The Little Sweatshop of Thoughts

serendib is an old Arabic name for sri lanka. and as i sit here waiting for something to happen this hot clammy night, i can’t help but remember a particular moment i captured en route to bentota. it was a non-routine stop at a beachside area. calm and not so sunny. the waves were gently lapping the shore. but if your eyes followed them as they retreated back into the magnificent expanse of the sea, you can’t help but feel a tinge of apprehension over the azure unknown. and there my mother stood, taking in the quiet, hiking up her salwar kameez to feel the sea at her feet and the world in front of her. it was a beautiful moment. i actually took another one after that where my sister and her were trying to catch the ‘big waves’. i was too busy to soak my feet in as i was trying to ‘capture the feeling’.

i guess the second photo could use some cropping and colour enhancement but i loved what they signified. i thought they turned out pretty poetic.

this has got to be one of the best cartoon shows ever. produced by nickelodean, this show was one of the first few cartoons catering to both adults and children (unlike the simpsons which had a lot more adult material). its always heartening to watch the cartoon’s take on popular culture and potshots at the idiosyncrasies of modern life. like today’s revolved heavily around employer-employee relations in the dog-eat-dog world of the fast food business and the whole craze of seeking therapy. it was hilarious!

made my night. happy happy!

its a quiet saturday afternoon as i sit in my living room. corinne bailey ray softly singing, ‘put your records on’, cool weather and a nice warm tea – its perfect for a lazy afternoon. just missing some people to share it with. and for some reason, the mood transports me back to the holiday in sri lanka dec’07. at the end of our trip, too well rested and too energetic, i sat in our hotel in bentota and came up with this photo journey. i don’t think the parents really got it when i showed it to them. all they could say was, ‘you didn’t sleep the night before ‘cos of this?’ 

(photos are slightly enhanced for colour and mood)

i went for a facial yesterday.

as i lay there, soaking in the zen and listening to my beautician about the shopping in HK, i had a brainwave (yeah, gosh) about the whole issue i have with money and extravagence. you see, this entire semester was spent looking at luring the rich singapore and i got to look a bit into the psyche of the rich and bored. i think it never agreed with me why people want to spend so much if they can get the same amount of happiness with something less. (then again, i think i have a happiness threshold. anything above that is just OTT.)

ok so from economics we learn that human beings are never content. we are always looking to maximise our utility. and then, we also learn that the world as a whole is getting more affluent and rich people are sprouting out like weeds. so we have this amazing business opportunity as well which is based on the differentiation strategy, where price is not an issue as long as the customer gets exactly what he wants. and then we also hear about the knowledge worker, who is prized for his intellect, and is thus, the core asset to his company. and since the core asset has to be happy, he has to be treated with care and pampered.

and so welcome the new services industry : providing solutions to your eternal happiness aka money CAN buy you happiness.

we have 2 specimens here: mr i’msorichidunnowhattowithmymoney and mr imsovaluablesopamperme

DISCLAIMER: currently i have nothing to say for mr imsovaluablesopamperme, ‘cos i kinda sorta (hope I) fall in that category. if i say anything at all, it would be hyporcrisy

so what about mr imsorichidunnowhattowithmymoney?

i watched this show on discovery travel and living where they were profiling rich people and what they were doing with their money. terribly good programme. one man in particular caught my eye. he was british, fat and ugly with long curly hair and was aspiring to start an exclusive night club in london. so to make it exclusive, he bought a friggin’ vineyard in france so that NO ONE could have access to that particular wine. and how does he destress? get a couple of models onto a yacht and sail away. he said (in not the exact words),’when you have the money, the girls just come. it’s just the way it is’.

did i mention he was ugly and fat?

another show i watched was on MTV called run’s house. its the life of run aka joey simmons who is the brother of russell simmons and ex-bro-in-law of kimora lee who is now dating djimon honsou a calvin klein underwear model. anyway, the show was going to profile one of his kids with unnatural behaviour. the therapist labelled it gameboy rage. and to alleiviate that they enrolled him in yoga and karate, to destress. ok firstly, the kids name is diggy (wtf?) and then, gameboy rage???? seriously? are we coming up with disorders and diseases just to make ourselves happy and blur out the possible neglect to the child?

ok lost steam. monetary econs awaits.

btw, the facial was good. my pores are clean. my beautician has magic fingers

uplifting, upbeat and happy. definitely gives you that fresh feeling. i’m not sure if this is like a sign of the times but i love indie music (if you would call this indie at all). it’s strange but nowadays i get my music fix from my tv shows and they don’t usually feature big name music artistes. the music that is featured is also much more in tune with the sentiment of the moment, which i like.

since, i do think that my life is lived out like a movie, played to a soundtrack.

i first heard this song while watching the show how i met your mother. within 15 minutes, i had found out all i could about the band responsible for this awesome song, death cab for cutie and all the other music videos they have. got some of their songs as well, but this one is still my favourite.