Embodied Experience

Spotted this beauty at a shop at Vivocity. The bright orange sure is attractive, and turns out this is the Embody chair, successor to the highly acclaimed Aeron by Herman Miller.

Pretty chair. Fancy ergonomics. Not really customizable. Atrocious pricetag ($2500). And oh by the way, it arrived 2 weeks ago and is now out of stock in Singapore. Waiting period? 3 months. Hello? Out of stock within 2 weeks? At $2,500 a pop? I thought we are in Recession. Some of our shopping habits here really astound me. So are we in recession or not?

Art of firing people?

C and I were comparing scenarios in which we could fire people. Not that I was going to fire anyone, but sometimes I'd like to imagine it happen to some less than effective people. Here's my 2 takes:

Scenarios 1:
Me: You work is crap. You agree.
Staff: Err...yes, I guess.
Me: It's a waste of company's money and resources to keep supporting employees who don't perform. You are one of those resource wasters.
Me: [looks staff in the eye] Should I tell you what to do about these resource wasters?

C thinks this scenario is uber sucky, since the likely ending will be ...Employee bursts into tears, resigns and jumps out the window. So instead of firing the staff, the staff ends up committing suicide. C very kindly suggests I should motivate the employee into thinking their talents are better utilized somewhere else instead.

Ok ok so here goes Scenario 2:
Me: You're a person with talent. It's just that the company doesn't know how to appreciate it. And your boss (me) doesn't know how to appreciate it.
Me: So it's not about you, it's just too bad you have a sucky boss.
Me: Since your boss is not going to leave the company, then I'm sure you agree your talents are better appreciated elsewhere.

By this time, C is rolling his eyes. Oh great. Brilliant, he says. Likely ending? Employee takes out knife and stabs sucky boss, and then kills himself. So 2 persons including myself dies, and no one is better off.

Man. In the old days it was much easier, just need only to say, "You're Fired!". Or, Henry VII's style, "Off with his head!!".

Predictably Irrational

I had heard so much about this book and finally got it from Borders. It's a real amusing and insightful read about irrational behaviours. Guess I'm hoping this will explain to me why women buy so much makeup which they (or I) can never finish, and why we think paying $15,000 for a bag is better than buying 15 bags for $1000 each.

Oops no space

Borders should stop giving out coupons. Well now I've run out of bookshelf space. New latest cookbook acquisitions are actually lying on the floor of my bedroom. I need new bookshelves. YP no doubt will be quite aghast - the last time I ran out of space for a Desktop computer, I (well, WE) ended up repainting the entire bedroom (along with new bookshelves, cupboards, desk etc etc). The desktop computer story is a classic one - it all started with I ran out of space (RAM i think) to run the Sim city game. So bought new PC. So bought new desk. So bought new shelves and table and cupboard. So decided to paint room to match. Cost of Sims game $50. Cost of new everything else... hmm....

Yes I know what she is thinking, Wen is dangerous when she runs out of space.

Makeup and Wen

Well, in response and follow up to the previous post on cosmetics. I came to work today to find an email message from a US friend, 25% off everything for certain well known brand. Go to website blahblahblah...

I click on website.

I click on items. Click, click, click click.

Before I know it, click click click click and click. After all, 25% off mah....

Another friend (same ex colleague whom I blogged in previous post about buying $300+ in cosmetics recently) exclaimed,

She: Dude you are buying waaaay to much! You don't even use these stuff!!
Me: Err, pretty mah.
She: Even Mimi (harridan from Drew Carey show) doesn't wear this much eyeshadow!
Me: I won't be using them, just keep to admire.
She: That's defeating the purpose!!

Well, maybe I'll give them away as presents after admiring them for a week. She's right, there is absolutely no way I will use all these cosmetics and no space none whatsoever (zilch, nada, dun have, bo) where I can store them. Even my last yrs purchase are still sitting in last year's carrier bag (same one they put my cosmetics in when I bought the stuff).

But they are pretty. So pretty.

Makeup and Women

So how much makeup does a woman need? My ex colleague just spent $380 at a workshop and cosmetics. My good friend ah V apparently also spent $280 on eyeshadow and some $500 (?) I heard, on mineral powder. How much makeup does a woman really need? How can they use up all these makeup so quickly? I don't get it - me, I still have brand new, untouched, 99% pristine condition makeup from last year, the year before, the year before. Let's see, in my lifetime I have competely used up:

- 2 lipsticks
- 2 lipglosses
- blush (zero)
- foundation (zilch)
- eyeshadow (nada)
- eye pencil (duh?)
- mascara (not enough to even paint a toenail)

my one proud achievement? I have maybe used 5 tubs of loose powder. Yay.

Skincare, ok no problem. Easy. But makeup? how much can a girl really use? I still don't get it.

The Brother and The Car

Well the Brother got a Car. No surprise, I mean, girls like to spend their money on bags, clothes, shoes. Boys like their toys. Bro already has every game console in the market (i am frankly surprised how many of those consoles were either redeemed with vouchers, or a gift with purchase like singtel subscription. Seriously).

But here's what I don't get - Bro's gf comes to our house every night. When she goes home, bro walks her downstairs and sends her off in a cab. Err, dude, you got a car, how come you ain't sending your gf home? His answer - she lives too far, the journey there and back will take an hour's drive. What the???!!! Dude, that IS the point of buying a car right? Man, my bro makes a real crappy boyfriend. Wait, I haven't even gotten to ask if he gives her money for the cab ride home, or she pays it herself. Do I want to know? Sheeesh.

And he buys a car for...? The answer - to drive himself to work which is a 15 mins bus ride away.

Ok in comparison, C is the perfect boyfriend. Bro makes C look like an angel from heaven. A big fat one. Ha ha.