Skint Is My New Middle Name

Went for a meal during Friday lunchtime with a mate. Initially wanted to go to Hartamas but we came up the wrong exit into Jalan Duta and it was either head back to KL or go somewhere in Bangsar. I suggested Jake’s which is quite near micasa. Jake’s is quite cramped and not as cosy as Sri Ayutthaya a few doors away.

The bill came and I almost fell off my stool. Turned out the grilled fish I ordered was more expensive than the steak my mate ordered – I didn’t notice the fish was priced per 100 grams. Duh!

Well, at least I enjoyed the company and the posh nosh left me feeling quite full so I had a light dinner that evening and watched Phone Booth.

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Initially planned to go out on Saturday but changed my mind as I could only fit in my appointment on Sunday. No big deal, I thought, as it gave me the opportunity to practise what Dr. Peck suggested - delaying gratification. That was the first time in so many Saturdays that I spent totally indoors and I was the domestic goddess at cleaning – on top of the normal household chores, I even swept the balcony [which I only do like once a month], swept and washed the porch and even cleared the drain in front of the house.

If there’s any dengue outbreak in the area, I’ve definitely done my part in not contributing to it!

And, that wasn’t all, I even tackled the loathsome ironing before showering at noon and didn’t stop there; I fried some fish sausage [keropok lekor] - but then I had to do that as the fish sausage would go bad in a few days anyway - and did my laundry after that.

To reward myself for this domesticity and for actually not spending on a Saturday, I treated myself to The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen that afternoon. And found it to be most enjoyable.

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I initially considered going for a morning walk on Sunday Morning, but as I was going out, I decided to forego the walk. An early start to Sunday Morning when I woke up before 6 [surely it’s sacrilegious to wake up before 6.30 during weekends!] so after Suboh, I decided to attempt some DIY Yoga. So there I was doing the Corpse’s Pose and the Cat’s Pose and wondering if I got it right [maybe I need breathing lessons first].

As I found out from the news the night before that Le Tour De Langkawi would end in KL on Sunday, I decided to take the monorail. Picked up a bag I sent for repair at Starhill then rushed over to Times Square for my facial appointment. I was looking forward to a good pampering time.

The beautician played some background music, it wasn’t the normal spa music but it was okay. Then she proceeded to do the normal cleansing, steaming and exfoliating. Next – and I didn’t know I was getting this – she proceeded with extracting and poked my face here and there, plucking out blackheads and getting rid of what she called ‘oil seeds’ which I had never heard of that until Sunday!

And my, oh my, it was a painful experience. The background music had somehow changed its tempo to something that sounded, to my terrified person, scarier and sinister. Like The Omen’s soundtrack or something. And the beautician probed and dug and I could just about managed to stop myself from screaming out aloud. I remember thinking, what delaying of gratification is this? I prayed to God for the suffering to end.

My thoughts were interrupted by the beautician’s question if it was OK for her to extract another ‘oil seed’ and I thought, what the heck, you know better and I paid for this so you might as well. Well, this time, I was really screaming and crying in my heart, so severely painful it was. And in my agony, I wondered again how anyone can ever contemplate taking his/her own life, how anyone could hurt him/herself. Definitely not me, I’m too weak and cowardly to even contemplate hurting myself.

I now have some angry-looking red spots on my face on my already pock-marked face. I feel like some teenager nursing acnes due to hormonal imbalance. I wonder if I can get away by saying they are mosquito bites should any one be insensitive enough to remark on them.

After lunch, I went back to Lot 10 to perform prayers and then to sample some ‘free massage’. It was all a marketing lure of course to sign up new members to the centre. The masseuse told me that I was not relaxed [I admit I don’t find it easy to Relax when being massaged]. She also said I have a lot of wind in my body that it blocked my veins and that this could be due to a few reasons such as not drinking enough water [I told her I drink at least six glasses at work alone!], having showers at night or having too many thoughts. Eh?

OK, my mind works on overtime sometimes and I think about things. I multitask by planning things in my mind as I do chores. I think up of lists of things to bring, to pack, to do, to prepare, as I cook, clean and even wait for the bus. I worry over things and people: my parents, my sister and myself. But I also remember reading that ‘An idle mind is the devil's workshop. And the devil's name is Alzheimer's.’

Anyway, I actually signed up for a programme knowing full well how skint I’m going to be for the next month or so... But it’s an investment, for the wellbeing of my mind and my body.

Mid-February to mid-March is a four-week shopping blackout for me. Boo hoo. And now you can call me Miss Skint. Guess I can’t enrol into any formal Yoga classes for now.

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Arsenal won on Sunday. Read about it here.