9

livin' la vida treinta



so the mystery is gone: the candles reveal my true age...i'm 30! i can no longer hide behind the veil of vagueness when asked how old i am and reply that i'm a "twenty-something." i'm as old as jollibee! the day i've been watching out for with much apprehension finally came. it's one of those inevitable things in life: aging. but with it comes the inner resolve to do the things i must do.

it rained on my birthday (yesterday)...so instead of going to new york city as i had hoped, i stayed home with my family. after all, a small party with some family friends already happened the day before. people kept remarking, "you're ONLY 30? you're STILL YOUNG!" well, they were significantly older than me so they can say that.

an aspiring lawyer friend from croatia sent me a parcel for my birthday consisting of a funky postcard, vanilla-flavored nougat candy (which my sister eyed suspiciously as potentially laced with something undesirable), and a handcrafted necklace from malta. that's the most "exotic" gift i ever received.



i ate the nougat candy today and it tasted good. i'm still alive, by the way. special thanks also go to gladys for the birthday card and postcard, and to shiera for the kawaii hello kitty birthday card from japan.

the most entertaining card i received came from a sweet romanian couple: it was a large, musical card with a fortune teller named madame delphi instructing me to click on this link to find out my birthday horoscope. want to find out yours? just enter your birthdate, then type in 2008 for the year to get your own reading. go on...try it!

the url is http://www.clickwishes.com/fortuneteller
31

litratong pinoy#23:itim at puti



ang aming shih tzu na si tiffany suot ang kanyang "itsy-bitsy teeny-weeny" na itim at puting polka-dot na damit. kikayuki, diba?

ah, at siya mismo ay may kulay itim at puti sa kanyang balahibo.

5

license to purrrr

our dynamic kitty duo is now "legal!" they've been vaccinated (thanks to a free rabies shot clinic by the roxbury township health department) and now have been issued cat licenses by our township. it's $10 for each cat, the fee imposed when your feline is "unfixed," meaning neither spayed nor neutered depending on the gender. otherwise, it would have been three dollars cheaper.

it's one of the things that was culturally "shocking" for me when i first came here to the states: obtaining pet licenses. i was used to just scooping up stray kittens off the street when i was growing up in the philippines. and here, you can even get fined for each month you delay registering your cat with your town!

here's my grandfather waiting in line for the free rabies shot with our kittens inside the two separate pet carriers.



dog owners outnumbered the cat owners.



and here they are acting like royalty on our couch. they like to nap together.



at left is maki, on the right with jet-black fur is siomai. maki, who's male, is more affectionate and laidback while siomai is a hyper, aggressive female. they're the yin and yang of each other.
2

fall-ing for snoopy



good grief! it's snoopy and the peanuts gang in flavored chocolate powder form! how cute is that? i actually saw three autumn-inspired flavors at marshall's but only photographed two. the other flavor was apple cider.

i think i'll go for the halloween orange hot chocolate, since i'm such a chocoholic. which flavor do you fancy?

now that it's starting to get chilly, who could resist snuggling with a warm cup of any of these flavors with a fluffy blanket and a good book?

and if you're feeling particularly romantic, there's also a valentine version of the beverage:



pink...hot. hot pink. love it!
3

can you tell me how to get, how to get to "avenue Q"?



remember that sesame street song? i do--i grew up watching that show, along with its philippine counterpart, batibot.

sesame street was noticeably the inspiration for the tony award-winning broadway musical, "avenue q"--which i got to watch on the date scribbled on my doodle page.

by the way, these doodles are the first i've made on the notebook i bought at the muji store, also on the date specified. after gazing at the fine variety of notebooks and writing paper they have, i finally bought a couple and was inspired to illustrate a summary of my day in new york.

and that's my attempt at a self-portrait with clothes worn that day and umbrella used to battle the rain.

so anyway, "avenue q" is a fictional place in an outer borough of new york where humans and puppets co-exist. it's like sesame street for adults, because the story deals with themes like racism, sex, unemployment, internet porn, homosexuality, love, and finding one's purpose as summed up in the opening song, "what do you do with a b.a. in english?"

it's amazing to see the actors sing, act, change voices and manipulate the puppets at the same time. if only jim henson were still around to see this show.
20

litratong pinoy#22:ginintuan (golden)


ano ba itong hugis parisukat na lobong ginto? sa maniwala ka't sa hindi, isa itong "modernong" disenyo ng alternatibong pabahay (!) na nakadisplay sa museo ng modernong sining sa new york. ayon sa nagdisenyo, pinili niya ang kulay ginto upang makapagbigay ito ng angkop na init sa taglamig, at materyales na magaan (lightweight) upang maaliwalas kuno. ewan ko ba kung may matinong taong titira sa isang pinahanginang balat ng kendi. hehe.



at siyempre pa, pag nasa rockefeller center ka, makikita mo si golden boy statue na si prometheus, na isang halimbawa ng istilong "art deco." excited si miss igorota na masilayan ang ginintuang griyegong ito.



2

new york in a bag!



how would you like to carry the city of new york...in a bag? muji will gladly give you the opportunity, in the form of small wooden pieces of what makes new york distinctly new york: the statue of liberty, chrysler building, empire state building, the guggenheim museum, taxi cabs...that's as far as i can recognize the pieces in the set.

the set comes in a simple cloth bag and costs $14.00. no, i didn't buy it.

muji is somewhat like japan's ikea, only a little pricier. their designs are simple, colors are predominantly earth-toned. but unlike ikea, they sell clothing apparel too. this particular muji store i went to was at 40th st., right next to the new york times building and just across the port authority bus terminal.
0

fashion week in NYC


on a very rainy friday afternoon, i spotted this giant tent at bryant park featuring the "mercedes-benz fashion week." men in suits guarded the entrance, so i figured it wasn't something that was open to the public. fashionistas and designers only, perhaps (i'm neither).

turned out to be the final day of the event. the decor mimicks the election fever with campaign-style buttons. look who's among the list of designers showcasing their spring collection at said event...



cebu's pride: monique lhuillier. go, pinay! :)
6

yao ming igorota!

guess what came in my mailbox today!


a new igorota doll from the gorgeous gingmaganda! and she's much taller, too!

i showed her to my sister and she looked at me incredulously. she thinks i'm crazy trying to photograph this doll in public places. haha. she doesn't understand that this is a collaborative art project.

her green outfit matches my j.crew purse perfectly, too!



thank you, ging! i'm not disposing the old one...but this new doll will come with me to new york this friday! :)

22

litratong pinoy#21:pilak



inihahandog ko sa inyo ang pinakamalaking kampana sa buong asya, ang "pan-ay church bell" na matatagpuan sa aking probinsya ng capiz. kahit na dito ako pinanganak, ngayong taon ko lang nasilayan ang simbahang ito na umaakit ng mga turista.

ayon sa mga kuwento, ang kampanang ito ay ginawa mula sa 70 na sako ng barya na galing sa mga taong-bayan. kung sapilitan ito o bukal sa kanilang loob ay di tiyak. maaaring gawa sa pilak ang mga barya, maaaring hindi. ngunit sumagi sa isipan ko ang kampanang ito dahil sa awiting "silver bells" na angkop sa tema para sa linggong ito. speaking of "silver bells," hudyat na rin ng buwan ng setyembre ang nalalapit na kapaskuhan!



ang mensaheng kastila na nakaukit dito ay nagsasabing, "ako ang tinig ng Diyos na siyang umaalingawngaw ng papuri mula sa isang dulo ng bayan ng Pan-ay hanggang sa kabilang dako nito, upang ang mga mapanatang tagasunod ni Kristo ay makapasok dito sa Tahanan ng Panginoon at tumanggap ng mga biyaya ng kalangitan."

dahil sa wala akong nakitang postcard na tinda sa national bookstore ng simbahang ito, gumawa ako ng sariling disenyo ng postcard gamit ang mga litrato ko dito. hindi ba't nararapat lang na magkaroon ng postcard ang "biggest bell in asia?"

kung nais niyong magkaroon ng pan-ay bell postcard mula sa akin, pakiemail ang inyong pangalan at address sa conniechiwa@gmail.com. libre po ito, sagot ko rin ang selyo! ang paanyayang ito ay para lamang sa unang sampung tao na mag-eemail ng address nila sa akin. ilagay sa subject ng email: PAN-AY BELL POSTCARD!

*paunawa: huwag akong sisihin kung hindi makarating sa inyo ang postcard dahilan sa 1. kulang ang address na binigay sa akin, o 2. dahil winala ito (sinasadya man o hindi) ng inyong kartero. pag natanggap niyo ang postcard, pakibigay-alam din sa akin sa email na binanggit ko o sa pagkomento sa aking blog.

6

dragon fruit



if dragons laid eggs they would look like these...and you would find them (where else?) in new york's chinatown selling for $4/pound.

it was my first time to see this exotic fruit named after a mythical creature. dragon fruits are also known as "pitahaya" in southern america and "strawberry pear."

looks intimidating, doesn't it? they also look like they would hatch into alien life forms.
4

"i see dead people"



if sadako ("ringu") had a family portrait, it would probably look like this.

and you thought some of your family members were horrific.

sorry for the blurriness. my hands were shaking as i tried to absorb the frightening details and take the photo at the same time. at least i captured the title of the work, "four generations." the thing in white is supposed to be an infant on the lap of a person...said infant's face also smeared with the mysterious black ink.

this hair-raising (or should i say, hair-covering?) photograph is on display at the museum of modern art in new york.
2

german gummi bears



this tiny pack of haribo holds gummi bears that it proudly proclaims "kids and grown-ups love." it's not just rubberized, sweetened bears you'll find inside, but hearts and rings and other odd shapes.

the package boasts in german, "haribo macht kinder froh und erwachsene ebenso," which translates to "haribo makes children happy...and adults too." i must admit, i agree!

apparently too, haribo is a big name in the gummi candy industry not only in germany, but throughout the world. in fact, gummi bears originated in germany. yummy piece of trivia.
6

me and my buri



i don't really like posting pictures of myself in my blog. it's very rare that i do. if you've seen my photo(s) in my blog archive, then you're lucky.

since it's my birthday month (eherm...pass me a ricola?), i decided to be easy on myself, and give in to tiny doses of vanity. so here's a photo of myself toting a native bag given to me as a gift by a good pal, gladys, when we met in manila last february. i could only wear it during the summer, so i made sure i got to use it.

photo taken by my sister at white meadow lake in rockaway, new jersey in august, post-swimming.
3

a case of nipple pox



a very tit-illating piece of art in the museum of modern art. kinky girdle, i should say. made me wonder if this was ever displayed at the museum of sex...after all, both museums are in manhattan. furthermore, i wonder if madonna has seen this...
16

litratong pinoy#20:tanso



may koleksyon kami ng aking kapatid ng mga pinitpit na barya o "pressed pennies" mula sa mga iba't-ibang lugar na aming napasyalan. ang mga baryang ito ay nababalutan ng tanso, ngunit sa loob nito ay zinc. yung mga sinauang penny ay sinasabing gawa sa purong tanso.

tuwing kami'y namamasyal sa magagandandang destinasyon ay naniniguro kaming may dala kaming makintab/bagong barya na isang sentimo ng pera ng amerika. sa mga piling lugar na ito ay may matatagpuan kang makina ng "souvenir pennies" na iniimprentahan ng pangalan at larawan ng lugar ang iyong barya. upang gumana ang pagawaan, kailangan maglagay ka ng dalawang "quarter" na barya (25 cents.)

marami na kaming naipong pinitpit na barya na nakalagay sa maliliit na album. ilan lamang ito sa halimbawa ng aming mga "souvenir pennies." kung curious ka, may website na naglilista ng mga eksaktong lugar sa bawat state kung saan may souvenir penny machine.

0

final blooms of summer


tinkering with adobe photoshop elements 5.0...rose in full bloom (from our garden) on paper.

they say love shields your eyes with "rose-tinted glasses".
1

hanging out in hangzhou



my very first postcard from china! cute girls (wait, that's child labor!!!) harvesting tea leaves at dragon well tea village in hangzhou. the back of the postcard claims it's the "best tourism city of china." hmmm...not beijing?

and the background reminds me of the banaue rice terraces.

Postcards
1

schokolade!



my family is back from germany....and amongst the pile of pasalubongs is my weakness: chocolates! (schokolade in german)

this is a kinder chocolate box. i'm surprised to learn that this brand is actually of italian origin--in fact, its makers are the same ones who produce ferrero chocolates.

"kinder" means "children" in german, as in "kindergarten." the label on the box is apropos...for truly, they are my new friends! haha.
3

moomin postcards!

i'm so happy i finally figured out how to make the scanner function of our HP all-in-one printer/scanner/copier 1210 work. for ages, i've wondered why it wouldn't detect its scanner when i can easily print stuff from it while it's connected to the computer. now i know i didn't install it correctly, hence defeating its all-in-one purpose.

i uninstalled the software, then reinstalled it--this time making sure that the printer is still unplugged before it completes the installation process.

now that it's working, i can finally scan various things, such as the postcards i've received from postcrossing. i adore the moomin postcards from finland! moomins were created by tove jansson circa 1940's. they look like hippopotamuses but are really white trolls who live in moomin valley.

i love the vintage look of the illustrations. so far i've received three:



the finnish love their moomins so much that they even produced postage stamps in their honor:





Postcards

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