when men see red, they see hot: study

saw this on yahoo news just now. a must know for all you ladies trying to snag tt hottie - red's the color to go babes!

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The popular ballad "Lady in Red" is poised to take on a whole new meaning: a study published Tuesday showed that the color red makes men see women as hotter or, more scientifically put, more attractive.

Researchers from the University of Rochester in New York conducted five psychological experiments to demonstrate that the color red makes men feel more amorous toward women.

In the experiments, groups of young men looked briefly at a picture of a moderately attractive woman printed on a red background, and the same woman then on a white, grey or green background. They also looked at a woman in red clothing, and the same one in blue clothing.

The men found the lady with a red background more attractive, both physically and sexually.

Comparing the woman in a red shirt to the same woman dressed in blue, men said they were more likely to ask the lady in red on a date and to lavish more money on her.

As part of one of the experiments, as well, the researchers sought to see whether a group of women were similarly more attracted to the woman shown against a red backdrop than a background of a different color. They were not.

What the researchers call the "red-sex link" could have roots in humans' biological heritage.

For instance, among primates, females display more red on parts of their body when they are nearing ovulation, probably to attract the male of the species.

"Research has shown that male primates are indeed particularly attracted to female conspecifics exhibiting red," the study says.

To the authors of the study, University of Rochester psychology professor Andrew Elliot and post-graduate researcher Daniela Niesta, the experiments' findings confirm what "women have long suspected and claimed: that men act like animals in the sexual realm."

And, they added, the fact that men are more turned on by women in red also confirms that, although men like to think that they respond to women "in a thoughtful and sophisticated manner, it appears that at least to some degree their preferences and predilections are, in a word, primitive." --- hahahaha. i like the finishing remark ;P

random updates

1. hv been feeling kinda sick for the last couple of days. started with a bad throat which went on to become a delinquent runny nose and rather high fever. argh. i hate being sick. feeling slightly better now after pumping my body with all tt meds.

2. i hate myself. when i see certain items, pass by certain places, or simply see couples walking hand in hand together so lovingly, i can't help but think of him. sigh. is this natural? or is this me being weak?

3. i have developed a love for wasabi. swore tt i would never like it and never thought tt i would acquire the taste buds for it. well well - never say never sometimes. u never know.

4. read an article about dealing with breakups. in theory, they say that for every year u've been together, u would need at least a month to get over and recover. if i apply this logic, it means tt i wld nd 6 weeks to get over a 6 month relationship? wow. wat bullshit. if it could only be tt simple in reality. you won't hv pple committing suicide or murder in e name of love.

k, tt's it for now. my brain's doing the whoozy dance again. later folks.

the rules of the game

chanced upon this book at kinokuniya today: the rules of the game by neil strauss.

is love really just a game? a part of me just refuses to believe it. shouldn't love be smthg pure and sincere? yet another part of me feels that perhaps it is truly a game after all - one where the stakes are pretty high (having lost $ is still quite bearable as opposed to a shattered heart). interesting to note though that there are cases i've seen where it seems to be working when they treat it as a game instead.

well, i don't know. but nonetheless, i've bought the book. guess it doesn't hurt to know how the guys play this game. might come in handy in the future.

navigating relationships

met up with a close gf earlier today. despite being out of touch for abit, we are still very in tune with one another. she's a very, very good fren and has always been there for me, especially in the darkest time of my life last year. dear SXXXXX, where will i be without u?

anyway, it's her turn now to be having problems w her bf. i've met e guy before some time ago. back then he was chasing some other gal and i think he didn't really succeed. but hmm i never really had a good impression of him so even from the onstart, when she mentioned tt they were together, i was like 'uh-oh'.

then again, i believe it's hard to comment when you are just a bystander. feelings and emotions are such tricky things to navigate. you can rationalise and think but once the emos wash over you, it seems like all your intellect goes out the window and u get so overwhelmed that u'll just go with the flow as it feels sooo good, sooo right, soo natural. i've been there too many times. and even then, i still fall prey to it again and before i know it, i end up picking the pieces of my broken heart. sigh.

where does it start to go wrong? i really don't know. or was it simply just raw lust rather than love? or unrealistic expectations? or WHAT? i've always thought that as long as you do your part, then the 'give and take' balance will hold it altogether. but apparently that does not seem to be the case, as i've learnt recently. sometimes letting go maybe the stronger decision to make rather than clinging on miserably. it's painful yeah, but it could be for the better.

oh well, i will be praying for you my dear (though i don't believe much in prayers..haha). hopefully things will sort itself out on its own. but if it doesn't, i'll be here for you. tt's y it's always important to have trusted galfrens :)

ps: thanks gian. the road to recovery would have been slower without u being there.

the banana diet

you can get such a bootylicious figure just by eating bananas?! count me in. i'm definitely signing up for the banana diet.

for those of you who have no idea what this is all about, read on here.

as for me, i'm gonna get my hands on those bananas before they run out!

(hot pic courtesy of http://www.collegeotr.com - the 1st search result when you google for 'the banana diet' - they really know how to grab the attention hur)

raffles place skyline + scapes

someone (i'm so not telling who) brought me for a wine and dine session at the equinox today. needless to say, the food was damn shiok though the portions were kinda small. but what really took my breath away was the raffles city skyline + scapes. and i was lucky to have viewed all 4 differing facets - the afternoon, evening, dusk and night.

ps: these lovely views were all taken on my new Super Phone - Sony Ericsson G900 :)

to work or not to work

i'm kinda broke. thanks to the stint in taiwan, i've exhausted almost all the $ that i've amassed from my part-time slogging savings. shit. and it doesn't help that i've got a penchant for the finer things in life as compared to most peers. yes yes, call me miss chichi.

so now, i'm wondering now if i should do some part-timing to tie over this bumming around period. maybe back to the event agency or smthg. but they pay damn badly for the # of hours they work you. not to mention having to take all that crap from the customers and boss. add it all up, it's quite tantamount to slave labour if u ask me. how? how?

texernergy bodysuit

saw this in a magazine today while waiting to have my nails pampered and painted. they've really made slimming such a science haven't they? from nutritional mathematics (think calorie counting), to chemical blockers or metabolism inducers.. and now to metallurgy? hmm but at least this one does not sound as torturous as depriving yourself from food or smthg that will cause an internal imbalance of the system. anything external sure sounds safer.

think i might need it after all that feasting + boozing from homecoming.. not to mention the lack of discipline during my taiwan stint. i've gained 4 bloody kilos :(

anybody interested in trying?

responding to your queries + concern

have been back for about a week and one day but have already received heaps of well wishes. thanks guys and gals for all your concern and love. glad to know that there are still people whom I can really call friends after all this while. as for why i left without a word, i guess the only thing that i will say is that it seemed like the best thing to do at that point in time. but well, let's not go there. i'd rather not talk about it.

hmm do i regret it? even if it means deferring my studies for a year? definitely not. i'm thankful to have seen and experience much in this reflective stint in taiwan. yaya, i will flickr the photos when i finally get my act together with the uploads. so stay tuned. as for what my plans are for now? i'm also not too sure. just taking it easy, one step at a time till i rejoin next semester. parents are nagging me as always - what's new? but thank god they've backed off my case slightly lest i pull a stunt like this again. it's sad that they never seem to listen and just want things their way, all in the name of 'it's for your own good, you'll see.' but frankly, in my twenty years thus far, i don't see and i don't think i ever will. sometimes i think that it is more like because they were unable to do this or accomplish that and so they start to impose such things on us instead; to pin on us their unfulfilled hopes. but is this what we really want? they don't stop to hear or understand. anyhoo, this is my life and i will live it the way i want. just 1 more year to go and i will get to call the shots.

till then, life is too short to be miserable or resentful. like it or not, there will always be unpleasant things (and people) that we have no control over but a well-lived life is one which makes the best out of everything. and that is what i intend to do.

the first thing i need to do though is to stop grumbling ;P

i AM stronger

1st post in 2008. a long while it's been. nonetheless, a fresh new beginning, a brand new chapter, and most definitely, a stronger me.

i like the way britney spears sings it - nothing's gonna ever bring me down again cos I'm:

"stronger than yesterday
now it’s nothing but my way
my loneliness ain’t killing me no more
i AM stronger"

so cheers to the best of days ahead folks!