Thursday, July 08, 2004
Of Hair Scares, botox and chipmunks..
"Mmmm.. ," I nodded absentmindedly as Jessie indicated how much hair she would lop off my crown of glory. I was engrossed in reading this juicy magazine of lit lecturer who went under the knife to become a woman.
" ok, Hao liao," she stepped back and moved to teh next customer. THe moment I lifted my eyes and met the gaze of my reflection in the mirror, I had huge difficulty trying to choke back a scream that threatened to escape. She had cut off waaaay too much of my hair. THe girl who frowned back at me had the appearence of a secondary school studnet. Already cursed ( or blessed, depending on how you see it) with a baby face, I didn't need that fact accentuated with this lousy haircut. I paid up and tottered out into the rain, hiding my haircut under my umbrella.
Upon reaching home,I dialled J's number..
" GAL!!!!!" I wailed. " DISASTER!!!!"
" okok.. BReath, " she commanded. " In and out and ine and out."
After she finally got me to calm down and register the fact that hair CAN grow and that i wouldn't be looking like something the cat had dragged in for the rest of my life, I tried not to look at the mirror. But everytime I walked into tmy bathroom, I wanted to reprise that scene in Pink's MTV when she punches the mirror.
We gals have such an obsession with appearence. I actually dont' recall being this obsessed until I left for uni. I was reading a article in Newsweek about ladies who were hell bent on staying young and beautiful forever with the aid of botox injections and facelifts. As I looked closely at the picture of one of the ladies, who at 40 had the looks of a teenager, I realised how weird her smile was. She had undergone botox, which paralyses the muscles that cause wrinkles... I mean seriously, she looked like she was trying her darnest to create a smile, but some of the muscles just weren't up to the task. Her face resembled an eerie Kabuki mask that had been moulded and welded to the original visage. Ok.. mebbe i'm being catty and jealous, but the fact was that her smile was one of triumph. She had beaten the clock, for the moment at least.
Despite the saying that "beauty is only skin deep..." , our society thrives on looks of perfection. Newsweek said that beautiful people landed better jobs, better pay.. ( with undertones about how they also had beatiful lives) Just a glance at hollywood artiste and the paychecks they command will provide enough proof about how much worth we place on looks. I supposed beauty is a way of attracting a plausible mate ( think peacocks) but we have taken it and plopped it on a high pedestral. And for a high price, doctors provide belays and rock climbing equipment to get you up there. People will pay, because beauty can take you a long long way, not just in the dating field, but also in your career.
Both my siblings are blessed with good looks that have members of the opposite sex taking a 2nd a glance. I think the only way I could have gotten that 2nd glance was if I walked past them on my hands. Basically, i'm probably what one would describe as your average plain jane. Thick waisted, short, on the plump side, a huge huge baby face, glasses...the works. . I feel utterly demoralised when I shop. Let's see, I usually leave most of the clothes I choose in the fitting room simply because I look like an elephant's thigh wrapped in a piece of cloth when I try them on. I know that if I buy 'em, most probably I wouldn't wear them a 2nd time coz i would feel utterly insecure. The only bright point is that I do save money.
So J and I decided to go on a fat busting spree last sem. " For the sake of clothes," I declared. I ended up jogging 3km almost everyday and doing taibo for an hour every week. J hit the gym every day. We shared portions when we ate out .The weighing scale stubbornly stayed at the same numbers, my face still looks like a baobao and I don't think i downsized any of my jeans. But then I felt healthier, more confident and toned. I finally dared to flaunt my legs in a skirt. But my face.. oh.. the bane of my life. Like NK put it.. " Hmm. i think you're slim, but gosh your face looks like a chipmunk>" I dind't take it seriously, until i met my neighbour who grinned knowingly and remarked to my mom.. " she tends to put on (weight) on her face doesn't she?" I was trying to catch my breath after my daily run, so I just smiled politely. Chipmunks are pretty placid creatures anyway, i think.
Suffering for the sake of beauty? What's new for us gals. I recall in RJC, some of my frens were practically counting every calorie that went into their mouths. I couldn't quite understand their obsession with their weight, until now. Well, the reason behind that was because I coudln't give 2 hoots about how I looked in clothes in JC. Since I started on a quest to revamp my wardrobe, my obsession with my appearence has grown.
But beauty seems to come out tops in the dating game. HH and her fren were strolling down the Melbourne streets when they chanced upon some guy pals of HH's. now HH is a attractive gal, perhaps not stunningly beautiful, but when you get to know her, you'll just fall in love with her personality. PS on the other hand was drop dead gorgeous with an equally attractive personality to boot. Upon spotting her guy pals, waved hello to them. But instead of returning her greetings, the 2 jokers were engrossed in eyeballing PS from head to toe.
" That gal damn chio hor," guy no. 1 elbowed his fren.
" Yeah," guy no. 2 agreed, staring at PS.. " Damn chio."
So poor HH was left bewildered as they walked past her, totally unaware of her presence.
Ah well, beauty reigns supreme.. and yez. it does rein in the guys.
" They're really visual creatures, " HH told me, as she frowned at her neighbour's doorknob hanger which said F.B.I. ( Female body inspector)
So am I right to say the rest of us plain janes are gonna be sitting on the shelf 4ever? Surely, most guys would look beyond a pretty face. That was true, NK told me. Guys oggle at gals who are hot, but when they go for the kill, they still do look for the chick with the personality that they want.
Well,despite all that, I still think i look like something the cat dragged in. I spent the whole day watching my family members gawking at my haircut and getting sympathetic and not so sympathetic smses. Perhaps one of the smses from my fren jc would sum it up best.
" Cheerup, hair grows. neway, short or long hair, you still look like a squirrel"
the author would like to apologies if any furry animals were defamed in this account.
"Mmmm.. ," I nodded absentmindedly as Jessie indicated how much hair she would lop off my crown of glory. I was engrossed in reading this juicy magazine of lit lecturer who went under the knife to become a woman.
" ok, Hao liao," she stepped back and moved to teh next customer. THe moment I lifted my eyes and met the gaze of my reflection in the mirror, I had huge difficulty trying to choke back a scream that threatened to escape. She had cut off waaaay too much of my hair. THe girl who frowned back at me had the appearence of a secondary school studnet. Already cursed ( or blessed, depending on how you see it) with a baby face, I didn't need that fact accentuated with this lousy haircut. I paid up and tottered out into the rain, hiding my haircut under my umbrella.
Upon reaching home,I dialled J's number..
" GAL!!!!!" I wailed. " DISASTER!!!!"
" okok.. BReath, " she commanded. " In and out and ine and out."
After she finally got me to calm down and register the fact that hair CAN grow and that i wouldn't be looking like something the cat had dragged in for the rest of my life, I tried not to look at the mirror. But everytime I walked into tmy bathroom, I wanted to reprise that scene in Pink's MTV when she punches the mirror.
We gals have such an obsession with appearence. I actually dont' recall being this obsessed until I left for uni. I was reading a article in Newsweek about ladies who were hell bent on staying young and beautiful forever with the aid of botox injections and facelifts. As I looked closely at the picture of one of the ladies, who at 40 had the looks of a teenager, I realised how weird her smile was. She had undergone botox, which paralyses the muscles that cause wrinkles... I mean seriously, she looked like she was trying her darnest to create a smile, but some of the muscles just weren't up to the task. Her face resembled an eerie Kabuki mask that had been moulded and welded to the original visage. Ok.. mebbe i'm being catty and jealous, but the fact was that her smile was one of triumph. She had beaten the clock, for the moment at least.
Despite the saying that "beauty is only skin deep..." , our society thrives on looks of perfection. Newsweek said that beautiful people landed better jobs, better pay.. ( with undertones about how they also had beatiful lives) Just a glance at hollywood artiste and the paychecks they command will provide enough proof about how much worth we place on looks. I supposed beauty is a way of attracting a plausible mate ( think peacocks) but we have taken it and plopped it on a high pedestral. And for a high price, doctors provide belays and rock climbing equipment to get you up there. People will pay, because beauty can take you a long long way, not just in the dating field, but also in your career.
Both my siblings are blessed with good looks that have members of the opposite sex taking a 2nd a glance. I think the only way I could have gotten that 2nd glance was if I walked past them on my hands. Basically, i'm probably what one would describe as your average plain jane. Thick waisted, short, on the plump side, a huge huge baby face, glasses...the works. . I feel utterly demoralised when I shop. Let's see, I usually leave most of the clothes I choose in the fitting room simply because I look like an elephant's thigh wrapped in a piece of cloth when I try them on. I know that if I buy 'em, most probably I wouldn't wear them a 2nd time coz i would feel utterly insecure. The only bright point is that I do save money.
So J and I decided to go on a fat busting spree last sem. " For the sake of clothes," I declared. I ended up jogging 3km almost everyday and doing taibo for an hour every week. J hit the gym every day. We shared portions when we ate out .The weighing scale stubbornly stayed at the same numbers, my face still looks like a baobao and I don't think i downsized any of my jeans. But then I felt healthier, more confident and toned. I finally dared to flaunt my legs in a skirt. But my face.. oh.. the bane of my life. Like NK put it.. " Hmm. i think you're slim, but gosh your face looks like a chipmunk>" I dind't take it seriously, until i met my neighbour who grinned knowingly and remarked to my mom.. " she tends to put on (weight) on her face doesn't she?" I was trying to catch my breath after my daily run, so I just smiled politely. Chipmunks are pretty placid creatures anyway, i think.
Suffering for the sake of beauty? What's new for us gals. I recall in RJC, some of my frens were practically counting every calorie that went into their mouths. I couldn't quite understand their obsession with their weight, until now. Well, the reason behind that was because I coudln't give 2 hoots about how I looked in clothes in JC. Since I started on a quest to revamp my wardrobe, my obsession with my appearence has grown.
But beauty seems to come out tops in the dating game. HH and her fren were strolling down the Melbourne streets when they chanced upon some guy pals of HH's. now HH is a attractive gal, perhaps not stunningly beautiful, but when you get to know her, you'll just fall in love with her personality. PS on the other hand was drop dead gorgeous with an equally attractive personality to boot. Upon spotting her guy pals, waved hello to them. But instead of returning her greetings, the 2 jokers were engrossed in eyeballing PS from head to toe.
" That gal damn chio hor," guy no. 1 elbowed his fren.
" Yeah," guy no. 2 agreed, staring at PS.. " Damn chio."
So poor HH was left bewildered as they walked past her, totally unaware of her presence.
Ah well, beauty reigns supreme.. and yez. it does rein in the guys.
" They're really visual creatures, " HH told me, as she frowned at her neighbour's doorknob hanger which said F.B.I. ( Female body inspector)
So am I right to say the rest of us plain janes are gonna be sitting on the shelf 4ever? Surely, most guys would look beyond a pretty face. That was true, NK told me. Guys oggle at gals who are hot, but when they go for the kill, they still do look for the chick with the personality that they want.
Well,despite all that, I still think i look like something the cat dragged in. I spent the whole day watching my family members gawking at my haircut and getting sympathetic and not so sympathetic smses. Perhaps one of the smses from my fren jc would sum it up best.
" Cheerup, hair grows. neway, short or long hair, you still look like a squirrel"
the author would like to apologies if any furry animals were defamed in this account.
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