Ladies Who Do No Wrong: Miroslava Duma

You know what I like most about her?

When you stand below 5'4 and still decide on wearing flats during fashion week, you have my respect. She debunks all rules that are considered big No-Nos for seriously petite girls like myself. What do you mean with "don't wear overwhelming prints?" or "avoid clashing colors"? You haven't been acquainted with Miroslava Duma, have you? Allow me to present my Top 16 picks. Let Mira show you how it's done, 5 foot flat style. 

It doesn't hurt, of course, that when you search for all her sartorial choices, her name is almost synonymous to Hermes. This girl has the most-coveted bag in almost all sizes and colors!

This is going to be the first of the Ladies Who Do No Wrong series.
All these photos are pinned under the Miroslava Duma board in my Pinterest.

The Word Shaker

Glittered top: Topshop | Necklace and belt: Forever 21 | Pants: Uniqlo | Shoes: Pedro

I only like two kinds of books. First are those that sweep me off my feet. They leave me with big thoughts to consider and ponder on the moment I close the covers. Often, they leave me in tears as well. Then there's the kind of books that works into me slowly. As I read chapter after chapter, I don't notice the punches that land on me. It takes a few minutes upon its completion to realize that, hey, I'm practically bruised by words so nicely put that I feel my vocabulary has just undergone overhaul. The Book Thief falls under the second category. 

Writing book reviews is not one of my expertise; although it's fair to say that I'm not an expert at anything (just yet). But let me try to sum up what the book taught me in a paragraph. Firstly, I read it because events that took place during Nazi Germany's reign greatly fascinate me. Secondly, the novel's narrator was an interesting choice. And I think a story that took place in one of the defining moments of our history cannot be told by anyone but by someone who has been the busiest during those times - Death. The most reverberant idea that the book left me is that, there is power in words. A person who can win a crowd with only words at his disposal has power within him far greater than he initially thought he has. Plant a viable image in others' minds, constantly tend to it, and the sapling will grow sturdy, and eventually multiply. This is how Hitler did it. Perhaps Book Thief wasn't as despairing as Thomas Keneally's Schindler's Ark which became the basis of Spielberg's masterpiece Schindler's List or Jodi Picoult's The Storyteller but it was this novel that made me see it wasn't always Hitler's guns and armies that killed millions but his words which he successfully planted in his followers' minds. He only had to choose the right words and he got a nation who was ready to annihilate another in response to their Fuhrer's call. On a lighter note, I had a quick German-speaking 101 but mostly the words that retained in my mind were saumensch, saukerl, and arschloch. 

There's joy in stumbling on words and phrases that we do not normally come across with. So as is often the case, the movie version didn't completely capture the essence of the book.

Changing Colors

Sometimes, it's easier to speak in metaphorical tongue rather than state the obvious. Say something out of your ordinary babbles and everyone around you would assume that there's a problem in your corner. Explaining why I did what I just did isn't exactly one of my strong suits. You see, there's a difference between explaining the facts as you saw them and being defensive about the circumstances. And often in that difference, do I find myself misinterpreted by most. To prevent myself from getting entangled into deeper complications, let's leave the obvious and start with the metaphorical context. 

Dress: Daniel Hechter | Bag: Ralph Lauren | Shoes: BGBG | Watch: Anne Klein

2 days before the graduation, all the would-be graduates were called to school for our third to final (there was the Recognition Rites the following day which I opted not to attend anymore) school activity. And let me tell you there's no better way for you to feel you're truly graduating than wearing your toga for the first time. It's in that instance where we all had to put it on did I feel the completion of all the things I worked for in the past 3 and a half years. That was it, I was truly graduating. More than the excitement though, I was bothered. I'm a very sprightly person. I hate doing nothing. Whether I'm doing something I would benefit from in the future or doing something that would incriminate me eventually, I always prefer being busy. That's why I couldn't get off my frustration, even when I was already in my academic attire. I knew I was headed to a few months (which I hope will end soon) of nothingness. Who knows how the rest of the year would unfold for me and though I do not despise the unknown, I fear the future. 

Enough of my sentiments! 

If I were to study college once more, I would've chosen De La Salle University over and over and over again. I highly doubt there's a more suitable university for me in the country. I liked all the competent professors (Sir Gojocco who taught me Philosophy, Sir Villacorta from my Great Works class, Sir Lim of Market1, Ms. Reyes who taught me Statistics2, and of course my thesis mentor Ms. Lysa were my favorites) I had the privileged to be under to, the top of the line technology used inside the campus, the well-constructed and decorated buildings especially the recently risen Henry Sy library, and of course the type of students who were admitted in DLSU. I'm not a snob but I take pride in knowing that majority of the people I came across with, either in a class we shared or just along the halls as we transferred from one building to another, are the future shapers of various industries in the country. 

FOR ALL THE WONDERFUL MEMORIES YOU'VE LET ME EXPERIENCE, THANK YOU DLSU! I now understand why the graduates of this university are still in one with the activities of the present batches spiritually, physically, and financially. La Sallian education is indeed incomparable.

Thank you for all the photos, Hannah!

Another Year Older

I’ve been spending a lot of my free time browsing Pinterest so I thought, might as well make it useful for me. Aside from saving the boards I deem helpful to me either now or in the long run, I can make the quotes I read there writing prompts here. After all, I’m a self-proclaimed chatterbox who can talk endlessly. Besides, there has to be a way to make this self-serving blog continue rolling. Haha!

2014's birthday celebration has been different from the previous years. If before I'm all for having numerous celebrations with the different people in my life, this year I chose to be behind the curtain. I woke up days before the 8th of January and decided I no longer wanted to put me in the middle of everything. I'm so used to doing things in respect of myself and for once, I wanted to step back a little. Even if it was the one day in a year that I can get away with the it's-all-about-me attitude; especially because it was my birthday. Of course, there's been a celebration. My mom wouldn't let it pass without one. But I let her do all the planning. 

Top: Topshop | Shorts: Zara | Watch: Anne Klein | Turban: Flatterbuy | Belt: Giordano | Sandals: Topshop

Thanks to the management of Vieux Chalet for my cakes. I've deleted the photo of the other one. Your food never changes, it's still as good as how I remembered it!

What are the worries of people who have reached their twenties? Aren't they supposed to be taking the first step towards the realization of their lifetime wish? What if they don't know where to start? What happens then? How come sometimes the doubts eat up the enthusiasm? I turned another year older. I know so because it's getting too difficult to find the answers.

Over-all Verdict: 

It was different but it doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it. It was rather pleasant :)

Wicked

It well may be
That we will never meet again
In this lifetime
So let me say before we part
 So much of me
Is made of what I learned from you
You'll be with me
Like a handprint on my heart
And now whatever way our stories end
I know you have re-written mine
By being my friend
- For Good

I was contemplating on the title I'll use for this post. Then I thought, I've already used plenty of phrases from the songs of Wicked in a couple of previous posts even way back in 2010 just because it's a memorable broadway musical for me, so perhaps there's no better way to entitle this post than simply 'Wicked'. 

Dress: Promod | Sweater: Zara | Shoes: Topshop | Black and gold necklace: Debenhams | Gold peacock necklace: from Macau | Flower ring: Mango

I'm through accepting limits
'Cause someone says they're so
Some things I cannot change
But till I try, I'll never know
- Defying Gravity

My last noteworthy activity in HS is our class' production of Wicked. I was entrusted the role of Director so as expected of me, I thoroughly read the script of the broadway musical and excessively listened to its songs. I even hired a voice coach to train the class' leads. If there's anything I took away from that experience, (let's be honest on this, the class didn't bag the over-all best production award), it has to be my renewed love for all things musical. 

One question haunts and hurts
Too much, too much to mention,
Was I really seeking good
Or just seeking attention?
- No Good Deed



There's a kind of a sort of: cost
There's a couple of things get: lost
There are bridges you cross
You didn't know you crossed
Until you've crossed
And if that joy, that thrill
Doesn't thrill you like you think it will
- Thank Goodness

Last 7 February 2014, I watched the broadway production of Wicked which was brought here in Manila with my grandmom who has just gotten back from her year long 'vacation' in the US. Let me borrow her lines when she said, "I can't think of words fit enough to describe it so let's just settle with AWESOME". I loved the musical from the beginning to the ending and if only there is some over-generous financier out there who'll be willing to shell out another Orchestra-seat for me, I'll watch it once more! Haha! It's definitely one of my two most favorite musicals of all time.

It's all in which label
Is able to persist
There are precious few at ease
With moral ambiguities
So we act as though they don't exist
- Wonderful

Of all the lines in Wicked, this is what I've identified with the most. Not to break any of your impressions of me but let's be clear on this one. I may have plenty of both pensive and senseless thoughts alike but never take out of the equation shallowness. But hey, I don't really consider vanity or the thirst to have more, more, and more of superficial things a bad thing. As long as no harm is done to others in pursuit of ones' goals, I still believe that that's completely understandable. Also, I think that there's some brilliance in the kind of shallowness both Fiyero and Glinda displayed. I'm a Machiavellian kind of thinker, as I've mentioned countless of times here, so the result has always been of considerable weight to me when determining the success. Both Fiyero and Glinda eventually got what they wanted, even if they appeared to be, in Fiyero's own word, brainless. When you've gotten what you've wanted, without doing so much as just putting on a pretence of helplessness, you're not stupid in my book. You're actually a genius. Imagine having your desired results delivered at your feet by someone who thought you couldn't do it on your own. Brilliant!

Maybe I'm brainless
Maybe I'm wise
But you've got me seeing
Through different eyes
 - As Long As You're Mine