Listening to: "I Think I" by Byul
Reading: "A Matter of Honour" by Jeffery Archer
Mood: Contented

::+ Beauty, Dogs & an oakley sunglass +::

+ Chapter One: Beauty +

I read with interest an article written by Sumiko Tan in today's newspaper entitled "When Beauty Fades". In it, she disucsses about the ageless (pun not intended) & relentless pursuit of everlasting beauty & youth, as well as the true definition of "Beauty".

"...society has come to worship youth, and any way you look at it, beauty equals youth."

I share many of her sentiments of this issue, but I am certain we are definitely not the only ones. The growing popularity of aesthetic medicine, the overwhelming no of beauty salons and slimming centres that meets you every other turn, the ceaseless no of beauty product advertisements in Singapore only increases the pressure to succumb to the image of being "slim, young & beautiful". Truely these days, with the growing affluence of our society, its not that difficult to look beautiful & attractive. Get nice clothes & shoes, make up, new hair do, go on diet & whola ... there you go .. countless "beauties" in Singapore.

Does that make the idea of beauty seem "cheap" then since it's so attainable? Maybe ... but very expensive in terms of the sacrifice of our inner beauty & character. So while people spend tons of money making people who market these images of "beauty" very rich, people become lowered in their self-esteem & spend less time working on their character & caring about other people coz the person they peer at the most would be .. .themselves in the mirror?

I fully agree with Sumiko's sentiment that " ... how attractive a person looks lies not in the tightness of her skin or the lack of wrinkles or who slim she is. Rather, it is in her facial expression and her eyes - in short, whether or not she is a happy person."

This senseless chase of being "beautiful" has created a mass of unhappy people who are critical, self-centred & discontented. Think of how many truely cheerful & happy there are around who can accept themselves & greet you happily & sincerely with a "hello!" & a great big smile, without being worried if you are silently critising his / her looks. Be happy! Life is too short to be so unhappy & the world with so much wonder & beauty to be explored for us to wallow in this superficial quest.

+ Chapter Two: Dogs +

Dear & I just watched "Eight Below" - a heartwarming tale of friendship between eight amazing sled dogs and their guide Jerry played by Paul Walker. I have to gush about this - that the siberian huskies in the show are gorgeous! It's amusing that every one of the eight dogs actually look distinctively different! Most importantly, they are so intelligent & loyal!

I've never owned a dog - the closest I ever had to owning one was housing 2 golden retrievers at my place for about 2 months for a friend. Caring for a dog is sheer hard work - all the fur being shed, food, poo in a nightmare! That aside, they are the most adorable & affectionate mates! Well, when I move out to live on my own, I might consider caring for one myself! I've always loved the American Cocker Spaniel ... so let me include an excerpt of his description:

The American Cocker Spaniel is quite distinct from the better known English style Cocker Spaniel, even though he is a direct descendant. He is a smaller dog, proportionately less heavy, with a much more luxuriant coat and a distinctive chiselled head. He retains the full complement of traditional Cocker characteristics, being sturdy, well-balanced and active, possessing speed combined with stamina and most importantly, an intelligent and merry disposition. He is a responsive and willing worker both in the field and as a companion. Like his English cousin, he is noted for his love and faithfulness to his master and household, plus his cheerful, happy-go-lucky attitude to life. He is friendly, affectionate and playful, and makes a lovely family pet.

+ Chapter Three: Toys +

My dear bought me my first Oakley sunglass!! Yipee!! Thank you so much dear! (",) It's a half-jacket jet black & I love it! (",) One accessory I can never live without is my sunglass and not having one with me is surmount to not drinking water! Unknown to many people, The cheaper ones sold with poor quality lens might actually cause greater harm to our eyes! Wearing good quality sun glasses can substantially protect the eye against both short term and long term exposure in bright sunlight and everyday outdoor situations .. Look for a label that states that the glasses offer 99% to 100% UV protection, glasses that fit close to your face or have wraparound frames, distortion-free lenses, and frames and lenses made of impact resistant material. (",)

These are my personal inline skates! Cool looking huh? (",) Dear & I went blading at Sentosa yesterday & it was a fabulous time! With the wind in the hair, dear with me & crazy tourists who insist on taking pictures with me (??!!), it was well, almost perfect. Sentosa's just not condusive for blading but it sure is sprucing up real nicely as a resort island! I was most impressed by the beach terminal for the buses. I actually felt like I was transported into another country .. so err .. where do I go to chop my passport?

Found an interesting website http://beautyninja.com/ & the above is a new beauty gadget .. a bacon band-aid .. what do you make of it? :)

Ok...I confess .. I'm at it again! At what? Eh .. at being totally CSI-fied again! (".) After completing CSI Las Vegas Season 5, I went out to chase CSI Miami Season 2... wow it's great! A totally different cast, different setting but with cases still as intriguing & the flavour's just different! I love it! :) CSI Las Vegas is well, violent, gory & explicit. The CSI team was very up & personable and the whole exerience of watching the LV series is like eating at a fast food restaurant .. food's great, fast & crude. But still very clever nevertheless.

CSI Miami likens to fine dining - it is subtle with a hint of spice which you need to savour slowly to taste its full flavour. Beneath the cool exterior is a deep pool of passion & compassion. Bon Appetit! I love CSI!!

The graduating students have finally completed their prelims .. *phew*! Its another hurdle crossed! It's been exactly 10 yrs since I took my own prelims & I couldn't help reminising what I was thinking about & feeling then. I remembered we didn't just have prelims then, we had mock exams somewhere in July, followed by the Prelims followed by the actual Os & those internal exams were out to kill. I think by the time Prelims ended, it was JC choosing period. I still recall vividly almost putting down Hwa Chong JC as first choice but ended up putting National JC instead because my gang of friends were all "ang mo pai" & Hwa Chong was too cheena for us. Raffles JC was placed in third choice because it was so far away while National & Hwa Chong were only stone's throw away from my home! (",) So it wasn't surprising that in the subsequent year, the whole ging gang of us from Nanyang all went to National JC. JC time was nuts but very memorable.

I remember the other exciting thing we were doing between the prelims & Os was planning on a trip to Aussie together! (",) My two good friends, Cheryl, Yueping & I arranged to go to Melbourne & Tasmania after our Os with my mom as chaperon ... it was an awesome memory! As my elder bro was still studying there then, we bunked at his residence & we watched our first R(A) VCD then .. some gay show which we could not make much head or tails out of it at that time! *lol* I think it was called Madam Butterfly or sumthink ...

Over last weekend, dear & I went to visit the Mid-Autumn Festival Mooncake Sales Booths at Taka .. I always love this time of the year & Christmas of coz! There is so much variety & so many to sample .. you dun actually need to even buy the mooncake, after one round ... I feel so satiated! But I am truely impressed by the effort put into the aesthetic value of the mooncakes as well as the packaging! We had lunch over at Jack's place another day ... & my opinion still stands .. I dun like Jack's Place food! ("/) Heh!

Fabulous is the apt word to describe last evening. Had arranged to meet Michelle for dinner followed by meeting Ivan & Christina for jazz at Boat Quay & it all turned out just perfect.

I haven't met Michelle & Jason for over a year now & it was really great to see them again! Mich & I decided to try out "Out of the Pan" @ City Hall .. I muz say we were totally impressed with the food! She had beef crepe while I took Masala fish Crepe .. delicious! We also tried their waffle dessert but that wasnt too good. We were so engrossed eating till we forgot the appointment to meet the rest @ Raffles Place! When we finally arrived, I introduced Mich to Kristina & Ivan, & as usual Kristina was really nice, warm & friendly - making Mich real comfy. :) We proceeded to catch some jazz ... the forst place we tried was Jazz@Southbridge.. there was some guest musicians yesterday & each of us had to pay $10 cover charge on top of the very expensive drinks we each had to order .. top make it worse ... the music was lousy .. after the 1st set, we hopped over to Harry's Bar where Jason joined us. The resident band, Chromazone & the guest vocalist was AWESOME!! We really enjoyed ourselves heapz & only made our way home at the end of the last set nearly 2 am then.. way kewl! We also got the band to perform "Happy Birthday" coz it was Ivan's birthday!! His Jazz "Shifu" from Laselle was actually playing the piano!! :) Happy Birthday Ivan!! :) Thanks for the invite & welcoming my friends! It was a fabulous evening!! :)

Ha .. I realised I forgot to talk about my new hairdo!! Yep ..went to the stylist during the holz & I basically juz said ..I'm sick of me rebonded look .. I want something different so whatever the stylist tot was good goes! :) In the end, I'm real pleased with my new look! :) I had a digital perm all round with my fringe rebonded, snipped off slanted .. Heh! :) It's real kewl having people being amazed at the new look everytime .. hee! :) Thanks BOBO (my stylist!) ! :) & Thank you everyone who has showered me with your kind & generous compliments .. appreciate it! :)

Listening to: My Lovely Sam Soon OST "She is"
Reading: Cleo September 2006
Mood: Mixed

Ok, before I start, just let me say this: CSI rawks, totally ... yeah.

School reopened again this week .. & man it's been so eventful it really feels like it's been four months, not four days.

:: Things & Events that brought me joy::

1) My buddy Nicholas actually went to rent CSI Season 5 for me on his own initiative!!! Thanks so much buddy - you are the absolute best!! I was elated when he arrived at my place with the set of Season 5 CSI DVDs & watching those 28 episodes have definitely been the highlight of this entire week! I lurveee CSI! Pass the violence, sex & gore, it just ingenius ... there have definitely been some really great episodes this season especially the last 2 when Nick got kidnapped & buried alive.. I actually cried as I followed the plot closely ... at the edge of my seat!! Can't wait to watch Season 6!! Yipee ... CSI is the best! I love Grisom & Greg - they top my list of favourite characters.

2) Ivan gave me a jazz CD during the holidays & made a trip specially down to school just to put it on my table as a surprise ... & I found out only on the first day of school! :) I was so touched! Thanks Ivan!!! really enjoyed listening to the album! *lol* My colleague was asking me why a young person like me is listening to post WWII music & that made me burst into laffter!

It really made my day to know my 2 dear friends thought of me in the midst of their busy lives! Hee ... <",>

:: Things & Events that made me depressed ::

GB makes me depressed .. no, specifically GB Henderson makes me depressed. I have always loved GB since I first joined GB as a Sec one girl while attending Nanyang Girls' High. Those dayz, my company back in Nanyang went through much difficulty but it made those of us who were serving as leaders become strong & indepedent. I'm glad to say that all of the NCOs from my batch are now serving in leadership position in church one way or another. Armed with an A1 for my CCA & a Warrant Officer as my rank then, I actually never really tot I would serve God again in GB until I chose teaching as my career & I chose GB as the CCA I wanted to take.

Everybody then thought I was nuts ... no teacher in their right mind ever volunteers to take up a UG coz it takes up so much more time & effort then other CCAs. I had to go through the past 3 years pretty much alone in school, having to suffer from other collagues making unjust remarks & worse of it all, having students making insensitive, ungrateful, selfish, thoughtless remarks about me .. & the sad thing is .. these students come from GB.

Student: "We did not like you when you took over GB because you were from GB so you will make it more difficult for us to get promoted"

Me: Hello? You get promoted when you truely deserve it! You want to be called a leader when you can't even lead your own life, much less others? You stroll slowly from program to program, you can't even hold yourwself confidently.. you think you deserve to be a leader? Who was it who had to persuade the rest you should be promoted & given your CCa points & award? Who had to go all the way down to GBHQ in Kovan just to persuade & convince them you deserve a chance & be given your award? Have you ever spared a thought for me? Have you ever thanked me for the chances I have given you? Yes, I was a Warrant Officer, I led even before you were in primary school & I come from a top end school .. so? Why can't you freaking be humble enough to realise you are not that good & need to improve & learn? Why do you think I owe you anything?

Student: "You always scold us ... not like xxx who always talk nicely to us."

Me: I scold you? You haven't seen me really get freaking angry yet & totally make you feel like you are not human worth existing on this earth yet.. you want to see me get really angry? You give black face all the time, your drill completely sucks, you walk so slowly during GB time, sulk & pull long face when told off, have no initiative or sense of responsibility whatsoever, you insult & slander against those who are doing well in GB to make them feel despised & lousy ... who do you think you are? Why don't you come & be the teacher-in-charge of GB .. so shall I recommend you to be the chairwoman of GB the country club where all the girls do nothing but do manicure & pedicure & brush their hair like bimbos? BTW, if you think the other teacher is so great .. how come you are talking bad about her behind her back too? What's wrong with you?

Student: "I don't like Ms Ruth Lee. I am so glad she is leaving."

Me: You know what? Students like you make me hate teaching, hate GB & don't want to have kids. You are a nightmare & a virus to this earth. You destroy any form of passion, love & hope I have for the next generation. I am so glad not to have to see you again. Good riddance to you!

Student: "You see, I knew that Ms Ruth Lee will not drive us there." " Where are you Ms Lee? We want you to drive us to XXX "

Me: Excuse me, since when have I become your personal taxi driver? You want me to freaking drive you to Orchard Caffour just so that you can buy some plastic utensils & plates? Where is your conscience? You think because I own a car I owe it to you to drive you around? You want to pay my $80 per week petrol plus ERP plus car park fees plus maintenance fees plus thousand dollar annual road tax? You think just because I dun drive you around I am not nice? Why are you so damn rude? Don't your parents teach you to be respectful, grateful & polite? I have picked up your seniors from their house to go out before, fetched them from Bt Timah all the way to Bt Merah when I myself live in Bt Timah & never got any thanks, drove you girls from school to KFC & ended up we teachers were late for Oral exams ... WHERE IS YOUR CONSCIENCE?? Why don't you start caring about me for once? On teachers' day, I teared because the Girl Guides went up to their Teacher-in-charge & nicely wished her Happy Teachers' Day , they created a huge card of appreciation for their teachers when they attained Gold. My girls? On teachers' day ask me to fetch them around & were upset I didn't make announcement that day. A card of thanks? What card?

God ... where is the love?

I personally think these people are gorgeous, beautiful & very attractive! :) But ... I can't help but wonder what the people in the world will look like if their outer appearance is a full reflection of their inner character .. will most people still look as great?

What if .. beautiful eyes = people who choose to see the good & beauty in people, to see the poor & needy and is filled with love & compassion for people?

What if ... beautiful nose = people who sense out the difficulties & hardship people go through, are sensitive to the needs of others & are a fragrance wherever they go?

What if ... beautiful mouth = people who choose to speak well of others, are always full of praise & encouragement, also never one to gossip or slander about anyone?

What if ... beautiful hair & body = people who will be a shelther & comfort to all around them, defending the helpless & the weak?

My SO often reminds me of the importance of the inner beauty that never fades, if we do not neglect it or exchange it for the outer beauty that eventually fades ... yet in a world that propegates ones self-worth with ones looks, think its important to surround oneself with the right kind of friends who reminds us of who we are & our worth just because we are us!