waiting to have fun

We never go on vacations, so this mini business trip/semi-luxury vacation we spent a whole month planning for is a big deal. I don't apologize for being too giddy about it. For a workaholic like me, taking a week off is like graduating from Alcoholics Anonymous. IT IS A BIG DEAL. And I want to write an entry just for this impending trip so I remember every single detail.

We get to try the BOEING 747-400 that's the longest-ranging and most advanced model of the 747 family!! You know me - I like cars, airplanes -- things that men acquire to make up for their small weeners. Fascinating!!

I looked up the usual seat configurations, and found this. I wonder if we'll be on the upper deck?

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We're staying in a nice hotel, too. I just hope the pictures are accurate. (I read the reviews online -- it seems great).



So all I have to do now is make sure that everything I need will fit into the bag I will bring (I still don't know which one to bring). I did some trial packing.





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the unembarrassed materialist

Dinner tonight was supposed to be at some Chinese restaurant in Eastwood. I had to say ‘no’ to free food because my Mercedes Benz – the gas guzzling beautiful machine – is acting up. I thought about commuting, but after 20 minutes or so, I gave up. Public transport has been alien to me for two years now. I don't even know how much the train/bus/jeepney fare is these days. That's how bourgeois I've become.

Bourgeois. Bourgeois. Bourgeois.

Unlike some people, I’m not ashamed to say that. I am bourgeois, and I would like to experience the finer things in life. I'm not a social climber, and I certainly am not trying to fit into any kind of group. I am just me – I work hard, I save regularly, and I occasionally allow myself to buy nice (sometimes expensive) things.

Why some people are afraid to even mention the word 'money' is totally incomprehensible to me. It's just money – you make it, you manage it, you spend it. It does not define you. I certainly don't let it define me. I don't feel any different now than I did before I had some savings to fall back on, before I could afford P35,000 shoes, before I had access to a fancier car. Did my self-confidence grow? Not really, because I have always been a snotty little asshole even when I was still poor. Have I become a big spender? Not really – I just buy one quality thing now, when before I bought a lot of pointless little cheap things that never last. My closet has never been so spacious.

If anything, having the ability to access finer things has made me even more discerning. I look for good value, not for status. I love my white Hermes canvas bag even though to most people, it looks very ordinary. There's pleasure in knowing that I carry a well-made tote, lovingly assembled, made to last a lifetime. It does not even have a logo, and the only clue that it's Hermes is the inside zipper pull and discreet buttons. That's what I love about it – how unassuming it is.

I like flying in comfort. I appreciate the wide seats, the breathing room, the good food in the business class. I am aware that some people pay for those seats because of prestige, but I sincerely I don't. I just want to enjoy some space, to be oblivious to other people's conversations, to be liberated from having to stare at some guy's bald spot.

I enjoy the luxury of time. Time to jog around the university on a cool day. Time to get a facial. Time to sit quietly by myself, reading a book while eating fresh strawberries. Time to blog. Time to finish a whole season of a series on DVD. Time to think, shout, laugh. Time to fart without hesitation.

The good life to me now is about quality. It's not about being chauffeured in a limo. It's not a P20,000 haircut (that's vanity, not quality). It's certainly not the P2,000,000 bomber jacket I saw in the magazine (that's imbecility, not luxury).

I look for shoes that fit my narrow feet – whether they cost P35,000 or P300, it does not matter.

I look for silk tops – whether they say 'Balenciaga' or 'Made in China,' it does not matter.

I enjoy good biscuits and tea – whether they were whipped up at the Peninsula Kowloon or store-bought from aisle 11 of Cherry Foodarama, it does not matter.

I am pursuing the good life, not the high life.

And there's no shame in that.

blowing off steam

I went to the firing range today. Used an entry level 9mm gun to fire 50 shots.

Forty six of my bullets made it, but only five to the head. The rest just landed on the chest. Two even landed on the crotch area as my arms were giving up (lame, I know).

Maybe I'll take this up as a hobby. I am thinking of getting myself this starter Brazilian gun:

Taurus PT917 9mm

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karl lagerfeld tops imedla marcos

Karl Lagerfeld, the head designer of Chanel, is fierce. Here's an excerpt of some of his most effusively misanthropic utterances. Read on. I guarantee you will find this very entertaining. (Even Vladimir Putin would.)

10 Things Karl Lagerfeld Could Do Without

Food.
I hate the smell of cooking. Some people love it, but I don't care for it. I don't eat sweet things. I don't eat greasy things. And I like fish better than meat. In fact, I hate meat. My doctor calls me to eat meat twice a week, as apparently we are cannibals. There used to be a Nobu here in Paris but it was very bad; it was horrible. The one one in London is great. It's my favorite restaurant in London.

Fat people.
Yes, new Russian girls are like this. But this is a subject I won't discuss. You know why? In France there are a large percentage of young girls who are overweight and less than one percent are skinny. So let's talk about the 25 percent who have a weight problem, or are overweight. We don't need to discuss the less than one percent. Anorexia has nothing to do with fashion. It's an unnecessary subject. Let's talk about the fat ones.

Children.
Do you ever wish you had a son to pass on your wisdom to, to continue the Chanel heritage?
That's the last thing I want. I hate all children. For other people, it's fine, but not for me. I was born not to be a family person.

Going to other places that involve people.
I live in certain isolation. I never take appointments in the morning. I leave my house only after lunch. I don't want to have a social life. I've had enough of that in my life. It's demode. It's another era. Perhaps people are still excited by that era, but not me. It's uninteresting today. It says nothing. It's boring, pretentious and vulgar...Even for charity, people get paid. I try to avoid charity. It doesn't happen for me. I'm rich enough not to have to do that. Thank God I don't have to do that. I do a lot of unnecessary things for free, but I'm very much against that. Money itself isn't interesting, the use of it is.

Going to other places, period.
Sometimes, to be inspired by things or places, it's better not to go there. You have to imagine. I imagine the world from my window. I am not a traveler. I hate it. I never look at my watch. The good thing about private jets is that you go whenever you're ready. That's the real luxury of today. In all my contracts it says, if you want me, send a private jet.

People who try to touch him.
Also I cannot go on airlines because people stare at me, you have to be touched by people. I hate that...I hate bespoke because I hate to be touched by strangers. It bores me to death.

Technology, the internet, etc.
I'm a computer by myself. I have a memory also for unnecessary things. Telephone numbers are a problem, but historical details are not.

Love.
Love is a subject I don't analyze publicly. Love is only an interesting subject when it's beyond. When it's down to earth it ceases to become interesting. It's a very dangerous subject. I've had so many tragedies in life, it's hard to discuss the subject.

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Now tell me, doesn't he top Imelda?

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By the way, Lagerfeld recently endorsed Hillary Clinton. Here's what he said about her:

"My favorite is Ms. Clinton because you have no real idea what she is wearing. She is so clever and so brilliant that you see only her face — but also what she wears is right, you never really look at it because one is fascinated by her intelligence. But there is never a gimmick or bad detail either."

Video 48 (Store of Everything Collectible)

Spent half of Saturday being a geek here:

www.flickr.com

And the other half with my friends, watching the painfully half-baked movie THE AIR I BREATHE and eating junk food.

More pictures in my Pro Flickr Account.