Goddess, I Am.

I read about Ichigo Shoes through Fashionista Fortune Cookie’s contest (it’s still on, by the way), and when I poked around their Multiply site, I was immediately blown away by their awesome collection of Oxfords. It’s Oxford heaven, I tell you, and I wanted them all right there and then!

To my dismay, however, it seemed that everyone else was lusting after the designs I really wanted, so there was a very good chance that I was going to end up empty-handed. But I went ahead and texted them anyway because, hey, never say never, right?

I decided to try my luck and get the navy/white Kenny first, just to see how my feet will fare in ‘em. Well, to make a long story short, they didn’t have it in any other size but mine! Imagine that! And so it seems that it does pay to have midget feet, after all!

My new babies finally came today. Aren’t they to-die-for?

Of course, I had to take ‘em out for a spin pronto!

They’re a perfect fit with nary a millimeter to spare, so it’s impossible to wiggle my toes. It’s a tad uncomfortable for the moment, but I’m expecting the leather to stretch with time. I think I’m going to have to wear them constantly until they give, which, as you can guess, I shall do so with pleasure.

I’ve also put in an order for my second pair, the gorgeous floral Jacky. I wanted the Ivy, too, but I didn’t get as lucky there. And, oh God, the gray Madox is calling out my name . . .

The Husband is so going to kill me! I better start thinking of a good argument to justify this compulsion to start a new shoe collection. After all, it’s not like I’m getting expensive matouk linens, or $500 purses, or anything remotely ridiculous like that, right? Yes, that should work.

Chin once told me that she envied my portable life. That was back in 2007 when I packed up and left for Thailand.

Everything I owned could fit in a single suitcase. I was free to come and go whenever I pleased. Those were among the best days of my life, and like Chin then, I envy my portable life now.

These days, I’m feeling that all too familiar restlessness again, that itch go someplace far and exotic – not for a few days’ holiday, but to stay for a while, to stay indefinitely. And in theory, I could. After all, that’s the beauty of working online. I don’t have to worry about how I’m going to feed and shelter myself in some exciting foreign land.

But a theory is all it is for me now, now that I’m married and can never think solely for myself ever again. My life is still fairly portable (or I can make it so in a heartbeat because I don’t exactly go crazy on wholesale appliances). Why, I can give away most of my clothing and my shoes and my books and I won’t even bat an eyelash. All I need are a few t-shirts, some underwear, a few pairs of pants, my laptop, my iPad, and my camera, and I’m a happy camper. The Husband, however, is another story.

You see, he gets very attached to things, like his huge-ass TV and home theater system, his hundreds of Blu-Ray movies, his electric couch, and even the goddamned refrigerator. Most of these things traveled all the way from England to Thailand when he moved to Bangkok in 2006, and again from Thailand to the Philippines in 2008. When we do move again, he’s going to insist on taking all of these with us, plus everything else we’ve bought since.

And if you’ve ever had to go through the ordeal of moving furniture and appliances from one country to another, you’ll know it’s not a walk in the park. So it goes without saying that moving from one country to another on a whim is out of the question, and when we do move again, it’ll have to be a big one (read: for good) to make the most out of the time, money, and gargantuan effort that transporting his stuff will demand.

Heavens, why do material things have to make life so complicated?

- Posted using BlogPress on Agrippa, the iPad

The Husband’s been sick the past few days, so I took him to watch The Expendables today. I figured it would make him feel better, and it did!

Good God, I’ve never seen the general male population more exuberant. It was a lot like watching 4-year-olds sneakily playing with led xmas lights on, umm, Christmas. Case in point, while we were queuing up, some random American guy we didn’t know came up to The Husband out of nowhere with arms wide open, declaring in a loud, booming voice that it was “the best movie EVER” (or something to that effect). I actually thought the guy was going to hug him! Shocking, that was.

And did I enjoy it? Truth be told, I was actually looking forward to it more than I let on. (But please don’t tell The Husband that, or I’ll never hear the end of it.) I mean, seriously, the best action stars all in one movie, Jason Statham, and did I mention Jason Statham? What’s not to enjoy?

The movie itself was a little dumb, a tad too farfetched, a bit sexist, and really quite ridiculous when you think about it. But oh, it was such great FUN! So yes, if you could just get off your high horse and spend a couple of hours being a non-thinking person, chances are you’ll enjoy the show.

Still, I think it could’ve been better. Here’s why:

1. Jason Statham should NOT be allowed to look like a lumberjack. He should either be IN a suit:

2. Jet Li is fuckin’ JET LI! He does NOT need saving, even by Sylvester Stallone. As it was, Sly spent most of the movie saving him from some bad guy or another. That’s just wrong!

3. Bruce Willis’s airbrushing was absolutely unnecessary. Please! He looked exactly like he did in Surrogates, and that was some really bad shit.

4. If they were going to go the whole sexist, damsel-half-your-age-in-distress route, they could’ve at least chosen a better-looking ‘totty’. (That’s a word I learned from The Husband, and I’ve been dying to use it!)

5. Sly shouldn’t have given said totty his ‘account number’. Seriously, who gives out their account numbers these days? And how did he expect her to access it? It would’ve been easier to send money through Western Union.

6. Said totty also should’ve just run off with Sly. The poor man needed to get laid. He would’ve deserved it, too, after everything he did for her.

7. Mickey Rourke really should’ve been in on the action, not stuck in that awful tattoo shop.

I could think of a lot more, but I don’t have all night. And I’m afraid that if I think about it too much, I’ll grow a set [of balls]. I’ll quit while I’m still gonad-free, thank you very much!

If you’ve got a man and you keep dragging him off to chick flicks aplenty, take him to watch The Expendables. You will at least get an idea of how it’s like for him to sit through something like Sex and the City. Do be kind.

- Posted using BlogPress on Agrippa, the iPad

I’ve decided that Polyvore is the bane of my existence. I’ve known of it for ages, but I have never really gotten around to using it until the fabulous Meream of Bored and Crafty asked me to contribute to her Book Style series. Two Thorn Birds-inspired concepts later, I was addicted. And the rest, as they say, is history. (Articles on Hinkley lighting and canker sores be damned!)

Now, for the longest time, my sister has been trying to get me to create my own vision board. She’s a huge believer of The Secret (I know, right?), and she thinks I’m hopeless enough to actually need a huge billboard-type thingy to remind me of the things that I want in my life. (She, of course, is content with chanting in the shower. But that’s beside the point.)

And so it was that I conceived this idea of using Polyvore as my personal vision board. (What an excuse to use it more often than I should, huh?) The thing I want most is to gallivant all over the world – Europe, especially – so why not plan what I’m going to wear as early as now? Never mind that little, old, practical me won’t be caught dead in 4-inch ankle boots on a trip to Paris packed with a gazillion activities, but, hey, a girl can dream, right?

So without further ado, this is me in Paris:

And Rome (I wasn’t kidding when I said I wanted to go in a toga):

And Venice:

And I’m definitely not done yet! I made an entire collection out of this concept, so I daresay I’ll be Polyvore-ing more ‘travel’ outfits in the days to come. Man, oh man, what did I just get myself into?

Oh, and if you want to see the Book Style I made for Meream, you can find it here. I just love The Thorn Birds!

And no, The Husband is NOT a priest. Though he probably would’ve made a damned good one, in my opinion, because he certainly can preach! But don’t tell him I said that!

Since the release of the iPad was announced months ago, I have been dying to get one. That took a while because I finally decided (after changing my mind a gazillion times and after just as many sleepless nights) to wait for the 3G version. Not only that, I had to literally go through hell and high water just to get one from the US because I couldn’t wait for the local release.

To make a very, very, VERY long story short, I finally had my spanking new 16GB 3G iPad in my grubby hands on the second of July, hooray! I know, I know. That’s almost a full month ago. You’d think I would’ve sent out baby shower invitations in my excitement, but these days, I’ve got very little time to blog, let alone throw a shower for a gadget. (Not that I really would, but you get the picture.)

But I digress. Everyone, meet Agrippa.

Isn’t he gorgeous? ♥♥♥

For anyone who might be wondering why I’ve named my iPad ‘Agrippa’, here’s a little history lesson. Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa was the best friend and son-in-law of the Roman Emperor Augustus, also known as Octavian, which, incidentally, is the moniker I’ve given my Macbook Pro. Aside from the this little bit of history, Agrippa also happens to be one of my favorite Romans because he’s absolutely brilliant and kinda sexy, for a dead guy. Methinks I couldn’t have chosen a more appropriate name for the iPad.

Moving on, Agrippa is everything I absolutely wanted and needed. I’m not going to go into an in-depth review because the iPad is one of those gadgets that have been reviewed to death. But to sum up my entire iPad experience, all I could say is: “Agrippa, where have you been all my life?”

Much like my first born, Octavian, Agrippa also needs to be outfitted and accessorized. And I’ve been shopping for this gadget even before he got here. Here’s what he has . . . so far:

1. Hot pink Audio-Technica Onto headphones.

I love Onto headphones. I already have a perfectly good pair of white ones that I’ve been using for months, but when I saw this limited edition hot pink pair in an HMV in Singapore, I just could not resist. (I mean really, they’re black and hot pink!)

This baby sat patiently at the back of my closet for almost 3 months, just waiting for Agrippa. I had to keep it out of sight; otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to resist it that long.

2. Pink leather folio case, an eBay find.

I love this case, I really do. Mostly due to the pink that its pink perfectly matches the pink on the headphones. (How girly does that sound???) Also, it has this really soft suede interior that’s really nice to the touch.

My only gripe about it is that it opens at the bottom and the iPad tends to slide out somewhat. I don’t use it as much now because it gets a bit uncomfortable. I wish it opened at the side, like a book, which is why I’m now trying to convince The Husband, my shopping police, to let me buy this and/or this. Still, the pink is breaking my heart.

3. Glittery iPad hard back case.

Trust me, it glitters. Those little white dots are actually little crystals, while the black base is faux leather. I found this in an obscure little shop in Sham Shui Po in Hong Kong. The little old lady selling it won’t give me a discount, so I walked away, thinking that I’ll find it cheaper elsewhere (like everything else in Hong Kong). I didn’t, so I had to go back the next day, tail between my legs, to get it. Thankfully, said little old lady wasn’t there because it was her husband’s day to mind the shop, tee hee.

4. Red leather sleeve from Powerpee.

This is my newest acquisition. Because I’ve started using the pink case less and less, I needed a sleeve that would fit both the iPad and its sparkling back case for whenever I go out. I belong to the PhilMUG forums, and this guy, Powerpee (aka Perry), came highly recommended.

I love, love, LOOOOVE this leather manila air sleeve! It’s so classy and soft, and it even smells good! And it fits the iPad with the back case perfectly, too, so it’s everything I wanted. I’m so happy that he had a red one left. It matches the glittery black case to a tee.

(I opted for red because The Husband was starting to look a bit sick from all the pink stuff lying around the house. I had to show mercy on the poor man!)

5. Wrapsol.

It doesn’t show, but Agrippa is completely wrapped – both front and back – in Wrapsol. This was rather pricey and I nearly balked, but it’s absolutely necessary. Now I rest easy, knowing that Agrippa is completely protected from scratches and from me, in general. Tee hee.

6. Apps and Books from iBooks.

There’s only one thing I can say about these nifty little things that make Agrippa an even happier iPad: they’re going to send me to the poorhouse. Strangely enough, it’s the free ones that are driving me nuts, like Harbor Master HD, a bunch of classics from iBooks and my newest acquisition, the Diablo-like Underworlds. Kill me now, please?

And it doesn’t end there – yet. I’m still waiting for The Mother to get me a Camera Connection Kit from Canada (because they’re still overpriced on eBay). And hopefully, The Husband will let me get another purrty folio case that actually opens the right way this time.

But on the bright side, that’s my gadget fix for the year. At least, I like to think so.