Flights of Fancy
I aim to come across as impossibly young. Which translates to looking like I’m in my end teens or stuck at the twenties start forever.
I might have taken this whole youth quest too far though. Case in point: over the weekend, my mentor was chatting to this Perm Secretary’s daughter and pointing to me (blithely unaware I was, briefly, the object for discussion) the former remarked both of us should be around the same age. The latter retorted that it was not possible lah, she is already 21 years old. My boss shook her head as she was relating this anecdote to me and another business acquaintance today. I shook my head in unison and said wah lau, let’s change the subject, as the business acquaintance nodded her head in vigorous agreement, though I fear it’s my lacking in years that she concurs.
Subsequently, my tuition kid, who is 16, thinks I’m 5 years older than he is. While I want to look youthful, I’m also seriously skeptical that people really think I’m this young. It’s ridiculous. I know my limits. I just don’t look my age, yet. But can I really take so many years off? Whatever. I do hope I can shrug off a few layers of cuteness and notch up the pretty quotient more. With age and years and maturity, exceptional style, grace and beauty will perhaps finally be mine.
Not cheap to look young and stylish, that’s for sure.
*
I had wanted to do something adventurous, and convinced myself somehow it was a great idea to wax my upper lip on Sunday. People who know me long enough will understand why this is a monumental decision. As an *academic feminist, I can’t fathom the need to be hairless, neck down especially (and I just don’t buy the “it’s for hygiene’s sake” excuse, so don’t fling that at me). I hope everyone knows that the hairless woman is a myth – unfortunately perpetuated by women themselves. I have resisted making myself unnecessarily hairless (my idol in NUS was a young female philosophy tutor who doesn’t shave at all, not even her armpits and she has no qualms about waving and gesticulating wildly. Admiration comes from my own inability to be any less hypocritical in my tirade against the false hairless woman). But society’s pressure and your own funny desires can be a strange mix, leading you to do stranger things. I tell myself to fuck academics and just sell out and see what’s the deal about being slightly less hairy. So in April’s good company, I did it for $6 only in Strip, Wheelock Place. Surprisingly, I do feel more feminine after that blasphemous act.
*The key is to embrace and enhance natural beauty without having to fight what Nature has given. So no dyeing hair and that sort of stuff. This academic feminist is also most strongly against rebounded hair. But she confesses that it is mostly because someone she adored to bits has said before she looked better in a mass of wavy messes. But the path is rocky and temptation to succumb to neat immaculation is omniscient. If only my hair is more tapered, but that would be too unnatural.
*
I bought a silk kimono top. I look and feel very geisha as I wear it, especially if I knot my hair up. I wonder if it is too much to don this to Memoirs of a Geisha.
*
I’m researching to buy a digital camera. Budget $500. I have never owned one before so am relying on recommendations from kapoh and kind souls. Must have form and function and be friendly to me, please. Don’t be like YQ, who “WOMEN” me amidst all the technical terms he threw at me. Grrrr. Be like Yeun who is sweet enough to answer all my questions (but not sweet enough to accompany me on a live quest). Anyway, here is the camera conversation between Wang Yun and I. Do you agree with his recommendations? Anything else I should be looking at and taking note? Please leave your mark or email me. Thanks!
yeun says:
eh dun make me go shopping hor.. for digital camera.
Kitiara says:
wait i kanna conned how. you make yourself sound so knowledgeable what
Kitiara says:
it will just be one round. buying technical stuff very tedious to me.
Kitiara says:
what you own?
yeun says:
well, i also followed my frens advice the last time i bought mine.. mine is canon a95
yeun says:
just read the reviews, they say a lot and do comparisons there. rather then listen to the shop ppl... they want to clear stock sometimes
yeun says:
canon a95 is not those slim, or nice looking cameras.. but its quite good la. gd thing for me is that it uses AA batteries instead of lithium, so u can change batt instead of waiting for the camera to be plugged in to power and wait wait wait
Kitiara says:
how did you buy yours? also a lone hunter at sim lim?
Kitiara says:
sim lim gives me a headache cos it's so crowded and all the shop owners yak yak yak.
Kitiara says:
thought be nice to have a companion in tow to act as barrier and advisor lah
yeun says:
i went with a fren first time then go second time just to buy
yeun says:
ya true la, actually all the cameras can fulfil most needs.. so sometimes its just which one u feel like getting, and how much it costs.
Kitiara says:
but you still don't want to go with me!
yeun says:
ya dun wan.. haha.. spare me!
Kitiara says:
boo then you email me some links and sites can
Kitiara says:
y you recommend what you recommend?
Kitiara says:
m starting research from scratch - dunno anything!
yeun says:
dpreview.com
yeun says:
i dunno wat u want so maybe u might want slim cameras cos not so bulky? so even ixus may be gd, im not sure of the price.. canon cos most well-known, can't go too wrong... nikon coolpix tend to be slightly smaller frame than canon cameras (my perception) so i didnt like it (cos too small to hold!) but it might be just nice for u. and casio exilim is classic slim and supposedly bestlonglasting batt
yeun says:
and a lot more others.. panasonic also got their selling points.. sony is lifestyle - but their card is only compatible with their own brand. so there's the card to consider, the functions, the design/size, the batt type and life, and LCD screen (bigger usually better)
Kitiara says:
aiyoh i must cut and paste and save this conversation...
Kitiara says:
got recommended direct links and sites to visit? rather than just generic hardware zone
yeun says:
hmm i dun have links now i need to surf a bit
Kitiara says:
oh no! memory card i know. but battery type O_o
Kitiara says:
what is the norm for battery life
Kitiara says:
can drop proof anot...sigh
yeun says:
got AA batteries, lithium (those like handphone type) and casio one is a different kind duno wat lithium la. anyway its a problem only when u travel.. like do u mind charging digital cameras every nite, or prefer AA batts despite the inconvenience of carrying spare sets. exilim one i think can last several days
Kitiara says:
eek. which in your expert opinion is better
yeun says:
if u are photo-intensive then use AA batteries lor, so that u can change in the middle of ur day trip and snap all day long.... if u are normal user then the lithium will do. AA can be troublesome cos u also need to carry along a recharger for AA batteries when u travel.
yeun says:
anyway.. which camera have u used and what problems do u see in it
yeun says:
this one looks nice http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Casio/casio_exs600.asp
Kitiara says:
i think i will unleash the camwhore in me (it has been partially unleashed by my hp cam) with the acquisition of a digicam. i have never owned a digicam before, that's why i'm asking qns by the loads.
Kitiara says:
got any cam is got both lithium and AA batteries for super kiasu ppl?
yeun says:
hmm.. dun think so. actually the small cameras can't use AA cos it adds to the bulk.
Kitiara says:
what is the standard/average life for the lithium battery before i need to charge?
Kitiara says:
let me try to ask helpful questions...what are the things i should also be looking out for when buying the camera? any free accessories or must buy accessories? can i safely assume most digicams on the market now are "more or less" the similar?
yeun says:
yup more or less. zoom is almost all 3x. they all have LCDs, they all have a few different shooting modes... accessories is only... maybe u need to buy higher capacity cards. thats all. canon gave me goodie bag with small tripod and all those dust cleaner thing in a camera bag.. but i never use them cos quite redundant
yeun says:
u can start with.. how many pixels u want. 5, 6, 7, 8mpx
Kitiara says:
i have...500 bucks
Kitiara says:
what can that buy me?
Kitiara says:
what is yours? i heard 5 is more than suffice for good pictures?
Kitiara says:
okay er...what is meant when you say "zoom is almost all 3x"...
yeun says:
mine is 5 megapx.. abt $600 bought last yr
yeun says:
optical 3x zoom
yeun says:
but the casio exilim ex-s600 is 6megapixel and costs usd379.99, that's around sgd600?
Kitiara says:
is that the latest?
Kitiara says:
referring to models...
yeun says:
oct 2005.. http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Casio/
And we broke off here for lunch and individual business
I might have taken this whole youth quest too far though. Case in point: over the weekend, my mentor was chatting to this Perm Secretary’s daughter and pointing to me (blithely unaware I was, briefly, the object for discussion) the former remarked both of us should be around the same age. The latter retorted that it was not possible lah, she is already 21 years old. My boss shook her head as she was relating this anecdote to me and another business acquaintance today. I shook my head in unison and said wah lau, let’s change the subject, as the business acquaintance nodded her head in vigorous agreement, though I fear it’s my lacking in years that she concurs.
Subsequently, my tuition kid, who is 16, thinks I’m 5 years older than he is. While I want to look youthful, I’m also seriously skeptical that people really think I’m this young. It’s ridiculous. I know my limits. I just don’t look my age, yet. But can I really take so many years off? Whatever. I do hope I can shrug off a few layers of cuteness and notch up the pretty quotient more. With age and years and maturity, exceptional style, grace and beauty will perhaps finally be mine.
Not cheap to look young and stylish, that’s for sure.
*
I had wanted to do something adventurous, and convinced myself somehow it was a great idea to wax my upper lip on Sunday. People who know me long enough will understand why this is a monumental decision. As an *academic feminist, I can’t fathom the need to be hairless, neck down especially (and I just don’t buy the “it’s for hygiene’s sake” excuse, so don’t fling that at me). I hope everyone knows that the hairless woman is a myth – unfortunately perpetuated by women themselves. I have resisted making myself unnecessarily hairless (my idol in NUS was a young female philosophy tutor who doesn’t shave at all, not even her armpits and she has no qualms about waving and gesticulating wildly. Admiration comes from my own inability to be any less hypocritical in my tirade against the false hairless woman). But society’s pressure and your own funny desires can be a strange mix, leading you to do stranger things. I tell myself to fuck academics and just sell out and see what’s the deal about being slightly less hairy. So in April’s good company, I did it for $6 only in Strip, Wheelock Place. Surprisingly, I do feel more feminine after that blasphemous act.
*The key is to embrace and enhance natural beauty without having to fight what Nature has given. So no dyeing hair and that sort of stuff. This academic feminist is also most strongly against rebounded hair. But she confesses that it is mostly because someone she adored to bits has said before she looked better in a mass of wavy messes. But the path is rocky and temptation to succumb to neat immaculation is omniscient. If only my hair is more tapered, but that would be too unnatural.
*
I bought a silk kimono top. I look and feel very geisha as I wear it, especially if I knot my hair up. I wonder if it is too much to don this to Memoirs of a Geisha.
*
I’m researching to buy a digital camera. Budget $500. I have never owned one before so am relying on recommendations from kapoh and kind souls. Must have form and function and be friendly to me, please. Don’t be like YQ, who “WOMEN” me amidst all the technical terms he threw at me. Grrrr. Be like Yeun who is sweet enough to answer all my questions (but not sweet enough to accompany me on a live quest). Anyway, here is the camera conversation between Wang Yun and I. Do you agree with his recommendations? Anything else I should be looking at and taking note? Please leave your mark or email me. Thanks!
yeun says:
eh dun make me go shopping hor.. for digital camera.
Kitiara says:
wait i kanna conned how. you make yourself sound so knowledgeable what
Kitiara says:
it will just be one round. buying technical stuff very tedious to me.
Kitiara says:
what you own?
yeun says:
well, i also followed my frens advice the last time i bought mine.. mine is canon a95
yeun says:
just read the reviews, they say a lot and do comparisons there. rather then listen to the shop ppl... they want to clear stock sometimes
yeun says:
canon a95 is not those slim, or nice looking cameras.. but its quite good la. gd thing for me is that it uses AA batteries instead of lithium, so u can change batt instead of waiting for the camera to be plugged in to power and wait wait wait
Kitiara says:
how did you buy yours? also a lone hunter at sim lim?
Kitiara says:
sim lim gives me a headache cos it's so crowded and all the shop owners yak yak yak.
Kitiara says:
thought be nice to have a companion in tow to act as barrier and advisor lah
yeun says:
i went with a fren first time then go second time just to buy
yeun says:
ya true la, actually all the cameras can fulfil most needs.. so sometimes its just which one u feel like getting, and how much it costs.
Kitiara says:
but you still don't want to go with me!
yeun says:
ya dun wan.. haha.. spare me!
Kitiara says:
boo then you email me some links and sites can
Kitiara says:
y you recommend what you recommend?
Kitiara says:
m starting research from scratch - dunno anything!
yeun says:
dpreview.com
yeun says:
i dunno wat u want so maybe u might want slim cameras cos not so bulky? so even ixus may be gd, im not sure of the price.. canon cos most well-known, can't go too wrong... nikon coolpix tend to be slightly smaller frame than canon cameras (my perception) so i didnt like it (cos too small to hold!) but it might be just nice for u. and casio exilim is classic slim and supposedly bestlonglasting batt
yeun says:
and a lot more others.. panasonic also got their selling points.. sony is lifestyle - but their card is only compatible with their own brand. so there's the card to consider, the functions, the design/size, the batt type and life, and LCD screen (bigger usually better)
Kitiara says:
aiyoh i must cut and paste and save this conversation...
Kitiara says:
got recommended direct links and sites to visit? rather than just generic hardware zone
yeun says:
hmm i dun have links now i need to surf a bit
Kitiara says:
oh no! memory card i know. but battery type O_o
Kitiara says:
what is the norm for battery life
Kitiara says:
can drop proof anot...sigh
yeun says:
got AA batteries, lithium (those like handphone type) and casio one is a different kind duno wat lithium la. anyway its a problem only when u travel.. like do u mind charging digital cameras every nite, or prefer AA batts despite the inconvenience of carrying spare sets. exilim one i think can last several days
Kitiara says:
eek. which in your expert opinion is better
yeun says:
if u are photo-intensive then use AA batteries lor, so that u can change in the middle of ur day trip and snap all day long.... if u are normal user then the lithium will do. AA can be troublesome cos u also need to carry along a recharger for AA batteries when u travel.
yeun says:
anyway.. which camera have u used and what problems do u see in it
yeun says:
this one looks nice http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Casio/casio_exs600.asp
Kitiara says:
i think i will unleash the camwhore in me (it has been partially unleashed by my hp cam) with the acquisition of a digicam. i have never owned a digicam before, that's why i'm asking qns by the loads.
Kitiara says:
got any cam is got both lithium and AA batteries for super kiasu ppl?
yeun says:
hmm.. dun think so. actually the small cameras can't use AA cos it adds to the bulk.
Kitiara says:
what is the standard/average life for the lithium battery before i need to charge?
Kitiara says:
let me try to ask helpful questions...what are the things i should also be looking out for when buying the camera? any free accessories or must buy accessories? can i safely assume most digicams on the market now are "more or less" the similar?
yeun says:
yup more or less. zoom is almost all 3x. they all have LCDs, they all have a few different shooting modes... accessories is only... maybe u need to buy higher capacity cards. thats all. canon gave me goodie bag with small tripod and all those dust cleaner thing in a camera bag.. but i never use them cos quite redundant
yeun says:
u can start with.. how many pixels u want. 5, 6, 7, 8mpx
Kitiara says:
i have...500 bucks
Kitiara says:
what can that buy me?
Kitiara says:
what is yours? i heard 5 is more than suffice for good pictures?
Kitiara says:
okay er...what is meant when you say "zoom is almost all 3x"...
yeun says:
mine is 5 megapx.. abt $600 bought last yr
yeun says:
optical 3x zoom
yeun says:
but the casio exilim ex-s600 is 6megapixel and costs usd379.99, that's around sgd600?
Kitiara says:
is that the latest?
Kitiara says:
referring to models...
yeun says:
oct 2005.. http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Casio/
And we broke off here for lunch and individual business
1 Comments:
Hey I gave you recommendations ok. Too bad you SMS when I'm busy.
To recap, in case you have deleted the messages:
Canon iZoom and Nikon Coolpix S3 are nice and slim and tiny and feminine (in certain colors) and pretty much idiot-proof. The Nikon also has a "face-priority" mode that will automatically focus on a human face in a shot, no matter where in the frame it is, which is pretty damn useful. The Canon looks a little classier though.
But you probably have to go beyond your budget for these. Don't think you can get one for below $600.
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