Don't blame yourself, blame Hip Hop!

I went to my first hip hop class here in Singapore yesterday. It was almost 2 hours long, fun, tiring, and did I mention fun? I'll write about it later, but a quick recap of hip hop culture is listed below. A lot of us are aware of hip hop, but don't really know the basic history of it. I've listed a few short bullets, but obviously there's way more.

1. "Hip hop is a cultural movement which developed in New York City in the early 1970s primarily among African Americans and Latin Americans[1][2]. Hip hop's four main elements are MCing (often called rapping), DJing, graffiti writing, and breakdancing. Other elements include beatboxing, hip hop fashion, and slang. Since first emerging in the Bronx, the lifestyle of hip hop culture has spread around the world.[3]" - wikipedia


2. "Jamaican born DJ Clive "Kool Herc" Campbell is credited as being highly influential in the pioneering stage of hip hop music[9], in the Bronx, New York, after moving to New York at the age of thirteen. Herc created the blueprint for hip hop music and culture by building upon the Jamaican tradition of toasting, or boasting impromptu poetry and sayings over music, which he witnessed as a youth in Jamaica.[" - wikipedia

The first one gives an idea of where Hip hop comes from and the second one is important because due respect must be given to pioneers!

Hip Hop DANCE came from hip hop culture:

"The dance style primarily associated with hip hop is breaking, which appeared in New York City during the early 1970s and came to be popularly classified as one of the four primary "elements" of hip-hop (along with rapping, DJing, and graffiti). Funk styles, such as popping and locking, evolved separately in California in the 1960-70s, but were also integrated into hip hop when the culture reached the West Coast of the United States." - wikipedia

Obviously, Hip hop dance is varied, and has many different styles, and is open to interpretation from a choreographer's standpoint. Hip hop dancing is really fun, but it's not that easy for me. I have to really work at it to make it look right and even then I know I don't have that natural "swag"

So I went to this class taught by a friend of a friend. It was pretty full with about 25ish dancers. The style of dance was more soul hip hop. There was a lot of choreography. I haven't learned a hip hop routine in a very long time so that definitely slowed my progress. It takes me a lot longer to learn an entire routine because I haven't practiced learning a lot in an hour. So I got some moves, and not others and kind of danced along until the end when they split everyone into groups to perform. This was by far my least favorite part because I SCREWED up and looked like a fool. YAY.

I really like hip hop but DAMN it can be hard. No worries. I shall persevere and get better at it.

My favorite choreographer!

Just Leave it be!

I'm trying to get to the bottom of this because it really bothers me. If you've been in a relationship with anyone for longer than 6 months, someone will ask the INEVITABLE question: When are you two getting married?

The question itself is not that bad. It's the idea behind that seems so one-sided to me. The reason people even ask that question is because of the horriblely skewed thought: you date someone so maybe one day you can marry them.

First of all, humans are not meant to be alone. We need people around us like our families, friends, and significant others. Humans like companionship. So when you're dating someone, you're with them because you enjoy being with that person. It's that simple. It doesn't always have to have an end result. I know women are guilty of the whole "wedding bells in our head" once we date a guy who we feel compatible with. I blame that habit on history, and also the way society puts SO much pressure on dating to MARRY.

I don't want someone to tell me I SHOULD marry my boyfriend because we've been dating for so long or whatever. No one should ever tell someone else to BELIEVE something they don't. I do believe in marriage and yes, dating someone does help you figure if you want to be with that someone or not. But that's not the case for EVERY relationship. I'm not going to date someone and think "hmm is it possible to marry this guy?" from day one. If marriage happens, it happens. If things so sour, I break up, eat a pint of ice cream, and move on with life.

The POINT of dating someone is to make yourself and the other person happy. NOT necessarily marriage!

Not everyone has the desire to live in white picketed fence house, complete with an electric dog fence for Fido in Suburbiaville, US. This isn't the 1950s. Times have changed and so have relationships.

People need to understand that there isn't a right way and wrong way in relationships because it's up to the INDIVIDUALS involved.

Amen

24 Strokes

Turning the big 2-4 tomorrow. Is there anything special about the number 24? Probably not. I still can't rent a car. I'll get a new license picture only NEXT year. lame.

But that's ok, I'll be making up cool things about the number 24. So here goes:

1) if you do 24 shots - you might die.
2) sleeping with 24 people makes you a P.I.M.P (male or female)
3) you're still in your 'early twenties'
4) 24 is the largest number divisible by all numbers less than its square root. it's divisible by 1,2,3,4,6,8,12,24...wow! :)
5) there are 24 hours in a day
6) current jersey number of Kobe Bryant
7) karat number that represents 100% gold. HELL yes
8)The Twenty-fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution is one of the Civil Rights-era amendments, abolishing poll tax requirements in federal elections.

YES.

I have no qualms about turning 24 :)

I miss girls part Deux

More than being homesick, I'm still girl sick. I really miss being able to just chat about random stuff with my girl friends. Sure, there's skype right now but 1) my internet at the apt is patchy 2) time difference 3) it's not easy as just picking up the phone and chatting.

It sort of became a tradition, but almost every Friday for about 2 months, I ate dinner with Aarthi and Svetty. We had similar tastes in topics of discussion and had very entertaining / heated discussions over dinner. There was always some random fact to be learned. There were also many embarrassing moments where we ended being the loudest table in the restaurant thanks partially to my raucous laugh. I really came to look forward to these dinners not only because we tried new restaurants (soo many in RALEIGH yeaaa), but were also able to just be ourselves. No topic was considered off-limits. No opinions were taken too seriously, no feelings were hurt. It was simply understood that we had strong ideas, but were intelligent enough to listen and remain open minded.

It felt SO good to talk about things other than WORK, or BOYS. Ok fine, so we talked shit about boys too but that wasn't the main topic of debate.

I had that same rapport with Megha. We talked twice or thrice a week over the phone and even though she was in NYC, it still felt so good to just..talk about things that we cared about like travel, or figuring out life, or plan vacations we'd never take.

I had the rest of my good girl friends to go out with, dance, receive good advice, just be myself with, and just be GIRLS and HAVE FUN! (shoutout: Sheri, Annie, Sammi, Kiwi, Carolina, Phammi)

If I want to talk and have a discussion these days, these are the following topics I have to know:

1) Sports (specifically all teams related to OHIO. cavs, browns, whatever baseball team is in Ohio)
2) Beer
3) Work (we already work long ass hours. WHY talk about work?!)
4) TV shows
5) Movie lines from cheesy GUY movies

They're nice guys. They're fun. We all work well together and have fun together. I'm good friends with some of them now but it's not just the same as being able to just CHILL and talk with girls.

blah.

Acceptance

When I was in high school, I was part of this International Baccalaureate program where we had to take a 'Theory of knowledge' class every week. We discussed various topics in the class, but the core of it was based on questioning knowledge itself.

For example, if you're reading an article that you'd like to use for a fact-based research paper, how do you judge its value? What was the author's intention? He could be either truly objective or opinioninated (ergo you wouldn't use it if the goal is garner facts) This class taught us to really dissect any piece of information you learn / research so we wouldn't simply swallow whatever we hear, but actually THINK about what we're putting in our heads.

That's all fine and dandy, except now I see myself not able to accept things readily that I probably should. Sure, it's good to think about exactly what you want to save your brain space for, but somethings shouldn't be analyzed to the point of rejection.

I need to learn to take things more at face value. Maybe it's over time and I've become jaded (sounds so melodramatic since I haven't been through any REAL hardship compared to so many) but I don't want to live life following the scientific method (Purpose - Hypothesis - Methodology - Results - Discussion) <-- WOW I can't believe I remembered it!

I want to be aware, just not on high alert. The sky is blue, grass is green, and people can be nice without a catch.

What's the difference between a Pitbull and a Hockey mom?

Yes. LIPSTICK. I think I have learned something about myself thanks to red lipstick. I don't think any girl can just wear red lipstick. You have to be comfortable enough and secure with yourself to be like 'Look at me. I'm wearing red!' If you decide to wear the bright color out in public, whether you're trying or not, people DO look at you.

I prefer to be under the radar an not in the limelight. I figured red lipsticks were meant for girls that had that innate confidence and glamor. NOT me. But one fine day, thanks to the nudging of my sister I decided to buy red lipstick. a SERIOUSLY red one. It's a very pretty color and till yesterday it was lying in my makeup bag perfectly intact. I definitely wore it a few times an walked around...

in my own bedroom.

I was too scared to wear out in public because of all the voices inside me telling me I wasn't glamorous enough, or it would draw too much attention, or it wasn't my style and a whole other barrage of excuses.

BUT for the first time yesterday, against all my doubts, I did the very scary thing of WALKING in public with red lipstick on. I tried VERY hard to not be conscious of any stares and just kept my eyes straight ahead. It was a test. I CAN wear a bright color and not care!

I came back home intact. So did the color on my lips.

Point? I'm learning to be more comfortable with myself and take risks that I normally wouldn't. The bigger lesson? Only I can do that for myself. No one else can.

I'd say that's true for everyone.

What has this world come to..

So it's pretty obvious why the US is in the shitstorm currently. Apart from excessive greed, corruption, idiocy of the past administration, and whatever else caused the economic fallout, our country has gone down the hole further in my head thanks to a piece of news I read this past weekend.

Tori Spelling's new book is on the best seller's list at no.4

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! Her book is titled 'Mommywood'

W.O.W

I'm assuming her book talks about raising kids in Hollywood and the whole 'Woe is me. I raise my kids in public even though I live in hollywood, parade around my family drama, and pretend to hate all the attention"

WHAT is it like raising kids in hollywood if you're rich? Hmm..you hire nannies, live in ginormous houses, shop in Rodeo drive while the NANNY (or nannies) takes care of you kids. You work out to get your body back in crazy good shape while the help you HIRED takes care of the kids. Oh not to mention, you probably have a chef, a driver, and maids that do all the housework. Wow, Please enlighten me TORI SPELLING with your amazing writing skills how tough life is as a mom with lots of money and help.

I really really hate it when celebrities with no real talent delve into fields they're not meant to be in. They're fortunate enough to fiddle around with different career choices and make lots of money in a field that they don't deserve!!! For example: a struggling, but talented writer would have to work very hard to get a publisher to publish his/ her book.

TORI spelling on the other hand just has to flash her last name and she might end up being the next astronaut because currently, celebrities are more important in the US pop culture (not even good ACTORS)

In other non-angry news:

I had tea / snacks this afternoon at the Equinox hotel on the 70th floor with my coworkers. It was deelish. Pictures will be up soon :)

Time

I think one of the hardest things to deal with is TIME.

For example, if you break up with someone you really liked, you can participate in a variety of activities to get over that person. Drink lots of alcohol, keep busy, follow shitty advice in women's magazines (if you're a girl), and then realize that only TIME heals.

IF there's an exciting trip coming up, and you're so anxious you can't wait to go, you still have to deal with the TIME factor.

Yes, there're many instances where good things happen with time, and the outcome is favorable but it's just so hard to deal with because you can't actually DO anything about it.

I've been struggling with the whole TIME issue for the past 2 years. When I graduated college, I had a job, then got laid off, then it wasn't my TIME to find a good job until now.

NOW, I'm here and I'm happy professionally and personally, but there're still some snags. I came out here to figure out certain aspects of my life, and of course I need the t-word and lo and behold, it's frustrating. I'm definitely at a crossroads of sorts and I'm having a difficult time deciding which direction I should go. A good decision shouldn't be rushed, so I'm not rushing it but I wish I could fast-forward my thinking process and reach that goal already.

:sigh:

I miss girls

:sigh: After being in the engineering field of study / work (in the U.S. I know it's different in other places) for a few years, it's pretty common that girls are very less. In college, I had my girl friends who were not in engineering to escape to. I went to work in Apex and I had girls around luckily at work. I still had some college girl friends around.

Now I'm 9000 miles away and I don't have any girls around me.

:sigh:

I just feel like boys probably think I'm crazy after a while. My personality is pretty um..I don't know, extroverted. I feel like they think I'm just weird or something. Fine, other girls can think that too, but MY girls don't =/ I don't feel verbally or emotionally self-conscious around my girlfriends. I'm not checking my makeup every 2 seconds, or watching every thing I say around these boys, but it's just different being around them ALL the time.

I just miss the connection with the girls.

I'm either with boys or alone.

:sigh:

I miss GIRLS!!!!

I miss laughing about stupid boys, hating on celebrity culture, arguing with Aarthi about the movie industry, dancing with girls!, working on getting free drinks, reading and discussing books / authors, getting ready, shopping, :ugh: i miss it all!!!!

I miss you girls back home more than anyone right now =/

Life in Singsing

Apart from getting used to the daily work routine here, I have had to adjust to the fact that my hair looks like a pile of straw. I've used three different types of styling cream, but humidity seems to win EVERY time. DAMN you 100% humidity!

I have decided to stop fighting, and just let Medusa hair take over. I'll just pretend to be one of those girls with the cool ass afro.

On to less superficial things, life here in Singapore is nice :) My daily routine consists of the following:

-Snooze the alarm till 7:20, run into walls getting out of bed, try to look presentable, meet my coworkers at 7:30
-Carpool to work (I haven't driven here yet. The opposite-side of the road thing bothers me a bit)
-Be completely lost at work for about 8 hours.
-Get stared down by all the Indian laborers (my favorite part I tell you)
-Come home by around 6ish
-Walk across the street to the hawker stands (food stalls) and eat a cheap dinner
-Skype + sleep.

I've decided my least favorite thing to do is STOCKING THE KITCHEN. You gotta buy so much crap. Ugh.

The weekends consisting of pool time, drinking, and walking to new places. So far I've been to Clarke Quay (pronounced KEY), Boat Quay, and Chinatown. The two quays have restaurants, bars, and cool clubs around. Chinatown has about 1000 tailors. I'm definitely getting a pimpin suit made here ;)

I'll post more pictures and a better update soon!

Singapore

The apartments where I live

A bakery nearby where I live. There are so many different kinds of bread!!

a pimped out rickshaw!

My new apartment

I still can't believe I'm here, but it's been great so far. It's a bit tiring at times because the humidity just drains you even if you only have to walk for 15 minutes outside. I'm hoping I get in fabulous shape because of it.

I shall post more soon :)

The Idea that needs to DIE

Some things are considered sacred traditions like respect for elders, or washing one's feet before entering a Hindu temple, or cleaning the grave of our ancestors.

These traditions may exist for generations to come and should be maintained in order understand our past, and honor cultural values, etc.

The ONE tradition that needs to DIE is the one where "fair-skinned daughters" are highly coveted vs darker skinned ones.

I was watching the WTA tennis tournament in Dubai. It was the quarterfinals match where SerenaWilliams was playing against Ana Ivanovic. Whenever Ivanovic scored, the applause was a roar and it was not vice-versa. Williams won the match, and she obviously played better than Ivanovic. But, then why the crazy screams for the loser? I couldn't help but wonder if it was because Ivanovic is the "prettier" and lighter-skinned one of the two.

The middle east (among other parts of the world) is definitely one of the places where a fair-skinned girl is MUCH more appreciated (no matter how drab she might actually be) than someone who isn't.

Almost all of Asian countries are obsessed with "Fairness creams" that claim to lighten a woman's skin therefore making them more attractive.

Long ago, in the days of colonialism / imperialism, fair-skinned self-proclaimed Gods (aka europeans) landed in countries nearby, and brainwashed the idea of WHITE = GOOD. DARK = BAD. So for those hundreds of years of European occupation, locals associated beauty with the right skin color.

IMPERIALISM IS NOW OVER. THERE ARE NO MAJOR COLONIES LEFT. THE WHITIES HAVE LEFT!!!

India rejoiced at the thought of the British finally leaving. Songs were written, Gandhi was lauded to the max, all the Indian revolutionaries were given Saint-status, and tears of joy were everywhere. India claimed to go back to its roots, its culture, and its traditions now that the British finally left.

Too bad, the whole "white skin = better" idea never left. It's still there.

I can't count the number of times my grandma, and aunts have thanked the Gods for blessing my sister and me with "fairer skin" My dad cries a river every time I go to the beach and come back tanner and darker. Heaven forbid I tan 2 shades darker. I need to preserve my pristine, fair skin because THAT is what makes me beautiful.

After generations of brainwashing, the idea has stuck and never seems to DIE. For every ONE person that thinks color is not important, there are about 10 others who think otherwise.

I really hope my generation redifines the notion of beauty: that it comes from within, and is NOT skin-deep.

FUCK the fairness creams and DEATH to this whole idea!!!!

Valentine's day sucks because..

1) No holiday should make single people feel bad about themselves

2) Carnations are cheap, and smell like nothing

3) Pink + red = UGLY color combination

4) Cheap chocolate in those ugly pink / red heart shaped boxes = gross

5) No one should be forced to think "oh shit, better do something for valentine's day" it should be "Oh wow, can't wait to do something!"

6) A $20 dinner plate is now $50.

the ONLY good thing about valentine's day is that it celebrates LOVE. so FOCUS on the PEOPLE you love, and not ONLY on the significant other. Your parents, friends all deserve the love too!!

Whore-y-dolls

Thanks to many images on CNN of all the slums in India, Americans have one impression of India: Cows on the street + poor, dusty, dirty people.

Whatever. It's not CNN's job to promote tourism and tolerance of 3rd world countries, but I digress.

The point is, after all the images of the slums being a bad thing, apparently it's now MAINSTREAM!

So the new movie Slumdog Millionaire has swept everyone off its feet. The soundtrack to the movie is AWESOME and it has been composed by one of my favorite composers: A.R Rahman. He's a very respectable composer in South Asia and has sold numerous records.

Tell me WHY the pussycat dolls have done a remix to one of his songs on his soundtrack?! Seriously?!

Here is the original soundtrack:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DciW_yuQGCw&feature=related

I can't find the PCD soundtrack on youtube because it's been taken down everywhere.

I just hope it's not a FAD to "slum" it. NOW that the movie has become super popular, all of a sudden, the slums are COOL! YEA!

A lot of artists have sung or written songs about the hardships of life or the world and how it is to come up in life. But, tell me honestly WHY the fucking Pussycat dolls want to remix a song composed by A.R Rahman that speaks of things larger than their breasts? It's one thing for maybe U2, or some other respectable artist who's actually wordly to adapt the song, but PUSSY CAT DOLLS?! SERIOUSLY?!

I like some of their catchy songs, but I do NOT consider their songs to have any lasting effect on me in any way. I think they should stick to singing about being hot, having groupies and call it a fucking day.

Think Cheap part deux

We all want good skin. So we go to extremely overpriced stores like Bath and Body Works and the Body Shop or LUSH to get their ORGANIC SKIN CARE LINE. Oh yea, I would LOVE to pay $30 for some SALT in a fancy container.

Eff THAT!

Home remedies are the best because 1) they're cheap 2) you KNOW what you're putting on your skin.

Recipe #1 - Honey scrub

Ingredients: Honey, salt (preferably any fine sea salt, or dead sea salt powder)

Method: Mix honey with some salt (so you feel it being grainy) and then rub all over your face / skin. Stay put for a few and then rinse with warm water.

Your skin will super soft.

Recipe #2 - Honey + Avocado

Ingredients: Honey, Avocado, few drops of olive oil

Method: Scoop out some avocado with a spoon, and add a few drops of honey and olive oil to the mixture. Mix and apply all over the face. Soak for about 20 minutes, and then rinse with warm water.

As long as you refrigerate the avocado, one whole of that veggie will last you quite a few facial scrubs.

Should I even total this recipe? it seems like a no-brainer to me.

Recipe #3 - Honey + Milk

Ingredients: Honey , powdered whole milk (1 tsp) , refined sea salt (1 tsp), Jojoba oil (can be found at whole foods)

Method: Mix the ingredients together so you get a nice consistency (it should be sort of creamy and you should feel the powder and salt on your face so not too much honey or oil) and apply onto face. Soak and rinse with warm water.

Jojoba Oil - It's a great moisturizer. It can be found at your local Whole Foods, or Trader Joe's. I also highly recommend Sweet Almond Oil. Just a few drops into your facial scrub will be enough! You can also use these two oils as a daily moisturizer and makeup remover!

In toto: Less money, more value, awesome skin, and CHEAP.

DO IT PEOPLE!

Unbreakable

Serena at the US Open in her famous (or infamous?) leather outfit
Her bootay is fabulous!

Serena Williams is one of my favorite players. She came onto the scene in the late 90's, and stormed the game of tennis between 1999, and 2003. She's known for her overall powerful game, serve, quickness, and her nerves of steel. She is a bit wild too, because she wore a black CATSUIT to the US Open, designs clothing, likes to party and be a celebrity.

There have been so many critics of hers that are like:

"Omg, Why isn't she soley dedicated to tennis?"

She lost some of her fire between 2004 - 2005 (even though she still won the Aussie Open in 2005) due to injuries, personal problems (her half-sister was shot) and other distractions. Critics slammed her and questioned her passion for tennis, and her desire to be the best.

The problem with Serena isn't her game. It's what is in between her ears. She's a player that simply plays based on her mood. If it's good, then she's pretty much unbeatable. If she's not feeling too hot, she makes a rash of errors, doesn't move well around the court, and can get taken out by a good player (aka Henin)

For example, in January of 2007, she was not fit at all, was ranked 81st in the world, and joined to play in the Australian Open. No one expected her to get very far in the tournament, let alone win.

The picture below shows her that year:

Everyone was shocked at the end, but it wasn't really a surprise when she won the whole thing beating, I mean SLAUGHTERING Maria Sharpova in the Final 6-1, 6-2. The critics that once slammed her, marveled at how no other player could accomplish such a feat. She beat all the top 10 players in such a ferocious manner it was scary! That too, she was un-fit! Now, what's her secret?

Apart from her game, it was her MINDSET that helped her the most. She has that bedrock conviction that no matter what her rank, or weight is, she IS the best. Imagine how intimidated her opponents must be knowing that nothing they do, can make Serena think otherwise. Even when she loses, she curses her game and says "I should have won. She was good, but I'm still better"

So what if she has other interests? She makes it count where it matters most. She has won 10 grand slams so far. None of the currently ranked female players can boast of that number (Venus is close with 7. Henin WAS getting close to 10, but she retired (damn it) ) It's a very exclusive club of players that have Grand Slam titles in the double digits.

Aussie Open 2009:

She started off the tournament really shaky. She almost lost a couple of matches. In all of those matches, you can see Serena's emotions on her face. She talked to herself, and her feet looked like they were made of stone.

Somehow, she made it to the quaterfinals Kuznetsova won the first set. Kuznetsova was up 5-3 in the second set, serving for the match. Serena does this thing where she closes her eyes and meditates in between points. She somehow told herself to "Get this shit over with already!" and then hit winner after winner and then won the 3rd 6-1. Kuznetsova was completely dumbfounded.

THAT's what Serena does best! With her back against the wall, somehow she dug deep..told herself something like: "This chic has nothin against you girl!" and then beat her.

At the semi finals, Serena came prepared. She was totally into the match and beat Dementieva 6-4, 6-3.

Everyone knew at that point, it was over. There was no way Serena was losing the final.

And it came true. Serena almost made Safina cry. She ripped her serves in, made Safina run all over the court, and was so cold and calculating that I think Safina would have turned to stone if she had looked into Serena's eyes.

THAT is true dominance. you GO serena williams!!!

Importance of Independence

The word independence has a violent conotation to it. If you look back at history, revolutionaries have FOUGHT for independence. It was never a peaceful process. Prominent leaders such as Simon Bolivar, Toussaint Loverture, George Washington, and many more had to face violent opposition to deliver freedom to the peoples of their country.



Those epic battles and wins were centuries ago, and the word indepdence has come to a less-violent meaning. Today (in developed parts of the world) it means freedom to make a choice. It means a woman can choose to have a career instead of a family. It means a teeanger can have their own room aka their own little dominion to rule over.



Or has it really changed?



The privilige to have one's room comes with fights with parents and siblings. A woman might battle inwardly while deciding to choose between a career and a mate.



So then after thinking, I have concluded that independence still has not lost its violent background. Whether its physical or mental, we're all battling something or the other to free ourselves from whatever it is we want to be rid of.



I guess I'll know eventually which side won in the battle raging inside me right now. I hope the end result is worth it in the end.

Think Cheap

Welcome large groups of readers to my series of THINK posts. I am starting with Think Cheap because there has never been a better time to do so! (in recent history anyway) On a sidenote: I must be weird because I feel special being part of history-in-the-making! I'm sure 20 years from now, my kids will learn about 'The next-Great Depression of 2008" in their history books. I'LL BE PART OF THAT! YES!

Moving onto the goal of this post: THINK CHEAP PEOPLE! THINK EFFECTIVE! THINK SMART!

Apparel

Time to ditch style recommendations as written in Vogue and check out the CLEARANCE section! Not just ANY clearance section. Saks' clearance is NOT the same as Macy's or Target's. Designer duds are now slashed 80% off. 80% off of a $700 Marc Jacob's bag is STILL too much even during normal economic times for most of us. SO CHECK OUT the good stores.

Target - they have always had great prices for decent clothes. Check out their new target 'design collections' of clothing for women. They have great stuff for men too! Brands like Cherokee, Mossimo (sp?) have a great variety (ranging from casual t-shirts, to dress shirts, slacks, jeans, and much more) Definitely worth a look

Hudson Belk - TWO giant positives. Quantity and Quantity. I prefer Hudson Belk to Macy's thanks to the variety of designer brands it carries. The amount of different brands / clothes that are there, means there's something there for everyone. It might be a little tiresome to sift through it all, but you will find something!

Forever 21 - always cheap. not necessarily my favorite since the quality is pretty crappy. But they do have designer knockoffs at ridiculous prices.

Thrift Stores / Consignment Stores - always a good a idea! I had a good experience shopping at beacon's closet (based in ny, but you can buy stuff online) Google local thrift stores in your area and I guarantee you'll find some nice stuff there! http://www.beaconscloset.com

MARSHALLs! Never underestimate the deals you'll get here. Today, I bought a $29 tommy hilfiger tote that was originally worth 90. TWO pairs of Betsey Johnson tights for $7.00. Deals are everywhere here, but it takes some looking.

remember: PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE!

Lastly: Check out online shopping for great deals with free shipping! Some stores that offer free shipping: Jcrew, Overstock.com, Victoria's secret.com, bananarepublic and more!

Technology:

Slick Deals - Google slickdeals.net. Great place to find what it says...slick deals. The site also has tons of user reviews. http://www.slickdeals.net/

Iphones going to be sold at Wal-mart. No need to fret! Iphones will be sold at Walmart for $99! Of course, Apple is sly and will make money off you thanks to their expensive data plan. But it's exciting nonetheless.

and my favorite...

MAKEUP!

Like any fanatic, I do love my MAC, and Urban Decay eye shadows, eyeliners, etc. But at $13-15 bucks a pop, it gets very expensive very quickly. Granted, some (keyword: SOME) higher-end cosmetic brands are better, but these are rough times people! A lot of otherbrands imitate the more expensive brands to a good degree.

NYX - Eyeshadows start at 3.99. They have a great variety of other make up products that are cheap AND good. Available in local drugstores and other makeup stores such as Ulta.

L'OREAL HIP PIGMENTS - I am liking it. I recently bought a gold eye shadow duo and it's very pretty. Lasts long and costs around 6 bucks. good deal!

Rimmel mascara - Not bad for the price. I was looking at the DIOR show mascara that's worth a whopping $25. WHAT?! for mascara?! So no, I'm happy with my $7 Rimmel mascara. Almay is also pretty good for its price.




Make up brushes - DON'T buy those ridiculously expensive 'professional' make up brushes at MAC counters. it's like $28 for a skinny / small brush. There are good dupes out there at much more affordable prices. Try your local make up store (or Target /walgreens, etc) such as Ulta and buy brushes that are in the $8-10 range. They will do the trick. Most of us don't need super-duper special brushes.

I've probably repeated things everyone already knows but I'M CONTRIBUTING to someone out there. I hope.