What's your secret ambition?

I remember asking a friend this sometime earlier in the year, and she answered excitedly "A storm chaser!"

And I'm like "Really? A storm chaser?"

She nodded really enthusiastically.

Then she asked me... what was mine... and the first thing that came to mind was a giraffe.

O_o

"Coming from you, I somehow don't find it that all surprising," she said. "But think about it... it could be a good driver/motivator..."

So I did... It took me a while... but I think I know what I secretly would love to do but I know I cannot.

Yes, a prima ballerina. And to dance the role of the Swan Queen no doubt.

I've been obsessed with ballet since I was young. Mom never let me go for classes. She was afraid that I'd walk like a duck (that's how she described turned out legs). Instead, she plopped me down for piano lessons, which I did like.

I finally got my chance to dance... when I turned 18. A little late by then, and I will admit, it was a little embarassing to be joining the five year old class, but still, I enjoyed myself thoroughly.

I took on the Cecchetti method, which apparently a bit more rigid in terms of training. It was said that Ceccheti had mentioned "It is more important to get it right once than to do it a dozen times carelessly."

I loved learning about the positions for my hands and feet, how to do a plie properly, working on my posture and techniques at the barre, learning new French words... it was a dream.

Classes went on for about 18 months till I had to call it quits. My teacher had decided to get married and take a hiatus and I couldn't find another teacher. Plus, it was getting expensive.

But the feeling of tying on your ballet slippers, are just magical....

I wish I had enough time and dedication to go all the way. I'd really love to go en pointe. I've tried wearing pointe shoes and standing... it really is difficult and four out of five times, my calves cramped up.

So one thing I've learnt about ballet is that, it takes a lot of energy and skill to look that graceful. I thought it was easy... but it sure as hell wasn't.

Given a chance, I would say yes to ballet classes again in a heartbeat (granted that I have the time and money to spare).

So yes, my secret ambition is to dance! What's yours?

Earth Hour

You know how the hype about saving Mother Nature has taken over our lives by storm in recent years?

While I think it's a noble effort to TRY to get people to help conserve energy through Earth Hour (held traditionally on the last Saturday of each March from 8.30pm-9.30pm local time), I think it's just a bunch of fluff.

Yes. You. Heard. Me. Right.

FLUFF

Why?

If you really want to help save Mother Nature and conserve energy, ONE hour per person in ONE year isn't making that much of a difference.

This whole Earth Hour thingie, is just so that posers can feel good about themselves.... like they've done something.

Think about it. Most people are doing it to be cool and go around telling others "Hey I turned off all the electrical appliances in my home for one hour during Earth Hour, did you?"

You think I'm being cocky, I know... but seriously... think about it... participating in Earth Hour only is like going on a crash diet. And we all know that's not the best way to lose weight.

If you really want to help save Mother Nature and conserve energy, try reducing your carbon foot print on a daily basis.

Be a localvore!

Try to eat foods that are available locally as much as possible. The more imported your foods are, the higher the carbon foot print. Of course the occassional indulgence is allowed but, really... keep it occassional.

You could also try to grown your own stuff. With living space constraints, it's not really possible to plant enough fruits/veg to sustain you (and your family), but it still helps a bit. Plus, at least you'll know the quality of the fruit/veg that you'll be eating!

Save electricity!

Use energy saving bulbs and remember to turn lights and switches off whenever not in use. This can really make a difference in your electricity bill

You should also check your electrical appliances at home. Some might be old, second-hand or even hand me downs. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but sometimes these older ones tend to lose their efficiency and consume more energy.

Travel more carbon foot print friendly!

Carpool if you can. Most people think it's not cool to carpool any more and that being able to travel by yourself in your own car is some sort of luxury. QUIT that thought!

If you can, try to take public transportation as well. It takes a longer time but hey at least it's cheaper than driving and you'll never have to worry about parking... right?

If it's close enough, walk! A little exercise will help lift your spirits and keep you healthy too :)

Oh and if you really don't need to, don't fly.

Recycle!

This is really simple, but it can get a little time consuming. Separate your trash daily - plastics, paper, glass, aluminium... that sorta thing. And make sure if it was a container, like a juice bottle or a soda can, rinse it out first. If it was a pizza box, throw the inner piece away but recycle the outer box.

Bring your own shopping bags. Now this is not an excuse that Malaysia has just implemented this new "fad" and all that nonsense. I've been personally doing this for six years now and believe me, it was bloody difficult getting the cashiers at the supermarkets to let me use my bags and not plastic bags. Plus, these days, all the shopping bags come foldable/collapsible so they're really compact and will fit in your handbag.

(Personally, I carry two shopping bags with me on a daily basis. This is just in case I need to do some shopping, I'll have no excuse.)

You can also recycle your old bits of fruits and veg into compost. It's really easy to do and it's great for your garden!

Remember, a little goes a long way!

If you want to know what your carbon foot print is here or tips on how to reduce it... click here!

Here's mine. I'll be entirely honest, I wasn't sure how much electricity we use at home because I don't have the bill with me... so it was an estimate.

So at the end of this all... NO I will not be taking part in Earth Hour. I believe in doing things in the long run.

Note: All images taken from Getty except for the print screen of my carbon foot print.

He got it!!!

No that's not him... that's just some random guy in a pic I got from Getty (thanks!)

Anyways yeah... puppy GOT THE JOB!!!

The dude was so impressed with him, he offered the pup the job on the spot :)

This calls for a celebration!!!

I like!!!!

Christian Dior AW2011/12

Louis Vuitton (worn by Kate Moss) AW2011/12

And last but not least, Georgina Goodman's sketch for the Royal Wedding.

bleh

Sometimes I really hate blogging from the office... well not that I'm supposed to but it's a good outlet for me to express myself....

Why?

I cannot cut/copy and paste ANYTHING here.

So I can't show excerpts, I can't embed videos.... I can only type and attach images... which sometimes just irks me like crazy....

Oh and the alignment stuff here goes nuts too... some days it looks fine... other days, no matter how I format it, it just doesn't want to listen to me.... (this post will likely look like I have no idea where the "Enter" button is)

So yeah... that's the reason why I haven't been posting as often (as I should or as I like).

Cross yer fingers, matey!

Pup's got a call for an interview - sound effects with a gaming company...

Fingers crossed everyone :)

Image taken from here.

yummy burgers!!!

We just came back from dinner with mum at Carl's Jr. You know times have changed when you as the child, brings mum out for a burger meal and she's all excited about it.

p/s: mum was excited about this because there is no Carl's Jr in Ipoh and her only burger choices are McDonald's and Burger King.

The puppy chose to have the Portobello Mushroom burger....

While mum and I shared the Guacamole Bacon Burger.

It was absolutely yummers!

Since mum's enjoying eating burgers... the next time she comes by for a visit... I'm taking her to The Daily Grind for a Lamburghini!

Lesser of two evils

I was just thinking about it in the washroom today... which is worse

Using toilet paper to dry your hands

or

Using a dryer to dry your hands

Think about it for a bit.

Paper = Dead trees

Dryer = Energy consumption

Just a random thought.

Happy Friday peeps!

Oh and btw, mum's on her way down for the weekend :) I'll have to sneak out of the office in a bit to go pick her up though... still wondering if I should say anything or just go out....

Still thinking...

I did, didn't I?

I got a call today from an agency asking me what time will I be arriving for their event. Which made me uber confuzzled <-- see? I love using this portmanteau!

The dude kept insisting that I RSVPed for the event and it's going to happen tonight at 6.30 and if I'd be there and I'm like "What the hell kind of event is this???"

So after a few more mins of wrestling information out of him, he told me to go check out this website.

*lightbulb* I asked "Would I be able to get a copy of the RSVP that I sent over?" because heck, I wanted to see proof!

THEN he tells me "Oh it was sent by post..."

I'm like "Dude I haven't stepped into a post office in ages... I'm pretty sure I didn't RSVP..."

"Yeah but I have your name in my database... it says you RSVPed 9.03am on February 25th..."

So for a moment, I thought okay... maybe I did RSVP for it... so I said I'll take a look at the website and asked if he could call back in an hour's time.

Looked at it... SO not my thing. He's so gonna get it when he calls back

What ticks you?

1. When people who live or work on the 2nd floor take the damned lift.
Walk dammit, WALK! You're only ONE flight of stairs away... heck, my old work place was three storeys high and I used to walk up and down every day IN MY FRICKIN' HEELS!

Every time I'm in the lift and it hits the 2nd floor, I always feel like saying "Dude, you're one floor away... take the stairs,"

Okay fine, if you've got some health condition or are pregnant... but the other people... geez!!!

2. Female drivers who think they're great drivers
I really do. It's a known fact that generally women have a poorer sense of estimation and accuracy when it comes to driving. There are some women who are good drivers and a handful that are great drivers. Other than that, you other women out there fall under bad drivers who probably don't even realize it.

Why do I say that? I've been in SO many scenarios where either I'm with someone who is like that... or I'm driving behind someone like that.

Eg: I'm in the car with a colleague. She gets in, doesn't put on her seat belt and places her left elbow on the arm rest and speeds off. Alternates stepping on the accelerator/brakes as she pleases (mostly because she's going too fast and ends up tailgating someone for most of the journey). Doesn't use the indicator when she switches lanes or turns at corners. Texts while driving - Okay fine I admit, I do this too, but at least I keep my eyes on the road enough to not sway out to the other lane every 5 seconds.

Yeah so that's what ticked me off today :P

How about you? What ticks you off?