Writers Block

Wow I'm hopeless. So much for updating every week...

In my defence, I've been in China. I took a little sabbatical for myself for 10 days, sans husband and child. It was good for me. I wrote, reflected, drank a lot, fell down the stairs, fought with an ex-bf who just suddenly turned up at my hotel for a day, got kicked out of my hotel for misbehaviour, managed to also get involved in a street fight, and sat on the beach in the dead of a snowy winter.

And no, I don't want to explain.

I also fell in love again... with my country.

There are times when I look at my life and the things I've been through and I have to say that I am, more so than the average person, one that lives passionately and thrives on drama. I'm a butterfly, still yet to find my way, still yet to find a home. I live on on the cusp of extremities, never settling for the simple or the mundane. I am an enigma, even I do not understand myself.

Someone reminded me today of something that Deepak Chopra said: If money was of no concern and you had all the time in the world, what would you be doing with your life?

I guess I'm there now. What should I be doing? I went to China with the intention of writing, which I did. But at times it felt like I took 10 steps back each time I took 2 steps forwards. Writers block is a myth... its called fear and insecurity.

Motherhood is but one of my branches - being a mother, a daughter, a sister, a professional, a writer - are other branches of this naked tree. But I can't do any of these things well without being me. Sometimes I feel that marriage and family has made me lose myself, but the truth is that I cannot have any of these branches without roots and the root is my family.

I made my husband cry yesterday. I seem to do it a lot.

I guess I'm an onion. Sometimes you have to peel down the layers, and sometimes you weep.

Dusk from my window, Qingdao

November 10 Magazine Cover

I was asked by the magazine to do one more thing for them before I leave, and that was to be their model for the cover page of the latest edition. At first I was like - uh.. I'm 30 weeks preggas. They were like - so what, its just a headshot. So I agreed. But then I realised it was so early in the morning I wouldn't even have time to get my hair or makeup done.

Cue quick makeup tip from Xtine and a phone call to my maid to ask her to come at 7am and help me get my hair up in a bun. Seriously. Cos I can't reach that high at the moment.

In the end, it didnt even matter cos my hair was hardly in it, and we ended up choosing a shot with my eyes closed.

Shooting @ Cafe Bene in Itaewon:

Setting up for the shots - just for fun:

... and the final result!

My face is a bit bloated and my nose looks funny cos I didnt highlight properly. PLUS they didnt photoshop me at all BLERGHHHH... Whatevers, some guy came up to me in the pub last night and asked me to sign his copy LOL!! I know I shouldn't have been in the pub but I really wanted 3,000W wings!

I'm contemplating "the finer things in life" hahahaha... actually I was thinking about having doner kebab for lunch :P

Not bad for seriously pregnant though, right?

xxoo

Shooting for Hongdae Free Markets

Cross-blogged from Dress Me Pretty

Gracie & photographer Sylvia Kim went along to the Hongdae Free Markets last weekend to shoot for the upcoming August Fashion Column for 10 Magazine. The market is called a "free" market (not flea market) because it showcases a collection of original works by aspiring designers and artists. Anyone with talent can set up a stall in the park, and the little area is packed full with uni students, locals and tourists.

The rain held out long enough for us to get our shots!

Some of my finds :)

Browsing is the best part :)

Artworks and caricatures:

LOVE these! Recycled fashion made from bottle caps and keyboards... too cute!

Handmade glass hairpins = lovely

Who said fashion couldn't be bought on a budget?

xxoo

Korea.net - Fashionista in Korea

I was asked a while back to write a contribution for Korea.net, the government's official tourism website. I dont really know how they discovered me - probably through my column - so I wrote up a little story about myself and my experiences in Korea.

They edited quite a bit and made me kinda sound like a retard in sections, but it's finally up and the final result is quite good.

Quick screen shot...

Read it here!

Talking about fashionistas, good story on Vogue about SJP:

And random, but I love this pic of Adriana Lima as envisaged by Carlyne Cerf de Dudzeele in Vogue Paris...

xxoo

Eats, Shoots and Leaves

For anyone that has read this book or is pedantic about grammar, this post is for you.

I have had it for a while now, sitting forlornly on the bookshelf patiently awaiting that rainy day when someone would pick it up... and today I did. In fact, once I started I was hooked and I devoured nearly the whole thing in one sitting.

Eats, Shoots and Leaves is a book about punctuation. How interesting, you mumble sarcastically under your breath, but it really got me thinking:

In recent years, I have noticed my level of English deteriorating. Living in Asian countries and communicating with language-impaired imbiciles has forced me to no longer use contractions in speech and forget about any vocabulary longer than five words. One thing I am proud to say is that my grammar and spelling, thank God, has remained intact. Sure, I write with convoluted expression in my blog, and often disregard all rules in grammar etiquette, but I know how to meticulously edit an article and I can churn a perfect media release out to you in 20 minutes.

In fact, I never leave home without a notepad and pen in my bag - the signs of a true writer. If you must know, I wrote this post in my notebook this morning on the subway (and no, I refuse to post from my iPhone)...

Nevertheless, my English has languished. Sometimes I remind myself that I used to be an accelerated 3/4 Unit HSC English teacher, for goodness sakes! Where has all my knowledge of tautology and rhetoric gone? Do I even know how to use euphemism anymore?

Working for US companies has Americanized my good British English - think: a former North American editor in Beijing who forced me to remove all the "u"s in words like "labour" and "glamour"; and an incompetent editor here in Seoul who doesnt give two hoots whether I write it three different ways in the same sentence.

Not to mention that I married a man who used to send market reports each day to the whole office with "Good mourning" as the greeting (he doesn't do that anymore, but I still feel like he needs a lesson on apostrophes and their use in possesive nouns). When I have kids, there is one thing for certain that they will possess, and thats a fine understanding of punctuation & grammar.

For anyone that doesn't believe that proper English can affect the way you are viewed, the way you view others, and social class in general - you are most terribly misguided. It may be a dying art, but it is the way of the select few who will undoubtedly take over the world.

Period.

No pun intended.

And what is the point of this ridiculous post, you wonder? Well, it is to signal the beginnings of a very large project I am about to embark on. Yes, you heard right. I am going to write that book. No more procrastination, being unmotivated and scared. It is happening people, and you heard it here first.

xxoo