1. The scents of a man – The first thing that came to me was my collection of perfumes. Except for the three Body shops and the Ferrari black, all are procured during a warehouse clearance sale by the importer and distributor, Luxasia and during Isetan Sale in the last two years. Most are sold at 70% discount. They may be cheap but they make me smell good . From left : Bodyshop Altaro, Amorito and Aztique, Burberry Weekend, Ferrari Black, Ferrari, Versace, Dolce & Gabana, Versace Versus, Paco Rabane Ultraviolet Man, Nautica, Carolina Herera H2O 212, Moschino, Hogo Boss and Paul Smith. Now that doesn’t make me smell good naturally does it? Hell, with all that perfumes, you probably think I hate my own original smell don’t you? Well, not exactly. These different scents accentuate the different moods I am in when integrated with my own. Now aren’t you curious about my own…
2. The poisons a man discerns – Except for the tequila and Johnie Walker Black Label, the rest of the bottles are bought from duty free outlets in Miri. I drink a shot or two during weekends when I’m not out partying; a night cap. And when The Thirsty Traveler is featuring any of them, I lift my own glass and drink to knowing exactly what he’s talking about. Most of the times however, they help me collect dust. Trust me, I’m no alcolo’hic*! Perfumes have alcohol too you know. So these I use to exude that drunken stench scent.
3. The words for a man - These are the books that sit in the wall cabinet. I read LOTR two years back but revisit some chapters now and again. The same goes for Harry Potter. ‘The Story and It’s Writer’ Is my current read. It’s an anthology of short stories by famous writers from all over the world. This was my lucky draw during my American Degree Program preparation in Shah Alam back in 98. It has been collecting dust since then and only recently did I pick it up. I’m glad it’s managed to follow me throughout my nomadic years. Also, there are some foreign language guides and most of them are for flipping through only. I thought they might come in handy; yeah, usually when I can’t shut my eyes to sleep. Gute Nacht.
4. The weight of a man – Yup, this were two of my many tools for dealing with my heavier issues. A bathroom scale and a kitchen scale, both are not where they’re supposed to be, in my bedroom. The bathroom scale I use everyday to monitor my weight. And before you go ahead and say I’m obsessed with my weight, professionals say it is helpful to be aware of your weight if you want to stay lean. It tells you when to crank up the gear whenever there is a steady gain, rather than a late detection. The kitchen is actually a diet scale and was used during the initial stages of my diet program and I swear it has been months since I took it out of the drawer, till now, when I needed a picture. It helped me estimate the amount of food in preparing for a balanced low calorie diet.
5. The chunks for a man – make that double chocolate chunk. This is my new craze from the great Betty Crocker herself. Home made cookies in 20 minutes, and she ain’t just crockin yer chains. They are delicious. I can’t bake it as good as the serving suggestion shows but it tastes good all the same. And you know how misleading these suggestions are. I keep these soft cookies in a zip lock plastic bag. Why do I have it in my bedroom? Because I can don’t have a cookie jar in the kitchen and a host of other different reasons. I know, I know, lame excuse, bad for my weight etc. etc. But I know what I’m cookin’. And now you know why I weigh myself everyday!
6. The hair of a man – I am my own baker, I am my own barber. I’ve been doing my own hair for a while now and haven’t had any complaints (haha!). I screwed up once and learned to cut my hair better every time. The only frustrating thing about my hair is the male pattern baldness. This is ironic because if it’s such a problem to me and my head, I should be glad that the root of the problem is gradually falling off my head, sometimes by a good bunch. Well, here’s how I see it, when it falls on my shoulders, it’s a burden.
7. The main board of a man – I can’t seem to get rid of this old main board. It hangs behind my bedroom door. I can’t imagine myself disrespecting the ‘mother’ board.
8. The crafts of a man – This is a portion of my bedroom wall. The perfume rack is my creation, made from rejected parts sold separately at Ikea. You guessed it, they’re cheap. The overhead storage rack is actually shoe rack frames arranged on two wooden beams. A bachelor who moved a lot learns to make his own things. Limited space challenges the mind in designing to adapt and customize. It is a cost saving hobby as well. Besides, I don’t know when I’ll be moving out again so these things I can leave behind. I only used screws, no nails, so they dismantle easily. Hmmm, come to think of it, I put my heart and soul into them and I’d probably take them with me.
9. The space of a man – Since my room is small, many things hang on the walls or are stored on overhead racks to save space. There are racks on other portion of the walls. The foldable table comes in handy but is rarely used so it hangs on the wall most of the time.
10. The junks of a man – The overhead storage rack stores many boxes that keep all sorts of junk long forgotten and deserved to be thrown away. But they linger on. So do many things under my bed but these are kept for their future purposes.
11. The parts for a man – The planks are loose parts sold separately at dirt cheap prices from Ikea. So far, they’ve made my perfume rack and a counter top for my window. I love Ikea’s “As Is” policy. I’ve bought many items that are ex displays, missing parts or have minor scratches sold for less than 50%. I’ve bought tampered glasses from Ikea that are ideal for my next coffee table project.
12. The old computer – Under my bed also lie my old pc. It still runs perfectly but I’ve used the hard disk as an external storage device for my laptop.
And last but certainly not least;
13. The Ring for a man – I am no Frodo but I do have the One Ring. The Evil Sauron of RHB Bank tempted me with this very Ring to get me signed up for it’s credit card. Now I am bound by it, as much as I wish to get rid of it. Like Frodo, I am finding it hard to resist the power (of Visa and Mastercard). And it is consuming me (cash) from within. But as Frodo does, I will win this war. I will cast the golden chip based card in the fires of mount doom. The ring I will keep, coz it’s rare and not cheap!
“Oy Samwise Gamgee! Where’s that money you owe me? I can’t pay my bills with your stinkin’ taters y’know. And don’t tell me to sell this Ring either.” *thud*
So with these thirteen items in my room I leave you to decide if you have your own to share. If you wish to be tagged, leave a comment saying so, for this is no simple task and you may end up tidying up your room (and your chest) for the pictures; a requirement intended to assist your readers on their journey to knowing you a little better, through the simple things lying in your room.
But let me tell you that it was worth it, because like the things you’ve been wanting to clear out, you’ll be glad you finally shared some unknown facts about your room, thirteen to be exact.
