Day 309: Strung Up

It's a rainy weekend, and I don't really want to go out.  I'm too bored, yet too lazy for words.

Pardon me, I'm a little obsessed with Mika right now.  Listening to Rain (Mika).

Day 302: Ellie

Meet Ellie.  My spanking new portable hard drive.

I finally got around to getting myself a portable hard drive to move all my files to.  Jack is getting too file heavy, and it won't be long until I won't even be able to move from one window to another if I didn't move them.  So, I spent the weekend doing some system clean-up.  I also bought Sims 3 to pass the time.  Just because I missed Sims and building things in it.

Day 290: Silhouette

Early post for the theme this week.

This is a gift I got from one of my classes.  It contains thank you notes inside it.  Sometimes, when I get stressful days (similar to today), I look at things like these.  They make me realize I am so much more blessed than I deserve to be.

A song for the theme: We Will Become Silhouettes (The Postal Service)

Day 286: Ceramic

I got new plates!  I'm sure this isn't something to get excited about, but I like getting new things for my kitchen.  I went grocery shopping to stock up on my essentials and I found these plates at dirt cheap prices.  When I started living with friends, we only had plastic plates.  I shouldn't complain, since they served their purpose, but I dislike plastic dinner plates.  I also do not like sets in the same color and style.  I like ceramic plates.  It's funny how much dinnerware I have considering I'm on my own.  I have several plates and almost none of them match.  I have some designs that are similar but not in the same color.  I don't know, it's a little quirk I have.

Day 285: In My Closet

Cleaning out my closet.  I've done this before, but I was thinking maybe there's more I can let go of.  A former learner asked me if there were clothes I would like to donate to the folks who were affected by the recent typhoons.  At least, my old things can still be put to good use.

Day 278: Custard Pudding

My fridge smells like milk.  That's because I made myself some custard pudding.  I know it looks like a lot, but by the time you're reading this post, majority of it is gone.

I bought this instant custard pudding mix from a Japanese grocery store near where I live.  It's interesting because the entire instruction is in kanji and I had to Google how to do it.  It tastes pretty good, specially when you add the sugary topping (similar to arnibal).  I think I'll try making these next time with more milk.  I used only half a cup of milk for this, but I think I would like it creamier.

Day 267: Garden Tomato Toner

Lazy Saturday.  I had nothing interesting to take a picture of.  This is my toner, then.  A daily necessity.  I like it because unlike other toners I have tried, it doesn't sting.  In fact, it kind of cools down the face after use.

Day 255: Abaniko

A learner from work got this as a souvenir from Bacolod and gave it to me.  I've been usin it as a decorative piece in my apartment.  It fits the entire wicker theme. 

Day 238: Hanging Up

My hangers are empty because there's no use doing the laundry when it's raining like it is.  

My longest day at work, so far.  I feel like I'm slowly getting my groove back.  Slowly.

Day 235: Sparkly

My posts this month sure lack imagination.  I didn't have much time to dedicate on this project lately, so I end up taking pictures of random things.  These are some of my fridge magnets.  I used to buy magnets for my station at work, now I get them for my fridge.

Day 200: Locked

Lock in black and white.

I am not feeling well.  Therefore, I do not have much inspiration on the 200th post.  I would have liked something more symbolic.  Well, You Can't Always Get What You Want (The Rolling Stones), right?  However, I am still optimistic.  I have to be.  There's no other way to go around it.

Day 191: Lengua de Gato

Snacking on lengua de gato in between highlighting and calculating.  Not that I did a lot of it.  I spent more time watching movies, really.  It's too nice of a Sunday to spend studying.

Day 188: Wicker

I love wicker.  I use them to furnish my apartment.  I like their texture and their earth tones.  I've slowly been furnishing my apartment for the last few months, and have been successful in making it look more like a home and less like a halfway house.  I've been partially obsessed with getting furniture and appliance in here.  The wicker baskets have been great accents to the the entire place.  They somehow soften the hard edges of my wood and wrought iron furniture.  They also make great laundry baskets and storage for clothes (those clothes you keep and only take out when the weather gets cold).

I need more of them, though.  I'm trying to get rid of all the industrial plastic I have.  I'm beginning to have an aberration to plastic.  So, maybe I should visit Dapitan for good wicker material Soon (Moonpools and Caterpillars).

Day 185: On The Way Home

The corner of Ayala and Makati Avenue on the way home from doing grocery.

I have to be proud of myself.  I went out to buy stuff for my place and I did not end up going anywhere else other than the grocery and the drugstore.  Well, I did time it in such a way that those were the only things I'd be able to do.  Still, considering that Forever 21 was right outside the grocery, and all the other stores were just about a stone's throw away, I did pretty well in avoiding them.  Now, I'm finishing up my three-day weekend with a movie marathon and some dinner.

Day 184: Smoked Salmon

After indulging in malls for the last week or so, I decided to stay in and avoid the malls so as to save my bank account.  I've been quite productive.  In between doing my laundry and cleaning the apartment, I had smoked salmon and some fruit.  It sounds like a diet meal, but it isn't.  I like smoked salmon.  I can finish off about a quarter of a kilo of it on my own.  Which is what I did.  Plus, I had ice cream for dessert.  So, no.  I'm not on a diet.

Day 178: Breakfast Table

So, my dinning set is really a breakfast table.  Not that I need a table good for twelve settings in an apartment this size.

This Monday is so unimaginative.

Day 177: Alien Speakers

My sister left me this Harman Kardon speakers when she left for the States.  I call this one of the baby aliens.  They have a parent alien that's a lot larger.  They're weird-looking, but they give really good surround.  It comes really handy when you want to appreciate the sound of your music or movies on laid-back Sundays.

Day 173: Mirror, Mirror

A self portrait.

I really wanted to take a picture of a mirror, as I think it is symbolic of how my day was.  However, I do not have those fancy gilded mirrors in my apartment.  The top half of my living room wall has this humongous mirror, though, and I decided to improvise.

I have a way of gauging my growth as a person.  This is going to sound a bit psychotic, but I take a look at myself in front of a mirror.  I look at myself and see if I like the person staring back at me.  If I like this person better than the person looking back at me a year ago, then I must have done something right.  Today, I had one of those brutal moments where I had to look at myself and decide whether I like myself better today.  I do, and somehow I don't.  There are pieces of me that I see and I want to smash into pieces.  There are parts of me that I really like better.  Regardless of what I see right now, what's important is what happens after.  If I work hard enough on those things I don't like seeing, I know that Someday I'll Be Good Enough (Bodyslam).

Day 172: Black Pepper

Not much imagination today.  Dead tired too.

Day 170: Chilled

Rainy Sunday is best served indoors with chilled wine.

I had my first adjustment today.  It was interesting.  After the visit to the dentist, I figured I could do my groceries as well.  I love grocery shopping.  Particularly now that I have a fridge.  I can store milk, wine and all those great things you put in the fridge.  I get to chill my wine glasses, too.  After groceries, I went back to my state of dolce far niente.  Cue Aguas de Marco (Elis Regina).  It's so relaxing, I think I should do this more often.