Thoughts… off the shower

Casual Fridays… the only day of the week that I can shed that shirt-tie-trousers combo and trot into the workplace in a pair of denim & whatever shocking top I can match… then, there’s the loafers/sneakers/boots instead of leather shoes…

I wonder if this applies for my friends working in Singapore or Malaysia…

This is the 3rd company I worked for since graduation, and every one of them started to have this "casual fridays" policy a few months I started work… hmm, maybe I’m the catalyst for change! (yah, right!) …or maybe it’s just that they cannot stand the shirt-tie combos that I appear in…

Makes me think sometimes… why must we wear that shirt-tie-trousers combo to work?  It’s not as if I need to go out and see clients… c’mon, aku accountant, no need to see clients… just hide in the dingy little back office, punching away on that well-worn calculator… actually, a pair of shorts, a sexy singlet, and one of those "Changi-Prison-flip-flop-$2" slippers should do… yah?  Ok, maybe the shirt-trousers combo provides a more "professional" look… but surely, the tie can be excessive, right?  I mean, one has to walk around with the shirt buttoned right up to the neck, and a piece of silk/polyester cloth (bearing one of the huge plethora of designs, colours, and combo of colours) danggling about aimlessly… not very comfortable, and possibly not a good view (especially when one wears a cheapie tie with an outrageous pattern, topped with the most shocking colours) - not a good idea!

Now, that brings me to: why are some ties so expensive???  I walked into one shop recently, and each of their "100% woven silk" ties (made in italy, mind you) is priced at around the A$200 mark… whoa!  Maybe should spend more time picking out a good-pattern, expensive-looking tie from one of those racks in Parkson Grand the next time I go to Malaysia… ties only, no need to spend so much money lah…  [epilogue: I bought one of those marked-around-$200 tie, of course... but at > 50% discount, mind you... but still... *sigh* and "D'oh!"]

And, not just ties… my shopping sessions with Laine have brought me to conclude one thing (among others): men’s clothings are generally much more expensive than ladies’… not fair!  I think this is because most men’s boutique or sections (within departmental stores) figured out men shop with a well-defined objective, so we are less likely to look at the price tag before proceeding to try on and pay:  I need a shirt and a tie, okay, I walk into David Jones, there’s a shirt. Right size? Yes. White? Can do. Here’s a tie, blue with blue pattern. Can do. Go to cashier - $200 thank you… D’oh!  …and of course, we buy less things, so economics and business acumen tells the seller to up the average price.  For ladies, they will buy and buy, so "economies of scale" can apply to their purchasing pattern, thus bringing down the average price of clothes… I think!  Gal goes shopping, gal walks into any shop, ramage through every single rack in the shop, finds a (check price) $15 blouse, goes fitting room, good fit, (thinks: nice blouse, might get a few more in other colours), goes back to rack to get other colours, spots another nice-looking blouse (price check: $12 - i.e. cheap!), try that on too… etc. etc… goes to counter, (pleased-looking sales lady says:) those are nice-looking blouses aren’t they?  Did you see those new arrivals over there?… gal conducts reality check ("NO"), goes to "new arrivals" rack… repeat steps 3-???… finally returns to counter, (very-happy-looking sales lady says:) aww… you’ve selected those really nice blouses, good on ya! it all comes up to $250… and we’ll give you this voucher (give 15% off next purchase)…  …see the difference?  Heh heh heh… that’s a weblog digest of "Raymond Lim’s Paper on the Investigation of Shopping Habits of the Masculine and Feminine of Homo Sapiens"… hehehee…

Wow… this turned out to be a rather long entry… me too long-winded lar…

Some of us would have had experiences with memory verses, yah?

I remember one of the things Laine and I use to do in our "courtship days" was to have some sort of competition memorising verses.  We’ll have a passage before us, and then start to cram them into our brains, and see who can quote them verbatim first!  …of course, I won… but Laine’s the one who would retain those verses in her memory…

Why am I talking about this?  I was reminded recently of my very early days as a Christian, when I would have "follow-up" sessions with the inhouse Christian counsellors at St Andrews Junior College (I was saved there).  They gave some verses-cards and I started to memorise them as "The 4 Assurances":-

Assurance of Salvation   1 John 5:11-12

Assurance of Forgiveness of Sins   1 John 1:9

Assurance of Deliverance   1 Corinthians 10:13

Assurance of Answer to Prayer   John 16:24

You know, it can be such a pain to try to memorise verses, and you might actually forget them a few days/weeks later.  But the beauty is that the Holy Spirit will call those verses to your remembrance when you face hard times or you are lost in trying to express your joy or sorrow.  And when that happens.. *whoa* …what an encouragement!

Some years ago, I was disappointed with myself that I cannot recall many bible verses, while I say things like "I remember somewhere in the bible, it says…", so I decided that I should at least commit to memory verse indexes and a "memory phrase".  For example, I know that these phrases "run and not grow weary" and "walk and not be faint" comes from Isaiah 40, then I can quickly refer to my bible for the full passage.  How about that?  Maybe you can use this "tip" to help you remember some key passages of the bible…

Thought you might want to know this.  The 2nd worst poetry in the universe belongs to the Asgoths of Kria, one famous example is "Ode to a Small Lump of Green Putty I Found in my Armpit One Midsummer Morning":

Oh freddled gruntbuggly,

Thy micturations are to me

As plurdled gabbleblotchits

On a lurgid bee.

Groop, I implore thee, my foonting turlingdromes

And hooptiously drangle me

with crinkly bindlewurdles,

Or I will rend thee in the gobberwarts with my blurglecruncheon

See if I don’t.

                                                             (quoted from wikipedia.org)

…hehehee… Douglas Adams is a genius!

If you didn’t know what the above is about, it comes from the "Hitch-hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy" sci-fi comedy series by Douglas Adams.  I read 3 books of that series some years ago, and can still remember the absurdly-comedic imaginations of the late writer.

Now, I can’t remember where I left those books… would love to read them again…

Right, after all I’m also subject to the whims and fancies of the ever-demanding world of trend, fashion and cool-ness… so here you go: my very own blog.

I tell you, if this is not free, I wouldn’t have done it!  Cos I’m the cheap-skate person I’ve always been… hehehee…

Now, I realise something about myself: whenever I type a message/email etc, I use lots of "…" …   …see? Yah, so I guess this blog will be full of "…"s … right!

BTW, I have not decided what I will write on regularly… I guess my writings will most probably be on these topics: Christianity, Personal Finance (I’m an accountant mah), Home-Ownership, Cars… yah, many more…

…I wonder what Laine will say about this blog…