‘Tis True ‘Tis Season

 

Christmas Wishlist.

Christmas trees decked out completely with glistening ornaments of red and gold and blue and silver behind shop windows are sights to behold as you waltz your way slowly through the mall, taking in the faint and distant sound of instrumental Christmas carols. Yes, it’s only the beginning of November and the malls are already transforming themselves into a picturesque scene of a Macy’s shopping mall in New York. Lovely, truly lovely. Not that I have anything against it.

In the strife for higher consumerism by means of ushering the holidays to be faster than usual - through the sly gimmicks of shopping malls giving their customers a slightly altered impression of the holidays and plainly over-commercialising the holidays with new promotions, sales and campaigns – who’s to be blamed here? I’m just enjoying the jolly mood of Christmas, slowly making up my Christmas wish list this year. By the way, do check out the latest Starbucks Wish campaign, and try out their new drinks as well, *it’s like Christmas in a cup!*

GAP

One can only so much as wish for any kind of merchandise from GAP. However, to my defense, before anyone frowns their eyebrows over how over-rated GAP actually is, I for one honestly am attracted to the simplicity of GAP’s clothes, not to mention it’s simplicity and almost effortless ad-campaigns which only tugs at hearts with images of happy and beautiful people in their clothes and nothing else. Seriously, can fashion ad-campaigns get any simpler? Although I don’t believe that wearing or owning any of the GAP merchandise will make me look more attractive or necessarily a happier person, I do like to own a piece or two of its clothes given their all-American appeal and magnetism of its sheer simplicity.

To be more specific, I have always had my eyes on its jeans (their current 1969 Jeans campaign) for I think jeans are a form of investment and is truly worth the price. Apart from a good pair of Levi’s of course I’ve also always wanted a GAP sweatshirt (preferably an orange or gray one with the GAP word emblazoned in the middle) which costs almost the same price as a pair of jeans which I think are both equally long-lasting as well, not something you wear and tear easily. Plus, given its brand name, I think there’s a timeliness factor to it, meaning, it can even last to be a family heirloom and not look out of style. Until then, I’d be saving money for those and will be a very happy boy when I get it.

***

By the way, on a completely different note, a GAP membership requires a minimum purchase of RM700 or above. Pretty expensive and exclusive for a membership isn’t it? I almost balked at the saleswoman when I was told, short from keeling over and suffering a stroke there and then in the GAP store. One can only so much as wish.

***

MAC

With the current change from a chunky and bulky CRT monitor to a flat screen 20” LCD HP monitor, I’m looking for a change in keyboard and mouse as well, you know, to complete the whole ultra-modern and sleek look of the computer, despite its slowly ailing system. And what better brand to look for than a MAC? Rule of thumb : when in doubt, just go to MAC. I’ve had my eyes on the MAC keyboard and Mighty Mouse (not the Magic Mouse!) for a while now. I mean, c’mon, indulge in me a little. When a whole MAC system is not exactly what one can afford, the cheaper alternative to get the MAC experience would be through its keyboard and mouse right? Priced at about a hundred and fifty each, I think its reasonable for a MAC product isn’t it?

Or am I just being ridiculous and blinded by MAC simplicity and clean look again, just as I fall for everything else glossy and shiny. Although my reasons of wanting to get these might not be substantial enough, but in complete spoilt-brat fashion, I WANT THEM! Again, to my defense, I think its a good investment, no? I guess I’ll have to slowly retreat and save up again. I hope I wouldn’t be too old or crippled when I finally get to afford these. But I’m praying and it’s Christmas after all, miracles can happen right?

DSLR

Of course, my long dream of getting one is still here. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not bored of my 3 year-old pro-sumer Canon PowerShot S3. I still take photos with it, just don’t post it up that often anymore. However, I think I may have slightly grown out of it. You know, like a good pair of Levi’s which you love but have gotten a little fat over the thighs and just have to go buying a new one. LOL. Hardly makes any sense or hold any form of similarity but it just feels that way. I feel the need to advance in my photography enthusiasm. Learn more with a better gear. Well, I’ve been putting this off for quite sometime as the price for a good DSLR is way more expensive than the two previous things I wanted even combined. So specifically, there is no model or brand I can name for I haven’t done my research yet. Still, no reasons for it to be missed out from the Christmas wish list, right?

Others

Apart from all those ultra-expensive “gifts” I can still be bought with normal things. Who am I kidding? Any form of gifts will make me happy and cherish one more. As I said, it’s only a wish list and most of which I’m slowly saving up for myself. I hardly expect God to grant me any of it, given my bad behaviour and all. So please, do not feel the need to live up to my expectations. Some pointers, I still dig typical guy gifts like hell. Ties, perfumes, underwear, (not GAP) t-shirt, mugs, CDs or even a key-chain will make me incredibly happy. Real rule of thumb: It’s not the gift, it’s the thought that counts. It still applies to me. Besides, it’s Christmas, it’s all about giving not receiving.

Shopping Spree of Sort.

Splurged on 6 CDs today with partner in crime, jie. Felt the sudden urge to collect these timeless, worthy-of-collection, feel-good, quality music CDs, all of which have been downloaded and listened by me at one point. To think, they weren’t even on discount. We entered the shop looking for an entirely different artist (Brad Paisley) which of course, led us to these and derailed from our initial motif. Also, we’ve just bought 2 CDs a couple of days ago (Backstreet Boys’ This Is Us and Aladdin Soundtrack).

Oh, it feels good – the spending and the music.

New Monitor.

 

From CRT to LCD in a day. It’s about time, I thought. Love the new space, the look and the gloss. So psyched! Thanks to the parents.

So wide!  

Laundry Room.

This is exactly what happens when I don’t do my ironing regularly. My room gets an immediate transformation and turns into a make-shift laundry room. Believe it or not, dad has already cleared most of his share of clean, newly-ironed shirts from this pile. Don’t get me wrong, not complaining. This is just part of what I deal with.

For the record, this took 3 and a half hours to complete.

Deeply Shallow.

What does it say about me when I have the ability to read browse through a 20 paged pictorial apparel catalogue with no words or even prices printed in fine-print for a complete half-an-hour? Half-an-hour of course is considered a pretty long time to look at pictures, no? But jokes aside, I really can “read” a fashion catalogue for up till an hour without any words even. I guess I spend a lot of time studying the clothes, the shoes, the bags, the lighting, the models, the photography and what not. I honestly think pictures like these (in general too) are interesting and has a story or a hidden meaning the photographer or the designer wished to express.

Either I’m naturally inclined given my photography enthusiasm and fashion inspiration or that I’m just shallow. LOL.

I’ll stick to shallow. You see, just when I think I’m mysterious, sophisticated or even the least bit smart, I don’t appear to be. I mean, c’mon, I have female magazines and fashion catalogues practically, permanently in my bathroom (you know, to fill those free times), although I do change them regularly. That, compared to the photography magazines which I collect but never read, arranged neatly on my shelf for display purposes only (and to make me appear a tad bit knowledgeable, I guess). Of course, it applies for my school books as well.

What’s more is that when I switch on the television, the first channels I go to are the likes of MTV. I only make the jump from the movie channels like HBO back and forth to entertainment channels like E! network. I never stop by the Discovery channel or the least bothered to surf through it. I have my favourite channels memorised to go to them directly from the remote. Sometimes, I think the most intellectual reality programs I watch on TV includes American Idol and Keeping Up With the Kardashians (you go, Kim!). Whereas for TV series, I usually sit down for The Nanny and Desperate Housewives.

Wow, am I shallow or what. Feeling intellectually challenged at the moment.

Shopaholic and Mom.

Today I was reminded about how much I’ve missed mom over the years of growing up and how long it was since the last time we went actual shopping. [I know, after a couple of months of absence and the first thing I talk about is shopping-related. So what, sue me.] I got a taste of what it used to be shopping with mom and jie, the three of us together when the world seemed much lighter and brighter place then. It was about a decade then, I think, when we last went to the mall and walked for a total amount of 6 or 9 hours shopping for things I can’t seem to recall now.

But I do recall those happy moments - how mom used to have much more stamina then compared to now and how she’s still impossible to buy things with given her vital quality check on merchandise before every purchase. She hasn’t changed one bit, I tell you. Oh how times drift by when mom is constantly bogged down by work and worries while we’re usually busy shopping ourselves busied by our trivial teenager pursuits, like school or blogging. Things just haven’t been the same ever since, well, ever since things changed. In a sober way, I pity mom for not being able to have as much fun as she used to, which I understand completely why and am not complaining about.

It’s just that today brought me back to a reminisce of what we used to share, albeit doing pretty shallow things like shopping but again, who cares. I saw a light-heartedness in her which made her radiate even more than when she sees discount tags. Usually, her glee or desire for buying would be doused after discovering some form of defect on the merchandise despite its given discount. But this time around, her spirits were unperturbed neither by this nor the fact that some things are incredulously expensive. Again, she didn’t seem to bother and went on looking at the next item, a sight to behold after such a while.

In the period of financial instability in our family’s part and her constant worry on other things, she used to be impatient and easily annoyed when we children asked for things or when we were trying on things. This time around, like a decade ago, she didn’t seem to care even though her feet was killing her, result of the wrong heels she wore. She was heartwarmingly obliging, to say the least and I am honestly awed by this, waiting on us while we make numerous trips back and forth to the changing rooms of East India. So obliging that she was almost as generous as she sounded, offering to buy us things that we only tried out for fun and not for purchasing purposes.

Don’t get me wrong, of course I like spending money but this is completely unrelated to me being happy to see mom spending money but more towards the penning down of inspiration, result of a sudden bewilderment of mom’s sudden change of shopping habit. Of course, I don’t condone spending unnecessary money, especially during sales (of which I’m often found guilty as charged, for not abiding to this mantra) or from a shopaholic like mom, which is why I didn’t get anything from her generosity. But I am happy that she got herself some things (she totally deserved it) that she claimed she “needed”. Who am I to judge?

Although it was just a random and short afternoon trip of dropping by the mall, I had more of a recollection of a time which I used to and still do enjoy with mom at the mall. I love sales, don’t you.

 

P.S: At the risk of sounding cheesy and elementary, this sudden strike of inspiration was also a desperate attempt to jumpstart my blogging career (or lack thereof) after a long time of hiatus. Hopefully it works.

Horror.

What’s scary?

What is scary and daunting is that you’re expected to sit in an examination hall (classroom) for three agonizing hours straight, painfully dissecting your brain to churn out 6 ridiculous 25 marks essays in relation to English Literature classics like Hamlet and Thomas Hardy and 5 insanely long essays in relation to Economics. And that’s just the beginning. The worse part is to have to do it for three consecutive days, straight. The mere thought of sitting for papers I barely studied for is horrifying enough but to actually sit there for hours on end, in full awareness of the rest of the world goes by – now that’s something you can brag about. No?

Maybe for an unlikely student like me.

But the thing is, I’ve just only begun to see the contrasting difference now that I’m in Form 6, compared to the days of yore. In examination terms, question papers get incredibly shorter and brief, with only a few words put in questioning in return of a 25 marks essays. As the question papers get shorter, the answer sheets expected are even longer, easily exceeding 10 pages of written facts or nonsense at any one time. Education gets tougher and the only way to excel is from old fashioned studying – something which I’m still struggling to find time to do. Half a year has passed and I’m still procrastinating on my studies. What’s really scary is that I’m lazying around.

Oh, and the bruises caused from a prolonged pressure from using a pen is also nasty on the finger.

What is scary, apart from that, is when your phone bills keep on escalating, each month to a more worrying amount. I used to use not even RM30 of my monthly credits, usually spending an amount of about RM24 each month. But for the past two months, I’ve received bills amounting at RM41 and last month a staggering RM57. Honestly, I don’t believe that I’m capable of spending that load of an amount on phone bills alone a month, thus the constant refusal to pay them, insisting that there has been a mistake with the telco to be held responsible. Somewhere along that line, I was secretly hoping for a mistake which the telco company would offer a lifetime of free credit as an apology.

Very girl-in-the-green-scarf, I know.

Finally, after 2 weeks of procrastination and desperate scavenging for data and proof, not to mention the different telco outlets I went to, to prove myself right, I slowly came to accept that I am a big spender when it comes to mobile phones as well. After numerous hours of deciphering the digits out the itemised bills, I also came to realise that I’ve spent a majority of it on texts alone. Gee, what have I turned into? A delayed case of teenager-can’t-live-without-a-mobile-phone perhaps? As much as it worries my family, I’m utterly disturbed as well, with my new unlikely habits of texting. Which is why, I’ve put myself into restriction this month, monitoring my phone expenditures by the minute by checking the telco system almost by the second. Currently, there are still 5 days left till my bill gets summed up and I’m left with less than 2 bucks to spend before I burst through the monthly quota again.

Dangerous.

Ayumi Hamasaki - Green

 

Ayumi Hamasaki - Green Lyrics

hikari kagayaite rin to shita kigitachi ga
mi wo kakusu you ni iro wo keshite yuku
kibou he tsunagaru nanimokamo o toozake te
nukumori wo kowagaru watashi no you ni
ano hito no egao ga mou
mabushikute yasashii sugite
yowasa misete shimaisou de
nakidashite shimaisou de

fureta yubi no saki kara
omoi ga afuredashisou ni
natta ano shunkan kara
kono koi ni kizukimashita

doushite hito wa kokoro no mama ni shitagai
aruite yuku no ga muzukashii no darou
hontou wa kitto zutto
wakatteta hazu nara no ni ne
genjitsu ni me wo somuketeta
shinjitsu wo hitei shiteta

mitsumeru sono saki ni wa
itoshiki ano hito no sugata
kaze ga kawaru koro ni wa
kono omoi tsutaeyou ka

fureta yubi no saki kara
omoi ga afuredashisou ni
natta ano shunkan kara
kono koi ni kizukimashita

mitsumeru sono saki ni wa
itoshiki ano hito no sugata
kaze ga kawaru koro ni wa
kono omoi tsutaeyou ka

futatabi mebuita kigitachi ga iro tsuitara
ima yori sunaona egao mietai

***

Now I know I haven’t been really updated with my music lately, let alone blogging and I know I’m not such an avid fan of the Asian entertainment scene, minus a few exceptions – think Lee Hom - and the occasional sex scandals – think Edison Chen – which will do so much as to only entice my insipid interest. But I’ve recently gotten hooked to Ayumi Hamasaki’s Green after having stumbled upon her music video on MTV a couple of times resulting in me having it played on loop now.

I think the song is great - the melody, vocals and instruments are all alright. The video in particular is also strikingly Asian, which surprisingly was the first thing that got me watching the video. Ayumi Hamsaki herself isn’t looking all that bad with her green outfit and hairdo (and the purse!). And that woman can really work the drama in the video, what with all her exquisite hand gestures and dramatic facial expressions. However, I don’t quite get the storyline of the video, especially with the same sex dance numbers. Not quite sure what she’s trying to insinuate.

Of course, I can barely understand Japanese, even with the translation of the lyrics, I’m still lost. But that’s the fun thing about Japanese songs, you see. Their lyrics are still readable and the least, sing-able. Mind you, this isn’t the first time I’ve gotten hooked to Ayumi Hamasaki’s work. I' was previously aware of her existence and her work, despite of me always holding a prejudiced take on wide-eyed artists with Horror-juku dressing and bimbotic poses in their pictures. I’m not much of a follower, but I do like Ayumi Hamasaki. Suffice to say, the only reason I embedded her video here is for easy reference as I can’t find it on YouTube easily.

***

GREEN TRANSLATION
The brilliant trees standing in the cool air
Are losing the colors as if hiding themselves
Just like me who is afraid of the warmth
Keeping myself away from anything leading to hope

The smiling face of that person
Looks dazzling and so tender
I’m afraid I might show my weakness
And start crying

* I noticed this love
The moment my fingertip touched his
And my feelings were
About to flow out

I wonder why it’s difficult for us
To walk as we wish

Actually I’ve always
Realized for sure
But I turned my eyes from the reality
And denied the truth

** I’m staring at my dear person
I might tell him
Of this feeling
Around the time the wind changes

* (repeat)
** (repeat)

The Evolution of My Phones

So, as it appears, the highlight of my April would be me getting a new phone from the parents – without even requesting. Well, for the past few months, I’ve been regularly changing my phone, given that I got the previous one as a hand-me-down from jie. Who would ever thought, the more tech-savvy one in the family would survive with a basic phone for quite sometime now only to get a hand-me-down. Of course, I wasn’t complaining, except for the few glitches of the previous phone which needed immediate repairing. Other than that, I’m pretty much pleased to be using a flip-phone.

Which is why I have no idea why mom and dad would go get me a new phone besides having too much love on me (and a little bit of pity, I’m sure). Of course, it is neither my dream phone – not that I have any nowadays what with the rapid evolution of mobile phones – nor is it a latest edition for that matter. But, surprisingly to myself even, instead of acting out like a spoilt brat, throwing unnecessary tantrums, I am more overwhelmed by their gesture than to bother about the specifications of the phone. Honestly, I feel a little unworthy to be accepting such a gift.

No matter, I am pleased with the cell and have taken less time than I thought I would to fall in love with it. Really, I have no complains except for the part that I’m still struggling to get used to using a Sony Ericsson interface after having used Nokia’s one for such a long time. I even have difficulty typing a text, often going for the 0 button to space my words instead of the # key. Seriously, why’d they have to make it so different? Other than that, the phone’s exceptionally fine – the functions, the specifications, the design and the interface. Really no complains. It’s one hell of a jump from my previous phone that’s for sure.

As it is promoted 3 years back when the phone was released, it truly lives up to its expectations. The phone puts the ‘R’ into RegulaR which makes it mediocrity all the more sexy and appealing to me. LOL. Am I making a good job selling my product? Anyway, I’m not sure if I think the phone is sexy just because it comes in my favorite color – orange. Also, the phone is unique because as I know, it only comes in 2 different colours which are black and red. How in the world my parents got a white with gold touches one, I don’t know but I’m lovin’ it! Definitely sets me apart from the rest, no? (Allow me my self-indulgence this once.) The candybar style and the colour combination makes it looks all the more edgy - a phone for the style-conscious.

Only thing I’ve got to say is that the keypad is a tad bit small for my stubby little fingers, resulting in me constantly pressing the wrong buttons, causing more complications during texting. The entire size of the phone is unusually thin (for me) and I still need some getting used to as I constantly fear the phone will slip off my hands in my clumsy attempt of texting. The 2megapixels camera bundled together with the phone is also commendable to a certain extent considering it is after all a WalkMan phone. I’ve also grown used to the user-friendly interface of Sony Ericsson phones and it’s screen, providing a crystal clear images for the eyes.

  

Certainly came a long way, haven’t I? Thanks mom and dad. Oh, by the way, all the phones are still in working condition and are still under my keep. =)