No holding back

So I'm down with a cold, I skipped yoga because the body is sluggish and achy all over. Though I continue to make my way downtown to the spa for a much needed massage (aahhh, does that feel so good), as I slowly meander my way to the spa like a doddering 80 year old, I pass by Raoul. There it was, the sign plastered to the glass door - SALE. I have 15 mins to my spa appointment. I walk into the store. And no, being sick, sluggish and lethargic with a runny nose does not somehow affect the Shopping Victim part of my brain. Apparently that part runs on its own brain juices, totally oblivious and immune to illness. 20 mins later I walk out nearly $300 poorer; flu or no flu, cold or no cold, headache or no headache, its true testament that one can apparently still make shopping decisions whilst ill.

'Enuff said.

Mindset in Yoga

For the first time today I made it to the Advanced Class at Pure yoga. It was a really good class, I enjoyed it. What makes today special is the partner work involved. Partner work in yoga requires some amount of trust and confidence, having Dagge there for me was something special, especially when your partner is one who is open hearted, one of those special people that always view the world in a positive light. For someone at my level who has been practising yoga for years, I could go to any yoga class offered without much difficulty. I've always resisted the advanced class though, for reasons of self doubt, lack of confidence.

Looking back, yoga is really about having no pre-conceived expectations of one's performance. Yoga is about giving, opening up the heart. Can't do the poses? Nevermind, just the effort of being there, being in the pose, trying, is good enough. I resisted advanced because I doubted my ability in class full of competitive people. But today has taught me, so what, everyone is there to learn, no one is there to judge except ourselves. We are our own worst and most critical judge, and learning to let go conciously makes a big difference. It's something taught to beginners all the time, it's something I have to relearn again, to let go, not be in control, but just be in the pose. Small step forward in yoga, large step forward in mindset.

Dimwit's discovery

Couple of months back C gave me a large flat screen TV. At about that time I started on the K-drama craze. One thing that irks me watching it on cable is that I could not get the dual sound to work. Pounding on the "dual" button on the tv remote a hundred times just yielded the message "mono" flashing on the screen. Recently I gave it another try by retuning all the tv channels, even adjusting cable and tv setup connections. No success.

Today I looked at the cable remote. Pressed the Help button. There it was - Audio button on the remote for changing sound setup. Pressed Audio button. There it was, dual sound in Korean. I made it! At last! Nearly 6 months late. Naturally there was a big DUH in my head when the dual sound went on. I couldn't believe it, it took me 6 mths to figure this out. Any dimwit with half a brain or a 10 year old could have probably done it in 1/10th of the time. Point being - my techno brain is is really upped and gone. Kapish. Kapowed. Kablooped. Gone. Bye bye. Sayonara.

To prove this point? On my new SE handphone, it took me 3 weeks to figure out how to configure MMS settings correctly and send my 1st MMS.

Things to do on a date

1. Wax your partner's butt crack. Hear him scream like a girl.

2. Attempt to wax your partner's underarm. Watch his eyes grow big and round in fear.

3. Give suggestive looks to partner's nipple hair whilst waving a wax sheet. Watch him cower like a girl and attempt to karate kick wax sheet away.

Free Time

Got a couple of days off from work, so what do I do? Yep, sit on the couch for hours watching Korean drama. Had to struggle a bit getting my butt off the seat and to yoga classes, but I try. Except staying at home makes me lethargic, guess persons like me are destined for hard life, i.e . must work to stay alert and healthy, staying at home with butt plastered to sofa is good only if one wants butt to grow rounder.

Of course staying at home, watch dramas, what else does one do? Yes, spend more money. You think by not going out I wasn't able to spend money? Wrong. There's always E-bay, a newly rediscovered shopping convenience. What do I need? More yoga clothes (I don't really need, just NICE to have). More cosmetics and tools. More more more of things I don't need. How easy? Just click. Click click click click and click. Lui out the window.

Speaking of lui, the dreaded bills of last Dec's shopping suicide finally caught up with me. Time to bash my head against the wall and bemoan oh why oh why did I spend so much money. It's incredible how much and how easy for me to spend lui, and even more incredible how I don't know how to earn lui except work in the office for regular pay. Alamak, where's my money god?

Shopping victim woes

As a true shopping victim, one always commits shopping suicide. Moments where one goes on shopping spree and flashes trigger happy credit cards. Banks laugh all the way of course. Shopping victims merely fell in a swoop dead faint when the bill arrives. Last year I spent a bomb thinking I had a 13 month bonus, this year I know I don't have a 13 month bonus and still managed to spend a bomb, about 1.5x my monthly salary to be exact. CNY is coming, and I think of the large ang pow I have to give my mom. Ouch. Yes I can see once again, I didn't save any this year. Bonus might be coming, but that's all going into the yoga teacher training course I'm planning to sign up for. Once again, lui out the window as quickly as it came in. Or, lui out the window before even coming in. Lui out the window, yet I still cannot contain myself, I'm surfing ebay even at this moment, and have trigger-fingered click on "BID" for a few items. More lui out. At this rate, even strike lottery also not enough.

Shopping Victim

So I got a new hp. What better way to pretty it than to get a shiny new hp accessory. Ever since Nic and I went to IMM to get the hoochie-mama bling type of strap for Viv, I was toying with the idea of getting one for myself too. $30 is not ex. But then, the vainpot inside me says the brighter, the sparklier, the louder the better. So off to Swarovski, but unfortunately none of their sparklies caught my eye. Veered off to other counters at Takashimaya, and at Thomas Sabo, there it was - SHOPPING VICTIM. Thomas Sabo is a collection of charms, the idea is one mix and matches to customize own jewellery in a million and one ways. And there it was, the one meant for me, a silver shopping bag charm with the words SHOPPING VICTIM carved out. Yes that's me! That's me! No one would disagree. Actually there's an impressive display of charms there, if not for the hefty pricetag, I would have bagged a few more. There was another pair of shoes in a box engraved with "MY FAVOURITE SHOES" that were very me as well. Too bad no sale, I told myself, Patience. I will wait. Self-control is needed. Their jewellery is very pretty, mentally I was already mixing and matching a few ideas, too bad about the price tag. Shamelessly, if people are thinking of birthday ideas for me, I would not mind a few more of the TS charms. Heehee.

Maybe it's foresight, but since I figure I might shop at Taka more often, I picked up a Takashimaya DBS card application form. Bleh. C was over an hour late in picking me up for lunch, so what can I do? True to my Shopping Victim persona, I ended up spending more money. New tags for the dogs, new belts, clothes, hairclips. Total new hairclip acquisition in past 2 weeks? 8. It's all C's fault of course, if he weren't late I wouldn't spend money. Do I have storage space for all these? Likely not.