A place where I can live, breathe, talk and see

I rarely shop on clothes or electronics. I usually "splurges" on food and books. But since I have my e-book reader, it's just food and food then.

But in this so-called "Sale" season, I allow myself to splurge a bit on apparels. Starting with 1 pants, and then 1 super comfy shoes ;) and another pants (same model, different color, Geez!!). And now I'm aiming for another pants and a few basic tops. Also since last week I've been inspired to buy a small bag (Goodness me :P), and maybe a few working shirt..

I'm shamefully uncontrollable!! :(

Seems like after I allow myself to spend on one thing, it feels like I'm on a high. I'm on a huge roll and feel like I NEED to buy something else. That's why usually I avoid malls as much as I can, as I don't want to spend too much on unnecessary things and always keep my priorities on check. But I guess once I unleash the shopping devil inside of me, it will need one hell of a self restraint and discipline to put it back on leash..

While sitting by the window, watching the rain and sipping a cup of delicious lemongrass tea; I`m thinking of beauty. A woman`s physical beauty. A beauty that would last only for 40 years, the most. But most physical beauties would only last for 20 to 30 years.

On my last trip home I went to see my Grandmother, and had an annual family gathering. My Aunt told me that she once saw a picture of my Grandmother when she was young, so very pretty, and none of her descendants are nearly as pretty as she used to. My Grandmother just smiled sheepishly at the remarks.

And I was just thinking, having lived with such beauty for, say, 40 years. And getting guys` attention in a full span of, say, 25 years. It`s more than half of your life (I meant the 40 years part). And gradually have to part with all of those privileges.. Seeing the beauty and the attention wears off day by day, each time you
look at the mirror, and each time a single line of wrinkles adorns your pretty face.

It must have been very hard.

It`s a good thing that I`m not THAT pretty :P At least I wouldn`t have such a hard time parting with I don`t have in the first place. :) But anyway, it reminds me, that`s why we need to invest more of our time, money and energy on something that can last much longer. Like intelligence, a good personality, or health. Or
our state of mental peace; or raising kids with intelligence and a good personality. :)

Most of my friends knows that I'm a sucker for romance stories, and a bigger sucker for happy endings. Therefore, Harlequin is the best source for the combination.

And there's one time, when I really gets so excited by reading these novels, and I honestly CANNOT stop reading! My "best" record is to read 10 novels within 2 weeks. So I feel a bit worried about my well-being, and posted a question on Yahoo! Answers.

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Does reading too much romance novels can be bad for your mental health?
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And here's the best answer :

if you keep a good sense of balance between reality and fantasy, you don't have to worry about your mental health. Romance novels can get your expectations very high when it comes to REAL relationships, and at the end all you'll end up with is mere disappointment.

It's like this thing with a friend of mine, she is a HUGE romance novel junkie. Her latest obsession was the twilight series. the novels have gotten her head way up in the sky. She's got freakishly high expectations from guys she dates. her relationships never last for 2 weeks. She's always dumping guys because they don't measure up to her standards and expectations. the last guy she dumped didn't "have enough Edward in him" (edward is this illogically romantic/great looking vampire from Twilight)

The reality is, what happens in the books stays in the books. Keep urself grounded and u'll be just fine.

Ah, good to know that. :)

And here are some other interesting answers :

Missy-E :
after reading twilight i expected the guy who liked me to be as beautiful confronting and mind blowing !!! but i was so sad when i realized he wasn't.

then i was reading lovely bones (where a girl my age dies) and now i am petrified o dieing. i even wrote out a thin to say what song i wanted at my funeral and stuff.

lol. books mess with your mind. they can either make you very happy or very sad
but they are inspiration ...

veronica_marvellous :
I doubt it, but it certainly doesn't seem to do much for your grammar. LOL! :D * blush * what can I say? :D

Chthonian :
I don't think it hasn't any impact, whatsoever, on your mental health. At the MOST, all I've noticed is women who read romance books have higher standards. But I think it's good that women expect a man to sweep them off their feet, it makes them hold out for Mr. Right.

P.S. Trust me Hun, you're not the only one with that guilty pleasure.