A September to Remember

Another month has passed and I'm ready to count my blessings. My parents has marked their 31st wedding anniversary, my cousin Arnie (who, by the way, really needs to undergo speech pathology lessons to correct his speaking handicapability) added another year to his age, and my cousin Angel, who is also my contemporary, finally laid to rest after years of battling his chronic illness. I'm just glad that Angel's family is okay and that his wife's family extended their support during his trying times.

I'm also thankful for learning how the holy month of Ramadan is to our Muslim brothers and sisters, and receiving unexpected gifts from colleagues and strangers alike. Even though this month might have left a dent on my wallet, I am grateful for having learned the value of being happy despite having limited spending power. Fortunately, the dry spell in finances was alleviated with a tiny rain. God does provide during hard times specially when you abundantly help even if you have so little to give.

Glad that I was able to hear (and criticize) PGMA's talk to OFWs about our welfare. But, I'm just darn glad she came and reassured fellow OFWs that the government is working doubly hard for our security.

I've learned again to appreciate the beauty of the contrasting climates of the places I call home. I miss the rains back home, but not its yucky aftermath. I miss the humidity back home because I can't breathe here whenever I'm outside my house or the office. I unfortunately get rashes as well that's why I miss the weather in Pinas. Thank the heavens most of my titos and titas here are from the medical field so they helped me cure my rashes and sunburnt skin during the staycation.

I'm so glad and thankful for being a Filipino. Even if Ondoy devastated the Philippines, there were many things that woke up in the collective consciousness of Filipinos. We have rekindled the value of pakikipagkapwa tao and bayanihan by helping out in the relief operations (whether in cash or in kind), thought twice on the double-faced help given by politicos and others who have hidden agendas, and realized that we should take care of Mother Nature because she's a nasty bitch when she retaliates. I know God is still good because at least Ondoy came on a Saturday. Imagine the horror if it was on a school day.

To everyone back home: you're always in my prayers.

I'll be doing this Tenchu (that's my baby talk for 'thank you') posts at the end of every month to chronicle the things I am grateful for. Count those blessings! ;)

Process Is Design, Too

A nice read celebrating how design is not ultimately restricted to things, and has now included processes under its wings.

Winning Ways of Making a Better World by Alice Rawsthorn in NY Times

Kiva in the last four years has distributed over $86 million in micro-loans to the working poor all over the world. It works with local micro-finance institutions, which have the specialist knowledge needed to identify suitable recipients, but don’t have enough money to help them. Kiva’s role is to persuade people to lend. So far it has convinced over 500,000 of them to do so and, on Friday, was named one of five winners of the INDEX: Award 2009, the biennial design prize funded by the Danish government to celebrate examples of “design to improve life.”

It is less obvious why Kiva is eligible for a design award. By any definition, it is a fantastic project, which undoubtedly helps “to improve life” by raising money for people who desperately need it. But what does it have to do with design?

The answer is not much if you think of design solely in terms of its traditional role of creating “things,” like the Chulha. But Kiva is a product of what is called the “new design,” “process design” and “service design” — a fluid process of applying design thinking to abstract issues, such as changing human and organizational behavior.

Beware of Reactionary Workflow

Beware of Reactionary Workflow by Scott Belsky in The 99%

In an era of mobile devices, instant connectivity, and automated mailing lists and notifications, it is all too easy for people to contact us. As a consequence, we live our lives just trying to keep our heads above water. Our ability to prioritize and control our focus is crippled by an unyielding flow of incoming communication: email, texts, tweets, facebook messages, phone calls, and so on (and on).

Make a Bed with Hospital Corners

It maybe meticulous and time-consuming but the thought of a pristine-looking bed makes the chaos organizer in me smile.

Why Only a Handful Have Something as Important as This

~ Voltaire

A fitting tribute to the quotation that embodies the most important characteristic that is unfortunately missing amongst most of the people I currently have interaction with.

The Nine-Day Staycation

To signal the end of the Ramadan, the holy month in the Islamic calendar, the Eid holidays have given expatriates like me a total of five working days off including two weekends (that's two Thursdays and Fridays). *counts with fingers* I had a total of nine days for a vacation. And it's probably the only vacation I'm going to experience the whole year.

I originally wanted to secretly go back home to experience the beach again (not that there aren't any beaches here, I actually live near one) aside from wanting to surprise my family and friends. My plan instantly crumbled upon learning the price of a single round trip airline ticket. It has doubled tripled its value days before Ramadan even started. I honestly couldn't afford it specially since I'm helping my family financially more than ever.

There was no other choice for me but to stage a staycation. What's a staycation? It's a relatively new buzzword that is "a portmanteau that combines 'stay' and 'vacation' and refers to a holiday that takes place either at or near home," according to Consumer Reports.

I wanted those days to be a 216-hour continuum of uninterrupted sleep and bumming around, but that blissful dream, sadly, never transpired into reality. I even wrote down a list of what to do during those nine days before it even started yet no one from the list got scrapped off. I never imagined those days will go by as if I just batted my eyelashes for nine times.

If there was a memo evangelizing ignorant people like me who never knew vacations can turn into a living, morbid nightmare, shame on you for hoarding that info.

Whining is a good stress-reliever, no? ;P

P.S. I'm thinking that I might do some posts of the highlights (eh? sure, if you can call them that) of my staycation.

Politeness means Bowing and Shrinking

Friends are constantly complaining (over the social networks) about the nonstop rain back home which caused a lot of flooding almost everywhere. I actually miss having raindrops fall on my head and, gasp, the smell of the earth after the rain. The rain is a gift, y'all; learn to appreciate it. (Wait, did I just say y'all?)

If I was there right now, I'll be sporting this Polite Umbrella by JooYoun Paek, a New York-based Korean interaction designer.

The umbrella morphs to reduce occupied space and to increase user maneuverability. Users of this shrinkable umbrella can easily adjust them anytime by pulling a handle so that they can protect themselves from harsh winds or bumping into others. It bows and shrinks, y'all! (Did I just say y'all again?)

Definitely a recommended buy for those who do not wish the evils brought by those pesky poking ends of an umbrella on a rainy day.

By Now You Know Who Scored Dates. Again.

Someone left another plastic bag on my table last Wednesday.

Inside was a huge tray full of Arabian dates.

I'm so loving the handles. Mama is already thinking of the ways to repurpose the tray.

This time the dates were from Bateel, a luxury store that offers elegantly packaged gourmet dates, chocolates, and pastries.

I like the intricate foil backing and slight debossing of the insignia (if that is the insignia for Bateel). It's much more nicer when you look at the card up front than viewing it through the snapshots.

The card, by the way, didn't say who the gift was from. Hmmm...

DIY Dock for iPhones

Pictured above is a cardboard dock for iPhones (and iPod Touch units alike) designed by Dessine moi un objet. Maganda siya, no?

Aside from gaining plus points from the looks department, the bestest thing about the dock is that it's free! (I'm such a sucker for freebies!) You can download the A-4 and letter-sized templates for the dock here and you can also watch the instructional video below.



source

Validation Begets Validation

Validation, written and directed by Kurt Kuenne, is (according to its YouTube page) "a fable about the magic of free parking."

I'm not sure if the movie is categorically a fable (because I believe that fables involve animals), but what I'm sure of is that it's a sweet and romantic short about love and reciprocity.

Guess Who Scored Some Dates Yesterday

A certain someone left me this box yesterday after lunch.

Untied the ribbon of my gift to see what's in stored for me. (I have like these crazy eyes of a kid who can't wait to open presents for Christmas. Swear!)

There was a letter inside the white thingy. Pictured below is the cover for the letter and the inside of the cover for the letter. The foil blocking and deboss done on the cover adds a nice soft touch to the Arab-inspired curvatures drawn on the cover. The inside of the cover, on the other hand, really played up with the color scheme used for the logo in the box.

Ta-da! Presenting the ultra super mega rare dates that are oh-so yummy you'll be proud to say YUM-OH!

Now, that's the little crack my parents made so we can all indulge into sugar heaven.

Gouache Paintings by Kazuki Takamatsu

These are seriously amazing anime-inspired gouache paintings by Kazuki Takamatsu.

I don't know much about gouache but recalling what I've learned from my arts class before is that it's like this thick water colour paint made of gum and chalk that is surprisingly opaque and bulks up when painted. I haven't seen an artist who uses gouache in action. I'm psyched to see the painting process of the medium and I hope to find some videos about it soon. *prays*

The art is refreshing, no?

If you're wondering why I pick those art pieces that have girls with bunny ears in them: No, I do not have a thing for bunny ears.

Reading: Out by Natsuo Kirino

I have to somehow purge my reading list. Books to be read are piling up on my bedside table while those I have read are in my pseudo-book case.

I've finished Paulo Coelho's Brida sometime last month -- the first book I finished this year. The story was very organic and I've learned so much from it. This is probably one of the reasons why I had a hard time finishing it. I had to digest its very strong messages.

Now, I'm directing all my efforts to Out, the award-winning novel of Natsuo Kirino, Japan's reigning queen of crime.

I'm excited to finish the novel (hopefully within the month) and find out why this book was "sensational".

Two Shopping Escapades and A Wedding Anniversary

My parents celebrated their 31st wedding anniversary on 09.09.09. Imagine, 31 years of staying together and looking out to very naughty kids like my siblings and I? They sure did a good job raising us as well-rounded individuals and I decided to thank them on that very lucky day by treating them out to dinner.

It was unfortunate, however, that my dad was invited to an iftar by his client that night so we decided to reschedule my treat to them the following day. We finally went out last night and they decided to eat at Applebee's in Jarir Plaza for dinner.

The food was great! All of the servers are fellow Pinoys so we felt right at home. Papa had a steak while mom and I had pasta and chicken. Mama couldn't finish everything on her plate so we decided to take the order out even if Papa was totally against the idea.

Since we're so full, we decided to go to walk the pounds off by going to Ikea to check out the new 2010 catalogue.

My parents were looking for a new TV bench to replace their decade-old one while I was looking for the catalogue. The kabayan manager told me that they are still in production and will be available by the end of the month. Papa and Mama didn't find any TV bench on sale too.

While sulking a bit on the way to the checkout, I found out that my favorite chair, Urban, is on sale and is now priced at SAR 175 (~ PHP 2,250)! It was priced at SAR 375 (~ PHP 4,800) before that's why I'm so happy with the price cut for this chair.

There weren't new stocks for the orange Urban so I'm still holding out until there begin importing again. I didn't particularly like the remaining orange Urban chairs because they look really old and soiled.

All I was left with on the counter was the two pieces of Bräda -- a cute and stylish laptop stand -- one for me and one to be shared by Papa and Mama. It's dirt cheap too at SAR 19 (~ PHP 240). I am such a sucker for cheap but well-made items.

Oh and, by the way, Verdana was all over the store premises na. Eep!

Jarir Bookstore was the next stop for us, mag-anak, and spent most of our time browsing books. Here's what I purchased:

I bought Computer Arts issues 164 and 166 (165, the graduate showcase ish, was nowhere in sight), Ken Watanabe's Problem Solving 101, a Keep Calm and Carry On book (because the book is the next best thing to the poster that I can't buy online), and a Moleskine-esque notebook for my doodles. Good thing Papa brought his discount card that slashed a lot from the prices.

To cap the night off, we watched Villa Estrella and Miami Vice, and slept in very, very late.

The Secret Life of A Shopping Cart

Cart is a short film by Jesse Rosten about a day in the life of a, well, shopping cart. Nice camera work and the music is a sweet indulgence.

Lusting Over A $1995 Bag

My mom and I are the bag hags in our family. Shopping for bags is an addiction we both share, much like a bonding-slash-exercise activity for us inside malls.

There are instances we bought bags behind each other's backs and went ga-ga over the incidents. We interrogate one another of the purchase and never fails to mention the date we have bought the latest bag in our collection.Well, mostly my mom interrogates me with my new bag, making me worried sick to the point that I experience buyer's remorse. But, whenever I return the favor, she always puts on the puppy dog eyes and narrates the perpetual story that she never buys anything lucrative for herself except for bags. I'd like to put on a brave face in order to smack her with a rebuttal but then it's too late for me for smoke gets in her eyes. Damn! My mom's good, no? LOL

I have never lusted over a bag before (swear!) but this Proenza Schouler bag was absobloodylutely an exception.

I love the color (but I'm also lusting the black one), plus it's semi-utilitarian-but-still-stylish in the looks department. I also like the fact that even if it's a bitch bag, it still looks sexy enough for a guy.

The bag retails at around $1,995 at Barneys. A little pricey for me that's why it's my goal from hereon to find a good alternative before I'm tired of stopping myself to go broke for this bag.

[image via]

Why I Think The Afternoons Are Great

~ Annie Dillard

The photo I used was shot way back in 2005. This was when my siblings and I went to Quezon to visit our lot and decided to side trip to the nearby beach (literally within the limits of my "walking distance" measurement) for some afternoon fun.

Speaking of fun, that thought from Annie Dillard reminds me to lay down my uptight personality and just enjoy the moments spent with my family particularly my parents.

Amigurumi-inspired Videos from U900

Below are the short, adorable music videos of U900, a ukelele duo from Japan. The music came from their album “Ukulele Ventures” which is pictured above. The duo, as you can see, are represented in the videos by an amigurumi bunny and bear (on second thought, is it a cross between a tiger and a bear?).

And aren't amigurumi the cutest? Amigurumi, by the way, are knitted or crocheted stuffed animals although the crocheted ones are the more popular type nowadays mainly because they're easier to do. I'm actually thinking of taking up making amigurumu as a hobby but I'm not sure the materials are available here.

Kawaii-ness is the way to go to make Sundays happy and inspiring! \(^O^)/

Diamond Head


Walk Don't Run (Isogabamaware)


[spotted]

Ikea Sans Futura: Hello, Verdana!

I had dinner at Ikea Food (second floor, the whole Ikea complex is near Jarir Plaza) on Thursday and I was surprised to see Verdana all over the food section. (I wish I brought my camera phone then.) It kind of bugged me while I was having my vegetarian lasagna, but it kinda looked okay upfront, not afar. Futura though is still used on the other parts of the store but it's probably because the 2009 lookbook for Ikea is still on its way out. (I can't wait for the 2010 collection!)

I loved Ikea's version of Futura and, with the recent report that it's changing its heart over the use of the typeface, I'm sure I'm going to miss it a lot. It might be a cost effective move for them to use Verdana worldwide, yes, but I feel they should've made their own version of it. Or they should have stuck with Futura. Them using Verdana makes me feel like I'm going into a plain thrift store where, in fact, it used to be a glorified, well-designed thrift store.

Typography Fans Say Ikea Should Stick to Furniture by Edward Rothstein in NY Times

We tend to think of text as semantically invisible, the letters being mere tools used clearly to display words, which convey the true meanings. But no one who actually wants you to pay attention to those meanings risks thinking that way: advertisers, logo designers, magazine and book publishers and catalog creators spend millions on fonts because they know the medium has a message.

Retro MP3 Player for Cassette Tape Junkies

There was the Cassette Tape USB Hub, and now there's the USB Casette MP3 Player.

What's more interesting is that you can push it into your car setero to play all your favorite MP3 tunes, right from your SD card. Cool, right? And because you can connect to the PC using it's mini USB cable (which also charges the unit), it even doubles up as a card reader.

Yay for retro!

[via]

Boogerific

Kinurot, kinalmot

na parang bansot.

Winalis paalis

na parang galis.

Sinulot, hinindot

na parang pulot.

Mabilis na hinagis

upang di mapanis.

Kulangot, O, kulangot

sa dingding ibinalot.

A tribute to the wall full of snot near the office stairways.

A Year of Walking & Hair/Beard Growing

I'm digging this time-lapse video of a guy who originally planned to walk from China to Germany and, in the process of extensively chronicling his journey on foot, captured how his hair and beard grew from nada to the point of being afraid of conditioners and razors.

He never got to finish his original goal though, but he did walk for 4500km, passed the desert of Gobi, and has (for now) decided to stop walking. It's still a feat, I say!

Makes me want to be more adventurous in life (and to remember to bring a manity kit wherever I go).