I did something I am not supposed to when the following takes place:
1) It was raining, and
2) I was having my period.
It was not stupid. Neither was it careless. In fact, you may call it krazy but I took my chances (with the necessary protection!).
And I re-learnt something which was taught to me 20 years ago.
The butterfly.
To think that I had forgotten that stroke because I hadn't bothered to practice it ever since. It only goes to show that what you learn during your childhood sticks with you for life ;)
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
sketched by a spanish
My Spanish housemate is hosting her 2nd guest this time. She did tell me beforehand that Damián Molla is quite famous in Spain and is apparently multi-talented. This must be true, because there are videos of him in Youtube. This looks like it was made by one of his fans. Embedding was disabled, but click and you get the idea.
He's also a talk host for a Spanish entertainment show, El Hormiguero. Translated as "The Anthill", this programme is broadcasted with a live audience touching on topics such as comedy, science and politics. This is taken from one of their segments, "El Kiosco", in which they show parodies of other media (He's the one in maroon vest). So popular has this show become that their weekly 120-minute show has now expanded into daily 40-minute shows.
Apparently, he's also a singer in his own band. Even though he seems to be gifted in the arts, I was still quite surprised he could also draw. Not just any drawing, but caricature. So while the housemates and I were catching up in the dining room the last weekend, he suddenly had this inspiration to draw.
A caricature.
Of me.
He admitted that it was difficult for him because I was the first Asian he had to draw. He was used to sketching European faces so it was easy for him to pick out an outstanding feature and have one done in just 5 minutes. To him, our eyes, our nose, our mouth, even our hair are all so different from what he's familiar with!
Nevertheless, he still managed to accomplish the task in a relatively short period of time. I've never had a caricature of myself drawn, so I have nothing to compare it to, but I must say it was impressive. At first glance, I thought it looked more like an angel against a sunny background rather than a kimono grrl with the old Japanese flag behind. To give a finishing touch, I got him to autograph the drawingso that I can sell it when he becomes more famous! as a keepsake.
He's also a talk host for a Spanish entertainment show, El Hormiguero. Translated as "The Anthill", this programme is broadcasted with a live audience touching on topics such as comedy, science and politics. This is taken from one of their segments, "El Kiosco", in which they show parodies of other media (He's the one in maroon vest). So popular has this show become that their weekly 120-minute show has now expanded into daily 40-minute shows.
Apparently, he's also a singer in his own band. Even though he seems to be gifted in the arts, I was still quite surprised he could also draw. Not just any drawing, but caricature. So while the housemates and I were catching up in the dining room the last weekend, he suddenly had this inspiration to draw.
A caricature.
Of me.
He admitted that it was difficult for him because I was the first Asian he had to draw. He was used to sketching European faces so it was easy for him to pick out an outstanding feature and have one done in just 5 minutes. To him, our eyes, our nose, our mouth, even our hair are all so different from what he's familiar with!
Nevertheless, he still managed to accomplish the task in a relatively short period of time. I've never had a caricature of myself drawn, so I have nothing to compare it to, but I must say it was impressive. At first glance, I thought it looked more like an angel against a sunny background rather than a kimono grrl with the old Japanese flag behind. To give a finishing touch, I got him to autograph the drawing
Sunday, August 10, 2008
for what is summer in tokyo without hanabi
The fireworks tonight was said to be the last biggest one held in Tokyo, featuring over 12,000 bursts of sparkles & dazzles over the skyline from Tokyo Bay. I was actually quite hesitant to go, knowing full well that it would be packed, right from the train to the station to the assembly area. What was supposed to be a 15-minute walk turned out to be a half-an-hour shuffle. Thank God it wasn't as humid as usual!
I had a really good time 2 years ago catching the hanabi in Nagaoka with Alden, Konan & Farhana when we were still doing our Intensive Japanese course. I doubt anything in Tokyo can beat that unless they start having big-shot sponsors and music accompaniment with the fireworks. Which was what I experienced back then. Anyways, I decided to give this a shot since some uni friends were so gung-ho about it. They even wore the yukata, complete with the obi and geta!
In fact, 1 out of every 2 Japanese grrls were seen looking cute & pretty in the summer-style kimono. Having donned one of these 2 summers ago and joining in the Niigata festivities, I know how hot it can be underneath! But for some of them, the hanabi is a once-in-a-year event that warrants a reason to wear the yukata. In fact, some of the men join in too. A good reason to keep the traditional costume alive.
Along the way to the area where we would get a place to sit and enjoy the show, many roadside stalls were on hand tomake money off desparate make sure we were well-fed and nourished. Most were selling soft drinks, bottled water and local food such as takoyaki, yakisoba, edamame and yakiniku.
Since the queue was too long, we decided to hold our hunger as long as we could and try to get a proper dinner after the show. Good thing our Thai friends brought a plastic mat along, and we managed to find a good area to catch the hanabi. And so, we oooh-ed and aaah-ed along with the Japanese as the fireworks shot up into the cloudy sky and brought cheer on a balmy summer evening.
This
is
the
reason
why
I
need
to
invest
in
a
good
SLR
camera!
(The last one was almost deleted, if not for the fact that the left ones looked very much like white daisies against the dark backdrop)
I had a really good time 2 years ago catching the hanabi in Nagaoka with Alden, Konan & Farhana when we were still doing our Intensive Japanese course. I doubt anything in Tokyo can beat that unless they start having big-shot sponsors and music accompaniment with the fireworks. Which was what I experienced back then. Anyways, I decided to give this a shot since some uni friends were so gung-ho about it. They even wore the yukata, complete with the obi and geta!
In fact, 1 out of every 2 Japanese grrls were seen looking cute & pretty in the summer-style kimono. Having donned one of these 2 summers ago and joining in the Niigata festivities, I know how hot it can be underneath! But for some of them, the hanabi is a once-in-a-year event that warrants a reason to wear the yukata. In fact, some of the men join in too. A good reason to keep the traditional costume alive.
Along the way to the area where we would get a place to sit and enjoy the show, many roadside stalls were on hand to
Since the queue was too long, we decided to hold our hunger as long as we could and try to get a proper dinner after the show. Good thing our Thai friends brought a plastic mat along, and we managed to find a good area to catch the hanabi. And so, we oooh-ed and aaah-ed along with the Japanese as the fireworks shot up into the cloudy sky and brought cheer on a balmy summer evening.
This
is
the
reason
why
I
need
to
invest
in
a
good
SLR
camera!
(The last one was almost deleted, if not for the fact that the left ones looked very much like white daisies against the dark backdrop)
Thursday, August 07, 2008
so who's drooling?
Yuri asked me if I thought he was cute. In fact, Masami asked me the same question too on a separate occasion. When asked these kinda questions, I deftly avoid answering in the affirmative even if I'm secretly drooling and stealing glances at the guy. Sometimes I throw the question back, hoping that would put them in a spot and turn the attention away from me! To that, they did say he was a bit too "serious". That was my first impression as well, so I wasn't exactly drooling!
So I continued in this nonchalant attitude when we were invited to his place for coffee. The rest had already met him in his earlier trips, so I was considered the new friend. That gave me plenty of reasons to talk to him and get to know him. But again,due to my ego it wasn't as if I was all over him trying to find every little opportunity to ask questions and show I was genuinely interested in being his friend.
The evening went on pretty well. Three really deliciously baked thin-crust pizzas followed by home-brewed coffee. He was showing his newly-delved passion in making good coffee and unfortunately since I'm not such a coffee fan, I couldn't pretend I was into it. Being courteous, I said I would take just a sip. So he offered to share with me his cup instead. After a few sips, I still couldn't understand why the rest had proclaimed it as one of the best coffee they had drunk!
And so, after saying goodbyes, I wasn't really expecting to see him again. He was just a visitor and would be returning back to his home country. But one thing I got inspired from him, which was to have a passion in something and really learn all you can about it and be good in it. He invested in that coffee grinder and brewer and could tell me all about the beans and their various acidity level, aroma and whatnots.
Somehow, an opportunity struck not too long ago and he accepted my invitation for an evening of festivities. It was his last weekend in Tokyo and so I thought it would be good to bring him around town to experience a local matsuri* and the fireworks display that marked the peak of summer and meet up with some of my friends.
I guess I had unconsciously taken up the challenge of getting to know him, especially when more than 1 person commented that he was too "serious". I was not really surprised as the Brits are known for their dry humour. So perhaps the Japanese are more used to Caucausians being loud, outspoken and friendly.
In any case, we did have lots of fun watching the local procession in the streets of Nakameguro, (him) having beer on a humid evening, and then proceeding to stuff ourselves with izakaya** food. I must say that on the outside, he may seem aloof and humourless, but once you get him to talk about his hobbies and passion, he can get real chatty and funny.
My goal was not to see if he had a sense of humour, but rather, quash the commonly-agreed notion of him being too serious, and reiterate the fact that if you take the time and effort and charms, you will find a person more interesting than he or she appears to be. My reward was a cute friend who's not only a Cambridge law graduate who speaks fluent Japanese but darn good in B-boy breakdancing too! Yes, you have my permission to drool.
*matsuri （祭り）- local festival, feast, usually with dancing, singing & music
**izakaya （居酒屋）- local Japanese-style bar, tavern serving all sorts of food & drinks
So I continued in this nonchalant attitude when we were invited to his place for coffee. The rest had already met him in his earlier trips, so I was considered the new friend. That gave me plenty of reasons to talk to him and get to know him. But again,
The evening went on pretty well. Three really deliciously baked thin-crust pizzas followed by home-brewed coffee. He was showing his newly-delved passion in making good coffee and unfortunately since I'm not such a coffee fan, I couldn't pretend I was into it. Being courteous, I said I would take just a sip. So he offered to share with me his cup instead. After a few sips, I still couldn't understand why the rest had proclaimed it as one of the best coffee they had drunk!
And so, after saying goodbyes, I wasn't really expecting to see him again. He was just a visitor and would be returning back to his home country. But one thing I got inspired from him, which was to have a passion in something and really learn all you can about it and be good in it. He invested in that coffee grinder and brewer and could tell me all about the beans and their various acidity level, aroma and whatnots.
Somehow, an opportunity struck not too long ago and he accepted my invitation for an evening of festivities. It was his last weekend in Tokyo and so I thought it would be good to bring him around town to experience a local matsuri* and the fireworks display that marked the peak of summer and meet up with some of my friends.
I guess I had unconsciously taken up the challenge of getting to know him, especially when more than 1 person commented that he was too "serious". I was not really surprised as the Brits are known for their dry humour. So perhaps the Japanese are more used to Caucausians being loud, outspoken and friendly.
In any case, we did have lots of fun watching the local procession in the streets of Nakameguro, (him) having beer on a humid evening, and then proceeding to stuff ourselves with izakaya** food. I must say that on the outside, he may seem aloof and humourless, but once you get him to talk about his hobbies and passion, he can get real chatty and funny.
My goal was not to see if he had a sense of humour, but rather, quash the commonly-agreed notion of him being too serious, and reiterate the fact that if you take the time and effort
*matsuri （祭り）- local festival, feast, usually with dancing, singing & music
**izakaya （居酒屋）- local Japanese-style bar, tavern serving all sorts of food & drinks
Monday, August 04, 2008
sauna in summer
I knew it, I was gonna wake up all sore and walking like an obaachan* today. Nevermind that I did my stretches and warm up before the game. Nevermind that I went for skiing and snowboarding during winter. Nevermind that I started doing some cycling during weekends and even after work.
But having NOT played badminton for a year has rendered my musclesuseless stiff. It's a good reminder to exercise regularly even if it's just doing weights in my room or jogging around the neighbourhood.
So Eric picked me up at the station and we took quite a long walk under the late morning sun to his campus. Now being midsummer, I had conveniently forgot to bring a hat as I didn't expect it to be a long walk. But I did remember to slap on lots of sunblock on my arms & face before leaving. By the time we reached RIKEN, I was already sweating buckets. Summer in Japan is characterised by its heat and humidity.
Now, the Japanese will invariably make this statement :
You're from Malaysia. A tropical country. Surely you must be used to this kind of weather!
To which, I explain :
Ya, but from where I come from, there's this thing called the car. And it comes equipped with air-conditioning. We don't walk everywhere like the Japanese do (for better or worse!) Plus, it's more humid over here.
And that usuallyshuts them up clears whatever question they have about us not being able to stand the heat.
So anyways, we reached the lab-converted-into-badminton-court in Riken and found it to be as stuffy as a sauna. The only thing I wanted to do then was to jump into a swimming pool! Or get someone to pour a bucket of ice water over me. But since I had taken the trouble to visit them there, I joined Eric, Nicole, Loh, Eugene & Carol in some friendlies.
Sweating felt good. Sweating because you played sports felt even better. Sweating because you had fun while playing sports is much betterer!
Nicole pitied me because I had to go so far just to play badminton with them. But I told her to invite me for the next games. Nevermind that I'm sore like an obaachan now. I just need to get myself on the massage chair and I'll be up in no time for the next match!
* obaachan (お婆ちゃん, お祖母ちゃん) - granny, grandmother, old lady, female senior citizen
But having NOT played badminton for a year has rendered my muscles
So Eric picked me up at the station and we took quite a long walk under the late morning sun to his campus. Now being midsummer, I had conveniently forgot to bring a hat as I didn't expect it to be a long walk. But I did remember to slap on lots of sunblock on my arms & face before leaving. By the time we reached RIKEN, I was already sweating buckets. Summer in Japan is characterised by its heat and humidity.
Now, the Japanese will invariably make this statement :
You're from Malaysia. A tropical country. Surely you must be used to this kind of weather!
To which, I explain :
Ya, but from where I come from, there's this thing called the car. And it comes equipped with air-conditioning. We don't walk everywhere like the Japanese do (for better or worse!) Plus, it's more humid over here.
And that usually
So anyways, we reached the lab-converted-into-badminton-court in Riken and found it to be as stuffy as a sauna. The only thing I wanted to do then was to jump into a swimming pool! Or get someone to pour a bucket of ice water over me. But since I had taken the trouble to visit them there, I joined Eric, Nicole, Loh, Eugene & Carol in some friendlies.
Sweating felt good. Sweating because you played sports felt even better. Sweating because you had fun while playing sports is much betterer!
Nicole pitied me because I had to go so far just to play badminton with them. But I told her to invite me for the next games. Nevermind that I'm sore like an obaachan now. I just need to get myself on the massage chair and I'll be up in no time for the next match!
* obaachan (お婆ちゃん, お祖母ちゃん) - granny, grandmother, old lady, female senior citizen
Sunday, August 03, 2008
even though...
Even though it was just a stolen glance,
I knew you were trying to get my attention.
Even though it was just a tight squeeze,
I knew your hug was more than just being friends.
Even though it was just a soft pat on the head,
I knew you wanted to distract without being annoying.
Even though it was just a double-layered macha cake,
I knew your sharing with me was something out of the ordinary.
Even though it was just a hinted email,
I knew you really wanted to share more without being explicit.
Even though it was just a simple call to say hi,
I knew you actually found joy in hearing my voice.
Even though you were not one,
Know that you made my day.
Even though You have always tried to tell me,
I just needed to know that You were there all along.
And maybe some glimpses and sparkles that feel like magic,
So, I thank You for being You.
I knew you were trying to get my attention.
Even though it was just a tight squeeze,
I knew your hug was more than just being friends.
Even though it was just a soft pat on the head,
I knew you wanted to distract without being annoying.
Even though it was just a double-layered macha cake,
I knew your sharing with me was something out of the ordinary.
Even though it was just a hinted email,
I knew you really wanted to share more without being explicit.
Even though it was just a simple call to say hi,
I knew you actually found joy in hearing my voice.
Even though you were not one,
Know that you made my day.
Even though You have always tried to tell me,
I just needed to know that You were there all along.
And maybe some glimpses and sparkles that feel like magic,
So, I thank You for being You.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
complete in You
In one of the music CDs that Daniel had burnt for me when I went back home last Christmas, it contained an album from the Parachute Band. I wasn't very familiar with this group as a lot of the songs we sing in GTPJ were very Hillsongs and Passion-like.
Since I was getting bored with the collection I had (which was already more than 2 years old!) and being not very updated with current Christian & secular music, I decided to give it some airtime. I found most of the songs in the "Amazing" album to be not only lyrically meaningful and musically soothing, but personally very uplifting as well. Here is one that has been on manual loop for the past few days.
Here I am, Oh God
I bring this sacrifice
My open heart.
I offer up my life.
I look to You, Lord
Your love that never ends
Restores me again
So I lift my eyes to you, Lord
In Your strength will I break through, Lord
Touch me now, let your love fall down on me
And I will be complete in You.
Here I am, Oh God
I bring this sacrifice
My open heart.
I offer up my life.
I look to You, Lord.
Your love that never ends
Restores me again
So I lift my eyes to you Lord
And by faith, I will walk on, Lord
Then I'll see beyond my calvary one day,
And I will be complete in..
I look to You, Lord
Your love that never ends
Restores me again
So I lift my eyes to you Lord
In your strength will I break through Lord
Touch me now, let your love fall down on me
I know your love dispels all my fears.
Through the storm I will hold on Lord
And I pray I will hold on, Lord
Then I'll see beyond my calvary one day
And I will be complete in
I will be complete in
I will be complete in You
Since I was getting bored with the collection I had (which was already more than 2 years old!) and being not very updated with current Christian & secular music, I decided to give it some airtime. I found most of the songs in the "Amazing" album to be not only lyrically meaningful and musically soothing, but personally very uplifting as well. Here is one that has been on manual loop for the past few days.
Here I am, Oh God
I bring this sacrifice
My open heart.
I offer up my life.
I look to You, Lord
Your love that never ends
Restores me again
So I lift my eyes to you, Lord
In Your strength will I break through, Lord
Touch me now, let your love fall down on me
And I will be complete in You.
Here I am, Oh God
I bring this sacrifice
My open heart.
I offer up my life.
I look to You, Lord.
Your love that never ends
Restores me again
So I lift my eyes to you Lord
And by faith, I will walk on, Lord
Then I'll see beyond my calvary one day,
And I will be complete in..
I look to You, Lord
Your love that never ends
Restores me again
So I lift my eyes to you Lord
In your strength will I break through Lord
Touch me now, let your love fall down on me
I know your love dispels all my fears.
Through the storm I will hold on Lord
And I pray I will hold on, Lord
Then I'll see beyond my calvary one day
And I will be complete in
I will be complete in
I will be complete in You
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
in malay, we would say "padan muka"
About a year ago, I wrote about a memorable interview process which I had to go through while I was looking for a job in Tokyo. I tried my best to be as diplomatic and politically correct as possible as my intention was not to spread slander, but to share with you all what I "endured".
I had some people advising me to let it go. Some even said I was overreacting. But a lot were very supportive and encouraged me to forget about this startup and try somewhere else. I wasn't very bothered about it after writing as it was just an avenue for expression.
Some of the IUJ students had a little reunion cum farewell party for one of our friends at The Hub (an English-style pub in Shibuya) and I met with one of my juniors who's still studying. This was last Friday, exactly 1 year after I wrote that article. The first thing that she mentioned was her internship office, which was the SAME company that tried to "cheat" me the last time.
Hoho, you will not believe this, but she shared the same opinions as me. In fact, on top of paltry internship allowances, a few other students also went through some dubious experiences when dealing with the President of that company. During her one-month tenure with them, she found out that the turnover rate was so high that they had to keep advertising for new staff. Things have gotten so bad that she herself decided to cut short her internship period to a mere month or so, half of what she was supposed to do.
She even reported this back to the lady in charge of career services and I hope that lady remembered what she said to me back then. In fact, I couldn't believe it myself as she seemed to discredit my own experience, implying I was lying. But I guess in her line of job, maybe she has no choice but to maintain rapport with companies and take their word over ours.
Now, it's not my practice to say things like "I told you so!" because what goes around (sometimes) comes around. And certainly I do not enjoy seeing someone suffer, especially in such economic situation. Not everyone is doing well these days, some are even booted out the same day and we all just have to be glad we have at least a job. To be frank, I'm not feeling any better that I'm hearing all these, it's not like I got compensated by it. But to feel a bit better, can I just say "I told you so"? :D
I had some people advising me to let it go. Some even said I was overreacting. But a lot were very supportive and encouraged me to forget about this startup and try somewhere else. I wasn't very bothered about it after writing as it was just an avenue for expression.
Some of the IUJ students had a little reunion cum farewell party for one of our friends at The Hub (an English-style pub in Shibuya) and I met with one of my juniors who's still studying. This was last Friday, exactly 1 year after I wrote that article. The first thing that she mentioned was her internship office, which was the SAME company that tried to "cheat" me the last time.
Hoho, you will not believe this, but she shared the same opinions as me. In fact, on top of paltry internship allowances, a few other students also went through some dubious experiences when dealing with the President of that company. During her one-month tenure with them, she found out that the turnover rate was so high that they had to keep advertising for new staff. Things have gotten so bad that she herself decided to cut short her internship period to a mere month or so, half of what she was supposed to do.
She even reported this back to the lady in charge of career services and I hope that lady remembered what she said to me back then. In fact, I couldn't believe it myself as she seemed to discredit my own experience, implying I was lying. But I guess in her line of job, maybe she has no choice but to maintain rapport with companies and take their word over ours.
Now, it's not my practice to say things like "I told you so!" because what goes around (sometimes) comes around. And certainly I do not enjoy seeing someone suffer, especially in such economic situation. Not everyone is doing well these days, some are even booted out the same day and we all just have to be glad we have at least a job. To be frank, I'm not feeling any better that I'm hearing all these, it's not like I got compensated by it. But to feel a bit better, can I just say "I told you so"? :D
Sunday, July 27, 2008
up becoz of teh tarik
It's almost 4am and I'm awake typing this. Must be that teh tarik I had at the Malaysian restaurant. We were trying to satisfy our cravings for some good ol' nasi lemak. And while we were at it, we were also promoting to our friends this "pulled tea" which is a must-try at mamak stalls.
I'm really tired, really wanna sleep, but I can't. I was rolling around in bed. Might as well do something productive. Like blogging. Heh, who am I kidding. I'll be tempted to blog-surf then.
Maybe I should bereading the census records or the stages in Israel's journey in the book of Numbers counting sheep. Or do laundry. No, I can't, that will wake everyone in the house up. Reading will be good, I'm quite sure that will help. Oh wait, I'll try drinking warm milk.
I hope I'm not having insomnia. That will be scary. I love my sleep. Can't live without it. Dang that teh tarik. I should have known better than to drink that at night. Reminder to self : Teh tarik is a tea. Tea has tannin. And sometimes caffeine too. You're not in Malaysia anymore, supper doesn't work the same way in Japan. That's why Malaysians aregetting fatter eating too much and Japanese are so slim.
In a less than an hour the sun will be up. Yes, this is the land of the rising sun, remember? Quick, drink up your milk and go to sleep!
I'm really tired, really wanna sleep, but I can't. I was rolling around in bed. Might as well do something productive. Like blogging. Heh, who am I kidding. I'll be tempted to blog-surf then.
Maybe I should be
I hope I'm not having insomnia. That will be scary. I love my sleep. Can't live without it. Dang that teh tarik. I should have known better than to drink that at night. Reminder to self : Teh tarik is a tea. Tea has tannin. And sometimes caffeine too. You're not in Malaysia anymore, supper doesn't work the same way in Japan. That's why Malaysians are
In a less than an hour the sun will be up. Yes, this is the land of the rising sun, remember? Quick, drink up your milk and go to sleep!
Friday, July 25, 2008
pity my poor feet
During my almost 2 years of break from the corporate world, I was very happy to swap my heels for flats and sneakers. The rough skin developed from walking in too much heels and poorly designed shoes gave me constant calluses and corns.
I was really happy that I had almost perfect skin for my feet during my stay in Niigata. The only times I had to wear heels were for presentations and interviews. Even those times, you would be thinking this grrl has never worn heels in her life before, just by looking at the way she walks!
I still remember a class trip down to Tokyo one spring day, the sky was a bright blue and the temperature just right and crisp. Very nice for walking. But even then, my expensive (to me, it was!) Hush Puppies mary-janes almost killed me as I tried to walk from the station to the Sony office. So bad that I had to take off my shoes and walk bare-footed. Since it was still a bit chilly, I had my socks on. They were black, so it didn't look that obvious, plus I tried to tip-toe when walking to give the illusion I was still in my shoes.
Even when I was working during fall and winter, my feet were still fine. In fact, I made sure I pampered them with Body Shop's Body Butter and wore socks everywhere. I absolutely adore the Mango and Shea Butterflavoured scented ones. They were a life-saver for my feet during those cold dry months.
However, now that summer is here, I have no choice but to go out in sandals and heels and expose my poor feet to the harsh elements. With all the walking I have to do, my feet are slowly becoming rough again. I'm slowly beginning to get used to wearing heels (a sign of this is being able to run in them!) but for covered shoes, I have to resort to using these.
Scholl has quite a wide range of gel pads for the feet. Each in various shapes and usages. It even has a glam collection for party shoes, and are made of glittered gel pads. They're pretty comfortable, but still abit too expensive for me. This were the first ones that I bought which, unfortunately, still didn't help me with my killer Hush Puppies. I could only walk for 10 minutes and had to put on a brave front trying not to think about the pain.
Then I found these selling in the 100yen shop near my house! They also come in various shapes, though the texture is not as good as Scholl's. For the price and made in Japan, I thought this was pretty good value-for-money. So I bought 2 types.
The ones for the soles worked somewhat like Handiplast. Peel off the necessary rectangles from the plastic backing and stick it under your feet. It does help especially with high heels but because of constant friction, sometimes it gets pushed down like a folded piece of used Handiplast. Since it feels like Handiplast and looks like Handiplast, maybe I should use a regular Handiplast instead!
The other one which worked a lot better for me was this ring-shaped cushion. I couldn't find one under Scholl so I got this one from the 100yen shop as well. For someone with an erm, unusual feet shape, I've never enjoyed wearing closed shoes. Like mary-janes and ballerina pumps. I wish I could walk around in those, so many in fashion now, but alas, I have to allow practicality to have priority over beauty.
I really wonder how the Japanese grrls do it. Heels and stilettos everywhere they walk. I used to be able to do that in KL. I could even run in my 3-inch heels. But I had a car then, so there wasn't much walking as I have to do now. And even if I did, I still had a pair of sandals or plain slippers in the car for when I'm driving.
Hmm, now where can I go for an affordable pedicure and feet massage here? Or I could do a D-I-Y with Body Shop's Peppermint Foot Care products...
I was really happy that I had almost perfect skin for my feet during my stay in Niigata. The only times I had to wear heels were for presentations and interviews. Even those times, you would be thinking this grrl has never worn heels in her life before, just by looking at the way she walks!
I still remember a class trip down to Tokyo one spring day, the sky was a bright blue and the temperature just right and crisp. Very nice for walking. But even then, my expensive (to me, it was!) Hush Puppies mary-janes almost killed me as I tried to walk from the station to the Sony office. So bad that I had to take off my shoes and walk bare-footed. Since it was still a bit chilly, I had my socks on. They were black, so it didn't look that obvious, plus I tried to tip-toe when walking to give the illusion I was still in my shoes.
Even when I was working during fall and winter, my feet were still fine. In fact, I made sure I pampered them with Body Shop's Body Butter and wore socks everywhere. I absolutely adore the Mango and Shea Butter
However, now that summer is here, I have no choice but to go out in sandals and heels and expose my poor feet to the harsh elements. With all the walking I have to do, my feet are slowly becoming rough again. I'm slowly beginning to get used to wearing heels (a sign of this is being able to run in them!) but for covered shoes, I have to resort to using these.
Scholl has quite a wide range of gel pads for the feet. Each in various shapes and usages. It even has a glam collection for party shoes, and are made of glittered gel pads. They're pretty comfortable, but still abit too expensive for me. This were the first ones that I bought which, unfortunately, still didn't help me with my killer Hush Puppies. I could only walk for 10 minutes and had to put on a brave front trying not to think about the pain.
Then I found these selling in the 100yen shop near my house! They also come in various shapes, though the texture is not as good as Scholl's. For the price and made in Japan, I thought this was pretty good value-for-money. So I bought 2 types.
The ones for the soles worked somewhat like Handiplast. Peel off the necessary rectangles from the plastic backing and stick it under your feet. It does help especially with high heels but because of constant friction, sometimes it gets pushed down like a folded piece of used Handiplast. Since it feels like Handiplast and looks like Handiplast, maybe I should use a regular Handiplast instead!
The other one which worked a lot better for me was this ring-shaped cushion. I couldn't find one under Scholl so I got this one from the 100yen shop as well. For someone with an erm, unusual feet shape, I've never enjoyed wearing closed shoes. Like mary-janes and ballerina pumps. I wish I could walk around in those, so many in fashion now, but alas, I have to allow practicality to have priority over beauty.
I really wonder how the Japanese grrls do it. Heels and stilettos everywhere they walk. I used to be able to do that in KL. I could even run in my 3-inch heels. But I had a car then, so there wasn't much walking as I have to do now. And even if I did, I still had a pair of sandals or plain slippers in the car for when I'm driving.
Hmm, now where can I go for an affordable pedicure and feet massage here? Or I could do a D-I-Y with Body Shop's Peppermint Foot Care products...
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