Thursday 29 August 2013

There is no reconciliation to exercising options as an end customer

I find myself increasingly in situations whereby I engage in some form of discussion about the price of goods, particularly, in light of the recent factory collapse in Bangladesh.

I would readily admit that given the choice, combined with my currently limited fund availability, I would go for the cheaper option, provided that the quality is on par with the more expensive option. It is not that I do not want to pay for something more expensive, it is more like, I want to stretch the buying power of my money. This is what happens when your funds are limited. You constantly come up with ways to stretch the value of your dollars.

If the options are between two exact same goods, one is sold at the mall for $100 and the other is sold err.. at a store that's not in the mall, and that's not at the CBD for a smaller sum of $70, then of course I would go to the store that's not in the mall, even when it entails a trip out of the CBD (yes, time is also a factor, but let's just assume that you do a mini-excursion at the same time).

Because when this happens, it is because the difference in price goes towards financing the store-at-the-mall's overhead. Yes, I like the mall, it's mostly pretty and I quite like it, especially in summer whereby it is like blasting hot outside. And yes, I probably should buy from the mall as a way to show my support.

But point is this: more expensive does not mean that the end workers are better off. In fact, as an end customer, there is no way for us to ascertain whether clothes (and other shitte) that are sold from one particular retailer were produced more ethically than the other. And we are not just talking about human issues here, we are also talking about environmental issues. (Yes, I do find it rather ironic that the environmental impact of stuff has been discussed for years and never quite leave the spotlight, whereas it is only recently that human impact of stuff takes centre stage again.)

As an end customer, I can only take the business' words. And if they don't say anything, does that mean I get a free pass to assume the worst about them? What if, what these businesses are incapable of doing, is actually communicating? So they have good ethical standards, high quality goods, but they are hopeless at communicating - and subsequently they generate lower turn over. While the businesses that are relatively more dodgy in practices but are better at communicating gets all the customers.

The older I get, the more I realise that nothing is what it seems. First impression is everything, and the whole fashion industry is predicated upon making first impressions after first impressions. Why? Because people forget easily. In order to stay relevant, you have to impress continuously. No, it is not enough that you conform to industry standards. You have to exceed the bloody thing, and you have to appear to do so effortlessly (and make sure people know about it).

Sometimes I ask myself if I would behave differently if, say, I had unlimited funds. I would love to say yes, but the honest answer is that I don't know any better because I have never had a way to compare the two situations. My guess is that the answer would be yes, simply because people change, and I am not immune to this phenomenon. But the curious discovery would be how different would it be.

Friday 23 August 2013

Friday night football

(At the time of writing) I am watching the State of Origin. With my boyfriend.

I must confess that prior to dating him, I've tried to familiarise myself with football, or rugby, NRL, AFL, and I've had countless people explaining the difference to me, and how the game works and all that. These people are very nice and very patient because I just don't seem to get it.

I still don't get it. Even when my boyf patiently explains the rules of the games to me over and over and over again. At times like this, I am not sure why he is dating me. Because it is not that I was not listening to how the game works, I was, I just ... er... don't quite get it.

As in, I need someone to (1) watch the game with me and (2) explain what the fuck is going on. Explain why certain moves are awesome, you know. Why certain guys are better than the others. Bla bla bla. You get the drill.

The game of rugby never ceases to amaze me. I certainly do not want to play it and for the love of rum and raisin, I can't understand why anyone want to suffer that much for sport. Whenever I think about this when I am running, it makes all the running-related suffering falls pale in comparison. Sure my leg muscles may be burning, but even then my quads burn more when I am on the bloody bike machine. And at least, I don't have to watch out for a massive rug sack to hit me and knock me off for like a good 18 seconds.

I mean, really, compared to rugby, everything else seems easier by comparison. I can't even find a legitimate complain about running anymore because when I run, I just, uh, you know, run, without worrying about passing around a ball, avoiding tackles and scoring a try. And trying not to get injured, bleed or be killed in the process.  Or having someone pull your pants down.

I totally understand why parents want their kids to play rugby. If you can handle rugby, you can handle everything else in life. [Yes, I know, this is an over-generalisation on my part given that most professional football players are not exactly err... whatever. But there are some good ones. Just sayin'.] 

[In the interest of full disclosure, (1) when I say I am watching the State of Origin with my boyfriend, what I really mean is "I am lying down on the couch with my boyfriend, who is watching the State of Origin, while I am doing something else, namely blogging" TV and I are not a good match generally, which is why I never watch it watch it, I always end up falling asleep; (2) he is not the only boyfriend that I watch the footie with, I have done it in the past with other people who were my boyfriends at the time and were somewhat rather obsessed with footie, which is seemingly the norm if you live here in the land of oz; (3) I have tried watching the State of Origin on my own and it was a very confusing experience because there is no one to explain what the fuck is going on, so I gave up, turned off the tv and followed the live-updates instead. Don't ask me why I bother doing that because for the life of me, I don't really care about who wins or who doesnt; (4) I used to say that people who are obsessed with footie have no life, I am sorry, I take this back. I should not have made inferences like that since some of the most wonderful people I know in this life is somewhat obsessed with football, and these people are not my ex-boyfriends. Peace out.]

Tuesday 20 August 2013

Why I buy shoes

I love shoes. I have a tendency of buying the ones I like, which means I have amassed quite a collection. I have purged the ones that are falling apart, i.e. holes in soles. But for the most part, I have kept quite a lot of the shoes that I bought.

I know that this is borderline, if not already, excessively excessive. I don't even have an explanation except for the fact that I.love.them. Give me shoes any day, baby! Or just like what we did the other day, sat down and looked at a shoe catalogue. (It was the Nude catalogue and they are available through The Iconic). 

I was side tracked. I clicked on The Iconic and saw the additional 20% off already discounted items, with minimum spend of $80. I was this close to buying 3 pairs of shoes. I obviously did not go through with the purchase, but that gives you an idea as to how cheap some shoes can be.

Anyway, where was I? 

The whole point of this piece is actually to tell you a conversation I had yesterday evening. It went like this:

Me: would you be angry if I buy another pair of shoes?
Him: no
Me: okay
Him: buy them
Me: okay
Him: I will buy a new shoe rack

I kid you not. That was what my other half said. Boyfriends/husbands take note!

Why I buy shoes
Asked this question without any reference to any particular pair of shoes, my answer is that it is an extension of satisfying my desires in life. Yes, I am aware that it does come across as extremely shallow and superficial that one of my desires in this life is to acquire a collection of shoes that I love. There is no further explanation other than this is a hobby that is ok, very consumerist and also takes up a lot of space, not to mention somewhat painful for the bank account for someone like me. 

In falling in love with a particular pair, a necessary condition before purchasing the said pair, it is usually the design that caught my eyes. Somewhat rather unfortunately, these shoes have a tendency to be the ones that are most impractical, that is, they are the ones that I buy only to look, not so much to wear. I know, I know. This is all so ... wrong that there is no word to accurately describe it. 

I have not counted the number of pairs that I have currently. I am a bit too scared to find out, to be completely honest with you. In a way, as soon as I find out, I think I am going to be so shocked that it might actually stop my from buying new shoes, which sounds like a good idea at the moment. So maybe, I will do this at some point. Stay tuned!

Tuesday 13 August 2013

Work life balance

Sometime around the 5th Jan 2013, there was a coverage in SBS news about work life balance. Sorry that I can't be bothered googling it to find some references for you, but the story goes like this.

Apparently, in the land of OZ, a lot of people think they are working waayyy too much. For example, this 26 yo female who is in the education industry and is currently working on her second book while editing her first book. She said that the demand of her working life is too much, and that has taken a toll on her marriage.

I am not sure if this is just a terrible story telling, but the impression that I got was along these lines:
(1) you work in the education industry - yes, your schedule is somewhat erratic because you don't really have the regular office workers' 9-5 (or 9-6 or whatever) because you have this thing called... marking. And also school fetes or open days or whatever.
(2) you don't have to write your books, do you? Are these not technically "personal" projects? As in you are not required to do this as part of your daily job? If you want to work less, how about you... write less?
(3) she appeared (at least on TV) to have a comfortable lifestyle - her apartment, for example, was way more spacious than mine. And she was carrying a Louis Vuitton Speedy. I can tell a lot from a person's handbag. In case you fail to make the connection, how about googling how much a Louis Vuitton Speedy costs.

I am of the firm belief that our lifestyles are a consequence of our choices. I get that some of us don't really have a choice (which is something that a lot of us say when our choices are limited), but for most of us, there is the choice of living a comfortable life (with all or the occasional luxuries) or just living a life, one that is enough for us to get by and enjoy it. In the latter option, I imagine you work in any job just enough to earn a living, and that's it. Nothing wrong with that.

What bugs me, is when people who for one reason or another ended up choosing the former option, are complaining on a later date because they feel they are working too hard. If you don't want to work that hard, then pick a different life standard and work less hours. There we go, I said it.

There are some of us in this planet who are pretty happy working hard. And this has nothing to do with the fact that we have no children. There are some us who are happy being productive and would prefer to spend our time at work. I mean, is this so hard to believe? Granted that this may not be for the rest of our lives, but the point is this: once you think that option is no longer bringing you optimum solution, then change your life. Of course it is hard(er) once you are used to a particular lifestyle, so you either suck it up and maintain the lifestyle or downsize.

An equally annoying thing is the mentality of human beings in general (and I am guilty of this too) - that we want everything to be easy. Most things in this life are not easy. Running, for example, is not easy. No matter how much I have been running in the past few months, running 5kms still takes effort, some days more than others, because I have to literally drag myself to the gym. I choose to run especially on the days that I don't feel like doing it. The effort is more on some days, and that's ok, because that's my choice to do those things.

I think it is worthwhile for us to remember that we have choices in this life and maybe, just maybe, take ownership of how our lives are turning out. There is nothing wrong with working hard because you want a bigger house or a better car or more travel - you don't have to apologise for wanting to work harder than the rest of the population. You just have to do it. Be different. Make a personal statement.

Tuesday 6 August 2013

Missing you

I am missing my cousin.

I am sitting in my apartment listening to Elf Radio, because that is what you do when your ipod died and you have absolutely no back up for whatever that's in it (let's not go down that path). Because that is what you do in the days leading to Christmas (at the time of writing) and you want to immerse your soul into this once-a-year event, to just simply be like most people in this city: remembering what's important, why they are important and more importantly, giving thanks for all of those, and so much more.

My cousin, the one I am missing, is my biggest fan. She believes in me all the time without fail, and especially when everyone else seems to give up. If there is any lesson on the power of love, then this would be it because this is definitely a love that moved me to be a better person. It is a scary realisation when I first discovered that there is someone out there who for some reason I am yet to comprehend, genuinely believes that I am awesome. I used to attribute this to her age, or lack thereof, and as such, it was easier for her to maintain a seemingly unrealistic belief, something that we often call idealistic, as if everything that she thinks about will just make their way to reality eventually. But time proves me wrong, and this is one of the things in life whereby I am happy to be wrong about.

Because despite her youth, in a lot of ways she has matured way beyond me, and her stoic belief on her ideals meant that she has worked out what she deems important and that subsequently drives what she wants to do and how she lives her life. This trait seems to run deeply in my Dad's side of the family (how it bypasses me is still beyond me), and thus means that this side of the family produces some incredibly awesome people who work out what they want in life and then get out there to achieve them, and doing so enthusiastically and unapologetically, as well as persistently, especially when obstacles are on their way. Brick walls are meant to be overcome - either you dig a tunnel or you find a ladder or you practise your high jump.

Such tenacity is something I always find admirable in a person, especially a person so young. It is also something that I seek to have each and every day as I live my own life and struggle with whatever it is that I have to struggle with, and the battle is, for lack of a better description, never-ending and exhausting. And to be able to do so every single day, overcoming all uncertainties and still focusing one's effort towards the destination, oh, can anyone imagine how tiring it is? Plus doing all of that with a smile on your face, an undying enthusiasm and a blind belief that one day you will get there, somehow.

My cousin always sees the good in people, and it is natural that her opinion on me is biased because well, we are related. That's ok because in this life we need people who love us like that because even when we are separated by the Pacific ocean, the thought of someone like that warms our hearts and makes this life that much better.

I am missing my cousin tonight.