Second Glance

Is it love if you get drawn to the loneliness in the other's soul? Is it love, if you do all you can to protect your wife from the heartache of a stillborn child? Is it true that the apple never falls far from the tree? Are you truly being helpful, if you have the power to provide embryo choices to parents who do not want genetically-deformed babies? Can you dream about the person you haven't met, but about to fall in love with? Is it possible that a person only ever has one true love, that that true love is always the one you fall in love with in every life? Are there really ghosts?

This is one heck of a book. It's filled with symbolism, and is an uncommonly romantic book. It also touches on the disturbing science of eugenics (a new word I learnt in this book). The theory of sterilization for all families which are deemed to have weak human strains i.e. dominant negative traits of crime, feeblemindedness, etc. But what made the book really beautiful was the picture Jodi painted, in describing a woman's heartache, a man's loss, a mother's sacrifice. Somewhere along the lines, she paints an environment so unreal, that you know you're reading fiction, but you still believe that it is possible - that circumstances will somehow cause one to look at things in such a manner.

You know, until Jodi Picoult, I never knew there were so many ways to fall, and be, in love.

A friend of mine just realized her dream wedding. And dream wedding it was indeed. Held in Oxford, UK, the wedding was in a lovely English cottage with winding lanes and a chimney, a vintage Rolls Royce, the loveliest flowers, super-elegant food for the luncheon, and of course, a gorgeous bride with her groom and many happy guests. They zoomed off for a week's honeymoon at the Hilton Barbados after the reception. She was really happy, being able to find the one after so many failed relationships. And the one being in another continent, too. Love should definitely transcend all age, culture and location barriers.

What I'm busy with (to justify the infrequent posts) :

1. Making an appointment for an Estee Lauder make-up lesson (yippee yes yes! finally I decided to embrace my feminity and give make-up a go ... definitely everything to do with the fact that I missed out on the Blockbuster Limited Edition Professional Make-up Set last year and I'm not gonna miss it again this time!)

2. Drawing up kitchen cabinet plans for the new house

3. Reading reading and reading lots of Jodi Picoult and various female magazines (Cleo and Women's Weekly both have "Best Beauty Products" features this month with free giveaways!)

4. Trying my best to get back onto that "diet" that made me that wee bit thinner (lighter, more like it) before the Lang Tengah trip. No success so far. I just need to eat.

5. Also trying my best to get back my momentum of wee morning exercise that gave me that wee bit toned arms and thighs before that island trip. Also no success :( Have no motivation to drag myself up at 5.30am at all. Maybe another island trip? Muahahaha!

6. Writing my log book - yes yes getting on it. I've completed 1 month, out of 12, haha. I need to get those 11 months out by the end of this month, urgh.

7. Daydreaming about zooming off to nowhere, leaving everything behind for a year, and just travel! (daydreaming takes a lot of time wei!)

8. Thinking and thinking. Being 26 isn't all it's cut out to be.

And that thinking process has got me stuck in a rut. Hence the very boring entry. There, I've explained myself ;)

Just checked the calendar and realized that my 2nd year logbook is due to be handed in next month. Argh - gotta get started. Or doomed to be stuck at this nowhere-else-to-go job for an eternity :(

Which therefore means an inevitable delay to the Europe travel stories. But I'll be back, definitely definitely - promise promise. In October though. Too much happening this month.

The new IKEA catalogue just arrived yesterday morning - yippee! Flipped thru and saw there were new kitchen cabinet designs. Also, there's a HomeDec Expo at KLCC Convention Centre on 21 - 24 September. And this time it features a paint colour showcase by Nippon. And seminars on interior design, feng shui and creative home decor on that Sunday afternoon. Just in time to steal ideas, collect prices, book and make orders for the new house :)

While driving to work just now, I was just thinking about the mini problems on my car and how they were irking me. Just recently changed the horn and the wipers, which cost me more than RM100. And then, now my alarm system decides to go bonkers - going off by itself, or whenever I open the doors, or lock them. Ish. Coupled with the constant grinding and knocking noises when I drive, I am really thinking of changing the car. Doesn't have to be an upgrade - because this Vitara cost almost RM100K about 9 years ago. Don't think I can afford something on that price scale right now. But I thought the Suzuki Swift or the Peugeot 206 (or something along those numbers) looks rather nice. Small and easy to zip around. Am done with big bulky 4WDs, for now at least - until I can afford a Freelander, muahaha!

Been reading a lot of Jodi Picoult books lately. I've started on my 8th book, out of 12 published ones. She's good, really good. I'm not bored of her - yet. She shows that you can't possibly see everything in black and white after knowing there are so many shades of gray. And that humans sometimes cannot control what they feel, that sometimes you can only just stand and watch.

48-hour holiday

I could barely get up this morning. Got the Monday blues. After a great weekend of shopping in Singapore. That little country is an amazing haven for shopping. I felt like buying everything off the rack, because everything looked so wearable! However, I only ended up buying a top from Tangs, a pair of pants from Bossini, a pair of Hush Puppies sandals and an Oral-B toothbrush. It's great that HSBC card offers a 20% discount for Hush Puppies shoes in Singapore, I got mine for slightly cheaper than I would have in KL - if KL had that design.

We ended our 2-year craving for the prawn mee at Pek Kio market. Pigged out on fishballs, yakitori and what-nots in the Tang's Marketplace, which also served the most authentic and freshest soya bean ever : Jollibean. Next to it was also a sugar cane drinks stall selling sugar cane with all kinds of additions i.e. plum or lemon. Singaporeans have this thing of sugar cane with lemon, not my cup of tea because it tastes and looks like dishwashing liquid. Thirst-quenching though, I must admit.

Also decided to take advantage of the 15% discount for HSBC credit card holders in Marche. But when we arrived at The Heeren, we saw that Marche had been taken over by Vila'ge (pronounced vee-lah-jhay). Same concept, same design, same everything. But the prices appeared to be more expensive than I remembered. And no more discount for HSBC :( Had soft-shell crabs, rosti with cheese sausage and roast chicken. All on my sister's account - haha! :)

After dinner, Su Yin brought us to this nice little Italian deli called Ricciotti. Had the most delicious desserts! Cute little sinful Italian cakes - yummy! Address : B1-49/50, The Riverwalk, 20 Upper Circular Road (Tel : 6533-9060). We got off at Raffles Place, took the Battery Road exit and took a 10-minute walk along the River to get there. We had the diplomatica, soffiato (definite must-have), tiramisu and I-don't-remember-what. The Ricciotti overlooked SY's favourite building in Singapore - the old police station with the colourful windows, which we couldn't make much of in the night.

Also had lunch in Scott's Picnic Food Court. The sizzling lamb chop was actually quite good, juicy and tender. Set me back by SGD7.50 (high, for food court prices) before I remembered my gum job didn't allow me to eat so much meaty stuff.

Plans to visit the Japanese and Chinese Gardens in Jurong and the Haw Par Villa were dashed as the Orchard buzz got to us - haha. My sister's apartment in Far East Plaza was such a truly convenient location that we just couldn't NOT shop.

It was a rather nice weekend, all-in. Great weather too. I think Singapore's a great place to get away from KL, because it's such a convenient city. For a holiday without forsaking city comforts, definitely go to Singapore ;)