MY FAVORITE THINGS

THE SERIAL ‘PRANKSTER’ STRIKES YET AGAIN

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Seriously... this man needs to be locked up! One would think that he learned his lesson after the Brad Pitt incident but apparently he just can’t stop himself from upsetting celebs. This time it was Kim Kardashian of Keeping up with the Kardashians and wife of rapper Kanye West; during Fashion Week in Paris recently. The crazy fool actually lunged at Kim in an attempt to hug her which almost sent her falling to the ground. Can’t this man simply see that nobody’s laughing at his ‘pranks’; the one I found really distasteful of all was when he crept under America Ferrera’s dress at the Cannes’ Festival; disgusting!

Why he’s still keeping up with this ridiculous behavior I don’t know and I wonder if the authorities have figured out why so far. Does Vitalii Seduik really want to retain his notorious reputation as the ‘celebrity prankster’ or it’s his way to randomly grab his fifteen minutes of fame. I don’t care nor believe in his insistent denial, ‘I’m not crazy, I just think differently’; he is a stalker and a nuisanceand he needed to be properly pinned down this time and made to stop his disturbing antics. He could end up injuring somebody- deliberately or accidently- next time so he must not be allowed a ‘next time’. Seduik was just very lucky Kanye West didn’t get a chance to give him a much deserved beating for tackling his wife like that; he may not be so lucky if he tries such a stunt again.

Enough’s enough already.

More of Becky "The Shopaholic" 's misadventures in THE SHOPAHOLIC ABROAD

By a stroke of luck I was able to get hold of and eagerly read part 2 of "The Shopaholic" series; which is THE SHOPAHOLIC ABROAD a.k.a THE SHOPAHOLIC TAKES MANHATTAN. Once I saw the title, I wondered if Becky will behave herself and curb her shopping addiction. The setting is NEW YORK; a shopper's paradise and after the events in CONFESSIONS OF A SHOPAHOLIC, you would think she's learned her lesson, considering the guy at her bank was a lot kinder to her than she deserved. So now, she's in New York... at the request her boyfriend who is moving his business there and wants her with him. Has Becky turned a new leaf? HELL NO!

Part 2 is even more hilarious as Part 1 because being in a new city only made Becky's shopaholism far worse and why not... when several shops and NOT JUST boutiques were offering 50% off sales and stocking various items she simply MUST HAVE? Even before she arrived in New York, she was already taking advantage of another overdraft she was granted (are the people in the bank nuts???) and spending, spending, spending... aside from clothes and shoes, who on earth spends a 100 pounds on a pack of handmade greeting cards?! Suze made her promise to spend less and the kindly chap from the bank Derek Smeath informed her he was retiring and his successor would not be as accommodating as him, so she must be very careful. Needless to say, Becky did not listen to the well meaning advice and the bills slowly started to pile up... AGAIN. Plus, Becky gets into more scrapes because not only she spends without thinking, she talks without thinking, which only makes it an even more interesting read.

To make matters worse, Becky's addiction is exposed in the worse possible way (which nearly happened in the previous book but luckily for her, Derek gave her a break) and not only did she lose her own credibility (which made her lose her existing as well as a prospective T.V host job) but also her boyfriend's- she made him look like a fool in front of his investors. I felt sorrier for him than for her- she was WARNED about her shopping addiction but she turned a deaf ear so basically, she had it coming! But instead of accepting her stupidity she lashes out at him (talks without thinking, remember?) about how he's been so wrapped up in his work and hitting him below the belt. Well ... excuse your long suffering boyfriend for trying to be a successful businessman instead of going out to buy a whole lot of new suits!

I loved this book but Becky was really annoying, silly and more irresponsible than in the previous book. To her, her problem was just 'a bit of shopping'; to others it was shopping bags piled up to the ceiling and an overstuffed wardrobe and cluttered bedroom, FULL of her stuff and piles of unpaid bills. Needless to say, after her "public disgrace", things at the bank were even worse for her and she got a much deserved scolding from Derek's successor, John Gavin:

" This is Becky Bloomwood who has had her overdraft limit extended six times in the last year... And who each time has failed to keep within those limits. This is Becky Bloomwood who has constantly lied, who has constantly avoided meetings, who has treated bank staff with little or no respect and who seems to think we're all here solely to fund her appetite for shoes!"

Wow... harsh BUT true! One would want to feel a little sorry for Becky and surprisingly she still had some people loyal and sympathetic enough to offer to lend her money. But while I applauded her pride (she flatly refused), I couldn't sympathize all that much because she was WARNED and her boyfriend ran into a big problem because of her. She must have THIS, she must have THAT... isn't is a veiled case of materialism, this need to simply surround yourself with possessions and spending more than you earn? I'm glad the writer, Sophie Kinsella, wrote the dramatic scenes, Becky truly needed to see how her addiction could affect people close to her and take a long hard look at herself. She however accepted her disgrace with dignity and bailed herself out with dignity- at the same time secretly redeeming herself by secretly fixing her boyfriend's crisis. What then is next for Becky?

Like I said earlier, an interesting and hilarious read and gives us a lesson- BE CAREFUL WITH YOUR MONEY!

Quote from book:

" I know I brought it on myself..."

"That's right! You did! Becky, no one forced you to go out and spend all that money! I mean, I know you like shopping, But for Christ sake. To spend like this... It's bloody irresponsible. Couldn't you have stopped yourself?'"

The antics of Becky "The Shopaholic" in THE SECRET DREAMWORLD OF A SHOPAHOLIC

Like Lucy Talk and Bridget Jones Diary, THE SECRET DREAMWORLD OF A SHOPAHOLIC" a.k.a "CONFESSIONS OF A SHOPAHOLIC" by Sophie Kinsella falls under the genre known as 'chicklit' (a name I'm not really fond of) and candidly told in the point of view of the heroine- this time it's a young lady named Rebecca Bloomwood. She works as a journalist in Successful Savings (a financial magazine) and shares a flat with her best friend Suze in a trendy neighbourhood in London. And she has a problem... she has a shopping addiction. If it's a new pair of shoes, a lovely looking skirt, a silk blouse or a pair of designer jeans, or anything charming, beautiful or interesting... she MUST HAVE IT, even though she can barely afford it. Worse still, as the story begins- it turns out she is yet to pay her outstanding Credit Card bill and her overdraft. For the most of the story, she gets letters of reminders from Visa and her bank but what does she do; she fends them off with lies, then ignores the letters completely- wondering how on earth she'll be able to pay her debts. Yet she's unable to curb her addiction for shopping and tries to "cut back" but Suze- on hearing her problem- pointed out the best way to go about it was "Make More Money." But that failed- on her first day of her 'Saturday job', her shopaholic problem reared its ugly head and she gets fired. Don't sympathise, she really acted stupidly so she deserved it! And all through the story, Luke Brandon- a wealthy entrepreneur- pops in and out of Becky's life, keeping the readers guessing if he will be her dream man or not.

Some would see Becky as irresponsible, not to mention a liar and a hypocrite- she knows very well she has debts to pay yet keeps spending, she lies to the bank and the credit card company and she actually gives financial advice when she can't handle her own finances. The word 'FOOL' kept popping in my mind whenever she spends even more and I kept shaking my head, wondering JUST HOW she would clear up the mess she heaped herself in. But on the other hand, Becky had a few redeeming qualities; she refused to let any one bail her out by writing out a check to her- she never even told her parents she was in debt- and went out of her way to help a couple whose financial crisis was far worse than hers. Then she reaches a point where she stumbles on her moment of reckoning but will she be given the chance to change or be punished?

This is actually the first part of Becky the Shopaholic's adventures and while you would shake your head with exasperation at Becky and see her as a joke, still... you would not help but like her and hope she would curb her 'shopaholic' addiction eventually!

Quote from book:

For years now I've kind of operated under an informal shopping cycle. A bit like a farmer's crop rotation system. Except, instead of wheat, maize, barley, and fallow, mine pretty much goes clothes, makeup shoes, and clothes (I don't bother with fallow). Shopping is actually very similar to farming a field. You can't keep buying the same thing, you have to have a bit of variety. Otherwise you get bored and stop enjoying yourself.

CARBO FAN FICTION- CARLY'S DIARY PART 3

Part 3

‘How did you happen to come with my uncle?’

‘I ran into him in D.C, my husband and I live in Georgetown. He told me everything and I insisted on tagging along. Tanner promised to come over as soon as he can. Can I see Carly now?’