9th April 2009, Laoag, Ilocos Norte

Lighthouse at Cape Bojeador


Commemmorative plaque


A window in the lighthouse

Stairs

Spiral staircase inside the tower

Internal workings

The light in the lighthouse

A view from the very top

The windmills at Bangui

Just pretending to be lost

Self-portrait on sand

View from the viaduct

8th April 2009, Laoag, Ilocos Norte

A tableau of things I can't live without.

Spent the entire afternoon at the hotel coffee shop. Finally finished Sophie's Choice. Enjoyed a big chunk of the April issue of Vogue. Consumed a pot of coffee. The cigs, I didn't count.

My friends thought I was foolish to travel 9 hours just to sit and read, but vacations like this are the only times I could have uninterrupted time for reading. It feels positively luxurious to indulge in it.

Travel Companions

I read the magazine cover to cover during the trip. I'm not a fan of Beyonce, but I admire her will, determination and work ethic.

The stories I've finished in Jhumpa Lahiri's second story collection, Unaccustomed Earth, are utterly brilliant. I can't wait to finish the book.

7th April 2009, Manila

I'm not good at travelling light, but for the four-day road trip that took me and my friends to Laoag, Pagudpod, Vigan and La Union, I managed to pack everything I needed in this surprisingly roomy bag. And I managed to leave my laptop at home. Fantastic.

3 Watches I'll Ever Need (I Think)

Patek Phillippe Calatrava 5120G, for dressy days

Issey Miyake "Twelve" watch by Naoto Fukasawa, for casual days

Lego, for when the day is otherwise cheerless

John Legend Live in Manila

First, many thanks to my friend Len for the free ticket.


Legend's thick, gravelly voice is a great instrument in itself, but that coupled with the piano: wonderful.


The man certainly has the moves...


...and is a great crowd-pleaser.


For his encore, Mr. Legend changed into a tux and looked very dapper indeed.


Len even found a way to finagle a meet-and-greet pass for me. Which meant we said hi to the artist and had a group photo taken with him. Now I wonder if I'll ever get to see that photo.

Spelling Bee

Last Friday, I had an immensely entertaining time at this musical: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee being staged at the Carlos P. Romulo Theatre in RCBC Plaza.

Audience participation was provided by celebrity attendants, Lea Salonga and Jett Pangan, which was cool. Nothing ponderous here, just plain but smart fun.

It runs till the 4th of April, so if you have nothing to do in the next two weekends, you might want to see this.

A Yellow Ruin

My first pair of these Topman shoes got ruined in the first wash. I tried washing them again, but the staining just got worse. This pair in the photo is actually my second in less than a month (bought in a panic after the first disaster). I washed this second pair last week (with Dove soap, because I thought the first pair might have reacted to strong detergents) and because someone told me it's exposure to the sun that causes them to become yellow, I dried them indoors.

And yet look at them now.

I have other pairs of white canvas shoes, which are less prone to yellow staining, so I'm inclined to think that it's the particular fabric of these shoes. (I wore them today with the excuse that these yellowish shoes have acquired some "character.")

However, if you have some foolproof technique in cleaning white shoes, I would love to hear it. Thank you.

The Final Set

There are no words. I think I had goosebumps the entire concert--25 songs + a break long.

Thank you, Smart, for the tickets.

Fantastic Looks: Men's Collections Fall '09

And these are selected looks that I love from the 2009 men's Fall collections, in alphabetical order. (Click on images to enlarge.)

3.1 Phillip Lim (especially the droopy sheer sweater, left)



Band of Outsiders (the db jacket, center, is on my projects list)




Dries van Noten (notaby the sleeveless gray jacket, the blousy sweaters, and that sleeveless gray whatchamacallit with cowl neckline)





Hutson (Thank God the Mr & Mrs tandem of Obedient Sons and Daughters are back.)



Marni (Great styling.)



Neil Barrett (Mr. Barrett nailed the quirky-but-accessible look in this collection. All the assymetries, excesses and contrasts work in the looks below.)





Raf Simons (Those contrast sleeves slayed me.)



Shipley and Halmos (What do you call this color--old rose? I really love it.)

Winners: Men's Collections Fall '09

It took me almost the entire week to view all the Fall '09 collections available on men.style.com. An activity that is at once exhilarating, inspiring and exhausting. These are my top 3 favorites. (Click on images to enlarge.)

Burberry Prorsum

I love every single piece of garment in this collection, and all the accessories. Even the signature Burberry checks looks cool again. And take a look at those cummerbunds. They should be ridiculous. Instead, they are just cool.

Jil Sander

The shapes of the jackets--curves!--in Raf Simons' collection for Jil Sander are amazing. And the use of color reminiscent of abstract paintings is wonderful.

Hermes

Vibrant colors in a sea of neutrals. Literally, a standout.

And because I've never had personal contact with an Hermes shoe in my life, I was floored when I noticed the color on the heel in the photo below. Okay, "floored" is an understatement. The truth is, I fell crushingly in love.

All images from men.style.com