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one happy shopper November 7, 2011
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SINGAPORE is considered to be the most sophisticated shopping destination in Asia.
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Well, I am not at all sophisticated.
I didn’t even bother to go inside any boutiques in Orchard road where I stayed.
I love shopping but I prefer bargain hunting.
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What catches my fancy are original designs, funky accessories and unusual objects.
In short, kuning-kunings!
My friend then suggested I head towards Haji lane on Arab Street.
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Haji lane is a shopper’s haven but surprisingly I didn’t get to buy anything here.
I felt that some of the stuff I saw, I can also buy in Manila.
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Ready to go home empty-handed, I started walking my way back to the hotel.
Then I heard a DJ playing loud music, I followed the sound and soon discovered a bargain shopping paradise . . .
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Halukatdat, A FLEA MARKET / BAZAAR !
I saw some accessories like the ones in Haji Lane but it’s way cheaper here 
After much haggling, I got meself some lego-like notebooks, funky rings and mini postcards.
WOOT WOOT!
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BLING BLINGS! the insect, tv, lightning and 2 small deer rings are from SG, the rest are my baon
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But this ain’t the only highlight of my expedition 
I found a place where I went totally gaga…
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Mornings like this . . . August 30, 2011
my atelier at 6am
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Mornings like this I remember waking up in my atelier, playing tunes from The Morning Benders just like now, looking out my window, watching the bateau mouche cruise by the river Seine. I then make myself a cup of vanilla tea but right now I’m sipping coffee.
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I do my morning exercise while hearing faint sounds of piano or cello in the background. This always put a smile on my face, waking up in my own space with a killer view surrounded by kindred spirits, I just feel grateful and truly blessed to be in this moment.
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Flash forward to now… I wish I can do my morning exercise but I’m just too weak but doing something with my hands again strengthens me. I go back to my belief that my atelier could be anywhere (it used to be at a friends kitchen, my fathers bedroom in the province and my sisters rented apartment) but now with this holiday and upcoming handmade art fair, I started creating again.
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D E C O U P A G E This word appeared in my dream one time. As in that word written in my reverie. Wait, I will look for it in my journal… Ok here it is…
1 JANUARY 2008
I don’t remember the scene of my dream but I remember the word. It was a message telling me that I could get by with this, that I could survive just by creating…
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Hahaha, I remember it being more prophetic than this. Anyways, that’s what I’ve been doing the past days. Cutting and pasting while sneezing and coughing. Healing through creating. Surviving…
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images shot in my atelier at Cité des Arts, Paris
healing process August 29, 2011
I’m not feeling well now but I’m at my happiest
These days has been spent creating
Cutting and pasting with my nose running and me coughing
I lose track of time and my space is in a creative mess
and I lavettt!
I’m reading this book now “The Geography of Bliss” and I totally agree with what this Icelander Hilmar said when asked about his feelings when composing music,
“I lose track of time when composing. It is a blissful activity. You are doing something you couldn’t imagine doing. It is bigger than yourself. You are enlarging yourself.”
This has also been a good time to take care of meself… I cooked some stir fried tofu and string beans with soy sauce (43% less salt!) paired with organic brown rice. Then for dinner I grilled some veggies (eggplant, bell pepper, onions & tomatoes) drizzled with pesto then placed on an open sandwich grilled with melted mozarella cheese. Absolutely yummy ! ! !
My body is weak
but my spirit is soaring.
n a k s
WALK THE TALK August 11, 2011
It is only here in Paris that I truly appreciated walking. I try to always take a different route and find different ways to go even to the same place but sometimes I have no choice but walk the same path everyday… Almost always I have my camera with me when I move around and as you may already know, Le Marais is my favorite ‘hood, but this time I thought of exploring it while shooting without looking Shooting from the hip I mean 
I’m not really too comfortable shooting people so this was a good way to capture everyday scenes without really confronting them. We always look at things from our point of view, sometimes it’s good to take it from a different angle and then we discover something new
heaven on earth August 1, 2011
with mrs. masferre
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Sagada is a place where I recharge… I’ve been coming here to rest my mind, to celebrate freedom from everything and to just chill. I remember the wind whispering “welcome” in my ear each time I arrive. I feel myself more here. I hear myself more. Here, I am more… It is also here in Sagada where I want my last days on earth to be. I want my friends and family to all come here and celebrate my departure before sending my ashes off to my other slices of heaven on earth – Batanes, Venice & Paris… But for now, I share this piece of heaven with my loved-ones and friends, enjoying the time left here on earth, before I too become part of the wind.
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images shot in Sagada, Philippines
HAUSBESETZER LABORATORY July 15, 2011
This was an article I wrote for my class, pardon my french, it still needs a lot of work. We were asked to write a news article about anything, some wrote about politics and one wrote about the weather and me, I wrote about Hausbesetzer
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Arurumerci A for the lay-out
delicious solitude December 3, 2010
hot chocolate & pizza pie in my atelier
Some people cannot be seen eating alone, some people could not get the idea of dining by themselves, I am not some people so I am ok with that, hehehe. I love food and I don’t mind discovering things on my own. It’s like watching a movie by myself, sometimes I prefer not to hear anybody making side comments about a scene because it ruins the story for me. When eating, I enjoy my time to think of what I will have, what I am chewing – the burst of flavors and textures in my mouth… I take my delicious time savoring what I do and this is also how I celebrate, just me and my food…
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lunch at galerie 88
prosciutto roquefort cheese sandwich
lemon meringue pie from the boulangerie
tomato soup & bread at the swedish cultural center
at the BHV food court
Again, this is not to say I don’t appreciate meeting up with friends over a cuppa, lunch or dinner, I love that too! Eating could also be the best way of exchanging recipes, stories, ideas, moments… but of course there are times that I just want to eat slowly, take my time, think, write, watch people…
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at le pain quotidien
quiche, salad & iced tea at le loir dans la thieire
hotdog sandwich with lotsa fixins while exploring le marais
I also enjoy cooking for people I love and sharing a good laugh with friends over homecooked meals… I remember cooking for my papadom and my sister during her pregnancy. We finally had a working kitchen at home so we would try to whip up homecooked meals day after day, that moment side by side with my sister are very precious to me… I also love cooking for A, it is actually in his kitchen that I whipped up some of my first obras, hahaha.
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People who know me or whom I am friends with on social networks would know how much I love food. I document everything that I eat/cook/consume and put it on a special album that makes everybodys mouth water. It’s like music, you can associate the sound to a particular moment, me I associate food with memories…
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lunch break in between editing my video installation
dinner near Bastille while conceptualizing. i also saw jamel (the french comedian from amelie) this same evening
in celebration of finding a musician to collaborate with
When I explore the city on foot, I need my sweet fix – good ol’ nutella crepe does it for me. It totally lifts me up each time and also ice cream. But weather here now is too cold for ice cream so nutella crepe does its job and keeps me company on my different discoveries…
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Food is sacred and the moment that the food and I shared is just pure delicious solitude…
DAY 57: I SHALL RETURN!!! December 21, 2009
27 MAI 2009
I will miss my time here…
I will miss the the friends that I made,
the space, Le Marais, Paris
and MY “A.”
Bye Bye room 8212… Au Revoir Cite des Arts…
I SHALL RETURN!!!
*** The last self portrait was a finalist for LEE’S MAKE HISTORY photo competition
