I was buying some skincare stuff today. You know, the rather usual, what a girl needs. The sales consultant was very talkative - to the point of questioning my choice of skin care range. "You see, - she said, - moisturising is good for you, but you really should think about taking care of those first sights of aging now". Phew, needless to say I only see those signs in the rare moments of monthly self-loathing, and I do not discuss them with strangers. "You see, - she continued, - anti-age care not only will provide moisture, it also takes care of your other needs". This was the stage when I unwillingly started listening to her, even more unwillingly disclosed my age and let some of the concerns out. "Oh, you see, - she said, - you should definitely go for the prevention kit. I am 22 and I already use it - look how good my skin is?". And I knew it was the time to put the purchase on hold and really think of what I needed there. I mean, since when 22 year old girls are allowed to sell anti-age skin care? Why is it considered to be appropriate for sales people to appeal to your feel-bad-now with their buy-and-feel-instantly-better? And why on earth did I end up buying that prevention moisturiser, trying to persuade myself that this is a one off and it will perfectly do as a special treatment? Will serve me right for talking to strangers! Oh, and did you notice how I didn't mention a single brand name here? Very humble that Eugenia, that's why.

Mein Got, and this is the world we live in! I am 25, and I consider myself to be somewhat hip and edgy. I believe, I am still targeted as a part of the young audience, the generation of ipods, mini-coopers and those who do not necessarily remember what a VCR is. However, when I saw these, I realised that I am just old. Old and ancient and antique. And I will not "ooze the cool London attitude", nor will I ever belong to "high end fashion" - just as the ads promise. I probably won;t even fit into those, despite of being size 0 (have to be 00 nowadays)! Probably it is just time to admit that I am not that young any more and move on to some more appropriate for my age stuff.

I can never understand why you would want to dress your child as an underage lawyer. Of course, chances are that this kid is much more likely to be from a decent family; therefore, he is much more likely to end up as a lawyer - or corporate banker or business development manager anyway, so what is the point of taking the childhood from him right away? Give him lime green, canary yellow and roadworks orange, with the Sponge Bob appliqué. If the child likes it, he might just get stuck in a suit till his grave, if he does not, then it is interesting. I was dressed like that throughout my childhood - good quality boring dresses of appropriate length, reliable colours of beige, brown and grey and solid checkers and stripes instead of bratz stuff. Look at me now - no, I did not grow to be a punk, but I am still dressed like I live in Chicago in 1920: feathers and glitter and all that jazz stuff. Didn't do me any good, my point is. On the other hand, every child needs a suit - for some weddings and some funerals. So let them be now - and remember, you have to be nice to your kids, it is them who will be choosing your nursery home.

Boy, what a weekend. Long ago and far away (Christmas 2007, Gardini shop at Bellagio Mall, Las Vegas) I saw a whistling frog. A garden creature with a motion sensor built in, so every time you go by, it gives you a Hey Beautiful whistle. I haven’t felt such a desire to have something so desperately since the age of five – of course, only realising it after 6 months. So I went all over the place – mimicking the whistle in front of the sales people – but no luck whatsoever. The quest started off in Ponsonby, all fresh and posh – and finished all the way in outer suburbs, Bunnings and Mitre 10 and the Warehouse, god forbid! The closest I got to my frog was Norman the Gnome from the Warehouse, with somewhat 20 hoarse phrases, $29.95 for the crudest creature around! “Steal me – I want to travel the world!” “You better do the dishes this time – we are still cleaning up after your last visit” and “Gimme a beer, mate!” Not as sophisticated as the original frog (will probably end up mail-ordering it from Vegas anyway), but might still buy it for the sleepless cats to hang out with.