Sunday, August 19, 2007

Much ado about nothing

Through the week I had lots of thoughts to blog, but now as I finally had time to sit down to put words to keyboard, the mind is a total blank. I look at my nails, I look at my dogs, I look at the blank wall space (not really, it's not blank) and blank thoughts come to mind. Ah well. One is getting old.

Random things this week:
- Signs of getting old - boobs are beginning to sag. One's bosom friends is no longer as uplifted as before. Gawd, by the time I'm 40 they will be getting nearer to gravity, and by 60, they'd be stretching for my knees. Yoga boobs? 60 is the age the A-cuppers are laughing their heads off at the sagging melons of the big busters of the yesteryears. A-cups are the only one whose boobs probably still stick firmly to the chest walls, whilst all the Miss Juggers have turned into long cucumbers hanging from a floppy vine. Except for those with silicon implants that is. Does that mean implants are the key? implants stay forever uplifted do they not? Hmm.

- Sleaze do exist in the office - I just found out how much (or how little). Gosh we'll never look at our colleagues in the same way again. Sleazebags are everywhere, even in reputable offices. Euuuuww.

- Women are vain - well at this this particular one. Spent another $150 at a BB workshop which I did not need to go, and bought more makeup which I will never use. I still have stuff from past years in their original boxes.....accumulating at my dresser. In fact, I have makeup in the past 5 years, I haven't been able to finish. The only stuff I remember finishing are 2 tins of loose powder, only because I use them daily. Oh and one GA lipstick #10....

Sunday, August 12, 2007

Financing cow dung

It's no surprise finance is a subject I have no affinity for. Actually anything that has to do with rates of some sort, I have no stomach for it. Foreign exchange? Easy, I go to the foreign exchange counter, tell the guy i want such and such amount of foreign currency, he punches a calculator, tells me how much I need to pay in SGD. Voila, I get foreign currency. But no, in the past 2 days, I learnt that foreign exchange is like a jungle, you have to navigate like a maze, you have to wheel and deal. If nothing else, finance is like shark invested waters, swim or just die. Maybe it's something right up Slick's alley, he'll probably get on the phone to a broker next morning, taking out a 6 mth USD forward contract, or maybe a currency option in swiss francs, reinvest excess funds, take advantage of weakening rates in south africa, play the money market and make a nice quick buck and earn his ticket to a luxury vacation in the Bahamas. Think somewhere in there may be a swap as well. Exchange rates? It's not about going to the counter to change money anymore, it's evil, cunning, scheming and plotting. Oh, and it does not hurt to have good forecasting abilities so we know how hedge correctly. But then, if one has good forecasting abilities, let's just make it easier by forecasting the next winning lottery numbers. It's simpler, more direct, and we don't have to pay transaction costs to the bank. Windfall is non-taxable too, capital gains are not - unless one finds a way to hide money in an offshore account.

Man, I'm so confused. The only numbers I know well are my phone numbers, my bank account number, and the number of dogs I have. Say, if I go to the forex counters to swap my dogs, you think they would give me 1 show quality whippet in return? Hmmm.

Friday, August 10, 2007

Tomb Raider

Lara Croft I am not, but I did get to visit Angkor Wat and the famous temple and site where Angelina Jolie filmed tomb raider. Of course, me and about a thousand other tourists as well. I gotta say, in the ancient past, when there is no such thing as cable tv, and dvd rental, or GSS shopping, what people tend to do a lot is to carve on the walls. Excellent carvings if I may say so, each etching so brilliantly masterful one can not but feel a twinge of regret that much of history's crafts and skills were not preserved through time, and let to fade away. No modern master has the skill of their ancestors from before. More's the pity.

Cambodia is like a sleepy Thailand. No doubt 10 years from now it will be much more different, but hey, it's easy to see how one can easily retire to a place like this, set up a bar or restaurant to cater to indulgent tourists who have squeal with delight at finding bottled coke for USD1 and think martinis that costs USD3 are dirt cheap. No, not difficult to retire mid career and move to a simpler life backcountry at all.

Well, not sure what Slick will have to say about this. Of course, I don't see any IGs running around. Guess backcountry is bad business for bis and holly. :P

Saturday, August 04, 2007

No free lunches

Whoever said that there is no such thing as a free lunch, is probably right. But there are such things as free samples. Skincare samples. I needed a night cream, time to try a new brand I thought. What better place than to check out the spanking brightly lit Watsons at Takashimaya and their tremendous skin-friendly offerings. Lovely displays and stands. Stood around one of the counters and pondered awhile. Where are the skin consultants when you needed them? too busy chatting to pay attention to me. (on several other occasions I didn't need them they just seem to follow me around like ghouls). Alright. Move on to next bright counter. Browsed awhile. Stood in front of one consultant, but was blithely ignored as she was attending to another customer whose arse seemed stuck on the chair for a good 30 mins. After more pottering around several counters, and received no offers for help, I gave up and made my way to the Guardian's next door. Narrow displays, crowded corners. Poorly stacked. But hey, when I moved to the skincare corner, a happy "HELLO!" popped out mysteriously from a consultant I didn't see lurking around. She made me plenty of recommendations. And soon, 1 night cream became 1 night cream plus a few other items. See what good service can render?

The best part was, she opened this little drawer and started out dishing samples to me for free. It's like oh I'll give you this for free, and then she reaches in, and "oh and this too". Goes over to another drawer and..."why don't u take this too..", and "how about this one", then "take a few more of this ok". Pretty soon my arm was laden with loads of freebie. Sample sizes but good sizable sample sizes. Was she ever gonna stop I wonder? Of course she did, but I think in the end, both of us were pretty happy with each other. I never had so many freebies from a beauty purchase before, most consultants were always so stingy. I betcha that sourface at the Watsons counter wouldn't have given me this much freebies even if I would have bought the same stuff from her.

Moral of story, freebies are good. More freebies even better. For the best freebies, go look for the Vichy consultant at Guardian's Ngee Ann City.

Happy Moo.

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