The boyfriend and I were watching E! True Hollywood:
BF: Oh that's Colin Fehr right?
Me: Fehr?
BF: You know that English guy.
Me: Do you mean Firth?
BF: Yea Firth. That's Colin Firth right?
Me: No honey, that's Farrell. Colin Farrell.
BF: (Laughs) Right!
*One minute pause*
BF: I didn't know William Farrell was Irish.
Me: Colin Farrell, honey. And he's always been Irish.
BF: Oh right.
Me: I think you meant Will Ferrel there.
BF: He's that funny one right?
Me: Uhuh.
BF: So this Colin Farrell, didn't he used to sing with Ronan Keating?
Me: ??
BF: ??
Me: That's Robbie Williams!
***
*Sigh*
Some conversations
Me: Hi Mom. What's for dinner?
Mom: Dinner? I dunno.. we're going out I suppose
Me: Can I come?
Mom: Sure. We're having dinner outside and then I want to do some supermarketing.
Me: Supermarketing? Does that require a cape?
Mom: Well I am a Mom so I guess the occassion may call for it.
***
Colleague (who is a foreigner): So Aliaa, do Malaysian men normally walk out the elevator before women do?
Me: Yup. They have no manners. And then they get shocked when we don't want to marry them.
Mom: Dinner? I dunno.. we're going out I suppose
Me: Can I come?
Mom: Sure. We're having dinner outside and then I want to do some supermarketing.
Me: Supermarketing? Does that require a cape?
Mom: Well I am a Mom so I guess the occassion may call for it.
***
Colleague (who is a foreigner): So Aliaa, do Malaysian men normally walk out the elevator before women do?
Me: Yup. They have no manners. And then they get shocked when we don't want to marry them.
Get warm!
Picture from TheSlanket.com Necessity, as we are often led to believe, is the mother of all invention. But in the age of having everything we need pretty much already invented (Want to get somewhere? Here's a car! Want to have indoor lavatory? Here's a flush!) we turn to other needs in our comfortable and well modified lives - laziness (or really, something to save us from doing something else we think might be even the slightest laborious). Necessity is thus transformed from its original meaning and now includes fluffier needs and wants (pun not intended, read on to see what I mean...).
I'm pretty sure some guy just wanted to switch the channel one day but was so snuggled up in his blanket (must have been winter?) that he decided that it was far better to keep his hands inside and continue watching the geriatric chess match that was playing.
This painful experience then translated to a need: to have the full use of one's arms when one is wrapped up cosily in a blanket and is protected from living room frost bite.
A Slanket is born!
OK despite my sarcastic sounding opening, I actually think this is an awesome invention. If they sold it here in Malaysia (and if we had winter) I would actually go out and buy one (yes, I'm that kind of a person).
It really does look comfy and I don't mind the idea of having the use of my arms to hug somebody whilst still being wrapped up in a blanket. On their website I found another cool variation: the Siamese slanket! This one is DEFINITELY a good idea. What if you want to snuggle with someone and be wrapped up in a blanket at the same time?? Buy a slanket that has FOUR sleeves of course!
Now why didn't I think of that?
Now team this great idea with a marketing whiz and you will find many amazing ways to package and sell this nifty item: eye-catching colours, animal prints and sizes too. And the holy grail to good marketing? Get a celebrity to wear it! I was watching Letterman a couple of nights ago and Bruce Willis popped out from behind the curtain wearing a baby blue slanket. Letterman's response: "Bruce, why, you look absolutely monastic!"
NB This is my first cool stuff for this blog. Watch out for more!
Is it ok if it's cheap?
Like any girl, my quest for the perfect skin care products seemed at times like the search for the holy grail. I spent hundreds on different brands and lines but absolutely nothing will have changed. I would constantly feel like I have been duped by yet another clever marketing ploy promising softer skin, more even skin tone and a clear complexion.
For years I have battled with my skin and tried everything but nothing seemed to work. At one point, I even thought that perhaps, I should move up the food chain and spend even more on those supposedly exclusive brands like Estee Lauder and Clarins.
It so happened that I had planned to get toothpaste that day. True story I swear. I went to the drugstore to buy some toothpaste, but the inner shopaholic in me decided to wander in the store. I came across something I had never thought of even stopping to read the label: Neutrogena.
Neutrogena was having a promotion - buy their skin cleanser pack (cleanser and srub) at a low low price of RM21. Bargain considering I have been paying nearly RM200 for a similar deal at Estee Lauder.
I walked a bit more and thought, heck, if I was really doing this, I might as well do it right! Next stop: Olay!
Skin moisturiser for day time for a steal at RM20.69. OMG, I usually pay nearly RM400 for day plus night moisturisers!
I was ecstatic. I took the newly purchased goods and went home to try them on.
Now, a few weeks later, I am completely impressed. My skin is now smoother, moisturised and pimple free. Which really leads me to wonder, what the heck was I paying all those hundreds for when none of it worked? Now i'm just using a generic brand over the counter and paying literally 10% of what I used to and now I am the happiest clam in the world!
So it's Ok if it's cheap. As long as it works and I look gorgeous in the end haha!
For years I have battled with my skin and tried everything but nothing seemed to work. At one point, I even thought that perhaps, I should move up the food chain and spend even more on those supposedly exclusive brands like Estee Lauder and Clarins.
Some of the stuff I used to buy!
One morning not too long ago,after a night of intense at-home facial and moisturising, I woke up to discover a face full of pimples and dry patches.
I was heartbroken. I look like a cow and I was absolutely depressed.
It so happened that I had planned to get toothpaste that day. True story I swear. I went to the drugstore to buy some toothpaste, but the inner shopaholic in me decided to wander in the store. I came across something I had never thought of even stopping to read the label: Neutrogena.
Neutrogena was having a promotion - buy their skin cleanser pack (cleanser and srub) at a low low price of RM21. Bargain considering I have been paying nearly RM200 for a similar deal at Estee Lauder.
I walked a bit more and thought, heck, if I was really doing this, I might as well do it right! Next stop: Olay!
Skin moisturiser for day time for a steal at RM20.69. OMG, I usually pay nearly RM400 for day plus night moisturisers!
I was ecstatic. I took the newly purchased goods and went home to try them on.
Now, a few weeks later, I am completely impressed. My skin is now smoother, moisturised and pimple free. Which really leads me to wonder, what the heck was I paying all those hundreds for when none of it worked? Now i'm just using a generic brand over the counter and paying literally 10% of what I used to and now I am the happiest clam in the world!
So it's Ok if it's cheap. As long as it works and I look gorgeous in the end haha!
Ramadhan feasting
I just wanted to put out a note to say howza! Hope your fasting is going well and don't forget to venture forth and find yourself a Ramadhan feast!
Like this little beauty i found with some friends in Kampung Kayu Ara - delish crabs at La La Cheong! Yum!
Note: Photo courtesy of the boyfriend :)
The school of life
My office isn't very well connected with places to eat for lunch so when I can't be bothered to be too creative, I just slip down to the building canteen and ta-pau something for me to eat in the office pantry (or sometimes even at my desk when there's a hard deadline staring me down).
My favourite is this kakak selling a wide variety of noodles and other variants. One day I was tucking in on one of my fave takeaways and realised that you can probably write a whole marketing thesis just from observing her! Lemme see if I can break it down for you.
I love her bubur. It's just excellent. Simple, quick and so delicious that you will never get tired of it: Unique product, the first P.
For RM3.50 you get a whole bowl with lotsa chicken: Price, the second P.
When you buy her bubur, she'll pack it for you in a plastic bag but then she'll include a styrofoam bowl and a spoon. My favourite part is when you're trying to empty your plastic bag and you find that all the necessary ingredients - the oil, the anchovies and chicken - were really sitting at the bottom of the plastic so when you finish pouring, they end up at the top of the bowl! Now that's Packaging, the third P.
And then finally, one day when I was waiting for my order, she asked me to sample one of her cookies that were sitting in a jar at the end of her counter. She says that she's taking orders for Raya and I should help myself to some in case I'd like to place an order. Being a pineapple tart junkie myself, I couldn't resist. It was so good that I ended up placing an order for two jars. That's the fourth P in action: Promotion.
Kakak Canteen, I salute ya. You have demonstrated what some people take years to understand and sometimes never master. Until I began to observe you I was only able to visualise the concepts that I learned in uni but now, you have made me an effective student of the school of life.
Keep the bubur comin'!
My favourite is this kakak selling a wide variety of noodles and other variants. One day I was tucking in on one of my fave takeaways and realised that you can probably write a whole marketing thesis just from observing her! Lemme see if I can break it down for you.
I love her bubur. It's just excellent. Simple, quick and so delicious that you will never get tired of it: Unique product, the first P.
For RM3.50 you get a whole bowl with lotsa chicken: Price, the second P.
When you buy her bubur, she'll pack it for you in a plastic bag but then she'll include a styrofoam bowl and a spoon. My favourite part is when you're trying to empty your plastic bag and you find that all the necessary ingredients - the oil, the anchovies and chicken - were really sitting at the bottom of the plastic so when you finish pouring, they end up at the top of the bowl! Now that's Packaging, the third P.
And then finally, one day when I was waiting for my order, she asked me to sample one of her cookies that were sitting in a jar at the end of her counter. She says that she's taking orders for Raya and I should help myself to some in case I'd like to place an order. Being a pineapple tart junkie myself, I couldn't resist. It was so good that I ended up placing an order for two jars. That's the fourth P in action: Promotion.
Kakak Canteen, I salute ya. You have demonstrated what some people take years to understand and sometimes never master. Until I began to observe you I was only able to visualise the concepts that I learned in uni but now, you have made me an effective student of the school of life.
Keep the bubur comin'!
