How do you make a relationship last?

"I don't know. It just lasts."

1. Know what you want. When you know what you want, it's not easy (impossible in fact) to stray or get distracted.
2. Fall in love every single day. I know it sounds rather silly but yes, try falling in love with your partner every single day.
3. Do not be lazy. People think that love fades that's why one gets lazy; it is actually the other way around. One gets lazy that's why the love fades away.
4. See the positive traits in each other. Know that there's no one else like him/her.
5. Communicate. Communication is the bridge between two human beings isn't it? Be it verbal or non-verbal. Just communicate.
6. Quality vs. quantity. It does not matter if there's little time together. Make sure you make the best out of the little time.
7. Do not bear grudges. He/she is only human and human do make mistakes; albeit he/she should not be repeating the mistake.
8. Be transparent. Voice out your opinions, do not let unhappiness snow-ball till a stage where the relationship is irreparable.
9. Trust. Not having trust, being suspicious and needing assurance can prove to be high-maintenance and energy-zapping for the partner.
10. Love one another.

Disclaimer: This is not tried and tested. Try at your own risk.

Is love blind?

"I do not believe in love at first sight because blind people can fall in love too."

So is it true that love is blind?

Cinderella. I am.

Most, if not all of you, should have heard of the story of "Cinderella". If you haven't, there's nothing much I can do about your deprived childhood except to tell you the story briefly. Once, there was a girl whose father remarried after the mother passed away. The stepmother and two ugly stepsisters took away all her beautiful dresses and treated her like a maid. One day, the prince had a ball and Cinderella was supposed to have been invited. But of course, the stepmother did not allow and she had no pretty dress to wear. On the night of the ball, she was sobbing away when, "poof" her fairy-godmother appeared. With magical powers, Cinderella was suddenly ready to go to the ball. An only criterion was that she had to be back by twelve. As the clock struck twelve, she ran off, leaving a glass slipper in her hurry. The prince went after her and picked the slipper up. He found her and with the cliché ending, they got married and lived happily ever after.

Anyway, that is not the point.

As my mum is rather strict, I have to be home by twelve so some of my friends call me Cinderella. This afternoon, something that happened made me feel more Cinderella than ever. Here is how the story goes:

I was rushing for the train with my mum. I already had my right foot on board the train when my mum, who thought that we could not board the train in time, pulled me. My slipper slided off my foot and dropped on the train. At this crucial moment, the doors closed and the train moved off. There I was, with only one side of the slipper.

[Laughter]

Meanwhile, I can only wait for a particular prince charming to pick up my shoe and come looking for me. I'm not serious. I already have a prince charming, what am I talking about? *laughs* I am waiting for someone to pick up my shoe and call me so that I can go to collect it and the left and right can reunite again.

It's almost twelve, I'd better go. Just in case I leave a shoe behind in a hurry. Again.

Sentences

I read "The little prince" and these are few statements which i found meaningful and extracted:

1. "People leap into express trains but they no longer know what they are looking for. So they get agitated and go round in circles." (maybe that refers to the paper chase)
2. "You can only see things clearly with your heart. What is essential is invisible to the eye." (that is probably love)
3. "It is the time you have wasted on your rose that makes your rose so important." (that is why it is hard to let go)
4. "Whether it is a house, or stars, or the desert, what makes their beauty is invisible." (they say love is blind, or is it?)

Stress management

A lecturer, when explaining stress management to an audience, raised a glass of water and asked, "How heavy is this glass of water?" Answers called out ranged from 20g to 500g. The lecturer replied, "The absolute weight doesn't matter. It depends on how long you try to hold it."

"If I hold it for a minute, that's not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my right arm. If I hold it for a day, you'll have to call an ambulance. In each case, it's the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes." He continued, "And that's the way it is with stress management. If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden becomes increasingly heavy,we won't be able to carry on. As with the glass of water, you have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again. When we're refreshed, we can carry on with the burden." "So, before you return home tonight, put the burden of work down. Don't carry it home. You can pick it up tomorrow. Whatever burdens you're carrying now, set them down for a moment if you can." "Relax; pick them up later after you've rested. Life is short. Enjoy it!

And then he shared some ways of dealing with the burdens of life:

* Accept that some days you're the pigeon, and some days you're the statue.
* Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them.
* Drive carefully. It's not only cars that can be recalled by their maker.
* If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.
* If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.
* Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance.
* The second mouse gets the cheese.
* When everything's coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.
* Birthdays are good for you. The more you have, the longer you live.
* You may be only one person in the world, but you may also be the world to one person.
* Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once.
* We could learn a lot from crayons. Some are sharp, some are pretty and someare dull. Some have weird names, and all are different colors, but they all haveto live in the same box.
* A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.

Not a girl, not yet a woman

A teenager is between the age of 13-19. You know, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, well, you get the idea. One has to be 21 to be officially an adult. So what do you call someone who is 20? Not here not there, in between.

Anyway, a couple of days back, i turned 20. This is by far the best birthday ever. I celebrated in advance, went kbox to sing karaoke followed by dinner at Tao's. Table for 10. Wow! It's the first time there's a big group and i didn't feel left out. In fact, i felt so blessed. So happy that there were so many close friends celebrating my birthday with me. They have singers there (not what i'd call a live band). They got those people to sing me a birthday song. Gary and Dennis even went up to sing, dedicating the song to me. I also spent one whole day with my guy on the actual day of my birthday. Haven't spent so much time with him for quite a while. Dinner was bufffet at kuisine-bo.

Very touched that many of my friends actually remembered my birthday. Some whom i didn't expect sms me to send their greetings. A friend even asked if i received a lot of presents. My reply was, "I'm not a kid, where got get many presents?". This is what i got:

• necklace, earrings and bracelet from perlini's silver from my aunt
• a red packet from my grandma dearest
• "the little prince" and charles & keith voucher from joy
• a slice of cake from yaosheng
• treats (kbox & dinner) from gary and dennis
• boiling tube with message from shuyi
• musical stand from vince, zijie and shuyi
• necklace from swarovski from my guy

And those things that i bought from the shopping trips are presents for myself! *laughs* i love myself.

You know how people use the term sweet sixteen? Well, this is memorable twenty for me.

Happy Birthday to me!

Shopping trip II

Just the other day, (Monday to be exact) I went shopping again. Not sure if the last shopping trip has anything to do with it though. I bought quite a bit ot things. Again. This time round, I'm not as satisfied with my purchases as the first time though. Here's what i bought:

• off-shoulder black top ($18)
• Brown skirt ($27.50)
• silver pumps ($20)
• black caplet ($18)
• golden balloon skirt ($18)

I'm still not sure if i should have bought the brown skirt. Wondering if i bought it under pressure. Trying not to think too much about it.

When's my next shopping spree you may wonder. Well, not too soon i hope. The reserve's running low and the two most interesting place (Bugis and Chinatown) has been conquered by me and Joy. *evil laughter*

But then again, I've got a $20 charles & keith voucher which means i have to go shop. If not how am i suppose to use the voucher?

For now, I'm rather attracted to silverish and golden shades. And there seems quite a number of things in those colours.

Anyway, cheers! To my conquest!

Shopping trip

I have never been a big fan of shopping like most other girls. Firstly, shopping needs capital, lots of it cos window shopping is not exactly fun; especially if there's something you like. Secondly, shopping requires mood and the venue is crucial. I know that the venue is secondary and that company is all that matters but in the case of shopping, it doesn't work this way. In fact, it is alright even if you have no company, i.e. alone.

Anyway, yesterday proved to be the best shopping trip ever. I bought quite some stuff and i'm totally satisfied with my purchases. You know how sometimes you buy something only to regret it later? Yesterday was the complete opposite. Wondering what i bought? Here's the list:

• bag that can be hand-carried or slung across the shoulder ($10)
• choker/ necklace ($24)
• spaghetti-strap top ($23)
• long-sleeve top with one side off-shoulder ($17)
• caplet or don't-know-what-you-call-it ($22)
• dress ($35)

It's amazing i can find so many items i like in a day and even more amazing is the amount of money i spent, keeping in mind that i did spend money on food as well. There were two other items that i quite liked. One is a pair of heels ($27), the other one is a skirt from top shop ($73). The price is ridiculously steep! No way was i gonna buy it.

Acknowledgements:

Joy for the company and opinion and Shuyi for the ride home.

Seventh month

Today marks the first day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar. Some call it seventh month (七月 qi yue) while others call it the hungry ghost festival (中元节 zhong yuan jie). There are many beliefs and old wives' tales about what to do and what not to do during this month. Many would also burn incense paper and joss sticks and offer some food to appease the "ghosts". There would be tents erected for dinners and celebrations. There would be stage (歌台 ge tai) whereby the first few rows of seats are to be left empty.

Why am i talking about this i have no idea. Perhaps i have nothing to blog about. Perhaps i was bored. Perhaps it's just FYI (for your information). Perhaps perhaps.

I do wonder how many people don't know about this though.

Men

I have nothing against men but i thought this was rather funny.

1. Men are like - Laxatives - They irritate the shit out of you.
2. Men are like - Bananas - The older they get, the less firm they are.
3. Men are like - Weather - Nothing can be done to change them.
4. Men are like - Blenders - You need One, but you're not quite sure why.
5. Men are like - Chocolate Bars - Sweet, smooth, and they usually head right for your hips.
6. Men are like - Commercials - You can't believe a word they say.
7. Men are like - Department Stores - Their clothes are always 1/2 off.
8. Men are like - Government Bonds - They take so long to mature.
9. Men are like - Mascara - They usually run at the first sign of emotion.
10. Men are like - Popcorn - They satisfy you, but only for a little while.
11. Men are like - Lava Lamps - Fun to look at, but not very bright.
12. Men are like - Parking Spots - All the good ones are taken, the rest are handicapped.

The day it rained cows and goats

Haven't been blogging in a while. Or is it ages? Well, when you feel that nobody or not many people are reading your blog, you don't feel like writing. When you don't blog, obviously people lose interest and don't visit your blog. So which causes which? Which comes first? It's a catch-22 situation and i can't say which comes first. It's just like the cliche which came first, the chicken or the egg. Anyway, doesn't matter. Fact is, i didn't blog.

Today was a super wet weather. I wouldn't have stepped out of the house if i didn't need to. It was a day when umbrella proved to be quite useless. My shoes were and socks were soaking wet. They made squeaky sounds like shoes toddlers wear and i swear there were tadpoles in there too. Eew. I was just kidding. The front of my pants were totally wet, i could have wrung it and water would come out.

Lift lobbies were wet, MRT platforms were wet, everywhere was wet. Roads became lakes and ponds while fields transformed into swimming pools. Me, cold. Didn't help that i was already unwell. I was recovering from a package of fever, blocked nose, sore throat and cough. With such bad weather, i should say, i'm trying to recover (hopefully with the co-operation of Mr Weather).

It's a nice weather to be at the comfort of your home, a good book in your hands and a warm, aromatic cup of coffee by your side. Sad to say, i was out in the heavy rain, carrying a small umbrella which seemed so frail in the wind, threatening to fall apart and running to prevent water being splashed on me when cars drive by.

I hope for fair weather.