Couples Therapy

Ouch. The world never got over what happened between these two in real life.

In the past, I noticed having the uncanny ability to sense that a couple was going to break up.

At a party among college friends, I caught a glimpse of an underlying tension when my friend P's ex, A, casually signaled to her watch that it was time to leave.

At a small get-together at my old apartment, I sensed a particular discontent and yearning for something else with my friend I and her then boyfriend, M.

At a college friend's bridesmaid's fitting, I noticed the same fidgety feeling between a long-time couple I didn't really know very well.

Subtle, yet palpable, is how I would describe each incident.

The first couple would separate for good and move on to marry other people. The second, magically, touchingly, and beautifully reunited, got married, and now have an adorable baby boy. (I eventually apologized to my friend for having voiced out the info above when they were broken up; only to be embarrassed and proven wrong when they got back together and turned out to be right for each other. See, sometimes I really should just shut up.)

As for the third couple, I have no idea if they're still together, like I said, I didn't know them very well.

The point to all of this is that, when it comes to gauging the underlying things in life, a.k.a. my personal gut and instinct, I have a 50/50 accuracy rate, which for some may be disappointing, but to me is a huge relief. I am actually happy to be wrong every now and then, and well, to be wrong half the time.

Because whenever I get neurotic about weddings, proposals (by the way, if you're on the lookout for princess diamonds, round diamonds, or any other loose diamonds, you might want to check out the choices at Samsclub.com), breakups, failed/failing marriages (so common in my family, and not to mention, issues of infidelity), I take comfort in my hit-or-miss ability to judge things for what they are. Sometimes, I'm content to chuck it all to paranoia and move along with a productive sense of positivity.

Image courtesty of Channel4.com

About Shoes

Over the summer I'd written about Daniblack Shoes, and eyed the styles above. Unfortunately, I never got to buy them and I wish I have because they're no longer available.

What they do have on their site now is these Daniblack wedges, wedge boots, pumps, and the rest of the Fall/Winter collection.

I still remember my first pair of wedges; they were from Bass. And they were actually my mother's. I remember the V-shape of the sandal and the bone finish of the heel. Then came the Janilyn straw/espadrille wedges, which I'm sure most of you owned one time or another.

As for Daniblack shoes, one would notice a higher pice point, which the brand attributes to better materials (real leather vs. synthetic). Anyway, if they decide to bring back the sandals above, I'll most probably shell out the $ this time.

Young and Old

Two photos taken 20 years and 30 lbs. apart :)
(Nope, I'm not blaming the cake for that.)

If you're a regular reader of this blog, you may have noticed that I rarely place photos of myself or my family members (especially family members, and the kids). I am guessing this is partly because of having been spoiled during my magazine years with art directors who airbrushed, tweaked, and polished every stray blemish, excess flab, or wayward strand that whatever photo of myself came out in print was guaranteed to be flawless as realistically as possible. (And yes—consequently, I've had to deal with "Oh, you look fatter in person than in your picture in the magazine" side comments in the past.)

These days, I have to do my own airbrushing with the modest skills I've learned using Gimp.

Another reason for not uploading too many self-portraits is that I may have developed a defense mechanism of sorts of wanting to be read, understood, and scrutinized for my personality and the output of my brain—a.k.a. the "real me"—versus the color of my hair and skin.... I only have New York job interviews to blame for this budding insecurity.

Still, I couldn't help but share these two photos taken 20 years and about 30 lbs. in between. I find them somewhat similar, because of the pose, and interesting because my younger self can look like my daughter, if I had one.

These days I can empathize better with women who yearn for the poreless skin of their youth, that once smooth exterior/posterior, and that overall physical creaselessness of ages past.

MIA/NAIA

Hi, friends!

I've spent the last seven days in and out of airports and de-jetlagging out of town—that's why I've been M.I.A. over here at NyMinuteNow.com. I just wanted to give everybody a heads up that I'm still blogging, and that I'm just warming up for the next round of entries. (And my sleeping patterns are still somewhat strange despite the R&R!) So stay tuned and thank you as always for dropping by here!

Officially beached and sunkissed,
Mariel

Why I blog

I got the Neno's Award from Krissy of Krissyfied.blogspot.com, who's also doing her own 30-day Blog Challenge. The 'rules' and criteria for this award are as follows:

1. As a dedication for those who love blogging and love to encourage friendships through blogging.
2. To seek the reasons why we all love blogging.
3. Put the award in one post as soon as you receive it.
4. Don’t forget to mention the person who gives you the award.
5. Answer the award’s question by writing the reason why you love blogging.
6. Tag and distribute the award to as many people as you like.
7. Don’t forget to notify the award receivers and put their links in your post.

When I got this the other day, I got to thinking about my early blogging days at Chocolate Soundboard (now private). I ended up browsing my earlier entries, only to find out I'd deleted the very first ones from September 2003 and replaced them with representative photos culled from my old MySpace profile (now also deleted). I did still find special and heartfelt entries for the following month, and realized that Michelle Branch's Hotel Paper album pretty much provided the soundtrack and spot-on anthems for all that I'd gone through that year.

You see, among close friends, 2003 was THE year; one to be remembered and reminisced. I was single back then and at the crest of a wonderful magazine career that included very important life lessons in and out of work—if not the major bulk of it non-work-related. I started the blog as a private online journal, a space outside of home to chronicle random thoughts and musings. I appreciated the portability and mobility of this avenue.

So to answer the question why I love blogging, it's all of the above, and everything that came afterwards; how my online 'home' blossomed to what it is today, the friends I've made, the friendships I've come to appreciate, and so much more. Before I go on and on, let me come up with the list of blogs/friends I'd like to send the Neno's Award, too:

• Topaz Horizon
• Hypermom
• Blue Law
• Chinachix's Crib Notes
  

I actually intend to add more to this list from my Blog Bites and Blog Roll sidebars, but I'm at the airport now and have to go in a bit. I shall update soon!