Ode to love

 I sleep and dream only of you

 

Between each breath, I breathe of you

 

I smile each day for what’s ahead

 

My love will grow ’till petals fade.

All things bright and beautiful

 

This is the  only flower in a plant box at the back of my villa. Except the flower isn’t actually a  flower, it is a vegetable, and it isn’t a plant box, it is more like everybody’s ash tray.  😀

Ladies and gentlemen, meet my Mustasa (Mustard).

For days, Mustasa has been the subject of my photography affection being the only flowering plant right in the middle of  the hedges. This photo was taken yesterday. This morning, I eagerly strapped Tam on my neck and brought him to say hello to Mustasa. Lo and behold, I found Mustasa beneath the loops of a garden hose. Thanks to the Indian gardener.   

All things (are) bright and beautiful – until a garden hose hits them.

 

 

My share of lemons

Tam is my new buddy. A gift from my sister who talks and walks and drinks and thinks Photography. She upgraded to the hefty pro level DSLR Nikon D300 so she gave her dummy-who-wishes-to-be-pro-level D40 as a Christmas gift.  Tam is my first camera. That means  I have zero aperture IQ. Google says it is  the most easy-to-use  DSLR. Great! 

My excitement turned to frustration when I went beyond Auto and  tried shooting in different modes. It felt like solving the simplest algebra problem. I am that bad at math.

Tam stayed inside his comfy case  for a couple of days wondering if  he could earn a better living as the most expensive paperweight.  Finally, yesterday I was able  to set aside my frustration and decided to know him more. There. I like to assume that Tam is a male. Just in case a stalker would point out in public, “Are you alone?” With eyeballs rolling, I would briefly quip, “No I’m not. I’m with him.” 😀

Tadaaa…meet Frankie my model. You’d better be careful in raising your opinions about this photo. It took me more than 12 hours to figure out how to make decent photos in Aperture mode. It almost drained my patience I was ready to run amok in the dead of night hahaha.

This is the part where you start to wonder what this has to do with lemons. This cliched grandmother’s wisdom is worth saying over and over again: When life gives you lemons ask for salt and tequila and send  life a thank you note. Ok I am just  kiddin’. For heaven’s sake make the best lemonade.

I never asked for Nikon D40. I love looking at great photos but I never thought about owning one  and learning how to use it -for FREE and 0% interest!! How cool is that? I am blessed.  If I desire to show gratefulness, then I must give myself a chance to find the passion to make the  best out of it.

By the way, if you own one and you want to know what is the best camera in the world, the answer is  “the one that’s with you”.

Here’s to my “first 10,000 worst photographs*”! CHEERS! 😀 😀 😀

*By Henri Cartier-Bresson

Sigh

 

“I have been so useless without you.”

Bummer buns, lazy bones

I have been sitting on my buns the whole day I can almost feel some deformities. I have watched 3 episodes of Dr. House, consumed 3 mugs of coffee, read a book, viewed pictures of my glory days ( yeah, I mean my vacation which technically ended a week ago), googled where to buy some chicken feet in Riyadh (seriously) and yet cannot figure out my today’s default mood: bored or bored to death.

I like doing nothing. I love doing nothing.
I am supposed to feel good.

Room buddies

Teeth

 I think that I shall never eat

Some beefy goodness , gummy treat.

 It’s me with hungry mouth is pressed

 Against the bowlful porridge sweet.

My  buds  that crave for food all day

And gums so swollen with dismay.

 My teeth that may in two years wear

A smile that sparkle in mid air.

 Upon whose bosom wires have lain

I intimately live with pain. 

Braces needed by fools like me

God only knows when I’ll be free.

 

Here’s original poem  entitled TREES by Joyce Kilmer

 

I THINK that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.
A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the sweet earth’s flowing breast;
A tree that looks at God all day,	5
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;
A tree that may in summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;
Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain.	10
Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.

 

Manila American Cemetery/December 2010

Sinkholes

JUNE 2, 2010: 100m deep SINKHOLE in Guatemala swallows 3-story building. – National Geographic latest news

A huge crater caused by a landslide due to tropical storm Agatha, in Guatemala City Photo: AFP/GETTY Photograph from Reuters, illustration by Paul Hannan/National Geographic Digital Media

Photograph from Reuters, illustration by Paul Hannan/National Geographic Digital Media

A fact: The entire state of Florida sits on top of thousands of feet of limestone. Limestone is a porous rock, capable of cracking, breaking and dissolving. The most significant factor in the development of sinkholes is the dissolution of the limestone by acidic waters.

Dreadful. Interesting. Go google it.

Pants no more

Just a few hours ago I had a great time making a card for someone. I am not really good at sketching or some artsy stuff but I have a knack for recycling trash. Without any idea on how to do the card I rummaged through every nook and cranny of my room (including my closet) for magazines, shopping guide (funny but I keep them hahaha!), cardboard, good pen, any colored sheet and stray buttons (they look good on a card you know). 

Mmm.. look what I have unearthed!

Fortunately not my size!

Got this pants a year ago at a flea market. Stained and slightly worn out I bought it anyway. The embroidered flowers  and torn-stitched up portions are cute.

Gray and pink!

 Whoever designed this is a genius.

Armed with scissors and a glue, this is what I came up with.

Stitched up!

 Not bad when framed. Hehehe. Do  you think he’ll like this?

And the pants? It is back in the closet. ‘Till next junk art session. 🙂 

 

Another boring test

I took an online personality test. It was fun and embarassing to know that in some areas a 5yr old can be a lot smarter than me. So common sense is not really “common”. Whahaha. Come on, I was never asked to put a giraffe inside a ref! Ha!Ha!

IQ test.  Here’s my evaluation:

Like a meticulous collector, you’ve fed your brain a unique set of facts and figures over the years. Words, numbers, you’ve got it all. That’s what makes you a Facts Curator.

Whether or not you intend to absorb every piece of information that comes your way, your mind has certain steel-trap qualities to it. You are a knowledge sponge. You have almost enough words in your head to fill a dictionary, and you’re equally adept when it comes to manipulating numbers. You can also detect important patterns in number sequences, and probably remember the mnemonic devices you were taught in grade school. You may feel comfortable in classroom settings where absorbing details is critical. You’re also able to learn from example and piece together all the little facts in life to get to the big picture. That’s why you never stop accumulating information as you walk through life.

My score falls under moderately gifted – which in my opinion only means: I seem to have brains; because I failed on the giraffe thing. And the elephant. And the crocs. Aarrggghhh.

Go check yours at www.personalityquiz.net 🙂

Evening walks

I just thought poetry is a better pill to forget ‘birthing’ pains my period is causing. Ouch. The image is not mine. I just googled it. (Yeah, google is a verb now.) So this one goes to my bestfriend who made every possible thing to be romantic. *Winks*

We love to walk on evenings

When shadows fall on trees

When flowers go a prayin’

By bending on their knees.

When skies lit up we see

Our future fast unfold

And love is home to you and me

At the end of every road.