I know I've been harping about getting a new phone since forever but I never did cause the ones I liked were either too expensive or too high tech. So, I never thought I'll say this but I'm going to downgrade to a lower phone model, not necessarily old  but something with the bare minimal features.

Essential features:

• Standard i.e. sms, call, alarms, notes/ memos etc.
• Camera
• Bluetooth
• 3G
• Nice, sleek looks (I'm finally falling back to my roots!)

And I never thought I'll say this either, but I think I am finally switching to... NOKIA! Because the mobile and service providers in Singapore is too small. Let me state the reasons why I'm not buying other brands.

Sony Ericsson. Really short life span. You're lucky if you can get your phone to work for more than a year.

Samsung and LG. Lumping these two because they're both Korean brands. First, not user friendly, second, time lag between commands and screen are really huge. Lastly, value depreciates too fast. If you're like me, who sells your used hand phones, the value for your phone will not beat Sony or Nokia, despite it being "more advanced".

iPhone. Only Singtel users wtf. And I don't think I will use the applications that often either.

HTC/ Other PDA phones. I firmly believe that pda and blackberry phones are meant for uber businessmen or salesmen who really need to check their emails on the MRT or bus.

Siemens. Has disappear off the face of the Earth.

I've only used one Nokia model since the whole mobile phone industry perked up and though it didn't give me problems despite it being a super old model, I loathed Nokias because of its commonality. I also think stubborn people who stuck by Nokias have an inability to adapt. Really. Ask any Nokia user to use a Sony or LG that they become irrefutably frustrated on how hard it is to navigate.

Nevertheless, I've short listed two models.





Nokia 6600i Slide





Nokia 6700 Classic

The features and functions are rather similar so it boils down to the price. Hopefully, I will be able to hunt it down this Friday.

Now that I've decided to finally rejoined the Nokia gang, I really wish the Japanese will start exporting their phones here. They have so many interesting, high tech and cheap phones available that I'm half tempted to purchase one in Japan to use in Singapore.

I spotted three spas that don't go over $100 and are in more or less convenient places for me. Massage I need. I think a couple of the websites don't list their prices so I'll have to call in.

Anyone want to go with me?

Balik Kampung

Spa Le Kraton

De Beaute

You know, I AM seriously considering paying tons for a good massage. Every single one I've been to so far has been a disappointment, with the exception of that massage I had in Japan that miraculously cured my backache. But HE'S all the way in Hakone... >.<

Have you ever wondered how your future home will look like?

I'm pretty sure that everyone out there has some kind of idea on what kind of design they would like to have, but truly? I'm asking this because (1) it's my dream to own an apartment and (2) I have just too many ideas that I'm conflicted over what sort of concept I want. Despite the fact that I can't afford an apartment or I'm not eligible to own one anytime soon, it doesn't stop me from fantasizing over it, ne?

Sometimes, I envision my hallway with a zen like mini stone garden like chic little wooden steps and then... at times, I totally think I should go for the cluttered and cozy look like this.


Picture taken off from decor8.

There will be that quaint little wood table and bench offsetting a french window facing out. A smeg fridge but gawds I don't think I can ever afford one. And then a few more steps will bring me into a dolby digital sound system haven for DVD watching and here and there you'll see pretty shelves holding some of my most precious book collections.


Picture taken off from decor8.

And surely, my bedroom will consist of a queen sized bed with sloped ceilings or curtains (which I doubt since I had cleaning much) and a shelves full of the stuff I've collected over the years from traveling, books, nick knacks, a bedside lamp and a few picture frames.

Sigh, I can dream.

And yet another want.


Ungaro bag picture taken off from Bag Snob.

I seem to have a consistent liking for black leather bags. Pretty, pretty!

I finally managed to go to the National Museum over the weekend. Main aim was to see the Christian Lacroix exhibition but we ended up buying a package that included the Panton exhibition as well. At the point of purchase, I had really no idea who Panton was (is?) and just went along for the ride. It's only an extra $2 anyways. The ticket for Lacroix is only $8 and it was a total of $10 for the package. Cheap huh.

Dear Jun as usual, she plans ahead and we manage to reach the entrance at the right time for a guided tour. Basically, the tour guides are volunteers, so if you guys are interested in that kind of thing you can look it up. I had briefly considered it when I heard about it too. But... stage fright told me it was a bad idea. Hahaha.

I going to add some of the nicer pictures I'd taken in the museum. These aren't the only displays but I don't see a point in uploading everything, for one, it already took me half a day to upload these. Oh, I forgot to mention that I used my great G10 for these which was really lucky because if I'd taken my consumer Canon camera, the images who have been blur and dim. The place had minimal lighting and almost every display was covered with a translucent black netting to prevent people from touching the clothes.

Hopefully, my memory retention is good enough to recount the history of the costumes. If nothing else, at least I have the free catalog to guide me along. Heh heh heh.

The first exhibit was of the costumes Lacroix designed for the opera, Eliogabalo. Eliogabalo recounts one of the most immoral Roman emperors - Heliogabalus. A dictator and a playboy, he used seduction and violence to conquer his women. He had created a senate made entirely of women and eventually turned it into his harem. Unfortunately, the photos I took here were blur. I was adjusting the camera and wasn't very used to handling it yet, so the two pictures I took of it came out blur! >.<

Next, Cosi fan tutte was about a wager Don Alphonso made with two officers on the fickleness of women. He bet that if they were to pretend to go to war and return in disguise to woo each other's fiancees, that these women will fall in love with them.



These are the costumes worn by the two sisters and two officers. The one with pants and a frilly lace skirt is supposed to indicate a woman in disguise. You can't tell from here but the first dress and the fourth dress from the left included some ingenius traditional method of heating two layers of cloth with something in between them to create that embossed look. 

There is Carmen after that of which I'm not loading up any pictures because I seriously didn't like the flamengo dance costumes with the exception of the bull-fighting like dress that she was murdered in.

Phedre was perhaps my favourite exhibit there. Not surprisingly, Lacroix won his first Moliere award for best costumier.

( Visual Treat )

I can't believe we had spent three hours here. I headed for the next destination - Panton. I eventually found out that this dude was a furniture designer and he had designed many gorgeous furniture and interior designs that we see today. For example, do you remember this chair? This is called the tivioli chair and he designed in 1957! I'm pretty sure we've seen the old foggies sitting on these chairs very long time ago. So long ago that it surpasses retrodom...



( Other more contemporary designs )
There are some other retro designs as well. I mean, superbly retro man...

The Christian Lacroix exhibition ends 7 June so you may want to hurry down there soon. After all, how often do we get to see a world famous fashion designers work on display in Singapore?

Seriously, I need to be more creative with my headings. Sheesh.

So, I made it a point to go to the IT Show this evening. Mainly because I met up with a friend for dinner and a short talk at Marina and figured "what the heck, since I'm here I might as well head over to get the things I've always said I wanted to get". Oh, Kim is getting prettier and prettier all the time too. I was so totally checking her out. Wahahaha.

Ahem, back to the topic. It was predictably crowded although my active imagination kept telling me it would be really bad so when I DID join the tons of god-awful average Singaporeans, tech geeks, Indians, China students and a few spattering of young women like me (who actually don't really know about all these tech shit but just thought that there would be good deals), it didn't seem so bad.

Thank god I did some research before I went to Suntec because I think I would have been really lost. It was a good thing too because at least I knew what I wanted. I headed straight to Canon and was mighty disgusted at the expense Sony must have spent to get the amount of exhibit space. There were... many people milling about the displays testing out the SLRs. I don't know for fuck, if they really wanted it they would've known how those things work. I just nabbed one guy and told him "I want this". I love being me. LOL So he scribbled the model on a piece of paper and directed me to the cashier for collection. And so, ten minutes later and $869 poorer, I have meself a Canon Powershot G10. I DID contemplate getting a Ricoh CX1 but figured that I already had a point and shoot so I might as well get a proconsumer camera.

Just as I was fighting my way through the tidal wave of Canon fanatics, I heard someone yelling my name. Turns out to be my cousin! My dad had conveniently "forgotten" to mention he was there. Mainly, it was because my cousin greviously cheated him out of thousands of money when he was an insurance agent. A story my dad has never seemed to tire of from the multitudious recountings.

Told him I'll drop by later to see him again because I needed to get something else and I headed to the fifth floor. The first booth I saw was Toshiba! How convenient! My aim this time was to get an external hard disk but I'm highly ignorant of the good stuff so I loitered round and round the exhibition hall in an attempt to figure out which brand I should get. I was mighty curious about this docking device thing barefootlawyer mentioned that's supposed to connect the pc and the external hard disk. I didn't see anything like that but then, I didn't really know what I was supposed to be looking out for anyways. In the end, I went back to Toshiba after I realized that some brands had a distinction between the mac -compatible hard disks and the pc-compatible ones. Wtf, I thought all external hard disks were plug and play now?

Oh, I forgot to mention that the Toshiba ones are really pretty! When in doubt of the specs, find a pretty design, I say! Hahaha. They ran out of the 500gb ones which was a pretty white on black so I got meself a 400gb one. Shocking blue on black. Nevertheless, it's pretty enough to carry around. Heehee. And it's really small. My sister can't believe the size. I'm using it now to back up my files and it's working as smooth as the insides of the thighs of a virgin lady. Er, I guess.

Went back to see my cousin and he accompanied me all the way to the first floor to get my free gifts. Actual package comes with one tripod, one camera kit (?), one 8gb SD card. Due to him, I got a lot more freebies! Wahahahaha! I got one camera kit, one camera case, three 8gb SD cards, card reader and a cleaning kit. Not bad for a cousin whom I've lost touch with for many many years. Kukukuku.

So now, I'm officially broke. Back to no-shopping mode and starving myself. My initial plans for facial package and expensive salon trip has been thrown down and flushed into the sewage. Le sigh.
</lj>

I want to go shopping: to buy jeans, to buy shoes, to buy some nice tops.

I want to go for pedicure!

I want to go for a massage!

I want to go for facials!

Braudy hell, and I keep telling myself to resist temptation.

*      *      *

I had my orientation this week. It was okay. Even if the company was too cheap to rent transportation. So we had to travel via MRT and bus to the different places and then HR would reimburse us the transportation fees, which is like... a few dollars?

At the end, we had to do a quiz to test our knowledge! For those of you who knows where I work, great, you may get the joke.

Where did (insert company's name) originate from?
My answer: A book store in Edo.

Colleague (who had the misfortune to "mark" my quiz) said, "But... it has got nothing to do with the name?!"

Figures that I got the dumbest answer out there.

It's been a long time since I coveted a bag. There's always nice ones but never ones I really want to buy. So here, let me introduce you Vivienne Westwood's new leather bag!



I don't really care much for the bear... But I love love love the soft leather and simple design of the bag. The strap is so pretty as well. I've fallen in love. Really. It's just as well that Singapore don't have Vivienne Westwood. Otherwise I would've gone straight ahead to splurge my entire monthly income on one of these. Somehow, I don't think this design is going to be available the next time I go somewhere where VW is accessible in shopping malls. T.T I could alternatively, order it online but it's crazy. Crazy.

The other thing I am aiming to get is of course a camera. I've been using my outdated but ever so faithful Canon Ixus 60 (too old to be even displayed now) since I bought it many years ago. Due to the success and satisfaction of using my current camera, I am made a loyal Canon camera fan. It's usability and functionality speaks for itself. On the occasions when I had to use other people's cameras, I discovered that Canon is so much more user-friendly than your average brand like Sony and Panasonic. I hate using Sony cameras.

My aim.


The Canon Powershot G10.

I had been deliberating on an SLR for the longest time and I decide that I'm just not ready for it. But the point and shoot Ixus I have does not give me the option of playing around with techniques like shutter speeds and aperture levels. So, I settled for an in-between, the Powershot G10 until such a time when I am confident enough to invest in a SLR.

I tried a G10 a couple of days ago. The quality is fantastic and the things you can do with the camera! Yikes. I am just a little bit intimidated with using such a powerful camera though. I am afraid that I may buy the camera not knowing how to use it because I had some difficulties navigating the menu and arranging the custom settings is proving a bit challenging. Hopefully, Canon sales and service is good enough to give me a crash course?

Because I need a camera and labtop, I have also figured out that I should forgo my want for a new phone. Phones can wait. Even if something should prompt me to replace my phone, a basic one is sufficient for my daily needs. A camera and labtop however, is integral for me to achieve one of my main goals for the coming year.

Been sourcing for a new notebook because my iBook G4 is dying... Hopefully, it will last me till next year. If not, I was considering getting a MacBook. I initially thought of the MacBook Pro but it seems like the only significant difference is the firewire, which I will probably not use anyways. The other option I had is the ASUS A7J.


I may just end up getting a Mac... Just because I'm more comfortable with it. What barefootlawyer said about Apple compromising their quality is right though. My sister's MacBook has hung on her a while back. I never had that sort of problem with the iBook G4. This is why I hate it when good brands start reeling in the bucks.

The new Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 phone has me drooling over it...

Yes, once again I am drooling over gadgets when I don't need it. But I'm loving the Qwerty keyboard with the sleek touchscreen pad is too much. How can I not drool?!


I think the phone is a bit too much for someone of my lifestyle, considering I hardly use any of the functions on my current handphone. I also forsee the problem of using a Qwerty keyboard to type smses. It's all good when I am typing on the labtop but on a phone?! It's going to take ages for me to adapt. It's pretty ironic as well because this is Microsoft based when I loathe Microsoft... At least, there's a Wifi function on this one.

It has been a while since I last browsed through a copy of URBAN (The Straits Times) so when I picked up today's newspaper, I noticed a number of changes.

Firstly, under the HEY GOODLOOKING section where they post up street photography, there is a remarkable difference in type of people featured. When they used to have ordinary people in street casual (whom don't look like they deserve to be on the page), they now feature more mature and formally dressed characters. I really believe this is due to Vogueite's critical comments on what they did before. LOL Even with the marked improvement, I still think they don't get it. I feel that people with an interesting individualistic sense of style is better than expensive, follower of trends style. But ah well, that's just my opinion. 

The sections on Spring/Summer 09 trends (pages 10 to 15) seems like a severe rip off from popular local fashion bloggers like Vogueite and Fashion Nation which makes me think that maybe bloggers can do a better job than these bloody journalists. I'm not eating sour grapes, I swear.

However, I thought the write up Pretty In Pose and the interview with Nina Garcia was good. Why can't we have more of those?

Oh yeah, I need someone's Kinokuniya card because I want to buy Garcia's new book The One Hundred.

I always seem to find something new to drool over. This time it's a Kenzo jacket. Thinking maybe I should pop by the Kenzo at Paragon to see if they have GSS discounts? LOL

:: hearts ::

I bought my iPod nano!

The UOB credit card promotion only bundled a cable (for don't know what) and a power adapter thing. But the Club21 reseller at Cineleisure had a more attractive offer in my opinion. Buy the 8gb iPod nano and get a $70 voucher. So, I got my black iPod nano, a pair of inear phones (worth $69), and a leather cover flip open case (worth $39.90). Using the $70 voucher, it seems like I got the inear phones for free. Wahaha.

Then kaboom! I went home only to realize that my mac os x 10.4.2 was too old. I hadn't updated the system since my auto software update went konky and didn't auto-update anymore. It was definitely my fault because I was trying to connect to the university's wireless internet and didn't realize that I could have just used the airport which connects automatically. I was still a mac freshie then. In the end, I destroyed my auto-update and didn't bother getting IT help from Apple nor did I bother to do manual downloads. Peps, never procrastinate because it will eventually catch up to you like my case.

I panicked and finally managed to resolve the issue by:
Download mac os x 10.4.5 combo update -> download mac os x 10.4.9 combo update (because it only works on later versions) -> download iTunes v7.6.2 -> download QuickTime v7.4.5

:: FAINTS ::

All is right now. I think. Thanks, barefootlawyer on the help too. I haven't tried linking the nano yet :: crosses fingers :: because it time to hit the bed. First thing tomorrow, (1) charge nano and customize playlist and songs and (2) figure out how to successfully watch videos on nano.

I don't think I'm an utter failure at geeky stuff but it's exasperating sometimes.

Right, yesterday was the first time I actually heard the term for "inear phones". Basically, it's a pair of earphones with a silicone cover that fills your entire ear hole, thus reducing noise distortion (and people around you in the MRT can no longer hear what music you are listening). I got my first one complimentary with my previous Sony Ericsson walkman phone.

Imagine my shock when I realize how much it cost at the Apple store. $69 per pair! I've never paid so much for ear phones before so I was hesitant in investing in it. Took a look at the Creative ones and the cheapest ones I found was $79. After discount, a pair cost $45. And that's only the normal ones. They have all sorts of designs, ergonomic ones, ones that are supposed to fit your ears better, some with better music quality. THOSE cost over a hundred. 

@_@ Just for earphones. Times really change. I still remember the fugly big fat earphones we used to have with the walkman. Those with huge sponges for covers. And then the slightly smaller ones with stereo and bass features for disc players.

I feel old.

While searching for in-ear phones, I was looking at the new iPod nano. I always thought that the nano was too small and square to look aesthetically pleasing (in my eyes) but after playing around with it and seeing how sharp the video is, I am tempted. My iPod Gen 4 is still working, asides from a few quirks that I can't figure out, so I'm thinking really hard. It's not necessary for me to buy and I really should keep some savings this month. The black one looks damn delectable.

And so... the bloody denim shorts I bought at Soon Lee decided to pop during a loo trip and I walked around flashing my white panties and pubes in Orchard Road for the entire day . Luckily, the fabric was stiff and the shorts were tight so no one can really tell that the zipper was er... spoiled.

Met a friend whom I haven't met in months. She said I looked chic which I'm glad for because it was the exact effect I was trying to get with the short hair. Not to mention my whole obsession with the chic androgyny look nowadays. The meet up and get updated session turned out great and we ended up with a shopping spree. That, had not been my intention since I wanted to save some money for a new mobile phone and leather bag. My spoils:

1. Haba White Lady which I swear by. $120 because I thought I might as well buy the biggest bottle since I'm using it every night and it's way more economical.

2. Anna Sui pressed powder refill. Used my birthday vouchers so it cost me nothing! ::pirouettes::

3. One lingerie set and one extra bra from une nana cool which I swear has the cutest and prettiest underwear designs. I should buy more panties because those tend to wear out faster. >.<

4. A chic little black dress from GG<5. $180 is a little too expensive even for me but I promised myself I'll wear it often.

I am sooo not getting a leather bag this month. I may still decide to get that absolutely desirable LG Viewty phone.

I know. Harping about gladiator sandals is very late into the season but I've loved it ever since I saw it on the runway for Balenciaga. I've always resisted getting a pair though due to practical reasons. I really don't see myself wearing a pair often enough.

But just the other day, I saw a girl in Citylink wearing thick leather laced sandal heels, and now with this picture of Nine West sandals...



Despite the fact that I don't buy from Nine West, and despite the fact that I only have a fraction of my weekend to wear those blasted heels... I guess it's time to use my Isetan vouchers to go shopping in Nine West soon. Does Isetan have Nine West anyways?

Add on: I bought my shoes! The stupid Nine West shop in Wisma didn't have dark brown so I got the black ones. And the stupid Nine West shop in Wisma had really bad service! And... and... and... the stupid Nine West shop had tagged the wrong price tag on the shoes! Unforgivable!

If I ever do get married, I don't want those bloody rings with don't know how many carats diamond(s) on it. You know, the ones that ALL women to be married wears? If I'm going to wear an accessory, it should bloody well accentuate my personality and style. That's why I :: heart :: Alex + Chloe's Black Diamond collection.

I have found my perfect leather tote bag!


Jimmy Choo Mona Large Tote Bag

The only problem is that is cost a whopping SGD2,580. There's no way I will pay so much for a bag at this stage of my life. Oh, Jimmy Choo~ You torture me so! >.<

My alternative right now is to go bag hunting in the newly renovated Raffles City. I heard that there are many many bags there!

My mobile is dying on me, switching off as and when it likes. So, I've been sourcing for a new mobile. I admit I am a sucker for marketing tactics. because I'm tempted to get the new Samsung G800.

Edit: After taking a closer look and feel of G800, I decided it is way too bulky and chunky for me. The sales man also told me that the Sony Ericsson K850i had better camera and features. I shudder to get the K850i. Fugly, it is. Shall wait for Samsung F480. Hopefully it won't be as big.