My most reluctant model. Not.

The recent economic downturn has caused too much damage on many people's lives in many aspects. I can say that we were one of these people affected by the greatest recession of all time. My husband lost his job one year ago. However, now that the economy is slowly picking up, the Lord God above has finally set down his plans for my husband. He just recently landed a job and today was his first day (after exactly 1 year of being SAHH - Stay at home husband).

My job gives me opportunity to work from home 2 days every week (yep, every week - unless there's a requirement for me to be onsite the whole week and this seldom happens by the way). So, today, the feeling was so different that I'm home alone. The place looks empty and quiet. To maximize the opportunity of serenity, I was able to dig (yes, I'm not yet done with my digging!) some of his old pictures (not that old though, maybe a few months or a year old). To show my appreciation of my husband's never ending hope and faith, I offer these to you (I hope this would make you smile even for just a bit) :

"Basura na lang ba ako sa buhay mo?" (March 21, 2009) Because the weather was nice that day, we, together with a couple of friends, decided to go to Lake Shore and relax. I remember that we also ate at a nice Korean restaurant before going to Lake shore.

"Dala mo na ba ang mga epektus?" (December 2008) This was at O'hare International Airport - Northwest Airlines Terminal. We were both so happy during this time. This was the day we were going to Philippines for vacation. *sigh* Wonder when we would set foot again on our mother land.


This was sometime in June 2009, inside the Metra Train (Northwest Line). We were on our way to downtown Chicago to meet with a friend from Cayman Island. He brought my old camera (which I still dearly love) for his use and snap! I took his picture while aiming at something (I don't know what).

So, there you go. Meet my most willing model. :)

...more Abstracts & Concepts!

My previous post has inspired me to dig up more in my hard drives. And these were my finds (I told you, many of them are still hiding in their folders):

LIGHTSCAPE
Taken @ O'hare International Airport, terminal C concourse. I've been wanting to take a picture of the lighted ceiling of this airport. Did some magical spell to my camera and voila! - July 2009

RUSH HOUR
Taken @ O'hare International Airport. We were rushing to our flight going to Charlotte, NC (ultimately going to Nassau, Bahamas) from Terminal B to Terminal C - July 2009

Abstract Photography

I've always regarded photography as an opportunity to see beauty in an object's mediocrity. As most people have put it, "Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder". So let me share you how I see beauty in life's ordinary.

While arranging photos in my computer, I saw these pictures sitting in their respective folders waiting for my attention. Life has become so busy lately that I haven't been posting any pictures. So, here are my payments to my IOUs:

This photo was taken at JFK Museum, Boston MA - July 2009

GIANT ASTERISK - This photo was taken @ JFK Museum, Boston MA - July 2009

WIND BENEATH MY WINGS - This photo was taken from inside a United Airlines plane in one of my flights from Boston, MA to Chicago, IL - May 2009

My title for this photo: "Who says you can't be in a non-self portrait you take in a handheld camera?" This was taken along Butterfield Rd going to Oakbrook, IL from Mt. Prospect, IL - April 2010

THE LONG WAIT - This is just a number/menu holder in a restaurant. April 2010

DE-LIGHTED -One of my bokeh trials. Not that good...but I just love how the bokehs shape themselves into a smiling face. This was taken along Algonquin Road on our way home from Schaumburg, just today. Exposure time: 1/10

Also taken today. Along Elmhurst Street just before entering our apartment community entrance. This is actually a small hotel close to our apartment. The lights smudged are the signages of the hotel. Exposure time: 0.3

IM FALLING FOR YOU -This was taken in the Harvard Museum of Natural History (if I'm not mistaken) - Boston MA. This is one of the ceilings of the museum. March 2009

And that's about it for now. I hope you enjoy viewing them. I'm pretty sure that there are still some other left in my hard drive. I'm just so sad that I've not been keeping close track of these pictures that I tend to lose some of them. I really need to do a huge reorganization of my pictures. It's 1:13 am and I'm now signing off. :)

Wishes do come true... (my birthday mantra)

An e-mail from work has reminded that my birthday is coming up. Our project end lunch party falls on my birthday! So, after receiving the e-mail, I came to ask myself "So I'll be getting old again. What do I want for my birthday?". I have this tradition of rewarding myself with something that would inspire me for the new year that God has given me. For this year, I can't think of anything grand that I can give to myself. I actually have one thing in mind but I just want to brush it off for now...mainly because of budget constraints.

So, I then decided to just list down the things I *need* but never had the motivation to buy them. I actually have this habit of not buying the things I *need* even though they're just small stuff (and cheap, too!). My usual thought process is: "It just costs $xx, I'll just buy it next week. For now, I'll buy this ______ (something that is way more expensive than the other, even if it doesn't classify to be a necessity)". So, see... I have this problem of differentiating the "need" versus the "want". (Sometimes, I think they're just synonymous).

The list of my wants...errr... needs that I want to have:

(1) Sigma travel brush kit (in pink) - http://www.sigmamakeup.com/products/7015.html
- I only have one set of make-up brushes. These are the normal sized brushes that I use whether I'm at home or travelling. So, every week, after coming from travel, I keep on transferring my brush kit from my luggage to the bathroom countertop (yes, I do my make up in the bathroom *sad face*. But you'll see below that this is something I can fix with another *need*). And lately, I'm getting tired of doing this again and again. That's why I think I need this brush set that I can just keep inside my luggage all month-/year- long!

2) Face mirror - http://www.ulta.com/ulta/browse/productDetail.jsp?skuId=2090231&productId=xlsImpprod540580&navAction=push&navCount=1&categoryId=cat120100#reviews
- Because I don't have a clearer mirror than our bathroom mirror, as I've said earlier, I do my make-up inside the bathroom. So, I badly need this mirror to somehow give my husband a little privacy when it's his turn to use the bathroom. :) The mirror I'm looking for is the one with light strip around the mirror and has different lighting options with power cord and light switch.

(3) Macbook Pro 15" neoprene sleeve (I'm looking for the one in vertical layout with small handles. Can't find something like this yet, have any idea where I can buy this?)
- Last August 2009, I bought an Incase neoprene sleeve for my 13" macbook. I loved how it hugs and protects my laptop. However, come December, because I upgraded to a 15", I can no longer use the sleeve I bought (to which, the husband is delighted. grr). So instead, I bought an Incase laptop bag for 15". So, problem solved! But that's what I thought! As you know, macbook pros have aluminum unibody. I know this is something that everyone is raving about. However, my biggest problem with this laptop is it radiates terrible amount of static electricity every time I take it out from the bag in airport security gates. You have no idea how much I hate this! O'hare has replaced its trays with non-static ones but Logan airport is still using the old, gray monster trays! So, every week, I still get a big dose of electricity in my body every time I go through the gates! So I think, I badly, badly need this laptop sleeve, or else, I'll be the next member of Fantastic Four.

(4) Little Big Planet sackboy plush http://www.amazon.com/LittleBigPlanet-Sackgirl-Sackboy-Plush-Bundle/dp/B0030DG4SQ/ref=pd_sbs_a_1
- I know this is a "want" rather than a "need". But I don't know what's with this character. I just love him and I'm still waiting for the time that I can convince myself to buy this.

(5) Little Big Planet PS3 game
- I think I've already explained in # 4 above the need for this. You should try playing this game for you to believe that I *need* this. :)

(6) Parallels Desktop 5.0 & Windows 7
- I run Parallels 4.0 and Windows XP for my work. And I want, errr... need to upgrade to the next version to make use of its added features. These are not cheap, so I'd probably think hard when I would get these.

(7) Caboodles' Grande Train Case "Rockstar" http://www.caboodles.com/#/products
- I really like things that help me organize my things. As my husband always say, "Pwede kitang iwan buong araw sa tindahan ng mga kahon at kariton na hindi ka mabo-bore!". Yes, I really love boxes, containers, cabinets, or anything where I can put my things, make ups, etc. Even when I was a kid, I was keeping all my shoe boxes no matter how old they are. And also love going to "Container store" or Ikea. So, when I saw this, I immediately decided that I "need" this... (although admittedly, the husband has given me a Juicy Couture train case last year that I haven't used to its fullest capacity yet). But hey, you can never have too many train cases, right? :P

As I write this, the husband has volunteered to give me #3 above. Yey! So, people, I'm actually accepting donations... hah!

It's not my intention to give you ideas what to give me on my birthday. But if you insist, the above ideas would help you decide, hahaha! But seriously speaking, I have this attitude of not asking anything for my birthday from people. I'm a very appreciative person (believe it or not!), that I don't usually look at the price tag of gifts. As we always say, "it's the thought that counts!". So, let's see which of these wishes would come true... :)

Turndown service

I should be working at this time, however this sudden knock on my door pushed my fingers to transform my thoughts into writing/typing. It's 7:10PM Easter Daylight Time, Hyatt Regency Cambridge. While reviewing some stuff from work, I heard a familiar knock on my door- "Good evening! Turndown service!". And just the usual, I said - "No. Thank you!!!".

When I was new to travelling, I never heard of this thing. The first time I had this, I was just standing beside my bed while the housekeeping lady was turning my bedsheet and blanket down. I was just literally watching whatever she was doing... CONFUSED. But suddenly got delighted when I saw that she left chocolates and candies on top of my bed. The next day, I heard the knock again. But this time, I told the lady, "Can I just have the candies?". *smiling from ear to ear*

So, for anyone who doesn't know, Turndown service is an evening service offered by some hotels where the housekeeping lady turns your bedspread, blankets, etc down (ergo, the name of the service) so you can just comfortably climb up to bed between the sheets. For some hotels, this is also the time when they put out your bath robe and slippers and get them ready for you, laying them nicely on top of your bed. Some even say that they put candies with mint because some people would want this before they do their *thing* - yeah, fresh breath can definitely go a long way! haha! :P

My first question when I first learned about this (and this is the next day after my CONFUSED scene above. Needed to ask my colleague about it), "Are some people really that lazy that they can't do it themselves?" Well, maybe it's just me. But for now, my stand is to turn down the "turndown service"! hehe! (Although it feels great to be treated like a queen sometimes!)