Archive for the 'Life' Category
September 4 2008: Retail Therapy Is Not An Incorrect Term
Thank you for your comments yesterday. Honestly, thank you. It means a lot to me - while I know that everything that’s happening now is just a temporary bleakness in my life, that knowledge doesn’t necessarily make it any easier to handle so your encouragement is much appreciated.
On a brighter note, I did get the chance to spend much of today with Alex. Sure, I made an ironing run early in the morning beforehand, and just came back from another ironing run at 10pm at night, but! A good eight/nine hours of girliness with Alex! Nothing takes my mind off things more than shopping!
Our local shopping mall is having a month of freebies to celebrate spring. We took advantage of the free Toblerones (mmm…), of a free manicure each, and of course, of some shopping. But, as shopping at the biggest mall in Melbourne apparently wasn’t enough, we decided to hightail to Ikea on the other side of town and browse through mass-produced homewares (I bought microwavable food containers!), and then hit up a couple of warehouse clothing sales.
All in all, we went from 10am in the morning to 6.30pm in the evening, and by my calculations, gave around $400AUD to the retail industry between us. Thankfully, we got goods in return for the dosh…goods that shall be described in further detail, with photos, in tomorrow’s entry. LOTS OF GOODS, LOTS OF CLOTHES! Mmm, clothes.
Filed under Friends & Life & Money with 10 Comments
September 3 2008: General Veil Of Darkness
I realise that I’ve been rather circumspect when blogging in the past month or so. Personal entries have been few and far between - rather, I’ve been writing lengthy entries on broader issues, “how to” guides to everything from saving money to eBaying, and basically anything that avoids speaking too much about me and my life has been fair game.
There are two main reasons for this reticence. The first, my current lack of writing at length in English (my university classes this semester are primarily all in the Chinese language, so no essays in English) has meant that I need to get my rambling-at-length fix from somewhere. The second, I’ve not been particularly happy the past couple of weeks. For a while earlier this year, everything was peachy, but recently, things are dark, and I don’t do dark blogging. I find it hard to post rants about how bad everything is going, and how I hate the world, and general misery. That would be expressing feelings that I’m not comfortable sharing. Escaping the realities of unhappiness with impersonal entries about broader issues is a better option.
With this said, I do realise that I need to face and address the situation I’m in, for my own mental wellbeing if nothing else. So here I go, setting it all down in print.
Filed under Family & Friends & Life & Men & Uni/Work with 20 Comments
September 2 2008: A Faux Sense Of Independence
Despite all my posturing about my independence, the fact remains that if I were to move out of the family home, I would fail miserably and possibly die a long and lingering death. Finances isn’t a problem. I earn more than enough, and I know how to be thrifty. It’s the everyday practical things that I’ll fail at.
Cooking and eating balanced meals would be a problem. I can bake cookies and cakes better than anyone else I know, I make a mean salad, excel at plain soup noodles, can handle a simple pasta dish, and my sandwiches are to die for. When it comes to the well-rounded meat and three veg, any seafood dishes, or anything else though, I’m less than adequate. For someone who grew up in a household run by two former cooks who rarely let their progeny invade their ’space’, I’m used to excellent cooking provided to me by others. There’s only so many cakes, cookies, salads, soup noodles, pasta dishes, and sandwiches that I can eat before yearning for something more sophisticated.
Cleaning would present a problem as well. I can wash dishes, dust, and vacuum with the best of them, but when it comes to the down-and-dirty cleaning, I’m a bit hopeless. Scrubbing soap scum off showers, and cleaning toilets? Erm, what? You mean it’s not just magically clean? (Laundry won’t be a problem, I’m excellent at laundry.)
Automobile maintenance would be a problem. I drive and fill up the petrol tank - that’s about the extent of my automobile knowledge. My father takes care of checking both cars for wheel air pressure, changing engine oil, etc. If I were to move out, my wheels would be entirely flat and the engine would fall out onto the road before I even realised that anything was wrong.
With all that said, I’m going to have to move out at some point before I go batshit insane. A long and lingering death would be preferable to continuing to live under the strict traditional Asian parental roof.
Filed under Family & Life with 14 Comments