Day 3

This is the second edition of "Day three of shopping with Amah". The first edition got lost in the mail.

Day three of shopping with Amah:

Waves and waves of conflicting emotions filled Amah as she stepped out of the car. There, right outside the shop was Amah's favourite vehicle: the Thrift Shop's pick-up lorry. And behind the lorry, were Amah's best friends: the workers hard at work, unloading sacks and sacks of newly donated goods. A smile as big as Batman's Joker was pasted on her face. This sight obviously excited Amah because the more sacks there were, meant the more things she could buy.

As we entered the shop, I noticed that Amah's "VINCCI Department" was once again filled with a variety of shoes, from knee-high boots to worn-out sandals. Surprisingly though, none caught Amah's attention. Then I noticed the jeans rack which was also full. Unfortunately, the jeans' on show were only fit for construction workers!! As I stood by the jeans rack, Amah immediately started browsing through the clothes rack. At the speed in which she was going, one would think that she had been given a time limit!! But once again, she surprised me. After browsing through only two rows, she proceeded to the books section. Usually, Amah leaves it up to me to look for books for her but today she wanted to do the books selection.

Once she had gotten the book of her choice, she went on to her favourite section of the shop: the BAGS. Unfortunately, the place was in a mess because the workers had pushed the rack to an odd angle. This in turn made reaching the bags hard. But this did not deter Amah for she had me there. SO, with my long, thin hands and flexible body, I maneuvered myself into weird positions just to reach the bags that Amah wanted to see. But I must say, that my hard work and fantastic gymnastics were not wasted as Amah eventually bought two bags.

Then, as I was straightening myself from a 165-degree position, I noticed a huge pile of clothes next to the bags rack. It was so huge that I felt like jumping in!! It was then that I knew how Amah felt every time she came to the shop. I looked through the top of the pile but that was not satisfying enough. And at one point, I even asked my father to carry and throw me in the pile!! *sigh*

After "we" had satisfied ourselves, we left the shop. Amah did not say much on the way home but as soon as we reached home, she spoke her mind. She complained about not being able to look through EVERYTHING and that it frustrated her. I nearly rolled my eyes until I remembered the huge pile of clothes that also left me unsatisfied. SO, all I did was console her and told her to be proud of her achievements for the day. After all, she was the only person there with a daughter who was willing to do Olympics-style gymnastics despite not having learnt the sport. With me at hand, Amah got most of what SHE wanted to see and that alone is a loss to the other shoppers there!!

So, once again, shopping with Amah turned out to be quite an event. I learnt the sport of gymnastics in 15 minutes and Amah, well; she was left unsatisfied once again.

*To be continued.....*

Continued....

Note: Minus the exaggeration, whatever else said is true.

A few days passed before Amah made her way back to the Thrift Shop. However, the joy that once welcomed her was replaced by sheer shock. If a stethoscope was at hand, I'm sure we could have heard her heart stop. The sight that greeted her was simply depressing. The jeans rack where Amah bought all of her children's fashionable jeans was EMPTY!! The shoe rack where Amah prided herself in calling it her own "VINCCI" shop was also EMPTY!! And to think that these racks were filled with things just a few days back.

Amah courageously worked her way into the shop, glancing sadly at the empty racks that once filled fashion life with joy and happiness. As she browsed through what was left on the clothes rack, she couldn't help but think of all the shoes and jeans that she could have had. But then, luck was once again on her side when she found the store room. With its door open and no one at guard, she peeked into the room.

And to her great JOY........there, in the store room, from the floor to the ceiling, was heaps and heaps of clothes and bags. I'd bet that given the chance, she would have locked herself in the room so that she could have the first look at all the new things. However, thinking once again of her pride and respect as a loyal customer (she would rather be thought of as a charity-giver), she left the shop, not empty handed mind you, with the hope that, the next time she went there, the things she found in the store room would be on show.

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In regard to last entry regarding the "HELP FULFILL AMAH'S WISH - TO BUY THE THRIFT SHOP FOUNDATION", I would hereby like to notify that the foundation has been closed. It is a great pleasure to announce that the funds once needed are no more a necessity. This e-mail and other future e-mails are written purely for humour and comedy.

Those were the days...

"Long Live the Thrift Shop!! Long Live the Thrift Shop!!" - This chant was heard all the way from Jalan Perak to Jalan Sungai Pinang as Mrs.Shun @ Amah was on her way home.

The Thrift Shop has been Amah's "shopping centre" ever since it was established a few years back. However, on this particular day, when she went there to do her normal browsing, she was overcome by emotion!! There, right outside the entrance of the Thrift Shop was heaps of newly donated clothes, bags and shoes. She was as excited as a little kid in Toys 'R Us. However, her joy was short-lived as there was simply no place for the workers to unpack and display these new items. No matter how deep and hard Amah dug, she simply couldn't satisfy her growing greed!!

Beaten, she left the shop. Not empty handed of course!! Back home, she was so frustrated that she couldn't look through everything that she mentally promised herself that she'd do anything to achieve her dream.

Therefore, as her eldest daughter, always willing to fulfill her mother's wish, asks for your help in contributing to the "HELP FULFILL AMAH'S WISH-TO BUY THE THRIFT SHOP FOUNDATION". Any amount is appreciated.

Writing...

I've always had a "thing" for writing. I didn't dream of being a famous writer or anything. But I loved writing. Writing essays used to be my favourite thing in school and I suppose that is the reason why I loved English. I would take my time thinking of the content, structure and what would go into my essays. I'm proud to say that my essays were always given good grades.

My life is high school was not interesting. I wasn't in the popular group nor was I the nerd. I was just the average student. However, life at home was completely different. I had so many things going on at home (thanks to my mum!) that I started writing about them. The subject was always "Mum" but the things she did....was eccentric!! And so, the next few entries will be of my writings done at least 5-6 years ago...

Being the bigger sister

"We're always learning from others; be it from someone older or someone younger."

We're as different as chalk and cheese. Not only in personality, but also in looks (though some say we look alike). I love to eat only the creamy part of a cake, while she only likes the cake bit. I only eat the egg-white of a hardboiled egg, while she eats the yolk. Mum always says that with the two of us, she saves a lot because nothing goes to waste!!

My sister and I have a six-year age difference. Being the elder half, people may assume that I bully my kid sister and that we constantly fight. But contrary to what people may think, my relationship with my sister is as close as sisters can get. I can tell her about this guy that I like or that girl that I hate, and she'll understand. And vice versa, she can tell me about which gang in college she despises and which college has the cutest guys!! We share the same taste in guys, movies, songs and nowadays, clothes!! She teaches me what is hip and fun, while I teach her what is proper and casual. I teach her patience and she teaches me to be brave to act. She lends me her clothes but rarely borrows mine, as mine are "old". But as much as we find joy in shopping for clothes and modelling them around the house, we have our moments of "this is mine and that is yours", "Who is prettier"...etc. It's not selfishness or vanity. It's just plain sisterhood. And of course, there's also our favourite past time: combining our "forces" of wit and humour, and pitting them against mum and dad!! Ahh....the joy and laughter (and sometimes, scolding) we experience, is simply wonderful.

Needless to say, just like all siblings, we do have our differences. There are times when we just can't see eye-to-eye and I suppose that's normal. After all, I don't expect a 18 year-old to agree to everything that her older sister says or thinks. She calls me old-fashion, while I call it elegance. She calls me boring, while I say she's just restless. While the age-gap does confer problems and causes us to fight over petty things, the joy and fun that we have together overcomes all the "adversities" that we face. We may fight, quarrel and refuse to speak to each other for hours, but when the time comes, and one is in need of help or simply a shoulder to cry on, we both know that we are there for each other. We're always on the look out for each other, secretly protective of each other's well-being and welfare. And of course, without each other, who else do we get to point a finger at and blame the other for a mistake or accident that has occurred, if not for "sister"?? :-)

Twilight Craze!!

After the craze of Harry Potter, I have a new craze: TWILIGHT!! Actually, my craze for Harry Potter is only on hold till the next movie comes out. After all, since there are no more HP books, I have to look for a diversion.

Anyway, my supervisor introduced me to Edward Cullen, the ultimate superdashing-supercool-superheartmelter(I made this up!) hero of TWILIGHT!! There are 4 books in this series and because I was soooooo engrossed with Edward, I read 3 of the books in 2 days!! Talk about speed reading!! All I did after coming back from work was lose myself in the book!! There was another hero in the book, Jacob and for awhile, he was my favourite. But towards the end of the series, my heart was back with Edward!! sighs......*eyes twinkling**grinning*

To think that this book was aimed at tweens/teens, and here I am (I'm not alone though; my supervisor is just as crazy) swooning over a vampire!! Hahahaha!!

Anyway, now that I've read the 4 books (I also had to buy the 4th book as I had to return the books to my supervisor and my sis was pissed at not being able to finish reading; hence the purchase), it's time to watch the movie!! The trailer seems to be dark and the stunts look corny. Nevertheless, I love TWILIGHT and I don't think bad stunts or dark sets are going to sway my judgment!!

sighs.....*grin*

It's DECEMBER!!

IT'S FINALLY DECEMBER!! And that means....XMAS and NEW YEAR's EVE!!! Woohoo....one year ago, I think I said the same thing. Hahahaha!!

It's always nice to know that it's December and that means, a whole year is finally ending. And the beginning of a New Year is about to come about. For me, December is a month of reflections. I like to spend the month looking forward to Xmas and New Year's eve; at the same time, analysing or rather reflecting on the things I've done and achieved the past year. Did I fulfill all the resolutions I made at the beginning of the year? Did I achieve anything worthy? Or was the whole year just a flop?

It's only the 3rd day in December; and I reserve the right to take more time to ponder on the things that I've done, achieved and lived through, this 11 months. Once I've sorted that out, that'll be the material for another post. So...to whoever who reads my blog (and I bet that less than 5 ppl do), wait till I organise my thoughts and put them down here. :-)