i found a black blazer recently, something that's been on my to-buy list. a couple months ago, i bought something at this store, and the sales associate told me that if i subscribed to their email mailing list, i could save 20%. since the item i was buying was pretty cheap, i declined at the time, thinking that i would remember this nugget of information for when i wanted to buy something more expensive. the day had arrived, and i knew my good for nothing, remember-everything-that-is-useless-and-nothing-that-is-actually-important memory did come in handy occasionally.
i excitedly made my way to pay for my beautiful blazer, and asked if they still gave discounts if i gave them my email address. disappointingly, i was told that yes, they still do that, but it's for a future purchase because they send the coupon in an email. then i went back to cursing my good for nothing, remember-everything-that-is-useless-and-nothing-that-is-actually-important memory since it forgot that crucial detail. i felt too embarrassed to tell the girl that i didn't want to buy the blazer, and that i wanted to wait for the email...so i bought it. but i schemed the whole time, coming up with several scenarios.
my final scheme involved me buying the blazer again from another location with the coupon, then returning it with the first receipt. devious, i know! unfortunately, by that point, there were only 5 blazers in my size left in the GTA. i ended up buying the blazer at a store that was completely out of my way (but close to melissa's way, so we had lunch, yay). i went into the store, not noticing much, including the signs that advertised 25% off all full-price items. i didn't pay much attention to the price either, just knowing it was lower than the first amount i paid.
then, the next day, i went back to my regular location to return the blazer with the first receipt. then i noticed the bright red signs splattered everywhere proclaiming the sale. i was so annoyed that the person who rang in my purchase the previous day didn't tell me to save my coupon, and to take the 25% off instead, but i realized i had to draw the line somewhere. so i didn't do anything about it. (i know, i was shocked at myself too).
it that wasn't bad enough, the following day, i got an email from the store, advertising 30% off everything in the store! argh! again, i decided to let it go but still felt a little ripped off.
all this while, i didn't actually check the amount that i was charged. i checked my visa statement today, and what do you know! i was given both the 20% AND the 25% discount - my blazer was super duper cheap (relatively speaking). all that griping for nothing! well, not really nothing since i love my blazer and this is a story that ends happily ever after. the end.
25 February 2010
22 February 2010
thank you, frosty
either my car has developed the ability to clean the snow off itself (i do have a honda and you know how crafty the japanese can be) or i have a really wonderful friend at work. i'm guessing the latter, and i'm pretty sure i know who you are, masked snow (remover) man. thanks. :) starbux soon?
18 February 2010
scent stumper: solved
we figured out what the stench was - decomposing cat vomit (don't ask). if you think it sounds putrid, you should try smelling it.
blech.
blech.
motivation (and malodorous) mystery
why is it, that i have no desire to clean my house until i come home to the smell of something rotting? i was perfectly fine with living in a mess of dishes and garbage until that point. is there no middle ground? why wasn't i motivated to clean yesterday, before the eau de toilet stage (not to be confused with eau de toilette - since that's a nice smell, and this, definitely is not)?
i've cleaned, but still haven't deciphered the source of the smell. but i do have to say, my eyelashes look fantastic.
i've cleaned, but still haven't deciphered the source of the smell. but i do have to say, my eyelashes look fantastic.
16 February 2010
eye candy
i have always had a bit of an obsession with make-up (mostly eyeshadow and mascara). i've found my soul mate eyeshadow (hi, MAC!) and thought i found the best mascara in christian dior's diorshow...now i realize that it was only runner-up. yes - those of you who know about my blazing love affair with diorshow, pick your jaws up off the floor. there is another woman.
i read about imju fiberwig online. it uses the tubular technology where it coats your lashes in a quasi-cylinder of mascara, and is supposed to be better than the mascara that alerted me to the technology in the first place: blinc's kiss me mascara, which i saw at trade secrets - seems to be a stupid place to find the perfect mascara, not to mention a stupid name for said mascara if you ask me. but i digress.
imju fiberwig is a japanese mascara, and is the best-selling brand there. it boasts that it imitates the look of fake eyelashes, minus the fake-ness. the brush looks different than the one on the sephora website (perhaps because mine is straight from the source - more about this later); mine is definitely more dumbbell shaped which i surprisingly enjoy. it seems like the wider ends help evenly coat the shorter lashes at the edges of my eyes.
application is easy and quick. i was most impressed by the fact that i had beautiful lashes in seconds, thanks to my new friend whom i've named ms. fibby. ms. fibby effortlessly lengthens and separates my lashes and seems to take curl well, despite the reviews that i read that said she can uncurl your lashes. the second time i wore her, i tried following advice i found online, and applied the mascara before curling, first from above on my top lashes, then from below like you normally would apply it...i let it dry, curled and applied a second (technically third?) coat. this was definitely too time-consuming and the curl didn't hold as well as when i just applied it normally the first day. and my lashes got all stuck together, rendering separation with a lash brush necessary. so don't believe everything you read on the internet, folks. except everything that i tell you. like, go buy this mascara, now. and buy two for me while you're at it.
my friend amy and i have been doing some experimenting with mascaras recently. we've been sharing and comparing (*gasp* i know, it's wrong to share eye make-up, so sue us, neither of us have contracted a fatal eye disease from each other, so we're good. for now. sorry, i'm digressing again...), and while i have found that eyelash primers are pretty neat, it just adds an extra step. that's why i like ms. fibby so much, my lashes look great with no extra steps and very little effort.
ms. fibby doesn't smudge, even after hours of wearing it. when you look at the brush straight out of the tube, the formula looks very clumpy but applies cleanly and easily. another huge plus is that she practically falls off your lashes with just a bit of warm water - i don't need to use make-up remover! amazing.
the only downside is that i find ms. fibby doesn't add volume as well as diorshow. so...if diorshow is better at volumizing, and ms. fibby is more about lengthening and separating, what would happen if i combined the two? and if i were to combine them, which would go on first? or do you think it's like mixing cleaning products - the combination creates a toxic gas and makes the user lose consciousness? no?
in terms of price, she sells for about $30 here (same as diorshow). i always feel a sense of guilt indulging in $30 mascara...but. my brother recently went to japan on a business trip and so i asked him to buy ms. fibby for me - it was about $10 with the conversion! woo hoo! $10 is definitely < $30, which makes me > happy. what also makes me > happy is how awesomely i just used the greater-than and less-than signs. uh, miko...grade 3 called, they want their math lesson back.
why am i so crazy today? since i've apparently resorted to talking to myself, i am sending myself to bed. and apparently i've thrown out the idea of writing concise and succinct blogs, sorry k-zo. i'm just long-winded by nature, i guess. maybe i could go back and delete every other word? better yet, if you're still reading this, you should go back and re-read this rather psycho post but only every other word, just for kicks. and since you're not supposed to believe/follow everything you read on the internet with the obvious exception of my blog, this means you have to.
i read about imju fiberwig online. it uses the tubular technology where it coats your lashes in a quasi-cylinder of mascara, and is supposed to be better than the mascara that alerted me to the technology in the first place: blinc's kiss me mascara, which i saw at trade secrets - seems to be a stupid place to find the perfect mascara, not to mention a stupid name for said mascara if you ask me. but i digress.
imju fiberwig is a japanese mascara, and is the best-selling brand there. it boasts that it imitates the look of fake eyelashes, minus the fake-ness. the brush looks different than the one on the sephora website (perhaps because mine is straight from the source - more about this later); mine is definitely more dumbbell shaped which i surprisingly enjoy. it seems like the wider ends help evenly coat the shorter lashes at the edges of my eyes.
application is easy and quick. i was most impressed by the fact that i had beautiful lashes in seconds, thanks to my new friend whom i've named ms. fibby. ms. fibby effortlessly lengthens and separates my lashes and seems to take curl well, despite the reviews that i read that said she can uncurl your lashes. the second time i wore her, i tried following advice i found online, and applied the mascara before curling, first from above on my top lashes, then from below like you normally would apply it...i let it dry, curled and applied a second (technically third?) coat. this was definitely too time-consuming and the curl didn't hold as well as when i just applied it normally the first day. and my lashes got all stuck together, rendering separation with a lash brush necessary. so don't believe everything you read on the internet, folks. except everything that i tell you. like, go buy this mascara, now. and buy two for me while you're at it.
my friend amy and i have been doing some experimenting with mascaras recently. we've been sharing and comparing (*gasp* i know, it's wrong to share eye make-up, so sue us, neither of us have contracted a fatal eye disease from each other, so we're good. for now. sorry, i'm digressing again...), and while i have found that eyelash primers are pretty neat, it just adds an extra step. that's why i like ms. fibby so much, my lashes look great with no extra steps and very little effort.
ms. fibby doesn't smudge, even after hours of wearing it. when you look at the brush straight out of the tube, the formula looks very clumpy but applies cleanly and easily. another huge plus is that she practically falls off your lashes with just a bit of warm water - i don't need to use make-up remover! amazing.
the only downside is that i find ms. fibby doesn't add volume as well as diorshow. so...if diorshow is better at volumizing, and ms. fibby is more about lengthening and separating, what would happen if i combined the two? and if i were to combine them, which would go on first? or do you think it's like mixing cleaning products - the combination creates a toxic gas and makes the user lose consciousness? no?
in terms of price, she sells for about $30 here (same as diorshow). i always feel a sense of guilt indulging in $30 mascara...but. my brother recently went to japan on a business trip and so i asked him to buy ms. fibby for me - it was about $10 with the conversion! woo hoo! $10 is definitely < $30, which makes me > happy. what also makes me > happy is how awesomely i just used the greater-than and less-than signs. uh, miko...grade 3 called, they want their math lesson back.
why am i so crazy today? since i've apparently resorted to talking to myself, i am sending myself to bed. and apparently i've thrown out the idea of writing concise and succinct blogs, sorry k-zo. i'm just long-winded by nature, i guess. maybe i could go back and delete every other word? better yet, if you're still reading this, you should go back and re-read this rather psycho post but only every other word, just for kicks. and since you're not supposed to believe/follow everything you read on the internet with the obvious exception of my blog, this means you have to.
15 February 2010
birthday songs
we enjoyed family day and valentine's day weekend our friend's cottage with our friends. good company, good food, good conversation, good tv (we watched the winter olympics on a 100" screen) and a bit of fresh air made for a relaxing weekend - i went cross-country skiing! AND didn't hurt myself! a momentous day, indeed (sorry i can't say the same for my friend sylvie - hope your arm is feeling better, my dear!).
at one point, we decided it was important to look up what songs were number one on the charts on our respective birthdays...then we stumbled upon this website that lists what song was number one in the US on our birthdays, every year. neat!
i think the ultimate highlight of my list is 1990 - i still remember the day my brother dressed up as a new kid at camp and lip-synced (sanc?) and danced for the campers. i do believe he performed hangin' tough, though...oh, and he's asian, so there's no way he could actually be a new kid...but we can pretend.
PS. i can't write about birthdays without saying happy birthday to my dad (february 17) and to dana (february 16). love to you both! ♥
check out my list:
at one point, we decided it was important to look up what songs were number one on the charts on our respective birthdays...then we stumbled upon this website that lists what song was number one in the US on our birthdays, every year. neat!
i think the ultimate highlight of my list is 1990 - i still remember the day my brother dressed up as a new kid at camp and lip-synced (sanc?) and danced for the campers. i do believe he performed hangin' tough, though...oh, and he's asian, so there's no way he could actually be a new kid...but we can pretend.
PS. i can't write about birthdays without saying happy birthday to my dad (february 17) and to dana (february 16). love to you both! ♥
check out my list:
US Number One Songs on June 24
| Year | My Age | Artist - Title | Weeks at number one | ||||||
| 1980 | -- | Paul McCartney - Coming Up (Live at Glasgow) | 3 | ||||||
| 1981 | 1 | Kim Carnes - Bette Davis Eyes | 9 | ||||||
| 1982 | 2 | Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder - Ebony and Ivory | 7 | ||||||
| 1983 | 3 | Irene Cara - Flashdance... What a Feeling | 6 | ||||||
| 1984 | 4 | Duran Duran - The Reflex | 2 | ||||||
| 1985 | 5 | Bryan Adams - Heaven | 2 | ||||||
| 1986 | 6 | Patti LaBelle and Michael McDonald - On My Own | 3 | ||||||
| 1987 | 7 | Whitney Houston - I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me) | 2 | ||||||
| 1988 | 8 | Debbie Gibson - Foolish Beat | 1 | ||||||
| 1989 | 9 | Richard Marx - Satisfied | 1 | ||||||
| 1990 | 10 | New Kids On The Block - Step by Step | 3 | ||||||
| 1991 | 11 | Paula Abdul - Rush Rush | 5 | ||||||
| 1992 | 12 | Mariah Carey - I'll Be There | 2 | ||||||
| 1993 | 13 | Janet Jackson - That's the Way Love Goes | 8 | ||||||
| 1994 | 14 | All-4-One - I Swear | 11 | ||||||
| 1995 | 15 | Bryan Adams - Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman | 5 | ||||||
| 1996 | 16 | Bone Thugs-N-Harmony - Tha Crossroads | 8 | ||||||
| 1997 | 17 | Puff Daddy and Faith Evans feat. 112 - I'll Be Missing You | 11 | ||||||
| 1998 | 18 | Brandy and Monica - The Boy Is Mine | 13 | ||||||
| 1999 | 19 | Jennifer Lopez - If You Had My Love | 5 | ||||||
| 2000 | 20 | Enrique Iglesias - Be With You | 3 | ||||||
| 2001 | 21 | Christina Aguilera, Lil' Kim, Mya and Pink - Lady Marmalade | 5 | ||||||
| 2002 | 22 | Nelly - Hot In Herre | 7 | ||||||
| 2003 | 23 | Clay Aiken - This Is The Night | 2 | ||||||
| 2004 | 24 | Usher - Burn | 8 | ||||||
| 2005 | 25 | Mariah Carey - We Belong Together | 14 | ||||||
| 2006 | 26 | Shakira feat. Wyclef Jean - Hips Don't Lie | 2 | ||||||
| 2007 | 27 | Rihanna feat. Jay-Z - Umbrella | 7 | ||||||
| 2008 | 28 | Coldplay - Viva la Vida | 1 | ||||||
| 2009 | 29 | Black Eyed Peas - Boom Boom Pow | 12 | ||||||
10 February 2010
carnation re-evaluation
i've recently had a lot of time on my hands, so i watched the entire sex and the city series, finishing off with the movie, only to start watching the series again. what can i say, i have an addictive personality. at least i'm addicted to tv shows and vibrantly-coloured cupcakes and not drugs or rubber stamps.
the best part about SATC is that, as unrealistic as it is (they make it seem like it's soooo difficult to meet men, but they're all dating new guys every week with the exception of the occasional miranda dry spell...and they can afford to buy $500 shoes as often as they meet new men, in their gorgeous manhattan flats), there are so many "that happened to me or someone i know" or "i've felt the same way" moments that allow you to identify with every character.
like...the fact that steve's dog is named scout?! and here i thought we were being original. i bet that everyone who knows our cat's name is scout thinks we were just copying steve.
and in particular, the episode where charlotte rants about carnation flowers, saying they are just "filler flowers" - i totally feel the same way. don't most women? then carrie shockingly announces that she actually likes carnations, and there's nothing better than a bunch of beautiful pink ones...she gets a bouquet from berger and suddenly carnations look better to me. (i'm so impressionable).
well, for valentine's day, two of my students (brothers) brought me a bouquet of pink carnations. aww. i think it's a sign that carrie and i would be close friends if she didn't live in manhattan. and if she weren't a fictional character.
the best part about SATC is that, as unrealistic as it is (they make it seem like it's soooo difficult to meet men, but they're all dating new guys every week with the exception of the occasional miranda dry spell...and they can afford to buy $500 shoes as often as they meet new men, in their gorgeous manhattan flats), there are so many "that happened to me or someone i know" or "i've felt the same way" moments that allow you to identify with every character.
like...the fact that steve's dog is named scout?! and here i thought we were being original. i bet that everyone who knows our cat's name is scout thinks we were just copying steve.
and in particular, the episode where charlotte rants about carnation flowers, saying they are just "filler flowers" - i totally feel the same way. don't most women? then carrie shockingly announces that she actually likes carnations, and there's nothing better than a bunch of beautiful pink ones...she gets a bouquet from berger and suddenly carnations look better to me. (i'm so impressionable).
well, for valentine's day, two of my students (brothers) brought me a bouquet of pink carnations. aww. i think it's a sign that carrie and i would be close friends if she didn't live in manhattan. and if she weren't a fictional character.
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