20 September 2007
posted by j at 9/20/2007 01:54:00 AM

I heard this on an advertisement today...

"...看一个平凡的女人变成一个完美的女人..."

平凡和完美是对立的吗?一个平凡的人就不可能是完美的吗?难到在这虚荣心重的社会里,完美的定义和内涵是没有瓜葛的吗?

‘完美’在以貌取人的年代里,已失去真正的意义。‘完美’也不再是完美的了。
对我而言,平凡可以是一种幸福。

 
19 September 2007
posted by j at 9/19/2007 02:15:00 PM

Is slimming via artificial means/help (i.e. weight-loss programmes at slimming centres) in fact shirking responsibility over control of your body? Is it not taking responsibility for the lifestyle choices that you make when you choose not to be self-controlled in your diet and lifestyle, and THEN getting someone else to fix it for you? (when I say fix it for you, I mean, artificial means like liposuction and goodness-knows-what. I think getting a personal trainer to help you is fine. At least you're also putting in some effort, just that maybe you need some instruction.)


Disclaimer:
I'm not saying there's anything wrong with being plus-sized. Neither does this discussion/question include those who are getting help for obesity due to medical reasons and such.
 
13 September 2007
posted by j at 9/13/2007 10:48:00 AM

Colleague G wasn't feeling well today. She had been puking since a couple of days back and the medication from the doc didn't seem to work. So she went around the staffroom in search of serng buay, in hope that the chinese remedy for nausea would do the job that its western counterpart failed to fulfil. She chances upon Colleague S, sitting prettily at her desk, her porcelain features encased in an immaculate assortment of what might well be Lancome, Elizabeth Arden, Bobby Brown and the likes. Yours truly, just so happened to walk by that particular aisle where her cubicle was located, the exact same moment...

Colleague G: (leaning over S's desk weakly) Eh, you got serng buay or not? Feel like puking.

Colleague S: (without looking up from her comp) Nope. (pause)
(has a sudden afterthought, and looks up brightly) I got handcream! You want?? (beams)

Me: (stops in her tracks and takes a few steps back where she came from) You got WHAT??

Colleague S: (with the same beatific smile) Handcream! (enquiringly) You want??

Colleague G: (speechless)

Me: (rotfl)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Either her handcream smells so good it magically cures nausea or it tastes sour enough to pass off for serng buay...I shall refrain from saying anything about the source of the strange words. (rotfl samore...)
 
09 September 2007
posted by j at 9/09/2007 09:31:00 PM

Last night I learnt from my mom that I used to get these stomachaches...she always wondered if they were for real or whether I was just allergic to school...teeheehee...I find that so hilarious. It's a sign I tell you...A SIGN!

According to her, this allergy to school didn't run in the family. My brother had no problems with school, even though he didn't do all that well when he was younger. And it seems that my allergy started way back when I was in kindy! Apparently one particular day, after my grandma had walked me all the way to kindy and then returned home immediately after, she had the shock of seeing me standing at the door a little while later, looking at her with beseeching doe-like eyes... I have absolutely no recollection of this of course, but this incident caused some consternation from the adults. I think they couldn't decide whether to be shocked and disapproving because, after all, it is kinda like truancy. But then, on the other hand, I think they must have been secretly pleased that at the age of 5, I could actually sneak out of kindy without anyone noticing and make my way back on my own. It's a pretty long walk back home you know. Not to mention having to take the lift up to the 12th floor and then climbing the stairs to another storey. I must say I feel pretty smart. Ha. OH! Wait! I think I remember getting into the lift alone and wondering how I was to reach the buttons (12 is the highest button leh)...then a lady came into the lift and asked me which floor I'd like to go! Ha. So that's how I managed the button-pressing. heehee...

Anyway, fyi, my grandma was super angry I came home lah. She REFUSED to let me in. Totally man. I remember she said something like, "If you can come home yourself, you can walk yourself back to school." Or something like that. In hokkien of course. Which, I obviously didn't want to. So I just stood outside the gate and cried. My grandma was really heartless lor (tho I think I'd prob do the same if I were her)...she left me outside for what seemed like eternity. She even closed the wooden door on me! After some time, I must have looked pretty pathetic (I was very cute when I was young btw. Heh) so she opened the door....and threw my favourite stuffed toy lion out to accompany me, then she closed the door on me again. Duh. After that, I don't remember what happened anymore. Not sure how long I was out there and have absolutely no recollection of even entering the house again after that.

All cos I was allergic to school. How the *beep* did I end up being a teacher???! This is like some sick joke.
 
07 September 2007
posted by j at 9/07/2007 07:39:00 PM

I wish I could have taken a snapshot of the moment. It's a pity the snapshots that we know are only capable of capturing sight, not the sound nor feelings of that moment.

It was very much a fleeting moment really. The drizzle had just moments ago progressed into a still harmless outpouring of the clouds, something short of a downpour. I was driving out of a multi-storey carpark, my car having its first taste of rain for the day. I remember turning to my left attracted by the sound of a car alarm going off. And then when I turned to my right afterward, I was suddenly conscious of the music that was on the radio, the rain, and the sight of a young couple strolling out of a building, sharing a jacket to shelter their heads from the heavy drizzle. In that split second, I suddenly missed the feeling of being young. It's not about the age, nor the creaky old bones and aching muscles. And trust me, most times (like 90% of the time) I'm quite glad I'm not some screamy ole teenager...most of them are so....squeaky...*heh*

It was a strange moment. It felt foreign. Maybe it was the boyband playing on the radio. (most of you would know I'm not one for boybands. Or any band for that matter. I am definitely for the 实力派歌手, definitely not the 偶像派歌手 ) Or maybe it was the rain, and/or the young couple who looked so carefree and unbothered about getting wet. Or maybe I was reminded of a time when I was like them, when rain didn't bother me and neither did getting wet. When I was free, without the burdens and expectations that adulthood brings. And in the next split second, I was abruptly and rudely brought down to earth, with the reminder of work and adulthood. And the reminder of how much my job has caused me to age over the years. Both physically and mentally. Perhaps even emotionally. And it makes me wonder if it's a good thing, and whether it was all worthwhile.