Cheap clothes

Taiwan is the land of the cheap clothes. So i went there with a modestly packed luggage bag and basically wore what i bought from the street markets.

This was one of my first few purchases and the dress set (2 piece) cost around RM30++. Not that cheap, not expensive. But mind you it was actually  made of really cheap material.

After one trip to the dobi, the left frilly sleeve fell off. Sigh, trying my best to salvage it.

Why do i work?

I really do envy people who work from 9am to 5pm 5 days a week. For me that is just wonderful. I know many people will just hate me for saying this but indeed that is a luxury. How wonderful it is to only work for 5 days and have 2 days off a week to recharge!I have been working 8 am to 1pm the next day almost every other day for 3 weeks. So unless i take leave there are few weekends off. Either I'm on active call or passive call.So the days i am not on-call i am basically just sleeping. I'm not complaining though , things are looking up with a new member joining our team next month. But funnily never as i child would i have imagined working these kind of hours.

As a kid, my idea of work basically stemmed from my parents.I have a dad who works from 9pm to lunch time, and basically goes back to work whenever he wants after that if he wants to. My mother was a teacher who knocks off work at 1pm basically school hours. So my whole primary and most parts of my secondary school life i assumed ( yeah yeah when you assume you make an ASS of U and ME) that everybody worked school hours 7.30 am to 1 pm (6 hours a day).

Then during my first ever work experience as assistant editor, i realized that was not always the case.Working 9am to 5pm was pure torture as i am the kind of person who thinks afternoon naps are prerequisites to a better and happier life. But the good thing about my office at the time was that they allowed afternoon naps as long as you finish your work on time. Woo hoo.. great. But there was only one snag. If i slept there was no way i could finish my work in time. Blame it on my borderline OCD. I found myself double and triple checking myself. I was so afraid of making blunders that would cause secondary 3 children to commit fatal mistakes in exams. Ugh.. what a nerd.

Anyway regular afternoon naps are now a luxurious happy memory of the past.Sometimes though i do manage to slot a nap and that is something i am very thankful for.

But many people are working longer and longer hours to meet a target, to rush for a deadline, to close a deal or simply to edge out a competitor at their own free will. Is it all worth it?

I really don't know but i do know i just want to have more sleep!I know, i am such a pig.

Popular Japanese Magazines

A few more Japanese magazines with awesome freebies this month.

With November issue with Samantha Thavasa x Hello Kitty x Liberty luggage tag.This is one hot collaboration in Japan where they've come up with bags and various accessories. So the luggage tag is a teaser i guess to promote the line.

25 ans  comes with Christian Louboutin (!!!!!) drawstring pouches. The Japanese never fail to amaze me with their high end freebies.

Camcam November issue with Anteprima IPad cover. (OK gotta get an I-pad or Netbook first)

 

MORE November issue (It's not even October and the Nov issue is out already?) comes with Paul & Joe tote and pouch.

Oggi November issue with Kate Spade book cover.This would be so cool for jotting notes with.

And you heard it here first! Giselle December issue comes with a COACH 2011 diary. One to watch out for.

MISS November 2010 with Coach scarf

This must be one hot item on everyone's wish list. Miss November 2010 edition comes with a rather large Coach scarf in 2 designs. I'm sure many Coach fans will just grab both the designs. It's out in Japan and Hong Kong but has not reached Malaysian shores yet. The nice Japanese lady at Kinokinuya KLCC says it should reach on Wednesday... or Saturday. In other words, it's anyone's guess but soon. They have not received confirmation when it will arrive but she'll be sending me an sms when it's in.

.

Other upcoming gifts with purchase to look out for would be:

InREd November with Lanvin pouch.

Steady November with HbG tote bag measuring H25.5 W38 D24.

Yup non-stop temptations coaxing money out of my wallet! These Japanese people are good!

Sort of late, but i've just caught on to watching Maid-Sama. Not the one with English dubbing on Astro though. It just feels weird. Thank God everything is nicely subbed on YouTube. Here's the first episode.

On a random note, after 5 days of holidays, i suffered from writers cramps when i was on-call yesterday. Non-stop ward review, clinic review, and clerking! *Incredulous*

Non-no November 2010 highlights

This is a must buy magazine especially so if you read Japanese. But just looking at the pics is satysfying enough. Why don't they have such magazines in Malaysia. Our Cleo, Female, Seventeen mags are so fail compared to this. And here's a look why.

1) It has mainly Asian models. Really sick of seeing all the second rate ang moh models in local mags peddling local brands.

2) Beauty and make-up reviews are really step by step detailed and of course tailored to suit the Asian facial features. (Cos we all know caucasion girls need no help creating double eyelids/deeper set eyes/higher nose bridge/ bigger eyes.. why are they genetically so pretty? Not fair.)

3) It is really up to date on the latest fashion trends in Japan. So if it's a trend in Japan it also means it's trendy in Taiwan, Hong Kong, China and among girls in Malaysia and Singapore.

And the latest trend this Autumn/Winter season is preppy and nordic. Okay cannot pakai here but i bet i'm gonna spot a few ah-lian/la la girls in Sg Wang parading nordic fashion soon. (By the way, in no way am i using the word ah lian in a deragatory manner. I respect ah lians for their creative and daring fashion sense as i can only wish for that kind of bravado.)

4) Fashion spreads not limited to clothes but shoes, boots, bags,socks as well. Fashion overload.Warning: Do not read with empty wallet.

5) It covers a wide variety of topics like... 

i) i-phone applications that suit every girls needs. Hmm.. cross process looks nice and arty.

There's a whole booklet on it but i can only guess what the appplication is about.

ii) Making Bento with calorie guide to boot.

iii) Hairstyle ideas for any lenght.It comes with a hairstyle booklet that models after Asian faces.

6) Pictures are always sweet and kawaii. Even fashion spreads are conceptualized into mini romance pitorials. To tell you the truth i was much engrossed with these few pages. These are my personal interpretations of the highly entertaining fashion spread.

i)You start with a few staples. Six accesory items like bags and shoes. Nine +Six items of clothing. ( I have no idea why they separated the two.) So with 15 items of clothing you're supposed to have 30 different looks in the quest of snagging the guy of your dreams in 30 days.

ii) As with any venture you've gotta first invest and what better way than a visit to the mall to get a few staple items. Oh she's already wearing some of the items in her arsenal already on day 1.Loving the light blue denim shirt cum jacket.

iii) Day 3 obviously very happy with herself and all her shopping.

      Day 5: Eat well in preparation for task. Day 6 : Target spotted.

iv) The pièce de résistance, grab his attention!( after days of dressing up proved futile). Who cares if his clothes get wet. 'Never notice me? Take that!'

v) Wahaha ruse worked! Day18: Time to use loads of fabric cleaner to bowl him over  with sweet aroma.Carefully pick out ensemble from the staples, return the shirt and score a date!

vi) Woo hoo more dates. Note that she's wearing the same denim shirt from day 1.

vii) And wa lah. By day 30 you would have sucessfully snagged your guy.

 It would help if you looked as good as the model of course.

Hope you enjoyed reading the post as much as i had fun blogging this :)

Non-no November 2010 with Agnes B tote

This magazine is so amazing! I wish i read Japanese (in fact i wish i could read Chinese too.. bloody education system) to fully understand all those instructions, reviews and captions. This is of course my first time buying Non-no. The only other time i bought a Japanese magazine was Steady in January. That was tough as jotted down here. Since then my japanese mag and mook buying had been less of an ordeal. But since then i had only bought mooks as generally gifts with mooks are of much better quality as compared to the Japanese magazines. But!! mooks are just glorified advertorials for the brand. Besides pretty pictures you seldom get much else. And a mook is only what 30 pages?

Now this mag is an equivalent to a fashion and lifestyle thesis! With just over 360 pages it would have occupied me for ages if only i could read!

But i digress. Obviously the main reason for me buying this mag is for the Agnes B tote. And what a pretty tote it is indeed. Much better than the dud that was the agnes B mook which you can read about here.

Here i share the pictures.

Wrapped.

Unwrapped.

Comes in mitchy matchy star adorned parcel.

Love the glittery effect of the magazine cover.

And the tote. Not as big as i thought it would be but big enough.

The material reminds me of those recyclable bags from giant albeit with a cooler brand and pattern.

Neat stitching.

But the inside is made of waterproof material thus rendering it more sturdy than most totes.

This beats the cloth bag that came with the Agnes B mook hands down. The only con is that it does not come with an Agnes B tag. No labels or tags whatsoever but its a small setback to a really lovely bag.

It costs RM40.05 (i know 5 sen also wan). But i actually found the mag a bigger distraction than the tote itself. Shocker. Ha ha i'll share with you the contents of this bumper mag next blog post.

Harrods Mook

I have become such a compulsive Japanese Mook shopper. And this is another one of my many purchases this months no thanks to the fact that KLCC is the most accessible shopping centre by train from Slim River. Accessible also 2 hours.. people who live in city's are soo lucky.

The fresh and unopened package. I'm loving the 20% discount with  another purchase sticker.

I really don't understand how i could have thought that this mook cost RM80++ when in reality it only costs RM54.55 and that before the 20% discount. My eyes must have been playing tricks on me.

Of course the buy was for the gift with purchase.

A sturdy and well made Harrods tote bag.

Clean stitching. Not a loose end in sight.

As always my only gripe is there are no zips. Comes with a single pocket inside though.

The contents of the mook introduces the history of Harrods and plays like a pretty picture book.

The real deals, have no zips as well.

Is it me or does the totes on the right looks suspiciously like Cath Kidston copys?

All in all a satisfying buy.

Wang Lee Hom - Ni Bu Zhi Dao De Shi

I have not been infatuated with a song for such a long time and this happens to be one such song.

Pin Yin Lyrics for people like me. (Credits to Singklyrics)

HU DIE ZHA JI CI YAN JING, CAI XUE HUI FEI XING
YE KONG SA MAN LE XING XING, DAN JI KE HUI LUO DI
WO FEI XING, DAN NI ZHUI LUO ZHI JI
HEN KAO JIN, HAI TING JIAN HU XI
DUI BU QI, WO QUE MEI ZHUO JIN NI

NI BU ZHI DAO WO WEI SHEN MA LI KAI NI,
WO JIAN CHI BU NENG SHUO FANG REN NI KU QI
NI DE LEI DI XIANG QING PEN DA YU,
SUI LE MAN DI, ZAI XIN LI QING XI
NI BU ZHI DAO WO WEI SHEN MA HEN XIA XIN,
PAN XUAN ZAI NI KAN BU JIAN DE GAO KONG LI
DUO DE SHI, NI BU ZHI DAO DE SHI

HU DIE ZHA JI CI YAN JING, CAI XUE HUI FEI XING
YE KONG SA MAN LE XING XING, DAN JI KE HUI LUO DI
WO FEI XING, DAN NI ZHUI LUO ZHI JI
HEN KAO JIN, HAI TING JIAN HU XI
DUI BU QI, WO QUE MEI ZHUO JIN NI

NI BU ZHI DAO WO WEI SHEN MA LI KAI NI,
WO JIAN CHI BU NENG SHUO FANG REN NI KU QI
NI DE LEI DI XIANG QING PEN DA YU,
SUI LE MAN DI, ZAI XIN LI QING XI
NI BU ZHI DAO WO WEI SHEN MA HEN XIA XIN,
PAN XUAN ZAI NI KAN BU JIAN DE GAO KONG LI
DUO DE SHI, NI BU ZHI DAO DE SHI

WO FEI XING, DAN NI ZHUI LUO ZHI JI

NI BU ZHI DAO WO WEI SHEN MA LI KAI NI,
WO JIAN CHI BU NENG SHUO FANG REN NI KU QI
NI DE LEI DI XIANG QING PEN DA YU,
SUI LE MAN DI, ZAI XIN LI QING XI
NI BU ZHI DAO WO WEI SHEN MA HEN XIA XIN,
PAN XUAN ZAI NI KAN BU JIAN DE GAO KONG LI

DUO DE SHI, NI BU ZHI DAO DE SHI


Also never really been a fan of Wang Lee Hom but i guess i am now a convert. It also helps that his lyrics are relatively simple to memorize and less mind bogglingly complicated like a certain Mr. Chows'.

Which got me thinking back to the first music video i saw of wangleehom : Qing Di Bei Duo Fen which translates to Love Rival Beethoven. I know, he must have been such a music nerd, in a good way.

I must have been in Form 1 or something waking up early on a weekend morning to catch the Channel V Chinese Top 20 on Channel 8.(Quick check : It's 1995) And this was wangleehom's introduction to the music world. Singing in a baritone, with apparel ready for a job interview and an ex-girlfriend in cameo role to boot.I think this MV showcased what he was then , an aspiring musician in music college in the US.

I remembered him to have had a slow start in the industry and was wondering why since he had something many artists do not have at the time. True musical talent.Please remember that that was a time when the four heavenly kings ruled and Jolin was touted as the newcomer with the looks as well as the *choke choke* voice!

But talent (undeniably aided by good looks) eventually shined through.

This is him circa 2007 rehashing his first ever single and sharing his thoughts on love at the end.

Okay i got a little carried away here and found his performance with Westlife. He sounds really good.

And his star is shining as brightly as ever.

Gelato Pique Autumn Winter Mook 2010- a review

Yeah finally got my hands on the gelato pique mook. It costs RM 69.60 with a 20% discount it translates to RM 55.80.

The inside.. okay rubbish la can only see the pictures.

The winter design inspired bag made of canvas and measuring H32x W45x D15cm.

The canvas has a worn-out look.

There's a pocket inside and single button closure.

 

I love it cos it's pretty well made but now face the dilemma of matching it with my clothes. It matches nothing! Maybe an all white ensemble?

Here are some pretty pics from the mook.

 

Truthfully the clothes look pretty comfy but unwearable in our weather.