I have started getting into perfumes recently and my current obsession right now is the Ariana Grande line of fragrances, it's really random but I just suddenly got attracted to sweeter smelling scents lately. I kept getting decants to try out because the full sizes are quite expensive, that being said, the fragrances are actually quite nice, some are definitely extremely feminine, but there are a few that I think I can wear without it being weird on a guy.
The way female fragrances will change the longer you wear it makes them a lot more fascinating to me than the male fragrances, male fragrances also do as well, but the scent notes are all generally quite similar, so the evolution of the scent isn't as interesting.
So far, I have spend about $100 on the decants and have just forked out another $120 to get 2 full size bottled ones from Shopee, which is R.E.M and God Is A Woman, the first is a Lavender scent, the second is a Pear scent. They are not super feminine smelling, so I think I can still pull it off and people will just assume I smell "laundry detergent" fresh.
The one I really want to get in a full size though is Mod Vanilla, that is the one with the kind of sweet scent I was looking for, which is a very warm vanilla smell, almost like stepping into a pastry kitchen smell, but at $99 for a 30ml bottle, it's really quite insane. They do come in 100ml versions as well, which I would assume will only be maybe $40 more, but the only Shopee store that sells it doesn't have any 100ml ones available, so I don't think I will get it yet and maybe just stick to the decants because 3 x 10ml decant is around $78, it's like $21 cheaper, which means the original packaging will cost me $21.
Mod Vanilla (White) is superior to Mod Blush (Pink), I am very tempted because I actually really like the bottle it comes in, even though a lot of people are saying it looks weird.
Speaking of spending money, I have also forked out $1,700 for a car for my Reservist that will start tomorrow and last for 3 weeks.
I had initially planned to get as Honda Fit instead of the Picanto that I usually get because I figured since it's my last cycle, why not just splurge a little and get the better car. (The last time I decided to splurge on the car, I ended up getting Covid, so thankfully I am completely fine this time around). I texted the car workshop but unfortunately, they didn't have any Honda Fit available, so the boss recommended me either the Suzuki Swift or a Mazda 2.
I have been on the car rental website multiple times to look at the different cars they have, and I will always stick within a specific price range, I have seen the Suzuki Swift, which has the same rental fee as the Honda Fit, but I have never seen a Mazda 2 as an option, so I thought the Mazda 2 was one of the more expensive models and the boss was offering it to me as an alternative because the one I wanted wasn't available, so I told him I will take the Mazda 2. I made the booking about a week in advance.
On the day I was set to collect the car, which was 3 days ago, I actually went over to the workshop during my lunch time to collect it, unfortunately for me, the previous person who rented the car hadn't returned it yet, so the workshop decided to let me use another Mazda 2 that they have temporarily first until the Mazda 2 I rented was returned.
The Mazda 2 that they loaned me was a newer model, so it was actually a bit more expensive to rent, I was given the option to top up and upgrade to the newer model, but decided not to because I had already applied for a Temporary Parking Pass at my Condo under the car plate number of the car that I had rented, and I just didn't really see the point in upgrading to a newer model if my whole goal of renting the car was just to get me from Point A to Point B.
My benchmark was the Picanto that I had rented twice previously, if I can go through 2 reservist cycle with the Picanto, which happens to also be the cheapest car they had available, then the Mazda 2 that I had rented, which is slightly more expensive, should be a better drive.
So I took on the workshop's offer, drove the newer Mazda 2 back to my workplace first because I had already exceeded my lunch time, and the workshops' boss will drive the Mazda 2 that I rented over to my office to do the swap once it has been returned.
I didn't really pay too much attention to the driving quality of the newer Mazda 2, my main goal during the drive back to the office was just to make sure that I don't get into any accidents because it has been 6 months since I last drove. I almost did.
Once I got back to the office, I went to taobao lunch and then went to the office to work and eat at the same time, it helps that my boss is very chill so everything worked out great for me. About 2 hours later, the workshop boss drives over to my office to do the swap, he had actually called me when I was on the Expressway to ask me if I could make a U-Turn because the older Mazda 2 had already been returned, but it was really difficult because I am already on the Expressway, I really didn't want to have to do that, so that's how he ended up having to drive over.
When I went to the carpark, I was actually horrified at how fucking ugly the older Mazda 2 model was, it was also in pretty bad shape, there were a lot of chips everywhere and it just looked like a fucking mess, plus it also came in this really ugly light blue colour that just screamed "dated", I was actually embarrassed, even the Picanto looked better than the Mazda 2.
But I didn't say too much and did a swap, signed the paperworks and within 5 minutes, the newer Mazda 2 was driven back to the workshop and I was left with the ugly blue car. I didn't test drive it because I had to go back to the office, so once I inserted the Cash Card into the UI and mounted my Handphone Holder, I went back to the office with the new car key, which was anything but new, it was in a really bad condition as well.
Work work work until about 7pm and drove the Mazda 2 home.
The controls to adjust the side mirrors were spoilt, so I had to manually push them, which made a lot of cracking noise and was extremely worrying, the driving quality was about the same as the Picanto, the main difference is that I had to pay more for it and it was also fugly as shit. The Honda Fit that I rented when I had Covid did not drive as badly as the Mazda 2, like it was really really bad.
By the time I reached home, the sky had already gotten dark, that was when I realized that the interior lights were not working, and it just made the car feel even sadder, I mean the Picanto's interior light didn't work when I rented it the first time, but at least the workshop did make an effort to repair it before I rented it for the 2nd time, this Mazda 2 on the other hand is just garbage.
When I was in my room after I got home, I kept thinking about the newer Mazda 2 that they had loaned me earlier that day, and the more I thought about it, the more I just couldn't accept the Mazda 2 that I got, so I messaged the workshop boss and asked him if the newer Mazda 2 was available for my entire rental duration, he said it was, so I actually went down to the workshop the next day right when they opened, returned the junk Mazda 2, topped up about $230 and got my hands on the better Mazda 2.
No regrets.
The drive is so much better, the only complaint I have about the newer Mazda 2 is that the rear window heating element isn't working, so it can be a bit dangerous if the car fogs up, which means I can't turn my aircon on too strong at night otherwise I will get blinded by the condensation on the window, but aside from that, everything is great.
It brings me joy to know that I am driving that Mazda 2 into camp and not the other junk.
