Una Ragazza on Love: 10 Years

On the recent 10th anniversary of the September 11 events, I was up late at night in the old town of Bucharest, catching glimpses of the newly inaugurated twin fountains on TV and hearing the reading of names in the background. Outside the hotel room, in the town square, revelers were drinking tuica (a local brandy made from plums), smoking and dancing to loud music from a Euro band playing on a makeshift stage.

Ten years.

Has it already been that long? In that period, I’ve lived one-third of my life to date and it’s been an amazing one-third of my life. The experiences I’ve had -- from the places I’ve lived in and the trips I’ve taken, to the people (and animals) I’ve met, the friends I’ve made and the things I’ve learnt -- so much had happened in this last third of my life that it would have been unnerving if it all never happened.

A local Bucharest policeman watches over the fun

I loved the last ten years. It is still a while to Thanksgiving but I was in a thankful mood today.

As I lounged on my couch while making myself go on a 60-second photographic flashback of the last 10 years, I decided I’d write down one memorable thing that happened to me from each of the last 10 years that left the deepest impression. Something to love even if it's just because I got to live it.

2002

Italy.

First time living abroad, and I couldn’t have picked a more beautiful country. 2002 was my eye-opening year. It showed me how little I knew about the world, how it’s never too late to learn a new language, and surely there’s more to life than earning a keep in a cube.

You know how it is with first loves? Perugia will always be that.

2003

New friends.

They say you make your best friends in high school and college. I made some really good ones in grad school, in a snowy town in the Swiss Alps. In fact, the Californian, Swiss and I skyped last night about a possible reunion trip to Africa next year. I don’t know which of these is making me more excited: seeing Madagascar or seeing these guys. And Romania would not have been the same without my dear friend M, whose hospitality and friendship almost calls for another trip to Transylvania.

Friendships sealed in cold, cold Switzerland

2004

Displaced.

The feeling of having to leave a place unwillingly is not a good one I wish upon anyone. For reasons that will take too long to explain, I left Europe reluctantly and moved to the U.S. I had really thought that Europe would be a long-term feature in my books but after about three years, I packed everything I could bring with me in my two suitcases and boarded a Swissair flight to JFK.

2005

So many girls.

My first job in New York, like the subsequent ones that follow, had many women. Lots and lots of women. Being in public relations, we are everywhere. Girls straight out of college; girls who had moved from other big cities of San Francisco, Chicago and London; and girls who had followed their banker husbands to Manhattan. It took a while for me to get used to having Page Six and Us Weekly chatter a regular feature in team meetings, and for low-calorie Tasti D (in the pre-Pinkberry era) to become a highlight on slow afternoons.

Before Pinkberry, there was Tasti D

2006

Never too old to backpack.

When friends learned that I’d be on the Trans-Siberian train for five days without shower facilities, the look on their faces was often one of horror. That’s when I introduced my best travel companion, the wet wipes. A month in Russia and Mongolia taught me that backpacking can be fun even when I no longer needed to backpack because it had been the only way I could afford to travel. It taught me to be resourceful and I met some of the most interesting people on this planet.

Not so bad: Cabins were clean, thanks to the provodnitsa

2007

Newly single in the big city.

I moved into Manhattan and rented a tiny one-bedroom on my own. Although I’d been in the area for more than two years by then, I was now single for the first time. In the big, big world of New York. It was a mix bag of fear and fascination.

2008

Undesirable men.

I didn’t know a reasonably small island like Manhattan can hold so many of them. Ladies -- what you see on Sex and the City holds water. And then some.

2009

The ancient technique of bonesetting.

Spurred by a desire to have my chronic hives cured, I visited a Chinese physician while visiting family in Shanghai. I had my knee “reset” -- without anesthesia -- and nearly passed out. The good that came out of it was that I could squat with my two feet firmly on the ground (I’m sure there is something good about that) and that I drastically reduced the frequency of my allergy medication intake.

2010

A place to call my own.

I bought my first apartment in the wonderful Upper West Side neighborhood. Everything in it is now mine to decorate, own and love. It’s one of the best feelings I’ve ever felt in my life.

From this...

... to this

2011

The jury is still out on this one, but if I have to pick something now, it’d be my precious little niece, Mini Ragazza. This first grandchild and little bundle of joy has changed the lives of many people in the family, but most of all, that of my mom who is watching her grow up in Hong Kong. The whole gang of five -- moms, sis and family -- is taking over my apartment during Christmas. Perhaps that would be a worthy rival for the highlight of the year.

Mini Ragazza posing with her first pets

(Some pictures taken from the Internet)

Lady J on Shop: Going cold turkey on retail therapy

If ‘Shopping’ was a subject that I could take in school, I’d probably pass the exams with flying colours. For as long as I can remember, I’ve always loved shopping. I take joy in buying things; clothes, bags, shoes, cosmetics, etc. Funnily, even going to supermarket to pick up groceries can sometimes be considered a chore to some, but for me, it’s a joy to push the cart down the aisle to pick up the mundane household items.

My favourite type of activity

Just four months ago, we found out that we were going to be relocating to Geneva for about a year. Instead of checking out which apartments to rent, my attention instead turned to checking out where the shopping district was. A quick search on the web revealed familiar brands and I was put at ease for that meant that part of my shopping hobby could continue.

However, I was in for a rude shock when J brought me shopping. The famed shopping belt of Rive was hardly any comparison to Orchard Road (Singapore’s exciting retail and entertainment hub). I was used to manoeuvring shopping malls which housed practically everything my heart’s desire under one roof.

Geneva's shopping belt

But, presented before me was individual shops lined up neatly on the streets with two to three department stores (with a maximum of four floors) for me to explore. Shops were scattered rather haphazardly and if I wanted to get a specific brand of shoes, I would need to take a good ten-minute walk to get to the desired shop.

Well, since I couldn’t find joy in the physical act of shopping, I resorted to Internet-shopping to fulfil my retail-therapy fix. I’ve done that in Singapore, trawling on US/ UK shopping sites to purchase stuff. Yes, granted that it wasn’t going to be instant gratification since it would take about one to two weeks before the goods arrived, but it was the next best thing that I had.

I knew that in Singapore, if the goods purchased via the internet exceeded S$400, it would be subjected to a 7% Goods and Services Tax made payable to the government. As such, I’ve always tried to keep my online purchases capped at S$400 so as not to incur additional charges. However, in Switzerland, regardless of whatever goods purchased on the Internet. It will have to be subjected to a 8% Value-Added Tax made payable to the Swiss Government. Yikes! I sank into mild retail depression and surfing the internet surfing/shopping lost its gleaming appeal to me. Not to mention, it also became a quite an expensive affair to acquire the desired goods.

Queuing to get inside the Prada outlet at the Serravalle Designer Outlet in Italy

So what can this self-professed shopaholic do to get her dosage of retail therapy happiness? Seek greener pastures of course! Geneva is a spring-board to many cities in Europe. Short weekend trips to neighbouring cities of France, Italy and Spain not only allowed us to immerse in the individual city’s culture but also produced higher returns on shopping.

My favourite French word!

Shopping in the form of bargain hunting was taken to another level as I diligently checked out the Europe Summer Sales, resisting the urge to purchase until the desired item was at least 50% off the retail price. We also made a couple of side trips to the factory outlets where greater savings of up to 60% can be enjoyed on previous seasons’ collections. Well, I couldn’t really care if I was decked out in past season’s collections as long as it’s affordable, wearable and most importantly stylish enough to bring me through fashion’s fickle trends.

By the time we had packed our bags and returned back to Singapore for a short vacation in August, we felt that we had all shopped out and I decided to put retail therapy on hold for a while. Well, that was until the Great Singapore Sales plus the recent Club 21 Bazaar Sale came along and busted this recovering shopaholic’s plan.

The sale that busted this "Shopaholic's" recovery plan

[Image of Geneva's shopping belt taken from the Internet]