Not Working Is Expensive

I've been back for 2 days and I've spent RM1000!

I can back on Wednesday morning.

A the airport, I spent RM186 at duty free on alcohol, cigarettes and chocolates.

I got back home, showered, and met Michelle Who Stays On The Seashore for lunch. And after that I sent RM218 on DVDs!

Got home, changed, picked Fruitcake up and went to Angle Caster for our meditation class. We went earlier and found that there was going to be a change in manangement and there was a moving out sale. We spent an hour looking at crystals, crystal holders, sun catchers, dream catchers, candles, pendants and more. And i end up spending RM234 on several items!

And on Thursday, I went for lunch with Kit at Ikea Cafe. And after lunch, I was in Curve running errands when I saw that Nichhi City was on sale. There were a few items I liked there which I held off because I was going for the Singapore Sale. Now that Nichhi was on sale too, i went in to pick up the pieces I wanted. Another RM189 there.

For dinner, Paul and I went to Ayam Penyet in The Curve. We wanted to go to Ikea to pick up a floor uplighter but along the way, we passd by Aussino which was on sale. The 600 thread count duvet covers and bedsheets were going at 70% off. And it's 600 thread count too! Apart from luxury hotels, I've never slept on 600 thread countbedding before. So there's another RM212 there.

So I've spent RM1,000 in 36 hours! This is apart from the throusands I spent at the Great Singapore Sale.

What happened? I've never been a shopper. And I loathe shopping. And I always think twice about spending money.

Not working is getting to be really expensive for me!

I'm guessing not being focused on work and career gives me more time and excuse to walk around a mall and be lured by sales, to want to organize the house, to decorate the house, and generally have more time to be ou and spend money.

Off to Singapore!

I'm off to Singapore tomorrow for the Great Singapore Sale and to meet up with friends too.

And I have such a packed holiday ahead!

Better go on holiday before I need to start work again.

I'm leaving in the morning and arriving at lunch time. Banana Gary will pick me up for lunch and a spot of shopping before I head to an aunt's house for dinner.

Maybe will go out for drinks after that if Dawn came come out to meet me.

The full daytime Friday will be dedicated to shopping then it's dinner and drinks with Lance and gang.

On Saturday, I'll meet Yenny and Divemaster Gan to shop for dive gear.

And if weather permits, I'll hang out at Cafe Del Mar in Sentosa.

On Sunday, it's lunch with Jasmine as soon as she touches down in Singapore and that's the end of my Singapore trip!

It feels like it ended even before it began!

Christmas 2007 in Singapore

Happy New Year!

So it’s 2008 and so much has happened in the past few weeks. So many parties and traveling and before you know it, it’s the New Year!

Paul and I spent a week in Singapore celebrating Christmas. Since we are both very familiar with the island, all we did was shop (the Boxing Day sale is irresistible even to non shoppers) and meet up with friends there.

About shopping – I bought 5 pairs of shoes.

Yes I know my shoe obsession is getting out of hand especially since the pretty ones are usually too painful to be worn for long periods of time which means in the end, they don’t end up being worn much. But they are way to pretty not to be bought. I justify the purchase by wearing them for at least 6 hours every 6 months.

Also bought some dresses, pants, tops and accessories from AX, FCUK, Esprit, Gap and other small non branded shops. I almost bought a Prada bag which wasn’t on sale but is still much cheaper than in Malaysia. I didn’t bother to go into LV because as usual, there was a queue going into the store.

I can see why Singaporeans are such shopaholics. Firstly, there’s not much else to do. And secondly, things are so cheap, including branded stuff. If I was earning in S$, prices will be dollar to dollar and I’d be able to afford to go shopping every weekend too.

But other then shopping, it was great to meet up with friends.

And when you’ve shopped and finished drinking with friends, there are 2 things which can be done in Singapore but not in KL and that’s midnight shopping!

As we were drinking in Holland V and there was a 24 hour Cold Storage in the area, it’s often we do a spot of drunken shopping which is totally hilarious.

We did that one night when Paul’s cousin suggested an even better way to entertain ourselves when drunk – to go shopping in the 24 hour Mustafa Centre! So we hopped into a cab at midnight and arrived at this amazing building selling everything. Imagine Poh Kong, Watch Shoppe, Tesco, Ace Hardware, World Traveler, Jusco and World of Sports under one roof.

That’s 6 floors of Nike watches, Casio watches, Omega watches, Victorinox Swiss Army Knives, Samsonite luggage bags, dried popodoms, Maggi instant noodles, scissors, Indo mie instant noodles, gold chains (I’m talking 2 whole floors of total bling), frozen turkey, chopped chicken, baby powder, bottles of honey, basket balls, Nike running shoes, non-branded white school shoes, balloons, masquerade masks, super glue, bicycles, industrial sized rice cookers, dice, Winnie–the-Pooh toys, toilet bowls ……

It’s possible that the only thing they don’t sell at Mustafa Centre are cars, tanks and jet planes.

Needless to say it was a thoroughly entertaining experience enhanced with a little bit of alcohol going to the head which makes a pile of Nike shoes in the middle of the aisle excruciatingly funny.

I’m certainly going back there the next time I’m out drinking in Singapore.

We’re scheduling the next trip there in July 2008 to coincide with the Great Singapore Sale. After all, drinking and shopping are the only things to do in Singapore!

Shopping as an Attached Person

I’ve never enjoyed shopping (yes yes, I’m so not a girl in that way) and only shop when I have to get something specific. Now that Paul and I want to spend every single moment we have together, he’s of course with me when I need to buy stuff. Yesterday, we went looking for shorts for me.

To me, shorts are meant to be short. But when I’m going over to his parent’s house, I can’t wear my version of shorts. So we went hunting for ‘longer’ shorts. Took me a while cos all the ‘long’ shorts look so odd. Finally found 2 pairs tho in FOS and Rip Curl.

And I finally understand something which has perplexed me for the past few months. Why do guys hold their girlfriend’s handbags when they are walking in a mall?

When I was trying on the shorts, Paul helped me hold my handbag. And after I decided on the pair, he took the shorts, walks to the cashier, pays for it, and we walk out of the shop with him holding my new purchase as well as my handbag.

That’s how! One mystery solved.

Quite a few things about women perplex me. One of them why they ban their fiancée’s ex girlfriends from their weddings. Come on, the guy is going to marry u and not his ex. So what’s your issue with them? But that’s another gripe which I will elaborate on towards the end of the year.