How to save money for the next valentine's day

I say the next valentine's day because it's already over. But learning is a lifelong journey and I learnt something today. That people still send anonymous gifts at the university level. Wow. I thought these people were extinct. I thought this only happened in primary school when more people were shy. I thought that desperation would have squashed the shyness into a little ball of irrelevance. But I was wrong. So wrong that you can actually make a business out of it.

You probably think this doesn't concern you. I'm telling you it does. The money from the hordes of anonymously deprived admirers could seriously grease the wheels of your love train. Assumption number one is that the person you're after has at least one anonymous admirer willing to send flowers, gifts, etc. Those sweet lovey-dovey things that ironically cost a bomb. Assumption number two is that you're a bit of an asshole and you don't mind taking credit for what other people do. Which means that you're pretty common. So what do you do after finding out that the special someone has received anonymous gifts? Go ahead and take credit for them, they'll never know. How?

You could walk up with a swagger and say, "hey baby, did you like those heart-shaped marshmallows I sent you?" but that wouldn't make sense if she has any brains. If you're sleazy enough to say that, you wouldn't have given anonymously.

The situation calls indeed for the most subtle diplomacy, worthy of Bismarck himself. You could tell a well-meaning friend, "I really hope she likes the marshmallows", and then it would spread like wildfire. And then you can 隔岸观火.

Work some magic and maybe sparks will fly.

So here's a summary of the deal. For a tiny bit of your soul, you get to save up, get love, and get laid. Schweet!

Design means just for show

Recently, I came across this advertisement at MRT stations.

And it's absolutely hideous! But let's just dissect why this monstrosity irks the senses. First, you have BANGS! on a guy! I would assume that with so much money to spend on the clothes, he could at least afford a haircut more decent than what his mother could do with a bowl.

Then, the many layers of clothing just look weird. C'mon, this is an advert in Singapore, where a mankini is sufficient. Maybe they don't wanna spend money on different on models for the different pieces of clothing, and hence all the clothes on one guy. This is way too cheapskate.

2 black bags of around the same size! What's the purpose of that? If I were a security officer at the MRT, I would make sure I tear apart the bags. What use could there be other than to leave one of them behind as a bomb and to continue to go to work?

Anyway, this guy looks ill at ease with all the stuff on. I think the whole look will be more congruent if he's given a changkoe and some work overalls. And maybe some sheep would be good. Hm I wonder what's the background supposed to be? An airport? Well if he's gonna get run over by a plane and die, I suppose he'd want all his possessions with him. This Picard advertisement sucks without a doubt.

In Shanghai, I had the chance to go to their bookstores, some of which had some great books on web design. So being a cheapskate, I decided to just jot down some webstores used as positive examples in the books, on my handphone. The tragic thing is that most of these webstores no longer exist, which may simply be proof that, having a nice website might not be that important after all!

Translation King

bittersweet = 先苦后甜

And so, having bitter gourd and then drinking coke is bittersweet.