The Red Beauty

I was at home on a Sunday, which is very seldom. Even my second older sister remarked that this took a small miracle. Actually, this was not much of one;I was just tired after reaching home after one in the morning. Again I was watching a movie on Saturday night. Again, it is a Jap film. No, I am no Jap freak, but there seems to be a lot of good Japanese film around lately. This one was hot on the heel of "Be with you" - "Crying out for love from the centre of the world", that is. As the title suggested, there was lot of crying and mushy, lovey-dovey scenes. Words as sweet as honey proclaiming eternal love rang through the hardest of hearts, to tug at the deepest of our souls. Unlike "Be with you", which was like a gentle breeze of fresh air that lingered long after, "Crying..." was less restrained, embodied by the male lead actor crying buckets after buckets. All credit to him though; the angst and helplessness of not being able to let go of the dead were portrayed full-bloodedly - exactly what was required of him in the context.

I also did something impulsive on Saturday. No, I did not tell the next girl I saw on Orchard Road how pretty she is - that would take a lot more. I got myself a MP3 player (one of those gadgets as small as a matchbox) that promises a world of functions beyond my wildest imagination. My "Red Beauty" comprises of radio, thumbdrive functions, voice recording, and telephone book in addition to playing MP3 files. Call me gullible, I never know so much can be put into something so tiny. I think the pretty bubbly salesgirl played a part in my acquisition too; sex still sells, you know. Anyway, I was a satisfied customer that is until I reached home and plugged it to my laptop to notice the tiny lit display being crooked. The electronic writings were slanted ever so slightly. I knew it was a bargain, even with its little known local brand, so I was not so fussy about the quality control. Then again, I would have to exchange for a new piece, although that did not stop me from exploring the rest of its many wonders.