Friday, September 28, 2012

Five Things: Small Luxury

The week started unexpectedly on a high note. I've never been keen to last minute plans, but I would have to say I didn't regret saying yes when an old friend of mine invited me to go out Sunday night. If it wasn't the fact that I knew him so well, I would have probably stayed in my pjs and went to bed early that day. Not only did I have a great time mingling and meeting different people I finally gave myself a well deserved 12 hour "beauty sleep" after spending an entire week waking up at 5am everyday for classes and appointments. I would have to say that drinking champagne the night prior has its benefits... :)    

Since I might not be celebrating my birthday this year, my friend decided to spoil me with a bottle of Louis Roederer 2004 Crystal Champagne. Early birthday gift he says.

Homemade comfort food at its best - Gratinée à l'oignon aka French Onion Soup (Yes, I burnt it a bit under the broiler. It was delicious nonetheless.)

M.A.C Cosmetics x Marilyn Monroe launch party invitation. Can't wait! 

My staple lifestyle and entertainment guide by an inspiring (and one of my favorite) blogger, Emily Schuman.

Newest hangout place every Thursday afternoon: Cacao 70

Monday, September 24, 2012

Lost & Found



"You broke me, and taught me to truly hate myself."

Soothing melody, powerful voice, haunting lyrics. Lianne La Havas is the new Adele... mark my words.

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Embrace


For many writers the worst part of the writing experience is the very beginning, when they're sitting at the kitchen table staring at a blank sheet of paper or in front of that unblinking and perfectly empty computer monitor. "I have nothing to say," is the only thing that comes to mind. I would have to say that overcoming my writer's block for the past couple of months has been a harder process than I expected. For one I was lacking in the inspiration department. For the first time in years I truly felt uninspired. Nothing out there motivated me to write up a post whether it be about the things that I love or the things that I hate. There comes a time when I simply didn't feel like doing anything anymore. I just didn't see the purpose of it all, the purpose for everything that was going on. The concept of sharing my thoughts openly didn't seem too right anymore. Believe it or not, I have developed a fear of opening myself up again. That is until I met Mrs.C.

Known to be the "Anna Wintour" of all clients in the department store where I work, one can easily fall onto her black list if she had a bad experience with you. And when I say black list, I kid you not that she can make you lose your job at the end of the day if things don't go her way. I've always heard the staff talking about her and I was given proper instructions on how to behave if I were to encounter her. The first time that I met her, I felt a slight pang of confusion. This so-called Cruella De Vil was not only extremely nice to me, but her exact words before she left the store were: "Je sens que nous allons développer une bonne relation. (I feel like we will have a good relationship)".

I have realized in a very roundabout way, that kindness and compassion, in their purest forms, are harder to find these days. It's a disconcerting notion considering, I'd say, we are more in need of it now than ever before. Because if there's one thing I've learned about kindness or acts of kindness, it's that they are far more transformative than we may think. I remember being in a particularly fragile state one gloomy day. I was struggling with some matters of the heart (what else is new, right?) and I was at war with the new POS system being installed at work thinking to myself, 'This day can’t get any worse.' The next thing you know, the computer decided to crash on me.  

Before I could throw the computer on the floor and fling myself into a full-blown public temper tantrum, I heard a voice: “It's ok Sisi. Just breathe. Embrace it. Just breathe.” I looked up to discover Mrs. C walking into the store. She was picking up her alterations and she clearly saw the distress and confused look on my face when I saw her. When I asked her what she meant by 'embrace' she simply told me that it was ok to feel shitty and to feel like God granted my life with bad luck, but if I took two second to pause and take up things the way they are, the rest will follow accordingly and in some odd way, everything will feel right again.

It was a stranger comforting me in a moment when I needed comfort the most. A moment where I was at my lowest, and someone who had nothing gave me the only thing she could: compassion and kindness. It was all I was looking for. It was a moment that helped change my outlook on life and how I was conducting my own. It’s easy to forget about the importance of embrace because it's so basic. With the holiday season upon us really soon, it's so easy to get lost in ourselves and our needs and wants, but imagine how much better we'd all feel, how much more profoundly we'd appreciate all we have, if we just took that extra time to look out for one another.  Think about it: How much better off would we all be if, in a moment when we needed it the most, a stranger were to tap us on the shoulder and whisper: “Just breathe. Embrace it. Just breathe.”

January to August had mostly been recuperating months for me. I felt like I had to detach myself from a lot of things (and people) in order to reevaluate the goals that I have in my life. Truth to be told, I'm still far from finding the comfortable zone where I can genuinely feel happy about my life right now, but I'm slowly taking baby steps embracing everything that is about to come my way.

And indeed, up to this day Mrs. C has been my most loyal client ever and our relationship have developed considerably. So much that I can probably write her entire biography and she would do so for mine. Because of her, for me she gave a whole new meaning to the word embrace