after work mall runs are awesome

Today was one of those incredibly strange days when the moon’s pull was strong at 5:25 pm and Rahayu actually left work at 6:00 pm and headed for…the mall.

Miracles do happen.

Today was totally gratifying – I got a much-needed, much-relaxing hair cut and got a chance to raid Borders for some new reading materials. In the end my indecisiveness and my need to buy the whole store caused some problems, so I ended up with only 3 books – Charlotte’s Web (yay!), The Black Dahlia (by the author of L.A. Confidential; the movie supposedly wasn’t that great but the book is apparently amazing) and the latest Get Fuzzy compilation, Scrum Bums (this is Garfield on crack, with a cat much like mine at home, so it’s a good read if your pets are driving you nuts). On top of that, I got a free pass to the Charlotte’s Web movie and a 15% discount courtesy of Citibank. I completely forgot how fun shopping is!!

So I started reading Charlotte’s Web while waiting in line for the cashier. I read three pages and couldn’t stop grinning. Books have always been home for me, and I’ve always savored the anticipation of being able to return to another place without really going anywhere. This was like stepping back in time, everything was so familiar!

What struck me though was the writing and the humor – it’s not as kiddie-like as I expected, being so much more mature and all now that I’m on the verge of 26-dom. But then I remembered that as a ten-year-old, I wasn’t exactly stupid, nor completely kid-like. It’s difficult to explain, but I think as adults we tend to dismiss children’s books as being, well, kiddie stuff. That makes sense but I think we forget (especially with books and movies) that at 10 years old we weren’t really thinking kiddie-like anymore. At that point, our opinions count for something and our jokes make adults laugh not because they’re cute, but because we actually know what we’re talking about and can be genuinely funny about it.

Anyway, I suppose that’s why these classics are classics – they’re written in such a way that they transcend age. Harry Potter is a clear example – I’ve seen the books on the shelves of a Senior Executive in my firm, my “mature” colleagues, my cousins, my friend’s little 10 year old sister – everyone everywhere. I don’t know how it’s done, but I will forever believe that books are our magic.

So…enough on literary psychoanalysis. I also found this fabulous shoe store at the Curve called Edward Forrer (website's not that great, I'd say visit the shop). Edward Forrer is an Indonesian (shoe) designer who’s opened a chain of stores spanning Indonesia, Malaysia and Australia. Apparently his shoes were featured on some of the stars for the Anugerah Bintang Popular which is…erm…anyway, so, what I love about the shop:

• Some of the designs are really eye catching! I found a pair of ultra pointy peach and brown pumps that would have looked great with work pants (unfortunately they didn’t have my size) and a pair of dark lime green pumps…so gorgeous and velvety but I wouldn’t have any idea what to wear it with.
• They have nice pumps with wide heels!! I go through my work shoes so fast because the heels are typically small so I wear the rubber away in less than 3 months. It’s probably because of the way I walk…stomping all over the place.
• The shoes are totally affordable. The pumps I looked at ranged between RM80 to RM150, while some of the spiffier strappy dress shoes started at RM250++ (although admittedly I’d probably get my strappy shoes from Vincci). Guys work/dress shoes are in the RM200+ area (although that applies to two guys’ shoes that I looked at :P)

Okay so I didn't get anything, but that's not the point. The point is now I've identified a re-visit-able shoe store that doesn't rhyme with Wincci and has funky looking shoes with wide heels. Tall order but someone did it!

Now I need rest. I also forgot how tiring shopping can be. Rar.