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This post is, coincidentally, about my major loves in life.

How many people, I wonder, have to sneak around guilt-ridden just to attend a book fair?
Not all that many, I suspect. I just have the misfortune to be one of those few.

Now, sneaking around behind your mother's back doesn't sound very ethical... but it wasn't my fault, really. I hadn't even meant to go. I mean, I did. My reflex action to spotting the banner concerning the 'largest book fair of the year' was to - in true bookworm style - resolve to be there. Asap. But I smothered that impulse, knowing full well my mom's disapproval of it. She thinks I have too many books. Nonsense! A girl can never have too many of them.

Well, on a fairly unremarkable Wednesday, I happened to be walking into the house behind my mom, who'd just taken in the mail. A paper fluttered down into my pathway and - unsuspecting me - I picked it up just like a docile daughter should. Which was just as well, because it was a freakin' SIGN, I tell ya. That paper was a flyer for the event billed as... THE LARGEST BOOK FAIR OF THE YEAR. *Bug-eyed*
I hastily stuffed it into my handbag, where my mom wouldn't see. Not an hour later, I left the house on the pretext of getting a new photo album. And made a beeline for the fair. Well, it must've been a very drunken bee, 'cause it took me some time to find the place. But it was worth it. Oh it was. Goodness knew how I was gonna find a photo album to bring home, but right then I was the very picture of a kid in a candy store - and anyway, isn't a photo album a sort of book? And this is a book fair... right? *Continues deceiving myself with slim chances and fat hopes*

My basket grew steadily heftier as I scoured each and every table for good reads. By the end of two hours, I went from lifting it with one hand to practically lugging it around. Heheheh. And then I found myself an empty table space to sift through my potential purchases.

The first one to make the cut was - get this - a book about shopping. How to shop... ALL OVER THE WORLD. Omg. *Blabbering away at top speed* It got me so excited; it'd teach me lifelong skills like how to bargain anywhere, even if I don't speak the local tongue! I'd be able to get countless brill bargains for souvenirs on my honeymoon, just like Becky Bloomwood! =X
Next to join were a new recipe book and some reads for myself. Then a couple of books for my little cousins were screened through, in addition to dictionaries for psychology terms going for a song! I got a similar one for English literature, also RM2. Altogether, my booty cost little more than 80 bucks. And then I hid it all inside my car boot. And started thinking hard about how to get that photo album.

On Friday I took off, just to catch the supposed bboy finals at Sunway Pyramid. Yes, I arrived safely. And no, no more pillars bumping into the side of my car. Once is enough. Puhtooey.

To my dismay, they'd shifted the finals to Sunday the 24th. Or perhaps the date was misprinted in the newspapers those many weeks ago. =(

I'd abandoned my little Kumon students for... this?

A stage that didn't exist...

An exhilaration which had to be put on hold...

A whole day just... for... shopping.

Here's where the sun comes out and its golden rays engulf my being. I cheer up right away and begin my rounds. T-Joue is definitely one of the stores I'll patronise for workwear, in the future. It spells class.

Come to speak of shopping, the newbie Tropicana City Mall has been gathering momentum since the last time I dropped in. The eateries are ever more varied and interesting; its tenants are fairly well picked for diversity; and parking - at the moment - is free. Not to mention, it is barely 10 minutes away from where I reside! With the soon-to-be-opened GSC outlet and a well-stocked arcade, TC Mall looks set to be my new favourite hangout, after OU.

Why not Curve, you ask? I'm not sure. There's not much of a cozy feeling there, maybe because the shops are spread too far apart and it makes you waste too much time just walking from place to place. I'm all for convenience, yo.

Saturday was a night of dinner and dance. A perfect combination, aye. I strapped on my fancy heels and was chauffeured onto the streets of KL; Jalan Ampang, to be exact.

I wasn't to do any dancing; just going for a theatrical production.

And the chauffeur was my father, and the tickets were on me - my treat! - because, well um, I didn't know how to get to Wisma MCA on my own. =/

BUT it did cost me a lot! A chunk of my first wages! =D

How apt, that it should go towards watching a dance performance; my very first earnings.

It was the most lowkey international production I'd been to; no glitzy venue, no carpeted stairways or elevated seating. The arrangement was a tad bit like any I.U. Day, complete with a slightly akward (bordering on incompetent) emcee. But who cared?

It was Breakout; the Korean extreme dance comedy I'd been pining to go for ever since I'd laid eyes on its ad. And for a charity performance, it didn't fail to satisfy.

The opening saw numerous hooded figures darting and sliding expertly across the stage floor; their movements sharp and synchronised to the music. Then the breakdancing began, and I was thrilled to see that two of the breakers were girls! Cut to the next scene, where the acting began. I was rather taken by the - what else? - tallest of the five main characters. Dancers they may be, but their faces were expressive and movements trained enough to carry the plot without dialogue. No wonder this show has traveled to the likes of New York! Nearly every scene was closed with a highly energised dance number. Each of the five main dancers had his own area of specialisation. One did some solid popping and locking, another kept *ahem* baring his torso before doing amazing flips on his left arm, and my tall one... he's a sexay beatboxing machine. The night was full of breakdancing and beatboxing, which was like manna to me. There was creative, amusing use of backdrops; and a different approach to audience interaction. I ENVY the girl who walked away with the Breakout shirt. The one and only girl. Why not me? Why noT ME?!@? T.T
*Sigh* What can I say? It was simply wonderful.

Flashbacks of the week :

Dinner at Zuup.
I like soup. O.o


Got down to straightening out my earring collection, on my new earring rack (a birthday gift from my mom), crowned with swirls!



A daunting task, to the uninitiated.
The subjects have to be organised according to length, colour and width.



Babes like these don't qualify to be hung up, unfortunately.
Wrong shape.



Amber on Straw.
What if I told you, these only cost me 4 ringgit?
Still decent-looking, unlike those tacky 3 for 10s.



Barely over 40 pairs, not counting my studs (non-dangly earrings).
Definitely... not enough. XD



Result.



NOT for sale!

I don't know about you, but when I look at my beloveds...
Each one has a story to tell.
Every pair is special and different, in that I may not have chosen it for myself,
or I fell hard for it at first sight.



The ballerina from Chiangmai,
One of my favourites - the filigree butterfly,
A gift from my big bro - little iridescent beads.



Another big bro gift - blue droplets,
See-through acid blue cubes,
Simple deep red stacked mini-cubes.



Korean seahorses (not that I've been to Korea) standing in line.



White Vincci roses,
An all-time favourite - slim blue beaded chandeliers,
Gypsy-style concoction in green - a bazaar buy.



The rival to the slim blue chandeliers;
Chains of seduction.



Glomesh in gold - usually I hate (yellow) gold, but in this case, it seemed fitting. Though a black-grey would've been so much sexier. I have a thing for almost-blacks. Or very deep blacks.
To the right are
Beaded chandeliers in a chocolate sheen.



Pink chandeliers from Singapore - these I don't really adore,
Charming wooden carved hoops - suspected ripoffs,
Amber on Straw,
Shadow Hearts.


*Big smile*
=)