03.06.2010

Forgetting Wonderland

Posted by Mona under Chlorinating the Gene Pool, Drawing Thought Bubbles, Unearthing Gems | Tags: , |
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‘Saw “Alice in Wonderland” last night with the kids.  I do not agree with twitterdom; I thought the film was great.  It resonated to a side of me that was reminded of intangibles we lose with age.  Of the loss of whimsy that comes with powerpoints, hypertension and car insurance.  It made me wonder why  I don’t practice my cartwheels* when I see open space anymore.  Why I don’t hold my breath when I drive over bridges.  Why I don’t get excited over Christmas or my own birthday.  When did all that happen?  Yes, methinks I may have lost my “much-ness”.

We watched the movie in 3D — a first for my three children.  Throughout the film, I noticed my 6-year old reaching out into thin air to touch what she was seeing through the magic of plastic glasses.  Perhaps, I did not need Tim Burton’s Alice and the prismatic imagery.  What I needed to remind me of my “Wonderland” has been in front of my very eyes.  Sporting a mohawk.

*Oh, wait.  I remember now.  80 pounds of belly fat.

 

03.02.2010

What’s New, Shrew?

Posted by Mona under Unearthing Gems | Tags: , , |
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I have been away from this blog for a while — about two-three years. And with its resuscitation, I find myself checking my old haunts. How things have changed in the Blogosphere since 2005.

  • Some sites have disappeared. Clicking on a dead link is like driving to a house you have fond memories of as a kid, only to find a pile of hollow blocks and a toilet bowl sitting on an empty lot. Where did Melissa’s Pinay Expat, and Din’s World go?
  • Some just moved to another medium.  The Nocturnal Angel is snapping, crackling and popping at wordpress now. I am also finding a whole bunch of people at Facebook.
  • The editorial voice of some sites have morphed with the author. A once angry chick became a mom twice times over since last I visited. Proves that bloggers, if they put their minds to it, can live happy, normal, unplugged lives.
  • A small fraction turned commercial. Not really happy about how some of my favorite blogs now have ad banners mixed in with their entries. ‘Same way I feel about Boracay. I loved it when it was a sleepy, island with sand so fine you can sink if you stand in one spot too long. I became a non-fan as soon as the five-star hotels, billboards and tarpaulin banners went up.
  • New bloggers are finding interesting, albeit less personal, voices. The younger bloggers who, back when I started, were in grade school and wRoTe oN-LiNe tHiS wAy, have come up with great stuff. Armed with social media tools and more stable publishing & hosting options, the new bloggers have learned from the blunders of my generation. They know that talking into the void is not enough. They know content is king and they are jumping into the Web with fire and focus. 
  • There are more bloggers now than there were back when I was in fashion. Now I know where all of those pictures people take of their food at restaurants go.
  • Some have kept true to why they started blogging in the first place. The famous Batjay and his humping humor. The expatriated Ate Sienna and her coloquialisms.  The fashionable J and his random awesomeness.  The techie Linnor and family fun. The “newly-wed” Toni and everything homespun.  The snobbish Mike and the thousand-peso expletives.  Professor Rolly and the introspection.

It’s great to be back.  Is anyone throwing me a bienvenida party yet?

 

02.23.2010

Hitting Ctrl + F5

Posted by Mona under Drawing Thought Bubbles, Unearthing Gems | Tags: , , , |
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I came home from the airport at 2am in morning on Monday to a house half-packed in boxes.  We are moving to a new address soon and my sister has kickstarted the effort.  While a bad hypertension attack has kept me in bed and useless*, the promise of the move has kept my spirits up.

Changing homes represents a fresh start.  A de-cluttering.  A purging.  As we put our lives in cardboard boxes, we are given the unique opportunity to think about the years’ accretions.  We get to ask ourselves what is important and what we are holding onto for the wrong reasons.  The gorgeous, unworn, red “incentive” coat blazer, 2 sizes too small, will be put up for adoption; while my kids’ tattered blankets my mom hand-monogrammed will stay with me. My husband will scan and shred mounds of documents, and move with only a hard drive.   The kids will give away toys and clothes that they’ve outgrown, and keep only what can find shelf space in their new rooms.

The move also inspires an emotional cache clearing.  We leave the difficult memories of Ondoy in the water-damaged wood mouldings of the house on Dona Juliana Street, in favor of the possibilities of the wide, dry (!) spaces in our Upton Street address.  The blessing that is our beautiful new home makes negativity about work or school or health or family seem like wasteful emotional indulgences.  With the clearing of inner clutter, we hope to make room for assets that truly matter.

We move in two weeks.

* I forgot  to bring my meds to the US and flew home in coach, sandwiched between two large men, bringing my blood circulation to a stand still.  Left leg was numb half the trip!

 

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