Being THIS close…

Being this close to winning or getting something doesn’t matter. What matters is that it fell through. It’s a done deal not in your favour.
There I was, dashing through the passageway that connects the boarding gate to the plane. I could see the air stewardess at the plane’s door waving violently and shouting “No, we’re flying off! Please get on the next flight!”. And then they released the connecting arm.

Perfect! I missed my domestic flight from Los Angeles to Sin City. Next flight with confirmed seats is at 6am tomorrow morning. In the meantime, United Airlines placed me on waiting list for the 3.45pm flight. Last I checked, I am number 7 in the queue. And the plane’s seating capacity is 50. Is that great news or what? I need God’s intervention to put me on the next flight out to Vegas.

As I slumped exhausted and thoroughly spent in the lounge seat, the thought that was on repeat mode was “How could I be this close and not get on?” Suddenly the voice of reality boomed out. “It doesn’t matter how close you are. As long as you missed it, you’re screwed. No amount of ‘what ifs’ will right the wrong. So beat it and deal. Next time, don’t be this close. Close it.”

It sucks but I appreciate my inner no nonsense voice. It shakes and wakes me up all the time.
(God is good and he put me on the next flight out. And missing the first flight of my life makes me plan all my future US flights in a whole new way. Lots of transit time is required. I missed this flight with a 2 hour buffer. And I didn’t even take a toilet break after customs clearance.)

Latest blog entry in 6 months!

Here I am, logging into my personal blog after a long hiatus of 6 grand months. Lots happened. Perhaps it’s just 1 main biggie that consumed my life and time. Gosh. It’s been a rollercoaster since end January I don’t know where to begin. But I will survive, rolling with the punches.

It’s strange that when I feel and experience so much, I am less inclined to write about it. I would rather waste time browsing through other people’s sites (and I have some really very inane sites on my blogosphere hitlist). Perhaps it’s the need to live out a hyper-real life vicariously through looking at how others are going about their lives.

Oh, I caught Transformers 3: The Dark of the Moon the day before its official launch. That's really nice in the midst of the humdrum existence that now plagues me.

Stages of Domesticity

I always feel that if someone else can do it, I can do it too. This applies to every aspect in life.

So, many ladies need to whip up a meal for the household. Alright, cook did I. Nothing fanciful but decent enough.

But when it comes to cleaning, I am motivated solely to have a clean bathroom. So I zealously scrub my "throne" and make sure that the basin area is kept spiffy, dry and nice. This is tending specifically to my personal toilet because I really couldn't bring myself to labour similarly on 5 other units in the house. (Apart from the common bathroom, the rest are all unused. Phew!)

Chinese New Year is around the corner and there's this nagging feeling that if I were to neglect other nooks and crannies, I will be a very embarrassed host when people open my storeroom, kitchen cabinets and examined my window panes and the accompanying grooves closely. And there's certainly no feel good factor if at the back of your mind, there's unattended mess building up somewhere.

So, it's my fortune to have a good friend refer her part-time helper to assist my household for operation cleanup. It's been 1 hour since she has been at work in my kitchen and "Omigod! What she has done in an hour, I will take 5 to achieve!"

Is it the lack of motivation for housework or I am just a plain slow coach? I really think it's the former.

In future, I shall not be adamant. Admit that although I can do things just like others could, some things are better left to the professionals in their respective fields.

This moment of enlightenment makes me feel very liberated.

Quotation to End 2010 and Start 2011

Was at kikki.K Stationery & Gifts and flipping through some diaries when I chanced upon this inspiring quote.

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." ~Mark Twain

2011 appears to be an eventful year ahead. First, I will be attempting an amazing feat that will surprise even myself. Next I will be thrown into a new role (like it or not) and finally right before March, I will begin the grand plan, which I aptly named Magnum Opus. As with all masterpieces, this one will take time to gestate, execute and lastly bring to fruition. Hopefully, before the end of next year, I will reveal it on this blog.
Lots of courage, plenty of luck, with my proposition and God's disposition, I pray the journey that lies ahead be blessed with easterly winds that smoothens the ride.

Quoting from another writer

There is this blogger by the name of Dorothy who co-wrote the now defunct Fashion Nation. She curently blogs here.

I am so impressed by these paragraphs she wrote that I am going to place them down on my blog.

Here's quoting Dottie:
"Someone should write something for our generation. After all, we are in a desperate need to be defined by well-written words.

But what exactly can be written of us? We are not as foolishly brave, or as recklessly crazy. We have too much but do too little. We want everything because quite frankly, we do not know what we want at all."

Ah, the essence of our generation, so finely distilled.

Failing Fiction

It was a relatively quiet Saturday afternoon. I was in Raffles Place then popped by City Hall for a short while before making my way back to my parents’ home. Parents’ home. It used to be just home. Now there is a need to distinguish between that and my matrimonial home.

Perhaps I have been living in the Northwest for too long. I find it comforting and familiar. Not to mention a more convenient place to live in. Location wise, it pales in comparison to my matrimonial home, which is so much closer to central Singapore. However, this neighbourhood has everything. A suburban mall, an impressive Sports Complex complete with a ‘wave pool’ and eating places right across the street where we reside.

The aforementioned suburban mall has everything. And ‘everything’ by my terms, has to include a community library. So before I headed back, I stopped by the community library. On a whim, I decided to pick out a fiction book. Something light and fluffy to read for a change. But when I was conducting the catalogue search, I was stumped. Which fictional work should I borrow?

“Eat Pray Love” …was the first search. As the movie is currently screened in theatres, all the books were checked out. Hot item I guess. Wait a minute. That’s not really fiction, is it?

I thought really hard and finally typed in “The Last Lecture”. I knew there and then that I had failed miserably in my attempt to read stories. It’s been eons since I read something that had been made up. Was that in secondary school? Fiction no longer appealed to me past a certain age. Has realism set in since my adolescent years? I missed a good read…a real fake story. And I have officially lost the desire to immerse myself in a world of make believe. Escapism is not an option? Sad case I am.

So I walked out of the library with 2 books. Both non-fiction. The second book was a random find lying on a table near the checkout queue. I liked Robin Sharma's first book, so I decided to give this a go too.

First Urban Decay Shadow Box

I covert Urban Decay's "Alice In Wonderland" box of eye shadows but I was too late. China's Sephora never meant to carry it and Ebayers simply capitalise on it being 'Limited' and made it too pricey.

When I returned back to Singapore, I needed to make up for the loss and bought a Deluxe Shadow Box at Sephora, Ion Orchard. It costs $63. Definitely on the steep end but when I swiped on the colours, I was sold!

Very pigmented, very smooth application. In fact, sorry to offend M.A.C. lovers but Urban Decay's shadows beat M.A.C's offerings hands down. No debate about it. From this day forth, I will be a religious follower of UD's shadows. I am waiting for it's "Naked Palette" to hit our shores. It's taking too long though.