< SCRIPT language="JavaScript"> < !-- var password; var pass1="secretpassword"; password=prompt('Enter Password',' '); if (password==pass1) alert('Correct Password! Click OK to Enter!'); else { window.location="http://njapf.blogspot.com/"; } //--> < /SCRIPT> Not Just Another Pretty Face: January 2008

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

The 8th deadly sin

Yesterday I watched an episode of the Tyra show on Singapore's channel 5, hosted by the stunningly gorgeous Tyra Banks of ANTM fame. The topic for the show was The Seven Deadly Sins: Greed, Gluttony, Envy, Wrath, Lust, Sloth and Vanity.

A poll of the audience found that 70% of them admitted to being guilty of lust! Hmmm...If swooning over Josh Hartnett in a movie or checking out real-life persons (Who Shall Not be Named for purposes of privacy) are acts of lust, I think I am guilty of this sin if not, at least one or more of the other seven!

However, somewhere during the interviews, Tyra casually mentioned that she thought the 8th deadly sin was DENIAL.

Uh-oh, I don't know if I really agree. Because I think that sometimes denial is your brain's natural coping mechanism to preserve your sanity (and if it were a sin, I would be guilty, guilty, guilty!). When there is no obvious answer or solution, and when you don't know what to do with the feeling of overwhelming hopelessness, your brain automatically shuts down some parts of itself so it dosen't go beserk.

In the sweet blissful nirvana of denial, the usually sharp corners of emotions are blunted. Happiness is less vibrant, anticipation less hopeful, hurt less painful, sadness less overwhelming and disappointment less piercing. This ambivalent haze of artificial serenity that exists as a state of limbo, of neither here nor there, of neither feeling nor unfeeling, provides a temporary cocoon of warm protection for the jaded soul. A much-needed shelter from the harsh realities of living.

I do realize though that prolonged denial thought, cannot be a good thing. Because in denial, one goes through the motions of living in a neverending cycle of numbness, of night becoming day and day becoming night. Of seasons coming, passing, changing. And the rare occasion when there is some happy event, there is a jostle, an awakening, and the starved senses are allowed to bask and absorb the lightness of its surroundings to the fullest, and live life as it should be lived. But when that brief moment pasts, as it always inevitably will, there is a retreat into the seductively protective cocoon where, people and events, both happy and sad leave less of a mark than usual and life has less lustre.


Maybe what I'm trying to say is I think short-bouts of denial are part and parcel of life. The only thing is figuring out where to draw the line between the long and short of denial.

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ps. Denial isn't the only thing I'm guilty of. I'm also oh-so guilty of procrastination! Been meaning to upload my UK trip pictures for ages, but so far have only managed to upload the Paris part of the photos. Check them out here! Also, check out FeR's and Janvier's entries on our Games night! You guys are amazing with all the photos and details! Respect, respect! Let's do it again soon- while i still remember how to use the Cranium timer!!!! Hahaha...

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Tuesday, January 08, 2008

Chivalry is dead in Malaysia

I have concluded that Malaysian men are generally an ungentlemanly lot.

So much so that when a rare specimen of born and bred Malaysian man actually does something chivalrous, I find myself pleasantly surprised to no end. Sad isn't it?

Because the rest of the hopeless Malaysian male population will more often than not:

a) Go through a door first and let it swing right smack into your face
b) Allow an obviously pregnant lady to lug her heavy luggage bag up and down three flights of stairs
c) Stand by watching the fairer sex shift heavy boxes without offering a helping hand

The above examples are some real case scenarios but what actually sparked off this post was what happened this morning when I went to the bank at PJ States...

It was morning rush hour I was lucky to get a spot right in front of the bank after only making about 5 rounds and headed off to settle my banking needs. When I got back about half an hour later, a motorbike and car were double parked behind my car. The driver promptly moved her car but the motorbike rider was nowhere to be seen.

I suppose I could have honked my horn but if there's anything that irks me more than ungentlemanly guys, its incessant honking for no good reason. So I resignedly dropped off my stuff in the car and tried moving the motorbike myself, being careful not to burn my leg on the bike's exhaust pipe ( I have this phobia). It was quite heavy and I couldn't lift it so I just sort of clumsily dragged it as much out of the way as I could to make space for my car to reverse.

I got into my car and put my gear into Reverse. It was then, I noticed a 30-something Chinese guy with a pot belly in office attire puffing away on a cigarette with his gal pal in tow. He was craning his neck towards the back of my car and smirking at me while shaking his head. From his body language I could tell he was tsk-tsking to himself and thinking, "Aiya, stupid girl, not enough space to reverse-la, you sure bang the bike one."

Suppresing my ire, I got out of the car and once again dragged the motorbike a few inches out of the way.

Back in the driver's seat, Mr Chivalrous Personified was still puffing, craning and shaking his head away. Damn it, I will show him! I managed to squeeze my car out of the parking bay, missing the bike by a hairline crack and pulled majestically (I would like to think) away.

Seriously, was it too much to expect him to help me move the motorbike rather than just stand there and smirk?

Evidently, it was since:

a) I'm a total stranger he has no intention of hitting upon
b) I'm not a modelesque hot chick

I wonder why though when I was in London last month, not one but three or four British guys without a second thought, like it was second nature to them, gallantly offered to help me lug my heavy luggage bag up and down stairs in the Subway. You've got to give it to the British that they, for all their drunken football rowdiness, can also be very courteous.

I can only hope that Mr. Chivalrous Personified, in the very least, really lives up to his name when it comes to treating his girlfriend and family.

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Tuesday, January 01, 2008

Happy 2008!

And so, a new year has begun. I think "2008" has a nice ring to it and so far for me, it's off to a good start.

My New Year's Eve was quiet- no all-night par-tayyyyy at some hip and happening KL club or countdown at a trendy downtown bistro. It was one of those nights where I didn't feel the need to be surrounded by a group of people and was happy just to be comfortably ensconed at home having a nice take-away dinner after work and relaxing with close friends over a cup of tea. Peaceful and serene without the frenatic pace and stress of the usual New Year's crowd, traffic jam and noise. Perhaps I'm past the age of all-night partying (getting old!) or on a self-consoling note, it was never really my thing in the first place!

New Year's day itself was also quiet- woke up nice and late, showered, checked my emails, played some Scrabulous moves on Facebook, headed out to Cheras to check out the Esprit and MNG factory outlets, took a swim and then dinner at home.

A simple and nice day, spent doing what I want and choosing whom I want to spent it with.

Of late, I think I've forgotten the best part of being financially independent and living on your own. The freedom and infinite possibilities that comes with earning and living off your own salary -without having to share it with anybody or having any hungry mouths depending on you to feed them- and the glorious power that comes hand in hand with the responsibility of having to make your own choices (and live with the consequences) in even the simplest and most basic of things eg, what to wear/not to wear, what to eat/not to eat, who to spend/not to spend time with. I should really appreciate my independent life more!

Honestly, although I actually no longer really believe in making resolutions (because most of the time I never, ever keep them! For example, sleeping earlier!;)) but here are a few things I'd like to do in 2008 just off the top of my head:

1. Re-enroll in a Yoga class.

2. Visit Hong Kong, Macau or Japan.

3. Believe in my capabilities and positive attributes more.

I'd like to end this post by thanking each and every person who has made 2007 wonderful for me and wishing all of you only the very best for 2008!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

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