coffee break

frida’s collection for gucci is a stamp, her own brand. she has definitely stepped out of tom ford’s shadow. i love tom ford, i love his elegance and glamour mixed with punk to create a style that is definitely his. although miles from your usual gucci man, frida giannini have created an image of happiness; colors everywhere like a child with a box of crayons. over all, the new gucci guy is courageous, relaxed, if not, flamboyant but still conscious and stylish!

from the lot i like this the best. the tailoring is still immaculate, undeniably gucci; though most fashion houses like lanvin and hermes have this voluminous/pajama look for spring, the gucci man is still stylish, lean and cut throat fierce. he is not shy with the play of colors for this season with colored and printed jeans, jackets and suits. the lush of tropical flora and fauna all over the gucci man. at first it may seem tacky and uninspiring but as we all know, it’s all about the execution. even the bags and shoes have a splash of color and a playful detail print of hibiscus (that’s gumamela for you pinoys), parrots and other exotic birds and flower. and speaking of accessories, for me, this collection’s strength is on the accessory. the aquamarine crocodile tote is perfection so is the electric blue bag satchel.

here are my top picks:

(more…)

been a busy week. i was asked to do a display for the sex and the city premiere at trinoma. i dressed up 8 mannequins, 2 for each of the ladies, to display their distinct styles. i have to say i find it difficult for the character of miranda to dress up. she might sound pretty simple but she’s the hardest. charlotte is always about traditional chic and preppy with a touch or new world elegance, samantha is all about colors, bold accesories and flattering and revealing cuts, carrie is now, fresh, trendy and most fun to dress up. miranda is the lawyer with a no-nonsense fashion. it should work and portrays i’lll-kick-your-ass-in-the-court-room-manhattan-for-drinks-later. with the limited collection they presented me, she’s the one i find the most difficult to dress with. i know understand the difficulty of power women and patricia fields.

went to laguna for our tower’s offsite, otherwise known as outing. i actually begged off from the event however i was to be a ‘judge’ in the evening’s program. judge in so much i’ll tear them down to pieces and sure that they know how much they screw up but am not the one who decides who won. think american idol. the performances were not halff bad, in fact they were entertaining but i was told to be mean so why not, it’s fun that way. and the end of the night, they all hated me, job well done. though i did not spend the night, went home late that evening and had really, really late dinner with friends me wearing my board shorts and tank top at greenbelt 3.

finally watched sex and the city with dahon and cindy-pot saturday night. there were a quite a handful of men. kuddos for braving the cinema to be with your girlfriends. the movie is so much into the tv series that it could be actually done as a tv movie. there was no jump from the small screen to the big screen, this is actually good for the die hard sex and city fans (moi included) as it provides the continuity of the series but one one is left asking if the movie version was necessary. i love, love, LOVE patricia field, her vision is such a breath of fresh air but she could have done better. in the one of the opening scenes (spring/summer), carrie and charlotte were wearing florals. in the words of the legendary miranda priestly, which she dressed, florals?, in spring?, groundbreaking! although the givenchy studded belt is so HUGE (not  literally) and having it on the waist of carrie would even make it as an IT fashion accessory, but do i have it to see it n times? though the contrast of delicate vintage floral dior and the studded leather belt is indeed a refreshing twist. i was expecting something similar to devil wears prada, specially the scene where miranda was throwing bags after bags at the desk of andy, no 2 items were alike, no 2 items were of the same brand! but get a hint here ladies, curves and belts are back. no more boho fashion, show ‘em your humps, it’s all about silhouettes. overall, the movie delivered its promise; it’s not all fashion and clothes, it’s about the lives of 4 extraordinary new york women wearing the most expensive, luxe, designer and couture clothes as they drudge over their day to day lives.

faces of friends as they embark on a trip with no confirmed reservations, no knowledge where to go, or how to get there. just machupichu (white honda jazz) and the will to have the greatest adventure yet.

all we know is that we are heading north to zambales, either potipot or anawangin. we had a reservation at pundaquit in a bed and breakfast (wannabe) residence of a local there. failing to locate a pnb branch and pay the accommodation, the owners decided to give our room to another group, a day before our supposed trip. the only room available is a 2 bed bedroom at a staggering php4,500.00. i don’t know if it was a gimmick of the owners to force us to get the pricey room but i am completely turned off. it’s a makeshift bed and breakfast, i can get an executive room at the shangrila makati for php3,999.00++ (thanks to mom’s membership) with complimentary breakfast. we decided to try search for other accommodation to no avail. no rooms available for us.

being the adventurer we are, we headed north of manila with no clear place to stay. we have set our hearts to anawangin and that’s where we will be. on our way, we were planning contingencies if ever we really can’t find somewhere to stay. it’s either 1.) sleep along the long stretch of trees in pundaquit, 2.) sleep in the car 3.) go back to subic and stay at a hotel or 4.) go to mt. pinatubo instead. good thing we headed early and was able to make good time to scout the local area for accommodation. turning right somewhere in pundaquit, we were able to see a house with a makeshift lighthouse. named wild rose inn, dahon felt a vibe that this is the place that will save us from our misfortune, so she figured having a first name rosemarie. she went to the inn and talked to the owner whom we will address here as tita lover. tita lover is a character, you’ll love her to bits. she is a balikbayan from canada who spoke to us in english and speaks to her husband and house helps in tagalog. we don’t know why, she just does. she offered us an airconditioned room with a queen size bed and a double bed, t&b for only php1,800.00! we settled at tita lover’s inn and asked one of the help if he can look for a boat to take us to anawangin and capones.

after settling to our room, we packed our lunch, change to our swimming gear and headed to the islands. a small boat, just enough for the 5 of us and 2 boatmen ferried us to anawangin. it was a rather turbulent 40 minutes ride since it was a small boat. we were able to get to the island, safely, before the high noon. we ate lunch under the tall pine trees to shade us. irish’s mom packed adobong manok and embutido for lunch. it was a nice lunch together with friends. we were sharing food, eating food with bare hands (yes i know how to), sharing stories and chismis. after lunch we hit the sea, for me, some serious 1 on 1 with the sun.

… to be continued

since i am already in the topic of gym, i am happy to say that i have gained almost 20lbs, 18lbs to be exact. i now weigh 145lbs, targeting 150, thanks to my personal trainor. unlike most people, i have a different dilemma; i loose weight when i don’t go to the gym. yep, it’s kinda strange but going to the gym is the only reason why i don’t get blown away during typhoons and strong winds. like i said, i’m targeting 150lbs, i think that weight with my height of 5′7″ would be a perfect pair when i’m being asked about my weight and height. people notice me bulking up since i joined the gym. i was in hiatus for more than a year from the gym mostly because i travel for work and that i lost interest in taking care of myself, but 2008 is about me so i’m back. i’m quite happy with my proportions; legs and torso seems to be matched. i have to say since a lot of the gym nuts are johnny bravos-heavy on the torso, limp on the legs-or chicken legs. i’m so mean!

however, me bulking up posed a serious problem for me, and my viktors.

to date, i have 29 viktors. these are investments, clothes are always an investment. it is how you present yourself to the world and of course you always want to wrap yourself with the finest thai silk, mother of pearls, de beers diamonds and put your best foot forward. almost half of them are skinny jeans-really fitting, seam busting, 2nd skin like skinny jeans-that i can no longer wear. simply because it won’t fit me anymore. my legs grew 2 inches in diameter each, how i wish it grew vertically. it won’t fit me and goes only up to my thighs. it’s such a sappy, sappy day when i found out. happy that i gained weight but sad that my ultimate viktor vp#1 is now just in my closet. these jeans hanging on my rack are the only ones that i can wear, some of them after 10 minutes of pulling. looking fierce is such a fierce job.

if you are a vip viktor citizen, we are having a launching sale with the lord viktor line paired with selvedge japanese premium denim for LV#1. sale ends on may 5 so phone your denim specialist now! don’t forget to bring your viktor pasaporte.

listening to:
The Dutchess – Fergie: London Bridge

one of the many benefits of my company is a free gym membership. every end of the month, the hr will send an invite to all and asks us to register if we want to avail the gym membership. it’s on a monthly basis, the hr will send the list of all employees who registered to all branches of gold’s gym. last march, i toyed with the idea and decided to enroll for the month of april. so for april, i am a member of fitness first platinum and gold’s gym.

nearing the end of april, i haven’t visited gold’s, not once, i decided to pay them a visit and try out the gym. i tried the robinson’s galleria branch since it’s near to my office. entrance to the gym was at the back of the mall, at gloria jeans coffee shop. the reception is inside the coffee shop, there’s a stairwell going down to the gym. my first impression of the gym is that it’s crampy and gloomy. the color scheme is too dark for a gym for my taste; i want to see splashes of colors, warm colors to invigorate my senses to work out. it seems like a dungeon with workout machines, less the tar burning torches. as i proceeded to the locker room, i passed at the towel area and got my complimentary towel which is worn out. at the locker room, my feeling of gloominess did not improve, dark gray walls with a pale bluish gray lockers. i changed to my workout clothes and hit the gym area. the machines were all occupied so i decided to go to the free weights area where only 2 benches can be fit somewhat comfortably. i grabbed a 20lbs dumbbell and worked my biceps. a hunky, bald, chinito guy bent over beside me and started working his biceps as he leaned over the rows of dumbbells. his perfectly shaped ass was literally inches away from me. i cut short my biceps workout and hit the smith machine instead; though his ass was perfection and his body to die for, i am not comfortable sharing space with strangers that up close. 60, 70, 80kgs attached to the smith, i did my traps (your shoulder muscles connecting the neck and shoulders), nearing my last set, bent over backwards baldy winked at me. deadma. playing hard to get, hihihi. working my way to the bench press, i notice that the gym was gathering a lot people, i went straight to the locker room and showered. packing my gym stuff, i saw rust stains on my gloves.

one of the reason why i keep a separate gym membership is that i don’t like crowds. i am quite claustrophobic that when people gather i feel uneasy and suffocated. i need my leg room, i need space to move around. although i only have these attacks with strangers. i value my personal space that i am paying quite a premium for gym membership to a more controlled gym. platinum clubs control the number of members they have, that and they cost more, a lot more. even at the spa, i have a regular therapist that does my treatments. am not comfortable that people i don’t know is giving me a deep tissue massage and scrubbing me with crushed coffee beans. call me snooty, but i can’t stand crowds; i can’t stand the feeling that someone i don’t know is close by.

the hr sent the registration for the may gold’s gym membership. i enrolled again. why? because i want to get over this. i think it’s an unhealthy thing to have and the universe is telling me to change it. did i mention baldy gave his number at the locker.

listening to:
Airdrawndagger – Sasha: Requiem