Goddess, I Am.

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!

I read a lot, so if somebody asked me who my favorite author is, I would probably end up with a list to rival that of Extenze’s cache of sexual enhancers. (Please don’t ask me why or how I know.) But if I were to pick one (author, not sexual enhancer) who I love most, I wouldn’t bat an eyelash when I say Colleen McCullough.

The first McCullough book I ever picked up was Antony and Cleopatra, and from the very first page, it was love – love for the story, love for the history, and love for the author. Because of that, I spent the better part of last year acquiring and reading her entire Masters of Rome series. I thought my love for her books would end there, but then I found an old copy of The Thorn Birds (definitely among my top 3 favorite stories of all time!), and she got me hooked once again. Since then, I’ve been making it a point to find copies of all her stories, which really isn’t an easy thing to do when there aren’t a lot of her books floating around. So far, I’ve managed to acquire 10 of her books (from the most unlikely sources, mind you), including the 7 Roman ones, and I’m still on the lookout for more.

I love how she writes, and I won’t even try to describe why when, for me, the reasons are intangible. All I know is she writes about the very things that I personally would’ve liked to write about but could and would never ever give justice to. And it’s because of this that she almost feels like family – so much so, in fact, that I now ‘know’ her writing well enough to recognize styles that are unique to her, such as her penchant for throwing in a Roman nuance or two even in her most un-Roman stories, be it as a character’s name, or a subtle metaphor. I find myself smiling each time I see a Roman-esque word or phrase in one of her books. I like to think of it as her personal tribute to that period of history she loves so much, and I join her in that tribute.

Thank you, Colleen, for giving me Caesar, Ralph de Bricassart, and Joshua Christian. I look forward to finding more of your stories in places where I least expect them.

Whenever I blabber about Rome and the Caesars, people automatically assume that I’m a fan of the HBO series. Well, I’m not.

Let me clarify. I found Rome entertaining enough. I loved how the show and its characters looked, how they sounded, the costumes, the language, the set, almost everything – except for the fact that the writers completely butchered the characters of what is probably the most fascinating part of history. I watched 4 episodes –  and I just couldn’t watch anymore. With the risk of sounding a tad sanctimonious, I just found the inaccuracy quite painful, and I simply couldn’t stand having to exclaim indignantly every few minutes or so.

Here are the reasons why, in no particular order:

1. Quintus Pompey. Simply put, there is no – nor has there ever been – a Quintus Pompeius. Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus’ (Pompey the Great’s) sons were Gnaeus Pompeius (the admiral) and Sextus Pompeius (the pirate). That’s common knowledge, and one does not need degrees from a multitude of online degree programs to know that.

Even Quintus Pompey’s Wiki pretty much stresses that he’s a baseless character without a real purpose. Why, oh why, couldn’t they just use one of Pompey’s real sons to make the show a bit more credible? It wouldn’t have been a complete hardship to do so.

2. Atia. If the real Atia Balba Caesonia could see what the writers of Rome did to her character, she would turn in her grave. (Or at least, in her urn – Romans preferred cremation.)

Augustus’ mother was a quiet woman who was devoted to her sickly son to a fault. Right about the time the events of Rome were unfolding, she was still very much married to Lucius Marcius Philippus, her second husband. Atia was never promiscuous, nor was she as evil as the show made her out to be. In fact, she was one of Rome’s most well-loved matrons, and like a true Julia (as women of the Julii were known), she was quite above any suspicion.

That part where she supposedly sends her son – her sickly son, I might add – to Gaul to deliver a white horse to Caesar and he gets kidnapped is possibly the worst Hollywood fabrication I’ve ever seen. Poor Octavian couldn’t even be around horses until he was well into adulthood because of a lung condition, and that trip probably would’ve killed him right there and then. There goes the Roman Empire!

The only slur on Atia’s character occurred shortly after Philippus, who was a lot older than her, died. She ended up marrying Philippus’ eldest son (also a Lucius) – her stepson – well before the accepted mourning period was over. And her son, who by then was known as Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus (or Octavian), disowned her.

3. Servilia. Now this woman was pure evil, even as a child. In fact, the show’s portrayal of Atia would’ve been more appropriate for the famous Servilia Caepionis. It made my blood boil watching how they made her look like a poor, wronged woman for half the show when really, she’s absolutely vile.

Which brings me to her son . . .

4. Brutus. Ahh, where do I start with Marcus Junius Brutus?

In Rome, he was portrayed as a close confidant of Caesar’s who served with him in the Gallic wars. Not only that, he was meant to have looked on Caesar as a father. What utter rubbish!

There was no love lost between the real Marcus Junius Brutus and Caesar. This particular Brutus was once engaged to Caesar’s daughter, Julia, but Caesar broke off the engagement so Pompey the Great could marry Julia instead, which broke young Brutus’ heart. This and the fact that he was very close to his uncle Marcus Porcius Cato Uticensis (a lifelong enemy of Caesar’s) indicates that he disliked Caesar enormously.

Not only that, the real Marcus Junius Brutus was a coward. He NEVER served with Caesar in the Gallic wars. He was too busy making money in Asia Minor. In fact, the first time he ever picked up a sword in battle was in Pharsalus. And coward that he was, he immediately surrendered to Caesar after his side lost to spare himself. Moreover, Marcus Junius Brutus was butt-ugly, which makes Tobias Menzies completely wrong for the job of playing him.

Now there was, in fact, a Brutus who served with Caesar in Gaul. This particular Brutus did see Caesar as a father and really was quite devoted to him for a long time. This is none other than Decimus Junius Brutus. Oh, and his mother was Sempronia Tuditani, not Servilia Caepiones.

I’m thinking the writers of Rome confused both Brutuses big time, probably because both men figured in Caesar’s assassination later. Methinks some people really need to brush up on their history – maybe in an online university perhaps?

5. Octavia. And yet another woman wronged by the butchering of Hollywood writers. Octavia was the darling of the Roman people. She was famous for her virtue and her kindness, practically a goddess, and to be portrayed as a dishonored woman in Rome was simply sacrilegious.

One of the episodes showed her being offered to Pompey the Great as a bride by her mother Atia, and he even got to have sex with her before he rejected her for Cornelia Metella! Oh, I saw red, I tell you!

For one thing, the Octavia offered to Pompey the Great by Caesar (not Atia, mind you) was Octavia Major – Atia’s stepdaughter and the eldest daughter of Gaius Octavius from a previous marriage. Pompey the Great rejected her outright because she wasn’t a true Julia. Oh, and there was never any undue fornication because these men were much too honorable for that.

For another, Octavia Minor would’ve been too young to get married (or to have been married, for that matter, as she was portrayed in the show). In fact, she was probably no more than 15 years old. Really, these are things that a little bit of research could easily uncover! Why, a simple Wikipedia search would even do it!

And don’t get me started on Spartacus and Cleopatra. Really, I truly, truly hate Hollywood sometimes. It’s a shame, though, because the show really did look and feel authentic, and I probably would’ve enjoyed it, if I didn’t know any better.

Would I ever live to see the day that Hollywood finally got something right?

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!

I didn’t think I should own a planner for next year because the Starbucks ones I got in years past always ended up gathering dust. But when I saw the 2010 Moleskine Colour-a-Month Daily Planner, I changed my mind faster than you can say “fickle!” And when I saw that Avalon.ph is giving away the last one in existence (okay, I’m exaggerating – it’s actually the last one they have on stock), I just HAD to join. It would be remiss of me not to! Seriously, look how cute it is!

So what am I thankful for for the year that’s almost ending?

Golly, where do I start? It was – and still is! – a fantastic and very eventful year that saw me marry the man of my dreams, get to know my adorable nephew, bond with the family again after being gone for some time, land the job that any freelancer will kill for, buy a house that we will be moving into in two years or less, reconnect with friends, finally able to afford a Macbook Pro and bid goodbye to the computer woes that have plagued me for the past 10 years or so (Windows, duh!), learn photography, discover Ancient Rome, help my sister launch a business that I completely believe in, and finally grow up.

Yes, the list of things I’m thankful for this year could go on and on, but I think what it all boils down to is the thing that I’m most thankful for this year, the years that have passed, and the years that are yet to come: L-O-V-E.

Love made it possible for my relationship with The Husband to transition from the almost constant turmoil and drama to the joyful, blissful, and peaceful companionship we enjoy now.

Love makes it possible for me to enjoy every minute I spend with my nephew, even when I have a serious aversion to most children and can only handle them in small quantities.

Love gives me the energy to work from sunup to the next day’s sunrise practically every day, just so I can make time for The Husband, make time for the family, and meet my scary deadlines.

Love makes me indulge The Husband’s expensive Blu-ray habit, even if does make me want to weep sometimes. And I suppose it’s love that makes him look the other way, too, whenever I get a new gadget, or buy too many clothes and shoes and books.

Love keeps me supportive of Mum’s goals, even when most of them will eventually take her far away from us.

Love had me voluntarily buy the domain and the hosting for my sister’s clothing line. Not only that, it’ll be love that will make me finish and launch said site, hopefully before the year ends. It’s also love that’s made me spend the last couple of weeks in a stuffy little booth, hawking swimwear to all and sundry.

Love has me bending over backwards for my bosses, not because I have to, but because I genuinely want to. They’re great people, and I love my job even more because of them. The fact that they love me enough to pay me extremely well is a welcome bonus. And it’s awesome that I don’t have to do a job search after every project ends – a freelancer’s nightmare.

Love (or something very close to it) keeps what few friends I have still speaking to me, even when I’m a horrible correspondent.

Love for my Mac has me taking care of him like he’s my first born and a real person, and I daresay that Octavian loves me, too, because he has never let me down!

Love of life and memories got me to buy Caesar, my camera, and it’s my newfound love of the craft that has me reading photography books aplenty and taking countless pictures.

Again, I could go on and on about why I’m thankful to and for love – but then, it’s probably going to take me another year! If this doesn’t win me a Moleskine planner, I don’t know what will, tee hee.

What about you? What are you thankful for this year? Who knows? It might win you a Moleskine. (Though nasty little me hopes not!)

UPDATE: I didn’t win the planner. I hope I can find one for sale!