Places that terrify me

Just thought of some stuff I suddenly thought of haha...

Two places terrify me. 1. Sim Lim Square 2. Basement of Excelsior Hotel, Peninsula Hotel

Why? Cos I'm like a fish out of water. And these two places are places that I need to go to occasionally. Well.. not Sim Lim Square, I only go there when my guy friends or my brother is back in SG. But the guitar shops in Excelsior Hotel basement I need to go to get my bass repaired or to stock up on strings.

Don't know why, it's really a culture shock each time that turns me from this formidable looking woman, into a soft spoken, unconfident, trembling (my insides at least), girl. Why? I guess it all boils down to one reason: they are GUY places.

Now hardware stores? I'm perfectly okay, even though I don't know much about DIY, wood work, plumbing etc etc... cos in my mind, they are just household stuff. So what's the diff? Afterall computer stuff and music instruments are not exactly gender biased too.

I don't know... maybe the number of guys congregating at these places outnumber women? Or maybe it's just a feeling of being surrounded by people who know what they are doing and I'm more like messing around in muddy waters. Anyway, one thing I do know is that these places are honestly not places where I like to linger around and look around, shop around. I shop like a guy in these places; I know what I want, I aim for it, get it and get out. Quick.

I guess I can now sympathise with guys who walk into the mall and shop for their gal's favourite perfume or something. You just want to accomplish your task and escape being befuddled, bewildered or feeling biffed. Don't let the silks and laces fool you, these are determined sales people ready to swop in and pick you apart like vultures on dead meat.

I'm not saying that people are the above two places are like vultures. Well... I can't say much about Sim Lim, but the people at the guitar shops are pretty friendly. It's just the fear I get when I approach the place or think about having to go down to the place.

I don't know if I'll ever get over this feeling for the two places. One thing's for sure, I doubt I'll be placing myself in a position where I have to visit them regularly.

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Blooming cactus!

Hey something actually flowered in my hands!!! I'm so happy! Cos since UK, nothing that I planted ever prospered. the last 5 cactuses I bought died! Seriously! I was depressed... how pathetic a gardener I am that even the hardiest of plants - the cactus died on me! Anyway... enough with the depressing memories... Enjoy!

Here it is at night. the bud's closed for the night.

And then in the day night... it blooms!

Here it is from the side view! I put a mirror to reflect indirect light from my window. A better picture cos I dug out my camera from dusty storage to document this proud moment!

Here it is! In glorious full bloom! Yeah lah, the baby in the picture is me.

Okay, I know you guys must be skeptics. So I must confess, I just bought these plants a week ago and deliberately chose two that had buds. The bottom left plant actually had flowers before. Cute white ones. But they have since closed. Looks like it'll be another year or so before they bloom again... assuming I don't kill them off before they do.

Nonetheless! I'm thrilled that cacti (which I didn't like before) actually have such lovely blooms! I still think they look ugly, and I bought these cos I thought each one of them looked unique and interesting, plus I wanted some greens in my bedroom that I won't kill off so easily. But now I have flowers to look forward to! Woohoo!

Yeah... obviously exam preparations are still slow going...