Reading
I’m happy to report that I have started reading the July-August issue of Monocle. I finished reading the 2016 Quality of Life survey of the top 25 cities in the world, and Japan takes the top spot again. This year, the magazine added nightlife in its ever-increasing metrics, and Tokyo has this concept of STP or straight to airport. It’s pretty clear what it means.
The August issue of Rogue came in the mail yesterday. It has a bald and tattooed Yassi Pressman on the cover, with features on the greatest art forger of all time and the counter-culture magazine Ermita, interviews with four of the country’s most sought-after portraitists, and profiles on the colorful characters of the art world’s peripheries. I’ve always loved Rogue‘s Art Issues and this one looks promising.
I’m more than halfway through Smaller and Smaller Circles! I plan on reading it after I finish writing this entry.
Writing
There is a lot to be proud of this week: Palawan was featured on Marooned with Ed Stafford, AirAsia Philippines is opening its doors to transgender applicants across all positions, and Miss Philippines Trixia Maraña won the Miss Asia pageant. I also wrote an interesting bit about the Duterte administration finally having a tabloid and the possibility of Whang-od being declared a National Artist. And I’m excited for the second season of Scream Queens!
Listening
To Kylie Minogue’s performance of “Get Outta My Way” for her Kiss Me Once tour. Finally, a non-showtune song, right? The song is from her 2011 Aphrodite album, and was one included in the Aphrodite: Les Folies tour, which had a stopover in Manila. I watched it!
Watching
This week I watched Sigrid Andrea Bernardo’s Ang Huling Cha-Cha ni Anita, a coming-of-age film following Anita, a young girl who experiences a sexual awakening when Pilar comes home to their town in Bulacan. It has very serious themes but Bernardo delivers them in an innocent and humorous way, making Cha-Cha a refreshing watch. What I appreciated the most in the film is that Anita’s sexuality was never questioned in the conservative town. Teri Malvar as Anita is wonderful, and Angel Aquino as Anita’s love interest Pilar is beautiful. Aquino’s slender grace and quiet elegance is fascinating to watch.
Thinking
Of my Hanoi trip. Yesterday, after having lunch at Wolfgang’s Steakhouse in Resorts World Manila, I impulsively bought a Macbook Air. I have been thinking about it for quite some time, but I didn’t have any concrete plans of getting one because I’m quite happy with my Asus laptop. But yes, I am madly typing away on this Air, and I love it. I’m just worried that I won’t have money for Hanoi because I don’t have a salary from my day job anymore and my trip will be before my paycheck from WIM, lol. Panicking.
Smelling
TWG’s Sakura! Sakura! tea, which I bought yesterday before lunch. It’s a lush green tea with cherry blossoms, and is meant to evoke Kyoto’s celebrated season. I was friendly to the girl who assisted me and I think she gave me more than the 50g I asked for. I’m on my third cup today.
Wishing
That time would go by quicker. It’s going to be my last week at my day job.
Hoping
That I’ve made the right choices.
Loving
Chuvaness’s collaboration with National Book Store. My good friend Cecile launched a line of travel and stationery products earlier this week, and it was hard not to hoard. I walked away with a tote bag for overnights and weekend trips, a multi-pouch for my chargers, and tons of kawaii stickers.
I also loved the food at Wolfgang’s. Their USDA prime rib and USDA porterhouse steaks are delicious, and had a healthy pink glow inside. I got to see the restaurant’s aging room and was shocked at the number of meats they had in there. Easily more than a million pesos worth of steaks. I also loved the key lime pie. The calamansi taste was divine!
Wanting
To lose weight. I am blessed in every other department.
Needing
To lose weight, lol.
Feeling
Happy because of this week’s blessings. There are so many!
Clicking
Dee Dee Wanted Her Daughter To Be Sick, Gypsy Wanted Her Mom To Be Murdered. A comprehensive read on the Dee Dee and Gypsy case, where Dee Dee put up an elaborate scheme saying Gypsy is terminally ill. It turned out Gypsy is completely healthy, so she and her boyfriend killed her mom. It’s a Serial case waiting to happen. Hello, Sarah Koenig?
Ghosts in the machine? Using the Kinect to hunt for spirits. Creepy.
7 Times Movie Product Placement Backfired Hilariously. Lol.
Cate Blanchett Ponders the Meaning of Life in Trailer for Terrence Malick’s Voyage of Time: Life’s Journey. Wonderfully soothing.
So You Want My Job: Stay-at-Home Dad. This question: “Do male lions feel emasculated that they hang around all day while a lioness goes out and hunts? Doubt it.”
Why has Duterte visited 14 military camps in less than a month?. An in-depth and intriguing read.
The Harsh Reality of Being Broke. Flashbacks of me nervously standing at Beyond the Box as I purchased the Air.
You Should Be Afraid of the Cat That Just Attacked Seven Pit Bulls. The cat’s name is Baby.
Go Inside Madonna’s Three-Day Cuban Birthday Extravaganza with Steven Klein and Rosie O’Donnell. This woman.
The Filipino art director behind the design of America’s most iconic magazines. Inspiring read.
The Sunday Currently was originally created by SiddaThornton. Carina Santos inspired me to do it.