Living Life Unbuttoned

August 3rd, 2008

there’s this pair of jeans that goes by the tagline – ‘live unbuttoned’. i stared at the tagline for the longest time the other day, and gave it some thought. what does it mean to live unbuttoned?

most of us, i think, in some way or another, live our lives – be it just a small part of ourselves or in entirety – in a buttoned, stifling, closed-up state. some of us choose not to let themselves love easily for fear of getting hurt; some others have this one love of their life whom they long to touch and be close to, but have to hold themselves back because that person is not and will never be theirs. and then there are those of us who are stuck in a lifetime of forever portraying themselves as someone they are not, having to keep up appearances to meet expectations, wondering if this endless cycle of doing what they hate is ever going to end.

as for me, i have always been the type to love cautiously. the moment i start loving someone, there’s always this panicky voice at the back of my head that tells me i shouldn’t put myself so far out there. and so i quickly withdraw myself, and only love as much as i am loved. the problem with this is that if the other person is just like me, then our relationship is doomed, because neither one is ever going to love the other person unconditionally. it becomes this stunted love that won’t grow.

i’ve never actually been left by any of my boyfriends. i’ve been hurt by them, yes, but never have i been fallen out of love with, dumped for someone better, or simply left to be alone. in this aspect, i am spoiled, but i am not ignorant of the fact that it could one day happen to me. and so in a warped attempt to protect myself, i always scare myself with the idea that i’m going to be hurt; that the people i care most about can and will eventually turn around and break my heart into pieces, and then leave me to lick my wounds alone. i’ve become scared to love. i’m scared to be the one in the relationship who gives and gives and find out way too late that it’s all in vain.

and that’s why i love cautiously, because i don’t ever want to one day find myself in the situation where i love this one person with all my heart, but he leaves me, and i never saw it coming in the first place.

i would like to tell you that i am no longer like this today, but the sad truth is that i still am very much like that. i’m still this panicked girl who holds back from loving the other person more than he loves me. it’s selfish and it’s unfair, i know. especially since i have this great guy who loves me and forgives me no matter how many times i have hurt him in the past, and always opens his arms to me when i realize i’ve done something wrong. and even when i refuse to accept that i am wrong, he comes to get me anyway. he comes to save me from the bathtub, or comes to wrap his arms around me when i’m seething in self-righteousness in the other room.

i have this great guy, and yet i love him with buttons on. why am i still holding back? i think it’s about time that i love – and live – unbuttoned :) i can’t and won’t have him think that i love him less than he loves me, because the truth is i love him so much more than that. i love him so much it hurts. he has to know that. and i will prove it to him. i’ll prove to him that I’m in this for the long run, and that i’ll work just as hard at this as he is. i want him to know that he’s the one who made me love and live unbuttoned.

hi baby. are you reading this? you’re the one who made me live unbuttoned. i love you :)

The Great Columbia Clock is still ticking away. i have so little time left. when i am there, i am going to be so scared. scared because i don’t know what’s happening back home, scared that Martian will meet someone else he likes more and leave me. scared that i’ll be lonely. but then i’ll come back to this post, read it, remember how i felt at this point in time, and i’ll be better again.

the jeans that Martian and i are wearing in this post are the Levi’s® 501® :)

Entry Filed under: Advertorial, Musings

88 Comments Add your own

  • 1. elizabeth  |  August 3rd, 2008 at 2:52 am

    i used to be just like you in that i wouldn’t let myself be loved less than i loved, until i realised that pride and my own strange insecurities weren’t enough justification for the self-destruction and boredom that kind of relationship can bring. it’s unfair to both yourself and to the person you love to deny your feelings like that:) you deserve so much more.

  • 2. Artificially Timtam  |  August 3rd, 2008 at 3:00 am

    haha familiar painting.
    i agree with your unbuttoned thing. daring to fall and getting caught is better than always standing and wondering what if. if you do fall anyway, it wasn’t right to begin with.

  • 3. nyrac  |  August 3rd, 2008 at 3:44 am

    “some others have this one love of their life whom they long to touch and be close to, but have to hold themselves back because that person is not and will never be theirs. ”

    sigh. so true.

    i wish you nothing but the best in life. if there ever was a love that i wanted to model mine after, it would be this. but then again every relationship is unique in its own sense. i am still searching for mine.

    there’s this old chinese line in one of the famous poems that roughly translates as “if this love is meant to be for long, then some separation will do it no harm.”

  • 4. nyuk  |  August 3rd, 2008 at 4:01 am

    <3

  • 5. nyuk  |  August 3rd, 2008 at 4:06 am

    well said :)

    and your relationship with Martian is beautiful!

  • 6. carol  |  August 3rd, 2008 at 4:25 am

    there are many times when you have to consciously choose to love a person. fact is that we will always get hurt by the ones we love. but it is when the going gets tough and when we don’t “feel” like loving the person that we have to make a conscious choice to do so. love can be a long and arduous journey but i really believe that it is also unmatched in sheer beauty… maybe even ugly beauty, if that makes any sense…?

    SIGH i am not making sense it is 425am why am i still awake when i have to be up by 8? it was lovely meeting you su ann ^^

  • 7. Nat  |  August 3rd, 2008 at 5:58 am

    It’s funny, you scared that Martian will meet someone else he likes more and leave you. But it’s the opposite for me.

    He cried for me, saying he loves me too much too much. Since then, I realised that he is the ONE for me, he made the effort to call me every single day, make a promise to meet me every 2 months, We have been together for 1 and half years :).

    He is my first, and he teaches me how to love and how to be loved. You know what? I’m gonna love this man forever :)

    The truth is, it’s very hard to maintain when you’re in LDR. Do smtg about it, and you’ll be ok :)

  • 8. Michelle  |  August 3rd, 2008 at 6:13 am

    I’m lonely too. Very.

  • 9. k0k  |  August 3rd, 2008 at 6:21 am

    Not that your emotions and thoughts aren’t genuine or anything, but the… um… at the end…

    This is an advertorial, isn’t it?

    It’s kind of weird commenting about a serious relationship issue in the context of a tagline someone came up with in a boardroom to sell jeans by association with some pseudo-profound aphorism with nudist undertones targeted to link said product with living life unbridled… so I’ll just pop in next time and comment properly then :)

    Sex sells. Nice back.

  • 10. Mabel  |  August 3rd, 2008 at 7:59 am

    Truth is, long distance relationship is difficult to maintain. I am scared that my bf will find someone who is better when I am away from Singapore. But we have been in long distance for 1 1/2 years and I can feel that our relationship is growing stronger.

    Don’t worry. I am sure you and Martian will be fine.

  • 11. takemoto  |  August 3rd, 2008 at 9:35 am

    Your post strikes a tone with me and I can’t help it but feel very jealous of the situation you’re having, though, in a good way. >.<

    I started to blog after a very bad relationship incident happened to me, and from writing a diary, I was getting more and more misunderstood by people with all the things that I do, like holding back, ignoring someone i really, really liked, all the wrong things you would do to get someone. Then i realised that all i did was wrong and nothing i could do would turn things back, so i opened up and it helped.

    Apparently things got better after i went away on studies and distance made the tension ease, and now i’m still on talking terms with her through IMs, but she never knew where I went. :p

    Things changed alot since then, but all in all, its not too bad. Just the regret of not doing enough keeps haunting me, and I have become cautious with relationships. Though i really wish i could find someone that could make me have the same feelings again.

    Seriously, distance can either be good or bad in a relationship. It’s how they both make things work. Nobody can predict the future, but what I know is if you don’t put an effort into keeping it, it won’t hold. Like Mabel, hers had gone stronger; so think positively!!

    All the best in Colombia and with Martian! ^^

  • 12. vvens  |  August 3rd, 2008 at 10:22 am

    hahaha you know you will soon have LDR like i had and going to have again. its really not easy to maintain especially when i cannot travel over to look for him and that he can only come back during summer holidays. its really not easy, it has been 1 year and 8 months included times he is in Malaysia since he first left but hey, we are not growing stronger although there was obstacles. hahaha. but aiyah, like i always said think at the bright side.

    i’m not copying this from the commenter above, Mable but true leh.

    hehe. all the best to you and Martian :)

  • 13. kei  |  August 3rd, 2008 at 10:31 am

    eh why u and martian so sweeet one haha! :P
    allllllll the best :) and and and i still think u guys define a good relationship cuz right, ur not too clingy with each other. and and u have ur own life he has his own :D

  • 14. real_cranium  |  August 3rd, 2008 at 10:47 am

    holy moses.yummy pau.

    heh.

  • 15. KY  |  August 3rd, 2008 at 10:56 am

    why are your fingers so aliennnn?

  • 16. Kito  |  August 3rd, 2008 at 12:47 pm

    There is one thing that I sincerely believe in, that is, the worst thing than to fall in love and got hurt is to have never loved truthfully and unconditionally when you had the chance to… In my philosophy of life, love is a very sacred feeling that unless you give unconditionally, it is impossible for you to fully appreciate and enjoy the unconditional love given to you by the other party…

    P/s:”What doesn’t break a relationship just makes it stronger.” – a saying I believe sincerely. So girl, there is nothing to worry about when you go abroad. Just learn to trust.

  • 17. sharkling  |  August 3rd, 2008 at 1:40 pm

    a recent turn of events in my life made me relate to ur post so well. whereas u’ve pledged to live and love unbuttoned, i have sadly chosen to do the opposite.

    i’ve entered into each of my relationships with a naive optimism. the last one i was initially cautious given my bad track record – even going so far as to suggesting a fling – but things turned out as they as always have: badly.

    you see, i’ve had a problem with depression my whole life and i don’t can’t even pinpoint the roots. apparently, no one could put up with my depressed nature and they’d give up even though they had apparently tried their best to love me. and in this last relationship that just ended, i really did see no signs of it coming. it was all roses just a month ago and suddenly he said he didn’t love me anymore because i wasn’t improving and wasn’t living up to his expectations.

    but that is not to pour cold water on ur optimistic sentiments. i’m trying to resign to the fact that i may never find someone who would accept me for me in the long run coz depression is not something you can eliminate completely. its an essential part of me. but you have things going great for you; and so, there’s no reason to hold back in loving him for fear of being rejected.

    love is conditional but some of us are luckier coz we can meet those conditions without breaking a sweat, while others aren’t so lucky.

  • 18. esther  |  August 3rd, 2008 at 2:50 pm

    LDR isn’t going to be easy especially when u re down n u wish he’ll be there or when he’s down and u’ll wish u were with him but as much as lots of ppl say LDR is not possible etc etc..

    it is possible as i m speaking from experience. =) it’s tough especially with the misunderstandings of tones etc… but it is possible. both parties have to put in the effort.

    just hang in there and it will be worth it all at the end of the day. =)

  • 19. chimpanzee  |  August 3rd, 2008 at 3:18 pm

    I felt the same way too.I’ve never been in a relationship before and have no experiences at all coz I afraid to love and afraid end up being hurt.I know it’s not easy to find a person that truly loves you and you love.So good luck to you and Martian.If both of you really love each other,distance shouldn’t be a problem for you :)

  • 20. sarah  |  August 3rd, 2008 at 4:42 pm

    omg! i totally understand how you feel! i am exactly like that with guys…although ive never been hurt, because im always too afrid to love. quite sad really. im glad that you are going to try and live and love unbuttoned! i hope that one day i too will be able to find that guy who will make me overcome my fear of getting hurt! good luck :)

  • 21. pinkshirtz  |  August 3rd, 2008 at 5:19 pm

    yeap … i think the hardest part is not being to be loved at all because of certain reasons, age especially. I once loved a very old lady and she loved me back. She turned me into who i am today. Traces of her still lingers in my speech or actions.

    Button or not, is entirely up to us most of the time. Sometimes there are side effects that we must bear from overexposing ourselves to others and i guess we cannot give up just because of that.

    So much for the drama. I’m glad i’m with my current gf now. Everything’s straight forward. Loving it!

    P.S: nice jeans … nice backs too!

  • 22. foreverjas  |  August 3rd, 2008 at 5:52 pm

    wish u and martian all the best! so sweet :)
    jia you pau!

  • 23. Joanne K  |  August 3rd, 2008 at 7:25 pm

    Very well-written. I can’t believe that you can write so profoundly on a topic even when its an advert =)

    To love unconditionally is to love without holding back, to give your 100%, to launch yourself into something without finding a backdoor. I’ve been struggliing with that. It’s hard to strip ourselves from our own selfishness sometimes but that’s what true love is – to love another beyond ourselves.

    p/s: Nice curves and nice back btw.

  • 24. Klang gal  |  August 3rd, 2008 at 8:22 pm

    What you wrote nearly made me cry. My bf of 2 and a half years just dumped me out of the blue and he said it’s because he just doesn’t love me anymore. I gave my all but ended up getting hurt. People say my relationship with him is just puppy love as I’m only 18 . But I really loved him and still love him.

    Maybe it’s wise to “button up” sometimes.

  • 25. kennysia  |  August 3rd, 2008 at 8:28 pm

    Those are not pinkpau’s fingers. Those are pinkpau’s flippers!

  • 26. grace  |  August 3rd, 2008 at 9:30 pm

    Su Ann you must believe in you and your bf! Haha, I think with all the hard work you all sure can go through anything

    Well said about the living life unbuttoned! Nowadays people just are too protective over themselves that sometimes it becomes selfish, and always having a barrier with other people…

  • 27. zewt  |  August 3rd, 2008 at 9:44 pm

    you’re still young… i am sure there will be many chance to unbutton or button… depending on what u want.

  • 28. kreazi  |  August 3rd, 2008 at 10:29 pm

    Su Ann, Su Ann… don’t go around holding back your feelings. Not only will you end up hurting the other party, you’ll get burnt too. I remember many eons ago, my ex boyfriend was the “overly wise” guy who thought I was still very young and naive about love/relationship. He tried so hard to hold back his feelings for me, I suppose he was really afraid of falling too deeply that there’s no turning back. We were in LDR too, which made it all the more difficult for him – whenever he needed me, I wasn’t around for him and vice versa. He suffered for not being able to express himself naturally… and I was made to suffer too for thinking that my bf wasn’t so into me. Fast forward to present… well, he really, and I mean REALLY regretted his decision back then but we simply couldn’t turn back the clock now. So.. please, love wholeheartedly. There is no point in loving someone if you had to be on guard and hold back all the time. Keep on living unbuttoned from now onwards okie :)

  • 29. Keong  |  August 3rd, 2008 at 10:38 pm

    who’s that on the second pic? :)

  • 30. fern  |  August 3rd, 2008 at 10:40 pm

    i like how you’re post always feel so relatable :)

    i’ve never had to feel heartbreak either because of a break up.
    i’m with this awesome guy who loves me so much that i’m sure it’s ‘unbuttoned’ :D
    but my love is still – buttoned. and i want to so badly to just unbutton it so we’ll both be buttonless. But i’m afraid the pants will fall, and i’m terrified of being bottomless…

    or something like that xD too many analogies

  • 31. Fu Han  |  August 3rd, 2008 at 11:06 pm

    “But what about the promises you have made but have not met?”

    I just felt like saying that. Sorry.

  • 32. Mei  |  August 3rd, 2008 at 11:30 pm

    wishing u n martian happiness together =) prolly suet li and barry would be a good example in LDR.

  • 33. Jason  |  August 4th, 2008 at 12:15 am

    love with all your heart and accept what the consquence is for you. you are all young to enjoy all these or to experience all these you will treasure all in your life. Is the pictures of real you? then you have a good figure. drooling already myself. ; )

  • 34. aunt  |  August 4th, 2008 at 12:20 am

    your pics are artistic! what a kickass kickstart to embarking on a free-spirited love life! it’ll be the start of cold weather when you arrive here….yes, you need to keep the jeans on! hahahaha..

  • 35. prim and proper aunt  |  August 4th, 2008 at 12:23 am

    what i meant earlier is “some layers of protection serve you well in life both literally and figuratively”. open your heart but keep to who you are, balance spirit & self and good life is all about balance, no?

  • 36. wenqi  |  August 4th, 2008 at 12:26 am

    lim su ann! i’m also very scared :(

    i love you also…

    <3

  • 37. Huai Bin  |  August 4th, 2008 at 12:28 am

    Yeah, that’s the way I got about it too. I love to the max and if it’s not reciprocated in a similar quantitative measure, it’s okay as well. Like the saying goes, it’s better to have loved and lost then never to have loved at all. All the best Su Ann!

  • 38. tze  |  August 4th, 2008 at 3:21 am

    why are we so alike are u sure we weren’t twins in our past lives wtf

  • 39. pinkpau  |  August 4th, 2008 at 4:16 am

    elizabeth : you’re so right about the pride and insecurities. that’s my problem too :)

    artificially : haih the fall is quite hard to heal from sometimes

    nyrac : thank u for that quote :) i needed that. and i wish you all the best in finding that love you are looking for

    nyuk : thank uuu :)

    carol : hahaha so cheem your comment! i is not getting its. eh i barely got to see u on the 2nd day of msls! where were you!

    nat : your story is making me smile :)))

    michelle : *HUGS* :( whats wrong…

    kok : haha not you too. well to put it simply this is a subject that i feel very strongly about. the tagline of the jeans coincidentally fits the topic. in no way was this a post that tells you to go out there and buy the jeans. so this is more a sponsored post than an advertorial. if i remove the last line of this post, it doesnt affect the rest of the content in any way.

    mabel : i hope so too :) and i wish you all the best in yours

    takemoto : do you know that it’s such a natural thing for us to ignore the person we have feelings for..! i guess it’s our inner shyness. and also fear that we will screw things up if we made any moves. hehe i’m going to columbia not colombia! colombia is a very different place.. :D

    vvens : i hope that is a typo and you meant “now growing stronger” instead of “not growing stronger”..!!

    kei : why do you keep saying that! hahaha i think this is like the 4th time or something :P

    real cranium : eat me not :\

    ky : easier to phone home!

    kito : i totally agree with you :) i would not wish the absence of true love in the lives of the people i hated most. haih.

    sharkling : i want you to know that i believe totally and completely that you will one day find your soulmate – that one person who is made for you and will stick by you and hold your hand through all your ups and downs. and it will be the most fulfilling thing you will ever find :) i have a friend who has also been depressed for the longest time, and even her friends cant take the emotional burden of being there for her, but totally by chance, she’s found this amazing guy who has a heart of gold and loves her so much. he is always there for her unconditionally, and is so encouraging and accomodating towards her that she is slowly becoming a happier person right before our eyes :) i have no doubt in my mind you will one day find yours too :) but on the other hand.. sometimes we need to be relentlessly strong for ourselves when no one else is, simply cos we owe it to ourselves to not miss out on the opportunity of living a happy life :)

    esther : misunderstanding of tones … haha that is so true. sigh. yeah i know it’s not going to be easy. im bracing myself

    chimpanzee : my friend, you dont know what you are missing out on :) you must open up your heart and love. baby steps if you must. just dont miss out on this absolutely thrilling and wonderful thing called love :)

    sarah : and i wish you all the best with loving unbuttoned.. ;)

    pinkshirtz : age is an impediment to love that can easily be overcome, i think :) but i’m happy you’re happy now

    foreverjas : thank uuuu

    joanne k : thank u :) this is not so much an advert as it is a sponsored post, so i got a lot of freedom to write it. yes i totally agree that to truly love another, we have to love beyond ourselves. it’s so hard because we’re naturally self-protecting creatures. and also proud ones. sigh. here’s to us and all the people in the world with the same problem.. :) may we one day love fully and unconditionally.. and may those lucky men know how lucky they are!!! :P

    klang gal : i’m so sorry :( i hope that you find the strength to pick yourself up and love again. we are never too young to love, but you will find that as you grow older, your capacity of love becomes bigger and bigger. so dont tie yourself down to something that cannot be saved, but instead, open up yourself to the many, many opportunities for love that will definitely come your way as you live your life :)

    kennysia : it is my PAW!

    grace : ya :( we can all be a little bit self-protecting like that. i think it’s because during the times we put others before us, we are sometimes disappointed or taken for granted. and so we learn to put ourselves before others in order to not feel the same hurt another time.

    zewt : sometimes the tendency to button or unbutton sticks with us if we dont realize it!

    kreazi : your ex boyfriend sounds like my martian before we started going out. i’m so sorry that relationship of yours didnt work out :( but it’s such a good lesson to learn, and it’s better to learn this earlier rather than later. now you will know how to coax love out from someone when you meet another person who is like your ex boyfriend :)

    keong : me! the first is martian

    fern : thank u fern :) it’s also good to know that so many people go through exactly what i go through, or the total opposite! haha your analogies are funny. i think sometimes it helps to think about the amount and magnitude love that you are getting, and then the amt of love you are giving back in return. our inner conscience will kick into place :) but most of the time it just takes that moment where you realize just what an extremely wonderful person we have, and that we want to make him/her happy too :)

    fu han : HAHAHAHA WHY ARE YOU LIKE THAT

    mei : yes they are :))) i also have these friends who were in a 4 yr LDR (they met online, even!) and are getting married very soon :) so inspiring.

    jason : haha of course it’s me. but just the 2nd picture. the first one is martian. thank you for drooling i guess :P it’s a compliment, right?

    aunt : hahahhaa i took the first picture but somehow it’s not as nice as the picture that my boyfriend took of me. literally and figuratively, eh :D i will keep that in mind, miss prudence!

    wenqi : SNIFF WWQ I MISS YOU T____T I LOVE YOU TOO T___T

    huai bin : wow you are truly strong. i say that i want to love unbuttoned, but i think if i were hurt or let down (ie broken up with) and never saw it coming, i would be devastated. T__T

    tze : well we ARE both from youknowwhere, went to the same school, dated the same kinda guys…

  • 40. Michelle  |  August 4th, 2008 at 5:26 am

    I’m surrounded by people, yet I feel this way. It’s probably the homesickness. :( After going back to KL for two weeks, I suddenly feel very homesick. It did not happen during the start, but of all months, it did now.

  • 41. Simon Seow  |  August 4th, 2008 at 7:12 am

    I can’t wear 501. Too tight for me. Sigh. I need to lose some weight.

  • 42. cher wee  |  August 4th, 2008 at 8:56 am

    it’s going to be a good and stable relationship, don’t worry.

  • 43. naeboo  |  August 4th, 2008 at 10:07 am

    u r still very young, not even in ur 20’s.

    the day will come when u will love someone unconditionally. and it wont matter if he does too. or whether u love him more or he does u.

    that’s when u know u have truly loved.

    even if it hurts.

  • 44. k0k  |  August 4th, 2008 at 10:23 am

    Ugh, I’m going to sound like a bad guy but here goes,

    I have great respect for you as a writer – I really do. At the same time, I know you’re a good enough writer that you can simply work any topic into any given context (like how my English teacher used to tell me; If they ask you to write about a coconut tree, and you don’t know enough to do that, write about that goat tied to the coconut tree). The start of this post felt that way to me. I ignored it and tried to focus on what you’re really saying in the post, and I succeeded – to a degree. Then, I saw the small little P.S. at the end that almost said “April Fool!” to me. Just yesterday, a blogger whom I have great respect for said to me this; “Quaintly’s just one big ad space these days”.

    Again, I still have great respect for what you write about but there are things which you can’t help losing when the stain of an advertorial or a sponsored post is tacked to it. Writing a sponsored post, regardless of the freedom you get, would still limit you. For example, you can never say anything bad about the product. There might not be an actual breach of integrity but dammit there’s some corporate magnate’s hand on it. And I can’t help but see that hand when I read this sponsored post.

    Okay, just to break the tension… “Next up: Finger lickin’ good! Pinkpau dishes on her sex life!”

  • 45. k0k  |  August 4th, 2008 at 10:31 am

    there’s this fried chicken that goes by the tagline – ‘finger lickin’ good’. i stared at the tagline for the longest time the other day, and gave it some thought. what does it mean to lick our fingers after eating fried chicken?

    most of us, i think, in some way or another, lick our finger – be it just a finger on our hand or in entirety – to get that last big of greasy chicken goodness into our mouths. some of us lick our fingers after sex.”

  • 46. sheon  |  August 4th, 2008 at 10:56 am

    if you really really love someone…………giving it all is a risk worth taking.

  • 47. Jillian K  |  August 4th, 2008 at 12:58 pm

    I’ve had same thoughts like you do, the fear of loving someone unconditionally would hurt in the end. I’ve come to learn that taking the risk has only made him realise how much I do love him.

    So I guess what I want to tell you is that regardless if your going miles away from Martian, what you guys share together that nobody else will know is most important than what you guys do with others.

    That’s the beauty of one’s love.
    Best of luck to you, my friend.

  • 48. Daryl  |  August 4th, 2008 at 12:59 pm

    My first time in here but I LIKE!

    Nice jeans shot btw.

  • 49. Anonymous  |  August 4th, 2008 at 1:41 pm

    I’ve had a relationshp with a boy who loved me, and who I loved. And we promised that we’d end up together (forever), when we were done with studies. And while all was not always right, I still believed when he said he’s always love me, although at the corner of my mind, I knew that could not be so, but I put those doubts aside and dared to hope. Later, he dumped me and went out with another girl and I was devastated. I’m dating an awesome guy now, and I love him to bits. He’s been so forgiving of all my faults in the past… but I wonder when the magic will end and he won’t be able to take it anymore and just leave… and I’ll know who to blame. Getting your act together is harder than saying it. Deja vu. I’m waiting for a ball to fall and I’m afraid to unbutton, because there’s no point unbuttoning unless it’s with the person you’ll end up having a future with, and currently, that is full of obstacles and doubts.

    P.S: Nice back. Artistic too.

  • 50. Jeff  |  August 4th, 2008 at 2:52 pm

    That’s the Levi’s® 501®? Oooo.. Why everyone has that, and I don’t? Pfft! LOL

    btw.. that’s martian and u? So curvy wan ar?
    *Note: That’s what I notice after reading the whole post*

  • 51. vvens  |  August 4th, 2008 at 3:54 pm

    oh shit. hahaha sorry that was a typo. i mean NOW growing stronger :) muahahahaha.

  • 52. Jasmine  |  August 4th, 2008 at 4:34 pm

    God loves us unconditionally and therefore can set us free to love unconditionally. We can be secure in HIS LOVE. :)

  • 53. Kevin Chan  |  August 4th, 2008 at 6:02 pm

    After watching mulitiple reruns of raunchy Levi’s Unbuttoned ads at Singfest for two whole days straight, I see them again on your blog, Su Ann. ARRRGH!

    (: All the best in Columbia! I’m back in Singapore already!

    Visit if you can!

  • 54. hui wen  |  August 4th, 2008 at 6:24 pm

    No one quite does ads like you, su ann. :)

    Loving your waist, it’s so tiny! T_T

  • 55. thegeekinpink  |  August 4th, 2008 at 7:10 pm

    eh why you so skinny wan!

    sigh you know my love story :) and despite what some may say, my LDR strengthen my relationship with Taugey in more ways than one. so be positive :) and i know you and martian can get through this. somemore he so rich can claim airline bonus wan!

    sigh why like this

  • 56. dani  |  August 4th, 2008 at 9:39 pm

    Hello Su Ann, you are one of the popular bloggers that has significant number of readers.

    Do you mind to write abit of the Draft Kuala Lumpur City Plan 2020 issue in your blog? Just a suggestion ^.^

    http://popteevee.popfolio.net/content/DraftKL2020Plan_Flyer_en.pdf

    The dateline for public response to the draft is 31 August 2008.

    Cheers

  • 57. paulineyap  |  August 4th, 2008 at 10:13 pm

    hey girl, you have a great blog. I enjoyed reading your entries. almost everytime. and i’m happy for you.

    you rock =)

  • 58. abby  |  August 5th, 2008 at 4:10 am

    i know dis is dense but su ann why r u so hot -__-

  • 59. boo  |  August 5th, 2008 at 7:46 am

    I am loving buttonedly, cautiously, because falling and not being able to get up again sucks. Not when the future for us is so uncertain (my boyfriend and i). I’m always waiting for the other shoe to drop. I am scared to get too happy in case something horrible happens. I long for the day that I can love him unbuttonedly.

  • 60. Gabriel  |  August 5th, 2008 at 11:40 am

    When u are out there, this is the best time to test both of your relationship, if really go burst, then you will know that he is not the right person to live unbuttoned…

  • 61. eyeris  |  August 5th, 2008 at 1:26 pm

    if you think about it, this is actually one of the most suitably noncommercial way to write an advert on a blog. It’s personal, it’s profound, and it’s reflects YOU more than the product itself.

    After all, if most people can be inspired to write posts or articles about a song they just heard or a quote they heard from a movie, why can’t one be inspired to write something based on a tag line of a commercial?

    It’s an advert, yes, but at least its worth reading, unlike others that just sing praises of the product but sound artificial and fake.

  • 62. jessica  |  August 5th, 2008 at 2:06 pm

    Hey, i wish u all the best in yr studies and life abroad..
    Nothing comes easy in life…
    With perseverance and remember to never give up, u’ll overcome it together with yr loved one :)
    Take care!

  • 63. UncleJosh  |  August 5th, 2008 at 2:52 pm

    still very much impressed and astonished with how you can interpret such simple tagline into such elaborated post…

    oh well… i guess you’ve always have your way around words and phrases… and thus you’re who you’re today ^_^
    hugs hugs

  • 64. annabella  |  August 5th, 2008 at 3:59 pm

    hey there, i’ve been reading your blog and most of the time i don’t comment, but for this post, even though it is just an advertorial, i’m amazed at how well written it is.

    i used to live life unbuttoned but i loved with all my buttons on. i used to think that when i get into a relationship, i have to make sure that my boyfriend will love me more than how much i love him. in a way, i used to be so cautious in love. in other aspects of life, i can be adventurous no matter how challenging life gets, i savour it.

    sigh… living love life unbuttoned brings more hurt than living just life unbuttoned…but it also brings an abundance of joy and happiness when all goes well don’t you think?

  • 65. anthea  |  August 5th, 2008 at 5:05 pm

    hi! i wish u and martian all the best too! LDR wouldn’t be a problem as long as both of you take the effort to keep the relationship going, which i am sure both of you would. =) so don’t worry too much! ;)

  • 66. joycezhi  |  August 5th, 2008 at 5:37 pm

    i’ve been an avid reader of your blog for a pretty long time but i’ve never leave a comment…i’m always amazed by how well you write…and how each words just touches my heart…n i’m amazed by your maturity at such a young age…
    i particularly love this post because it’s very close to my heart…after i broke up with my ex 5 years back…i’ve never dated anyone or liked anyone or open myself enough to love again…and this post somehow enlighten me…that as much as i’m afraid to be hurt again…i should really open up and give it a try…to er..live unbuttoned!

    thanks!

  • 67. sze  |  August 5th, 2008 at 7:17 pm

    YOWZA

  • 68. MIchelle  |  August 5th, 2008 at 7:33 pm

    And Su Ann, how come last time your posts always say how fat you are and this and that…

    but you’re so very SKINNY!

  • 69. ap  |  August 5th, 2008 at 7:44 pm

    pinkpau, i can feel that u put so much heart into all your words, advertorial or not. i really liked the NZN post how u wove that into your personal life…. it felt so intimate, but it does boil down to the fact that you’re selling sth and that is not always palatable to the pple who com here seeking…..the truth about you? sometimes i wonder, and feel bad for wondering (because of some prejudice :p), how could u have so much faith in a particular product, or brand but wadahell u only done so many ads so far and i understand ont the principle that you are being selective and endorse what you would choose as a consumer….. but this post is one of those rare posts where i felt i had stumbled on something precious, like being one of the lucky few let in on a secret supposedly between two persons, yet im struck by this queasy feeling when i saw THE LINE i wonder if people saw it coming it was just genuinely surprising for me but but but i still believe in it and i remain a believer in you but not in the product hehehe

  • 70. aunt snoopy  |  August 5th, 2008 at 11:25 pm

    i am baffled!! what password lerr for the latest posts? does this spell the end of my kepohjeeness? educate me! otherwise i will die of curiosity..email me or sth..and make it quick!

  • 71. aunt big time 'mou liu'  |  August 6th, 2008 at 2:15 am

    still not layan me yet. wats brewing? exposure of the ‘malevolent one’ or sth? hmmm ..maybe u din read my comments here….gotta email u, then u cant abaikan aku..*evil laff * aheahahaeahae

  • 72. Samantha Poh  |  August 6th, 2008 at 6:33 am

    i couldn’t have done an advertorial the way u do it.

    love someone ‘unbuttoned’. live life unbuttoned!

    u’re so brilliant!

  • 73. ria  |  August 6th, 2008 at 9:02 am

    dear su ann, i honestly don’t care if this is an advert or not. bottomline is, you write beautifully and from the heart. thanks for another wonderful read. i do hope that an LDR would be the last thing to get between you and your Martian. mwah :)

    p.s. love your hair!

  • 74. j o l e n e  |  August 6th, 2008 at 5:49 pm

    great idea on the ad, im also like you in relationships, only slightly different. take care =)

  • 75. vialentino  |  August 6th, 2008 at 6:04 pm

    take care and get better….

  • 76. Clara  |  August 6th, 2008 at 11:04 pm

    Su Ann, I’ve chanced upon your blog through a recommendation by a friend and the first thing that struck me was the similarity of the situations we fall into. Perhaps it’s just human nature, to fall into the same traps, for many people here seem to relate to you too.

    What surprised me was the number of people who agreed (blindly, in my opinion) with you. That was a beautiful piece you wrote but the thing is, Su Ann, you’ve never been hurt before. You’ve never had your essence, your very hope in life sucked out of you and been subjected to such despair that it took every ounce of your remaining breath to pick yourself up and lick your wounds.

    Perhaps I’ve grown cynical because of these experiences because I used to think like you. I lived unbutton once, after my first world fell apart. I just don’t think it can happen again – it’s all about self-preservation.

    As a girl, talking to another girl whom I see so much of reflected in me, I just hope you’ll keep my words in mind. I wish you the very best with Martian.

  • 77. Liz  |  August 7th, 2008 at 12:11 am

    you write your advertorials (or sponsored posts) so well that sometimes I can’t even tell that it’s one … o.O

    and oh pinkpau why did u delete ur password-protected posts! they were up yesterday.. (not that any of us can read it hehe)

    i believe that we all deserve to love ‘unbuttoned’ as well, and be loved the same way. but like clara says in the comment above mine, some people arent as lucky as u … =( I’m one of *those* unlucky ones who have loved wholly before, and been abandoned like a pair of unwanted jeans that went out of fashion … and after that, you sorta learn to love yourself FIRST and put your needs/wants/fears above everything else, cos if u love openly and let your heart go wild — who’s going to take care of your heart, besides yourself, right?

    sigh. sometimes things just *shouldn’t* be this complicated, esp. for people our age. :/

  • 78. Silas.L  |  August 7th, 2008 at 12:54 am

    We were so much in love. We left e airport together, she towards shining Stanford & i, across e atlantic for stuffy Cambridge. It was e true oceanic LDR.We stuck fastidiously to e timetable of webcams, internet phone-calls & mails in e 1st mnth. In e 3rd we spoke of longingness, yearning & of planned visits bwt continents. I realised i missed a week’s worth of communications when i finished assignments in e 6th. Sporadic calls ensued for e 7th mnth. In e 9th i woke up to e fact that we haven’t spoken for e whole of e 8th.

    E dream ended when i opened a parcel wif her engagement ring in it during e 11th.

    Would a minute have mattered? No, probably not. Possibily even two minutes wld b ok. Five minutes wasn’t a crime. We’d hit ten minutes, reaching past a couple of hours along e way. And time stretched.
    That’s when e parcel arrives.

    Thus, no excuses. None at all. For once you have a good excuse, e bad excuses will tag along seamlessly.

    I hope your parcel never arrives.

  • 79. zewt  |  August 7th, 2008 at 11:47 pm

    by the way, if that second pic is you, i think you might wanna check for scoliosis.

  • 80. ysl  |  August 8th, 2008 at 12:30 pm

    hello michelle, there’s something in the world we called photoshop…dont u realise that su ann ’s arm look like it’s been chopped off…

  • 81. jolene  |  August 8th, 2008 at 1:07 pm

    I can relate to you…
    i am currently in a 4.5 years r/s and doing LDR…
    i used to hold back because i was afraid to be hurt (i was hurt in the past), but this guy has shown me unconditionally that no matter what happened in the past, stays in the past and continues loving me even though i push him away at times.

    If you both love each other unconditionally, LDR would be no barrier. After all, the entire world is much closer now with the internet =) stay strong and optimistic! LDR is no easy game, but it will be because you’re the one controlling the game =)

  • 82. Cindee  |  August 8th, 2008 at 11:00 pm

    Dear pinkpau,
    I been reading your blog anonymously for quite some time.. i love the emo post or the personal post you write. all so very true.
    i hope ur LDR work out in the long run, i know mine do.
    Best of luck~

  • 83. chm  |  August 9th, 2008 at 7:03 pm

    pau… i wannna eat u! muahahahaha… jus dat martian will laser beam my head off….crap

  • 84. sy  |  August 9th, 2008 at 10:33 pm

    first time to comment though i’ve been checking our blog when i was in m’sia. im japanese and now i am back in my countr

  • 85. sy  |  August 9th, 2008 at 11:04 pm

    oops got cut off(embarrassed!)
    well anyway,i totally agree with you about “fear of getting hurt” and “withdraw”,i myself often try not to be into deep until i can be sure of being loved enough.
    i was like that,and maybe still i am, but by meeting up with the one who accept me as who i am,i have been changed.
    you are so lucky to find the one in this world,and having a good heart to realize your own will to give,to LOVE the one.
    given and loved are great,that will give you strength and happiness.
    but maybe i can say, to love and give are greater than that.
    i wish someday to be a person who can give more of selfless love to the loved ones :)

  • 86. ahlost  |  August 14th, 2008 at 5:50 pm

    maybe someday I should “live unbuttoned” too :)

  • 87. anonymous  |  August 20th, 2008 at 12:21 pm

    sigh I guess I’m the only stupid one who loves unconditionally and just keeps getting hurt over and over. I guess I must learn to live “buttoned” instead.

  • 88. reading materials. «&hellip  |  December 18th, 2008 at 10:30 pm

    [...] go awww… only to find out in the end that it was an advertorial. =( Very potong stim. Example here.The girls do write well [...]

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Su Ann

cam!
    Su Ann is a 20 year old Malaysian jabberwocky currently studying in New York. Still an optimist with a penchant for pessimism and shoe shopping.
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    Contact at : quitequaintly[at]gmail[dot]com

Quaintly.net

    Quaintly is how I'd like to live my life, which would be quite like a movie, or a mellow book. This blog eschews capitalization because it is irrelevant unless used for proper nouns; but sometimes even when used for proper nouns, it is irrelevant as well.
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