My all-time favourite pair of Dolcis sandals broke today. If left to my own devices, I’d replace them with the pink Christian Louboutin sandals Carrie (Sex and the city) wore in the “I Heart NY” episode (#66). Or one of these:

But the Louboutin sandals are many seasons old and costs USD$550 (and 20% tax!) to custom make them. The Gucci ones are current, but equally unaffordable. I picked out a pair of pink slides from Amp for $55 instead, and they make a pretty good replacement. New shoes!

Tag Heuer has added another baby to their range. I like the ad, but I’m not so sure I like the watch itself. It looks kinda unconventional. Not something I’d be blowing big bucks on. I’d rather get shoes.

Speaking of which, the selection of locally designed/made shoes in Malaysia is quite sad. Vincci has become the default shoe brand for the average Malaysian female, and although they do have some really nice shoes, the quality of the shoe itself is quite shocking. There have been a number of occasions where I’ve bought shoes from Vincci and they fall apart within two months. And one occasion where the sole snapped in half. It’s not like I wear them mountain climbing or anything. Why do I still buy them? Only because they’re cheap. I don’t like Vincci much.

I want to open a specialty shoe store someday, dedicated to all shoe aficionados. It will be called ‘Stilettos and Such’. Hah.

Enough daydreaming..

In an unexpected Pos Laju package that made its way to my desk at 6pm was an invite to a private party at 8pm. With such a short notice, I normally would’ve dismissed it with a ‘Eh?’ and probably go on with whatever plans I have but I decided to go last night. It was the launch of DISCOVER MUSIC with HENNESSY V.S.O.P Live Series 2004 at Bar Blonde. I’m glad I did, and it wasn’t because of the free flowing cocktails or the delectable Shane Simmons and his crew (who gave us a sneak preview of what to expect tonight at Zouk where he will be performing) either.

I met someone who convinced me in 10 minutes that we were destined to meet.

Her name is Anya.

No, sipping a dozen cocktails didn’t convince me to start picking up chicks. I went over to say hello to some people and she was there. We made small talk, then the conversation took a left turn and got more personal. She said some things to me that I needed to hear from another woman and will, in time, change the way I see things.

We swapped name cards. She scribbled her mobile number at the back of hers and said I should call her. And I told her I would. I’m now plagued with the cliched ‘morning after’ question: “Should I call her?” (I am aware that it’s very ironic that I’m saying this..) Anyway.

Now would be a good time to point out that she has a daughter who is 7 years older than me. (!)

I know all things happen for a reason, and for now I’m just glad we met. I might never hear from her again but I don’t think she’d be someone I’d forget in a hurry.

Oh, by the way, Shane Simmons is hot. And his music ain’t bad either. I would go to Zouk tonight to check them out but I have dinner plans already.

The man and the band. The bass player is a serious hottie.

All things happen for a reason.

I cried over some shelves today.

You’d think I’d be all right by now, huh? I know what you’re thinking - shelves?! You see, my uncle used to be a carpenter in his youth, and my shelves were the last thing he made before he passed on. It just hit me this evening when I was looking at my wardrobe and digging through my shelves for something to wear. He stopped making things a long time ago, but he always gave in to my requests. I may not have seen him very often, but he’s everywhere I look. When i decided to redecorate my room 2 years ago, I went out and bought a whole buch of things.. and he came round one afternoon to help me put everything together. My standalone shelves, my mirrors.. anything that needed drilling and measuring basically. And it doesn’t end there. He made half the furniture in my living room. He took down my built-in wardrobes (which he also made) when I got a new one from the store. He even made the rack where we keep our shoes. And that’s only half of it.

Life goes on, nonetheless.

I went for dinner with my childhood nemesis today. Dennis and I are good buddies now. I don’t know if he makes me more worried when we were constantly at each other’s throat or when we’re behaving like civilized people.. LOL. He took me to QBA/Westin for what he claimed were the ‘best medium-rare steaks in town’. I am a big fan of medium-rare steaks and QBA didn’t disappoint. My fillet was cooked to medium-rare perfection (it even bled properly!) and his prime ribs were awesome. His steak tasted better though, dammit. It came with truffle hollandaise sauce which was simply divine. I picked garlic-something, which was also pretty damned good. It was good catching up.

Work was a little stressful today.. I suppose having a day off would me twice the amount of work the next day, huh? It all turned out good in the end. I unwinded with a beer at the end of my night in the company of two good friends, for the second night in a row. And I’m not even a beer drinker!

The funeral is finally over. Getting out of these black clothes was a bit of a relief. I know my uncle would have wanted us not to mourn for him. I still feel a deep sense of loss however, especially today during the cremation when I saw my aunt and cousins. They bore looks of resignation - I noticed everyone seemed to have aged a few years - but they told me it was for the best because of how much pain he was in. I won’t forget today in a hurry. Thanks to everyone for their kind words.

My bosses were really nice about giving me a day off today.

I don’t know what else to say at the moment. My entire weekend has been very strange..

Things seem very surreal at the moment. My uncle passed away this morning. I am just back from the funeral parlour. Almost two months ago, the doctors said he had 6 months to live. Terminal Hepatoma. I can’t stop crying. He was such a good person. He meant a lot to me. It’s funny how regret is always present at times like this; I wish I got to see him before he passed on. At least he is not suffering any more.

Cemeteries are oddly comforting places when you are in mourning. Once, I attended the funeral of a friend and after that everyone left. I had to wait for 3 hours for mom to pick me up. My grandfather’s grave happened to be close by. I spent those 3 hours watching the sky grow dark and talking to my grandfather while I cleaned up the area around his grave. I wasn’t afraid. It was surreal then, too. I don’t believe in ghosts and spirits but I felt his presence. From then on, I was never afraid of being alone in a cemetery, even in the dark.

Time.

Even such is time which takes in trust
Our youth, our joys, and all we have,
And pays us but with age and dust:
Who in the dark and silent grave
When we have wandered all our ways
Shuts up the story of our days.
And from which earth and grave and dust
The Lord shall raise me up I trust.

- Written by Sir Walter Raleigh the night before he died, and left at the Gate House.

Metaphors are interesting things, some times thought-provoking, some times funny.. but it doesn’t get funnier than this. My personal favourites:

The ballerina rose gracefully en pointe and extended one slender leg behind her, like a dog at a lamp post.

The politician was gone but unnoticed, like the full stop after the Dr. on a Dr Pepper can.

She grew on him like she was a colony of E. coli and he was room-temperature British beef.

He was as lame as a duck. Not the metaphorical lame duck either, but real duck that was actually lame. Maybe from stepping on a land mine or something.

He was as tall as a six-foot-three-inch tree.

It’s a good way to start a Friday morning.. thanks for the link, Kai.. Metaphors be with you. Hee.

I’m looking forward to the weekend.. which starts at 6pm today. I’m not going anywhere tonight because sleep sounds like a good option and Saturday night with Salem Innovation Sessions and the Kent Bukit Tinggi rave on the menu sounds like a full meal. Lets hope I haven’t bitten off more than I can chew.

(/jagung)

Anti-Sheep.

That’s my current MSN handle. So many people have been asking me why I don’t like those cute furry things.

mini beanie: stop anti-ing sheep !
mini beanie: if not me dnt wanna flen u nemore

Juno Sting: what you got against us sheeps

Liquid!: sheep = baahhh
Liquid!: anti-sheep = haaab

It’s actually an anagram of my name (Stephanie) and not part of a global sheep-hatin’ orgy. And it sure sounds better than ‘hate penis’. Get your own anagram!

How does one recover from email break up? Two years, and poof. Gone. Just like that. And it’s not the first time either. The emotional ramifications are unnerving (after all it’s essentially only digital data) but where does one draw the line before getting too ‘involved’? Is it strange that I place ’sudden data loss’ on top of the can’t-cope-with-it list?

Okay, okay, I know I need to get on with my life.

On the bright side, I get to leave work at 1pm today. Unfortunately, it’s because Tiff is going back to Canada. I won’t be seeing her for some time after she leaves.

I don’t think I’m ever gonna recover from this.

Argh.

I hate Mondays, especially when your email client crashes and you lose all your folders. And then your techie tells you that there is nothing that can be done. And you’re midway writing an important email.

I feel fucking helpless.

According to the cleanup logs, it crashed while running a background cleanup cycle and but seems to be an ineluctable demise to 2 years of cyber correspondences.

It is somewhat ironic that it happened 2 minutes before 9am.

Hate.

I hope its not terminal.. haha.