a surprise admirer...

It is almost a month since I received the package of books from Cyrille, only to be made realised that there is a surprise in that package. The second paragraph in Cyrille's note made sense now:

un dessin de ton amoureuse secret
(a drawing from your secret admirer)

Well, the secret admirer is not so much a secret. The drawing is from Cyrille's little boy, Alexandre, who I had the pleasure of meeting in 2005. However, I failed to see it in the envelope when I received it because it was stuck to one side of the envelope.

I was supposed to look up the word 'dessin' after reading Cyrille’s note (what can I say? I am rubbish at French) but off course, I never got around to it until a few days ago when Cyrille asked me again because he was a little puzzled why I did not mention anything about it when I received the package. I quickly went to look for the envelope and found the drawing. Thank god I did not throw the envelope straight away after opening the package.

Here is the special drawing from my admirer:






























He knows that I like bright coloured dresses, it seems. Brilliant!

I have mentioned this before… In general, I am not well liked by children of all ages, let alone being given something like this from a kid. This is probably the first time, if memory serves, that I have ever received something from a kid. I am very touched. It almost made me cry. I never thought that he would still remember me since he is hundred miles away and I have only met him once a few years ago. This drawing will be treasured.

Merci Alexandre pour le dessin! Je l'aime beaucoup!

in pursuit of cheaper alternative?

I normally do not hesitate to purchasing something I like when it comes down to clothes or shoes. It can get a bit out of hand sometimes. Holding back has been always been a problem – buying clothes or speaking my mind for that matter.

However, last Friday, I saw this dress from the Kate Moss collection at Top Shop:

I love this dress. I think it is SOOOO me and have been thinking about it since I first laid my eyes on it. What made me hesitate was the price tag – SGD179. It will still cost more than SGD150 after utilizing my 10%discount card.

Last night, I was reading a blog, where the blogger saw the same dress and hesitated to buy. She finally bought it after it went on sale in the UK. After reading that, I went to the Top Shop online store and found that the dress is on sale for £15. After conversion, it would come round to SGD45. Now, that is the kind of price I will not mind paying instead of SGD179.

Then, I remembered that a colleague mentioned to me last week that she will be going for business trip to London in early December. I spoke with her this morning and she said she would not mind at all to look for the dress for me. Besides, with the price and that the trip is being paid for, she said that this is a small detour and that she plan to spend some time shopping while she is there. Now, this lady sure knows her priorities. She asked me to try the dress first to see which size fits well, which I did this evening after work and that made it so tempting to just buy it on the spot! I held back off course.

However, my colleague is not leaving till the week after next. I am not sure if the dress will still be available with the sale price by then. If not, I shall wait for the dress to go on sale here. If by sale time, my size is not available, I know that it is not meant to be for me to own this dress. We shall see. Buying a piece of clothing has never been so complicated like this before.

run like the wind...

Today, I bought my third pair of running shoes since July this year. None of the previous two shoes have satisfied me like the first running shoe I bought back in December 2006 when the addiction for running began. As much as I love that pair of Nike shoes, conversations with fellow enthusiasts showed that Nike is not a brand that runners would choose for running. Recommended brands are Asics and Adidas, as well as a small number recommending New Balance.

After enduring much discomfort and pain in the last 5 months with New Balance & Adidas, I went to the Running Lab at Funan Centre this evening to get some professional help for a pair of running shoes. After making observations of my bare feet, the sales person at the shop recommended me a couple of men’s running shoes. It seems like yours truly has quite big feet (long and wide) for a woman and there are no shoes in the women’s range that would fit me comfortably.

After trying both shoes, I decided to go with the Asics TN712. They are not exactly cool looking shoes like my Nike shoes or the Mizuno brand, which I tried with the Asics. However, I had to choose comfort over style, unlike when you buy your regular women’s shoes, where you choose style over comfort. :-P

I have to retire the two pairs of shoes previously bought for activities which do not require much of footwork. I still have the Nike shoes which I still wear it for my cycling sessions. They are not exactly cycling shoes but they serve the purpose for the moment.

I am looking forward to waking up tomorrow morning and go for a run with my brand new Asics TN712. Totally motivated now and hope that these pair will not let me down like the others have in recent months. I may not run like the wind, like the title of this entry has suggested but at least I will not be in discomfort during my runs.