can we be friends?

Aww yea.. (via because im addicted)

dear ballet, i miss you..

In Rachel Papo's Desperately Perfect series, she documents young Katya's story at the St. Petersburg Vaganova Ballet Academy in Russia. Ballet is the most fascinating Art form in my opinion and Vaganova the most beautiful of all the different Ballet techniques/methods/school of thoughts. But probably also, more gruelling.

These young dancers fascinate me and at the same time, make me feel sorry for them. Perfection is the spell that magically captivates audiences into the surreal world of Dance. And perfection, is every dancer's goal. By any means necessary.

I'm all nostalgic looking at these excellent pictures and I can hear my teacher screaming at me in her Russian accent already!

"Maria you're fat and jelly! Don't sickle your feet! Point harder! Suck in your stomach! Lengthen, lengthen! Don't arch your back! Stop being lazy! Your legs are weak! Jump higher! Strengthen your ankles!"

Makes me want to laugh and cry thinking about it.

Oh well, enjoy the excellent weather readers..

still grieving, pretty busy, taking a break

Just so you know, the 'horror movie marathon' I mentioned as a post-halloween celebration at my place was a big fat lie. Steadily, I was planning my brother's (here it comes, the mouthful) post-halloween birthday party, in secret. My not-so-little brother just turned 18 and I took it in my stride to throw him one of my budget friendly, DIY parties. I was so nasty to myself because I feel so unhealthily responsible for throwing what must be considered a superb one. My brother is my only sibling, you see. So I only have myself to blame if he's really spoilt. Oh wait, he already is. Guilty!

I'm ecstatic to share details of the party with you folks but i'm still absorbing the impact of my friend's death so i'm going to take a few days off by keeping my posts spotty as a form of respect. Which could also work as an excuse to take my time with the hundreds of photos I've collated of the party (this has been keeping me real busy). I also have a strange story to share from a few days ago, I'll be back to tell it to you.

Meanwhile, have a sweet Wednesday everyone.

rest in peace dear Kethrine..

My former classmate Kethrine, passed away last Saturday. She committed suicide by jumping from the 30th floor of a flat. Her body was smashed beyond recognition. :( Who would expect the bubbly, always cheerful Kethrine to end her life so tragically. I will not disclose why she did it because it doesn't matter.

You will be missed, Ket. Our hearts and prayers will be with you wherever you may be, i'm sure you're in a better place now. May you rest in peace, my dear.

:'(

spooky + cookies= spookies!

Look what I made for later!


It's really simple. I used Lotus Caramelised Snack Biscuits, white baking chocolate and chocolate chips.

Simply melt the chocolate (I used a double boiler), coat biscuits with it like above, add chocolate chip eyes and finally, leave it to harden. Done!

My brother says he can't help but just stare at it and smile. Neither can I. It's like a gang of ghosties.

Thanks Marta!

my haunted mansion in progress!

Busy with the post-halloween party tomorrow. Lot's of crafty activities and grocery shopping today. Can't wait to show you what it looks like tomorrow!

Hooray for a (hopefully) new America!

(poster by Casey Brooks)

I do not know enough about Barrack Obama to parade a full out front about how much I believe he is capable. That is as good as riding the trend bus, isn't it? Now, what I did was wake up to the 6.30 morning news that airs till half past 9 just to catch the last U.S election debate on domestic policy between John Mccain and the now hope for a new America, President Obama. In all honesty, it was close to watching a police chase.

Having said that, I will stand among Obama's most useless voters: the non-americans. Only because he is confidently focused on his priorities running the country and ruling out all policies linked to the Bush administration. And of course, that his priority is the American people. I am steered to his camp because he insists that what America needs is not the same old policies that keeps failing, what it needs is an entirely new direction which is a promise Mccain has made as well, for the record.

Scoping into one, Obama's set his sights to cut taxes on 95% of Americans and raise a small percentage of it for the rest of them who earn more than USD 250,000 a year. Chucking the statistics aside, it is as simple as, if you're earning well you'll need to contribute a little more to help working class families get a leg up and pull through the recession. Mccain on the other hand, is not going to raise anybody's taxes but in turn, will give oil and gas companies tax breaks because he feels that it is necessary to encourage businesses which will (supposedly) create more jobs for the people. He's very concerned with keeping businesses.

Oh and get this, John is awfully bitter about Obama's move to increase taxes on high income Americans and refers to it as 'spreading the wealth around'. Now what does that say about John? John is a typical American politician.

There is so much that Obama will offer as a president and I am so moved by his dedication to working-class families and young Americans. His commitment to provide good and affordable education, preventive health care, health care coverage, to action on energy conservation, to advocate fair trade and so much more. I am also very moved to know that he perceives American youths to be the driving force of the country's economy through the 21st century, thus, the necessity to invest and nurture them is one of his top priorities. Not forgetting advocating family values and other moral equivalents.

So I'm sorry, John. You were very petty on the issue of negative campaigning especially when it touched on the admirable John Lewis and his allegations. You were also shoving 'the American dream' down our throats, over and over again. To add to that, you stammer far too much, have no control over your emotions and as a result, struggle to put your thoughts into a string of coherent words. Your attacks were this clumsy..

"Senator government.." (Senator Obama)
"Bresh of freth air.." (Breath of fresh air)

But this one is a classic,

"Senator Obama, I am not President Bush. If you wanted to run against President Bush, you should have run four years ago".

LOL.

making pancakes!

Hot pancakes for brunch on a cool and pretty noon. Enjoy the weather while it lasts, lovelies.

staying in

I hope to sleep in these next few days and get better. This fever is unpredictable and I am miserable wondering if I'm recovering at all. On a separate note, I have all these fun projects in my head for the horror movie marathon this weekend. Let's see how that goes.

Kicking the addiction. Evidently it is not the easiest pursuit. Many times, inflicting harm on oneself is as seductive as it is stupid. Why is it so hard for me to love me?

the other two who stole my heart

My nieces. So adorable, I can just melt.

My cousin Mimi is a mother of two very beautiful little girls. This is Sarah, the elder of them. So tiny and so indescribably adorable.

Emelda, my whopper jr. What's left to say about this one?