obsessing sometimes isn't a bad thing

i went out with my friends from junior college (high school) last night - ewan, adrian and bob. we went to see nuts (aka natalie) at her home. it was her gorgeous daughter, angel's birthday. she was so cute. sometimes i see kids like that and i wish i had a child too. no. really.

then they brought me out to dempsey road. i just want to say OH MY GOD i didn't know that it had a major transformation!!! like hello?? 4 years away from singapore and now i'm a bloody tourist. dempsey road has turned into a major spot filled with gorgeous cafes, restaurants and whatever else, and in the middle of all this lush greenery as well! (but totally scary at night. where are the street lamps?!) i can't believe that after coming back to singapore for 2 months that no one took me there. hmph! and like it's totally near my house! it doesn't even take more than 5 minutes by car! i've gone by it sooo many times and never went in. damn.

we went to ps cafe. i loved it. it was gorgeous! the place is apparently famous for their desserts and when i saw those cakes, my eyes lit up. (i cannot emphasize enough how much i love chocolate.)

but!! this ang moh (singaporean slang which literally means "red hair", but actually refers to all caucasians. the slang started decades ago and today, is widely used and is by no means, a racist remark.) came over, pointed to the fudge brownie i wanted and asked his wife if she wanted that! there were only like 2 brownies left and i started getting anxious that by the time i could order, there would be none left!!! i kept going, "don't take my brownie don't take my brownie..."

well it worked and he didn't. woohoo. we ordered the soup of the day. bad idea. i think it was supposed to be cream of potato and leek or something?

well it was potato-boiled-in-water-and-add-some-cream-plus-some-leek soup. i couldn't taste anything. maybe my taste buds have been used to less bland stuff. we also ordered a roast beef salad. i thought it was quite yummy but i couldn't believe we paid $19 for a salad that came with 4 puny pieces of roast beef and a handful of veges. daylight robbery.

so now i know why the place is famous for its desserts. thank god for that. the cakes were sooo yummy and miss chocolate lover, me (duh), was extremely satisfied. in fact it was a little too rich. we shared the fudge and the white chocolate brownie. which i didn't touch cos i'm a dark chocolate kind of girl, no white chocolate thank you very much. the fudge had a slab of brownie at the bottom, and it was topped with tons of marshmallows that were sort of stuck together with chocolate that had been drizzled all over. it was fantastic and we couldn't finish. i had to drink like 5 glasses of water.

it was great to meet and catch up. it's been 6 years since we graduated and it was like time took a stand-still and although we've changed in some ways, we're all very much the same. they all seem to be doing exceedingly brilliant. bobby started who's going with his friends, and now he's also doing some great new venture that sounds excellent and i wish him well. ewan seems to be doing great at work also, but i tell her she's too busy and is harder to date than the president. and adrian, who's still in school, is going to prague next month on exchange, the lucky bastard!!!


update on parsons: i'm like totally freaking out now cos i don't know if i'll be able to get my visa on time. i've got less than a month left before i'm supposed to be going over to new york, and there are all these things left to do and it's driving me nuts. the next couple of weeks are going to be hell. i can feel it coming.

also, i've been pouring over scores of real estate websites online. i know i know, i shouldn't be looking at those gorgeous pictures because what you see isn't what you're gonna get. (oh yeah, i've had that bad experience the first time i moved to japan and no way i'm going through that shit again.) but oh they look so good and i just love looking at houses and apartments. i'll be staying at my dad's friend's daughter's house in queens till i find a place of my own. in other words, i'll be squatting at her place for a while. does anyone know a great loft/studio/one-bedroom apartment in manhattan, that i could probably rent/buy/loot/squat/live in for free? i'm desperate.


i've been obsessing over a lot of things recently. basically just going all nostalgic over memories from my childhood. i went with my sis to the kid's department in isetan a couple of days ago, when we were looking for a present for another friend's daughter. i took one long look at all the barbies in one section, and my little pony in another. i used to love them as a child. i spent my days playing with them!! i remember watching tons of videos over and again, of my little pony and carebears.

oh god; that reminds me. my first two dogs, two huge dobermans, were named after the ponies!! one was called rose dust, the poor dear. imagine getting called that, when you're a huge and snarly dog. luckily for her, at least, she was a girl. heh heh. i also remember losing my beloved care bear, a sunshine bear, in a hong kong airport when i was about 3. i cried buckets and would not be consoled.

anyway, we also went to the sanrio store where i found another one of my childhood loves: little twin stars. i remember using a cup of theirs till i was like 12 or something. they are so cute. i found this note book and multi-colored pen that i had to have. i'm not like, you know, going crazy over them, but everytime i find something cute that i can use or something, i buy it. in fact, i'm almost tempted to download the little twin star wallpaper.

i wonder if that'll be overdoing it.

also, i'm stoked, because i just unearthed a few enid blyton books. i must have read every one of her books when i was a little girl. i remember my mum buying me my first enid blyton. i was 4 and we were on the way home after one of my piano lessons. i got hooked after that and bought everything. i loved her books! i loved them all, especially the series!! mr galliano's circus, the famous five, malory towers, the magic faraway tree, the naughtiest girl, the wishing chair, amelia jane, shadow the sheepdog, the three golliwogs..... oh god i loved them. i read many of them over and over and over again. even when i had grown up, whenever i found the books, i would sit down and read them through once more.

(and yes, you guessed it right. my dog, shadow, was named after shadow the sheepdog. shadow first came to my home with a sister from her litter. they were tiny and could fit in a box. one was a dusty light brown, yellow and white. so i called her misty. that must have been a character's name from somewhere as well, but i can't remember now... the other puppy was brown and white, but she followed us everywhere. "perfect!!" i thought. i was 11, had read 'shadow the sheepdog' about 25 times, and badly wanted a shadow of my own. my darling misty, who was as rebellious, stubborn and defiant as me, died when she was just 7. shadow is 13 now, and still follows us everywhere.)

i think enid blyton's brilliant and i really grew up with her. i learnt about many things through her books. i'm really sad that many of my books had been given away to younger cousins. but when i have kids one day, i'm gonna make sure they grow up with enid blyton too. i'll buy them the whole collection. i'm tempted to go out and buy ME the whole collection.


wow. it was so great just reliving some memories by writing this. what are some of the things from your childhood, or from your past, that you used to love and still do now? i would love to hear all about it!


with much love, sheepdogs and rose dust,
gilda

today's get-up 03july2007

• tinkerbell t-shirt by vintage disney
• washed demin vest by dotti
• navy sarouel pants by comme des garcons
• white birkies by birkenstock
  
• leather wrist cuff by me
• dog accessory by shadow
  

in japan, dogs have been one of the favorite fashion accessories for years. louis vuitton collar? leash? dog carrier? dior maybe? the biggest fashion houses all have accessories for dogs, so that you can dress your pup, chanel, in doggie clothes by l.v., or maybe that famous trench by burberry's for those dreadful rainy days when puppy can't get her million dollar fur wet.

oh and don't forget to dangle puppy's glittery diamond-encrusted initial bracelet from tiffany's around her neck.

dogs in japan have their own special boutiques. they have their own shops, hundreds of them, in THE shopping mecca aka tokyo. you can bring puppy for a manicure (or is it a pedicure) in her favorite vamp nail polish by who else but chanel. you can bring puppy for a haircut while you get yours, of course, by the top doggie stylist, and pay as much as you do for yours. oh and how about bringing puppy to the hot springs? or a mud bath? or yoga? or an aromatherapy massage?

after all, if your dog is your best friend, why shouldn't she enjoy life as much as you do?
.
.
.
.
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i kid you not.

as for me, i can't even get shadow to wear a bandanna, let alone mufflers, kick-ass pilot goggles or fur vests. the only thing she'll ever tolerate is a collar or harness, and a leash. and it'd better be because i was bringing her out.

while i wish i could dress up my dog a little, and i do want shadow to have some massages or something, i look at some dogs (and their retarded owners) in japan and roll my eyes. poor pups. they look like idiots with a capital I, in their red nail polishes and pink tutu skirts.

do you know a pet owner who is a little psycho like that? (or are you one of them... *evil snigger*)


ps: if i had just described your entire situation, please stop torturing your poor dog/chinchilla/tortoise/etc. it's almost abuse.

shadow is in doggie dreamland

as i type this, she's sitting by me, and making all sorts of funny
sounds. soooo cuuuuuuute!! she had a haircut yesterday.
but i was a little peeved when i went to pick her up from the
groomers'. they cut her hair really weird. i prefer her hair long,
just because she looks prettier, but in this heat, i know it's better
for her to have it short. but the haircut is just awful.

nah-ah.

they cut the hairs at the back of her neck so short, but left those
at the front of her neck long?? and at the back, instead of having a
smooth slope from short to long, it looks like... a step. (you know,
from stairs??)

oh god. i can't even describe it.

my baby's growing so old, her brown outer coat is hardly even
growing anymore. with her hair cut short, she's almost all white.
she looks like a lamb. hmph.

bib and i went to meet our cousin again last night. she took me to
the latest hangout in singapore. it's called the cannery, right where
clark quay is. it used to be a really DEAD spot but they did it up with
lots of new clubs and bright neon lights. we went to kandi bar.
well yeah yeah it was kinda cool and all but i couldn't believe it when i
ordered a lychee martini and it came in like a wine glass.
BAH. i was not impressed.


however i've heard a lot about this fashion bar and you know me,
i love all things fashion, so i'm waiting for a chance to go check it out.

after some drinks, we went to this arsenal fan club-ish place.
there used to be this manchester united bar in singapore a few years
back too, but that closed down. which surprised me because there are
thousands of man u fans here in singapore. (err, for those of you who
are lost, i'm talking about the english premier league!)

i'm suspecting this arsenal bar is still standing because it's owners are
just about one of the richest families in singapore, so they don't really
have to worry about paying rental and all!!

we went to watch the uefa champions league finals between liverpool
and ac milan. i was rooting for milan.

as a former man u fan (i worshipped eric cantona),
there is NO way i could have cheered for liverpool.

did anyone watch!!?

unfortunately, i thought milan played really poorly in the first half.
like hardly any possession! but kaká is just SO talented. i became
quite a fan after the last world cup. he had this one move in the
first half of the match that got me saying a really loud "OOH!!"

and was that first goal almost a hand-ball? well it was a
upper-arm-ball. kinda tricky but heck! they put in another one to
silence those liverpool players anyway! HAH!

anyway, today i went to play badminton with my coach, nordin,
and rilaini. it was so funny. i hadn't played badminton since
primary 6!! (12 years old)

my juniors from my secondary school had training after that,
and i joined them for a short while. i had aching muscles for
a day after training on monday. well, i had expected that, since
i haven't been exercising for like, 3 years! the last time i ran
was when i last came back to singapore, last year in august!!
(when i joined the team for training.)

by some kind of miracle, my muscles stopped aching today
and i could run and walk.

hooray!

i've put on a lot of weight the last few years and it's almost
disgusting. i'm not in the overweight bracket yet, but i'm just
leading such an unhealthy lifestyle, it makes ME sick. so now
that i am back here i'm determined to lose some weight and
start exercising again. and hopefully get my hockey skills back!!

anyway, after training, i went for my first ever oil-painting class.
i've never been properly trained in the fine arts and before
attending fashion college, where we used color pencils and
watercolors to sketch our designs, the last time i had ever held
a paintbrush was when i was 12. so i had LOTS of problems in
college just attempting to paint a simple design, so i thought
i really needed to get trained. i've always wanted to try
oil-painting, so since i had like 2 months free here in singapore
i decided to have a go at it.

i joined a weekly class at the nanyang academy of fine arts.
there were just about 7 or 8 people in my class, so i was pleased
that it was small. but i was kinda nervous since i'd never done
anything like that before. since it was the first class for fellow
beginners like myself, our teacher got us to do a painting on
blocks, where we would learn undershading and lighting,
err, that kinda thing.

it was really interesting and i really enjoyed myself. although
i'd have to admit that half the time, i didn't really know what
i was doing. haha. my teacher commented that he noticed
that i don't look at the object very often but i'm kinda getting
it right anyway. i wonder if that's a good or a bad comment.
he also said he doesn't know what i'm thinking cos i was
expressionless. which i thought was hilarious and made me
laugh, cos i have always been miss exaggerated-expressions!
well i guess it was a room full of strangers and i needed to
warm up before letting all my crap hang loose. heh heh.

the lesson went on for about 3 hours, with a lot of "what do
i do next?" thoughts going through my mind. it was really
interesting though, how we all look at different angles, and
even if it were the same angle, how we would look at it in
a different way. don't you think the brain and how we work
is just fascinating?



yeah yeah i know, not very good at all. well cut me some
slack cos i only had 3 hours!! we'd be working on this
again and finishing it up during our next lesson.
hopefully, it turns out much nicer! yikes!