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An Ode to Summer

03 Mar 2010 | By Iris

If my weather dashboard widget is to be believed, it is 33 degrees Celsius today.

Hello, summer! I'm sitting in my living room with the fan on its highest with no more than a flimsy tank top and teeny shorts on, but I'm still sweating buckets. Methinks I'm going to have to take yet another shower - my third for the day - because at 33 degrees inside a brick house, I'm starting to feel (and possibly, smell) like a pizza.

Going outdoors at this hour is definitely not an option, not with a sun as merciless as this. Believe me, I tried yesterday. I walked approximately 10 yards in this heat and almost keeled over in exhaustion.

And dear summer, do you even realize the pressure you put on me with your promise of sun-kissed beaches? How do you expect me to shape up for those bikinis when you're making elliptical machines seem like the work of the devil and all you're making me want to do is drink Coke all day?

Oh, summer, I should hate you for this torture. But how can I when I only have to look out the window to see gorgeous blue skies and fluffy white clouds? If anything, you just make me happier. So happy, in fact, that I just want sing - sing like the sunbirds on The Husband's papaya tree.

That, and write silly little notes such as this.

Category: Married Woman, Me Likey!, Playing House Leave a Comment

Febru-Worry

26 Feb 2010 | By Iris

I've decided that I don't like February very much. It's much too short for my taste - so much so that I'm in a constant state of panic and worry these days. When you've got a month-and-half's worth of articles to write, edit, spin, post, and bookmark (not to mention videos to syndicate, RSS mashups to aggregate, and directory submissions aplenty), you'll definitely understand where I'm coming from.

Yes, I'm very grumpy indeed. I haven't had time to blog, get my nails done, and most of all, take pictures, which really, really, REALLY pisses me off because I received my spanking new 35mm f1.8 prime lens in the mail 3 days ago and I'm DYING to take it for a spin.

Sigh.

On the bright side, I did get to spend a long Valentine weekend with The Husband in Bantayan - our first holiday since - goodness! - July. And though I haven't had time to post-process and upload the pictures from that weekend, I did manage to squeeze in my first ever attempt at HDR.

And just like that, February doesn't seem so dreary now after all.

Category: Heartstrings, Married Woman, Me Likey!, Perspectives, Shutterbug, Wander Girl, Worker Bee 2 Comments

One Night At The Bazaar…

17 Jan 2010 | By Iris

When we joined the IT Park Christmas Nights bazaar a month ago, the experience was nothing short of stellar. Everyone was so nice, from the customers to the organizers to the exhibitors. We got along well with our neighbors, helped each other out regularly, and even gave each other discounts. We had fun and found the whole bazaar thing such a great experience that we didn't think twice about joining this month's Sinulog bazaar.

The second time, however, is definitely not a charm. Sales are a bit low because people are too engrossed with the Sinulog revelry to think about shopping. We've had really bad weather practically all week, so the exhibition area has been constantly wet and muddy, and we even had to close 3 hours early on Friday night because the rain pummeled the tents quite badly. Worst of all, we somehow ended up with the next-door neighbors from hell (or at least, from China).

Since day one, they've done nothing but complain. First, it was our flooring; they claimed it went through our side of the wall to theirs (it didn't). Days later, it was the life-sized tarp of my best friend, Aileen, who happens to be Innuendo's image model. They claimed that it was blocking their display when it was definitely within our boundaries (even the organizers agreed with us).

They kept at it for days, attacking my poor cousin who was manning the booth incessantly and even kicking the tarp stand! The way they were carrying on, you'd think they were selling awesome stuff like ipods or eggcups, but no, they were hawking cheap silver jewelry.

But I digress. It all came to a head last night when The Husband confronted them about it. When he asked them what their problem was, they started yelling and gesticulating madly in broken English. Then one of them started pulling on our tarp, and almost tore it off! I then told him off, and he advanced towards me like he was going to hit me. So The Husband yelled at him and told him that if he does that again, he (The Husband) was going to tread on his head. I pulled him away, told him to calm down, and he turned his back on them because I told him to just walk away.

Next thing I knew, said Chinaman grabbed one of those plastic Monobloc stools and hit The Husband on the head. The Husband grabbed him in a headlock while the other Chinaman joined the fray. By this time, the whole force of the brawl propelled all 3 men, like, 50 feet away from where it started - all within 10 seconds or less.

Now, these Chinamen are both rather short and scrawny, so The Husband handled them fairly easily. I was half-expecting them start going all Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon on The Husband, but really, the whole brawl just looked a bit like a couple of tiny hyenas trying to fight a tiger.

It was over as quickly as it started. Guys from the other stalls and some customers broke up the fight. The organizers came over and tried to sort things out. Naturally, two rather different versions of the story were heard from our side and from theirs (and their 2 skanky girlfriends/wives). They were going to be moved to another stall, but unfortunately, none of the other exhibitors were keen on moving, so we're going to have to live with them for another week.

The Husband ended up with a couple of bumps on his head that are now thankfully gone and a banged up knuckle where he hit one of 'em Chinamen's teeth (said Chinaman was seen inspecting a loose tooth later). We called the cops, but they wouldn't come after the fact, believe it or not. We were going to go in and file a complaint with the police, anyway, but the organizers begged us not to, saying it was going to give the bazaar bad publicity, blah blah blah. By this time, we were all exhausted, so we decided to just settle for an apology.

If one good thing came out of this whole mess, it's that the organizer has told them that we can display the tarp all we want, as long as it's not beyond 20 inches of our wall, so I daresay that we won't be hearing any more crap from them within the next few days. Funnily enough, we haven't even used those 20 inches because we were actually being considerate about their display, but because of this incident, we're definitely going to use all our 20 inches now. Ahhh, the stupidity of the human race.

Still, I wish none of these ever happened. I hate it when The Husband fights. Why can't men just talk? The excess of manliness is way too much for my sensibilities.

Category: Familial Reports, Married Woman, Worker Bee Tags: Aileen, China, Chinaman, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon 4 Comments

I Now Have a Lamp, Yey!

03 Jan 2010 | By Iris

For the longest time, I've been using The Husband's battered, old 'Pixar' lamp. I call it such because it's exactly the same kind of lamp that hops in those Pixar movies. Unfortunately, the poor thing has traveled with him from London to Bangkok to Cebu, so it really is quite battered now.

Sometime after Christmas, I finally decided to pick up a new lamp. So off we went to CAMG in Parkmall (definitely one of my favorite shops EVER) to look around. The place carries stuff from IKEA, mostly lamps, so I was quite happy poking around the place all afternoon. Mind you, I wouldn't know if they're genuine IKEA or not, but I'm inclined to think so. (I'm also crushing on a plush, pink chair, but I refuse to think about it.)

Now, I originally had my eye on a white IKEA lamp, which was on sale (30% off!). But just as I was about to buy it, something pink and pretty caught my eye. It was one of those tactile lamps that would light up no matter where you touched it, and it was down from P2,500 to P1,500, so I bought it on the spot.

The uber helpful salespeople then rang it up through one of those barcode scanners - and promptly told me that I couldn't have the lightbulbs! Well, I'm not one to make a fuss over something as trivial as lightbulbs, so I asked the guy to write down in detail the kind of bulbs that I needed for the lamp. And because there was no hardware shop to be found in Parkmall and it was quite late to go elsewhere, I figured my lamp could wait one night.

The next day, The Husband and I went to True Value in Ayala to get the E-14 bulbs that were required. We couldn't find the round ones, but since the guy only specified E-14s, we figured any bulb of that sort would be okay. That night, we tried the bulbs on the lamp - and it exploded! And just like that, my pretty pink lamp was dead.

The next day found us back in CAMG. After all, I wasn't about to write off a 1-day-old exploding lamp just like that. The staff was fantastic, though. They immediately offered to replace it. Unfortunately, the only colors they had left for the same kind of lamp were a tacky gold and a gloomy black, and I wasn't about to settle for anything less than what I wanted.

And then my eyes settled on the white IKEA lamp that first caught my eye. I told them that I'd take it instead, and they let me - for P600 more. This time, I made sure that the guy talked to The Husband about the lightbulbs required, so there can be no more scary explosions. Thankfully, it works with the spare lightbulbs that The Husband normally has lying around, so I now have an awesome new lamp that is somehow making my bedtime reading 20 times more pleasurable.

On my desk chair: IKEA lamp, Antony and Cleopatra by Colleen McCullough, Moleskine planner, and Squirt (from Finding Nemo), the stuffed turtle that The Husband bought for me on our last trip to Hongkong Disneyland in 2007

Next project: a couple of proper bedside tables. Right now, the green chair is just so . . . WRONG.

Category: Married Woman, Me Likey!, Perspectives, Playing House Tags: Bangkok, Cebu, Christmas, green chair, London, pink chair, plush, True Value 3 Comments

Bring it On, 2010!

02 Jan 2010 | By Iris

I don't do New Year's resolutions. I do, however, make it a point to figure out my goals for the year. What's the difference? I find resolutions more fleeting - insincere, even. Goals, on the other hand, are more concrete, serious, and often realistic, so I find myself more driven, more inspired, and more determined to achieve them. But that's just me.

All in all, 2009 was quite a great year for me. No, I did not manage to achieve ALL my goals, but I did accomplish a great deal - some of which were totally unplanned and therefore, pleasantly unexpected! It only makes perfect sense that this year's goals should be just a tad loftier. In fact, it seems like an insult to the year that passed to regress!

So enough babble. Here are some of the things that I'm hoping to accomplish this year, in no particular order:

1. Get my government paperwork FINALLY sorted out, so I can start processing the PAG-IBIG loan, which, in turn, will . . .

2. Start the house construction, and hopefully, let us . . .

3. Buy a car - nothing fancy, but something that works. I want a Suzuki Swift. The Husband wants a Honda Jazz, or a secondhand two-door Pajero. Whatever it's going to be, it'll most likely be secondhand for the rest of the list to come into fruition. (Read on, do!)

4. Have about a million (pesos) squirreled away. How we're going to do that is beyond me, but it'll happen, I tell you! And no, robbing a bank isn't part of the plan.

This year, I hope to do away with unnecessary purchases - meaning, no more gadgets (unless necessary), weekly online shopping sprees for clothes, expensive dinners (do you hear me, T.G.I.Friday's?), and two-way cab rides (one-way will do).

5. Build Innuendo, especially now that I own 50% of it (yey!). The company was fairly successful in 2009, and it gave us an idea exactly how huge its potential really is. We're hoping to hit the ground running this year, what with Chris & Berns at Ayala Center's The Maze now carrying our swimsuits and another bazaar in I.T. Park coming up on January 11 to 24 (I'll see you there, yes?).

Progress is a bit slow on the Innuendo website, however. I've got so much work to do that I haven't had a chance to sort out the ecommerce fulfillment and even the site design. Plus, we haven't had a chance to shoot the new collection, so I don't have photos to post. BUT all these will be sorted out before January ends, AND I'll be doing a little giveaway on this site, so I hope you'll watch out for the launch.

6. Travel, travel, travel. The fact that we traveled very little in 2009 was probably the year's biggest disappointment, but we are determined to remedy that this year. We're off to Donsol, Sorsogon for my birthday to swim with the migrating butandings (whale sharks), so hopefully the inevitable Mt. Mayon eruption won't be too serious, considering that we have to fly to Legaspi City to get to Donsol. We're also off to a 6-day Hongkong trip come June, yey!

7. Still on the subject of travel, another reason why I have to sort out my government and financial papers is that I'll need them to apply for a Schengen visa this year, if we are to tour Rome (!!!) and the rest of Europe in 2011. I'm hoping the process won't be too painful, considering that I am married to a British citizen, after all!

8. Invest. The thing about working online is that you never know when it's going to end. You could be working on a project that you've been on for years, yet find yourself unemployed the next day. That's reality. So though I know that my bosses intend to stick around for a long, long, LONG time (fingers crossed!), I still want to invest in something tangible. Presently, I'm considering a laundry franchise. (Just imagine: Iris, Goddess of Laundry.)

9. Get in better shape. Last year saw my weight going up and down like a freakin' yoyo - literally. I was 102 lbs. at my thinnest, but I have now ballooned to 112 lbs. after the holidays. I intend to stay within the 100 to 105 lbs. bracket throughout the year. And. This. Starts. NOW.

10. Lastly, I intend to be more productive and better organized this year. Although I've worked extremely hard and gotten more things done in 2009 than I initially expected, I still have a tendency to slack, sometimes for days on end. I intend to do away with slacking for good. This means I will sleep earlier and wake up earlier to get more things done during the day. I will also learn to delegate more effectively, so I don't end up climbing the walls in panic whenever I've got deadlines coming up.

So am I likely to achieve all my goals for 2010? The year is young, so we shall see. But if 2009 was anything to go by, I daresay, it'll be a cinch!