"Comfortable with the face I’ve earned"

Alot of thoughts went through my leechie head as i read ‘Comfortable with the face I’ve earned’, by Dr. Lee Wei Ling, in Sunday Times...

Recently, some guys were rather surprised when they learnt tt i'm still single...ppl tend to think tt most pretty ladies r alrdy spoken for...well, i guess the lack of affinity is the main reason...haiz...however, do think twice or thrice abt dating guys who r with u only for ur looks...these guys might not hang around u for long if u were to get into some accident or lose ur looks due to age...anyway, there will always be someone else who is younger n prettier...y waste time on shallow guys who cant accept u for the person tt u r? o.O i'm far from perfect n i'm insecure abt my looks but i'm who i'm...i'm more than juz a face...there's a personality behind that face...there is somthg between my ears...u can agree to disagree...

Was watching the 11pm Channel 8 show in which one of the female leads, Jiahui, was disfigured after a bomb exploded...n her hubby, Zhenghong, stood by her n continued to shower love on her...she's really blessed to have such a sweetheart! i really envy the love he has towards her...tt is unconditional! but sometimes i really wonder if such guys r extinct by now? o.O esp after meeting sooooooooo many guys who r sooooo visual n judge u based on your looks!!! -.-

A couple of weeks ago, I was sharing with him tt an ex-colleague couldnt even recognize me n asked what happened to me...think i look so fat n ugly tt she cant recognize me now!

I admire how Dr. Lee is comfortable with the face tt she's earned...despite the visible changes...n how time n health issues have made their traces on her face...i would be lying if i said i wasn't affected by my ex-colleague's remarks abt how i look now as compared to the past! :'( i know i'm far from perfect n i'm full of insecurities...

"Beauty is not abt looks, makeups or clothes. true beauty comes from being urself, the more u show who u r the prettier u will be!"

Btw, i juz realized tt brian didnt know my profession although i've known him for years! gosh...he actually asked me for my namecard (which i dont have a habit of bringing out)...not surprised tt he looked at me blankly when i tried to explain what i do...some stuff r juz too technical to explain to the layman o.O" anyway, it was cool to hang out with the guys...to hear their views on the mkts n phones n talking abt gals...lol ;p Terence was saying tt som gal sitting opposite us was staring daggers at him...but she was too ugly...otherwise he would walk over to chat her up...lol ;p brian was more direct...he wanted to see gals in bikinis...lol...we miz the lunar eclipse as we stepped outta the restaurant...but there were plenty of ppl who came with huge telescopes! o.O"

Guys shld take a good look at this news article...r they sure they can afford high-maintenance ladies? willing to fork out >$300k/month? ;p (http://www.plushasia.com/media_photo/12115)

"Socialite Jamie Chua settles divorce suit
The high profile divorce suit between socialite Jamie Chua and Indonesian tycoon Nurdian Cuaca was settled yesterday.

The couple came to a settlement under confidential terms following which a freeze on Mr Cuaca's $93 million worth of assets was lifted by the High Court yesterday.

Chua, 36, was seeking $450,000 a month in maintenance from Cuaca based on the previous standard of living with her husband."

"Don't listen or think about anything other people say about you. Just live your life and prove them wrong."

Interesting Quotes:

"There is more money being spent on breast implants and Viagra today than on Alzheimer’s research. This means that by 2020, there should be a large elderly population with perky boobs and huge erections and absolutely no recollection of what to do with them."

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‘Comfortable with the face I’ve earned’, by Dr. Lee Wei Ling

"...I have said in this column before that I myself am aesthetically challenged, and I meant it in all honesty. But there was a time when I looked reasonably attractive – average, I would say. The past 10 years, however, have been somewhat unkind to me, and my current appearance reflects the health difficulties I have had.

Recently, I needed to get a new passport photograph. When I compared the new photograph with the one I took in 2001, I realised how much my face had aged.

I have put on 20lb (9kg) as instructed by my doctor. But my face is more angular and gaunt and I have prominent eye bags. In the 2001 photograph, I could easily have passed for a teenage boy. Now I look my age, or older than my age. No matter how short I cut my hair, I can no longer pass for a young androgynous teenager or man.

...When I scrutinise myself objectively in the mirror, I realise that the part of my face that has changed the most are my eyes. They are slanted and slit, closely resembling my father’s eyes in his old age. The lower part of my face looks angular and gaunt despite my weight gain, for most of my extra weight consists of muscle.

Recently, at the World Orchid Conference, two women separately asked me if I was Dr Lee. I asked the first woman who questioned me how she had guessed, since no recent photograph of me had appeared in the press. ‘You look like your father,’ she said.

I have not yet developed the ability to be totally detached from life's vicissitudes, but I have learnt to remind myself that desire of and attachment to worldly things bring suffering. I have this become fairly successful in curbing some of my attachments.

If I believed in reincarnation, then I would feel that I had many more lives to struggle through before I attained nirvana. But I don't believe in reincarnation, and I am convinced that I am a transient on this planet.

This means that if I don't want to suffer too much in this life, I must continually remind myself that while I should aspire to help other humans, I must also be willing to be detached when detachment is the only option.

I don't resent the misfortunes that fate has brought me. I accept them as lessons in life that only personal experience can teach. Indeed, I believe I am fortunate rather than unfortunate to have learnt these lessons.

...One small lesson I have learnt is that there is no purpose served in being attached to my face – or what used to be my face. George Orwell once wrote that after the age of 50, we all have the face we deserve. I, for one, am quite comfortable with the one I have earned."