November's Child

Hyung Koo Kang's portrait of Marilyn Monroe, on display at the Singapore Art Museum

As mentioned in the previous blogpost, November was a pretty has been a great month. Yep, it did start with a bus holdap incident (please, Universe, let that be the last), which coincided with another affair that necessitated an eating binge to recover from (an Army Navy burger + blueberry pancakes from the Pancake House in one sitting, please, plus a cup of coffee shortly after), but then all these other things happened, too:

1. That Singapore trip which had the best timing (two days after the terrible day) and was just perfect in terms of what a good trip is:

• Four exhibits, which rocked in different ways: Salvador Dali, Hyung Koo Kang, the traveling Musee d' Orsay collection, and Amanda Heng. The last two were my favorites, the Musee d' Orsay being that once-in-a-lifetime chance to see canonized masterpieces in the flesh (while I don't have that budget for Europe yet), and Amanda Heng's because it so intelligently answers the questions that I have for/ about Singapore. 
• The National, live and then getting to write about it on Pulse.
• A pleasant hostel stay at 5footwayinn + meeting kind strangers and fellow travelers 
• Two very different hosts, who each took time out to show me different parts of Singapore, letting me get a peek at the touristy and the more local side of the country. 
• Food was great, walang tapon.

The gift that was this trip really allowed me to snap out of things I needed snapping out of. And the lessons must not be forgotten. 

2. A short fiction writing workshop.

3. As mentioned, a Pulse assignment on that National concert. View it here.

4. Catching a few good local gigs: an REM retrospective on Route 196 ("Murmurs and Fables") with Boxcar 8, a band specially-assembled for the night, the Strangeness and Your Imaginary Friends, a Barbie Almalbis show on newly-renovated 70s Bistro (it was also the first time I went to a gig alone), and a Techy Romantics pre-launch party/ video shoot at Republiq (which had a setup that's worlds away from the usual rock n' roll gig)

5. Conversations, conversations about abalas, synchronicity, bubbles, local art and the artworld, literature, tourism, womanity, and other what-have-yous with radikalchick.

6. A visit to the Met to see Picasso's Suite Vollard and also to visit former co-workers. Yes, that museum still feels like home and I continue to be in love with its space.

7. A surprise birthday salubong party thrown by the bestest friends in the universe who stuck with their plan, my leaking suspicions notwithstanding.  

8. Great co-workers who also threw good surprises - my pretty Cocoon girls and the spunky Training team (people kept surprising me, I wonder why.)

9. The discovery of hair serum (so there's a solution to frizz, after all).

What to look forward to in December? Nothing as concrete as the ones above (specifically items 1 and 2), but it's December and I'm in the Philippines! For sure, it's a month to be gaining weight and meeting up with friends. Oh, and my bestfriend/sister is also coming home after almost four years of being away. I plan not to leave her side til she flies back to Las Vegas in January.

Techy Romantics will also launch their second album on Dec. 9. Turtle and I plan to put our gig-dancing shoes on and be at Saguijo for that. Techy Romantics is a fun, fun band- perhaps there is space for romantics in this sometimes technologically-alienating world.

Art-wise (naks, art), I want to see the Chabet exhibit at the Lopez Museum and the Nothing to Declare exhibit at Yuchengco. I'm also intrigued by this play that's being staged by DUP with Jose Estrella as director.

Plans and possibilities are such wonderful words.