How to Fight Back

Some people just can't fight back. In situations wherein your face to face with someone you had a disagreement with or if you're forced to be constantly with them, here are things you could do to show them you're not to be taken lightly;

Never draw first blood. Irritate them and if a fight ensues at least your not the one who started it.

a. Display your most sinister smile when you walk pass them.b. Keep your eyebrows raised, but maintain an expression of disdain rather than look affected.c. Stare them down and utilize a gamut of facial expressions from disgust (clench your teeth and wrinkle your nose), mocking (draw eyebrows closer and part open your mouth), indifference (keep expression stoic and stiff) or disgust (draw eyebrows close together, wrinkle lips and put strain on your cheeks). 

Play the Victim Card. Defame the person by relating your side of the story of what caused you to have issues with them to anyone who'd care to listen, try to do this before they do. More often than not a person would believe the first story they hear (do make your version as close to the truth as possible). 

Do a 'Shoulder-Joust'. Slam your shoulder hard against them and casually look back projecting an apologetic face that clearly spells-out you meant it. 

Intimidate with numbers. Always be seen with a large group of friends (this requires you to have a posse). 

Profanity is key. Pretend to cuss at something loudly to draw-in attention and when they look at you raise an eyebrow and scoff. 

Do not get caught. Break their favorite mug, throw their school project in the bin, scrape the paint out of their car but never ever get caught red handed.

LGBT Pride Month

The month of June was chosen for LGBT Pride Month to commemorate the Stonewall Riots in June 1969. Let's celebrate life, love and equality. 

Weight Loss Tips: Things to Consider

The crusade towards thinness has been massive in popularity and lethal in its effects. The effect of proliferating a bias in the perception of beauty has persecuted those who are not deemed beautiful and thin. Even those that belong in the higher hierarchy of our social strata are not spared from the onslaught. Young girls these days just do not feel adequate.  As for the mass media, it did not even care to address the situation; at any rate they have even heightened their promotion that thin is what is beautiful: absolute. They have further their measures by proliferating the images of stick-thin personalities. The weight-loss conglomerates has kept the public magnetized and has made their products into commodities that are essential. 

Going beyond the superficial precepts, the health factors that may occur due to the urge to be thin are grave and can be permanent in sustaining damage in one’s physiology.

Firstly, motivation is what leads us into limiting our diets to celery sticks and half a bowl of oatmeal. The forms of motivation comes in an array of sorts from; getting noticed by your crush; fitting in your new little black dress; getting the approval of your peers for being a size 00, being the doppelganger of your stick-thin cousin; or just as plain as giving in to  the dictates of society as proliferated by the mass media. The different goals with which we wish to achieve are the motivating factor why we skip meals and do the treadmill like a guinea pig gone hay-wire. We turn to dieting and workouts to achieve a certain goal we desire. Before we even look into how we have been damaging ourselves through those ulcer inducing diets and the perennial drowning of thy self with water to kill the hunger pangs, we have to first recognize what has been driving us to do so. Reassess if your reasons are valid and consider if there is any thing to be corrected in the first place (in this case never use Monica Felucca as your point of comparison).

Second is the problem of technique and execution. We have been bombarded by different diets as disseminated by the shadiest of nutrition experts seen in years (you can exactly tell who they are from their surnames splattered all over those weight-loss programs). There has also been a surge in the establishment of fitness gyms offering from both the mundane aerobics to the exotic pole dancing. Not to mention the countless weight-loss products from vibrating sauna-belts to magical concoctions varying from soaps, creams, to pills, all with the promise of inches being shed off your bodies magically. The question of its effectivity not withstanding, we have been all too eager to chose and try one of them.  Indeed, weight-loss has become a multi-million dollar industry and they plan to keep it that way. With the sudden influx of options to beat the bulge, most if not all of us who have succumbed to this temptation have already chosen a technique to use. Diets vary from high-protein to strictly scheduled forms. Most of us have been following this religiously, while most who have reasons all their own, has taken  this to a whole new level. An example is doing the South beach diet which has three phases; most have been only doing the first phase which effectively removes 8 pounds. The program, used here as an example, is formulated to limit our craving for carbohydrates. In the first phase of the said program, carbohydrates are completely eliminated from the diet completely; subsequently whole grains are gradually reintroduced in the following phases. But not following what the program has explicitly devised can pose grave risk to our health. We need to follow what the plan requires us to do. Another is the intake of various pills and what have you. While most of them are generally considered good for you like L-carnitine; many of them are fat-soluble which means they remain longer in the body. Taking them in mega-doses can cause problems like dry mouth, nausea, headaches, and even toxicity. There is nothing wrong with losing a few inches, but we have to take everything in moderation. Overdoing it can only lead you to harms’ way. With the various options to choose from coupled with the urgency to shed the pounds most have taken drastic measures. Always take caution in utilizing a chosen form a weight-loss method. 


 Third is the Classical Conditioning.  Before going under the knife, there should be a valid reason. Health and well-being should always come first, but we would rather hurl ourselves in compromising situations all in the name of beauty. What do we consider beautiful? Or more importantly, what are we conditioned to see as beautiful? Conditioning of cognitive precepts can be considered as one factor in the rampant feeling of inadequacy among teens and young adults. What we perceive as defined by various agents becomes the truth for us. What lies in the beholder are images and notions that are manufactured. The culprit for defining beauty in nonnegotiable terms is of course (drum roll please!) mass media.  This comes as to no surprise if at all cliché, but we recognizing that the images we have elevated in the pedestals of our individual imaginings were just manufactured by a creative team in a highly furbished advertising firm can be as illuminating as a knock on the head. Redefine what is beautiful for you in your own terms.

Tips on Facebook Timeline Cover

I accidentally got switched to Timeline in Facebook but rather than get upset, I just dealt with it. After playing around with the new functionality that came with it, I went gaga over making timeline covers.

The size of the timeline cover is 850x315 and I used my PhotoScape to crop the pictures using an assigned ratio and maximized Picnik (before it closes on April 19, 2012) to edit my pictures. I especially like the photos with texture on it and I used stickers and different fonts for this blog's address (don't forget to use overlay on the text).

Below are the Timeline Covers I made for my Facebook account:

For My Brother's Graduation

Tips on Singing: Karaoke How To's

In recent times singing has become all the more prevalent in almost every social gatherings due to the omnipresent Karaoke Machine. In most birthday parties, for example, the Karaoke is given more importance in being secured than the archaic birthday cake. The Karaoke machine became a staple from christenings to corporate retreats. That being said the ability to carry a tune becomes a common ability one must possess and while some may easily belt out like a spinto soprano, for many, to sing out of the comforts of their showers is a singularly daunting ordeal.

   Here are ten tips to spare you from total humiliation. Remember that there is a fine line between singing and screeching, don't cross it; 

1. Prepare! Sing songs you already know or you've already sang. 

2. Pick a song suited for your vocal range (Disparaging Aretha Franklin by harping like a banshee is not what's considered vocal acrobatics). 

3. Do your own rendition; you do not have to do it the way the original performer made every hook and riff. 

4. Drink up! Alcohol will loosen you up and get rid of your inhibitions (Not remembering what you did the day after is an added bonus). 

5. Casually set expectations. Letting them know you've no idea what your doing would make for a less critical audience. 

6. Stage Presence is key (If you look good while doing it, they may not notice your tone deaf).

i. Pout while waiting for your cue, press lips together lightly and exhale.
ii. Smize.    
iii. Sway to the rhythm and keep it upbeat.      
iv. Take cue from Ms. Pempengco and juggle that mic.

7. If the note is too high, urge your audience to sing along (Their unison droning will drown out your squealing).  

8. Do a duet with someone who's able to sing well. Make sure you let them sing the difficult parts

9. Sing after someone who's a lousier singer. The one who goes first will set the precedence.

10. Pick a song in a foreign language, ideally from the romantic languages like french (They'd have no idea whether you're already out of tune or if your even saying the words right).

Below are different occasions with the appropriate songs you can perform;

The Suicidal or Me Against the World Pity Party 

It's Sad to Belong by England Dan & John Ford Coley
Jolene by Dolly Parton
I Write the Songs by Barry Manilow
Is It OK if I Call You Mine by Paul McCrane 
Seduce The Guy in The Audience Songs
Tainted Love by Marilyn Manson
Stupid Cupid by Connie Francis
Friends/ Girls Night Out 
Girls Just Wanna Have Fun by Busby Marou
Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini by Brian Hyland
Vomit Worthy Moments with Lovers 
Happy Together by The Turtles
Laughter in the Rain by Neil Sedaka
I Just Called to Say I love you by Stevie Wonder
Just the Way You Are by Billy Joel
Christmas Party  
Santa Baby by Eartha Kitt
All Occasion Songs with Singer-friendly Octaves 
Buttercup by The Foundations
In The Navy by The Village People
Dancing Queen by ABBA
One Note Samba by Tom Jobim

The Barely Breathing Child

                The child smiles, beaming with pure joy at the sights of the pastel coloured bears that dance atop the white cradle filled with pillows. Reaching out to catch the cause of the child’s stir, the baby falls on to the cushion. Beaming in spite of the falter, the attempt to reach the trinkets continues.

                The cries pierce every corner of the warm cosy house, but the jostle of the marketplace outside gives no notice. The milk did little to satisfy the hunger; the blisters from the rash further irritated, urging a scream for help. Finally, the child’s grandmother came and the ensuing embrace calmed the stubborn cries, cooing it to little sobs.

                Rain seeped into the house. River-water and rain met, flooding the little stories in a small cramped room. The stories that makes the child smile are now drenched in the flood. The lines from which formed and gave image are now smudges of colours, undistinguishable from one another. One by one the stories became nothing more than a mass of soggy paper.

                The child awoke in the stark room. Walking silently in the creaking wooden floor, chatter from below the landing can be heard. The child climbed down the wooden stairs with hangings of oriental maidens in promenade. People were gathered in front of the stove cooking and chatting. The child is not allowed to join in the conversations.

                The water tower stood high and unyielding. The child was sketching beneath the shade of a tree, cooled by the steady breeze of the sleepy afternoon. The grass swayed lazily as the child marched towards the tall tower ahead.  The child grasps the rusty handles of the rickety ladder, climbing steadily and nonchalant. Fear, courage and pride swept the child in successive turns yet the child did not know it then. Night came and the stars above the indigo skies glisten as if in salute of the feat while below the chorus of the various chirps and buzzes breathed through the silence.

                  Various palettes of colours in little round cases from sweet melon to glittery pinks are the child’s most kept secret. The child hid those in a green bag with torn straps carefully sewed back together by the loving grandmother. The child brings these little secrets to everywhere the child goes to. The other children found the little secret; they tried to keep it for themselves. The other children rubbed the powdered colours onto their faces. Spume of anger waived and the child shook. The other children dropped, ruined and spoiled the pretty colours; breaking the little cases so it couldn’t be closed any longer. The other children broke the strap of the little green bag.

                The winds were strong lifting debris wherever it goes. The rain harassed the tall grasses in the field beyond. Lightning sashayed from the sky in quick successions. Thunder roared in sonorous unison with the fear it brings into the hearts of those who listens. Outside of the paint-less house the child holds onto the pillars, awaiting the onrush of the powerful gust of wind. The child feels like flying whenever the wind swoops past the child; again and again try as it might the wind cannot move the child whose hold onto the pillar is tight. 

                Rain made drip-drop sounds beyond the window’s screen. The child awakens with the whistle of the child’s own breathing. Chest clenched from an unseen binding and an intense itching from the bites of little critters while in slumber, the child set out from the green-greyish unfamiliar bed.  

Tips for Shopaholics: Beat the Urge to Splurge

I used to be a really compulsive shopper. I've been employed for almost three years now and have nothing to show for it other than the massive pile of garments that occupy two closets and a half, towering stacks of shoeboxes and a heap full of bags in dust-jackets. I don't suffer from the compulsions anymore (because I'm broke); here are some tricks that helped:

When you have to pay a trip down your local mall

1. Chew on it for a day or two (If you’re lucky, it'll be sold-out by the time you comeback).

2. Tell yourself you'll buy it when you lose weight (You'll never lose weight so you'll never have to buy).

3. Try to dress up when you go shopping (Anything you try on will look good on you if you go there looking like you've been shipwrecked).

4. Get a friends opinion (To stop you from looking better than they do, the jealous double-crosser will talk you into not buying).

The 'I don't have anything to wear' moments

1. Borrow clothes (I wear my very rich cousin's dresses, without her permission of course).

2. Work with what you already have. If you often wear a particular shirt with denim jeans... try pairing it with a skirt instead.

3. Looking pretty for your crush doesn't count (Don't put much effort to someone who wouldn't even touch you with a 13 inch prodding rod).

Make your current Wardrobe Functional

1. Learn how to mix-and-match.

2. Accessorize (try not to look like you’re out to go fortune telling in Quiapo).

3. Organize so you see every piece of apparel you have available (I'd fit on clothes, roll them up and stash them back again if I don't wear it. I usually end up having an ukay-ukay in my own bedroom).

i. Clothes hanged should be arranged from longer pieces to shorter ones this creates a diagonal free space for use.

ii. Fold using a card board box as an outline. This makes it easier to pile them up.

iii. Separate the black pieces to prevent lint.

iv. Pieces you wear more often should be more accessible than what you're currently not using and are on standby for the "what-if-it-makes-a-comeback".

v. Knitted cardigans should be folded to let their shape last longer.

vi. Hand wash delicate fabrics.

vii. Launder denims inside out to save its color.

4. Try not to give away your old clothes (the hottest look for next season may be the khaki 'six-pockets').

5. Watch DIY tutorials to use your old stuff and make something new out of it (I used my brother's Abercrombie shirt and turned it in to a rosette clip-on for my shoes).

Good-looking people are as what the word implies... good-looking! If you look good you don't need a new outfit every day, I'm not one of those people so Imma go SHOPPING!!!!

Travel to Malaysia: Getting Your Way Around

We got off at the LCCT – KLIA not knowing how to get to Jalan Masjid, which was the place where we made hotel reservations online.  From the airport’s arrival area (keluar) there were strings of people holding up placards indicating bus services and their corresponding prices which was RM 18.00 per person. Those people looked desperate albeit official since they had booths; we decided to ignore them and we went outside to look for a way to get to the city. One of the best things about visiting Malaysia is that almost everyone speaks fluent English; a very helpful local directed us to a fleet of buses that had routes to the city, they sold tickets for RM 8.00.

We were dropped off at KL Sentral which is the transfer point for all the major rail systems in the country. We had trouble buying the tokens to get to our destination and this is how we firsthand experienced how helpful and honest the people of Malaysia are. While trying to buy the token, a woman from the back approached my mom and assisted us on doing the purchase and even directed us on how to get to the trains. As all of that was going on, I unknowingly dropped a wad of cash in Philippine denominations on the floor, a man tapped me on the back and gave it back bidding me to be careful the next time. When we got off of the train station we were hard put to locate the hotel but again the extremely helpful locals came through and lead us to where we needed to go. A guy helped us as well in finding a good place to have dinner which turned out to be really affordable.

One must be able to navigate their way on their own if one is travelling on a budget. You can ask anyone’s assistance and from my own experience everyone would be happy to help. The free maps at the airport are really handy. Get two maps just in case you lose the first one and take one copy of each if they come in different varieties. The Railway system of Malaysia is easy enough to understand and with the help of a map you’ll be able to get to whatever it is you want to go to and save a lot of money.

One Must remember to stay on the right hand side if you plan on waiting for the escalator to get you either up or down since a lot would be sprinting on their way to wherever it may be and you wouldn't want to get in their way. There is always either an escalator or a lift to take you up or down in the train stations. We learned this painfully having to carry our luggage through an endless flight of stairs and finding out in the end there's actually a lift on the opposite side. Seats are reserved for the elderly those who have disabilities as well as pregnant women, give way! 

My Blunders with Clothing

           Looking good has been an ability by many of my friends. I’m dumbfounded in that department though. I am well aware that scrutiny is in every corner yet I have been able to dismiss it as far as I could. Now that I’ve reached the part of my life called adolescence (e-hem...e-hem), I have no choice but to re-evaluate my exterior form in a more meticulous way than I ever had in the past. 

           My fashion blunders could be piled into records and can put any palatial library to shame. I blame the mishaps partly to my unsupportive mother, who never really got the hang of the idea of me-being the fashion savant that I would have been if she had given me the “green” for a formidable buying-power, I love her still tough. The other agent for the aforementioned occurrence is also due to my then clueless self–image. I never thought about it that much; I always felt that the people who often gawk at me are either impressed or insecure. When I look back at the outfits with those color-matching schemes… picture this: blue bandana, ¾ blue polo-shirt, khaki jeans and blue loafers. Yep, you heard it right a bandana… while watching a movie. The pants altered in shady ateliers to make them into super-flared trousers. How is this so? I would buy denim from my local sewing store and head to my atelier of choice with my doomed pants to be turned into creations of art, or so I thought. I would also horde the then extremely popular pheasant tops, with their butterfly sleeves and tons and tons of ruffles galore. In what color did you ask? Well, the usual black and red. The not so friendly choice of color combinations was the main culprit for those disasters, I remember one night-out with my extremely stylish friends. I wore a green shirt my mom bought for me, paired with the blood red elephant pants I bought and how can I forget the seashell pendant as my accessory. Talk about being the spirit of Christmas! The rampant self-humiliations also occurred in many places not just at school or in the mall. There was this time when we went to Club V. I was wearing the omnipresent ¾ polo-shirt, white pants, black slip-ons, and a fuchsia scarf. Oh yes you heard right! I was wearing an effing scarf in a club. I looked like a freaking bank teller.

           To this day I still have those off-days were I wear chunky green platform clogs and a polka-dotted yellow maternity dress. I never really got the hang of that mix and matching thing. I think I can safely call it mismatching complex. Never did I have the hang of that layering thing that’s all the rage this season. Vigilance is the key, effort is also needed. Fashion is not just a wanton thing that you can neglect all you want. You could be born with exceptionally good genes

Tips on Love: How to Get Over Heartbreak

It could be from a misunderstanding, deceit, incompatibility or just sheer rejection. Heartbreak is inevitable and could be from various reasons, for whatever the reason may be, here are a few things you can try doing to get through it. 

1. Stalk 'em! (peruse your ticker and checkout all his/her activities in Facebook.)
2. Get yourself really upset with that person. (let go of the happy memories and get yourself totally pissed.)
3. If the person is with someone else don't try to avoid them, gird your loins and bear the pain soon you'll be so hurt you wont feel anything anymore. (make the photo of the two of them your wallpaper.)
4. Talk to your friends about how you feel; they're there for this exact reason, regardless of how repetitive your monologues about your pain may be. (they'll talk behind your back about how tiring you are already... they're right.
5. Convince yourself your better off without him or her. 
6. Look for someone else or something else to divert your attention. (get a hobby... mixed-martial arts can come in really handy, take some classes.)You should be over it by now, if not seek professional treatment.

Pain is a part of life, its what makes living all the more fun. You have so many things to be thankful for... count your blessing and be happy. ♥

Tips on Dating: How to Ask a Girl Out

Effective ways to get her on a date and ensure you wont make a fool out of your self if she declines

1. Pick a suitable target (skip if you already have one in mind ages ago).
2. Approach her casually, get a grip of yourself and stop fidgeting (get an object to hold so you could channel your nerves on it)
3. Start a conversation (weather, politics, current events, your neighbor who cant pay the rent... etc.)
4. Ask if she has any plans on the date you intend to ask her out (this step eliminates the chances of you humiliating yourself with a "I'm going to have dinner with XXXX, sorry.")
5. Talk about this really great place you've been to (restaurant, pub, theater, driving range, karindiria... etc.)
6. Tell her that you'd love to go with her.

Man-up and ask her out the worst thing you could get is a NO you can always look for someone else, good luck!

Whistler's Hallow

I

As winds flee from his radiant train;

He rides in scarlet steeds.

Of folks who live, both poor and vain;

He’s known of valiant deeds

His ardor so relentless!

Heroic, brave and dauntless.

II

He lives where righteous courage thrives;

The land of joy and glee.

They live in pious harmonious lives;

Of care, they are all free.

Devoted to religion;

Beset with shrewd volition.

III

She rivals that of royal maids

and woodland muses’ lore.

She spends her days in sunlit glades;

She’s lovely to the core.

Her beauty is surpassing

Fair, lovely and enchanting

IV

But seldom fate; flout the lives we lead,

None is spared from its clutches.

Hero and heroine both bound to heed,

In its murky wily wrenches.

With twisting plots and tragic endings,

Endowed with all its trappings.

V

And hence beheld, by her, his grace;

Her heart was soon enthralled.

Devoid in wise and proper ways;

Her kin was soon appalled.

In reason she is wanting.

Her life will be debasing.

VI

To feel the hard and heating girth;

An act she’d dare commit

No joy is found in all of earth;

Of blame, from her omit.

O’ carnal flesh delighting

O’ sinful deeds exciting!

VII

She weeps in sleepy silent nights,

Pining in endless chasms.

She dreams of gallant daring flights,

Symptoms of phantasm.

Driven mad from his rejection;

She fled into seclusion.

VIII

In the sleepy Whistlers’ Hallow;

There she pines forevermore.

In trenches deep not shallow,

Hear the beatings of the shore.

She plots for crude devices,

The tragedy arises.

A Bleak Reality

The show every person puts on in a daily basis makes me nauseous. We live in a circus where the spectators are the performers. In this show there is no curtain call.

Back in the days where I would use a pair of shoes over and over until its soles fall off before buying a new one, life was as simple as it could get. How I miss the days when I had no issues with my weight. I could pig-out days on end without a second thought. Now, even the question of dinner is considered through stringent deliberation. Those were the days when I would wear anything I fancied and faced the world with dead malice.

I was once indifferent to the prejudices of this stern world, apathetic to the dictates of conventional society. I was happy. Today my innocence is long lost to the malicious world of insecurity, back-stabbing and dirty politics.

As a kid, I had a fairly typical life. I would draw pictures of my favorite TV show characters on materials like cartons or on my asthma prescription boxes. I would cut them out and these paper dolls had kept me company throughout grade school. It was a common sight to see me sitting on a table in front of my paper toys murmuring incoherently while I moved the figures around. In High school, when I grew too old for my trusty cut-outs, I would day-dream. I’d spend the rest of my days in reverie, traversing to far-off places or defeating the latest villain of my imaginings. As I grew older the ventures of my imagination became less and less frequent until it altogether stopped.

I was with a fast-set, in college, that I tried to keep up with; a crowd of partying, alcohol, pretensions, smoking and drugs. These are the circumstances in which you can say that good is relative and that differences in beliefs are what defines right and wrong.

Fine lines were blurred--that and my sense of self were hazed along with my sense of reason. I lost reason the first time I chose to lie to my parents. I lost my sense of self the moment I decided to feign interest in the songs of artists’ that have no depth at all. Since then, never was there a day that I could just put my guard down. I would always be on my toes, trying to please everyone -everyone even virtual strangers, people I don’t know --of which I’m sure I would never see again. I had to talk, walk, and look pleasing. I knew I was under the scrutiny of a wicked society. I was conscious in every stride I took, in every word I say, on clothes I wear, and in every single morsel I put in my mouth.

I grudgingly let go of the banalities of my childhood that I once treasured. No more stains. Severely manicured and tailored to perfection. I have parted with my slippers in exchange for torture in heels; I wear cosmetic masks everyday to hide the imperfections which is the sum total of my whole being; traipse in this word of lies disillusioned by the prospect of blinding with glitz the liar right next to me.

The Filipino Bakya-Complex

 I’m not trying to be something bordering to fashion-guruish, but I think I should have a say in these whole issue of what I christened, the Filipino Bakya-complex. You know what I mean? How many of us horde the glossies of our choice perusing each page for the hottest looks of the season. But there is one thing you should understand; the season in North America is not exactly the same with ours. You asked why? Not just because there is the obvious longitudinal distance, the location of the continents we belong in gives us different weather patterns; giving them four seasons’ autumn, winter, summer and spring while we only have the rainy and sunny seasons (sounds like pre-school). So we cannot really wear the autumno/inverno of the west. We can at the least take focal points from the fashion collections like the colors, materials, and piece it together to make it appropriate to be worn in the equatorial part of the globe. Basically it means- do not wear the faux fur coat, iolite knitted scarves that drops to your knees with button details and the chunky-clunky uggs. We also see a lot of unconventional pieces nowadays brought to us by the avant-garde masters of fashion, there is nothing wrong with this, Ivarluski Aseron was even commissioned by Folded and Hung to make prêt-a-porter pieces for their line. The two things we have to take into account is the local demographic in the place we would wear these pieces and the location and event where we would go wearing them. Simply put, do not do your groceries wearing an asymmetrical metallic top with gargantuan sleeves reminiscent of the Japanese kimono, the deconstructed denim with a plethora of gun-metal studs and sky high Gucci Oxfords (I know I sound a wee bit exaggerated, but that’s an idea for you).  

     Further on that note, we also have this thing were in we mimic what we see the local celebrities are wearing on TV. I know mimicry in psychological theories is a phase we all go trough in childhood; but to wear a hoodie in the middle of the summer heat wave, just because Sandara Park did so, is just awfully wrong. This is based on actual experience, there I was roasting alive with my friend and we saw two girls strolling along wearing blue and pink long sleeved jackets with hoods! I was thinking “damn they must be wearing eucalyptus sunblocks!”  That would explain the superhuman tolerance to the excruciating heat that would have rendered us mortals into a one-way heatstroke.  

       The moral of the story is we should wear what we feel comfortable in. It doesn’t mean you should have no qualms about whatever you slap on your back. Depending on what the magazines dictate for you to wear and imitating the garbs of the stars would only make you unimaginative and it would mean forfeiting your identity for someone else’s. We should strive for individuality and harness our creativity to its fullest extent. Never should we be the doppelgangers’ of the celebrities. We should be our own selves and be proud of it.     

Checklist for the Man of My Dreams

失われた

Needs to be good in math (my # 1 frustration)
Has to be funny (I get bored fast!)
Always has a hankie (cleanliness is next to Godliness)
Is an amazing crooner (I'm tone deaf)
Is skinny (b'coz I'm a blob)
Has a lot of pimples (gives texture to the fez)
Braces (I've crooked teeth)
Is not interested in me ('coz I love playing the game and I hate men who are needy)
Needs to be articulate ('coz I'm a strict grammarian)