On old photographs and memories

I recently read my deceased mother's speech which she gave years ago at a woman's club. I know I must have read it before and I know parts about it, but somehow it seemed all new again and brought fresh tears and heartache as I read it. She was a hell of woman, my mom was. She is one of the true rags to riches stories you read or watch all the time in those television specials. It makes me proud to be her daughter and makes me appreciate more what I have today.

I also keep a green plaid box (since green was her favorite color) where I keep hundreds of her photos. No exaggeration. Whenever there was a camera, she was always ready with a pose and a smile.

Due to the number of photos, I now have a dilemma. I am a sentimental person, but I am also a practical one (cognitive dissonance - thanks, Midnight in Paris). I've been holding on to these photos for so long, and I've also scanned them so I have them in digital form, but I still haven't let go of them. Should I even let go of them? But what if one day my hard drives are wiped? What if there was a sudden Revolution-type event when I don't have a handy photo of my loved ones besides the one on my smartphone or any electronic device? But do I have to keep all of these photos? Am I being too paranoid? 

If I was still living in my old house where there are rooms to spare for storage, this wouldn't even be up for discussion. Now that I am living in barely a 50 sqm condo, it presents a problem. But how can a person bear to part with old photographs and the memories that come with them?

I've been researching this topic, hoping to find someone somewhere to tell me what to keep and what to throw away.

The thing I have semi-decided on was making a scrapbook of some sort. I don't want to call it a scrapbook, but more of a book-book. A memorial book? Or maybe that is all the same thing. But whatever. I am making a book. I plan on filling it with my favorite pictures of her, little snippets from her speech, and maybe some of her handwritten notes. Maybe I'll have it professionally printed in one of those glossy photo books that it'll look like a coffee table book that anyone can browse through without going through boxes of her stuff. Then most of the stuff, I'll probably throw away.

Big project. Huge. At least for me. It's going to be tough physically, mentally, and emotionally to do it. But I do feel that it's the best thing to do. I have to move on, but not without respecting who my mother was. I feel that this book will be a perfect tribute to her and her life and to the wonderful woman she was.

Midnight in Paris

There are some movies that are just so damn charming, so damn delightful that you want to tell your friends all about it. Well, my friends (or whoever you are who is reading this), I want to tell you about Midnight in Paris.

Look, now here's the trailer:

Now, as charming as that was, it isn't as charming as the whole film. In fact, I would have to say that it's even a little misleading. There's a lot going on in and for this movie than this little two-minute trailer.

But I guess that's part of the magic that comes with the film. When I watched it, I had no expectations about the film or about Woody Allen like some film critics do. I didn't expect at all to be entertained. But like the protagonist, Gil Pender (played by Owen Wilson), when that clock struck midnight and that old car stops by - I knew I was in for a wonderful ride.

I don't want to spoil what happens next, but just believe me that it's an adventure that I myself would want to go on. One word for it: Magical.

There's so much more that I want to say about this film, but instead of boring you with it all - just go and watch the film already. It's only 94 minutes of your life. Do it.

You're welcome.

Disney X LucasFilm: A New Hope?

There has been a great disturbance in the Force as news came out of a 4-Billion deal between Lucasfilm and Walt Disney has been made. And, Disney - not wanting to waste their spanking new income-generating property - is already talking about making the next three Star Wars films, the first one slated on 2015.

As a Star Wars fan, and being subjected to the underwhelming prequels, this news has been met with a mix of fear and (new?) hope. Fear because, why ruin a good thing? Haven't we suffered enough Jar Jar, bad acting and awkward romances? But there's always the Star Wars fan in me that hopes that maybe, like what Disney did for the Marvel franchise, they'll do it right this time.

But let's admit it: love or hate this news, we're still going to read about it, be updated about it, be excited about it, and ultimately watch it - even just to see how bad it is compared to all our imaginings (and by now we're imagining plenty).

Hot damn. I can hardly wait. I think I'm going to watch the whole series all over again - starting with Episode 4, of course. Then, for Episode 1, I'll just watch this instead:

LEE HI - 1.2.3.4

This is too good not to be shared. Might be one of my favorite YG tracks this year.

INTENSITY: Penshoppe S/S 2013

Well,  here it is. My first fashion show. 

I never planned on going - it just so happened that I got the free passes when I treated my cousin to some back to school outfits. 

Okay, segue first: I happen to like Penshoppe's clothes, impressive celebrity endorsers notwithstanding. Sure, I think they already "won" (at least for me) when they got Ian Somerhalder, but even before that I already have clothes with their tags in my closet which I bought not for the sake of attending fan conferences.

Even so, it was ridiculously easy to create some great outfits for my cousin with what they have in the store. She was my first styling project and I have to say, she looked pretty damned good in the clothes that I picked for her. The colors were bright and young and even the jeans were a perfect fit (she is a size 25, TT__TT). Price was reasonable too. We were happy customers.

Getting the passes were simply a plus.

I'm wearing a Penshoppe reversible top :)

Fast forward a few days later, decked out in our fashion show debut outfits, my other cousin and I sashayed (no, not really) down to the SMX Convention Center for Penshoppe's fashion show for Spring/Summer 2013 called INTENSITY. Its tagline:

“Intellect is a magnitude of INTENSITY, not a magnitude of extensity,” – Arthur Schopenhauer

- Pause here while I Google what this quote means -

Okay, full quote makes more sense for me.

"Intellect is a magnitude of intensity, not a magnitude of extension: which is why in this respect one man can confidently take on ten thousand and a thousand fools do not make one wise man." - Arthur Schopenhauer

I still don't quite get what it means as it pertains to the fashion show or the collection. Does it mean that even though the show doesn't have much fanfare with a binder full of celebrities (get it?), it would be the collection that will speak for itself? 

And why am I even ruminating about this?!

Back to the show.

Well, whatever INTENSITY means, the show definitely presented a collection that I am excited to see on their stores soon.

As always, their jackets and sweaters were the stuff people who spend much time in air-conditioners dream of. Their signature varsity jacket is in attendance for the boys, along with sparkly, silvery sweaters for the girls.

I loved the white outfits with the big blue floral prints - on the dress and the pants. Very summer-y.

And speaking of summer - I love the cuts and colors of their retro-styled bathing suits.

Lots of neon, too. Is it not going away yet?

And, even though I'm a girl, I found myself wishing there was a girl-version for some of the guy's clothes. (Also, nice sneaks!)

All in all, great collection. And not at all bad for my first show, right?

***

Solanin

If there is a manga that is so fitting for me right now, it's Asano Inio's Solanin.

This manga has been on my to-read list ever since I went to the Manga Realities exhibit a year ago. Maybe it's kismet that I read this now at a time when it echoes my own thoughts.

Solanin is a story about a twenty-something Meiko who is feeling aimless about her life, probably encountering the so-called quarter life crisis that plagues most of us during that age. She quits her job and, together with her live-in boyfriend Taneda and their group of college friends, decides to find the answers to what freedom, purpose, and happiness really means.

Here are some of the notable quotes from the manga:

Freedom without any purpose feels a whole lot like boredom.

The lyrics I struggled to create are only made up so I would have something to sing. Nothing genuine can come out of these flat and boring and ambiguous lives we're living, out of faking your worries for the sake of it.

It's because you haven't found that something you simply have to convey to people.

That's why we're using this moment to change the days spent using the rest of our lives to the the days building the rest of our lives.

But at times I remember that I'm making no contribution to society and I feel like the dead, someone who doesn't exist. It's terrifying. It keeps me up at night sometimes.

Bag Lust

I never quite got how or why people buy those uber expensive bags with names I'm not sure I was even pronouncing correctly. It's just something you sling on your shoulders, something that holds all your stuff together.

Maybe it's when you get older and earn money of your own, or maybe it's when you finally realize the quality of products that you get it. You get the whys of the expensive price tag and the serious case of bag lust comes over you.

And recently, my brand of obsession is Chloé.

Chloé bags have been seen on the arms of famous personalities like Katie Holmes, Reese Whiterspoon, and my personal favorite Rachel Bilson among many others.What I love about their bags is that they look very classic and I'll probably use them for years and years to come. I also love that it's not all in your face with the logo and in a way, discreet.

Here are some of my favorites from their 2012 collection.

All images taken from Chloé Facebook page.