Death by Association

It was in the news that Saks Fifth Avenue will be dropping Posh Spice's DVB denim range. Hahaha... to think that it was actually newsworthy.

It is common for companies to sign up celebrities to promote their products. The coolest campaign I remember is one which has got so many famous sportspeople in just one advertisement. Not the pepsi one, but it is set in the dark and everyone was kicking a football. Please refresh my memory if you know what I am talking about.

How many of us are naive enough to buy a product simply because it is endorsed by a certain celebrity. Plus some of the pairings are really odd. I think Amber Chia has probably endorsed a full range of household items. Rice - check, massage chair - check, butt firming salons - check, and the list goes on (some of you may wonder why not lip collagen). Oh not to forget the space tourist aka angkasawan (in Malaysia), I remember seeing a poster of him on the highway back to KL from JB. He must have endorsed something weird too.

Not just that, but do you really think that these celebrities use the products. I am sure Revlon is an ok product but surely Cindy Crawford had a whole range of upper market face paints arriving by the truckload as gifts for her to use. Hmmnnn... SK II is probably more believable but you get my point.

So as I was saying, do you actually buy a product simply because a company has spent millions of dollars to sign on the celebrity who then pretends to use the product? Marketing cost is of course then passed down to us poor consumers, which is probably the reason why SK II is so bloody expensive. They have geography-specific celebrities promoting their product! Sammi Cheng for the North Asia, Angelica Lee for Chinese in Malaysia - HK market etc.

I know for a fact that I would boycott a product if it is associated with certain celebrity. It is the same mentality as I would not bother to vote for a song to be on the Top 10 chart, but I wish I could vote for a song NOT to be on the chart. (Makarena, Chicken song etc). For instance I would never buy perfume made by any actress or actors no matter how famous they are. They are blatantly cashing in on their status and further exploiting their poor fans. My Sig.Ot refused to use the Gillette shaver which was endorsed by David Beckham. So who gives a hoot about DVB denim?

Reinvention of a Grocery Shopping List

Every Monday, I write down a list of my grocery requirements. It is beginning to get a little bit boring and even then I still manage to miss out some ingredients. Therefore I am going to start a system. I am going to create ingredients flashcards and file them.

Once I have that in place, instead of having to write down every single item on the shopping list, I need to only plan my weekly menu such as:-

Monday - Stewed Bittergourd with pork ribs in black bean sauce, stir fry kailan, steamed egg with mince
Tuesday - Roast chicken, mash potato, salad
Wednesday - Pad kaprow, Stir fry broccoli / cauliflower etc.
Thursday - Grilled salmon, creamed spinach, roast potatos

Then, my maid just need to look up my flashcards and then make up her shopping list. This is what we call process re-engineering!

Hope

This morning on the way into town, there was a truck of men heading in the same direction from the East. It is common sight to see a group of immigrant labourers on their way to work at the back of a truck. Of course this is not a very safe mode of transport but such is life.

So you must be wondering why did this group of men stand out from the rest? For one, they were all dressed in suit jackets and they had suitcases with them at the back of the truck. Most importantly, all of them looked so fresh faced, so full of hopes.

They must have all just arrived this morning and were picked up from the airport by their prospective agents / employers. I cannot help but feel so touched by the journey they have just made. When they left their homes and families, they must have felt so excited about what laid ahead. Going to a foreign land, the much talked about and sophiscated Singapore.

Dressed in their Sunday best, they made the journey to the airport, a journey which may have been 10s of hours away from their homes. For some, it may have even been their first flight. Their families must have been both sad and proud of these men. Going to make money and better their lives.

(Will take a photo next time I see another one so that you could relate better to what I am describing)

Social Branches

I am a self professed anti-social. I am probably more sociable than Sig.Ot but compared to most of my friends, I am so much more fussy when it comes to meeting people. Friends I keep in touch with are friends whom I treasure so dearly.

First of all I do not or rarely do threesomes. This means I would rather be hit with a spade at the back of my head than attend any GROUP gatherings. I loathe reunion dinners / gatherings etc. In my opinion most people attend reunion dinners merely to gossip and their inquisitiveness has nothing to do with genuine concerns as they are mere busybodies.

I like one to one interaction with my friends. As a result, during the past 12 years I have formed social branches rather than social circle. My friends do not meet each other. The only times they have come together were for my KL farewell party, hen's night and wedding.

One very odd co-incidence is that over the past 12 years, I have met 3 very good friends who do not know each other but share the same birthday i.e. 12th August! They are also of very different ages, 30 -32 -44, and races, Malay - Chinese - Caucasion. Most importantly, they are very wonderful friends, just like all of you are.

Eddie at 8 months

Self Tagged

I am volunteering to do this. All my answers to the following questions are to begin with "P" for poe.

What is your name? Poe
A four letter word: Piss (-off)
A boy’s name : Penfold
A girl’s name : Petulia
An occupation : Pirate
A color : Purple
Something you wear : Pants
A type of food : Pizza
Something found in the bathroom : Pantene (conditioner, not that great)
A place : Paris
A reason for being late : Poo-ed (eddie)
Something you shout : Pukimak!!!
A movie title : Pulp Fiction /Pontianak Sundal Malam
Something you drink : Pina colada
A musical group : Pink Floyd
A street name : Penarth Road
A type of car : Porsche
A song title : Purple Rain
A verb : Piss

Food is love

Growing up in a conservative Chinese family, physical affection is unheard of. I used to marvel at my Muslim friends kissing their parents, thinking how westernise and cool it was. Well, I have never hugged my parents what's more to kiss!

It is not that we don't love each other. My parents, my brothers and I love each other, we just go about showing it very differently. When it comes to my father, since long ago I noticed that his way of showing his love towards us was his cooking. By the way, my father is a FABULOUS cook!!! Since we were kids, he would make us very expensive Chinese goodies soup such as abalone, dried scallops etc. Even my mom did not get to eat them! And of course my dad never eats it either.

Or how he would wake up at 3am to make agar-agar (jelly) so that it will set in time for us to take the school. Why not the night before? Overnight food is considered unfresh and taboo in my family. And right next to the jelly compartment would be special fried rice. One time he made us burgers to take to school. In order to prevent the bun from going soggy, he packed ketchup separately in a plastic bag, fashioned after an icing piping bag. I still remember him instructing us how to cut the end of the bag so that the ketchup would come out smoothly and neatly. He would also wake up so early in the morning to make us steak or chicken chop for breakfast!!!

When I left home to attend college, my trip home was always met with a huge steamed fish which my dad knew was my favourite. The only problem was fish that size is normally consumed by at least 8 people, and not just one.

Oh how we vowed we would never turn out to be like our parents. Here I am 4 hours before my trip, I have cooked up sambal fried rice, chicken white wine casserole with mushrooms and roasted half a chicken so that my dear husband has food for the weekend. By the way, coffee shops and Cold Storage are just 5 minutes walk from our home.