Each day gets harder!

I don't know about everyone else, but this project is getting increasingly harder. I am a make-up brush collector (weird - I know, but whatever!). At the end of each month, I head over to Sephora and buy myself a make-up brush. I call it a treat to myself for working so hard this month. However, this project is breaking my tradition! So Friday came and I headed over to Sephora, but all I could do was look but not buy! Same goes for Memorial Weekend Sale shopping. As my girlfriends shop, all I could do was try and watch. The good part is that I am saving my credit card and my checkbook from the end of the month pains, but it breaks my heart to leave my favorite store without a BRUSH! Enough of venting...

I hope everyone knows by know what happen in Sichuan - an earthquake that left millions of people homeless and thousands of people killed. As I was reading up on news about it, I stumbled on an articled by the Associated Press, "Quake brings rare freedom for journalists in China". This article is saying that the earthquake is providing journalists with freedom to report about China (namely the earthquake) and to publish photos of the destruction and pain residents of Sichuan are facing right now. If freedom of press is being expressed in Sichuan right now, what other types of freedom will come with it? Especially with the Beijing Olympics coming up in a few months, will China relax its grips? We can definitely see that China has relaxed its fashion constrains in the last 10-15 years by allowing for "fashion" to take the place of the Communist jackets. Will Western influences play a bigger role like in the Japanese fashion industry after the Earthquake in 1923 (Kondo)? How will Western influences change China's policy in the next couple of years because of the aid given to China at the moment to combat the devastation of the Earthquake?

However, Western influences tend to take over once it claims victory over the country. As seen in the Indonesia dress style (from blue to red and the wearing of suits and pants), Western style has co-existed with traditional attire (Niessen). Yet, is it really co-exist when the traditional attire is worn less or plays a smaller part? It's shouldn't be called co-existing, but struggling to survive and be past on to future generations. If that is true, then won't China see Western influences as an enemy to the years of "communist foundation" and "stability" leaders in China had fought, and worked to achieve. So, if the leaders see it as an evil, would they refuse any foreign aid?

Regardless, the government will never be the real sufferer. Since we can't spend our money on clothes, shoes, etc., I encourage everyone to make a small donation to help people in Sichuan. You can do it on the red cross website. Just think about what you want others to do if you were in that situation....