Pregnancy - Not the Season to Be Frumpy

Is it me or is there an unspoken rule that women should look drab and frumpy the moment they get pregnant? It never fails to get my goat each time I am pregnant (and I’ve had two pregnancies, mind you!) that there are simply no stores to buy fashionable maternity clothes from! I mean, pregnancy is difficult enough as it is. Spending it looking dowdy makes it even tougher. If I dress up with care when I’ve a waist to show, doesn’t it stand to reason that I would dress up with even MORE care the moment my waist turns into one elastic balloon? When you get pregnant, you lose your figure. Your armpits and neck darken. Your nose bulges. Your feet become fat. You become fat. If not for that little bundle of joy growing by the way in your tummy, pregnancy would be pure torture. I haven’t even started on the back aches and the belly aches.

So really, shops should provide pregnant women everywhere a rich trove of dressing options! I thought this then, I think this now. And if I have my way (and lots of choices too), I’d even go for maternity jeans. They’re comfy and they emphasize the sleekness of the lower limbs - a good thing since the legs are probably the only part of the female anatomy that do not bulge during a pregnancy. Stretch fabrics, in particular, are good for expecting women because they hug the legs thus giving an oomph factor to the pregnant woman playing dress-up PLUS they are made of Lycra, so they provide the necessary stretching power to accommodate a growing belly.

The next time I get pregnant (and I plan on two more pregnancies at least), I will get me some maternity jeans and have ‘em shipped all the way from the U.K. Pregnancy is not the time to be frumpy. If anything, it’s the perfect occasion to be all dressed up and glowing.

NY, Stilettos, and Clever Commuting

If I could live in one city for a year, I’ll choose New York - and it’s not just because it’s Carrie Bradshaw’s city, or that it never sleeps, or that it oozes cosmopolitan chic from every nook and cranny, from every manhole and pothole. I’d love to live in New York because to quote Frank Sinatra, “If I can make it there, I’ll make it anywhere.” And “making it there” or anywhere for that matter is literally a problem in New York. In all the movies I’ve seen, hailing a cab in New York is like trying to outbid competitors at an auction. There are just too many people in NY and too few cabs.

Naturally, if I lived in New York, walking IS not an option for me. I can’t go around in flats in the city of chic after all. I’ll be wearing platform shoes, towering boots, and pointed stilettos so running after a cab is out of the question. So how do I get around then? If I’ve the money for it, I’ll hire a limo or buy myself one and get a uniformed driver to take it around. If I don’t, then I’ll make reservations for a JFK Airport Shuttle. Who says only tourists can use their service? They provide transportation throughout NY and its neighboring suburbs so I might as well turn JFK’s shuttling service into my own version of a liveried chauffeur. Frank Sinatra may have sung, “These vagabond shoes are longing to stray right through the heart of it,” but I’m sure he did not mean that literally. Wear out the soles of his Armani-clad feet? I doubt it! 

20/20 Then, Now, and Perhaps in the Future, Too

I used to tell the hub I’ve the eyesight of an eagle - and I meant it. I could read books for days on end without straining the eyes. When I was a child, I read by candlelight. That, or flashlight. I was such a bookworm it pained me to have to stop reading when it was time to sleep. So, I smuggled a flashlight or a candle inside the room I share with my sisters and read. Today, I still have 20/20 vision but the hub noticed the beginning of a cataract formation. It comes and goes but more often than not, it pops up after I’ve spent long hours reading or web trawling. I  wonder if this will affect my vision. I can’t imagine life with less than perfect vision. Perhaps I should prepare myself for the possibility of wearing eyeglasses. I hate contact lenses so I’m left with no option but eyeglasses.

If I had the money, though, I’d go for boston lasik surgery. I read somewhere that iLasik is a painless but precise tool for correcting vision. Your eyes are mapped using 3D technology, allowing surgeons to correct eye problems with laser-precision. How does it work? The depth and characteristics of each eye is measured. Then, a first, super-fast laser makes a corneal flap that is later on folded back so that the second laser can correct vision problems following the specifications or measurements gathered during the eye mapping. Is it effective? I can’t personally say yes or no but it must be. After all, NASA and the U.S military recently approved of the procedure for their personnel. We all know how exacting the vision test can be for pilots and astronauts so that seal of approval says a lot!

Men - Passionate Shoppers?

To World of Warcraft fanatics, only two things matter: World of Warcraft and work - quite possibly in that order, too. Yes, WoW is that addicting. This huge multiplayer online RPG has an active community of over 10 million players worldwide and even as you read this post, a dozen more people are discovering the lure of the World of Warcraft. It’s the most real of virtual worlds. It has mythical creatures, a real and working economy, and in-game characters’ sense of purpose which, for avid players, isn’t much different to the experiences they have in real life.

If you play World of Warcraft, you know one way to get an edge over the competition is to buy high-level characters. Yes, people actually spend money on the game and what’s more, there are many out there who take buying wow account so seriously they do their research before they pick their vendors! The hub is one of them. Back in the day, he was so engrossed in the game he spends hours trawling BuyMMOAccounts.com for characters he has enough cash for! I do not play WoW but I’ve no doubt that if I did, I too would be buying wow account. I like winning - online or off. But because I do not play World of Warcraft, I simply watch the hub do his darnedest to make his character rise a level up - and if he can’t do this, then he goes shopping for WoW accounts! So just so you know, it’s not true men hate shopping. They are passionate about shopping - shopping in web site WoW retail stores, that is.

With Great Credit Comes Great Responsibility

Three days ago, I got a call from a Metrobank personnel. She asked why I have not activated the most recent plastic she sent me. “I don’t need it,” I told her bluntly. It never fails to amuse me how, back when I truly needed a credit card to make ends meet, no bank wanted to give me one.

Today, I have not one but three credit cards with a rather high swiping limit - and I’ve only had to fill out an application for one. So yeah, it’s strange. The more proactive I am about paying off credit card debt, the more banks send pre-approved credit cards my way. And the more I do not need a plastic, the more cards they deliver right to our doorstep!

Sometimes, I wish credit card companies would stop being so aggressive about their marketing. Rather than offer those who sign up for plastics a voucher for a new pair of shoes or a Timex watch, why don’t they provide reliable credit card information instead? ExtraCreditCards.com does this and rather than turn consumers off, it actually encourages them to sign up for a piece of plastic. After all, when a company cares enough about you to provide you with your very own consumer’s guide to online credit, you will feel more than just a tad protected - you will feel you have all the bases covered. I wish a bank here - even a single one - would offer the same thorough guide to credit information such as where and how to find the best credit card deals and whatnot.