Floating Market

I had been to Bangkok more than a few times but I seem to always spend all my time doing three things.  Eating local food, watching Muay Thai at Lumphinee and strolling around Chatuchak.

Each time I maybe fool myself into believed that I would go out of my way to see the floating market.  It never happens--until this trip.

While floating markets and water villages are too reminiscent of Dawson's Creek, I actually enjoy visiting these places.

I guess it has something to do with the feeling of the place. Quaint.
Personally, I think it provided good backdrop for a coming of age movie.  Or of young love. I once read a book called Middle Age by Joyce Carol Oates, it was about a man's life being narrated through the encounters that he had with his neighbors at at aging town.  Details are lost to me now, but I remember loneliness. Even a feeling of loss.

The photo above gives me the same feeling.  I can't quite put it into words--the feeling.  But physically, it is as if someone in pinch your heart that instinctively makes you hold your breath.

And this is where I remind myself to breathe.

There is novelty in buying food from boats. I loved the coconut pancake!

Although in my book, nothing would beat the sticky rice with mango! Not even the papaya salad with my favorite sin, nam pla.

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I am quite the sucker for getting everyday things from non-everyday-places.  My brain just goes "This isn't just a peacock feather fan.  It is the is peacock feather fan from the water market", even if I just saw the exact same thing in Chinatown a few months ago.

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Even the fruits seemed better than those you get from the normal markets.
My travel buddies probably was distracted the whole time because they were thinking of our next stop which was where we could ride elephants.  I didn't.  I did before.  I didn't thing doing it again was one thing I would especially love.

The floating market was my elephant ride :)
Oh and I finally got something that I always wanted but felt that it was too indulgent here. It is funny how when I got home, I thought to myself "What am I going to do with this?" which was in fact, the same question I asked myself when I was it at the floating market.

It was the peacock feather fan.

crime scene

I reached the bus stop panting, not because I was late for my appointment, but because I knew the bus was coming in two minutes. As I sat down to catch my breath, I saw a murdered blue man.

It was quite funny how I didn't brush it aside. In fact, I was careful not to touch it.

The person I was with did the same. We looked at each other and silently decided we would not disturb the crime scene.

My bus came after a few breaths. I'm not sure what happened here, or the mystery was ever solved. However, I did see a suspicious little school girl with her nanny in the vicinity....

numbers game

I had a blast watching fights last Friday--four hours of muay thai. Of course come Saturday, I wanted to watch some more!

It was so exciting. Unbelievable. Unlike boxing where I end up teary eyed, feeling for the losing contender, muay thai is just thrilling to watch. It is probably because there are shorter matches--five rounds of three minutes each. It is quite action packed that I didn't have time to get too emotional.

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Can I just add that I had discovered that I have a knack for picking the stronger fighter by inspection? As in before the fight begins. I would have made money if I placed bets.

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Why the numbers game?

Well, I looked at the programme for the profiles of the fighters and WOW. The numbers seemed to speak to me.

What do I mean?

At my heaviest, I weighed as much as the heaviest fighter.

At my current weight, I weighed the same as the actors... what we called the fighters who did an exhibition fight, not unlike wrestling to show the different moves that are aimed for by the fighters during matches.

At my lightest, I weighed as little as the lightest fighter.

Isn't that something?

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I'm definitely watching again the next time I fly in!

rashes are red

It has been a week since my face mimicked a cranberry. I'm happy to say that I now have only one rash left and it looks as if it is drying too. Oh, and it is brown rather than red.

The sad part is that I didn't want to be allergic to the allergen. It is such a good product--apart from the deal breaking fact that it ruined my skin.

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He's wrong. It wasn't about any stress brought about by last weekend. In fact, I was stress free all day then ;)

blurrrrr

Rashes from I don't know where are still very much there. It didn't really subside, but I'm just thankful that I'm not worse off compared to Saturday.

I took this photo to check if it had gotten better as I didn't have a mirror with me then.

Asking the person I was with was pointless, I knew I'd get an answer such as "Don't worry, it will go away soon, just be patient".

I was surprised when I looked at the photo as it completely blurred out the part I wanted to see.

I knew it was because I turned my mobile too soon after taking the photo.

But looking at the photo made me relax about the rashes a bit. It was like something telling me that it isn't a big deal. Maybe I can gloss over these rashes and focus on other things.

Of course this perspective would change if it gets worse, or if these don't go away after a week.

I saving my worries for next Saturday.

Love & Other Drugs

I saw the movie today and I must say that I liked it.

(I especially like how it was not too hollywood about the female form--it almost felt like a indie film in that aspect.)

I would have liked it more if Jake was a better actor :-p

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It is interesting how some people refuse to be with someone they need. Even if they are in love.

There is something vulnerable about needing someone. What more needing someone, more than that someone needs you?

An idealist will say that you stay with someone because you want to, not because you need to.

And overly analysing individuals would think "What if I love him AND need him too? Does that count?". The answer they would give themselves would be that it is okay as long as the love is more that the need part.

How do you know?

I think at some point one would consider to...surrender.

And accept the fact that maybe, everyone needs someone. And there is no wrong in that.

Maybe that is the leap of faith that you have to take to allow yourself to be truly happy.

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After the movie, the person I was with noticed that I suddenly had rashes on the right side of my face. My face--which was clear throughout dinner.

I thought maybe it was the sushi? I enumerated everything I ate today and there was nothing new or unusual.

Maybe it is my new shampoo? My growing out fringe would hit the right side of my face, maybe that's it?

I'm going to stop using it and if this clears, we got ourselves the allergen.

Or not.

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It has happened twice--over the same stressful phase. The dermatologist couldn't identify it as anything but an allergy and despite availability of allergy tests, the allergen was never ever discovered.

Later, when that phase finally passed, I thought that maybe it was the stress.

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I bet a certain someone will say that something about Maggie stressed me out.

man in the moon

This entry isn't even about the watch.

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I have this thing about the concept of a man in the moon. And it isn't around NASA expeditions.

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It is the romantic in me that sometimes decides to be.

I guess it is rooted in a childhood memory.

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(Maybe that's why I liked the Adam movie so much.)

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When I was very young, I saw a cartoon wherein the leading lady and obviously, the leading man were jumping on a trampoline. They kept jumping all day until the day turned into night. They were jumping so high that at some point, the lady jumped too high and landed on the moon.

The leading man, wanting to find her tried his very best to make it to the moon too, but failed.

On the following night, he went out with his guitar to serenade his lady love in the moon.

From that night onwards, after sunset he would head out to sing to the moon, hoping that somehow she could hear him.

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Another reason probably why I'm liking Bruno Mars so much. Talking to the Moon.

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I love moon references :)

the bomb

During my university days, every now and then my sister would get me clothes to wear. One time she got me a navy blue shirt with a small bomb print in front. It was instantly a favorite. I'd wear it a lot.

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More than twelve years later, a lot of clothes came and left my closet, I've moved thrice already, still...the shirt remains in my closet.

I wore it a few weeks ago when I did by obligatory walking to get some exercise, when time allows. I realised that it is well faded around the neck and shoulders, I didn't care though. I like how old shirts feel, plus obviously I love this particular shirt.

My heart sank when I saw a small hole, a very small one, smaller than a marker's point, but a VERY REAL hole. Near the left collar bone.

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I think it is time to let go, but I'm unsure if I want to.

For now, I'm keeping it in my cloth stash because maybe I could incorporate part of it into some of my future projects.

We'll see how that goes.

miss smarty pants

I got a pair of pants recently, I had worn them twice before and they looked okay. Today though, they seemed lousy. Too big. I'd love to say it is because I've lost soooooo much weight, but I didn't. There is great mystery behind the suddenly too big trousers.

There is no tailor here that I actually trust. Sadly. And I have no idea when I am flying back home to let the experts do their job.

Sooooooooo, I took matters into my own hands.

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There were two options for me.

1st Option: THE EASY WAY

I could create an overlap in front that would require one straight 4-inch stitch. I just need to make sure that I pin the cloth in place strategically. It will look quite nice too. It is especially ideal now--when pleats run over to the other leg, making the pants look very well made (or sadly, horrible).

I was pretty comfortable that I could execute this. I've done it so many times with dresses, with more difficult fabrics too.

2nd Option: THE HARD WAY

(Wow, I am so articulate coming up with EASY and HARD)

I could cut from the back--as there was no way I would remove and replace the zipper of trim from both sides.

Pockets. Grrrrrr. My worries were that the back pockets may end up being too close to each other and the side pockets may wrap to the back.

After doing some inspection, I realised that the pockets--front and back placement would be fine.

I make a mental list of what I needed to do.

1. Take out the big belt loop.

2. Take out the small belt loop. Why did they have to make a small belt loop under the big belt loop?!!?!?!? Well, the answer is so your belt would stay in place if you decide to wear a skinny belt instead. STILL.

3. Remove the stitch of the waist band.

4. Cut out the overlapping cloth under the waist band, so it won't bulge.

5. Sew back the waist band.

6. Rip out brand label.

7. Pin, Line, Sew the back.

8. Kick self upon realising that you ruined a perfectly good pair of pants.

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I'm not sure what exactly prompted me to do it the hard way, maybe because I wanted to challenge myself. Or, it could be that I didn't want to put a band aid.

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I'm happy to say that I didn't have to do #8 of the hard way :)

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I'd love to post a photo of the dramatic improvement on the fit of finished product, but it seemed wrong. Seriously.

I love how the pants fit now! :)

walking day

MD: Have you got make up on?
ME: No. Who wears make up to exercise?
MD: (smiles)

2010 Favorite Things

It seems shallow summarising the year with material things, however when you really think about it there are reasons--and quite personal ones too behind each item.

Anyways, these are my favorite things this year. I'm sure there are a lot more that I loved but did not make the list.

A good number of these items were gifts, which makes it more special :)

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I turned thirty this year. My mom kept referring to it as my pearl anniversary, I never really saw it that way. For me, it was another checkbox and higher insurance premium. I love these earrings! Not only because they are lovely but more so because of the drama (okay, maybe not the drama), the thought, effort and care taken to get them to me. This was a very indulgent present. Thank you.

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I think those who are very close to me would know how colourful this year had been for me. It is not a surprise that it reflected on other areas of my life too!I love this palette! It is such a bonus that the other bold color is green--clearly the blue eagle who got this for me had seen the light ;)I had always wanted liners that (1) last all day, (2) never run and (3) have lovely colors. I'm so glad I found out about these :)I had NEVER, in my whole life felt as anxious to get any cosmetic product as much as these! Who is the fairest of them all?This sort of reminds me of Francis M's Kaleidoscope World. RIP Francis M.

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I always tell myself to act my age. I could be quite picky on what I wear because, well...I want to dress my age too, the thing is though, I am a child at heart. These are my favorite sneakers :) I got them this time last year. It has a golden pair somewhere out there too.I've worn these so much that they are no longer white--which I hate. I don't mind them being, off white, but it is just wrong for them to be gray. Boooo.I haven't worn this as much as the other two, but it makes me want to shout WHAT"S GOING ON?!?!?!

Some things are non-negotiable for me. In fact this year, I let go, with an aching heart, A LOT of swimwear that I thought were too young for me. Nah. I'm not posting any photo of the replacements. Not even on next year's favorite things entry.

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In line with my attempt at a second chance to wear Docs, I also expressed my inner rockstar by sporting studs. I especially like the pyramid details. I didn't get a picture of all my stuff with studs. I'm keeping this entry for my favorite ones :) I love them best in shoes.I think this is close to the end of its lifetime--only because I had worn them so many times! I know that there is no other shoe that I wore more than this in 2010!As you can see from the photo, these sandals are well utilised too. Like the previous shoes, I think this too will reach end of life soon. These were my staple weekend sandals in 2010.While this pair share the same traits as the other two, I had only worn them once in 2010. I imagine though that I'd probably be sporting these quite frequently this year. The future. This was a present from a very thoughtful--and observant individual :)

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Every now and then, you surprise yourself.

Last year I surprised myself in a big--but good way. The difference was quite dramatic compared to last time. That's all I'm saying.I shocked myself and rochness by incorporating some print into my wardrobe, and I even got these shoes. The selling point for me was the pony hair! DAD... I WANT A PONY (hair ballet flats).

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I went crazy over a pair of shoes last year. Seriously crazy. I guess it was because of the details and the different textures.The one. I found the one in 2010.

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Oh, and I took all the photos :)

I didn't get my camera in 2010, but it is sure one of my favorite things this lifetime. No joke.