A SLEEPY GREETINGS !!!!

Sleep in Heavenly Peace ... !!!

CHRISTMAS THOUGHTS .... "WANTING"

ohhh.... sometimes i thought, there is just sooo much wanting in the world - that i always giving in to the idea that maybe that is just the way it is and should be! . but there should be a better version of the world, somewhere, somehow! . like there is so much physical ugliness in all of us (whether real or imagined), so there is that unending "want" to be beautiful, attractive, pretty, famous. who would like to be ugly - even ugly betty, with all her secure personality, wants not be ugly and accepted once in awhile. . like there is so much poverty in the world... and not only in the third world countries, but everywhere you go! people want to be rich or richer, most of the time! there is so much greed. photos of children dying of thirst and hunger becomes more and more shocking to the point of being unreal and yet you see more photos of the rich people spending on thousands of dollars for shoes, bags and couture gowns that are only worn once, only because they want to be photographed, seen and envied! . like there is so much unhappiness. not only with the poor but most especially in the richer society. emptiness. depression. wanting to be happy, to fill that unnamed void. . like there is so much inequality. and people may have realized that the only solution to this is to break the barrier that divides the poor from the rich - but nothing has been done, no one really wants to do it - and people seems to build more walls.... and segregations!

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wishing and wanting to have a better world, should be wanted by everyone, or at least the majority!

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what i think makes us "want" to be richer, more beautiful, to be loved etc - is our unhappiness and not being contented with what we have.

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i believe that there is always that point when all our material needs are already satisfied. when we reach this point but keep on obssessing to have more, to want more - then that's when we feel empty - and that unending desire that cannot be fulfilled - is an obssession that makes us truly unhappy.

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depressed.

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what we therefore need to do is to "share" that excess. to be generous. to give meaning to this excess by giving it those who are born in unlucky circumstances. to those really needing it, and not just wanting it!

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just like pouring more water to an already full glass - the excess water is wasted!

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there are so many fat and obese people and yet there are those who die of hunger. why should these fat and obese people keep on eating- and later on spend more money for gym, slimming products, liposuction and other stuff to make them slimmer? haven't they thought of just donating their money, in the first place, to those dying of hunger, in that way they don't spend on more food to eat ... and therefore stay slim and skinny and therefore happy at the same time by being generous! (the motive would still be selfish but at least there are redeeming values). but people still don't do this kind of acts, why?

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because of greed. and greed makes people fat and unhappy.

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why do we need to have and keep a thousand bags, shoes, jewelries, clothes, electronic gadgets and other material things ... and yet still wanting more???

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because we are all trapped in a society of selfishness, greed and utter shallowness!

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i'm really sad, now! i want to .....

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WHAT A DRAG KWIN WANTS ....

When, asked what I want for Christmas, the resident drag queen could not make up her silly murky mind.... hmmmmm!

Let me think .... I am intrinsically "cheap" and though I want to get some expensive stuff and update my drag wardrobe, I really don't find it practical at the moment, especially that we are in the middle of a recession.... and there are children and people out there who do not have anything at all on their table ....

And though I want to add a little bit more to my "fake jewelries" and showgirl type of accessories, (they are not that cheap if you want to buy the nicer types), I better close my obssessive mind off all these beautiful stuff and think of something else - more productive and helpful!

So the following photos of fabulous necklaces (that I took) should just remain as a collection in my ever growing collection of photos ...

But yes.... maybe if I win the lotto, I would surely run to the nearest Swarovski crystal dealer and buy five sets of earrings and necklaces, so at least I project a rich budgetted Drag Queen, for a change! Isn't it ???

ASPECTS OF BEAUTY AND TOURISM ...

Hiroko and Sayo of Japan - former Miss Universe contestants and beauty winners, visited the beautiful and clean beaches of Cebu early this year .... And they had these beautiful tourism photos that would surely attract visitors to the best and first class resorts in the country ....

Photos of thse pristene sea waters, planked by two perfect Asian beauties ...

speaks louder than words !!!

Escorted by two Filipinas working in the resort ... these Japanese beauties were indeed Beauty Queens that deserves to be respected, served, admired and pampered ...

And maybe, thanked for the honor of visiting the island and promoting it :)

And with these photos ... they would have truly promoted tourism and much more so!

Photos courtesy of Ines Ligron - - - > http://inesligron.com/?s=philippines

Also late this year, during the Miss Earth 2008 competition ... the candidates were shown the worst section of the Philippines ... especially the polluted and dirty bay areas in Manila ... and they were made to clean up these beaches, as part of their contribution ...

And these photos speak louder than voice !

Although these beauty queens would have different motives altogether, and it would be unfair to compare both actions, I could not help myself seeing these contrast.

They would have made an impact whichever way you look at it.

But which one is more real and effective, I will leave it up to you to think about!

JACARANDAS FALLING ON CEDARS ...

In Oz, Christmas is also the start of Summer. In fact on the 21st of December is the Summer Solstice. Just like the Philippines and other Asian countries, we don't have snow here and that "white christmas" only exists in songs and in white plastic christmas trees and decors and other silvery snow-looking materials .... However, what Ozzies have during Christmas and should therefore start incorporating in the Christmas celebration (like the Japanese - cherry blossoms, etc during their flower spring festivals), are these magnificent trees filled with purple blooms that lingers during the month of December ... the JACARANDAs! In this age and time - when originality and creativity are given much emphasis in all areas of life, the Christmas celebration should also be regionalised at least in terms of decor and whatnuts, so as not to evoke phoniness .... Just like in the Philippines .... :)

CHRISTMAS DINNER MENU

It is now time to plan for the menu - - - hmmmm :)

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As a table top display, a strawberry xmas tree is nice and strawberries are in season,

so

YES to this !

For the appetizers - a mixture of green Greek olives, sun dried tomatoes, grilled sliced egglplants, hot salami, artichokes and stuffed peppers .... would be nice too.

YES to this !

Main meal - should be freshly caught AUSTRALIAN CRAYFISH OR ROCK LOBSTERS .... hmmm

YES, YES, YES !!!

And Crisply baked - almond glazed PORK (of course in lieu of Lechon)!

hmmm... YES! And Champagne Pudding with Brandy Custard .... And to top it all, a cherry/strawberry ice cream cake pudding would just be appropriate !!! And the Guest list ???? And how about the following for a late evening snacks ? Hmmmm... I wish! :) (Photo of the Exchange Christmas Ads - a gay pub in Melbourne) . . . I just love Christmas dinner , how about you???

BRIDGE ROAD SHOPPING DIARRHEA

The freak monsoon weather did not stop us from going around the shops last Sunday.

We were on a mission to find some glass framed doggie door which we need to install in the kitchen. As we are planning for a ten day holidays - we need to install this "door" pronto!

First stop was Bunnings - a newly opened branch in Hawthorn, has that metropolis touch. Compared to ginormous warehouses in the suburbs, this Bunnings near the city has made use of space ... and I liked the idea!

Well, almost everything house related you can buy/find in Bunnings - - - but we could not find the right one that we needed for our puppies!

We ended up just going around, familiarizing with new products here and there ... and I ended up buying some flowers and plants .... of course!

I love this (outdoors, pergola type) garden settings - and I wished we had a bigger backyard for this kind of stuff ... but i cannot exchange the proximity of where we are living now with a bigger backyard! And then N would like to buy a new Barbie set - We have two sets, which we seldom use, so I said no, no, no ..... but maybe I'd like the one below! Easy to clean!

And then, I found myself lost in the nursery section .... I have to get those pointsettias!!!! To brighten up my Christmas, a little bit more :) One of my friends had them last year and it is still surviving and now giving some more red leaves, and she just kept in the whole year inside her house .... So I hope I could do the same ...

Hmmm ... i fancy those blooming cactises - but I don't have enough space in my backyard!

I luv these new colored grasses ... easy to maintain and they give vibrant colors and depth to your garden... So I grabbed some of them!

But the tree that I really coveted ever since is this Red Japanese maple - they are quite expensive - for $100 I could buy four of them in the sunday market... which I intend to! Drool!

(We found the doggie door later in one of the pet shops .... )

Then, we walked along the further end of Bridge Road, and dropped by ADAIRs. Most of our linens and bedstuff are from this store, and I just love the quality and variety of their products.... Charotz... so I bought some really new and soft pillows, donna and other bed stuff!

I wished that I could maintain my bed like this all the time .... I love the white on white color scheme .... so clean and fresh ....

Nice table settings for Christmas.... simple and yet elegant.

And then we went inside another Chika Shop in Bridge Road. The shop assistant is soooo gay... he is sweating glitters, but he was sooo friendly too! and I like the collections and presentations of their products .... I wonder whether some of them are from the Philippines....

That glass gilded around with gray and black mother of pearl stuff is really fabulous and classy! I want to get one ...

I like this bed arrangements... very masculine looking! And I am thinking about those four posts ... hmmm...

These are very nice decors ... very zenlike, peaceful! hmmmm... It is Sunday indeed, and I think I am having hay fever !!!

MELBOURNE RAINING RAFFY & SKIPPY !!!

It is truly AMAZING !!!! .... we are having this phenomenal monsoon-like rain in Melbourne non stop since Friday .... until today! Rain, rain, rain... which means Water, water, water - now we have enough water to sustain us through the summer :) It is a bit ironic that we are actually having water crisis - - - and there were regulations against washing your car, watering your garden, admonishing for just a 4 minute shower, etc. So this rain is truly an early Christmas gift for the Melbournians... Thanks God :) We don't really need a rainbow !!!

And December 13 (Saturday), despite having this stormy weather - is still a very very special day for us!

It is RAFFY and SKIPPY's first Birthday!!! They are now officially ONE year old, can u imagine ??? Time really flies ...

They got a this cute birthday card (which they bit into tiny little pieces) and a box of Wicked Wings from KFC -their ultimate favorites, and fetch me balls (hopefully they learn!) ...

TASCHEN

This week, I've been looking for a Taschen Book about Fashion Compilation and today I found it in the newly opened third floor of MAG NATION just along Elizabeth Street.

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They house all types of magazines from all over the world and when I stop by this store an hour is not enough to update myself with my favorite fashion mags.

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The third floor has just been opened and it has that 'designer' atmosphere in it ... with select books and compilations. Good thing, there are not that many people going around ... so you are in total peace while going around these beautiful books.... and ohh, they also display some pop culture stuff (T-shirts, etc). Photos taken by my mobile... :)

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Front cover of the book that I bought - and this is the only one left !!!

Back cover .... very Taschen !!!

Now, I would have a pocketbook FASHION BIBLE .... so I should know more about Proenza Schouler, Narciso Rodriguez, Mihara Yasuhiro and Veronique Branquinho.

For only $34.95. Werth it :)