Well appointed

By accident, I came across Kirby Allison as I was searching for a solution to my bags that had been scratched by my cats, among other things. I’m mourning the lost immaculate look of my leather laptop bag so I went to search for some solution or bag restorer to do it. I’m not exactly sure if Blackwing would be able to do it although they posted on Instragram they will be launching bespoke leather bags for women (yey!).

So anyway, while I was searching for some answers, Kirby Allison popped up in my search and I watched his video of how to restore his Italian leather portfolio bag (which is essentially an overnight bag) and got sucked into his world of being a well-appointed gentleman. Reminds of the movie Kingsman, but just the well-dressed part.

Now I am no longer skimping on the important stuff because I see that I spend more if I buy the cheaper brand (hello, American Tourister!). If I can afford it, I will have most of my things custom-made or local so I can have them repaired so they last for decades. My black leather Our Tribe is still going strong even after 8 years and I just had the hardware repaired for minimal cost. Their HQ/factory is just 300m away from my apartment. It’s not showing any signs that it’s about to give up on me and I think it will outlive me.

My pleather binder/Filofax is custom in the sense I chose the color and the hardware and the style. Made in Mandaluyong. Going strong and it still looks new. I’m so happy with it that I want to buy this item for family and friends for Christmas. I want to buy their real leather notebooks and binders next but one thing at a time…


So this afternoon my girls and I went to SM Marikina to buy them sports shoes because the ones we bought from Decathlon no longer fit. Yes. No longer fit. I should have gotten them pairs that are one size bigger. Oh well.

We also bought other stuff in preparation for the face-to-face school comeback, which will happen next month. So they have been completely online since last month and then they will transition to hybrid next month. By November, everybody should be physically in school.

Back-to-school shopping. Photo by CallMeCreation.com

I also bought my nephew (my youngest sister’s son) a new backpack because I saw that National Geographic backpacks are 50% off. It’s lightweight, waterproof, and has good padding on the straps and the back—essential for students carrying heavy school books. This isn’t technically a school bag but rather it’s a travel bag for roughing it. But there’s no difference between the kind of abuse school bags and travel bags of backpackers receive when in use.

New spill-proof luncboxes โœ… for the girls and new bedsheets. โœ…

Then we had dinner at Calle Reyes again because 1) I don’t want to cook anymore; 2) that’s the restaurant that’s not crowded.

My girls are already ladies. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
Reyes Barbecue. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
Buko pandan for dessert. Photo by CallMeCreation.com

I gave Twin I my new red Himawari backpack that I used as my hand-carried luggage for my trip to Singapore. I realized I can no longer use backpacks for traveling because my back nearly killed me on my way back to Manila. The entire time I was walking around Changi, I just pushed my backpack on a trolley, which defeats the purpose of using a backpack. LOL! So for future travel, either I just carry my light-weight laptop bag or bring my Rimowa cabin-sized four-wheeled luggage so I will not be lugging my heavy laptop around.

Or buy this.

Hit by a bug

I don’t know what happened to me while my girls and I were in SM Marikina. My head was pounding and then I felt like I was going to have a fever. When we got home at almost 10 pm, I just ate a quick dinner of smoked salmon and rice and I fell on my bed immediately. Still in my “outdoor” clothes. I knew the girls were going in and out of my room while I was sleeping and I remember telling them not to turn on my fan or aircon because I felt cold already. Now it’s 5 am and I am wide awake ๐Ÿ‘€

A basic phone for my Starhub sim. Photo by CallMeCreation.com

I bought this basic phone from SM Marikina yesterday so I can have my Starhub SIM constantly on roaming. You see, I have forfeited the dual sim capabilities of my Oppo Reno 7 Z by having a 400GB micro sd card occupy the slot that could have accommodated a second SIM. My storage is more important than my dual SIM. Because I have 8k photos that aren’t in the cloud.

Why have the Starhub on constant roaming? This way it won’t expire like the last time. If I have this sim always on, I will remember to top up when it is nearing the 180-day expiration. I also have some OTPs sent to this number. I also have this number as an alternative mobile so that my Singapore contacts can use this to reach me.

Same thing when I’m abroad. I need my Smart SIM to be constantly on roaming because of OTPs and sms that I should pay attention to.

This only costs PhP 1,299 and is the basic phone brand of Realme, that Shenzen, China-based phone maker. I could have gone for the cheaper ones but I read their battery lives are short. If I were to waste money on something I could live without, then might as well waste it on something with higher quality.

Another piercing. Photo by CallMeCreation.com

I granted Twin I’s wish of having another set of ear piercings so she can have multiple earrings in one ear. I just let her be; as long as I have money, I let them express their individuality. They’re good kids anyway. My younger sister had multiple ear piercings when we were in high school so…

I also wasted money again on eyeglasses. I bought a second pair because I no longer want to be in that place of insecurity, with the fear of losing my only pair. My eyesight is that bad that I cannot function without it. I realized that I can no longer wear contact lenses for the entire day. I dunno why.

I could have gotten cheaper frames but those mean ugly shapes or they’re very thin and wouldn’t support my lenses that are already heavy and thick even if they’re the “ultra thin” variety. I checked out Lenskart in SG if they had decent frames at the price I’m willing to pay, but of course they don’t. And they bought Owndays a month ago or so. For the price of frames and lenses that Owndays offer, they’re pretty expensive compared to the branded ones on sale (30-40%) from EO here in Manila. It also includes the lenses.

Vera Wang. I initially was going for Zac Posen but this matched my face better

I got a Vera Wang pair. Very Vera Wang if you ask me ๐Ÿ˜‚. I could wear it with her USD 10,000 gowns. I could have gone Cath Kidston but my girls said the floral prints on Cath Kidston bags don’t translate well on eyeglasses. They were right. The Ann Taylor ones on sale aren’t different from my current one, so what’s the point?

Grocery shopping at SM Hypermarket, SM Marikina. Photo by CallMeCreation.com

And I went overboard with my grocery shopping last night. Was almost 2x over budget. ๐Ÿ˜‘ Oh well, as long as my echoserang froglets are well fed, then it’s money well spent.

While waiting for our turn at the counter.

I’m sleepy again.

Day 13 without a car

New bumper.

So my all-around mechanic sent me photos of how my car looks right now. They said the body needs some scuffing before applying primer and buffing.

They evened out the dents and scratches with body fillers. Hopefully in the next few days there would be no thunderstorm so I can have my car ASAP. I’m already dying inside.

Meanwhile, I found myself finishing work earlier than usual that I decided to go to the salon and have a hair treatment. I think I won’t have any time next week before the event at the central bank so better do it now.

Went to the salon I had been going to for the last 10 years. ON foot. Under the rain. Yes, I cannot emphasize this enough that I don’t have a car, just like an alcoholic would go on and on about not having anything else to drink

Mirror selfie.
Yeah, I’m alright.

So this would be my look for next week. I look decent enough for the executives I would be chasing all around either at the Metropolitan Art Museum or at Fort San Antonio Abad.

I figured I’ll just take LRT2 and then LRT1 and disembark at Vito Cruz then take a taxi from there to Hotel Jen and work from there from noon until I need to go to the central bank.

Please don’t rain!!!

I had been going to this event since 2007 so I know what to expect. I once went there wearing high heeled shoes so I ended the night with a lot of blisters. ๐Ÿ‘  I will never torture my feet again like that. ๐Ÿ‘—๐Ÿ‘›๐Ÿ’„

Karl

If there’s a larger than life I personality I want to be friends with, it would be Karl Lagerfeld or Rajiv Surendra.

Karl’s life is interesting—not because of money that came with his life but it doesn’t hurt, no?—but he lived beautifully and he chased intellectualism not just for the sake of it but because he was very curious. Of course he was sort of a snob and he was raised by a ruthless mother but for some reason he loved her dearly. From his stories (published in Vogue and other interviews), his mother sounds like Elton John’s mother (gleaned from the movie Rocketman).

Anyway, I remember one article in Vogue (when I was still a devoted reader) that he spoke several languages and read in French, German, and English. He loved books. He was one of the biggest bibliophiles there is. He collected books and read them all. He was interested in so many things, especially history. His library is one of my dream libraries and I could happily pass my days in there. We can talk about politics, history, philosophy, art—so many things—over tea and biscuits (he eliminated sweets from his diet).

Photo from MyModernMet.com

I also remember his love for wearing Hedi Slimane suits. There was an article in Vogue where he discussed his weariness of flying/airports post 9/11 (how strictly insane and tedious flying became right after 9/11) so he had outfitted several SUVs to be luxurious cabins so he can cross countries in Europe without having to suffer the indignities of stripping your clothes/shoes just authorities can scan you for possible deadly weapons or bombs.

I wish I have his discipline of sketching all the time. He wanted to be a cartoonist, not a fashion designer at first. He figured he could make a better living out of sketching clothes.

I could feel his frustration of wanting to play the piano but this desire to learn it was stamped out by his incorrigible mother. I figured those who leaned towards the arts sometimes find themselves drawn to other art forms as a way to express themselves.

Hmm, the two persons I mentioned above have another thing in common: they’re both gay. I’m good friends with gay men and as I told one gay man in Singapore, I am a fairy princess. I like the company of gay men because they’re interesting and they like my friendship. I had been to gay bars in Manila with K and his friends are fun to be with; we were dancing on the ledge of a bar until the wee hours (this was before I got married).


hand-stitching again. Photo by CallMeCreation.com

I’m back to sewing again as a form of procrastination. I can’t finish the poppy sketch yet since it’s complicated for my bleeding brain (I just finished an article today). I think the curtain panels will be up in the girls’ room by the end of this week.

I’m also teaching a colleague how to survive the China lockdown because he doesn’t know how to cook. His initial lockdowns were in Kuala Lumpur and he was privileged enough not to worry about supplies when he was there. I told him to grab lots of Indomee instant noodles (he’s Chinese Malaysian) and do this:

Lucky Me Pancit Canton by Monde Nissin. Photo by CallMeCreation.com

Teaching him what to buy and what to do with them. Gah! I wonder how these people survive all these years by just eating out.

Screenshot from NIkkei Asia

This zero-Covid policy of China has seen a lot of businesses wanting to flee HK. My former APAC boss is now in Manila to escape the draconian policies of HK and give her toddlers a respite from being locked up indoors.

In contrast, Singapore is now allowing people to be maskless if outdoors. My friend-colleague said it’s such a relief especially if she’s taking her walks for her daily exercise. Our new APAC head, who’s based in Seoul, said most people there have been getting Covid that it doesn’t make sense to control movement. So the rest of the world has adopted the living-with-Covid policy and is now opening up borders.

I’m raring to go to the sea.

Maricaban, Batangas. Photo by CallMeCreation.com

This photo was taken when we took the boat from Eagle Point Resort to Maricaban island. The diving was not good but the winds were violent in Sombrero island so we were taken here. Some of these boats took novice scuba divers where we were freediving.

Ahhhh, diving. I really, really missed you.