the joys of not having it all

I have a confession to make. I have an unhealthy obsession with all things New York. Be it movies, books, tv shows, Broadway...you name it babe. I just like the illussions of grandeur which I know I will never get in my lifetime. Hey,but a girl can dream right? If anyone can cure me of this particular sickness please do show me the way...hehehe.(As Maher Zain sang it in his song).

I've actually bought several books last month but this one outshines the others by leaps and bounds well to me at least. It reminds me of one the first 'adult' book I bought way back when I was still a teenager. Judith Krantz's 'I'll Take Manhattan'. I mean it's just soo glamorous and fun and full of make believe fantasies about the lives of rich people that you just have to love it.Sorry.

One Fifth Avenue by Candace Bushnell

As the title suggests its about the residents of this posh apartment in Fifth Avenue, NYC. Mindy Gooch; the co-op president, Enid; the veteran gossip columnist, Peter; her screenplay writer nephew,Schiffer Diamond; the actress and the Rices'; the new millionaire couple who just move in.

The characters are believable and the story with its tragedies and mysteries has a nice happy ending at the end. (Some characters die). Surely, Candace as the writer of Sex and the City will not disappoint fans of chick lit. The building actually exists! I mean..look at all these pictures of an 11 room duplex owned by a Broadway producer which is actually up for sale.

Oooh it has always been my dream to have a library like this at home. Just a nice cozy place where you can curl and immersed yourself in books. Amazing. And the view outside the terrace is to die for! You can actually see the famous Central Park. (More ooohs..) But that view came with a hefty 33 million price tag.(Damn, and I thought terraces in Bangi is overpriced). Only billionaires can live in a place like this where it was rumoured to have Rupert Murdoch as one of its residents. Wow! In Malaysia, we have supreme condos at the golden triangle going for a cool 3 million. But who has that kind of money?I mean..really? Real estate everywhere has skyrocketed. And for middle class people like me it has been a nightmare trying to find a house you can actually afford. Yeah so the government has introduced the Skim Rumah Pertamaku but middle class people don't qualify for that (as most of us earn more than 3k a month) besides it's highly unrealistic! Where can you find a decent house for 220k in the Klang Valley?Nah.. For the time being I'll just be grateful for having a roof over my head and pray that some day I'll have a nice cozy library where I can just totally unwind. Praying really hard..oh please God.

the dilemma part 2

My youngest brother had just received his SPM results and later on declared that he will be pursuing an education focusing on culinary. Hmm..it got me thinking that if more and more men are professional cooks what will become of the women? Maybe we should do the hard jobs like becoming bosses,judges, police officers and such. But why is it hard for women to be promoted?
If according Tun M, about 60 to 70% of enrollment in universities comprised of females where have they dissappeared once they start working?And what happen to all the men? Have all of them become Mat Rempit?Hohohoho..

Unfortunately in Malaysia, gender bias is still deep rooted in every aspect. People hate women bosses claiming that they are emotional,picky and weak. Most bosses are still men. In one occasion which I faintly recall one of my male ex-boss said to me smilingly, "Darling no one likes a smart mouth". I'm not sure whether that's a compliment or him just telling me to shut up.Oooh...

According to Marina Mahathir who actually read the World Economic Forum Gender Gap Report, in Malaysia women exceeds men only in university enrolment and life expectancy. Ah..which means we are smarter and we live longer?Hmm that's depressing.The reality is disheartening. Most of these bright young women who believe that they can do it all realised that the unchanging attitudes of most Malays or Malaysians make it hard for them reach their true potential.

I have friends who graduated with honours in IT and engineering complained that they have a hard time finding jobs as most jobs required project site visits which are thought only suitable for men. It is quite sad to see my dear friends relegated to office jobs that did not do their justice. One of them even joined a multi national bank as call center operator at one point.

But if more and more men indulge in the artsy and glamorous careers so who will do all those dirty jobs?As Marina Mahathir aptly puts it in her blog in which she saluted her heroines in conjunction with Women's Day: 'The many young Malaysian women I know who are so sparklingly bright, energetic and enthusiastic that they give me hope in this country. Now, if only none of that energy is dampened by the unchanging attitudes in this country, they can actually make a difference.'