Wednesday, August 29, 2007
salamat sa suporta
I got to put 4 works up on display. Thanks to everyone who came just to see it, and for those of you who were already there to begin with and made an effort to go look, salamat din. :-) Photos courtesy of Nino Avenido.these are a few of my favorite aussie things
1) Pavlovas
Pavlovas are supposedly the Australian national dessert, but the Kiwis claim it's theirs. They are meringue shells that are crunchy on the outside but light and marshmallowy on the inside, topped with whipped cream and an assortment of fruit. They are delicious and never fail to illicit an "oooh" when served to guests. I like them so much, I learned to make them.
My first pavlova, topped with peaches, strawberries, and almonds.
The handsomest pavlova I've ever made.
Pavlova I made for my friend's Australia-themed bridal shower.Unfortunately, they don't seem to hold up very well against Philippine humidity, and the cream begins to melt as soon as you serve it. Plus, most of the time you have to settle for canned fruit, because you just can't put bananas, lanzones, and santol on a pavlova.
2) Daniel Johns and Silverchair
I loved their "Diorama" album, and I love their newest release ("Young Modern"). I am thrilled to live in the same country as they do (increases the chances of me sighting them).And I love frontman, Daniel Johns. He is my crush and I would so marry him. Sorry, I was never into the Justin Timberlake types, because they're not marriable. Daniel Johns is marriable. In fact, here is with his beautiful wife, Natalie Imbruglia.3) "El Janna" Lebanese-style charcoal roasted chicken
If you're in Sydney, hop on the train. Take the Western line, hop off on Granville station. Go up the stairs, then exit to your left. El Janna is such a hole-in-the-wall place, you'll barely even pay attention to it. But somehow, it's always filled with people 24/7.
Order yourself 1/4 of a chicken (or half if you want), and make sure you eat it there, even if it's more expensive than take-away because it's best when it's hot off the spit. Pour loads of garlic sauce on it. This is a MUST. Their chicken and garlic mayo are two halves of the same perfect, divine union, and one cannot exist without the other. Syzygy!
4) "Valley Girl" clothes
Unlike my friend Andrea, I am a cheapskate when I shop. I would never spend more than 25 AUD for a t-shirt, and even that amount already kills me. I know I can get a perfectly decent shirt in Manila for 250 pesos, but I know I should stop converting between currencies when I'm there. I would never buy an Oroton item. Even Sports Girl is way too much for me. Spending 75 AUD on a dress is overkill, unless it was really, really really to-die-for.
I don't care about brands, because I enjoy the challenge of making cheap things look good, and am quite confident that I can make even a garbage bag look good on me if I wore it well. But I love Valley Girl because number 1, it's cheap. Cheap, cheap, cheap. Cheap enough for me to not feel bad if I buy a top there and get sick of it after wearing it twice (which I often do). It's keeps up with trends (even though I'm not a trend person), but always has something you know you'll keep for awhile. And it's not trashy.
Ok, I'm beginning to sound ditzy. Tama na.
And these are a few of my favorite Aussie things.
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Tuesday, August 28, 2007
3rd world bride
My friend is leaving for Sydney in a week to get married. She's never been there, and she doesn't think she'll be home for the next few years.
We had an Australian-themed bridal shower, had good food, and some fun, naughty games. I thought I'd share our little masterpiece.
Our 3rd World bride :-)We made this in an hour, on the spot. It was just a bridal shower game, but as we were making it, it became quite a serious thing. We worked on it like she was really going to wear the thing to her wedding. And when she'd laugh and remind us that we didn't have to work so hard on a newspaper dress, we snapped back, "Are you kidding, we can't have you walking down the aisle looking like that!'
It has a bustle in the back, floral detail on the bodice, and the hem is "scalloped lace" which I made with scissors. Her veil is white crepe paper that we used for streamers. On her finger is taped a giant, plastic crystal. On her shoulder is an Australian flag tattoo. Even her bouquet is newspaper.And for something that was never supposed to last, we're pretty damn proud of what we made. With unplanned ceremony, we dressed her up from head to foot, and and packed her in it with some thick tape. From the old newspaper emerged a bride. And even if the dress was just newspaper, a hush came over everyone when the ensemble was complete. We oohed, and aahed, and sighed over her as if it really were her wedding day. As for her, she suddenly had that ability to stop people in their tracks that brides have on their wedding day. She started radiating.And Tere, the bride-to-be, is normally subdued and doesn't like a lot of attention, but she loved the dress so much she even agreed to pose on the street. At point, she even said (in a way that seemed almost serious), "I wish this were my real wedding dress".
And this is us, the proud team of designers :-)Afterward we took all the pictures we could, we cut her out of the newspaper and packaging tape right there on the street, and dumped it straight into the garbage. It was starting to tear.
The whole time, we all knew that dress was just temporary, but also that there was something there that we knew would last forever. I guess material things are really just signs to point you towards or remind you of the real, true, lasting things. And sometimes we make the mistake of holding on to the transient material object, and not the everlasting thing it signifies. Things like newspaper wedding dresses are a good reminder. After the dress had served it's purpose, we let it go.
I guess one reason why brides are so radiant is because their family and friends make them feel so loved before they walk down the aisle. Between her real wedding dress, and this newspaper dress that her friends lovingly made for her, I can bet which one will be more memorable to her.
Anyway, It was a very funny/naughty/ warm/special night. The kind you'll always remember as a warm glow in your later years.
Not bad for the very first bridal shower I've ever planned :-)
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Sunday, August 19, 2007
happy birthday blog
My blog's fourth birthday was 3 days ago, and I didn't even realize it. That's how out of touch I am, considering I used to blog so religiously. So, belated happy birthday, Alaism. I usually hold a contest every time my blog's birthday rolls around to give back to my readers, but for the first time ever, I wasn't able to think of one this year. It didn't even cross my mind.
Strange. I just don't write as often as I used to, and every time I sit down to blog, I feel so dispassionate about it. Also, my own writing disgusts me in all its self-absorbed drama. There was a time of course when self-absorbed drama was a necessary process I had to go through. But now that I'm ready to climb out of that little mental space I was in, and laugh and dance with the rest of humanity again, I find that my writing bores me. Isn't that funny?
There's plenty to write about, and plenty of insights to be milked from those phases in your life when you're the walking wounded and your soul is bleeding. But now I think I'm - dare I say it- okay. Oh, dear. Now what?
I have no nuggets of wisdom to share, only the fragmented musings of a disillusioned 20-something. Happily disillusioned, I must say. Disillusionment and happiness are not two things that usually go hand in hand. Nobody likes disillusionment. It's a bitch. But better now than later. And my happiness stems largely from knowing that the most painful part is over (hopefully).
Let me share a passage I stumbled on by accident a few weeks ago. It's by some Zen person named Seung Sahn. I don't know who he is, but he said this:Zen means that if you want to understand what a watermelon is, you take a watermelon, get a knife, and cut the watermelon. Then you put a slice in your mouth- boom! Your experience!
Well, here's something I'm learning: the most valuable lessons are the ones you learn yourself. The mistakes you learn from the most are the ones you make yourself.
This is the time when I, being a 20-something, must experience my own melon. I choose my melon, even though there's the risk I might pick the wrong one. I pick up the knife and slice it myself even though my parents worry I might get cut. Then I'll know if I made a good choice only after I taste it.
That's pretty much what I've been doing. What happens if I choose the wrong one (which I have, many times)? I choose another one but I believe my choices get wiser. Some people may accuse me of being scatterbrained and indecisive. But it takes a lot of courage to live out your confusion, and allow yourself to make mistakes in such plain view of everyone else. At least I know the melons I don't want, because I experienced it for myself. I know it because I tasted it, felt it give way under my knife. My experience. Who really has the right answers anyway?
We've all got to brave that naked moment that comes with every transition. The "oh-shit" moment right after we take the leap, where we want to turn back. The place in between two destinations that feels like you're in the middle of nowhere, jobless, direction-less, single... we all have our own terrifying nowheres. But nowhere becomes somewhere if you keep walking, there, there, as far as you can go. And nowhere becomes less scary when you realize that you're awake, and fully conscious. Then you'll know what to do.
Twenty-somethings are clingers. Caught in the cross-fire of change, we have this panic reaction to cling to notions of permanence and stability. We cling to jobs, partners, relationships, and living arrangements that no longer do us justice. We cling even as the very ground gives way under our feet. There is nothing more terrifying than being nowhere and nothing. Better to stick with what we already have, right?
Twenty-somethings are also swingers. We swing from one 5-year plan to the next. One day it's, "I'm going to be a doctor". The next day, it's "but what I really want is to be a designer". And in another week, it becomes, "I should break up with my boyfriend and take my masters in Japan."
Confusion. Agony. Suffering. Life isn't turning out as we planned. Or maybe it's turning out too much like we planned, even though it's not really what we want anymore. Whatever. But what we all seem to have in common is the fear to answer the call to transcend to the next level. The next level is usually right in front of us, beckoning to us, but we only recognize it for what it is after we stop seeing it as a terrifying and threatening change.
But hey, this is life without training wheels. Nobody has the answers. They're all on the other side. We won't know them till we get there. We can make as many mistakes as we want as long as it helps us get to where we really want to be. Mistakes don't have to be the enemy, they can be fascinating too when you make friends with them. So long as we don't make any grave, life-altering mistakes (i.e. drug addiction, gambling all your possessions away, getting into bad company, etc.), we will get there, we will get there.my first blend-tool vector
I did myself a long overdue favor by enrolling in an Adobe Illustrator CS3 Basics course at the Philippine Center for Creative Imaging. Thought I'd share a vector I made during one of our exercises.
Whee! I'm proud hahaha! It's great to update my skills. And it feels nice to be in beginner's mode again, being all fumbling and slow. It's good to be a fumbling, slow beginner every now and then, huh?like to invite you all to this special event
This is going to be the biggest gathering of artists, musicians, and craftsmen in the Philippines. It's on its 3rd round and I hope to see it flourish into a much bigger event years from now.
I'll be exhibiting a few paintings in the gallery, and I'm pretty excited. They'll be just a few among many other works by many better artists, but I'm happy I finally got the guts/chance to display my work in public.
So go and support the arts! I promise you all a fun time!:-)
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Sunday, August 12, 2007
froggies, and locusts, and tortoises, oh my!
Yesterday I ate a fried frog. It was a frog sans the head, stuffed with seasoned pork. It was so stuffed with pork, it looked like an inflated balloon. I had to break the rib cage open to get at the meat inside.
It didn't taste bad but memories of dissection day in biology class kept coming back, and I couldn't stomach it after awhile.
We also had grasshopper, which I have absolutely no problem with, and quite enjoy eating to tell you the truth.And it probably thinks I'm annoying. More pictures here.
A frog, stuffed with pig, on a bed of its own natural food.but frogs are more than just food
Talk about a stroke of luck!
Because of the heavy typhoon rains outside, a big, brown frog hopped through the open doorway of the Circus Studio office, where my computer is stationed. This is a fairly common occurrence, and there was a mad scramble to expel the frog from the premises. Nin went after it with broom and dustpan. Makeshift blockades were made to contain and corner the amphibian. But all efforts only drove the frog deep into the jungle of wires, desks, and plastic storage bins in the office.
I consoled him by saying that frogs were considered by the Chinese to be omens of good luck, especially in business. "Suwerte iyan!", i told him, "It has come to bless your office and your business". But once it emerged from its hiding place and started hopping around, I was on the sofa screaming. Crates and chairs were pushed aside as the frog left dark, wet tracks all over the terracotta tiles.
Finally, it was Maiyee who strode in with steely jaw and one hand encased in a yellow plastic bag. She unflinchingly caught the squirming frog with firm grip, and deposited it back in the muddy garden.
We all had a good laugh over it afterwards, and as we were putting the plastic bins back in place, right there on the spot where the frog was hiding was... my missing memory card. It had popped out of my phone when I dropped it 3 weeks ago, and it contained most of my pictures, ring tones, and a lot of phone numbers. It was the size of a fingernail. I didn't think I would ever find it again.
Two minutes later, my dad got home from his creativity workshop and told me that nine of his students had placed orders for my peanutbutter chocolate-chip cookies (my little business, which, for now, caters only to friends and close connections). Wow!
So... frogs really are suwerte :-)and this is where the tortoises come in
watching tarantino with tarantino
As you may or may not have heard, Quentin Tarantino (of "Pulp Fiction"/ "Reservoir Dogs"/ "Kill Bill" fame) has been making the rounds in Manila the past week for the CineManila. He's also set to receive an award on Wednesday, and in line with this, they've been screening all his films at Gateway Cinema!- with a little extra: an intro given by Quentin himself before each film.
Last night was the premiere of his latest, "Death Proof", and I was lucky to score a free pass from my friend Bea. Tarantino sat 3 rows behind us as we all watched the film.
After the film when everyone was filing out of the theatre, I waited for him to pass me by in the aisle. Knowing I was just one of the hundreds of people who wanted to shake his hand or talk to him, I knew I had roughly 3 seconds to make myself heard... if he even looked my way. So when he nodded at me, I declared to him that we (meaning me and lady friends) were going to be in one of his movies someday. He cackled loudly, said, "Oh, of course! I'll see you in my office later, girls!", and walked away cackling some more.
Ha-HA! He just sealed destiny without knowing it.
Anyway, the movie kicked butt. Shocking/delicious violence, a wild car chase, girls getting revenge like you've never seen before, and bad editing. Love it, love it! I wanna watch it again.
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Thursday, August 09, 2007
My Sydney friend Kat over at Menage a' Kat has just tagged me as one of her top 5 Rockin Girl Bloggers, which means I get to display this nice pink badge.
And now it's my turn to tag my 5 Rocking Girl Bloggers, but due to time constraints, I'll do less than 5:
Diana@amongstworlds.blogspot.com
Diana's blog is a well rounded one- light enough so it'll be easy enough to read during five minute breaks, witty enough to make you want to come back for more, smart and substantial enough so that you'll actually, truly learn something, insightful enough to make you adore her, and filled with stories of her many travels around the world (being a Diplomat's daughter has its perks!). She's currently in Hong Kong re-entering the world of modeling.
Cat@calamansi.blogspot.com
Cat is currently on blogging hiatus, but her old entries are a good read. She always writes positively, and gets to travel a lot, and always gives off that beach chick vibe she is so famous for. She's also a firespinner and co-owns Planet Zips.
Kat@katmayo.blogspot.com
I first read Kat's blog when she posted a photo of the ultrasound of what turned out to be her twin daughters, Theresa and Carmel. Since then I love to read her takes on motherhood, married, life, books, food, and all the things we have had lengthy online discussions about at one point. She is also a writer for The Australian Filipina.
Ok, that's it. Sorry I couldn't do five. Blogging used to be my main creative outlet, but I'm prioritizing another outlet for now, and blogging will have to come in second (or third).
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Tuesday, August 07, 2007
little snippets...
... are all I am capable of producing right now.
First of all, I am loving all the lush, tropical greenery around me. I'm in love with big, beautiful banana trees, birds of paradise, the wild and monstrous ferns in the jungle that is our garden, and the tropical plants with leaves that have all shades of purple, orange, yellow, and green. Things grow with such reckless abandon here, as if the foliage wants to swallow the urbanity around it. You don't see green tones like this in Australia.
I am also loving the rain. Big, fat, raindrops.one day only, my art in Ateneo
Some of my art work will be on display at the Sec B Foyer in Ateneo tomorrow with other artists, are of the Ateneo Musician's Pool.
It's an exhibit aimed at encouraging young people to pursue a career in the arts. If you're in the vicinity, please do check it out.
It's a small exhibit and I made my own make-shift frames but I'm excited to share my work with others.
Viva la Vida!THIS KID LOVES VINTAGE!
Finally, it's here! My sister Erica, and her friend Maia are set to launch therr own fashion label, This Kid Loves Vintage, very soon, featuring dresses of her own design, and vintage finds! You will also be able to find one of a kind accessories and sunnies. You can check out her other merchandise and make appointments to see the store at vintagekids.multiply.com
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