packing light

I've packed four days into my weekender. Mahatir, I will finally see your masterpiece.

Off to Malaysia :)

mercedes-benz, now and forever

I drive a Mercedes-Benz, so this is going to be a biased post. And while I try my very best not to seem like a hardcore Benz bigot, I really am one, especially when I meet people who have an unreal/uninformed perception of their Hondas or what have you. Don't get me wrong - I respect Japanese cars. In fact, my daily driver is a Japanese car. But don't come to me saying that your ricer is fast, because you and I both know it isn't -- not compared to my Benz.

Anyway, I was delighted to see this post from a fellow Benz enthusiast. To make the long story short, he was driving along SLEX and became the subject of rage of a Honda City driver. Here are some excerpts from his blog (some parts edited for clarity):

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"So this is the story of one bigot Honda City owner, who thinks that all Benz owners shouldn't be yielded a right of way. But first, what is a Honda City?

(It) is a compact sedan - a typical Japanese Ricer. Everything in this car is so stupid and backward. The design is totally the opposite of German engineering superiority. Believe me, I would rather take a bus than own (a Honda City).

So going back to this bigot gayf'cker....I'm really convinced that this gayf'cker hates anyone who drives a Mercedes-Benz. The moment I took the lane ahead of him, he kept blowing his Honda-tuned horn. "F'ckhead," I uttered and pushed quickly (to) 80km/h, away from the Sucat traffic jam. I knew he would follow and he actually did. I heard his stupid car squealing in pain as if its power already exceeded the limits.

I pushed to 90km/h and then pulled a sudden drop to 80km/h and let him go ahead. I (wanted) to hear that tin can scream. He then slammed his brakes. This fuckface was no sport. He wanted a rear damage.

(I) brought the drivetrain on third and slingshot from his ass. From the rearview mirror, I saw the desperate chase. I heard the 3000rpm+ sound of this rice cooker, so I pulled in 4th, sunk the pedal. I sensed he was in 5th 'coz the rice cooker was about to get toasted! Going on 100km/h, I pushed on (my Benz's) Holy Fifth Gear. Wham! the f'ckface was smokin'!

For one, that asshole extraordinaire never did his math. (My) 2.3L German engine against (his) 1.3L twisting aluminum China-assembled Japanese-designed engine. (My) 124bhp versus what ... 3o? 40? The only thing I lost was my gas, but so what?"


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You didn't hear it from me.

*winks*

P.S. Comments not allowed. I know how very (very) sensitive some ricers can get :)

window shopping in greenbelt

I was in Gucci Greenbelt yesterday and found out that they marked this Boston bag down by 40%, so it's now only around P25,000. The only color left is yellow. I was going to buy it as I am really into colorful bags. My clothes are really plain, so I make up for the boringness with interesting arm candy. However, I would need pocket money for an upcoming trip to Kuala Lumpur. I had to pass on this one.

I also visited my favorite store Prada, of course, and talked to my favorite sales assistant. She told me that the shoes I bought from them 6 months ago ON SALE are now back to their original price (40% more). Lucky.

I also looked at some of the new Prada weekend bags. This deerskin beauty costs P140,000++. The Greenbelt store only had it in black (nero).

Photo from Barney's

Other deerskin bags are priced at around P99,000

Photo from Bergdorf Goodman

I'm not quite ready for that price range yet, so I am contented with lower-end Prada bags like the one I always carry around these days -- the Prada Crispy Nylon (Turchese). Price is P45,000 in the Greenbelt store. I love my bag. It's very unusual.



It turns out I don't have that urge to buy anything. I'm still quite contented with the stuff I already have. This article about splurging when you want to was right.

Retail therapy isn't for me. I only shop when I am happy - when I feel I deserve it because of some achievement. When I feel kinda down, I tend to save money.

Besides, I am pretty happy with the impulse gift MSP gave me -- the proudly Filipino, very well-made Fino weekender (cowhide). It's reasonably priced at P11,000 (Shangri-La store) so I won't exactly hyperventilate should it get damaged as I travel. It has all the right pockets and just the right weight. The stitching is superb. The design is old-world -- I feel like a European intellectual carrying it. I told MSP that I would use it every time I travel. I really will :)

it has come to this

I think I might buy this book.



I know it looks VERY SAD, but I need it.

Who knew you could make scrambled eggs - and even foie gras - using the microwave?

It's only $17.99 (roughly P800) online, but I'm going to ask Fully Booked first. I might save on shipping if it's available locally.

EDIT:

MSP found a better (less sad-looking) book locally. I think I'm betting this instead:



Different sources say different things about the safety and efficiency of microwave cooking. There are some people saying microwave-cooked food is hazardous to health, but it seems that the government says otherwise. In fact, MERALCO encourages Pinoys to cook using theur microwave oven, saying that it saves more energy and preserves the nutritional value.

I don't know who to believe, but I know one thing: I need to eat. Don't get me wrong. I'm actually a good cook (just taste my original fried Gindara with balsamic vinegar recipe), but there are days when I just want to curl up in front of my TV sipping hot chocolate, not having to wonder what I'll put together for my solo dinner. This book should help.

i usually decide faster

I am in between sadness and apathy, and reading 'enlightening' books or looking at 'moving' art only seems to make my indecision (whether to be sad or apathetic) even worse. I have yet to decide what to feel.

To make myself a bit happier, I just channel my inner bimbo most days, organizing my new closet in the condo where I am staying. New closet, new life.

Look at all the designer bags I have amassed through the years. I know it's not a lot, but for an unfeminine woman who likes fast cars and boxing, this is too much.



I clearly need more space.

LIVING ALONE

I am broke, but relieved. The upside of finally buying my freedom and paying for my rights is that (a) I now have the option of selling my old house for a profit -- maybe next year, and (b) I live alone now, in a small studio with a big bed, and I love it. I am discovering the freedoms of living on my own rules in my own space, without the live-in distractions of my only living parent (who I really wish was dead). It is terrific.

I now know the bliss of waking up on a weekday morning to a calm home, with time to grind the beans while watching the news before facing the work day. Then there's the profound contentment of turning the key in my own door after a long day, slamming it behind me, and then drinking a glass of milk while settling down to watch DVDs in silence.

Living alone is reintroducing me to myself -- who I really am, without the pressures of parental expectations. I can't believe it took me this long to emancipate myself from a parent I always knew I could not trust. Guilt, I guess. That's all gone now. I am still dealing with issues as you can imagine, but it's getting better everyday. I was always afraid that I would turn out exactly like my father, you see. Now I know I won't, and that's a relief.

So I am learning how to cook (who knew?) and I am pretty good at it. I have this instinctive way around my compact kitchen. Lemons and sage don't look alien to me now. Maybe next month I could begin pairing food with wine. I'll be a chef before I know it. This, when everyone expected me to be a lawyer.

Meanwhile, I've been focusing on my company, the majority of which I now own (yes, I bought my father out of the company too -- completely out. He was just a nominal shareholder, anyway, so it's not a big deal). Planning is necessary, especially since I will be away to Malaysia for almost a week with my college friends.

Things are looking up from where I'm standing.

guilt and independence

In this third world country, many parents still feel very (very) bad when their children leave the nest. I know that my dad is extremely sad that I moved out, but we just don't see eye to eye on things anymore. I don't want to live with him - someone for whom I have lost respect - even if I did pay for half of the house and am the legal owner. I hate him right now for behaving like kid, and I would really rather not see him everyday.

However, I feel a profound guilt. Since my mom died, there was just the two of us. I feel like I have abandoned him, and it makes me sad.

Where/How I live now:



Still, when I replay our arguments in my head, I am convinced that moving out is best, at least for now. One day, depending on how things go, I may buy him a new house near my old house where I plan to return - I won't have to see him everyday, but I won't feel like I have completely abandoned him. If things get worse, though, I may need to completely detach myself and just never look back.

Nothing is certain yet. The only thing I am sure of right now is that I coudl not live there anymore. I need the space. I need the experience of being my own person, away from my only living parent's influence.

The thing about me is that I can be very mean and I can think of multiple ways to punish/ intimidate/make a person fear me, and I actually implement my plans. That has always been the way I did things in business, whenever necessary. With friends and family, it's different. There's always guilt. And guilt is not only unsettling - it can also be expensive. The only reason I have not evicted him from the house - which I can sell for a nice yield - is guilt.

Family is a very tricky subject, and is also very unprofitable.

Almost Cher

I bought Jessica Zafra's TWISTED 6 after many years of not reading her. Jessica gave me her autograph once, back when I was in high school (we share the same alma matter, and she came to visit during one of the homecomings). I remember freezing at the sight of her. It was probably the only moment in my life where I felt completely, utterly starstruck.

This was what she wrote:

Dear (Mussolini),

May you achieve world domination.

It was a very happy day. It was the day I decided to be fascist.

Jessica Zafra to me is like Cher to gay men. She is not a human being – she's a life force.

freakonomics

Which is more dangerous - a gun or a swimming pool?
What do schoolteachers and sumo wrestlers have in common?
Why do drug dealers still live with their mums?
How much do parents really matter?



I was dubious at first, until I read the first chapter on how crime rates and abortion were related. I wouldn't say this book is brilliant (I'm very careful not to use that word to refer to everything sensible these days), but it is certainly insightful. There are paperback copies for only P299 at Fully Booked. For that price, the book is worth it.