Prattle

Last Sun:

Beauty consultant: You look radiant today! I could hardly recognise you. (smug smile while awaiting me to say that her facials helped save me from a lifetime of sallow skin and greyish complexion)

Me: Oh really? Thanks! (polite smile, unsure if it was another marketing ploy for more business)

This Sun (today):

Counsellor: I am so glad to see you looking so wonderful now! Your face is so shining! (joyful smile in remembrance of the time she prayed for me effectively and helped deal with some of my burdens)

Me: Err... thanks (sheepish smile, not having the heart to tell this sweetheart anything to the contrary)

Chronology of events:

Feb 04: The kind counsellor prayed for me
Mar 04: My agony at work ended
Apr 04: Started [url=http://www.coolcatalyst.com/comments.php?id=191_0_1_5_C]exercises[/url] and facials
May 04: I started getting comments about how nice my skin looks and the funny thing was, people are associating it with something that they have personally helped me with.

I talked to my mom about this and she wisely said that they were all probably right. The exercises and facials helped improve my blood circulation and caused my skin to look radiant. The healing power of the prayer helped me find inner peace and freedom in Christ. The fellowship with great family members and pals helped bring out that inner glow from the happiness that I experience within.

So that, in a nutshell is the secret for my glowing radiant complexion. Everyone's who's been a positive influence in my life can take credit for it

My second sister and her family took us out for lunch today. I was flabbergasted to see my pretty 4-year-old niece's hair cut in a horribly unattractive style. The formerly cute Miss China doll now looked like Conan, the Barbarian.

Apparently one day when they were not looking, she had her merry way with a pair of scissors. And her lustrous locks were brutally snipped away. The hairdresser tried to salvage the mess by cutting her hair into layers but nothing much could be done to re-instate my poor niece into her former cuteness. Only time can help in this case.

My dad laughed at her and said that she reminded him of our neighbour. NOT a flattering comment to be sure.

My feisty niece gave a hard glare at my dad and said, "Not funny!"

We quickly soothed her injured feelings by saying that she'll look pretty again once her locks have grown back.

After lunch, she started to roam around, chattering about every little thing she saw when she stopped short in front of some Tiger beer poster ads.

"These women no shame, no shame!" she said seriously and shook her head at them gravely.

I reminded her that she was not too far off when she used to like hitching up her skirts for all to see. She chose not to hear that and proclaimed that she would not display her belly button like what the beer ad models were doing. Double-standards? I don't think so. Perhaps my sister's teachings are starting to sink into her young mind.

Oh, I do look forward to hearing what my clever little niece would say the next time we meet!