even if you choose the single path, sometime or other you would still have to babysit your friend's or relatives' kids, haha. Can't escape from that!
But... honestly, I've been wondering too. Life has been good to me, I can still say that. And as Chinese, I think we all have a bit of the greed/dissatisfaction inside of us.

The wanting to create something for yourself, the ambituous part. I'm not ambituous, but on the other hand, I will not work in a job which requires me to do things I don't like, either. I've been hooked on reading china netizens articles on chinasmack.com. It helps me to understand - and yet, not understand their mentality. They dump all their waste products into their famous rivers, like the 'Li River', till it is murky brown. I feel that this is a really selfish mentality. And in a country of 1 billion people, all of them are wanting to achieve more for themselves, pushing to selfish and unfriendly behavior. They don't mind being mistresses or kept women, for money. This may seem like they have no morals. But, if we have lived in poverty, each day worrying about our sustenance, might we have chosen this route as well? They all claim to lead harsh lives as farmers. But doesn't Japan or even Europe have lots of farmers, and they seem happy? I feel that being happy is a choice. Sure, the weather here is horrid, but we are not freezing to death...

Definitely, being exposed to the retail environment here, the shopping-mentality still overtakes us. If say we live in Malaysia, I don't think we have so many choices, thus, we will be happier and more satisfied with the things we buy. Especially if it takes us 2 hours to reach the nearest shopping centre... ... and we can only shop once a month due to our limited budget. But in Singapore, it seems like no matter how much you earn, it is never enough...

I've been teaching tuition this month for English O'levels, I do enjoy it though it gets rather tedious and tiring... I'm going to see if I am able to teach English for a class next month round, night classes and this brings me quite a substantial income. I want to pay off all my debts and buy things like a digital camera, new handphone... all those things which we think we need in this consumerist society. Too many people laughing at my dinosaur handphone... ...So I hope this all turns out well, I shall be the most hardworking person in town.

'Halal' by Liew Seng Tat - English Subtitles - 15Malaysia

Very funny! Priceless comedy in local-style.

Flowercrush

We are having fun with photobooth and animoto, free video - making software.

Today, I'm lusting after Mauboussin rings. All of them are droolworthy and, expensive, like LV bags, but I'd rather this ring than an LV, don't you agree?

This one, set in amethyst from the Fou De Toi collection. *eyes it lustfully

'Potong Saga' by Ho Yuhang - English Subtitles - 15Malaysia -

Remember Namewee from the infamous 'negarakuku'.
This is well-shot.

whining because i'm sickly

I hate being sick.
I'm not seriously sick, but sick enough to be bothered by the all consuming lack of energy and taking things slowly like a geriatric person.

True, being sick does have its perks. For one, in the recent days, I no longer rush about from place to place, putting more emphasis on a sense of relief that I do make it to my destination, without vomiting, without any stronger symptom than feeling queasy. I had a flu (no fever) 2 months ago and 2 weeks back caught another one from my family members. Teamed with a huge ulcer in between and now, vomiting, diarrhea and the usual nauseous state, I think I shall give up my 'no-complaining' rule and whine a little bit. I've been as fit as a horse for the whole year, so the long bout does get me down. I was even sick on the day of my photoshoot, downing lemsip caplets to give the semblance of health. But was in bed the whole of the next day.

The Boyfriend's been awesomely caregiving and understanding through all this. As a guy, I wonder, do they get used to a woman's moods, especially the women they live and work with? That time of the month, the usual grouses about people we can't stand, the whining during minor illnesses - whining does help, for me. I always throw a self-pity party when I'm sick because I can't stand not moving and doing something. Also, I was pretty much in and out of hospital when I was young, having childhood asthma, so sometimes when I can't breathe, I have a panicky feel that it's all coming back, the ins and outs of the outpatient ward, the gaseous thing you try to breathe in, the incapacitated state of your body.

Mushroom my new rabbit, is sick too. Rabbit flu. No, I did not pass it to him, and animal illness are not contagious. Dad gave him a wet bath which was a strict no-no. I almost freaked out when he stopped eating, due to the trauma, as that was what led to Skiiri's RIP. We went to a vet, given meds, which I had to force feed. Luckily, Mushroom loves licking on the medicine so it was more of me trying to force the syringe out from his mouth incase he chews it off rather than squirting him with 3 different medicines.

Being moderately sick also puts things into perspective, rather. Instead of worrying about everyday things, like 'am I spending too much?', 'why my tummy looks burgeoning?', 'should I do this and that', etc, all these worries vanish, at least for me, these mundane, everyday worries are gone, replaced by minimal fears that I'm never going to recover, it's been almost two months, and each day's planning to continue working yet have enough rest, and 'where did I put my medicine', 'did I take my required dosage of antibiotics already?' Though I know other people are suffering from worse ailments than my small virus, I can't help but feel that rest-times are too short, and work-times too long, and how nice it could be if I could take a gap year from working, and teach English in a faraway country like Japan while experiencing the culture there.

In the first few days of being ill, the mind travels to current work schedules. In the further few days, it takes mindtrips to somewhere else where the grass is always greener.

couple shirts and movie week

MY current favorite Hollywood actresses are Anne Hathaway and Amy Adams, I've watched most of Anne Hathaway shows, even the lousy ones - she's a great actress but some of the movie scripts that come her way are really 'what were you thinking...' kind of script.

For Amy Adams, I've loved her in 'Enchanted', and in Night at the Museum 2, and previously 'catch me if you can.'

Despite our 'no-movie-on-weekends-it's-not-worth-the money' rule, The Boyfriend and I caught not one but TWO movies this weekend. With 'UP' in 3D last tuesday as well, that makes it 3 movies last week! Wah! A consolation though, we watched Jack Neo's latest outing 'Where Got Ghost' as a treat from his Uncle (we went out to a hotpot dinner with them on Saturday) and, Sunday, caught 'The Proposal' for half price in City Square's cinema.

'Where got Ghost' coincides with the 7th month, 'Ghost month' and well-suited it is to heartlander uncles and aunties. The buzz is pretty good, I even heard my English-speaking parents talking about the movie (they have not watched it.) And having so many screens playing, I sure hope that he makes his money's worth. For me though, the show is not up my alley. I seldom watch local movies - in fact, I much prefer indie or french shows, or shows with a strong travel/location element to make every sight and sound something inspiring. Though there were lots of laughter the show didn't do much for me. Still, I bet mainstream Singapore will flock to watch it. My fave Jack Neo's is 'Just follow law'. Muthu, the memorable security guard in that movie makes an appearance in 'Where got Ghost', too!

'The Proposal' will be out in Sg this week and we really loved the show! Ryan Reynolds, whom I've last seen in Wolverine - he was the boy with the swords whom they later operated on to be Wolverine's arch-enemy, is really sweet and funny in this show! He can do the clueless yet suave expression so well in the movie that you just want to have him for breakfast. We were actually expecting a run-of-the-mill romance movie with average acting, and storyline, yet, this one really takes us by surprise. The setting is in Alaska too, and I felt that the movie was really enjoyable! I'm looking forward to catch old romance movies of Sandra Bullock's, now. I don't really like those intense, Keanu-lovesick type of shows, so this one has the perfect combination of both fluff and substance for females and males. I think it's the best romantic comedy of the year!

==

We went up to JB again this last Sunday. First going to City Square, then Tebrau. Not much things to buy, though I managed to find a nice belt. There are the Vincci shoes and etc you can buy of course, and many casual clothes and groceries... and food. Glorious food! Last week, we ate delicious chicken wings, portuguese style and tried it again both at City Square and Tebrau. Funnily, it doesn't taste as slurpingly good as the last time. Egg tarts are good too! And, Black Canyon's coffee and pad thai, we had OldTown's last week. Later we sampled my all-time favorite, 'cereal-crayfish' which is much better than lobster, this is found at Taman Sentosa.

We also saw a couple-tee, those kind that joins together to form a certain message when you wear them together. We thought of buying one! I mentioned that all the couples in The Gang has a couple-tee of some sort, and all of them wore it to The Church last Valentine's. Hee. We didn't buy it then, but if we chance upon nice ones we will not hesitate. So fun! Along the way, we kept thinking of slogans should we design our own couple shirts. Just for laughs, of course. I thought of 'Snuffleupagus likes Big Bird' on mine, and his: 'I am Big Bird'. It is a little crude though! Or, mine would be: 'He's an accountant', his: 'She's not just after my money but my good looks too'. Hahaha!!! I think we will eventually buy one, maybe when Valentine's swings by next season.

The Proposal - Blooper Reel

something to make you smile on a monday

The Proposal - Official Trailer

Hysterically funny and sweet! I vote this show the romance comedy of the year.

A lovely lomo effect

Lomo effect makes photos more interesting to look at, non?

My first attempt, and dareIsay the best one. Did you spot me releasing the balloons?

Using Picasa's superimpose, inspired by Cinple Life's artistry.

my first photobook

There are always firsts to life. First time taking - wanting to take photos, signifying a 'forever ending' with The Boyfriend, and having sooooo much fun trusting our photographers BryanJean. First time I started a hobby collecting postcards (of cityscapes), I happily imagined a future wall, decked up with lovely buildings around the world. And now, I have quite a collection though it's been barely 3 years of troubling friends to post one to me.

I took a gazillion photos using Mlle Ange's old Canon Ixus (much better than the new one!) and thought it would be nice to print out all my memories in a book, I love books, and this would be a lovely addition to my coffeetable, or perhaps lapsing on the bookshelf quietly, just being purple.

This photobook is $80 printed at Fotohub. I'm still wondering if it's too expensive, or worth it.

I also edited some of our lovey couple photographs into a lomo effect inspired by Hogai's works in 'Cinple Life'. Editing it takes less than a few minutes with Picasa (Free! Software by google on picasa.com) and 'photo-superimpose', and 'purplish tint' effect.

Meanwhile, dying to see how the rest of our photos turn out sometime end of the month.

casually yours

We had another photographer come along with us on our BryanJean photoshoot so here's a few of the good takes. Our main photos should be ready end of the month, plus a really fun and cool video. We did some shots in the newly opened ION, can show kids next time: ION would be like Lucky Plaza by then? Meanwhile I really like the one outside Muji.

Had lots of fun! Thanks to Sherman Ho, Rebirth Photography. http://www.rebirthphotography.com/ More of us on http://shermanho.livejournal.com/

trams in Melly

Flashback: 3 months ago, my week-long holiday in Melbourne. We took the public transport, almost always trams, when we wanted to go to nearby places.
Spot all 3 version of trams on the road, the 'bumblebee', the ones I took 20 years ago, and the other one in between these eras.

happy memories of today

The long weekend's almost over (longer for me, took a day off today) and I am half-sad to see it pass. But well, looking forward to the next weekend, it doesn't seem that far off away, yay yay yay. I had the best weekend ever. (Read on if you wanna know how I spent it.)

On Friday, me and The Boyfriend went to pick up Mushroom, a male Holland Lop. He has a friendly temperament and now I am trying my best to toilet-train him - quite exhausting because I have used up one and a half toilet roll of paper trying to mop up poop and pee. The Boyfriend will be the one training our little doggy next time because I realize I am quite impatient. But still, Mushroom is a friendly and lovable not-so-little wabbit. We then went to our now-usual haunt, Chompz... and chomped down on chicken wings, stingray, etc. And then home early, because next day it's a daytrip to JB!!!

Off to JB daytrip on late morning of Saturday... The Boyfriend's Mom joined us. She introduced us to 'Ah Koong's' fishball soup which was really tasty, we were both amazed at the nice soup. I introduced them to Secret Recipe cakes at more than half price off (RM 6.30 per slice, le) which they savored, the choco-banana and the passionfruit-mango which was a light, refreshing and oomph inducing flavor - I also brought home some cheesecake slices - espresso flavor and caramel flavor are the best, I've tried them all!!! While in Tebrau City, I also had a manicure and pedicure (RM 80 total) done while the two did grocery shopping. We ended up with Old Town's light meal of a shared nasi rendang and my fave white frappucino... and The Boyfriend's Mom drank her 3rd kopi-o. Must try since I'm here, she said. I also introduced The Boyfriend to some Portuguese chicken wings at a eatery which also sells the Macau egg tarts. It's also found at City Square beside the Malay food stall with fishhead curry and green table and chairs. He loved the chicken wings sooooo much he took back half a dozen to Sg.

We came back early because we had to attend a wedding, it was his classmate's wedding and the first time I attended a Malay style wedding - I had expected it to be stuffy-ish, but it was quite refreshing! I guess probably because they were the same age as us - they had decorated the place with orange and white cloth, and chandeliers gave it a modern feel. It was quite a different, and fun experience for me to see The Boyfriend interact with his old schoolfriends, and I was more than content to sit and smile.

Then, we went to walk around Singapore Flyer. Being one of the most un-crowded tourist destinations in the city area, it was just the place for us to take a languid walk. We had one of our first 'official' dates there too, sitting beside the water front overlooking the city skyline. It's now barricaded up in anticipation of the F1 next month. So we walked along the perimeter, and while on the wooden platform, I felt inspired to do a little tap-dance, and we proceeded to do a slow dance without anyone watching. It was a nice way to end the day.

On Sunday we headed to a flea mart at the Art museum. It was national day and free entry to the museum, so what's a better way to spend the afternoon soaking in the fringe festivities - real tight live band and free face painting... ... I went home to rest a bit as I was falling sick and he went to dinner with relatives, then we both met again at night to do some exercise at my park downstairs. We shall do it again this friday! Monday I was basically down for almost the whole day with a sore throat-cum cough and sniffles. I hate being sick, but I recovered enough to go Ice3 for a chill-out seesion and played our boardgame, reversi. I'm still slightly sniffly, sighhhhh.

Today we had the photoshoot. yay! I was really looking forward to it, we both are fans of BryanJean's work, a young and talented couple who are primarily wedding photographers. We were just taking casual shots, and we even shot at Ion, and a lovely place which location's I'm not supposed to reveal. It has my favorite black-and-white walk-up apartments though. We also had a bunch of silver foil balloons with us which added to the happy, lovey, cheery feel. I can't wait to see how the shots turn out. I'm designing a book for it to keep our lovely memories in. I'm glad The Boyfriend appreciates this as much as me, it's nice to keep these memories, hopefully we can do it every year. It's really fun to be models for a day, and B. had so much fun too trying out video-ing us. For a first-timer, I'd say he's pretty amazing and wayyyy to go.

We watched 'up' in 3d after that, it was a fun show, something which tugged a chord in our hearts. I, for one, would not just let my dreams of adventure fade away in normal life. If money's the only stopping that, then, it shouldn't be the case. Actually with flight deals so low now, I'm really aiming to go someplace every year. And we all should, have some adventure every weekend, it makes me feel so alive.

thoughts on the headship of men in relationships

I heard some lovely news this week. A lady friend of mine informed me she is getting married and invited me to her wedding last quarter of the year.

I was acquainted with her while we were volunteering together in the Tsunami efforts of Dec 2005. We were in a team of 9 that went to Banda Aceh and I had the privilege of staying in the mayor's house as that was the only facility available to house us. Incidentally, one of our team-mates, a lady in her early 30s also got married this May. It seems all so long ago that we were chatting and sharing after each day's work in Aceh - we were building houses - and felt at ease to share about life. They urged me to date while I am still young, perhaps they felt they had missed opportunities, or underlying fears and frustrations they would never find their soulmate.

As they were in their late 20s then, and also not having been in a relationship before, they sort of have the 'if it comes, it comes' mentality. It seems to work for them as they are now very happy even though they had married a bit later than the norm.

In essence, I think this mentality works in a way, contrasted to the 'I can't live without a man' mentality. Somehow guys are always scared away by the women who seem to want to pressure them into some kind of commitment. As me and a married friend were remarking yesterday, we'd rather be happily single if we cannot find our soulmate, then settling for anyone who seems to fit the bill but does not really want us. And for those women who seem to be 'on the hunt' for a mate, they give off a vibe that is actually quite threatening to a more laid-back man. I'm glad I've found Mr A, but we both know if we had not found each other now, at this time we would have probably been still single, and loving it, too.

I think many Singaporean men in The Church are scared when it comes to being in relationships. I wouldn't say real scared- type of scared, perhaps more of having a burdening anxiety. Firstly for those who are not familiar with the ways of women, they are scared of making the woman they love cry, or upset with them. Because they would not know how to react and thus feel 'loserish', and clumsy. Also, there is a huge financial constraint that they have to think about. I think it's only reasonable that the women here expect the guy to have a stable salary - it also shows about his long-term and thus, marriageability prospects. Since once we have kids, it's almost impossible except for the very career-minded and multitasking women to handle both family and career, we women inevitably have to think about this balance in the near future, so subconciously we are seeking stable men. So a women who actually plans ahead is a better choice for the serious-minded man, non? And if your man cannot conceive a long-term future with you, isn't it better not to be with him or consider him? Many 'on the hunt' women seem to forget about that. For my married friend, she and the husband had saved up for about 3 years before, then they could put the downpayment on their marital home. It does take at least two years of careful financial planning, more if you are planning on immediately getting a house upon marriage, she said.

But isn't that the same for most developed countries? I met a European who proudly told me he is debt-free when he was 55, his country having the highest tax rates in the world, most of them are in debt their entire lives. He paid off his small flat and small car (the type like most of us have) and is now free to do whatever he likes. But I'm sure in his younger days, the vast amount of financial burden did not constrain his adventurous mind and capability for enjoyment. A good meal, some nice clothes, I believe all of us can afford that at any executive's salary.

So what are the men afraid of? I think, they are afraid of themselves. Some do not know what they want. So the girls they fancy turn out to be very different species. An ultra sporty girl this month, a quiet and nerdish girl the next, a bubbly and maiden-ish girl the following month. This is not because they are fickle-minded, they just do not know which type suits them, because they do not know themselves well. It would bode them good to find out more about themselves on solitary walks, rather than always being in the shelter of good company.

The men are also afraid of making bold moves (it is only to be encouraged at the right timing of both parties), giving the excuse they are not keen to see the friendship end, pah! I think... I have had friendships with guys that lasted over relationships, some of my friends, I have seen him consecutively getting attached and breaking up; now he is single and I have a boyfriend, it is as if we take turns in our different destinies. Each understands that unless both of us are single we won't have as much time to spend with each other. But our friendship remains strong. Other guys, after we have been friends for years, but because of some minor thing that can be forgotten easily, forsake this friendship. And so all I have are memories, but I am not sad, because each friendship has different twists and turns, if it ends, let it be. It was not meant to be anyways.

==

We are having a rather long weekend because we are going on a photoshoot with our photographers on Tuesday. Yay! The plans for the weekend seems so fantastic and I'm going to relish every little minute drop of time spent with Mr A. When you miss someone everyday, eating lunch together for an hour just doesn't cut it.

Have a great weekend wherever you are, and know that if you are alone you can always find some ways of entertaining yourself, in Singapore or elsewhere, online or off... ...

Percintaan Tan Hong Ming [Tan Hong Mings Love]

By Yasmin Ahmad, Malaysian National Day ad 2007.

Something that will brighten up your weekend!

wabbit.

 

These are a nice breed of Netherland Dwarfs, currently for sale from my breeder who sold me Skiiri (RIP). 

The little orangey one is so cute. 

Dwarf rabbits for sale in Singapore! Yay!

I am getting an adult male lop from him this week, it's a nice white-and-broken orange color and I'm going to raise him well... =) My third wabbit.

flea mart shopaholic

When I was single, I really enjoyed it, the single phase of my life. Too young to fret about being on the shelf, and enough experience with men to know that good things come to those who wait. I had the luxury of sleeping till the sun was high in the sky, took jaunts to wherever I fancied during lazy weekends, like perhaps sipping tek tariks at prata shop whilst reading the Sunday Times, or going to JB on my own - I did that a couple of times, taking the public transport and once, even walked from 'holiday plaza' to 'the store'. It was a 2 hours' walk... and I will never do that again... too old for such nonsense.

But at a certain point in life you would want to share what you've learnt, what your thoughts are, to someone. Someone special, perhaps.

It's not true that women don't really need men the way men need women (like their mothers to feed them, iron their shirts and buy bedsheets and all that).
We both need each other.

==

The Boyfriend and I swore off boring weekend doings like watching a movie and walking around aimlessly in typical retail environments. But also being tired (I have to stand for long hours some days of the week in my job) we are not really keen to sweat it out and hike or bike during the precious weekends we spend together. So on Sunday, after a nice dimsum brunch in Geylang we headed to 'Zouk flea and easy'. It's our first time to the Zouk flea. I missed out on the Night Festival one last month, so I was verrrry excited to take a look, whee! I had such good buys that I couldn't stop laughing to myself. But as I'm having a humongous ulcer on my tongue (for one week and counting, bleah) I could only laugh a fake 'bwahaha...muahaha' to the amusement of The Boyfriend. Scored buys that I've been looking out for, a kitsch beribboned hairband for $10, 3 DVDs for $5 -one of them is my fave movie by Jean Pierre Jeunet 'the city of lost children' which I've been looking all over for and not able to find... ... I yippeed at the sight of the DVD and clutched it along with 2 other good ones. Two typewriter key rings for my ring collection, I got an 'A' for you-know-who and a 'backspace'. They're still available online at 'by invite only'. And while we were walking out, we spotted the prettiest peachy-petal colored, chanel-esque camellia slip-ons! It was the last one and... in my size. Fits perfectly and so comfortable that I immediately wore it while gushing at how pretty it looks. (My feet are picky and they blister often, so my shoes are often comfortable=boring.) Such a fulfilling day!

We also saw many 'ah-siah-kias' selling off their very nice, barely worn clothing. I spotted a powder pink dress with v-neck of sequins, a retro crimson dress with white trimmings which I would gladly buy, men's shoes for $25, even marc jacobs flats and stella mccartney pumps going cheap! Surprisingly there were quite a variety of men's clothes too. I shall stake out clothes next time... Right now, still happy with my current wardrobe selections. The flea had nice club music in a dimmed lighting atmosphere which added to the curious and exciting part of going to it.

I've realised that we're only so much happier anyways when we plan for our purchases, like 'this month I have a belt budget for ... one rope-y belt'...and when we do spot and purchase it, the satisfaction makes you purr for a day (and each time you wear it.)


Typewriter ring collection also available at
http://www.byinviteonly.info/store/new

Interesting clothes from the person who sold me the camellia slip-ons
http://www.lhly.blogspot.com/