Sunday, August 27, 2006  2:15 AM
Mane'n Tail
 I am every sales promoter's dream. At least, when they play the right cue card and mention a favourite celebrity of mine.
So I was shopping today at a local personal care store, seeing the familiar aisle of L'Oreal hair products and was about to reach out for the usual shampoo and conditioner when a woman approached me. She held up a bottle of Mane'n Tail shampoo and as she opened her mouth, she must have noticed the look of horror on my face because the first thing she said was, "Don't be put off by the picture of the horses!"
Well, a whole semester of being brainwashed by marketing definitely tells me that a picture of horses on a bottle of shampoo for humans is not such a good idea. Mane'n Tail looked like a random bottle of shampoo you'd find at a pet shop. On top of that, the name! In case you're wondering, yes - this formula was originally designed for horses, and since it worked so well on them, they thought why not try it on humans? And so they tweaked it, and these Americans came up with this range for humans. You'd think they would try to change the packaging at least. Maybe put a couple of human heads on the bottle.
The woman went on enthusiastically along these lines, "Mane'n Tail products were originally developed for horses. Horses' hair is three times thicker than people hair. People started using the products to achieve the beautiful results they saw with their own horses' manes and tails. This is where the legend of Mane'n Tail products comes from, by nourishing, conditioning and fortifying the hair and scalp to aid healthier hair growth. Mane'n Tail shampoo and conditioner maintains and helps to achieve longer, stronger, healthier more fuller looking hair. The results can be seen and felt after the first application."
I listened to her with an obligatory smile on my face, nodding after her every sentence, and suddenly my L'Oreal shampoo and conditioner never was more desirable. It seemed so out of reach even though it was just one metre away. I contemplated grabbing the L'Oreal products and making a beeline for the cashier, but the woman was so earnest my feet were rooted to the ground.
That was, until she delivered the punchline.
"Jennifer Aniston uses it."
Suddenly, I looked at the bottle of horse shampoo through new eyes. The animal aura that surrounded it faded in an instant, and visions of Jennifer Aniston's shiny long locks that made her so famous on F.R.I.E.N.D.S flashed through my mind. The bottle looked as glamourous as the ones displayed in salons, and I knew in my mind I had to get it. Why didn't she save all her earlier explanations about the stupid horses and go straight for "Jennifer Aniston uses it" from the start?
And that was how I ended up spending close to $30 on horse shampoo and conditioner.
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Monday, August 21, 2006 11:29 PM
Six years from now
Singing in the backup team for second service in church yesterday was an experience, and not just because of the singing either.
My backup team consists of four girls, with me being the youngest. The other three are in their late twenties, one married and two still single but apparently going to get married soon. And sitting with them at the coffeeshop at 9am when I'm barely awake and listening to their excited chatter about things that I can't even envision myself thinking about left me pondering the rest of the day.
Let's call them Jo, Mae and Jemma. Jo's 29, happily married for about a year. Mae's 26, still single. Jemma's also 26, getting married in March next year. And the conversation goes something like this:
Jo: When are you getting married?
Jemma (smiles like it's the most natural thing in the world): In March next year!
Jemma looks all ready to continue about her wedding plans when the cutest toddler walks by his unsteady feet. All three of them and me start gushing over the child.
Jo (sighs): I'm so stressed! All of the people my age all have kids, or are giving birth soon! Some are even having their second kid already!
Mae: Don't worry, just continue praying for a child and...
One of their friends, with a slightly protruding tummy, walks by holding a photograph of some sort and eyeing it intently.
Jo (calling out to the friend): Come come! Let me touch!
The friend walks over and all three girls reach out to touch the pregnant tummy.
Mae: I didn't know you were pregnant!
Their friend: Yes, it didn't start showing until recently!
Jemma: Is it a boy or a girl?
Their friend: It's a boy.
The friend holds out the photograph she's holding. It turns out to be an ultrasound photograph. Surprisingly, it looks rather cool. Five black and white photographs joined together like a reel of film - it looks like some artsy piece put together.
Jo: Wow... That's so cool.
Their friend's husband overhears their conversation from the next table and raises his fist euphorically.
Husband: Yes, it's a boy!
Their friend: He wanted a boy.
Meanwhile, Jemma and Mae are trying their best to figure out the ultrasound picture.
So I'm just sitting there, in the middle of these late twenty-somethings sipping my iced milk tea and thinking about the scene again but the characters replaced with Gen, Scarlett and I, with the mysterious other halves. It's slightly unnerving, thinking this could be it six years from now. Where our lives don't revolve around milkshakes, loud laughing outbursts and analysing different people's personalities and their love lives, but around babies and gettting married. I wonder how we'll look like strolling down Orchard Road with three strollers. But Gen convinced me that it will never be exactly like them, because we're of a different generation and that's why sometimes I don't quite get their sense of humour. And I'm relieved, because I definitely do not want to be. We're not the Charles & Keith open-toed heels - delicate silver accessories from Perlini's Silver- tight sleeveless tank tops - immaculate curled hair type. I figure we'd probably still be holding sleepovers and gushing over Rick Warren even when we're married.
Ben's gone, and Corrie left for New York this morning as well. I hate partings, and the sight of anyone crying just triggers off that tap in me and the tears flow immediately. Will miss you loads, CAX-er.
That last lunch with Ben was a memorable one, when we sat at Cafe Cartel and talked about anything and everything under the sun. It's hard to imagine that he's been back for two years already. Each conversation with him is a unique experience and even the photo we took afterward had its quirks with someone checking us out.
Goodbye, farewell, au revoir.
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Tuesday, August 15, 2006 9:05 PM
Of fried mars bars and waffles
Every week, God puts me up to a new challenge. Last week, the thought of speaking to a few hundred people in church seemed impossible. This week, I've overcome that with His strength and guidance. I feel like He's stretching me more than I've ever imagined, putting me in situations that I could not have done on my own power and the me four months ago would have crumbled by this point. But I'm still standing and I'm growing daily, and I've never been more joyful. I could not have done it without prayer either - I'm so blessed to have all of you in my life; the ones who prayed for me before the speech on Sunday. You all know who you are, and you're the angels that God put in my life for a reason because you've been encouraging me, standing by me and seeing me grow every step of the way. Every day I delight in something new - this week I have to rely on Him once again to call the freshies and trust that He will draw willing hearts to Crusade.
The sloping grass patch on top of the ADM building has to be my favourite spot in school. With a waffle in hand, I sank into the carpet grass and delighted in the vast expanse of the dark night sky. From where I was, it seemed like the whole school was beneath me and I could only reach higher. We wonder why there seems to be an endless flow of conversation when the setting is perfect, when the breeze ruffles through your hair gently and when the sound of another's chatter fades away slowly. I'd call it one of those perfect nights where I couldn't ask for more.
I spent today shopping with Bo and what transpired over lunch at New York New York was a truckload of photographs capturing weird contorted faces and a free serving of Fried Mars Bar with ice-cream. When that combination sank down my throat, I forgot all about the forty-five minutes I spent waiting for my sandwich. One of those days that totally lifts your mood after heart palpitations after sitting through Hedwig's lecture (she is scary beyond belief, I'd say Chopra's evil twin is an apt description of her) - shopping at all my favourite stores and forking out just-received allowance, Bo walking into another person's dressing room, conviction to take up Cantonese lessons, Macdonald fries and never knowing how much we could eat at dinner until the combination of 'ha cheong kai' and 'ma po tou fu' came along.
I have a million and one things in my notebook to complete. I have scribbled dates, appointments, readings, homework and things to do in all the colours I own. I'm happy. I never thought those three sentences would go together, but it finally does.
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Monday, August 07, 2006 8:05 PM
Lazy Sundays
Lazy Sundays where we sit in the dark air-conditioned room in church reading a magazine with strained eyes while plugged onto the iPod with a personal umbrella man hovering above -
Once tomorrow comes, it'll officially put an end to lazy Sundays when we spend nine hours in church talking in broken Canto unknown to anyone else but the participants, forming clubs with convincing mottos, sharing experiences, taking pictures, laughing very unglamourously and singing by the keyboard. There'll also be less impromptu supper sessions, walks by the beach and marathon sleepovers. I'll miss those.
But the first thing I saw this morning (okay, afternoon) through my sleepy-lidded eyes was the gorgeous bloom of the gerbera from Sharon. And the radiant red petals brought an instant smile to my face. It seemed to symbolise a new beginning, a new term, a new everything. I've done so much these three and a half months of holidays - and I've grown in many aspects. Although I'm never enthused about going back to school, I suppose it's a new journey and an unknown but exciting path ahead. I'm looking forward to playing a bigger part in Crusade and in church, and also being around people I haven't seen in a long while.
That inspired me to buy a notebook for the new semester. I've decided that I should start being more organised and keep my life in track especially with all those commitments I now have. But the last time I managed to successfully keep one of these notebook things for an entire semester was six years ago. So we'll see how long this system lasts for. The other bane of my life is that I didn't end up just buying a notebook although that was the intention. I skipped home with two tops, a necklace and two pairs of earrings as well. Sigh.
I wonder when I'll stop living a life that revolves around other people's lives and their problems. Alot of the time I feel like I'm watching my life through other people's eyes, much like a third party staring through a shadowy screen. Somehow, my life remains still without many ups and downs - neither exciting nor depressing. Perhaps that's why I love conjuring stories in my imaginative mind out of nothing at all. But I wonder if that just makes me all the more wistful for something to happen.
"Fly me to the moon
And let me play among the stars
Let me see what spring is like
On Jupiter and Mars"
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Wednesday, August 02, 2006 1:04 AM
Kissing freedom goodbye
It's a little strange being in the last week of holidays, because I can't imagine reverting my life back to that. Being stuck in the west with food that is less than palatable, air that smells like burning cocoa and no signs of the sea within a 10km radius.
But it's been a good week past as the holidays draw to a close. With Campus Crusade FOC filling up the whole of last week, I think I've finally found what I'm really seeking in the next semester. Although I'm committed to numerous committees and there'll be many meetings and trainings to come, somehow I know that this is what I really want to do. To be able to serve God on campus, and to be a living testimony for Him. I'm apprehensive, definitely, and more frightened than my exterior portrays at what the next semester is going to be and how all this is going to affect my life - whether God will bring me regular disciples unlike myself the whole of last year, whether I'm ready to actually lead a discipleship group, whether I'm good enough to write for the Crusade newsletter, whether I'm worthy to serve in the worship team - I'll need your prayers as I step out of my comfort zone and into a world that I'd never thought would be mine. And for those who don't already know the hermit that I am, I dislike change with a vengeance.
But Crusade camp was good despite getting dirty and smelly and running till my leg muscles ached. However, I took a few precautionary measures. I avoided getting too dirty on the spreadsheet covered in dark sauce and flour by using only my hands and legs, prayed that nobody would actually throw that disgusting bag of rotten egg yolk and squashed papaya at me during Captain's Ball although I ran around pretending to look active and chose the safest position during the passing water-bomb game. I loved Spongebob Squarepants even though we were always the last ones to sleep, to breakfast or to anywhere, for that matter. For some reason, our quiet time in the morning and buzzing sessions at night lasted approximately an hour more than the other teams. The worship sessions and testimonies also impacted me greatly and I left camp with 'Let Your Glory Fall' on repeat mode in my head. The balmy nights were memorable with long conversations with Jules about how some people look tall, and some short, how the world looks different from a shorter person's perspective as opposed to a taller one and the breakthrough that we didn't wear accessories or makeup at camp. We talked with the cold air forming mist on the foliage across the road until we slowly drifted off to sleep at the bus stop.
And talking about back to school outfits - a new top and a siren-red patent clutch that will be part of the glam bag collection ensued today after Ben & Jerry's by a most interesting fountain. And that's my third new top this week. I tried convincing my dad to give me some money for 'school uniforms', with the theory that in secondary school and junior college, he gave me money for new school uniforms and now I should get some for back to school clothes. But it didn't quite work on him. Fathers don't see logic at all.
Let Your glory fall: -
Father of creation
Unfold Your sovereign plan
Raise up a chosen generation
That will march through the land
All of creation is longing
For Your unveiling of power
Would You release Your anointing
Oh God let this be the hour
Let Your glory fall in this room
Let it go forth from here to the nations
Let Your fragrance rest in this place
As we gather to seek Your face
Ruler of the nations
The world has yet to see
The full release of Your promise
The church in victory
Turn to us Lord and touch us
Make us strong in Your might
Overcome our weakness
That we could stand up and fight
Let Your glory fall in this room
Let it go forth from here to the nations
Let Your fragrance rest in this place
As we gather to seek Your face
Let Your kingdom come
Let Your will be done
Let us see on earth
The glory of Your son
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