Clips & Chocolate Splat!

First before I begin, all you Singaporean bloggers on Singnet would probably have been puzzled and extremely frustrated by the sudden weird layout when trying to post a new entry due to the missing buttons, inability to load pictures or amend your post in general. In other words, a blogger's nightmare. A quick google search quickly pinpointed Singnet as the problem and a blogger thread on Google help quickly provided the solution (thanks to Yennwee).

If you're using Internet Explorer simply do the following :-

Under Tools -> Click on Internet Options
Click on "Connections" page tab
Click on "LAN Settings" button (if you are using Broadband)
Check "Use a proxy server for your LAN ..." checkbox
Click on "Advanced" button
Under HTTP type, input "proxy.singnet.com.sg" for proxy address and "8080" for port.

For Firefox, do this:-

Tools -> Options
Click on "Advanced" tab
Click on "Network" page tab
From the "Connection" frame, click on "Settings" button
Select "Manual proxy configuration" option
Under HTTP proxy, input "proxy.singnet.com.sg" and "8080" for port.

That'll fix your problem in a jiffy, though it does make one wonder why we need to go through a proxy to be able to blog... hmmm. Perhaps some form of Big Brother surveillance or censorship of sorts eh? Keeping a tab on Singapore's netizens. On to the meat of the matter.

Grabbed a couple of hair clips from Chomel for JL before meeting up for another devastating bank-breaking round of shopping with her (for some reason every other time I shop with her I go on a rampage and when she shops with others, she goes on a rampage. Strange but true.) I'd wanted to get them for a couple of weeks now but never really had the time to do so.

The salesgirl, unsurprisingly ignored me when I strode into the shop and made a beeline for the hair clips section despite the fact that she was less than 2 meters away from me. After settling on the design, classy with a bit of bling but not too much, I asked the statuesque salesgirl whether the size of the clips were sufficient to hold up the fringe.

Ms Sotong blinked in surprise as if registering my presence for the first time, turned to look at me and went, "Er, they are but are they meant for...." And her voice trailed off as she looked at me, seemingly lost for words. The impact of her words were not lost on me. I was astounded. Which part of me, sporting a two hour old QB 'spiky' hair cut, pink Fox polo shirt and fresh out of the gym looked like I needed a pair of bling-bling clips for my inch long fringe? Like hallo woman? And for a moment, I was tempted, very tempted to go, Are you stupid or what, do I look like I need a hair clip? But I settled for a 'Thats-a-dumb-question' look and told Ms Sotong that it was for a female friend whereupon she looked very relieved. Seriously, not very bright.



Thankfully, the clips were acceptable :) JL also bought a pressie, a very unique liquid-like chocolate looking bookmark which we'd seen at the Chocolate Research Facility at Wheelock Place a few weeks back. I'm usually not a fan of book marks, having dropped too many by far or forgetting to wedge them in the correct places when reading. As a result, I'd often commit the book-lover's cardinal sin of folding the page corners to mark where I'd left off (for my or library books haha) and endured many tirades from the said book-lovers/neat-oids, JL included, on the ills of doing so. But old habits die hard and stiff book marks do not help.



I was thrilled and highly amused by the dark cacao liquid bookmark by Kouichi Okamoto, each bookmark supposedly being a unique design made by the said designer. The bookmark which looks rather like a delicious chocolate splat (hence the name), is attractive not so much due to it's unique design but really due to its shape, form and texture. I did say I was a tactile person. Besides, the image of the Chocolate Splat seemingly oozing out from the pages of the book is both amusing yet comforting, like excess chocolate cake batter dripping from the side of the pan. And at certain angles, the Splat looks like some sinister organic blob. Thanks for the Splat, JL! Hugs. :)



Now this is one book mark I'm not junking anytime soon. Heh heh.