Daydreaming

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Springtime and there he was again,
Hands in his pockets, hair wind-blown
His lips curved up in a half-smile
And I let myself daydream for a while

He'd walk up to me and ask for this dance
As a guitar gently strums in the background
And we'd sway, sway, sway
As the whole world falls away

His hand feels safe and strong
As he walks me all the way home
We take our time as he talks about his brothers
Learning about favorite songs and colors

And at the door he stops me
With a hand on my waist, he leans in
Time suddenly slows
My eyes flutter close...

A fragile sound jars me from my reverie
And brings me back once again
Sighing as I look across the room to him
The starring man from my daydream.

 

Bedside Matter

Night

Day

Mirror - AC +632, Greenbelt 3

Scarf - Japan street stall

Anglepoise lamp - SM Homeworld

Various Books - National Bookstore

Vintage suitcase (filled with complete Nora Roberts Language of Love series) - Legaspi Sunday Market

Pig figurine - China (?)

Wireless mouse - CDR King

Fan - gifted

Red necklace - crafted by moi

Antique-style clock - SM Homeworld

Lace placemat - Landmark

Ceramics - inherited from Mom

White wooden picture box - ??? store

A Closet Case

"It's not that I have too many clothes... It's just that I have a small closet."

- Me

I had long despaired of finding a good closet. I didn't think it was too much to ask. I wasn't talking about one of those walk-in ones where it looks more like a boutique than an actual closet. All I wanted was only about 50 inches wide with drawers and, most importantly, a mirror installed in one of the doors. I don't have a full-length mirror on my room so whenever I dress, I have to go out and check myself on the "hallway" mirror. And I'm not one of those people who are always satisfied with their first outfit... sometimes I go on three outfit changes so you can imagine how much time it takes to dress up.

 Uneven doors, disjointed, bottomless drawers, and under the bed storage

Another reason why I wanted a new closet was because the one I had was already falling apart. It was one of those generic ones you see being sold on most furniture stores like SM Homeworld. While it may look ideally perfect for my needs, the workmanship left much to be desired. I had to re-install a metal rod instead of the plastic one it came with because it curved due to the weight of the clothes. Soon, the drawers' bottoms gave out so the the top drawers contents toppled down to the bottom (In a way, you can call it a bottomless drawer hehe). The closet door also went out of alignment that I couldn't open the closet door without opening the drawer. Suffice to say, I am never going to buy one of those closets again.

Easier said than done... because there aren't a lot of places in Manila where you could buy a good quality closet.

My options: 1) Have it custom made; 2) Buy second hand from those antique stores in Evangelista; and 3) Persist in finding the perfect closet.

I was seriously considering having it custom made but I didn't know who to ask. This probably would have been my best option, but I didn't pursue it.

For buying second hand... I saw these two closets which had mirrors in front over at the second hand shops at Evangelista, Bangkal. One of them was just my style - the mirror had flower etchings and there was even a hidden drawer! But, sadly, it was too small for my needs. The other one was a bit large and a little austere for my taste, but I could work on it to make it more "pretty." And they were pretty cheap. Again, I was seriously considering buying the latter (and restoring the former and maybe selling it) but the main drawback was that it was an antique. It wouldn't surprise me if one night a white lady showed herself on the mirror or a child was suddenly hiding inside the closet. *Insert me screaming* No, thank you.

The third option was a trial in patience. I went around different furniture stores and had a tape measure in my bag for several months just in case I find a prospective closet. I ended up going to Waltermart Makati and up to S.B. Furniture to look at what they have in stock. I think this was back last year, later than September, I guess. They had really good quality closets and some of them even had mirrors! But!!! They were too large for my wee condo. If it wasn't too tall, it was too wide. There was no way it could fit in my room and still have room for people to walk on. Fortunately, they had a website and I looked it up. They get their furniture from Thailand and if I wanted a design, I could order it and it will arrive... in two months! Two months seemed a long time to me so I didn't place an order and just hoped that I could still find my dream closet. Fast forward to 2012 and I was still suffering with my old closet - some of my clothes stored under the bed because the drawers were useless. Yeah... I was regretting not ordering from overseas by then.

Hopefully, I thought that maybe their next shipment of furniture - which the friendly people at their store told me would come by February - would have my dream closet. I made a pest of myself calling and calling them to ask if the furniture had arrived yet and did they have a closet with a mirror on it. The answer was always "no, not yet."

Then one day, I went to the store by chance. I asked. Again. And was told, again, that they didn't have it. But! One of the people remembered a closet that was ordered by someone and was going to be shipped to Pampanga. I looked at the picture and there it was - a three-door closet with a mirror! 

Princess Wardrobe

(image taken from S.B. Furniture)

The sales associate told me that someone ordered two of the model and he was going to check if that person will still get two. I was mentally willing the unknown person to take only just one while he phoned the other branch. And then... YES! I got it! Wasting no time, I whipped out my credit card and asked when it could be delivered. And, what do you know - it will be delivered the next day!

 Before and (Happily Ever) After

So... thus ends the case of the sad, sad closet. Now it's a happy closet. Look! It has butterfly handles and stuff! (LOL!)

Thanks to the friendly and helpful people at S.B. Furniture and to the unknown person from Pampanga who ordered two of these and only got one. I hope you really didn't need it, because I really, really did.

***

S.B. FURNITURE

4th Level, Waltermart Makati, Chino Roces Ave. cor Arnaiz St. Makati City

S.B. Furniture (Philippines) Facebook Page

Who Are You?

This is my last art journal entry for 2011... and is currently still the last entry. Yeah, yeah... I'm frustrated about it too. Ever since I started going to the gym I feel like I have no time for anything else (probably because I'm too tired after the workouts LOL). I've been putting off my art and other matters. But things are going to go back to normal soon (I hope) and after I rearrange some things, I can finally divide my focus with the myriad of things I left hanging.

This was the result of going through my box of mementos from my high school and college years. I came across some letters which were given to me during retreats and those papers that were passed around the class where you had to write down something to describe the person whose name appears on top of the paper. Well, in my case it was full of "smart", "quiet", "kind", etc. Though I don't discount that I may have given off that vibe then, I was  a conduct awardee after all, I realized that it was a bit superficial. Was it my classmates' fault for not digging deeper or was it my fault that I didn't open up myself to them more?

Or maybe this was all just a result of not knowing who I was at that time either. How could they know when I didn't even know myself? 

To tell the truth, after all these years I still haven't quite figured it out yet.

But I would like to think that I'm getting there.

Working on my fitness

 "I'll be up on the gym just working on my fitness.."

Fergie (Fergalicious)

One thing I thought I would never do is join a gym. I always thought that it was for people who wanted to lose weight and, being a skinny teenager back then, I didn't need to go to one. Fast forward to ten years later... besides needing to lose unwanted fat, I was so out of shape and unhealthy that I got laughed at by grandpas and grandmas as I panted while climbing a mountain in Japan (true story).

Of course, it didn't help that I have no actual job that requires me to move my ass and I basically sit in front of my computer all day.

So when opportunity presented itself (coughGrouponcough), I decided one of the challenges I had to face this 2012 was to go to the gym.

My goals are pretty simple:

1. Lose the unwanted fat. Call me vain, but I love clothes and fashion. I love those darn pretty sleeveless dresses and those cute shorts. Then one day I realized that I spend so much money buying them when the best investment I could make is for the body underneath it. If you look good and feel good about yourself, even a cheap dress would look good on you. No need for designer stuff. (Although I still want them very very much.) This also goes for your inner spirit - inner beauty and all that. You do get the idea, right?

2. Get healthy and build up stamina. Why? Because I MUST travel this year. I feel so cooped up while my friends were out and about going places the past few years. My cousins who I am putting through college will be graduating this March and I finally have the funds so I am about to go all out! BUT in order to go all out, I have to be able to keep up with all the endless walking and carrying bags. Truth: sometimes vacations can be tiring that we need a vacation after a vacation.

3. If ever we get invaded by aliens or zombies, I can defend myself or run away. Just kidding. Sort of.

I'm on my third week now and thankfully, despite the aches I am feeling, I am still alive. Oh gosh... the stories I could tell about being a total gym noob! But I'm already feeling really well and improved, considering. Hopefully this will become a habit that I can carry on until I am as old as those grandpas and grandmas on that blasted mountain and then it'll be my turn to laugh at those out-of-shape youngsters. Haha...

And when my discounted-but-expensive-when-not gym membership expires, I will be using our condo's gym equipment for free which I FINALLY know how to use. I haven't even used it once in the six years I've been living here (IKR?). And, what do you know? It looks like I've got it all to myself. Ah! The loneliness of self-discipline.

Changes

Well I've gone and done it. 

I deleted my previous blog - "The Typecast Heroine" and merged it into this one - "Quilled Thoughts". 

My reasons? 

For one, I found that I can't maintain two blogs. Yep. One is my limit. I'm not that active to have a lot to write about. I'm doing something about that, though.

Another is that I don't really get my previous blog title. I even forgot why I picked that one. I think I just randomly picked two words and made it work. 

For the record, I'm also not that content with my current blog title, but I think it encompasses everything I can think of to write. The "quilled" part is a bit dated because, obviously, keyboard typing right now. I picked it because the word sounds like "quelled" which means quieted, but change one letter and it becomes public... written for everyone to see - which is the purpose of a blog, anyway.

So, to anyone who have ventured to my new blog, welcome. (And to my previous four followers, I hope that you somehow found your way back here. Sorry for the inconvenience.)

2012 a go go GO!

Random Eats II

My friend and I ate a Banoffe cake at Sweet Bella at Burgos Circle, The Fort while waiting for my other friend's birthday cake. We only ordered a small one because we were in a hurry. Hope we can go back there again and try more of their cakes and pastries. 

I am seriously turning out to be a dessert otaku.