Friends

It should be apparent that I'm no millennial. I don't strive to get a number of likes or followers. It's easy to find people who has the same fashion sense or hobby as I do but I don't call them friends. Friends enrich each others lives by sharing their selves, their ideas and experiences. Who doesn't want that?  Who doesn't want meaningful relationships?

Negative

You may have noticed that sometimes, this blog leaves a negative aftertaste.  I can understand that for someone who has the same view as the posted commentary below, this blog can be unsavory. Not everyone is strong enough to handle a little unprettiness. It takes a lot to see the pretty in the "unpretty". We all have our weaknesses.

Maybe it's not about the ability to handle negativity but opting not to handle it. Real life has enough negativity that some people need respite. One word comes to mind: escapism. I have no inkling about the tragedies one underwent to resort to escapism so let's leave it at that.

I'm a self-confessed pessimist. If you give me a plan, I can usually come up with scenarios on how it will not work. The process of engaging the negative doesn't end there. The weak usually gets demotivated while the stronger ones come up with better plans. Be reminded that it was a pessimist who invented things like the parachute and the airbag.

Western culture values the positive over the negative. I prefer the the Eastern view of balancing both sides.

Do dolls really make you happy?

Let me rephrase the question. When the going gets tough, when you cannot sustain everything, which source of happiness will you let go first? Will your pet be the first to go? Will it be the family? Will it be your work? Will it be your jewelries? Will it be your car? Will it be your internet connection? Will it be your TV? Will it be your smart phone? Life has a strange way of asking the question. I have answered it a number of times. For me it's the dolls that I will let go first.

Messy fit

One of my fashion related pet peeves is ill-fitting clothes, especially those that could lead to a "wardrobe malfunction" (read:hello booobies). Sometimes, I'd like to tell others, "there is supposed to be a waist (for the sheath silhouette),"  or "I don't think there should be draping or ruching on the crotch (for pants)," or "her boobs are too small for that bodice, you can fit another set of boobs in there," but saying things like that can hurt feelings. So we participate in deluding one another by giving false praises. It's part of fitting in.

I like well-fitted clothes more than fitting in certain societies. I rarely leave praises so other people don't have to feel obliged to return the favor.

No.Fuzz.

Have. Enough.

Not yet enough...

Get. It?

You get the idea...

Stop. Hate.

More talk to follow.

Where. Here.

to be continued...

X-MEN shorts: Everything is Awesome

Beware: The Thrift Store Doll

Thrift stores offer some of the most interesting doll finds. I never thought it would be as interesting as this.

I came home from the province and saw that the few dolls I had on display have fallen down, except for one. It was probably due to the earthquake that hit Metro Manila early this year while I was away (10Jan2015). I just fixed the dolls on their stands and went on with my life.

I go to the province almost every weekend and last weekend was the same. I came back and saw that the dolls have fallen again, except for one. There was no earthquake that time. It was like those times when we can't explain what happened and then we have those cliche feelings we get from ghost stories. Goosebumps.

Although the Philippines is known to be a Catholic country, majority of Filipinos still have pagan beliefs, like me. I have a friend whom we believe to have a sixth sense.  I asked her to meet me in a mall last night. I brought her the doll that remained standing so she could check it.

She asked me if I knew the former owner. I told my friend that I got the doll early this year from an online seller who bought it from a thrift store. The online seller said she needed to raise funds because of some misfortune. I didn't bother knowing exactly what.

It was haunted. According to a friend, the original owner of the doll had a violent death. She was in her doll room when she died. And she loved all her dolls so much. She advised me to get rid of it. I immediately looked for a trash bin in the mall. I pity the person who will find that doll and decide to keep it.

This experience have made me think twice before buying from the thrift stores. Tonight, I'm going to the province one again. I would really freak out if when I come back and see all the dolls I have on display fall once again and the haunted doll back at the shelf.

Team Building

The membership of the Peace Operation and Strategic Espionage Reserve (POSER) is slowly growing. The newest agent is Angel. She is a tech expert.

 

Agent Angel

The ranks are filled by a meticulous screening conducted by Edeline. Knowing the abilities and weaknesses of each agent, she is also in charge of building a team for each mission.

 

Agent Edeline

The Never Starting Story

Last year, in the hopes of making the most out of my existing dolls, I gave them characters. It was easy to cast them as fashion models so that there is an excuse to make them wear beautiful clothes normal people don't wear. They all work for a modeling agency called Posers Inc.

The models of Posers Inc.

Posers are people who pretend to be what they are not. A modeling agency sounds like a good venue for that. I was supposed to write a cliche story about rising to the top of the modeling industry but then I didn't really have that much inspiration nor motivation. Plus, a lot of doll folks are already doing that.

Just thinking of all the work (writing the story, making the props including the costumes for each dolls, then taking pictures, editing etc.) makes me overwhelmed especially if I'm trying  to raise my standards for my work. Plus, I have other plans, both doll and non-doll related. That story never started.

Focusing on my existing dolls, made me realize how much I like certain dolls more than the others. Whenever I have a new idea for my dolls, I usually try them out on my favorites first. Just like this new story that might never start as well.

The TV series Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. got me inspired to make a story about superhero spies. I call mine P.O.S.E.R. Agents. P.O.S.E.R. stands for Peace Operation and Strategic Espionage Reserve. My top two favorite dolls are the first two agents.

Being spies they can take on any role, fake any job. Unlike by simply being models, they can look un-glamorous and still be in character. Even if I cannot make a full length spy story yet, short stories with snap shots will do... for now.

Agent Kayla

Agent Kira

Kayla is a martial arts expert while Kira is the sharpshooter. Both agents work as models in Posers Inc. They both have no idea that the other is a P.O.S.E.R. agent as well. Each one competes with the other to be the top model. What happens if they are required to cooperate for a certain mission?

Congratulations K...

Madame Chicbaun (MC):  Kira, everybody was pleasantly surprised with your make-over. They haven't seen a beauty quite like you.  Your performance, though, was very amateurish.  Your legs were all over the place and you looked like you just recovered after falling. Everyone did say you were pleasant to work with and they love working with you. So make sure to deliver next time.

Kira: I promise, Madame Chicbaun. Thank you for not giving up on me.

MC: Congratulations Kayla. You played with the skirt and made your legs look like they go on forever.  Your photo will be used for the Target ad campaign.

Kayla: Thank you, madame.

MC: That will be all. You're dismissed.

The Visitor

Some people celebrate the bleeding that marks two of the most significant changes in a woman's life--the transition from puberty to adulthood and the bleeding from consummating the marriage.

At sixteen, Susie haven't started having her "monthly visitor". She is both terrified and excited--terrified because something might be wrong with her and excited as this will mark a new stage of her life. She is curious as to how bleeding would feel. She wonders if it would be painful.

As she doesn't feel like a full grown woman yet, she allows herself to play with stuff toys. Before going to sleep, it is her habit to talk to her Care Bear and pray for her monthly visitor to appear while she sleeps.  She thought it would be painless that way.

Little does she know that a visitor will appear that night. Although the visitor is not want Susie prays for, her wish to bleed will be granted.

________________________

I cannot be online until next week, or maybe much later. This is a scheduled automatic post.

Stay Dead

__________________________

Hi everyone.

I can only go back online sometime next month. I do have a couple of Halloween related entries scheduled to be published automatically here, just to keep my presence felt even while I'm gone.

Once Upon a Time