Fences.

It’s a thought that suddenly hits you, fast and intense.
How do you mend fences that have long been broken?
                    

Love.

“I have learned not to worry about love;
 But to honor its coming with all my heart. ”
                                                
                                                 *Alice Walker

Lesson #04 of the Girlfriends’ Guidebook

 

A couple of reasons why I have joined this No to self-abuse campaign.
A few of you guys know that I am a culprit of this whole self-deprecating, self-hurting thing. So, when I saw this banner, I had to put it on.

Self-abuse. It’s not worth it. It truly isn’t. The little satisfaction you get from punishing yourself is not going to give your ego a kick in the long run. I mean it when I say I know how it feels to do something unhealthy just to get your mind off the problem at hand. But honey, you know once the dirty deed is done (no matter how varying in intensity it is), the problem at hand is not going to turn into a solution.

I suggest, take a deep breath. Grab some panadol plus Tiger balm to soothe that upcoming migraine. And then grab a cuppa hot chocolate, some trashy romance novel and I am thinking that there is a shorter path to that light you’re searching for. ;) Good luck!

P.S: Did I mention that CLEO is also giving away Kenzo gifts if you paste this banner on your blog and you catch their eye? Go to CLEO’s blog for more details. Mwah, ladies. Have fun.

Lesson #03 of the Girlfriends’ Guidebook

The makings of a career for a fresh graduate.

I have to make a few hasty thoughts about this because it is a very important reality check that many a graduate face, right after the Commencement ceremony, where the world is a little blur of blue cloaks, mortar boards, scrolls, massive photography sessions and resumes.

Ah. The resume. The one coveted piece of document that seems to reflect our self-worth. I’m writing about this because I had seniors who were out of jobs for nearly a year before they settled comfortably. My father decides to scare me now by saying that my degree is worth anything for only a year, and after that it depreciates in value.

Whatever the case, the job is an issue that many fresh graudates grapple with. To make matters a little more conflicting, the older generation (read: parents, parents of friends, uncles & aunties) are of the opinion that a degree is a ticket to a high-flying job. But of course, most of us know better. With parents not giving you anymore allowance (man, it’s embarassing enough to ask), and clothes that you still need to buy since you find yourself expanding immediately after graduation, income is much needed.

When it comes to the first job, apart from the blessed few, some of us may be a little more picky, and find to our horror that there doesn’t exist a perfect dream job. We wonder what the heck we are made out to do. Thousands of questions start bombarding you. Should I have gone on with my honors? Should I have changed my major? Should I have signed on with the civil service?  Ah. All the should I’s and If I’s. Yes. The If’s. The only thing that can single handedly ruin an appetite.

Girlfriends. Don’t fret. As a job seeker myself, I am going to presume for the purpose of this lesson that we are all born to serve certain roles in life. A few years down the road, some of us will be mothers, with a natural alarm system of crying and routine breast-feeding that makes you sore and cranky. Yet, a love that cannot be compared with anything else. Some of us might be married and still crazily in love. Some of us might be career-chasers, with the only things worth working for in our lives are our Hermes, Louis Vuitton and Gucci bags. And for the more aspiring, that super-sleek Mazda RX 8, or that BMW convertible.

Whatever it is, I am pretty confident that most of us will find our small niches. Whether it is comfortably safe in our desk jobs, or soaring high in that sales position, we will eventually settle down. Our thoughts might stray less. Our hearts might flutter less. Right now, my dear new graduate girlfriends, chase that dream. Whatever it may be. Do all you can before a man struts into your life demanding your attention, and before his offspring demands more. (For the singles.) The lovey-dovey couples, enjoy this little period of job-seeking. No major commitments now. Focus on your needs first. Then a bit on your wants. Perhaps, go back to your secondary school days and do a mindmap. A little bit of planning. Pore over the papers. Send out your resumes. Attend the interviews. See what makes you tick. And the best part, contrary to popular, self-righteous belief, you don’t necessarily need to stick with it all through your life, given your youth. Don’t get me wrong. I am strictly not condoning job-hopping, since we all need upright work ethics, but give yourself time and don’t expect too much of self-gratification.

So, what are you waiting for? Hit that Recruit section of the papers now.

P.S: Spoken like a true-blue high-flyer  job-seeker, no? ;)

Walls.

I really shouldn’t be doing this.
I have this extremely bad habit of rethinking my choices and regretting them.
I can’t accept the, What’s done is done mentality.

My walls are getting very tiresome.
When it is painted by a strong handsome male, somehow it all falls together nicely,
and evenly. It looks so rich and creamy.
When I’m all alone, and struggling with the roller paintbrush, there are uneven spots of light and dark white. Like a blind elephant used its trunk to squirt the paint onto the walls.
I should have just left it all alone.