Shoes from "Sex and the City"

Photos ripped from the official site, or from online merchants as indicated.

MOST SOUGHT-AFTER:


Black patent leather mary janes $515 at Bergdorf Goodman
a.k.a., Urban Myth
Episode 65: A 'Vogue' Idea
Designer: Manolo Blahnik

Once again, Shoewawa and Zappos come to the rescue with these great knockoffs:

Lumiani 4557
Very similar in shape, though it's made of high-maintenance suede. On sale till the 31st, for $75.95 from $164.95.


Steven by Steve Madden Vesta
Okay so it's actually a very dark purple, not black. And it's got much more wicked lines. But it's also on sale (for $71.95 from $100.95 till the 31st), and made of smooth leather instead of suede.

~*~*~*

Pink chiffon cascade stilettos
Episode 66: I Heart NY
Designer: Christian Louboutin


XOXO's Daniella is reminiscent of this style. It's available in a Champagne size 7M from Zappos for $50.95 from $75.95

~*~*~*

Silver D'Orsay peep toes with buckle
a.k.a., the Stolen Shoes
Episode 83: A Woman's Right to Shoes
Designer: Manolo Blahnik


The real deal: Manolo Blahnik New York: 212-582-3007. Request a special order in your size of the Sedarby D'Orsay in silver, with a silver buckle.



Pics from Veronica's Fashion File.

Or you could opt for the discount double,

RSVP Taran, $88 at Zappos

=~*~=~*~=~*~=~*~=~*~=~*~=~*~=~*~

OF INTEREST:

Bejewelled satin mules
Episode 67: Anchors Away



~*~*~*

Pink/beige snake Miu Miu platforms
Episode 75: To Market, To Market

Remember her running to the stock exchange in these towering heels?

~*~*~*
Sneaklos: Pink lace Manolo Blahniks
Episode 80: Hop, Skip And A Week


Suede Sneaker Mule $455 at Neiman Marcus.
Ugh.


=~*~=~*~=~*~=~*~=

*sigh*

i miss my show.

she had an abortion

it's none of my business. It's her own choice, and certainly well within character. Why am I so angry?

I adopted her dog.

She used to hint-hint-hint to her mother all the time: "Mom, wouldn't you like to have a grandkid?"

"No," came the weary, and surprisingly truthful reply. "I can barely take care of Dean."

"Be reasonable," I'd tell her. Who would take care of the baby when she was at work, asleep, or out with friends. "Um...I kinda thought mom would."

She bugged us all into getting a dog. An adorable, affectionate chocolate Lab. She took care of him for two weeks, and after that her father took on the walks and the feedings. She would play with Cocoa sometimes after work. A half-hour, maybe.

A month after Cocoa had lived there, she said she was returning the dog. Unless...

I don't know. I don't know I don't know I don't know. I resent her choice and I don't know what I wish for instead but I hate her for it anyway. For being spoiled and selfish and irresponsible, but mostly for being so flippant about it all.

Yet still it's none of my business. It doesn't concern and shouldn't affect me.

i created a new GW character: Ms Wonder Woman

Because Wonder Woman, Wondrous Woman, Miss Wonder Woman and Diana of Themyscira were all taken. I took her from zero to W/Mo6 Tuesday night, and brought her and Patrick's new presearing monk to level 8 on Wednesday.

GW Factions, an Eastern-flavored expansion, is coming out on Tue; we haven't preordered. There's a Beta Preview tonight.

~*~*~*

Whitney Houston's ~All at Once~

See what I mean by not being able to find my voice?

Jose Marie Chan's ~Afraid For Love to Fade~

i can't find my voice

i think it might be in one of the boxes we've yet to unpack. i dunno.

Restless and uncomfortable in my skin lately.

~*~*~*

The BOGO sale is over, i think, and their website is temporarily down, but Payless's Kollide wedge isn't half bad for $20.



No, I'm not getting them. I roll my ankles on platforms, cork is similarly awkward for me (and too trendoid!), wedges look like heels struggling to break free, and i'm not really a fan of ankle straps. But I thought YOU might like them.

someday we will have a beautiful wedding here:

Cathedral Santuario de Guadalupe

mari iijima has a blog

For those of you who don't know her, she's the voice of Lynn Minmay in Macross.

Wiki bio here

Mari Iijima's blog

the infamous tennessee pot cave pics have resurfaced

Check it out while you can:

Article from The Tenneseean

TN marijuana cellar

one vaccine could have given my brother a completely different life.

ain't that a bitch?

I've been doing research related to the vaccination requirements for Patrick's Immigration Medical Exam, scheduled for 10:30 this morning, and came across this.

Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine

Too bad it came oh, about 20 years too late.



Parents, for the love of God, make sure your kids get this vaccine. And the rest of the shots they need. Please. Yes it could happen to you.

half-price! python! Jimmy Choos!

Tie-dyed Python pump, $575 from $1150

and aren't these just the most deliciously elegant ballet slippers?




Delman Ebony, $89 from $255

Both on sale right now at Bergdorf Goodman.

because i can dream

i want this house:



5033 Charles Place

unless i win the lotto, i will probably never own it, or even a house that looks anything like it, but i like it just the same.

strangeness of being

in my dream i had gone for a walk, and noticed that a black car was following me. I quickened pace and he followed suit, calling out to me: "Where are you going? Come back here! Hey, shouldn't you be in school?"

I began running to houses and screaming for help. He got out of his car and chased me. "Come back here! I'm going to punish you!"

What for, I don't know. I woke up, and walked the dog. It was 2 o'clock in the morning and maybe eight guys had taken plastic chairs, arranged them in a circle in two of the apartment complex's parking slots, and were conducting a meeting of some sort.

not particularly wordy right now

the dryer died, the IRS refund's been delayed, Patrick wants me to join him in playing Counterstrike, and I somehow mangled my blogger template beyond recognition, and have had to return to this one. I want Salma Hayek's Oscars dress; I don't care that I don't have the chest for it.



Do you think I could go as Yuna for AnimeFest this year?
















And while we're on the subject of videogame characters, here's a link that made me laugh:
Separated at birth?

~*~*~*
one of Billy Joel's songs, which I changed to ~He's Got a Way~

walking the dog at high noon

Among the freedoms of midweek days off is the ability to walk Cocoa through the apartment complex at lunchtime, a leisurely stroll in broad daylight sans the usual distractions of other walkers and their pets.

The naked trees in the barbecue area have burst into fragrant white blossoms, filling the air with a citrusy floral perfume. No dogs to be seen, not even the pale-eyed husky mix that usually looks on sadly as we walk by. One apartment was noisy with unseen pets, though - a small dog yipped frantically from inside, and a larger dog howled along. On our second pass, it was quiet at first, then the noisemaker offered a few token barks.

~*~*~*

I felt like playing the guitar today. It's tough, trying to record while singing and dusting off my meager guitar skills. Naturally, I can't edit as much as I'd like.

Allison Krauss's ~When You Say Nothing At All~
The Eraserheads' ~Ang Huling El Bimbo~

fear factors

Currently reading:
SuperSelf
by Charles Givens



~*~*~*

My personal fears:
Ignominy
Seeing ghosts
Deep water
Looking foolish
Living alone
Dismemberment

...and worries:
Living a wasted life
Never having children
Having children who are gay
Losing my abilities
Never owning a home
Losing Patrick

~*~*~*

My book of the month, SuperSelf, advises one to conquer one's fears. The older we get, the more fears we accumulate and the more cautious we are, until we have drawn ourselves into a box so narrow and suffocating it might as well be a coffin. I've listed my primary fears and worries and the next step is to now select one and confront it "in a spirit of challenge and fun".

I've never had to live alone: I always lived either with relatives or in a multifamily residence of some kind. Being the only one in the building is frightening to me: no one to come looking for me, and no one to hear me scream. A person's phobias tend to be interrelated. In my case, being afraid of living alone is tied to the fear of seeing ghosts: the idea being that if I'm with someone, a ghost is less likely to pop up.

I know it's strange to hear a supposedly intelligent, modern woman talk about being afraid of ghosts, but if you grew up in the province like i did, you wouldn't be so sure. There are those who say that the Philippines is a portal of some sort, one of the few places in the world where the walls are thin between what we know as reality and the supernatural -- sort of like Hellmouth in the Buffy TV series. Too many people have spoken to me about encounters with ghosts, spirits and angels for me to dismiss the possibility of having a similar experience in the future. For some reason I think that the day a ghost does appear before me, I'm going to freeze with fright and fall dead of a heart attack. I dunno.

I think a friend passed on a ghost to me. She was relating the experience of having seen the ghost, and I got the strangest, scary prickling sensation: like being watched, and also slowly being unable to breathe. I get that same feeling whenever I think about her (the ghost) or talk about her -- even now, at 2 p.m. in sunny Texas, while typing away at my keyboard, with Patrick in the next room.

I'm afraid of other silly B-rated horror-movie-type things when I'm alone: the dark, the underside of beds, mirror reflections, cabinets and closets. No, I didn't grow up with horror movies or tales of the Boogeyman. But when I'm by myself I'm not so sure there isn't a mangled arm waiting to grab me.

So much for overcoming my fears. I may just work myself up into that heart attack this afternoon. I'd better find something else to do.

link of the day:

State of Fear

i am nothing.

A snippet of Renee Fleming singing "Amazing Grace".

Dear LP,

One of these days I am going to find a web tracker that will apprise me of your visits. Till then, I'll just have to take your word for it.

These are for you:

Tennessee pot cave
plus pics!
Government cheese - which, according to the wiki stub, was "pretty good".

the question of prayer

If one is happily atheist and someone says he will pray for you, you might simply smile and think nothing of it.

But if you are unsure and agnostic, and someone you barely know says he will pray for you and for your husband, so that something you really really hope will go smoothly actually does, you might feel embarrassed and grateful and ashamed.

And you ask: If he is praying for me, why am I not praying for myself?

~*~*~*

Sushi Yama

Tonight we went to a different Japanese restaurant: Sushi Yama (8989 Forest Ln #112 Dallas, TX). It's a very cozy place tucked in the side of a strip mall. The walls are papered with the names and prices of menu items in Japanese and English. The music is J-pop of a soothing sort, and the clientele are mostly Japanese. Tuesdays and Saturdays are Dollar Sushi nights, and Bento boxes are half-price on Wednesdays.

Service can be slow but the food is worth it. Our sushi arrived warm and a little smaller than we're used to, but uber-fresh: the salmon firm, and the tuna very pink. The house tea is genmai cha (brown rice tea), a blend of steamed green tea and roasted rice. It's an interesting variation on the usual green tea.

We also ordered a tall Ozeki sake, served warm, and the goldfish dessert 104, Taiyaki(?). The referring paper on the wall has a drawing of a goldfish and the words NEW DESSERT! It turned out to be cute little waffles in goldfish shapes, stuffed with sweet red bean paste, and accompanied by red bean ice cream, strawberries and whipped cream. Mm-mm good.

~*~*~*

~A Bit of Earth~, from "The Secret Garden"

feeling ugly

I saw a program on Discovery Health (ages ago, when we had DirecTV) about an ordinary-looking lady who thought she was ugly. Though not hideous, in her mind she was exceedingly repulsive and should stay away from people, as they would either pity her or socialize with her only to be polite.

I think I understand her a little better now. I look in the mirror and I do not like what I see: skin, hair, clothes, figure. In spite of this mood (or because of it?) I wore a hot pink sweater, A-line skirt and knee-high boots yesterday. It was my nod to Deunan's Knute's short-skirt-and-boots civilian getup in the Appleseed movie. I got compliments, but didn't really soak them up like I might otherwise have. What did stick was that the one time I let my hair done, someone told me it would be better if I tied it back up in a ponytail.

I fit in a size 4 top but size 6 bottom. I used to weigh 15 lbs less and have clearer skin. My hair is unmanageable and my skin problematic. I look in the mirror and I do not like what I see.

~*~*~*

However I do appreciate, very much, that no matter how sick Patrick gets he still manages to croak weakly "You're so pretty" and even "So sexy, funnyun!"

i know I'm like this on my fridays but

do you ever have those days when you're just so fucking bored with yourself you start thinking about suicide, just for a change of scenery?

no? well, i guess it's just me then.

~*~*~*

Jenna at PopGadget had this to say about Bratz dolls:

"For those of you who aren't familar with the dolls, they are these collagen-injected, cat-eyed, body-disportionate, fashion-loving (but skimpy to downright slutty) dolls that make Barbie look rather wholesome.
"...the Bratz line is marketed to girls as young as 5-6. I know times have changed, but I just think back to when I was that age and played with wooden figures with no arms and plastic helmut (sic) hair and was obsessed with my rollerskates. Makeup at that point just didn't interest me, so all this marketing of Britney Spears and JLo influences trickling down to the pre-K set just makes me...sad."

Amen.

~*~*~*
for something different I wore my only remaining boots today, a pair of Naturalizers I bought for $25 from a consignment shop four years ago. Though no longer my style, they were a departure from the usual and look a lot like this, only black and with a pointier toe.



God, please save me from myself.

I want cheesecake.

GW: On being a monk

Through most of the game, monks get little respect. A monk is comparatively lightly armored, and deals less damage than most other professions. Even the much-vaunted 55 monk (elite solo smiter) is not exempt -- such a build takes little to no advantage of Divine Favor, a monk's unique attribute. Thus, a character built solely to maximize the 55 build would be much better off as a secondary monk with either an Elementalist or Mesmer primary, in order to benefit from the former's Energy Storage or the latter's Fast Casting.

But from the Crystal Desert onwards as the missions become increasingly difficult, monks become essential to the survival of a team. In some mission areas a level 20 monk will be spammed with invites as soon as s/he appears. And the main channel is rife with monk ads: "GLF 3 more - we got monks!" or, more commonly, "GLF monk 7/8 -- you join and we're off".
Warrior/monks (or "tanks", as they are commonly called) still tend to take monks for granted. "REZ ME" they cry, after taking on too large a group. It's so nice to be able to tell hotheads that they'll have to stay down and wait because I can't resurrect them just yet.

Patrick and I finally finished the game with our main characters. On the second-to-the-last mission a fellow monk complimented me on my playing style: my first such compliment, and doubly special because I play a monk. S/he even wanted to send me a guild invite!

Patrick gets that sort of attention all the time, which I feel is well-deserved since he's been a gamer for so many years, and is quite the pro. I've just had the one person's comment, but it's still a very, very good feeling.

chicken soup, for the soul

I made chicken noodle soup tonight. I never make chicken noodle soup.

Of all the dishes one can make for a loved one, homemade chicken noodle soup is special. it is a penance, an offering, a prayer:

"God, if there is a God, accept this offering of care, this labor of love, and imbue it with the power to heal the one I love."

Stirring and dicing in the kitchen I recalled college chemistry classes, when i would pretend that simple redox experiments were the beginnings of research into a Great Cure -- for AIDS perhaps, or cancer. I thought back to the books I read when I was a little girl, books of Native American shamanic ways, and of feminine wisdom and witchcraft.

I suppose I enjoy singing and cooking and playing a monk in Guild Wars for the same reasons: to heal, to create, to nourish. It's a sad thought, to wonder about one's missed calling.

patrick's sick

he's been up all night coughing and finally called in this morning, which means a 4-day weekend for him that he hasn't enjoyed at all.

We've been giving him cough syrup, soups and teas for days. I hope he gets better soon.

only available online

Gap.com's retro Perforated heels, on sale for $39.99 from $54. Available in camel, pale lemon and watermelon (pictured left).

The Old Navy snakeskins mentioned below are also only available online -- a bummer, because I would have liked to have tried them on and evaluated the quality prior to commiting to a purchase.

I'm still in need of a nice pair of black pointy flats for work.

recently discovered truths

i hate myself.
i hate my life.
i'm bored out of my freaking skull. And I still don't know what I want or how to get it. It's a lot easier to pretend I gave up a great maybe for The One Great Love.

Cue theme: Ate Shawie's ~Bituing Walang Ningning~

~*~*~*

In other news, Patrick has a murderous pinched nerve in his lower back, so he's been out for the count most of today. He's also been slightly feverish and coughing badly these past few days, which I can only guess might be the flu since I had a flu shot late last year, and haven't gotten what he has despite lowered resistance (from having worked overnight setting shoe mods these past few days) and continued exposure.

Tomorrow we're headed for the USCIS (formerly INS) Dallas district office to get an official paper of some sort regarding the status of his 2001 petition.

for all my supposed intelligence, i don't know much about people

I wish I could get some sort of license for being "socially handicapped", so people would know to interact with me on a less-sophisticated level - i.e., to simply be honest with me and with themselves, right from the start.

I buy into the lies people tell to each other as well as to themselves. The nature of individuals is perplexing and elusive. There are no good guys anymore; everyone's just some shade of gray.

I am just as fragile and inept as ever, a little girl . I wish I wish I wish, but beggars don't ride. Even the hard way, I just don't get it.

we went shopping

shocking and unheard-of, i know.

I inquired at Old Navy, because I didn't see the flats I wanted. The sales clerk guessed that they might have them on Monday.

Patrick bought Structure and Covington long-sleeved shirts on clearance at Sears for less than $10 apiece. There's an ensemble at Bebe he'd like for me to get: (at these prices, is he kidding? You know what I'd rather spend it on.)

the Amanda shirt in Honey Pink, $69.00



and a short which may be this Metallic Stripe Cuffed Short $79.00, though it looks much different in-store:




On second thought, it's probably a different short. The one I tried on seemed darker, with a much more defined metallic pinstripe running through. It was also longer and more form-fitting. Or is this just a reminder of why I shouldn't compare myself to models?

I need sleep.

Tomorrow I will be working 8:30 to 3:30, then 10 pm to 8ish the following morning. Yesterday (or was it the day before?) it was a sunny and summery 80-degree day that gave into a rainy 40-degree evening. Texas is weird that way.

the problem with being a survivor

is that you're eternally a victim, forever enduring, or having endured
and you never get around to the living part.

~*~*~*

crystal masque, my Me/Mo, is level 18 but i can't seem to get her to beat her doppelganger. It's frustrating the (&*(#Q%*)U#*( out of me.

there are things we want and can't have,

and thoughts that will not let us go unless
we embrace them, and accept them
whether or not
we give in.

and so i will say it once, and definitively

i want to have a baby
(so much, sometimes, it hurts)
but i am not in a place in my life where
that's even an option.

so i lay this thought here
and hope, as i walk off
that it does not follow.

still thinking about these babies

Faux snakeskin pointy-toe flats in brown and black. Photo from Shoewawa, shoes from Old Navy. Yeah, i know, they're less than $20 a pair, but I'm a tightwad. And is it just me, or does the black version have a finer texture?

faerah's music billboard

top 5 downloads:

Download count really doesn't say much about the quality of the recordings, but it is the most regular kind of feedback I get about my singing.

718 How Will the Night Be
#1, and one of my only two compositions.
698 = Have Yourself a Merry little Christmas
640 = I Just Fall in Love Again
560 = Ima Wa Tomodachi -fast
My first ever recording.
557 = O Little Town of Bethlehem

personal favorites

Forgiven
Sing Me a Song Again, Daddy
Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again

more pigalle pics

in white:



blue:




and on Gwen Stefani:

Happy Valentine's Day!

strappy red red red Manolos, $565 from Neiman's:




and glitzy Christian Lacroix ankle-ties, $503.95 from Zappos (pic snatched from Shoewawa)

the day i kill myself will be a monday

the end of another long week.

Haven't logged on in a while, and there are 385 unread messages in my inbox. Finally got Patrick an immigration lawyer, a friendly blonde who wears snazzy stiletto boots and charges $2000 over the cost of filing his petition all over again.

The manager who had us all spinning around in circles will be away for six weeks, which gives me about a month to decide what I really want. Of which I still have no clue.

Patrick got a speeding ticket, his first ticket ever. Saturday he logged onto Defensivedriving.com and completed the six-hour course. The certificate of completion should arrive tomorrow, via UPS.

Luz, Blanca and I got dressed up for work today: Luz in a summery pink skirt, sandals and a chocolate blazer; Blanca in a faux fur jacket, long green skirt and slouchy boots; and me in my new navy skirt suit with the gold trim ($22.99 from Ross).

We thought it would be our last lunch together as a trio, since they seem to be cracking down on mealtime violations (too early and too late) but as no one else seems to be changing schedules, there's really no reason for us to. In any case, tomorrow's Valentine's Day and I'm off so we at least celebrated that.

My feet are killing me. I wore my goldish New York Transit peep toes to work for the first (and probably only) time. I might have been fine but I took my last break very late and stayed past 5:30 to knock out as many price changes as I could. Finally clocked out at 5:51 having barely made a dent: 400 or so still left, which will be late on Thursday.

Here's a business proposition for you: open about 3,000 megastores across the U.S., pressure vendors to sell at deep discounts for the privilege of supplying said stores, hire people at $8.5o an hour and hold them to an extremely high standard, to take on multiple jobs and responsibilities most other companies would pay twice as much or hire twice as many for.

I don't know what else I might be good for, really.

I felt smart and fabulous today until someone enthused that my "fat legs look sooooo cute!". Gaaahhh. Now I remember why I usually wear pants, and wear long skirts if I must wear a skirt at all.

My major emotional rollercoaster of the week has been the juvenile thought that someone might have a crush on me. Now reality has kicked in, which in the world of me is that it's altogether more likely that I thought he might and he noticed my noticing and so we both think we are liked by the other and wonder about the whys and wherefores when there really isn't anything at all. And it's all a pointless exercise because we're both married, a thought which probably should have been my first.

Dumb, dumb, dumb.

Patrick's started a new character, a monk gal named Kachiko, who looks a good deal like Cherish, except that she has black hair.



For his birthday Patrick got a pair of Oakley Valves in black. On the day itself I surprised him after dinner with a little cake. I told him I'd get us both dessert, and came back singing "Happy Birthday" and bearing a mini-cake with candles lit. He was touched and embarrassed and protested "You didn't say anything!" and it was all very cute and happy.

I've been having strange dreams lately. And I'm still waiting to win the lotto.

~*~*~*

The Carpenters' ~I Need to Be in Love~

i am in love

with josh groban's voice.

Am I the only one in the world who thinks he sounds just like Martin Nievera?

~*~*~*

Basil Valdez's ~Lift Up Your Hands~

high heels

and I do mean 5 inches high. The Christian Louboutin Pigalle, currently not available for purchase online except from eBay sellers



More pigalle pics

GAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

ang kapal talaga ng mukha ko. omigod omigod omigod.

It was all in my mind. Which is a good thing, but then again,

diyahe naman. Pahiya ako sa sarili ko.

sht.

i called up Sophie again

and she told me that the starting pay for the position is $8 an hour, without experience.

$8 an hour?!!! What is that?! I need to pay rent, y'know.

So I'm back at square one: no prospects.

dreading the dawn

I've been living in a bubble, thinking I saw the world clearly and for what it truly was and would be. Now I see the walls between myself and the outside world growing thin and transparent, and reality, ominous and frighteningly changeable, threatens to engulf me.

People wonder how I could have stayed with Wal-Mart for so long. In reality, I haven't really been working at Wal-mart. My store (and yes, I do think of it as that), one of the littlest neighborhood Wal-Mart Supercenters in the U.S., was cozy and friendly and different.

But seasons change, tides turn and big bad Wal-Mart, just as everyone knows from the media, is coming to town. With a ready smile and a monstrous efficiency it descends and devours, and few can escape its grasp.

The little store that could will not survive, and I don't know that I can bear to watch that happen.

Or maybe it's just the same old things with me: restlessness, fear of change, and trying to escape the inevitable.

flirting with danger

And I need to stop.

That's all I'm going to say about that.

~*~*~*~

Tori Amos' ~Silent All These Years~
Smokey Mountain's ~Kailan~

I'm reluctant to post Tagalog songs because I can't seem to rid my singing of the accent a native Manileño described as "part American, part probinsyana". Then again, it's really just the natural translation of my Valley-Girl-meets-Texan English.

still playing quite a bit of Guild Wars

Cherish, my first and highest-level character, is now an ascended Mo/R 20. Haven't gotten around to Infusion yet, and am not sure if I want to change her secondary, as she is pretty much exclusively a monk.

I'm trying to make her a 55 smiter (a.k. the Invinci-Monk build), in preparation for forays into the Underworld and Fissure of Woe, but all the builds I've seen online are for Mo/Ws. I'll see if the Dodge or similar will make up for Bonetti's Defense; if not, I'll have to change secondary professions in the desert. I'd miss my level 20 cat, tho -- even if it's still a Hearty Stalker, and not Ancient.

Oh, and I'm pretty broke, too. I need Superior Vigor runes for my 3 other characters, and the market's at 40k right now, which is low for a sup vigor, but still prohibitively expensive for me.

Take the quiz: What Guild Wars profession are you?

thinking about driving

Which of course brings up driving shoes.

What was that? What are driving shoes, you ask? Ah well, it's quite simple, my dear. The fact of that matter is that while lovely Manolo stilettos, strappy Jimmy Choos and killer Prada boots make for a fabulous shoe wardrobe, they are hardly appropriate for the kind of furious heel-toe action that does justice to automotive works of art such as the Bugatti Veyron.
(Click thru English > Models > Veyron 16.4)

And so driving shoes were created: supple, comfortable footwear with texturized rubber grips curving up the heel to the back of the shoe. For women, Tod's is a notable designer and supplier, usually of either soft moccasins or calfskin loafers with signature "gommini" rubber dots studding the soles.

Try neimanmarcus.com, where you'll find that half the Tod's women's footwear offerings are driving shoes.

I suppose neither designer label nor price tag matter, as only you and your three car pedals will ever see these babies. But I like the style of these high-end drivers:

Antibes
= Was $345, now just $173 at Neiman's. Obviously, I could simply be blinded by the 50% discount.
Antille A sandal!












Charlotte moccasin: because it's stylish enough to wear to the office.










If your budget's more Honda Civic that Hummer H2, the Isaac Mizrahi Kelly is a candy-colored moc for $26.99, with some colors on sale for just $18.89.





Porsche Slip-on Driving Shoes

For him, only the best: shoes designed by Ferdinand Porsche. Though I think he would wince to read "petal (sic) to the metal" in the description.

Manolo Blahnik patent leather Mary Janes

They're back! $515 at Bergdorf Goodman in black



and dark brown

this one's for you, kiddo!

A song that's almost perfect for you:

Beverly Craven's ~Promise Me~
lyrics here

i've been meaning to post but

been busy.

playing guild wars.

~*~*~*

ps- i like jimmy choo's katia. Yes, even in green.

sang a lot, produced only one passable piece

Joni Mitchell's Court and Spark

spring cleaning

I've been paring (pairing!) down my shoe wardrobe and planning a weekly usage schedule, which is as follows:

Mon,Wed and Fri: Kelly and Katie loafers
Tue and Thu: Rampage D'Orsays
Sat and Sun: any of 3 sandals or the New York transit peep toes
dog-walking: Grasshoppers canvas slip-ons

This brings the total number of active-duty shoes to three, and just four sandals for weekends. My Naturalizer boots have been missing for months, my Nikes are on probation, and the remainder purged from the closet will be donated to Goodwill shortly.

It's occurred to me that I've grossly overstated the amount I spend on shoes; I surf about shoes and window-shop so often that I feel as if I've worn, owned and lost interest in for more shoes than I have. In fact I only bought three pairs of shoes last year, each for $15 or less: the Rampage D'Orsays, the New York Transit peep toes, and the Grasshoppers slip-ons.

I guess I'm still more of a cheapskate than I am a shoe aficionado. The scary thing is, I think I've turned Patrick into a shoe enthusiast. He's eyeing the soft-as-butter Florsheim Milano in black

which, happily, was not available in his size at our regular DSW. The size 8 was on sale for $40, and sizes 9 and up were $70. You can find Milanos on Ebay for $80, plus shipping.







~*~*~*

If you're looking for oh-so-fashionable canvas peep toes, Shopbop.com has them for you:


Frango Sandal with Bow

straining to sing Disney

~Colors of the Wind~, from Pocahontas

~God Help the Outcasts~, from The Hunchback of Notre Dame

a pretty cup of coffee

from Bali Blends, Megastrip Bldg. A, Sm Megamall 631-8891

Yeah, as in Manila, Philippines.

Ah well. Do check out the review, and other visual and literary culinary delights at Dessert Comes First, a delicious blog by a Filipino food writer.

sam's club sucks

More specifically, Sam's Club credit.

i'm sad and i'm upset. no one can help me. no one will help me.

I tried paying off my sam's card online the day after christmas, and everything seemed fine. I happily transferred the file from the the red "current" section to the "paid off!" folder. I didn't even need to make a payment because i'd just put $200 towards the balance ten days prior.

I didn't get a confirmation email. No biggie. Maybe it was sent to my "Bulk" folder, and I accidentally deleted it.

Five days later get this email from samsclub.com:

Date: Fri, 30 Dec 2005 12:28:17 -0500 (EST)
From: Payments@Samsclubcredit.com
Subject: Return Payment Notice From SamsClubCredit.com

Dear Customer;

We were not able to process your electronic payment in the amount of $227.67. We have received a notification from your bank. Please re-submit your payment at the Sams Club Credit Card at http://www.Samsclub.com.

Thank you.

Please do not send a reply e-mail to this e-mail message. The mailbox from which this e-mail has been sent is not monitored for customer messages. If you have a question about this e-mail message, log on to your online credit card account click on the Pay Online link and see the list of Frequently Asked Questions.

~*~*~*

Oh, so it didn't go through. No wonder the charge hasn't posted in our bank account. I log on, to pay again. But this time there's a $25 returned check charge slapped onto my account. "Returned check"?! WTF? I didn't pay by check.

I call up Sam's Club again. I wish I'd gotten the operator's name and extension. I asked what the problem could have been. "The problem's with your bank," she says confidently, "because if the problem were with Sam's Club then we wouldn't have charged you."

And so, silly little idiot me trots off to the bank to speak with the manager. Only to reaffirm what I already knew about my bank account: there was more than enough money in the bank, and my card had never been charged.

I called again today and spoke with Toni at extension 1064, John the supervisor on duty at extension 7659 and finally Joe, the supervisor in Consumer Affairs, at extension 4066. Thirty-six minutes and 46 seconds of my life, wasted.

They all said they couldn't help me and that anyway my account has less-than-stellar history and they'd already taken off a $29 late charge earlier in the month. What sense does that make? In what world is a $25 returned check charge legitimate, when there was money in the bank and an attempt was never made to draft from my account?

They said it's not their fault that I "probably keyed it in wrong" or there was a problem with my bank, because their bank charges them for the attempt. Well gee, maybe you need a better bank, or better software for accepting online payments. How is that my problem? When a person is paying online and mistypes, the correct answer is "Please try again" without "...oh, and btw, here's a $25 fine. Good luck."

Joe told me that there was no one higher up that I could speak with, but that I could communicate in writing to:

Mr. Richard Brewer, President
P.O. Box 103045
Roswell, GA 30076

Who is Mr. Brewer? I thought C. Douglas McMillon was President and CEO of Sam's Club?

Now my account shows the original balance plus the returned check fee plus a $5 finance charge. I am sooooo frustrated and actually embarrassed with myself, to be fighting for just $25, now $30. Why does it have to be so hard?

In a way I suppose it's the principle of the thing. Why not fight for $30 hard-earned dollars? Considering a third of my paycheck goes to taxes, $30 in hand is actually $45 of time spent picking up after customers and changing priorities every two seconds to play catchup on the bosses' latest crisis.

In truth, Sam's Club has not been good to me. When I first started, I had two memberships which I couldn't reconcile because one was being paid through paycheck deductions. I couldn't get Payroll and Sam's Club to talk; each said it was the others' responsibility, and in the end all I could do was let one membership lapse and close it, while keeping the other.

And then there were problems updating my information. I kept my info at Sam's Club current, but apparently they don't (or didn't) talk to their credit arm, and so for a while I wasn't getting my statements and the info they used to identify me when I called or logged on was incorrect.

I just want to pay off the stupid effing thing. I want to pay off my balance, get the freaking membership deductions taken off my paycheck, take my $30 and sign up at Costco.

As much affinity as I have for Wal-Mart Stores, I'm sad to say that I have no love left for Sam's Club.

i'm still waiting for the platform fad to die

Die, die, DIE.

As it doesn't look like it's going away anytime soon, I've picked out a favorite. In case of platform-shoe emergency, this is the one pair or portable podia I would trade my paycheck for:


Christian Louboutin's satin peep-toe platform in turquoise

No, I'm not planning on a purchase anytime soon. I have neither an event to wear it to nor anything hanging in my closet that would go with it. Although there is a folded satin slip...

shoe-shopping

For the first time in our married life, we bought Patrick non-Wal-Mart shoes. First we got him a pair of Hush Puppies' Richmond in black, from DSW. He alternated between delight ("It's like encasing your feet in pillows!") and remorse ("I can't believe I spent $60 on a pair of shoes.")

He's been complaining about the cost these past two days, and has been informed that Hush Puppies normally go for $100, and that his friends usually spend $150 on Kenneth Coles (New York, not Reaction).



Chastened by friends' and coworkers' admonitions, we returned to DSW and purchased the Recoil, also from Hush Puppies, in brown leather this time.

Naturally, I got a pair of shoes, too: career loafers with a two-inch stacked heel, from the house "Kelly and Katie" line -- über-comfortable and only $15. Pix in a more recent post here.
I'll admit I'm envious of the idea of a $120 shoe-shopping spree, but the fact of the matter is that we only buy Patrick shoes once a year. At $10 a month, he's actually spent far less than I would in the same timeframe. And I don't ever recall buying a pair of shoes that made me feel like I was walking on clouds.

We're only $50 away from our $25 gift certificate from DSW and my New Year "polished corporate" look is slowly coming together.

~*~*~*

The "Kelly & Katie" brand seems to be made for DSW by Liz Claiborne. A short discussion and handy link to the U.S. Patent Office is available through Google Answers.

just checking in

tinatamad akong magsulat, at wala akong maisip, sa totoo lang. I just wanted it noted that i'm still alive and clicking.

new recordings

Jose Mari Chan's ~So I'll Go~ ...the little I remember of it, anyway.
Lea Salonga's ~He's Got to Be Someone~ from the "Little Tramp" musical.

Buñuelos 101

Around this time last year I talked about buñuelos and other goodies I partook of for the first time at La Vereda Bakery. Sadly, said bakery has since shut down, but my adventures with buñuelos continue.

These treats are not like their Colombian cousins, however. Mexican buñuelos are thin, deep-fried pancakes dusted with sugar or coated with syrup. The above picture shows three variations on the theme.

The buñuelo begins as either a bread made with shortening and flour, or as a cake that includes eggs and milk in the recipe. The dough is kneaded, shaped into balls and then rolled out into flat discs. The buñuelos are allowed to dry on each side, then deep-fried, drained and sweetened.

Of the three versions we tried, the most labor-intensive and hands-down favorite was the one pictured top left. A syrup was made from heating piloncillo (a dark brown, unrefined Mexican sugar) with cinnamon sticks, then allowed to cool slightly. After frying, the buñuelos were treated to a generous coating of the cinnamon-infused syrup, resulting in a crisp and sticky-sweet snack. The flavor reminded most of thinly-sliced camote-cue.

The lower left shows pan-fried buñuelo shreds that have tossed in syrup. It is accompanied by hominy mush and garnished with cinnamon sticks. This version tasted most like french toast.

The plate on the right features a bright pink buñuelo, the result of mixing cinnamon powder into the dough. After frying, it was drained and dusted with cinnamon sugar. This was an interesting snack, a flaky and crispy treat which reminded me of something sold in the markets of my provincial city, a multicolored snack i only knew as "rock and roll".

decompression

there's no better way to wind down a stressful week than with chocolates, champagne and fine footwear. Which, in my lower-class American world translates to little more than Hershey's (Pot of Gold Christmas box, on clearance for only $2.71), Asti, and traipsing about in my red shoes by day, then curling my toes in my fluffy pink slippers (also on clearance for around $2) at night.

Gap.com has leather ballet flats for only $9.99. Too bad the only size 7s left are in sea foam green. I would have liked a pair in cerulean blue:

kvetch

I could handle the stay-at-home moms with Kate Spade bags and designer shoes. I actually like seeing Mercedes Benzes, Porsches, and BMWs on the road every day. I got used to the nipped, tucked, tanned blondes coiffed and toned to perfection. But one thing that really burns me up about living in an affluent Dallas suburb are the bratty preteens. Particularly the squeaky ones with pink braces and matching iPod mini, whining on their pink RAZRs about how they really want to go to the mall after this stop at Wal-Mart.

~*~*~*

They do this every year. I should be used to it by now. Every January the store shelves are emptied of string cheese lite, frozen spinach, zucchini and vitamins. And every January gyms and fitness clubs fill with new participants and high hopes for the new year.

Please go away, n00bz. You won't last till Valentine's Day anyway.

~*~*~*

I was actually supposed to go back to Phase One of the South Beach Diet this week, and maybe whittle my way down to the 110 lbs I was aiming for previously. I've been putting it off for the past week, yet weighing myself daily. On odd days I am 125 lbs, and on the even days it's either 127 or 128. Go figure.

~*~*~*

Today's my last bitch-and-whine for a while. I've resolved to be a nicer, sweeter person starting tomorrow.

~*~*~*

Spring's coming up patent leather ballet flats. I wish I could find another pair of red Rampage d'Orsays. Am seriously considering buying Old Navy's Women's Faux-Snakeskin Pointy-Toe Flats in both colors for work.

some unsolicited advice

if you ever find yourself wondering why your friends don't like(/approve of/think you're meant to be with) your significant other, think hard about what they know about him.

Their reactions, concern and disapproval are your own thoughts reflected back at you. Whether or not they've met the guy, YOU are the primary source of information regarding him as a boyfriend/husband/etc. So the question is not: "Why don't my friends like him?", but "Why am I with a guy I don't like?"

~*~*~*

Incidentally, the answer covered over by multiple rationalizations is that you decided Mr. "Good Enough" would do for now. Which is too bad, because Mr. Great's probably out there somewhere, steering clear of attached girls.

~*~*~*

And yes, my friends think Patrick is an oh-so-wonderful husband.

singing today

Part of Your World + Reprise, from "The Little Mermaid"

Rachel Alejandro's Kay Tagal

Luz's dreams

Sunday night.

She was giving me a ride home when I got on my cellphone and called up my mom. "Mommy, guess what? Patrick and I...are coming to visit!"

The response was loud enough for Luz to overhear. "Everybody! Farah and Patrick are coming to Seattle!" There are cheers and excited responses from my siblings in the background.

~*~*~*

Saturday night.

She arrives at a large and well-appointed home with a pool in the backyard. There are people milling about, mostly Filipino. It is Patrick's and my home, and the occasion is a party. She finds me sitting and cradling an infant who instantly reminds her of me. As Luz approaches, I begin to nurse my baby girl. Suddenly remembering something, I call out "Honey, can you come here for a moment?"

A young child hurries to my side. Boy? Girl? The hair is longish, the age approximately three or four years. A girl, most likely. "Yes, Mommy?" My request is inaudible below the hubbub of the party. Then my older child murmurs assent and disappears back into the throng.