Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Time out with Shopper Mama's Special Guest: A Man-to-Man Talk




Today, my wife, the Shopaholic Mama, has asked me to fill in for her instead. I have been given a free rein to just write about anything, except on gossipy stuff, which I feel she does an excellent job in that.



So after thinking long and hard on the topic (blogging is not easy, I realized!), I thought I should probably give a Man-to-Man talk on –



HOW TO HANDLE A SHOPAHOLIC

(if you are 'lucky' enough to be married to one, just like me!)


Realistically, there is NO way we men can handle ONE! Impossible really, if you ask me! As the saying goes, 'If you can't beat them, join them.' Right??



Not the case for me thou. In fact, accept her obsession & live with it! According to my son's favorite vocab, its 'NC' or no choice, but for me, as the Hokkiens say, it is 'Bo Pian'!



So instead, I will tell you my Survival Kit, a must-have while my wife shops -



1. MINERAL WATER - 2 may never enough, depending on how many levels the mall has (imagine Tampines Mall which has 6 levels!). Also make sure you know where the toilets are, especially after guzzling bottles of water.





2. Newspapers, books & magazines - If you know that it is going to be a BIG MEGA SALES - which they have almost every week anyway, refrain from reading two days of newspapers and keep it for that fated shopping trip to fill your time.






3. Phone & PDA - I can do so much work with them in hand! Latest in my wish list will be a netbook - considering new malls both locally and across the causeway are getting bigger and equip with WiFi...





4. Last but not least, look for the perfect spot in the mall - the higher the spot, the better - as there will less human traffic. Also, you do not want to be seen by your colleagues and friends in the malls looking miserable...






If all of the above are successfully completed and she is still not back yet (which happens often actually), continue to accept the reality of your fate – start playing games found in your phone. You may never know, you may fare better than your children and keep the score to show-off ..



Don't be surprise, it may be considerably quite a long wait until she decides to make an appearance again!



A motto to remember, doesn't apply to me but to her

When the going gets tough, the tough goes Shopping
!



Sincerely,


FM ???




I found out she addressed me as 'FM' or 'Finance Minister' in her blog (by the way, I do not read her blog, been asked NOT to by her, apparently for my own good health!) I wish to object thou, I think 'SM' or 'Senior Minister' is more apt as I have to drive, pay, look after the kids, carry the stuff and follow her around in most of her shopping escapades! And since I have been doing this crucial job for more than 16 years, I think I deserve a better and more senior title...



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



A lil' note from Shopaholic Mama – Firstly, thanks to my hubby for taking up this challenge & contribute this for Vogue-U. I do feel empathetic when I read his grievances above, but if he can take it for 16 years+, what’s another 20 years or more right :)



So, what say you? What do you think I should address him from now on?




16 comments:

♥cybermummy♥ said...

SMHFT - Senior Minister Of HOME FINANCE And TRansport :P
( i think i should ask my hubby to read this article so at least he know how to survived during my shopping spree . Kalau selalu dia buat muka cemberot sbb boring ikut i shopping so with this survival kit i can up my shopping time and he still in his smiling mode :D )

UmiMia said...

ahahahaha...kelakar lah...

I agree with cybermummy...SMHFT will be the best portfolio for ur hubby Sis Ann...

rasp said...

i rasa if SM pun ok gak...
bak kata ur hubby Senior Minister..
but i rasa i ada maksud lain gak tu...

1) SM - SuperMan - sbb handle byk2 keje as he listed tu kan..

2) SM - the Sighing Man ~ while he waits for u :)

3) SM - Shoppermama's Man/Superb Man - nie meant for u, your man :D

LiLa said...

Kak Ann,
Lila pun setuju dengan rasp. SM! because he asked for it! and a lots of meaning too!

p/s: Nasib baik my Hubby pun kaki shopping :D so we just split with our own way when shopping!

Mak Pah Vogue said...

haha... SM ringkas n senang nak panggil.

hubby akak plak klu ikut gi shopping, he will go his way and i go my way. then we will meet somewhere in the middle ler.

klu tidak he will just drop me and then pick me when i sudah abis shopping.

Anonymous said...

no comments, asal bahagia suah

Mrs Taj said...

i just can't stop smiling while i'm reading this...

Harajuku PearL said...

hahahaha...upgrade title Mr FM....to SM.. good one ;)

P

Gembo said...

Mrs G : I was going to tell Mr G to "watch n learn" but I think he does the above to the T already.. must be basic instincts hehehe..

Agree with FM...his 'promotion' is due...

Thanks FM (or soon-to-be SM) for being such a sport - enjoyed this entry!

Shopaholic Mama said...

Cybermummy - haruslah yr Abang pun baca ikut petua ni sikit2!


Rose - hahaha, he was like, 'I did so mucn & FM is only what I got?' nanti I will print & show him this article & the comments.


Sis Rasp - akan ku table-kan di sidang parlimen nanti, after he has read all these!


Lila - but SM will be same as mine pulak but anyway, I will print & ask him! Harap2 sidang parlimen berjalan dgn lancar nanti!



Kak Pah - sometimes he did that too jalan sendiri2 but he can finish it in 10 minutes, esp kalau pegi Spore expo sale, he masuk 1 round then keluar cari his fav spot to read his papers! After I am done, sms him & he will meet me again!


Anon - tks for reading anyway!


Mrs Taj - at first I pun seram cuak jugak what he is going to write abt, takut topic or entry yg tak interesting!


Indra - time for promotion eh, you think?


Mrs G - maybe its a basic universal thing for them!

actually the story was, I takde idea nak tulis apa, so when I looked at him, I just asked him if he can write anything for me just this once & he automatically agreed as he was thinking same too! But on 1 condition - his own topic & idea & I just have to cut & paste his email word for word, so its a deal! But I can add the pictures etc!

The Author said...

:-)

A beautiful post that makes me wonder...

Isn't it ironic? We adore and cope with people who "annoy" us. :-)

~smiles~

Blushwax said...

ehehhehe...promotion for FM. And I think I'm the one who needs these tips when I go shopping with Mr H. He's so terhegeh-hegeh you know.

Shopaholic Mama said...

Shasha - haha, I know I annoy him that much :)


Raf - errr the other way round pulak!

Lily Ash Burn... said...

ahahahaha!!! hilariously funny la tis entry... if it was my hubby, seriously, he dun even bother to layan me shop... he's d "on de dot schedule" type of minister... to him time is precious n everything shud be plan on time... i rather go shoppin without him... lol...

Nad.is.me. said...

Anonymous: Kau pon boleh rilek suah.
IP Address: 60.50.196.108
I'm watching you. :)

Dato' FM! Since ramai dah setuju and you also have shown tremendous improvement, maka dengan itu saya ishtiharkan FM naik pangkat to SM! Hehehehe.

Evewibodey take note ye.

PS: Kalau PM pun ok what. Bukan prime minister tapi personal minister! Kekekeke.

*lari sembunyi blakang pokok*

Ampun Mama Ann and Dato' SM, nanti raya saya mintak maap. :p

Shopaholic Mama said...

Ummi Lily - me too, I like to shop alone but weekends, since he has to drive me, then might as well he hang around the mall.


Nadh - yesterday then he manage to read all the comments & dgn penuh semangat, he wants to contribute another entry again! hehehe