I'm absolutely loving how August was THE month for concerts - big names, small names, it didn't matter cos it seems like the whole world came down to show some love to Singapore this month wheeeeeeeeee! It all kicked off with centuries-old rockers The Cure on August 1. I didn't go for it but was amazed to hear from Kamei and our graphic designer Wai Sum that the concert went on for a solid THREE HOURS .. and they started RIGHT ON TIME! How amazing is that! If someone like Robert Smith could actually start his concert on time, I don't see why every wedding dinner in town can't … ;)

Then there was the always-popular and packed to the gills Baybeats, followed by the inaugural SingFest, which had everyone from The Pet Shop Boys, Cyndi Lauper and good ol' Sugar Ray (how is it that Mark McGrath is still totally hot, even when he's pushing 40?!) to indie favourites like Avenged Sevenfold and Gym Class Heroes... Didn’t manage to go for it cos I wasn’t in town, but I did hear good stuff about it, and I’m crossing my fingers that these local music extravaganzas will grow to become like Japan’s Summer Sonic and the Glastonbury Festival in the UK!

But the most exciting concert (and the only one I managed to catch) was definitely Gwen Stefani's Sweet Escape Tour - and am I glad that I managed to! (all thanks to the lovely peeps from Universal – thanks guys! J ) It was completely amazing - we were seated in the centre but not on the floor, and for the first half of the show we could only see her tiny hot bod grooving on stage – but her crystal clear voice reverberated around the stadium and her voice was just amazing! But the best part was WITHOUT A DOUBT when she went to a smaller platform thing at the back – 10m away from us - and then proceeded to run through the crowd while belting out “Cool” (which just happens to be my favourite Gwen song) at the same time! I swear I was about to hyperventilate and die, especially when she ran past us and we got to TOUCH HER!!!!! *groupie alert*  And I loved how she sounded so sincere when she was interacting with the crowd as well, about how she was just a girl from Anaheim, California, and yet was performing all the way over in Singapore, even though she is a huge mega super pop star and should be all jaded and nonchalant about everything by now. But too bad we didn’t get a glimpse of her hot hubby Gavin and little baby Kingston though – I heard that they were in town with her as well ahhhh!

And the best part is that August is almost over but there’s still a whole host of other acts lined up and I just can’t wait! For once it doesn’t feel like Singapore is sad and unloved anymore, with all the international acts choosing to go to places like Hong Kong, Japan and Australia instead. Here’s to more great concerts to come woot! So, tell us, who would be your dream act and for whom you’d be willing to pay top dollars to watch? My answer is easy-peasy – here’s a hint: his directorial debut just opened in cinemas recently haha!

My sister sat me down that day and talked to me about my spending. And for good reason, in less than an hour, i had spent up to $300 on three dresses and a pair of shoes. She told me about how important it is to save more than you spend, that i should start making wise investments, that i have to start thinking about the future. It's not that I'm unaware of the importance of saving but i have a condition -- i'm a binge shopper. i go through surging feelings of determination, promising myself that i won't spend uneccesarily. So i start up an account, stash money aside and go home feeling really smug. That's all good until something upsetting takes place and i hit the shops for my fix. It's fast and frenzied and in an insanely short period of time, i've chocked up an enormous bill, knowing that i'm going to have to pay dearly for giving in to my impulses. But for that moment, walking out of the shop with my overpriced shoes and my slightly loose but can-be-altered dress, I'm not thinking about anything else but when i'm going to organise a night out so that i can wear my stuff. 

i remember my guy friend was appalled when he went out shopping with me. Initially he had been hesitant, complaining that he had no intention of spending all afternoon checking out shoes which all looked the same to him  "Guys know what they want, go into the shop and get it. You girls on the other hand, like to spend all afternoon walking around, thinking about what you want to buy, then maybe, just maybe, you choose to get something, then you spend all night asking boys whether it makes you look fat." I reassured him i wasn't one of those girls. And true enough, I went into Nine West, and within fifteen minutes, i had walked out with a pair of shoes. Not that its anything to be proud of, but i hate window shopping. When I have a vague urge to buy something, I hit a shoe shop and I know i'm sure to be satisfied. Well anyway, my guy friend then made a comment about how i was sure to be a high maintainence girlfriend. I was understandably offended. "What do you mean I'm high maintenence? I've never in my life asked any of my boyfriends to pay for any of my buys. And even though i know that buying this pair of shoes will mean that i'll be broke for the rest of the month, it's not like i'm going to borrow money from my boyfriend!" He just laughed and said that he's glad he's not dating me.

Strangely, my grandmother had mentioned something like this to me before. She had told me about how my spending habits would scare any man off, because they would deem me too expensive to maintain. In which case, i told her firstly, i find the idea that i need to be maintained insulting. i might not earn millions but i think how i choose to deal with my finances is my own business.  And secondly, if any man can't deal with a girl being able to splurge on herself then he obviously had issues. But it still got me thinking, do men really get turned off by a chick who splurges? and what's the rational behind it?   

I'm angry. Angry with a guy friend who had insensitively commented that I should give Love a chance. 

I'm angry because he, who is happily attached, made it sound as if I was being difficult and not making myself available. "C'mon!" I shouted back, "it's not as if there's a long line of men outside my door, waiting for me to go on a date with them. Fact is, there is no one." If you're a woman with an ounce of pride in you, you'd understand my anguish. The anguish of having to admit that I'm really not that desirable.

"But you play too much mind games," said my friend. 

"And what am I supposed to do?" I bit back. "Come clean about how I feel? Tell the guy that I'm interested? Ask him out?" 

He nodded. 

"Look, I think you are not placing yourself in my shoes," I tried to explain to him patiently. "Do you have any idea how hard it is for a girl to confess her feelings for a guy?" 

"But you haven't even tried," said my friend. 

ERK. I did. When I was 19, I told a guy friend that I liked him and wondered if it was possible for us to bring our friendship to another level. He turned me down very nicely, saying how he only saw me as "one of the guys", "a crazy buddy", "a friend he just likes to hang out with". Ouch.  That did it for me. From that day, I swore I would never make the first move on a guy. He can flirt for all he wants with me and drop really obvious hints, but as long as he doesn't say, "I like you" or "Hey, think you might wanna try going out on a date with me?", I will not be the first to fall into the Love Trap. 

My guy friends often wonder why I have this irritating tendency to complicate matters. They don't get why I just can't come out and tell a guy that I'm attracted to him. "In all honesty, Debs," said another friend, "you are not all that hideous." Ouch, again. I think my guy friends are all secretly gay. They really know where to hit so as to inflict the most amount of damage. With that line, he got me there. Yes, for all my bravado, wit and confidence, a teeny-weeny bit of me still believes that I'm an ungainly 15-year-old who is hideous, awkward and unattractive. 

Yes, deep inside, I have this fear - that if I do tell a guy that I'm interested in him, he would turn tail and run away as fast as his legs can carry him. You might say that not all guys are this shallow, that some guys do go for personality ... Well, either that man hasn't appeared in my life yet OR he lacks the guts to ask me out. 

"You can be quite intimidating, you know? Why do you have to wait to be asked out?" asked my friend. Dude, why shouldn't I expect to be asked out then? Lots of girls just sit there and wait for Love to come find them, so why can't I do the same? If like you said I'm not hideous, then what is it about me that guys find so "intimidating"? 

He did not answer me. Either he knew the answer would blow my itsy-bitsy ego into pieces or he honestly didn't know. 

It was a conversation that led to nothing EXCEPT to make me wonder why I remain a swinging single with an unspectacular dating calendar. You can throw the most difficult writing jobs at me, make me train for a marathon, ask me to take down Lord Voldemort ... but when it comes to Love, I choose to wait. 

If you were in my shoes, would you do the same? 

If you really met the guy you like, would you make the first move and ask him out? Even if there were a high chance he might turn you down?

Cos one thing's for sure. I have grown used to getting what I want and I don't intend to make an exception just for Love. Getting rejected is seriously not an option.           

I may have a pretty high threshold for pain but when it comes to needles, I'm totally a chicken. However, one very serious case of stiff neck sent me calling for friend's recommendation for an acupuncturist. I woke up one morning but found I couldn't really get out of bed. Every slight movement caused great pain to my neck-shoulder area. I was desperate. Prior to this, I went for massages to relieve the tension build-up on my neck but none seem to work. 

Finally, I remembered one of my friend's husband, Mervin was a sin-say at a Medical Hall in Chinatown. I gave him an emergency call and tried to make for the earliest possible appointment to see him. Thankfully Mervin was really patient and explained in thorough details of what's going on and what would help. Looks like my only option was acupuncture. I decided that I had no other choice but to suffer the little pricks and nicks than the pain that's weighing on my head (and shoulders). 

The first needle went on my leg - the least painful of all areas. Then I had 4 on my wrist and hand - those hurt the most. All in all, I had about 8. I felt as if I've been "Thaipusum-ed". Seeing that this is my first time with acupuncture, Mervin decided to go easy on me. I've heard about all the little miracle healing that acupuncture does but to actually be able to experience one was even more amazing. Just as the sixth needle went into my hand, he told me to slowly turn my head from left to right. What happens is that these needles actually work as a form of unclogging the qi blocks and aid in the blood flow for better circulation. I instantly could turn my head! It was short of a miracle! 



Mervin also explained to me that acupuncture works best on problems relating to pain - sprains, backaches, etc as you can almost see instant results. Though I wouldn't say I'm now a convert - I love my massages too much, I can at least safely say I wouldn't hesitate about going to one when the need arises. 

  

Like Pam, I was also away on a press trip - this time, it was Hokkaido (you'll learn why I'm there in our Sep issue). I was so looking forward to this trip for a variety of reasons. 1) Doubt very much that there'll be another beauty-related trip held there 2) Hokkaido's many famous foods like crabs and dairy products 3) Scenic destination (a refreshing change from the maddening Tokyo scene). 
The air up there was drier, cooler and much fresher. I wished I could bottle home the air that I breathed while I was there. My sinus problem went away for the whole time I was there, my hair became more voluminous and my skin was drier and more matte! And I could soak in the tub with my favourite This Works Deep Calm Bath and Shower Oil without worrying about it being too oily for my skin. It was certainly a time to slather in the most nourishing skin treats and put the products to the test. My cream blusher which would have stayed dewy in our climate turned powdery and matte once I stepped out of the hotel. In fact, I had to add another layer of shimmer highlights to add extra glow to my face. Not used to the feeling of dryness on my skin, I also kept spritzing facial waters on my face. 
But since my return, so has the shine on my nose. I have to switch back to my regular skincare that would include a gel cleanser, pore-minimising serum, and lightweight moisturiser. 
I don't know if you agree with me but I find that having dry skin seems like a much easier problem to solve - simply by loading up on your creams to prevent them from turning into lines and wrinkles. But with oily skin conditions, I have to think about pores, acne and shine. If you're wondering where to begin, always start with your biggest or main concern first. Eg, if acne is your biggest concern, work on that first followed by pores and shine. 

It's only Monday, but chin up and keep smiling (which yours truly here needs to work on - I've been told by my boss on a couple of occasions that I frown too much, which makes me appear less approachable as a result)! 

Cheerios!

Cyn