What Is That?!

And so Sunday morning, I woke up early to get to the bazaar on time. Since I am not, by no stretch of imagination, a morning person, I was sleepy and groggy on the way to Rockwell. I got there at eight, just enough time to get my things in order and set up for the opening at ten. Since I still didn't have my chairs and table, I ended up sitting on this big, black block. I sat there for quite some time.

The table and chairs came, and so I started fixing my stuff. When the bazaar started, everything just became a blur. A little before lunch time, I asked my friend M to look after my table while I grabbed something to eat.

Waiting for my Hungarian sausage sandwich, the attendant said, "Miss, may grasa sa likod niyo." ("Miss, you have a greasy stain on your back.") A man waiting with me goes, "Hindi yan grasa, design yan!" (That's not grease, that's the design of her shirt.") And true enough, right smack on my behind, on my long, white dress shirt was this black patch of something, that yes, could be mistaken for some kind of artwork. (The big, black block was apparently freshly painted Ack!!) Since I didn't bring any change of clothes, I just carried on and went through the day with that black patch of something behind me.

And guess what? Most of the people I met throughout the day thought that it was, indeed, part of the design. "But J, look! Doesn't that look like a tree with a building behind it?" M said. "I thought it was some kind of eighties artwork," said T. "It actually looks nice. You should have gone back to that box and rolled your shirt all over it," said D.

Accidents can sometimes bring happy surprises :)

The Fake Cry

Every day, it seems, Baby S is learning something new.

The other day, she was walking around holding a long, metal stick in her hand, which she picked up I don't know where. When her Mom grabbed it away from her, Baby S ran to the bed, buried her head on the pillows, and started "fake" crying. I'm sure you're all familiar with that fake baby cry, the one where no tears pour out from their eyes and where it's all loud, dramatic howling.

I just sat there, looking at her, and started laughing. After all, I've seen this scene four times before and I wondered, how do babies (or maybe I should start calling her a kid now?) learn how to fake cry? Is it in their genes? She couldn't have picked it up from any of my kids, her uncles, who are all taller than me and who have not fake-cried in years. She couldn't have picked it up from other babies because well, she doesn't know too many babies yet. And as far as I know, nobody has taught her how to fake cry.

Pretty soon, we were all laughing at the fake-crying baby because, well, ain't she such a drama queen? When nobody approached her, she raised her head a little, took a peek at us, and then buried her head on the pillow again. In time, her mom picked her up, and true enough, there were no tears. And as soon as her mom started talking to her, Baby S smiled. You little devil! :)

Bazaar Sunday

I've been making chains all day for Expo Mom at Rockwell tomorrow. It's another exciting event organized by one of my best friends, Janice V. She's one mom who so loves being a mom and who loves helping other moms be the best moms they can be. I've known her for years, and I must say that I admire her creativity, tenacity, and strength. If you want something done right, Janice V. is the person to do it.

Here, some photographs I took from her last event, Expo Kid. And if Expo Mom is just half as exciting as Expo Mom then we're all going to be in for a good ride :) Join us!!




Janice and one of her beloved kids :)





Wall stickers for any room





Cutie kiddie shirts





Art workshops for children

Fly In, Fly Out

I call it a drive-by assignment. I flew in the night before and then flew out the very next day, spending less than 24 hours in Ilocos, some seven hours of that sleeping. It was a fruitful assignment, however, as I got to meet this spectacularly inspiring woman. She is one hardworking lady, and she just makes me want to work, work, and work some more.

But that's not what this entry all about :) As I was packing for my trip that afternoon, I realized that I was packing more gadgets than clothes in my overnighter. Over the years, I've mastered the art of packing light. I usually have a lot of black stuff to mix and match, just enough undies (I can always wash and dry them super fast), and teeny tiny toiletries. This trick has served me well, and I often have the smallest travel bag in our group. Once, I managed to pack all my stuff for a three day-two night trip in a regular-sized shoulder bag (we were going to stay in a beach resort so I just brought a bunch of swimsuits and sarongs).

These days, however, I can't afford to be light. When I travel, I bring my netbook (to work and check my and Facebook), my netbook's charger, my digital camera, my battery charger, my cell phone charger, my tape recorder (yes, I know I should change to a voice recorder but I just don't have the time to shop around), and extra batteries. Add those things up and they definitely make for a not so very light bag. Still, the tools of my trade are lighter than those of my photographer friends. All those lights, and umbrellas, and tripods... hassle!! However, the most favorite gadget that I've ever seen brought on a work assignment is that of my girlfriend E's. Assigned to go to a far-flung island without any electricity, he brought along with him a blow dryer. How's that for gadget love?! :)

Bangkok Burning

Am watching CNN and there's smoke all over Bangkok. The city is burning and it really is a sorry sight. I do not know anything about Thai politics but whatever the issues are, I hope they are resolved soon.

Bangkok is such a lovely city. The first time I set foot on Bangkok, I was instantly reminded of our very own Manila: instead of churches, they've got temples; instead of Divi,they've got Chatuchak and the Night Market; instead of the Pasig River, they've got the Chao Praya. I was instantly drawn as well to their people, who speak so calmly and quietly and sweetly.

I'm not much a shopper but I enjoyed the really cool prices at the Night Market, and the fact that there were so many young people designing their own stuff and selling their own line of clothes, bags, accessories, whathaveyous. But what I enjoyed most, apart from the temples and the ride through the river, is the food. It was like I died and had gone to spice heaven (and mind you, I am not into spicy food).




Just a couple of minutes away from our hotel is this gigantic Reclining Buddha. It is so fantastically huge that the first time I laid eyes on it, I was absolutely speechless!





Here she is all golden and beautiful!





The Reclining Buddha is inside this big temple complex; this is just one of the many interesting structures there. I like the mosaic tile work.





I did not have time to cross the river and climb Wat Arun's steps. That would have been such a Lara Croft Tomb Raider moment! "I'll be back!!"





Ate at Condoms and Cabbages. Nope, we did not end up eating condoms-although there were lots of them as you can see from this witty mannequin. We ate lots of curries and tom yum: delicious!





I love this photo! First off, I love the Suvarnabhumi Airport. Its architecture is just amazing. Second, there was this girl waiting for her flight who grabbed a book and just laid her back on one of the benches. She is so cool! I wanted to find out what she was reading but had to catch my flight home :)

Busyness

I know. I haven’t blogged for some time now. Twice this week, my daughter E goes to me and says, "Ma, wala ka pa ring bago!" (Ma, you don't have a new entry!") I blame it on my so-called “busyness” phase and the fact that our Internet service bogged down yet again.

Anyway, it’s been three months since I quit my job, and really, I never thought I’d be doing all sorts of things at this time. I actually thought I would just be dreaming the days away, watching movies and cooking spaghetti. I thought I'd have a lot of free time to write essays and make chains and maybe start drawing flowers again.

But, as I told my friends A and B, the universe abhors a vacuum. And true enough, on the very first day that I was out of work, I was already on my way to Manila to do an interview. From that moment on, I have not stopped writing and editing and copy-editing and making chains and doing all sorts of Web stuff. I've had a grand time being a full-time freelancer, never knowing what I'll be doing from one week to the next. It's kinda scary, true, but it's very exciting too.

Sometimes, it really is best to listen to your heart :)

The Garden

When mom and dad moved into their new home, there was no garden. There was just this patch of soil that ran through the side of the house. The soil was parched; it didn't look like it could nurture flowers to life. Fast forward to today and the garden is just beautiful. After hours and hours of tending, planting and replanting, water and fertilizer, the garden is full of life. My mom has a green thumb and she would spend hours in her garden--adding plants, taking out old ones, looking at each and every bud, breathing each of them to life.

Here's a peek at her garden:




Blooming potted flowers (Not being a green thumb, I have no idea as to their names)





A one-winged angel watching over the greens





This marble table has been with us forever





Everybody's favorite spot






Step by step

Happiness

Baby S is a happy baby. When she wakes up and she sees somebody peeking inside their room, she says, "Haloo!" When she gets to have the thing that she wants, she says, "Tank yu!"

I could already see that we are going to spoil Baby S like crazy. And why wouldn't we? She is adorable, and she has all these cute tricks! When we say "panic," she starts a long, slow wail, raises both her arms, and turns her head left and right. When we say "hep hep," she raises both arms, smiles, and goes "Hooray!" We hang on to her every word, her every smile. And oh how she loves the attention!

Just this evening, she showed us her new trick. She was holding this little toy dog in her hand (and yes, she could already say the word dog!). What she'll do is hide the dog behind her back and say, "Na na" ("No more"); and then just as quickly she'll put her hand in front and show us the dog. We all go "Yehey!" She did this four or five times at least, and each and every time, we'd say "Yehey!"

That little girl has got all five of us wrapped in her tiny little fingers and for the life of me, I just don't care. I don't care if we're giving her too much attention. I don't care if we look like fools. I don't care. She is just this little bundle of walking, talking joy, and for now, while I still can, I'd like to kiss her and hug her and carry her and laugh at all her little tricks. These days are precious!

Hardcore

My daughter E thinks these metal finish chains look too hardcore. I, on the other hand, adore them. They're less glittery than gold and less modern than silver. In other words, they look just about right. True, gold is still the most popular of my chains but these metal finish chains are doing quite nicely too. Here, some of my new designs. Enjoy!




This is a variation of my shield design, only smaller and rounder.





This is the original shield design.





My girlfriend E, upon seeing my shield design, suggested that I make it longer, like a dress, which I did.





This is the shield dress from the back.

Labor Pains

In her Facebook status, my friend M said that she was spending Labor Day chilling out with the one person whom she experienced it with. I could not help but laugh at her remark. She was, of course, talking about her son.

I remember the first time I went into labor. I have a relatively high threshold for pain; I don't hurt easily but going into labor was something else. I hurt all over. I didn't know whether to sit or stand or lie down because none of those positions gave me any sort of comfort. I didn't know whether I wanted to pee or poo or just keel over and die. I couldn't even cry. In other words, it was torture!!

And guess what? I went through this excruciating torture not just once, not twice but four times over!!! Which is why I firmly believe that something in the female reproductive system (or maybe it's just general anesthesia) makes her forget the torture device that is labor for the good of the species (Mwahahaha). Because really, no woman of sound mind and body would go through that thing twice, let alone four times! (Or maybe I just had fits of insanity four times over!)

I wish I could tell you that when you see that adorable little baby, the pain will all go away like magic. No deal. Because by then you'll have to deal with healing stitches while trying not to fall asleep as you breastfeed your baby. It's not accidental then that after Labor Day comes Mother's Day.

Happy labor day, mommies! :)

Children's Party

Shooting children is not easy. Not all photographers have the charm nor the patience to make children, especially those in the preschool age and below, to smile for the camera, much less stay still for it. When there are children involved, it is always best to expect the unexpected.

That's why I always feel like I am at a children's party whenever I go to a Smart Parenting shoot. There are any number of kids involved. There's lots of food. And there will be, at one point or another, some child who will start crying or go running around. As every mom knows, kids never stay put in one place.





Here, I am talking with Arkin and Clara in this really cool chair. The two are just sweet and adorable.





Shooting out of doors is always fun as it gives the kids a chance to move around. Here, we take shots of Christine and her kids at a playground just outside their home.





Claudine, Carmina, and Jodi with their kids trying to say cheese all together now! Believe me, there were a lot of takes before our photographer got to get everyone to give their best smile all at the same time!





Photog A is great with kids because he knows how to goof off like them.





B in paparazzi mode. I love his Heroes shirt, which he got for only P100 at Shopwise! Must go!





J giving cues to the kiddies.





M's kids dropped by for a quick visit. Baby R is so cute, and I just managed to catch B in the picture.





What's a party without the food? At an SP shoot, apart from some pasta and pizza, there's always empanada from Red Ribbon. Yummy!






And here is the finished product. Out now! :)