g e e k c h i c ®

Should stop doing weather reports on my blog but the wii is just SO.DAMN.COOL!

Credit has to be given to Cecilia Ahern. Someone who’s in my age group but is truly an accomplished writer. Best known for her book P.S. I Love You, it had me shedding tears within 5 minutes of delving into the book.

And, being the digital generation, a good book will always be made into a movie. Never mind that the movie is a huge flopping failure, doesn’t do the book a single shred of justice, it.must.be.made.into.a.movie.

Maybe someone just needs to make it a law that fantastic books should never be allowed to be made into a movie. Just to save mankind from the sheer pain and torture.

The Easy One.

Nursing my tingling thumb, achy head, bracing myself against the chilly wind and still smarting from the shit (and that’s an understatement) day from yesterday, my looks could probably kill anyone who dared approach me. Oblivious to my complete bugger-off-I’m-in-a-shit-arse-mood, a couple of Mormons approached me.

“Hi, do you have the time?”
A quarter past five. And turned my back towards them.

“Do you want to hear some good news?”
It’s OK. I already know I’m going to heaven. The question is, do you?

Either they’re trained to be persistent or they’re dumb as a pole because nothing seems to unfaze them!

“We are! We are! But we’re not so sure about you.”
!^&#%&*!&(@!&*)!(*)!!!! Look, mate. I KNOW I’m going to heaven. I’m SURE I’m not one of the 144000 or x number you believe who have a place in heaven. Neither do I need to do anything to secure a place in heaven. It’s already secured for me. DONE DEAL, MATE!

And thankfully with that, the 291 came rumbling down the road.

The Hard One.

I hopped into Priceline because I knew they were having a sale on their Esprit fragrances. A 15ml bottle plus something else for less than $20.00 and I thought that’s a good gift to bring back for one of my mates. I picked up a gift set which contains a 15ml bottle stored in a cutesy little Esprit bag for $17.95. Paid for it and headed towards the Box Hill train station.

There was a 3 minute wait for the next train to the city so I sat on the bench and examined my purchase. Unzipping the bag, I unrolled the first bottle from the tissue. Satisfied that the bottle was never sprayed before, I wanted to return it to its home. But, before I could, I felt the bag was a little bit heavier than usual. I rooted around and to my surprise, there was something else that was rolled in tissue. Unravelling that revealed yet another bottle of the 15ml fragrance! I checked the receipt and it clearly indicated fragrance + bag 2 piece for $17.95. For a moment, I sat there basking in my good fortune. Then it hit upon me, could it be, someone opened up a bag to have a look at the contents and returned it to another bag instead of to the original one! I was filled with a sense of dread at:

1. Having to walk all the way back to Priceline to check.
2. The possibility of losing my good fortune.
3. Missing my train and any trains after 6pm from Box Hill heading into the city is at a frequency of 10 minutes.

After another 30 seconds of inner turmoil, I decided to attempt to do the right thing.

I trudged back to Priceline very reluctantly and had a chat with the cashier. She was almost certain it would contain 2 bottles but upon checking properly, my gut instinct was right!

“Oh, I could’ve just given this to you because you were so nice to bring this back and check.”
Well, you’re gonna get into a lot of trouble for doing this but that’s a very nice thought. It’s OK. I guess I’ll just have to live with the warm fuzzy feeling that I’d done the right thing.

And so back I walked to the train station for a 10-minute wait for the next train. And, because the Roos was playing, the trains were packed with Roos scarf, flags, beanies. ARGH! And, when I got to Richmond, the damn Cranbourne, Dandenon and practically whatever trains I needed to get home were just as packed!

So, I had to stand in the freezing Melbourne wind watching packed trains zip past me until one that was boardable stop in front of me.

Whatever warm fuzzy feeling I had was completely blown away by the icy cold Melbourne “breeze”.

So much for wanting to do the right thing.

Would you have? Or was I just being a complete stick-up-her-ass-obstinate-strong-sense-of-right-and-wrong moron?

The great thing about cheap stuff here is that they don’t usually equate to being shitty products.

I was in Dan Murphy’s stocking up on a 6-pack of Pure Blonde to cheer Jen up when I decided to hop into our local Priceline. While I was there, I stocked up on hair care products (Garnier serum and Pantene leave-in conditioner), vitamins (Blackmores), shower oil (Nivea, J&J’s shower and shave) and facial wipes (Simple).

As I was making my way to the cashier, I passed by the lip balm and lip care aisle.

My eyes caught sight of the wide range of Nivea lip balms. For someone who owns a lot of lipsticks and glosses, I’m not a huge fan of balms. If I can, I’d get something which works as a balm AND gloss. I usually slather on a thick layer of Carmex before I go to bed. And I use my Kiehl’s gloss/balm religiously. Another of my favourite is Bigelow’s Minty gloss and balm. Unfortunately the former is rather pricey and the latter cannot be found on this side of the earth. But, what I bought that day was downright dirt cheap! And what’s more wonderful is that, IT WORKS!

Nivea Caregloss & Shine.

Nivea does come up with some pretty shitty products. Eye makeup remover: Feels like water. Shower oil: Claims to foam but does the complete opposite. Their classic Nivea creme in a blue tin is one of their one-hit-wonder, I’d choose to think. But, for a change, Nivea got their lip gloss right! With just the right amount of gloss, it’s non-sticky and gives a tiny hint of red in the shade that I bought: Glamourous Red. It’s definitely a MLBB-look. I was so tempted to buy a few more and leave one in every coat and bag that I have. No more rooting around for the elusive little tube when you’re on the run. It’s a very tiny tube and with a slanted applicator tip, it’s definitely idiot-on-the-run-for-the-next-train proof. I’d even go as far as to say idiot-with-gloved-hands-shivering-in-the-cold-on-the-run-for-the-next-train proof!

It doesn’t do a fantastic job at healing dried lips but it most definitely stops it from getting chapped or dry.

Retailing for a mere $5.25, it won’t break your heart (or bank) if you lose it. I remember I dropped it on the stairs of the Parliament station as I pulled my ticket out of my pocket. If you know the Parliament station, you’d know the horrifying steep escalator. Each time I descend upon the escalator, I usually have my head buried in MX in one hand and the other hand holding onto the rail for dear life. One very kind stranger caught up with me and handed that to me,”Hey, you dropped your lipstick!” I looked up at the kindly eyes belonging to a 50-year-old man. I smiled and thanked him but giggled to myself that he said lipSTICK.

This balm and gloss comes in a variety of colours. I remember the nude and the pink but somehow the colour which caught my eye was the Glamorous Red.

Give this a go. For $5.25, what have you got to lose if you hate it?

*MLBB: My lip but better

Somehow, a voucher for a purse-sized Dr. Feelgood from Benefit landed in my lap. However, the only catch is that I’ve to let them demonstrate Posietint to qualify for the free item.

My plan was to actually buy Posietint and a few other items to be mailed away as a gift to a friend. I thought that would be good enough and the cute little Dr. Feelgood was a nice touch.

So, off I went to the Benefit counter at Myer Bourke St. After handing over the voucher, I asked for the Posietint and a few other lipsticks. When the SA proceeded to want to test it on me, I stopped her saying that I’ve got Dandelion on and I don’t want to mess it up. I’ll just make the purchase and have the sample, please.

“Oh no! If I don’t test it on you, I can’t give it to you!”

In my mind, “I already know how to use the damn thing, you stupid woman!” but I said,”I really don’t want to be tested on me. I’m just buying it as a gift for a friend.”

“Sorry, I can’t do that.”

So with that, I made a dramatic roll of my eyes, packed up my voucher and walked off.

I really cannot believe anyone could be that stupid! I mean, the very point of demonstrating of a new product is to garner more sales. I’m helping you reach that point minus a few beat-around-the-bush but you’ve obviously got a stick up your you-know-where to see that. Good on ya, mate!

Good for her that she’s lost a sale due to her own anal acts. Good to know too that Benefit at Myer Bourke St will never earn a sale from me from now on. I’ll get it online, I’ll get it from Chaddy or High Point but Bourke St? Forget it.

Besides, I hate that SA. Loud, pushy, annoying, high-pitched voice. Perfect recipe for the worst type of SAs.

Never buy a coat without pockets.

Never let the sun trick you into thinking it’s not cold.

Always brace yourself whenever you open the door. Getting blown by the wind knocking you onto your ass in front of half the organization is not the best way to make an impression.

Always, always, always have a scarf and gloves ready in your bag. Never mind that it’s a top of 12 degrees. You’re bound to forget that it’ll be a minimum of 3 degrees in the morning!

This damn DS browser is as temperamental as its owner during PMS.

ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

Following my previous post, I decided this is worth the money. I have yet to make my mind up on this though. A more thorough review will follow soon.

Woo-hoo!!

One of my favourite pastime is to hack whatever devices I can lay my hands on. So far, I’ve gotten my phone to perform multiple tasks thanks to the very generous data pack from 3 mobile network. Then, I got the wii to display news and weather. It didn’t take too much of hacking, much to my dismay. A few clicks here and there and voila, we’re good to go.

I’ve also recently taken to watching my downloaded series off my iPod. Nano as it is, miniature screen as it is, I’m still well-entertained. On days when I refuse to deal with human beings during lunch, I turn on my iPod with my lunch and get completely lost in the world of Manhattan’s elite

So, yes, as how it is second nature to a geek, I absolutely adore a multi-tasking device.

With the upcoming holiday just looming ahead, I’m thinking of ways to travel light. I’m not particularly keen to travel light on my skin care regime. I’m racking my brains on what to bring for makeup. Having already made my mind up that I will not be bringing my brick laptop with me this time round (there’s a possibility I might splurge on another Louis Vuitton and I’d need to carry that to claim the 10% off GST). But I guess the major reason would be the way we’re travelling. We’re not doing a regular straightforward Melbourne-KL-Ipoh-KL-Melbourne. We’re flying Melbourne-Perth-KL-Ipoh-KL-Melbourne. So, light travelling as it seems, I’d still need some sort of device to keep me connected to the outside world. Emails, blogging, reading of blogs, keeping up with news and crazy weather back home.

And, then, bingo! My DS Lite has WiFi capabilities! All I need is to get the browser to go with it! And, so, I attempted to get one the illegal way just to test it out. Honest! It was just for pure testing purposes! The trouble I had with getting wii online was enough of a warning for me to test it before I buy.

Unfortunately for me, the Opera browser for the DS requires a separate hardware, which is, obviously, non-downloadable! Maybe, just maybe, I would just splurge the $30 on the Opera today at EB Games since EB is having a huge sale now. There’s always the option of returning it if I didn’t like the way it works.

On the other hand, does anyone know how to get the MAC address for the DS? I’ve asked at so many JBs and EB outlets and everyone tells me that’s the first time they hear of such a question. Doesn’t anyone do MAC filtering on their home WiFi anymore?!

Finally, on a totally unrelated note, would you or would you not send an IM to an ex-boss you see online. Should be fair to make a note here that I blocked him off my YM list completely in the past. Since I’d left for more than a year, I guess, it’s enough time to let things go by and dropped him a note to say hi. Boy, did I ever make mistake! He’s still that pompous arrogant bastard I hated working for and still would hate to work for. I hurriedly said a goodbye stating I needed to go out for dinner and put him back on my invisible list again. A leopard never changes its spots.

1. Eat the usual crap. Second helpings. Desserts. Beer. Wine.
2. Cut down on chips. Easy. Just don’t walk into the aisle at Safeway.
3. Snack on fruits all day long. Morning break: A slice of toast and vegemite and a strong coffee. Fruits. Lunch: Usual lunch food plus fruits. Afternoon tea: Coffee and fruits. Supper: A bottle of low carb beer.
4. 10-minute brisk walk x 2 each day.
5. Walk up and down the stairs at work at least 5 times a day. Easy peasy.

I’ve gone from the using a size S for belt to using something that needs to be smaller than S. So, I need a belt to hold my pants up but I cannot find such a belt because XS does not exist yet in Ojay. Solution: Wear dresses and skirts in winter and freeze even more to lose even more weight.

Edit: Cutting down on cooking oil when cooking makes a lot of difference!

I’m getting rusty.

Had to disable my MAC filtering on my router, pop Wii’s MAC address in, apply, write to flash, restart router, THEN did the MAC filtering work to allow Wii to pass through.

So now that Wii is happily connected to the internet, to my horror, I’ll be freezing my arse off in the next few days.

Someone please tell me it’s very inaccurate!

My collection of blushers is slowly but surely growing. I just hope I don’t grow into a blush addict because it’s going to be an expensive addiction to feed. As it is, I already have an addiction to eyeshadows, I really think it’s about time I stop with the blushers. As long as I have something for every occasion, I think that’s all that’s required.

I’ve yet to find the peachy colour that suits my skintone, unfortunately. My recent purchases of mineral samples have seen my blusher collection grow at an exponential rate.

Having said all that, no matter how much I use, I’ve finally come to a conclusion that Dandelion is really still my favourite, my staple, my never go wrong. At certain angles, it is possible to see a hint of gold on my cheeks with the use of Dandelion. This sort of glow is very pretty and it gives the impression that I’m eating well, sleeping well and exercising well. Eating and sleeping (and drinking!) well, I could attest to. My only form of exercise everyday comes from the brisk walk I take every morning out into the train station. And the brisk walk back from the train station.

The other one that I really like is Palest Pink from Silk Naturals. Granted I have to pack it on for anything to show up, when it does show, it is the exact match to the pink I get from my cheeks after being in the cold. In comparison, Dandelion gives more of reddish flush that one gets from being in the heat for far too long. Which is why I’m very careful to tone down on Dandelion nowadays. A couple of swipes on each cheek is more than enough. I use this when I have an especially striking eye makeup on.

Soft Touch blush from Everyday Minerals is another very good one. It just gives an all-natural flush that can be used everyday.

And for the world-reknown NARS Orgasm, I’d realized that it gives a very healthy glow. It’ll be my version of a bronzer because it warms the face up and gives me that little bit of sun-kissed look. A bronzer would be way too harsh for me and Orgasm works PERFECTLY for that. For a night out where I did very dramatic smokey eyes in blue, I teamed Orgasm up for a pop of colour as well as a contour for cheek bones I can only dream of having. I wouldn’t be too far off to say that this is the peach colour that I’m looking for.

Another mineral blush in my samples collection is Seashell Pink from Signature Minerals where it’s sort of an in between Soft Touch and Palest Pink. Pinkier than Palest Pink and softer than Soft Touch, also another colour which wouldn’t go wrong on my skin tone.

The one and only blush which was a completely WRONG one for me was Apricot from Signature Minerals. In this case, it’s the one peach that’s completely failed on me. Looks like Cow will get a freebie when I see her in August!

And, finally, the one that’s got me loving and hating depending on which time of the month, Benefit Thrrrob. On my very pale skin, I need only the lightest bit of tapping for this to show. I like it because it’s a different kind of flush but it doesn’t give the glow that Dandelion does.

On a day-to-day, never fail look, it’s still handsdown, Dandelion!

A lot has been said about this product and when I spotted this on the shelves in my local Priceline, I decided that I ought to give it a go.

I’ve always been a faithful Olay user so I had no qualms picking this up and using it.

After a couple of tries, I can really say that I love this product.

I squeeze a tiny amount of the product onto my palms. Spread that gently over the face with gentle massage. I could feel the heat almost immediately. I’d wet my palms one more time and give the entire face another gentle massage after the first round of heat had dissipated. There’s only a tiny hint of exfoliation beads so it’s not as harsh as the conventional exfoliators.

As with the rest of the products in the Regenerist family, the product is purple in colour and has a little bit of scent to it. Nothing unpleasant or overpowering. The moment the product is rinsed off, there’s none of the scent left behind.

All that’s left is silky smooth and soft skin.

I’d noticed that I would get a very pretty glow and my usual good skin days after the use of this product. As an example, I had a late-ish night on Saturday night. By the time I went to bed it was past midnight and when my alarm clock rang at 645 on Sunday, I was grouchy, grumpy and was ready to snarl at anyone who gets in my way of coffee.

I managed to dab on a bit of concealer, pencil in my brows and tap a hint of Dandelion on my cheeks. At least I won’t get the death-warmed-over-look. I slicked on colourless gloss and snarled my way to Melbourne Central station:where we were at just 9 hours ago.

After church was over, on the way to grab a bite, I stopped by Dior for 30 seconds and was complimented on my skin.

“Darling, you’ve got to tell me what you’ve got on today, you’ve got fabulous skin that’s just glowing!”

I grinned the goofy grin and happily told her there’s nothing but a bit of blush on my cheeks. No, I decided the juicy little secret from my exfoliator should stay with me.

I wouldn’t be using this product everyday no matter how gentle it is. An exfoliator remains an exfoliator whether it’s a physical or a chemical one. It works the same way to strip away the top dead layer of skin to reveal newer skin that’s underneath. Too much exfoliating leads to the same thing: too much skin sloughed away leading to overly sensitive skin as well as skin prone to premature ageing.

NB: The instructions made it clear that one should use sunscreen after the use of this exfoliator but as all responsible adults, we all know that we should use sunscreen whether or not we’re using this exfoliator.

It’s no iPhone for sure. In fact, it’s not even the most sophisticated phone out there. It’s far from a Blackberry and it’s not the most expensive one out there.

But it works well for me.

For one, the 3 network gives some pretty superb deals in terms of text messages, calls as well as data usage. I pay $29 a month for calls and I get:
1. 100 3-to-3 minutes which I can never finish using.
2. $120 worth of calls to other networks, text messages, international calls, MMS-es, or whatever nonsense that takes up money.

For another $5.00 extra a month, I get:
1. 20MB of data usage: Gmail, Facebook, whatever other sites I want to browse into.
2. Unlimited usage into TheAge and all news websites
3. Unlimited usage to check the weather
4. Unlimited usage for a few other extra stuff that I’m not even aware of.
5. 4000 Skype minutes to call whomever I want from around the globe.

So, really, it’s not just that my phone is an excellent tool, but my provider gives us excellent deals as well as top notch customer service.

That makes geek a very happy geek.

Now if only I can get my phone to clean the bathroom once a week for me.