Things I've Learnt
Lessons on Love
That giving someone your all doesn't help if the person shuts himself away from you and doesn't want to take it.
That no matter how much you tell yourself that it's his loss and his fault, it still hurts.
That lying to yourself that he doesn't deserve you doesn't work, because the truth is that you don't deserve him.
That emotional pain can actually feel like a physical kick in your guts.
That no matter how hard you try to shut him out of your mind, everywhere you turn, you see something that reminds you of him - a whiff of his cologne, his sharp nose on someone else's face, his same bag carried by another man, the same confident swagger on a passerby, the office where he works, the make of car you know he drives.
That any man that enters your circle somehow never measures up to him.
That you can be checking out a good looking man for a maximum of merely 4 seconds before you conclude that he isn't as handsome as your guy and immediately lose interest.
That something can actually be over before it even begins.
That he means more to you than you care to admit.
That you can carry on for months in a state of blissful ignorance, only to be woken up by, of all things, a single brusque sentence.
That manipulation isn't an art confined to the fairer sex.
That he can be your motivation and simultaneously your demoralisation.
That you can help him fold up his sleeves, pat down his trousers, rub his neck and back when he's tired, pluck threads off his shirt, bring him hot water and herbal tea when his sinus strikes, cook him his favourite foods, do anything and everything to make sure he is comfortable, happy and healthy 100% of the time, even though you're close to exhaustion yourself.
That you can actually be happy doing things for him without asking for anything in return.
______________________________________________
Lessons on Work
That you can be made redundant anytime, for the stupidest of reasons.
That money turns out to be the main motivating factor in your job, despite how you've never thought of yourself as a materialistic person.
That when you move on, you miss your old colleagues - who have become friends - terribly.
That working in the CBD means that food is expensive, transport is expensive, and the daily fashion parade on show, modelled by impossibly slender girls with fair perfect skin and long, lean limbs, is utterly demoralising.
That things aren't as bad as you feared they would be when you see all your new colleagues hitting their sales targets effortlessly.
That CBD people are damn unfriendly - smile at them and they don't even acknowledge you with so much as a flicker of their mascara-ed and curled eyelashes.
That you actually miss the food court in your old workplace, compared to CBD food.
That you're getting hell of a lot more money, but you'd be willing to take (a little bit) less in exchange for a friendly smile and chattier colleagues.
________________________________________________
Lessons on Fashion
That it is a horrible mistake to explore Shenton Way and Tanjong Pagar in high heels.
That, despite the above statement, high heels go well with practically everything and vamp up the frumpiest outfit, therefore you should keep wearing them.
That empire-waisted tops are fabulous for (ahem) fuller figures.
That the right bag attracts more admiration than even the most gorgeous clothes.
That you shouldn't wear buttoned shirts if you have a large bust, because buttons are annoying and tend to spring open in the most crowded places possible.
That a blazer is the best investment ever because you can be wearing a plain spaghetti strap top, but throw a blazer on and it instantly turns you into a high-powered career woman.
That maternity clothes can look even more hip than normal clothes.
That any man looks great as long as he is in a shirt and tie.
______________________________________________
Lessons on Makeup
That if you have perfect skin, you can get away with just about anything.
That mascara is the only item you need to make you look glowingly refreshed and wide awake.
That blusher on the apples of your cheeks instantly makes you look happy even if you're not.
That you'll eat any lipsticks or lip glosses on your lips anyway, so no point touching up on them.
That you just can't understand why some girls can pile on sunscreen, moisturiser, foundation, eyeshadow, eyeliner, mascara, concealer, blusher, shimmer, lip liner, lipstick, lip gloss, and loose powder, and still manage to move their faces without it cracking into a million pieces.
That if you were to do the same as the abovementioned girls, you would faint from lack of oxygen within 10 minutes and your pores would be clogged for life.
___________________________________________________
Lessons on Life in General
That babies are little mini-miracles of life.
That good-looking men come equipped with unmanageable egos.
That by the age of 25, most of your friends are attached/engaged/married/pregnant/mothers and you start to worry about yourself, who is not attached/not engaged/not married/not pregnant/not a mother.
That praying together with your friends tends to bring you more satisfaction and amazingly, yield better results.
That you should never, never, never, never, never drink on an empty stomach. NEVER. I cannot emphasise this enough.
That you have resigned yourself to the fact that if, at 25, you haven't outgrown the PlayStation, you probably never will.
That football is best watched in large groups of friends, but watch out for the obscenities.
That giving someone your all doesn't help if the person shuts himself away from you and doesn't want to take it.
That no matter how much you tell yourself that it's his loss and his fault, it still hurts.
That lying to yourself that he doesn't deserve you doesn't work, because the truth is that you don't deserve him.
That emotional pain can actually feel like a physical kick in your guts.
That no matter how hard you try to shut him out of your mind, everywhere you turn, you see something that reminds you of him - a whiff of his cologne, his sharp nose on someone else's face, his same bag carried by another man, the same confident swagger on a passerby, the office where he works, the make of car you know he drives.
That any man that enters your circle somehow never measures up to him.
That you can be checking out a good looking man for a maximum of merely 4 seconds before you conclude that he isn't as handsome as your guy and immediately lose interest.
That something can actually be over before it even begins.
That he means more to you than you care to admit.
That you can carry on for months in a state of blissful ignorance, only to be woken up by, of all things, a single brusque sentence.
That manipulation isn't an art confined to the fairer sex.
That he can be your motivation and simultaneously your demoralisation.
That you can help him fold up his sleeves, pat down his trousers, rub his neck and back when he's tired, pluck threads off his shirt, bring him hot water and herbal tea when his sinus strikes, cook him his favourite foods, do anything and everything to make sure he is comfortable, happy and healthy 100% of the time, even though you're close to exhaustion yourself.
That you can actually be happy doing things for him without asking for anything in return.
______________________________________________
Lessons on Work
That you can be made redundant anytime, for the stupidest of reasons.
That money turns out to be the main motivating factor in your job, despite how you've never thought of yourself as a materialistic person.
That when you move on, you miss your old colleagues - who have become friends - terribly.
That working in the CBD means that food is expensive, transport is expensive, and the daily fashion parade on show, modelled by impossibly slender girls with fair perfect skin and long, lean limbs, is utterly demoralising.
That things aren't as bad as you feared they would be when you see all your new colleagues hitting their sales targets effortlessly.
That CBD people are damn unfriendly - smile at them and they don't even acknowledge you with so much as a flicker of their mascara-ed and curled eyelashes.
That you actually miss the food court in your old workplace, compared to CBD food.
That you're getting hell of a lot more money, but you'd be willing to take (a little bit) less in exchange for a friendly smile and chattier colleagues.
________________________________________________
Lessons on Fashion
That it is a horrible mistake to explore Shenton Way and Tanjong Pagar in high heels.
That, despite the above statement, high heels go well with practically everything and vamp up the frumpiest outfit, therefore you should keep wearing them.
That empire-waisted tops are fabulous for (ahem) fuller figures.
That the right bag attracts more admiration than even the most gorgeous clothes.
That you shouldn't wear buttoned shirts if you have a large bust, because buttons are annoying and tend to spring open in the most crowded places possible.
That a blazer is the best investment ever because you can be wearing a plain spaghetti strap top, but throw a blazer on and it instantly turns you into a high-powered career woman.
That maternity clothes can look even more hip than normal clothes.
That any man looks great as long as he is in a shirt and tie.
______________________________________________
Lessons on Makeup
That if you have perfect skin, you can get away with just about anything.
That mascara is the only item you need to make you look glowingly refreshed and wide awake.
That blusher on the apples of your cheeks instantly makes you look happy even if you're not.
That you'll eat any lipsticks or lip glosses on your lips anyway, so no point touching up on them.
That you just can't understand why some girls can pile on sunscreen, moisturiser, foundation, eyeshadow, eyeliner, mascara, concealer, blusher, shimmer, lip liner, lipstick, lip gloss, and loose powder, and still manage to move their faces without it cracking into a million pieces.
That if you were to do the same as the abovementioned girls, you would faint from lack of oxygen within 10 minutes and your pores would be clogged for life.
___________________________________________________
Lessons on Life in General
That babies are little mini-miracles of life.
That good-looking men come equipped with unmanageable egos.
That by the age of 25, most of your friends are attached/engaged/married/pregnant/mothers and you start to worry about yourself, who is not attached/not engaged/not married/not pregnant/not a mother.
That praying together with your friends tends to bring you more satisfaction and amazingly, yield better results.
That you should never, never, never, never, never drink on an empty stomach. NEVER. I cannot emphasise this enough.
That you have resigned yourself to the fact that if, at 25, you haven't outgrown the PlayStation, you probably never will.
That football is best watched in large groups of friends, but watch out for the obscenities.


























