Girl Unobserved

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“I go to seek a Great Perhaps”- Francois Rabelais

Me seeking a great perhaps in Ta Prohm temple in Angkor Wat.

Siem Reap, Cambodia. December 2011.

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I realized the other day that it has been a year since I sat up on that hill in Loiola, prayed, and had possibly some of the most meaningful realizations about my life, my spirituality, and my faith. I have never in my life felt more at peace with myself and with the rest of the world than when I was on that hill.

It would be hard to explain further what that very moment meant to me, but perhaps this is better left as something unmeasurable by words with no actual way to define it. As much as I love thinking out loud, when things are so meaningful I fear that words will not be able to do the essence justice. Sometimes it’s hard to take what’s special to you and make people understand why this means so much. So instead you keep it as yours with the knowledge that you will always understand perfectly, with no need for explanation. 

One year later though, the memory and what my time in Spain meant to me remain very alive and I continue to be nothing but thankful for the things I understood, experienced, and learned.

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I liked today because of further marked down prices at End of the Season sales, dinner with good friends, and summer on the sides of my dress.

I Checked out Fête de la Musique last night with my college best friend Macy whom without, I would not have survived the past four years. We hung out and drank while watching the jazz stage with my parents, brother & cousin, and later on met up with our friend Geno. But it was Macy I was happiest to see last night because since college ended, I hadn’t seen a whole lot of her.

Fête was cool. I was there last year as well, but I think it’s only this year that I was really able to appreciate it for what it is: a night of good music where you can drink beer on the streets and gawk at Manila’s hipster community, some expats, and the occasional creeper who is obviously there to pick up young girls. Yes, I do I think there are things that could still be improved about Fête, but overall I think it’s a great, great thing.

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Here’s a self indulgent post of a picture from last Saturday night. Three things you have to know about this picture are:

1. I don’t really wear pink, especially when I’m out a night, but this dress I like a lot. 
2. There’s nothing I hate more than beer that has warmed in your hand. It’s one of the grossest things. 
3. The people with me in this picture are some of my favorite in the world.

Even if majority of the clothes in my wardrobe say otherwise, I love basic articles of clothing that you can wear over and over again. Apart from the fact that basics go with almost everything else, I also like how these speak so much for themselves in their being so understated thus providing such room for impact in the way that a person dresses. 

I think little black dresses are one of the chicest things ever. There are probably a million ways to wear them, and I love how they’re appropriate for almost anything. I already have a decent collection of black dresses in my closet, but I think it’s one of those things you can never have enough of.

The one I’m wearing in this crappy photo booth picture I got from Forever 21 yesterday. It was only 450 pesos (around 10 dollars, my inner cheapskate sings with glee) and I love that its cut isn’t too dressy for the day, but something that will look appropriate for nights as well.

Another thing that I probably have too much of already are clothes in white. Most especially in a tropical country, white is always a good color to wear because it’s doesn’t retain heat and is easy enough to layer under a sweater or jacket when it rains. In particular, I’ve always liked plain white t-shirts because they’re even more versatile.

When my dad introduced me to Jun De Leon, (this amazing Filipino photographer) a few years ago, he mentioned that Jun was always in a white t-shirt and I felt it was such a strong fashion statement. Similarly, my pseudo husband Stef, (who is one of the most fashionable people I know) went through a phase where he would wear only white V-neck shirts to school, and I thought he perenially looked great. Now I don’t think I’d be able to do something as extreme as wearing nothing but white V-neck shirts all the time, but I do think it’s the best type of clothing to wear on days where you can’t, or simply don’t, feel like putting an entire outfit together.

My brother who spent the weekend in Hong Kong with his friends brought home this white V-neck shirt I’m wearing for me. He got it in H&M for about 65 HKD (roughly around 8 dollars, again my inner cheapskate is happy) and he picked up a guys size since I told him I didn’t want the shirt to be too fitted. For a guy, the kid knows a thing or two about clothes, it’s pretty impressive. Anyway, I wish I had 8 more of these white shirts. The fact that it’s super comfortable only adds to how obsessed I am with it.

So I started a photo diary →

I’ve always liked black and white photography, and I’ve been wanting to start a photo diary for a while now. So I figured why not just go ahead and do both. 

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So if I can just caption this photo by saying it how RuPaul would: serving you heavy bling on my wrist, realness.

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Hostile looks from Willow and I. 

Thoughts Out Loud: Back Home

I’m Home from Boracay, a trip I think was far too fun for me to even attempt to put to words. So I guess I’ll let the mediocre, bordering on crappy photos I took speak for themselves once I get around to posting them. While on the flight home to Manila I did however scribble on the back of an old receipt things I liked particularly about the trip:

• The company. I love my friends. There are absolutely no words to describe them.
• The hotel we stayed at which I would highly recommend to anyone who wants a mid-range, but good place to stay. It’s clean, the location is great, there’s a nice pool area, they have really nice staff, the breakfast is good, and the rooms come with a lot of free things like drink stubs, a massage, and a ride on a Paraw
• Mango Margaritas
• Watching the sun dip into the sea at sunset, from the sea
• Having time to read
• Reconciliation and honesty
• Staying out the entire night and ending these nights by sitting by the shore having random conversations with friends about everything
• Laughing constantly
• Good food (duh)
• This is very young, wild, and free of me, but the steady intake of alcohol that kept everyone happy
• Having superficial realizations along the lines of “this is what being young is all about!”