The worst sin - perhaps the only sin - passion can commit, is to be joyless. -
Dorothy L. Sayers (1893 - 1957), Gaudy Night

Today i wondered about Passion. What is Passion? Is passion a key component in sustaining a relationship? When 2 people fall in love, does passion play a part in keeping the relationship alive? When passion is apparent, does it mean that you will desire the person more? Will passion make you long for that person's presence, attention and physical contact constantly? Can love survive on love alone, or does it need passion to work with it hand in hand in creating a long lasting & emotionally satisfying relationship?

I consider it a blessing for 2 people in love to come together and celebrate being a couple. However, in every relationship, there are bound to be ups and downs. Different people have different dating styles and varying expectations of what they want. Many people long for perfection, in which the kind of perfection may deviate from person to person. However, more often than not, many people find that that kinda perfection they deem as perfection, may fall short of them. Thus, they would rather settle for less. Then again, i firmly believe that although perfection is hard to achieve, it does not mean that one should not chase or lust for the perfection that is as close as perfection as possible. (i know my expression sound really chunky in typed-out english, but i'm sure it will sound better in chinese). So, back to the topic of passion. M just broke up with her boyfriend not long ago after an enduring 8year relationship. There was no 3rd party involved, neither were there quarrels nor fightings. The reason for the breakup was almost due to nothing. Being very close to M, I quickly realised that she was just bored with the relationship, which had taken a turn to a monotonous one in the recent years. She felt that she craved excitement and wanted to see what was out there for her. Nonetheless, M's bf was shattered and tried numerous ways to patch up the broken relationship with M. However, M refused to give her bf a chance, although i encouraged M to. But, who could blame her? In a relationship, only the two people involved would know the state of the relationship and what had been happening so far. Outsiders could only do so much as to comment and give their 2 cents worth. Afterall, at the end of the day, M is the only one that could dictate her happiness. If saying, outsider 1 & 2 felt that M should give her bf a chance, and M decided to heed their advice. At the end of the day, if the relationship comes back to square 1, outsider 1 & 2 also can't do anything to make M happy. If M decides to do what her heart wants and break up despite outsider's advice, at least at the end of the day, if there were regrets, she would not feel that outsider 1 & 2 were to be partly blamed. That pretty much completes my point. So, in this case, i can only pinpoint it to passion. Why is this so? It is because in M's relationship, the fire is gone and the passion that was once shared between them had fizzled. That is why they had to go on separate ways.

This makes me wonder about my own relationship, if i ever had one in future. Will my passion carry me on til marriage and years after? How can i be sure that i can be forever passionate about my relationship? Do i crave for excitement, security or love? Can a relationship survive on love alone or does it need bread & water? I'm right now trying to devise a way for me to obtain an ultimate enduring and purposeful relationship, but then again, the path of true love never did run smooth, doesn't it? So, how does one sustain a good relationship? I wished someone could tell me...perhaps, the path to a perfect relationship was never there in the 1st place.

"Falsies are the bust that money can buy." - Bob Levinson

I don't know if it is beneficial or disastrous being at home with two of the most beauty-obsessed people in the world. I have always been leaning towards the chubby side throughout childhood and adolescence, so as a kid growing up, i never had enough confidence to wear nicer clothes and neither do i feel a need to use a wider variety of beauty products other than just your usual soap & water. However this all changed when i have been strongly influened,especially by my second sis (Mavis), to make effort to look more than just passably presentable. So even though i had been chubby all along, i learnt how to look better in other ways, such as improving my choice of clothes, using the correct make-up and taking better care of my skin. A most recent acquisition: An Eyebrow weave (Btw, all 3 of us have weaved eyebrows). So you see, the extent of their influence.

Anyways, both my elder sisters had been visiting a well-known dermatology clinic off toa payoh for a few years now, even though both of them are blessed with near pimple-less skin (thanks to mama's genes)...it seems that when it comes to beauty, no amount on the price tag could ever deter them. Mitch, my eldest, is a fan of all things that could make her skin flawless. To date, she had spent around 10 K in her pursuit of flawless, imperfect skin. So much so that at a tender age of 27, she had a botox jab done at her chin area as advised by the skin doctor. (but i really can't see any difference after that, i swear!) Similarly now, Mavis had been lamenting that maybe she should have a botox jab as well to sharpen her round-shaped face...which i found was the feauture that made her cute. I advised her against doing a botox jab so fast (she is only nearing 25 for goodness sake!!!) and to justify her decision and tempt me into supporting her choice, i have to live with her telling me constantly that i need a botox jab as well because i have a chubby, shapeless face (yes! she actually said shapeless..arghhh!!!) and that botox is my soultion. However much she tries to talk me into it, i have my limits, thus, i still rationally said "No" to her suggestion... Then again, i realised i'm contradicting myself as i was secretly thinking of getting "botox-fied" in 1-2 decades time.

La-la Land Time!!! : An insight into what i think will happen to me in a Botox-fied situation

Before:




After:




Thus, this led me to ponder about this question: "In the pursuit of beauty, how much is one willing to sacrifice?"

The pro-plastic surgery people of the world may proclaim that surgery gives them the confidence boost that was sadly lacking pre-surgery. This is true in many cases. Take for example... let's see how Rhinoplasty (nose surgery) made this girl look better.




What about some boob job in this case?


Wow...just look at the wonders of tasteful plastic surgery. I'm not about to deny it, but i am a pro-plastic surgery kinda person... because i was considering several operations (in the future of cause...) which include, Rhinoplasty, liposuction, double-eyelid job (i hate being slanty-eyed & simply do not think that my single eyelids are cute..although i had tried convincing myself lots of times... i just can't deny what i really think)...So here goes... I fully admit that plastic surgery is the key to a happier & more confident me.


Mavis, Mitch & I had spent a good many nights gossiping hotly about celebrity plastic surgery and how it had made them look better/worse (it ultimately doesn't concern us...but gossip, as you would have realised by now, is every girl's best friend) It seems that for the rich and the famous, plastic surgery is as common as a haircut. They have got all the money to engage the top-notch plastic surgeons and money seem to be able to fix every wrinkle or flaws they may have/perceieve themselves as having. There are of cos, success stories... this below, is a pic of Angelina Jolie which i found at: http://www.celebrityplasticpics.com/angelinajolie.htm



The caption that comes with this picture reads: Beautiful nose! But before rhinoplasty Angelina Jolie wasn't that gorgeous, she was just pretty, but now with her beautiful defined nose she looks like a goddess.

I had to agree...what a change a nose job had done. No wonder local blogger girl Dawn Yang is willingly to endure huge pains for the various surgeries... She looked great after those!


However, for more than just a few, plastic surgery had became an obsession, an addiction that cannot be curbed, satisfied... an endless chase that had gone horribly wrong. Non- arguably, the most famous example is Michael Jackson. Extensive plastic surgery had not only transformed him physically into a scary-looking individual, but had also challenged him mentally, making him weird and crazy (remember the baby-dangling incident?? what about the fact that his kids have their small little faces veiled everytime they step out into the public's eye?) Thus, you can see that in his case, plastic surgery had taken possession of his life, manipulated him and affected him in more ways than one.

Michael, pre and post surgeries.


Scary!

Some girls have a really weird perception of what is beautiful. If you are sane enough to work out the maths (of size), you will know that Big is NOT always beautiful...just look at Jordan & Pam Anderson... (source: http://www.handbag.com/galleries/gallery/gossip/celebrity_fads/healthfit_celebsurgery/MemberID=3/)



Wa lao a...Done in bad taste.




What a bunch of ugly-lookin' "coconuts"


Joan Rivers...



A scary-looking Joan Rivers...Typical example of how excessive plastic surgery could make you look like.

So, you can see that there are always 2 sides in everything. Plastic surgery i believe, is the solution to rational individuals who just want to look better and would not teter over the edge. It helps in raising one's self esteeem and in turn, improve one's well-being. Just look at the contestant's for "The Swan". Their lives dramatically improved after going under the knife. However, as i have mentioned, plastic surgery, like drugs and alcohol, could turn into an sick obsession if one cannot cope with their own addiction. So a little control should always be practiced.

The skeptics and anti-plastic surgery people 0f the world would always stress that "Natural is beautiful", but i think it's ridiculous.Ask yourself this: Do you ever wonder why women/brides look the most beautiful on their wedding day? It is because they wear makeup!!! Stupid!... Thus, Natural is definitely overrated...in this life that we lead...nothing is hardly natural anymore. Man are destroying tress, polluting environment, creating new technology, and then the introduction of GM foods, all the artificial cosmectic products...etc etc... what's left of natural?

Thus, I'll say, if you think a lil' Plastic could make you feel/look Fantastic, just go ahead and get some!