what's your vice?

mine's shoes.  i don't know why but i keep buying them even though i already have MANY pairs at home... but this pair's a different colour and this pair's too pretty to pass up and this pair's just soooo sexy and this pair's really cute and would look nice with my skinny jeans and this pair's great for work... you get the idea.  before i know it, i have bought like 10 pairs in a week!!!

do you think there's such a thing as a "shoe buying gene"???

passport mug shot

it's dat time again... my passport is due for a renewal.

i've been putting it off.  let's face it, who looks forward to take passport shots???  certainly not i!!!  the experience is traumatising.

just think of it, you're gonna be stuck with this mug shot of you for the next 5 years when you'll once again have to go thru with the dread of having to take another snap shot of yourself for your next passport.... just think of all the immigration officers in all the countries that you will travel to who will be looking (and perhaps sniggering) at your passport pic.

as if trying to get a nice pic of yourself isn't bad enough, you've got to also make sure that your ears show in the picture.  now, how dorky can that be???  ears sticking out and trying to look nice (forget drop dead gorgeous!) at the same time... how does one achieve that???

the pic's gotta look right... it's gotta look at least pleasantly presentable... is that even possible???

call of the mall: why we buy by paco underhill

i  just finished reading this book.  i bought this book in a book sale a few years ago.  don't know why i never got around to reading it until now.  okay, it appeared to be a very "factual" (= boring) sort of book.  that was until i picked it up and started reading it.

it's an eye opener with regards to how malls and retailers get you to shop.  it also explains why people go to malls.  not everything is new information for me though as i spent quite a number of years as a store designer so i am aware of some of the stuff that this book presents.  still, i enjoyed reading this book.  even though it presents facts based on years of research, it's written in an entertaining manner which makes it very easy to read.  i am thinking of look out for the other two books by paco underhill why we buy and what women want.  wonder if i might find those in bookxcess...

my splurge

i was at 1-utama today and as i was walking into the mall, i saw the sale sign in marks and sparks.  went in thinking that i was not going to find anything --- boy, was i wrong!

i ended up buying two bras, two tank tops (it was a set, RM 39, normal RM 59), a pair of per una pants (really nice for RM 69, normal RM 299!!!). one of the bras that i purchased was in nude, a colour that i almost never buy but it was on sale (dirt cheap at RM 29, normal RM 89,  in  fact both bras were going for the same price. the other bra is in blue and really pretty and it normally retails for RM 109) and it fit really well (push up), so i guess, i made a colour compromise.

Himglish & Femalese by Jean Hannah Edelstein

i forgot to blog about these two books which i finished reading BEFORE i started on the Secret Shopper's Revenge.

Beyond Words by John Humphrys (can't seem to find the book cover online --- got to take a pic of it myself when i get the chance) gives an interesting take on how we currently use language and what they REALLY mean. i purchased this book in big bad wolf warehouse sale last year (yes, it has been sitting in a pile of yet to be read books in the corner of my living room!!!).

i purchased this book (from the latest big bad wolf warehouse sale, where else???) thinking that it is a book about how men and women use language. it turned out to be a about relationship. 

The Secret Shopper's Revenge by Kate Harrison

just finished reading this book.  i bought this book in the most recent big bad wolf warehouse sale.

i simply love the book cover --- it's got pink glitter on the cover!!!

you fancy me :)

you saw me in centrepoint.

i was walking towards the lift, smiling to myself (hey, it was the end of my day and i was sure glad to be on my way home!). you were with a colleague and you were waiting to be beeped into the office near the elevators.  you kept looking at me as you waited for the door to be opened.  you just couldn't keep your eyes off me.

i noticed you looking at me but i was too shy to look back at you.  i did manage to steal a few peeks at you when i thought you weren't looking but you were looking back at me whenever i stole a quick peek at you.

i went downstairs to put my extra heavy bag into the car and then went back upstairs to use the ladies room as it is the cleanest in the building.

as i left the ladies room on my way to the lift again, i passed by the office that you went into and you were by the door and looking out!!!  you saw me pass by and quickly came out of the office to look at me as i once again waited for the lift.  sadly though, my lift arrived too soon and i stepped into it and like cinderella, i was lost to you... sob, sob...

why did you come out of the office to look at me again and yet not say anything to me???  did you want to say something but felt unsure of how you would be received?  you must have been interested because otherwise you wouldn't have been so bold as to have kept looking at me in a manner that you wanted me to know that you were looking at me.

you fancy me and from the little peeks that i stole of you, you were not so bad looking yourself.  thanks for making me feel attractive and for making my day!!!  :)

how we see

interesting stuff... the colours that we see may not be what they really are.  proof that what our brains interpret may not be what is real.

Changing Education Paradigms

in my quest to learn something new each day... something to think about.

Happy Birthday Ayah

it's your birthday and i just wanted to wish you happy birthday and tell you just how much i love you. i miss you so much...

you are always in my thoughts.

i wonder if you can hear me when i talk to you but i would like to believe that you do.  i think that you are close by and are always watching over me.

Why is God Laughing by Deepak Chopra & 50 Ways to Find a Lover by Lucy-Anne Holmes

deepak chopra has written many books but i never got around to reading any before this.  i borrowed this book from a colleague after seeing her reading the book at work. this is one of those "zen" books that you'd pick up if you're into finding the meaning of life.

i bought this book in the recent recent big bad wolf warehouse sale. 

character assassination

i was warned that the viper and the tarantula have teamed up together and they are joining forces against me.  me???  :O

don't know what their issue with me is really.  i may have an idea though....

the viper wants to be boss but she's really just a marketing person for the office.  she's in her mid-thirties with a wobbly behind that oozes out of her granny knickers which shows through the fabric of her pants.  the skin around her eyes are thinning and she has crows feet.  of late, she has been wearing new clothes (must be from all her 15% sales commissions) and killer heels.  i am happy to note that happening heels look totally out of place on her   :D  proof that it is not what you wear but how you wear it.

the viper has control issues and badly wants to be seen as "the boss".  problem is, i think that she is just blond on many things.  blondly clueless (and useless), throws her weigh around (and believe you me, there is A LOT of that!!!) but wants to be seen to be in control... go figure!

the tarantula and i have crossed paths in my last job.  she hasn't changed one bit --- she still back stabs people.  she has back stabbed T and E by telling the owner of the business tales about them.  she is supposed to be designing the new syllabus for the school (it would be interesting to see what she produces...or doesn't!).  the tarantula's greatest achievement to date is marrying a crazy brit man whose personal hygiene practices are suspect (in short, he smells....eeewwww).

the viper and the tarantula have become good buddies with one another because nobody else wants to be buddies with them... and so they are left to be friends with each other.

their character assassinations of the teachers are only going to backfire on the business as it will only result in more people leaving the company.

The Consequences of Love by Sulaiman Addonia, Twilight by Stephanie Meyer & Plum Spooky by Janet Evanovich

this is one of my recent purchases in the big bad wolf warehouse sale.  it's about love in jeddah.  kinda sad.

i found this book on the bookcrossing shelf in 1-utama recently.  this is one of  the books on my wish list.  i can see why many people love this book.  just think of it, love between a mortal and a vampire!

this book was sitting on my shelf at home and i finally thought of reading it!!!

laryngoscopy

i went to see the ENT doc today and he did a laryngoscopy on me.  it wasn't the most comfortable experience for me but i survived it.  it was done without any anesthetic.

in the beginning, i did have some concerns about pain and asked about local anesthetic but was told that the anesthetic would only cloud his view of what's going on.

it was a strange feeling having the scope inserted up through my nose and down in my throat.  while the scope was hanging in my throat, i was made to say "eeeeeee".  the procedure didn't take long and i sure was glad when it was over.

The Sum of Our Days by Isabel Allende

i finished reading this book on monday.  it kept me up late at night trying to finish reading it.  yup, it's another one of my bookcrossing book finds.  thanks for the contribution, mph  :)

Going Home by Harriet Evans

this is my latest completed read.  it was another one of my bookcrossing finds.

cartoon me

i stumbled across this really cool website by accident really. this is my self portrait. 

pinching business

the cube is pinching clients from the place that we both work.
  
i don't get why she is doing what she is.  she claims to be making 12K for just 3 day's work and often says, "I don't need to be doing this," so, pray tell, why is she travelling to a student's home just to teach 3 students for a mere 2K???  

worse, why is she pinching work???  ethically, i don't think what she is doing is right.  strangely enough, this person prays... an oxymoron, no?   

besides, did she not think that this piece of information would eventually make its way back to someone at the centre???

so much for her high horse talk --- seems that she's willing to stoop low to do this.  

two days ago, she dropped by the centre for a meeting with the owner at around noon and left the office around 2 in the afternoon. Stepping into the lift around 7 pm later in the day, I met her at the lift --- she was still in the building!!!  I asked her what she was doing still around and she claimed to be "counselling students about university admissions".  yeah rite!!!  she was listening in for gossip and was schmoozing the students so that she can later pinch them.

The Loner by Josephine Cox

i finished reading this book in the wee hours of this morning.  it is another one of my many bookcrossing finds.

Everything Nice by Ellen Shanman

and this, is my latest completed read.  i found this book in the bookcrossing zone in one utama unregistered and intend to register it soon.