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09/15/2008: "Shopping, shopping, nothing but shopping!"
mood: Tired but happy and satisfied.
Wow, had a major shopping session today! And I was out the whole day too so I'm feeling really tired right now.
(Be warned, utterly bimbo and completely hiao [vain] entry up ahead!)
So first I went jewellery window shopping with my grandpa this afternoon, since he wants to buy me jewellery for my sis' upcoming wedding. I was kind of freaked since I know absolutely NOTHING about jewellery, and I don't like the idea of spending so much money on something I'm probably going to hardly wear, since I don't normally wear jewellery. Plus good jewellery is EXPENSIVE. But he's said that he wants to leave me something as a keepsake (memoir? What's a good translation for 纪念品?) from him, and I think it's a very traditional chinese view that jewellery is generally something you should get for your grandaughter for a 纪念品.
I say jewellery window shopping since I didn't end up buying anything. That was actually my plan from the start, since I thought I'd just get an idea of what kind of stuff was out there, then go home to think about it and discuss it with my mom and sis. So to me the trip was more because I thought I should spend some time with my grandpa since he really seemed to want to do this for me. But I felt bad since he was kind of disappointed that I didn't get anything today. It's kind of a long story, but essentially he gave my sis some money and told her quite firmly he wanted her to buy jewellery or at least something tangible with it so that she could remember him when he was no longer around (which made me go i_i). But since she hasn't decided on anything yet because she doesn't want to spend too much on jewellery for pretty much the same reasons as me, my theory is that he wanted to be sure to be next to me to make sure I actually spent his money instead of keeping it in a savings account or something. ^_^;; It was also kind of difficult for him to walk around since he has trouble with his back and gets very tired, but he's very stubborn and absolutely refuses to get pushed around with a wheelchair even though we thought it would be better for him.
Which reminds me of a related point - jewellery sellers can be such VULTURES. (You'll see why it's related in a minute.) Some of them can be really nice and pleasant and make me feel comfortable in their presence, like Lee Hwa jewellery where the guy there actually recognised my grandfather's maid (who was there with us) since my grandfather had gone there a week or so earlier with her to check out the jewellery. But some of them can seem rather condescending or downright pushy. I was really annoyed at these two guys from Taka jewellery who kept forcing this bracelet and necklace set on me even though I kept insisting that I didn't like it. I mean what part of "No, I don't like it, and I really, REALLY would rather look at other things." do you not understand, dudes!?
But what really took the cake was when I told them I wouldn't be buying anything that day and wanted to leave, and the older of the two guys tried to emotionally blackmail me into buying the cursed set by saying, "Oh, you really should just buy this because you shouldn't be making your grandfather walk around since it's really hard for him." I mean, honestly! I wouldn't be checking out your frickin' shop of my own accord if not because my grandfather wanted to buy me something I actually don't really want! I felt like picking up the stupid box of jewellery and throwing it in the ass's face while yelling at him to keep his bloody nose out of other people's family matters, but being the wimp I am I just gave my usual laugh and walked off. -_- Times like this I really wish I had Samantha's (from Sex and the City) heck care attitude. *sigh*
So yeah, if possible, I don't ever want to go back to Taka jewellery again. Thank goodness there wasn't really anything I liked there.
After grandpa went back in a taxi, I checked out Blum in Plaza Sing since I was on a quest to find an evening gown - I'd been trying to find one for the wedding dinner for the past few weeks but hadn't had much success, mostly because it's really difficult to find stuff in my size. The evening gowns at Blum were all really bling, and I didn't think the quality of the material was that great. But when I went to meet my mom at CK Tang's after she finished work to shop around some more, I ended up striking the jackpot at Daniel Yam's. I think Daniel Yam is getting to be like my best friend or something - my other bridesmaid dress was also from him. :p
I never thought I would be saying this, but after checking out lots of dresses that cost practically millions of dollars (there was a red dress with rouging from Avana that I really liked and which made me look really good but which cost $899, and a chiffony grey dress from the Link that I randomly picked off from the rack and which cost ELEVEN THOUSAND SEVEN HUNDRED DOLLARS and made me rub my eyes and go, "... You sure that's a comma and not a period?"), Daniel Yam's stuff is actually really affordable for good evening wear. The champagne evening dress I got was actually picked out by the salesgirl for me, and I must say she had a really good eye since that dress looked much better on me than all the other ones I had picked to try on. So if anyone's looking for affordable evening gowns with excellent service (the salesgirls have been really nice every time I've been there), Daniel Yam's the place to go.
My mom and I also walloped the shoe section and ended up with a pair of shoes each for the evening dinner. Again, everyone in the world seems to have better fashion sense than I do because it was my mom who picked out a really cool pair of gold shoes for me. The shoes were slightly too fitted because they didn't have anymore size 6s, but I figured since I wouldn't really have to walk much during the dinner and since they matched my gown, I might as well get them. (Speaking of which, I think my feet might have grown - I remembered my feet being smaller than my mom's but now she and I seem to wear the same size.) My mom's navy blue pair is really elegant, and we were both really glad that she finally managed to find a pair to match her gown, since she'd been regretting not buying an earlier pair of Hush Puppies when she had the chance (the sale had been over when she wanted to go back to get them).
Finally, my sis joined us at CK Tang's so she could hitch a ride back home with us. When I was browsing the underwear section while waiting for her to arrive, I was really shocked to see that almost all the bras were like $55! I think most of mine only cost about $20-$30, though granted I've usually only bought them when they were on sale. My sis did say that Tangs is expensive for underwear and that OG is much cheaper, though, so my mom suggested going there tomorrow since my sis needs to stock up before she goes to Panama (since she's just going to dump everything in the washing machine since handwashing is a pain), and I'd like to buy some new ones too. I want to see if I can find this really comfortable wired padded bra which I used to have but which got thrown away in my second-year fiasco. -_- It's just about the only wired bra I can stand - the others are too uncomfortable for me. And Tiff, if you're reading this, it's the one where you once accidentally elbowed me in the chest and went. "... That's really padded." LOL. XD (I wonder if I'm being too blunt talking about lingerie out in the open in my blog? I can just imagine Dee Mok getting embarrassed like the time we were discussing boob sizes. :p)
And to top off a day of shopping, shopping, and MORE shopping, we dropped by the Tangs basement to buy fruit since we didn't have anymore at home, and some dumplings for lunch. Then my mom made a quick stopover at Marks and Spencers in Wheelock place and we all ended up buying something - an assortment of biscuits and other rubbish for us to snack on. Needless to say, we were really laden down by the time we went back home. :p
I don't think I've had a day where I've bought so much stuff for ages! Oh no wait, there was that day when I went crazy at a casual dress shop my sis brought me to where I bought three dresses and a top. (DDCT, that's where I got my pink dress that I wore to Tiff's bro's wedding!) Man, I hope this isn't becoming a trend! I don't think my wallet will be able to take it. ^_^;;