stuff i want but can do without (but still want)

I finished "In the Lake of the Woods," which turned out to be ingenius, the way he could switch elegantly between present and past, truth and conjecture. But all in all, the subject matter just wasn't appealing to me personally. I mean really, I really cannot read another book about the Vietnam War. Or anything TOO dark. Ooh and I tried finishing "Bel Canto," which I found "horrible," but I still wanted to know what was going to happen and gave it another 40 pages, but then it was still horrible, like unbearable, so I'm stopping for real. Right now I'm reading this non-fic book called "Warped Passages: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Universe's Hidden Dimensions," which is about quantum physics, I guess. It's supposed to be easy for your average Joe to understand, and written in a kind of relaxed conversational style (which I find a bit... annoying?). So far, I have no better understanding of the universe's hidden dimensions than I did before I started it. But then, I just started.

OK, can we talk about how much I love H&M? I like it tons better than, for example, Zara, Mango, Forever 21, Gap, Express. They have really nice everything. I was really coveting these butterfly barrettes (in black) that were only HK$30. (I took a pic to mull it over.) I ended up getting them a few days later along with other hair stuff. And I don't just mean I like their hair stuff. They were the only place I could find a good interview outfit, and their stuff is so cheap it doesn't turn into a big dilemma, but still lots of good-quality stuff.

Another thing I'm obsessed with are these classic bird tattoo enamel necklaces with rhinestone eyes I saw at one of those consignment stores in Causeway Bay. OMG. I love classic bird tattoos (and all other tattoo-related things!). These were only HK$78. Why don't I just buy 'em, you ask? As with the barrettes... I just have so much junk. I have SO much hair stuff that I don't wear. I have SO much jewelry that I don't wear. I dunno. I'm on a consumerism fast or something. I just want to be free of objects. Organization puts me in a good mood. All my stuff is arriving from overseas tomorrow (took 2 months!), and I'm not kidding, 1/4 of it is going to donations.

At the same consignment store: these t-shirts that phonetically teach you snide Cantonese idioms with a classic Dick-and-Jane kind of illustration. Aw, cute! Such as "Sik siu siu, ban doi biu," with the explanation of "knowing only a little but pretending to be an expert" (roughly). The black ones are actually printed in gold, which I love. I love t-shirts printed in metallics. But then again I would not wear this t-shirt. I would prefer the print to be on other items, like a mug or poster or something. Because I would not consider this print "fashionable," more like hilarious.