Girlfriends

*Only love can break a heart, but a shoe sale can come close*

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*Only love can break a heart, but a shoe sale can come close*
This is the title of a comic by Cathy Guisewite, who writes a series of comics on this 30+ single woman. Quite funny, some of them and rather reflective at times too.

Shoes and bags are 2 weakness of women when it comes to shopping. Imelda Marco had thousands. I know of friends who bought different colours of the same style of shoes(strangely, never bags though). Husband fails to understand the need for the different types of black shoes- the formal, the informal, the semi-formal, the casual, the hip…

What has this got to do with my chick trip? Well bb was asking for more photos. I’m afraid there aren’t many. Don’t think many people would want to see the different shoes in the different shoe shops.

Oh wait, I did take a photo of this very interesting bar @ Starhill. Lots of coloured lights and glass. Will check it out the next time I’m there again.

Day 2
Our military strategy- to have a full breakfast and skip lunch. Shall not bore everyone writing about the food. Surface to say we were well armed. ^^

We took a taxi to this mega shopping mall- One Utama, which was about 30 minutes away from KL city centre.

I can only say that it’s big. You can spend a whole day there. We went from shop to shop (quite a few shoe shops)and didn’t even cover half of the mall. Unfortunately or fortunately (depending on which way you look at it), the shoe shops held no interest for me. I can’t buy shoes off the rack and can only customised them. My friends would know why. hehe!

We only stopped for a break when SK needed her coffee fix and SC craved for her ice cream. Well, we were on an indulgent trip.

Just how much did we shop? Ok, now this is an extreme example:
Espirit was having a sale for some of their items- up to 70% off.
We bought enough to qualify for the VIP card (min of RM$300). The VIP package has several vouchers- one of them is a 30% discount voucher.
We used the voucher and qualify for another VIP card.
We used the 2nd voucher too.

Hubby, if you’re reading this, mine was only a small part of the whole purchases. Really! I not bluffing you!

I think the salesgirls were quite glad to see us leave after a couple of hours in the shop.

Now, I had yet to buy anything back for my family. I know, I know, shame on me, right? So I decided to head down to Parkson (a big supermarket) after dinner to get some tidbits. It was the same for the other 3 girls.

So we walked towards Parkson. Determind to at least buy some stuff back, to sort of justify our trip.

We never made it there. Sigh.

Sales items should never be allowed to be displayed in the middle of the atrium to tempt innocent people like us. It’s a crime.

What did I say about shoes?
SK bought a pair of very nice shoes at 90% off.
She’s not sure if she will wear it but we all agreed it was a good bargain. Need I say more?

After all the eating and shopping, there was only one thing left to do. That night, we had a good chat till 3 in the morning.

Our school life back then, skipping classes to watch movies, the many teachers we had, the various classmates and what became of them. Who went out with whom. Who dumped whom. Who married whom.
We laughed over our crushes and ex-boyfriends.
Some funny, some not so funny, some lasted for a long time, some were short-lived. Some were beautiful and some were heart breaking.

We talked about the crush I had a crush for this guy for the longest time ever and the dramatic break-up of SK. Our marriages now. What might have been. What could have been. What will be.

It was good to catch up.

Day 3
Our coach was leaving at 3pm in the afternoon so there was only time for a quick shopping spree in the morning for the dvds. Shhh……

We were tired on the way back so we didn’t talk much. In fact, l slept pretty much throughout the journey. Good way to catch up with my sleep. Hehehe!

And so there it is, my chick trip.
Nothing eventful. Nothing exceptional. I think the only thing we regretted was the fact that we didn’t managed to go for our spa treatment. Next time I guess.

My 3 beautiful good friends.

有缘千里来相会 – One will meet across the miles if it’s destined to
无缘对面不相识 – One will never meet across the street if not destined to

Life at 17.
Life at 40.
Here’s to life at 60. : )

Why did the chicks cross the border?

tei o 2 Comments

I was going to put this off again until a friend told me this morning that she was so inspired by my “Girls just want to have fun’ post that she’s going to attempt to do the same thing… AND she’s going to put on the blame on me to her husband.

Hmmmm……????

Actually, I think a chick trip once in a while is really good for recharging.

So to provide even more inspiration and support to her, here’s an account of my chick trip….

Day 1

As usual, I didn’t pack my bag till the night (or rather the morning) of the trip. I was actually agonising over whether to bring along a soft travel bag or a cabin bag. A soft bag will be easier to carry but a cabin bag will have more space for shopping…… Guess which bag I took in the end?

Husband was rolling his eyes and shaking his head as I rush around like a headless chicken trying to do everything at the same time…But he didn’t say a word….he was too used to my behaviour the night before a holiday.

We had booked one of those coach package- 1st class coach, with 2 nights stay at a 5 star hotel. Pretty good deal at under $200.

The coach was going to leave early- 7.30am to be precise. It was way too early! So I did what any sensible women would do… I batted my eyelids and smiled very sweetly at husband. He drove me and NT there.

The first class coach
This was the first time I was taking the 1st class coach. I must say I am impressed.

16 seaters, with individual TV screen, videos and games on demand and games and food and drinks provided. Even the driver and the ‘cabin steward’ wear a suit. But the most important feature of all, of which the transport company has been agrressively promoting as their unique feature:

THE VIBRATING……………… CHAIR!

Now what were you thinking of? Tsk! Tsk! It’s actually a massage chair.

Press button 1- it massages your legs
Press button 2- it massages your back
Press button 3- it does your back and legs (I think)
Press button 4- err… can’t remember where it massages but some parts of the seat vibrates

After about 10 minutes of all the massaging, I stopped. As one of my friend said later: “It’s giving me a headache.” Alright, it’s really not that bad and I’m sure many people do use it but it’s not a winning formula for me.

Now videos on demand. That’s something to shout about. I managed to watch “Double Agent” (Korean) and almost all of Quill (Japanese). Why almost? Well, there was about 10 minutes left of the movie when we reached our destination. It was the same with SK too. It was quite funny, as both of us actually didn’t want to get off the bus… we were frantically trying to fast forward the movie…

Me in my first class seat
The trip went smoothly, with a short ‘toilet stop’ and we reached KL’s Pasarakyat Bus Terminal at about 12.15pm. Not bad really.

After putting our bags in the room, we activated our plan- lunch and shopping.

Bukit Bintang is within what is called the Golden Triangle, the eaquivalent of Orchard Road. We had lunch at Starhill, a new shopping mall sandwiched between JW Marriot and Ritz Carlton. Lots of high end stores within this mall. Very well and tastefully designed… So well and impressed were we that we took photos inside the toilet! SShhhhhh……!

I don’t know about the other F&B outlets but the dim sum from Chinese restaurant in the basement was fantastic….. Yummy! Thumbs up and highly recommended. I think it was called Luk Yu.

And then it was just shopping and more shopping.

We had no particular plans. We just wandered into shops that took our fancy…. normally shops with sale signs attract us. I think that’s the best part about going on a holiday with girlfriends.

You don’t feel guilty about shopping for hours on end.
You try anything that interests you.
You try things that don’t interest you at the urging of your girlfriends.

And then you sit down for a drink to recuperate…. and then you shop some more. Husbands and boyfriends wouldn’t and couldn’t last through such a schedule.

By about 9pm, we were tired, hungry, carrying lots of bags. Very hungry.

So we headed down to Jalan Alor- hawker food at its best. If you are looking for a clean environment, then forget about this place. The hawkers set up their stalls on the pavement next to a road. In front of blocks of very old, blackish flats. I don’t know how these residents sleep through the noise and smell but it sure provide for great people watching. Indeed, we spotted quite a few of them sitting in their balcony and looking at the crowd. The stalls stretched the length of the road, which basically means you’re spoilt for choice. We had some hard decisions to make.

And then we caught the people at the other tables staring at us.

I’m embarrassed to say that our table was groaning with food. I’m even more embarrassed to say that the 4 of us actually finished all the food.

Oh well, what’s a holiday if you can’t binge. I’ll regret it when I come back to Singapore of course. But at that moment, my philosophy was: “Who cares?”

Here’s a good site to go to on infor about Jalan Alor- ttp://www.malaysiasite.nl/jalanaloreng.htm

All these activities, well, they’re not really the most exciting, are it? But we weren’t looking for excitment. We just wanted a break from having to cook, wash, look after children, husband and work.

Why did the chicks cross the border?
To have a break away from the coop.

Girls just want to have fun

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We’re all going on a spring holiday
No more working for a day or two
Fun and laughter on a spring holiday
No more worries for a day or two

-Slight edit from the song, Summer Holiday by Clif Richard. Sorry Sir Cliff Richard..*curtseying to Sir Richard*

Well, I’m finally going on my chick trip tomorrow or rather today.

My bag is packed, I’ve changed my money. I’ve got my passport in my bag. I’m pretty ready.

Actually, we’re only going up to KL. It’s not really that an exciting place compared to HK or BBK, in my opinion. But a holiday is always full of anticipation and excitement, even if you’re only going to Sentosa.

Of things that could happen and might happen. Knowing that you’re doing things that are not routine. Of not caring. There is a sense of liberation.

That’s why a holiday is good for the soul and mind.

That’s all they really want
Some fun
When the working day is done
Girls- they just want to have fun
Oh girls just want to have fun

Credit: Cyndi Lauper’s Girls Just Want to Have Fun

My husband thinks KL is in danger with the four of us up there and reckons someone should warn the authorities.

Silly man, KL is perfectly safe. Now if it was Seoul…….

hehe!

Girlfriends

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For those who grew up in Singapore, the East Coast chalets would have been familiar with you. Like the Zoo and the Bird Park, the East Coast Chalet was one those places that you go at least once. It’s part of your teenage life, part of growing up.

Who could forget those red brick walls? The tiny room with 2 beds? Marinating the chicken wings in the even smaller toilet.. making the salad, starting the fire for the bbq and burning most of the food.

And yet, why was it that the food tasted so good then? Why was it fun to have 5 or 6 people squeezing onto 2 beds?

Staying out with friends by the sea, bbqing, eating, cycling, playing games and talking through the night about love and dreams.

Thinking back now, those days were some of the best days of my life. Some of these girlfriends are still my best friends today, friends that I really treasure.

And so, almost 22 years after the above picture was taken, 3 of us, with another friend are going to take a ‘chick trip’ (as my husband said) next week. To celebrate our milesstone for reaching the big “40′ this year, to celebrate over 20 years of friendship.

What are we going to do?

Shopping, eating, chatting, more shopping, eating and chatting.

Things that you can’t do with husbands. Things that you wouldn’t want to do with husbands. Because they wouldn’t be any fun.

I’m so looking forward to it. ^^