the spirit is willing...

....oh, ok, i admit it, the spirit is also very weak. in theory i want to live more simply, not have so much stuff, not define myself so much by the stuff. i love the IDEA of that. however, i'm trying to put together a brand new kitchen here. like the kitchen of my dreams. and that involves stuff. pretty stuff. stuff like this:

hans j. wegner's classic "y" chair

i know, we already have 4, but we need 8

we're gonna have guests!

and this tom rossau lamp was just so gorgeous.

so i heard myself say, "give me two."

oh. and one of those, please.  in red, to match my retro smeg fridge.

and i do so adore a good café latté. 

and it has that retro feel to go with the...

yes, i believe i already mentioned the smeg fridge.

what is even more worrying is the high i get from such an expedition. the sheer elation that infuses my being when i acquire (or even just order) gorgeous, high quality kitchen and dining room items (disturbingly close to the happy feeling i had last week when i bought my iMac and brought it home and just gazed upon it, caressing it ever-so-lightly). it makes me SOOOoooo happy! like jump for joy, do cartwheels right there in the middle of shop (luckily i did not, as they have a lot of breakable things), engage in insane happy dance kind of pure happiness. i will appreciate these things in my new kitchen. we will use them every day. because they are good quality, they are an investment in sabin's future as well (ok, that smacks a little bit of self-justification, I GET THAT).

as soon as the house is done, we're totally on track towards a simpler life...i'm sure of it.

iMac, therefore i am

bookshelves reflected in the shiny, gorgeous screen.  

we're in the middle of a rebuild, so it's a bit chaotic, but it's so beautiful, i had to share anyway.

i got it!  it took visits to no less than 4 stores and phone calls by people in three of said stores to people in other stores to find it, but it's here and i am typing this very blog post on it.  there was a hitch on the start-up, but we cleared that up with a little reinstall and we won't hold it against her, because she is indeed beautiful.  like so beautiful i can hardly breathe and i don't know whether to shout or laugh or just curl up in a ball and sob at the sheer overwhelming aesthetic, ecstatic pleasure.  

those designers at apple simply rock. 

like beyond belief.  

the keyboard is paper thin and simply heavenly.  

i will write amazing things on this keyboard.  

i promise.

heaven is in manila

groggily made my way to the airport this morning, the coffee i grabbed at the hotel before i left, doing its work to wake me up. checked in (being assigned a window seat (not my thing), but since the flight was full, not really arguing about it).

made way through passport control, located the tax free refund shop(s!) and got cash back on camera and gap purchases. then looked for the henry kloss. no luck in the shop where i thought it would be. :-(

made attempt to find highly desirable hendrick's gin (loved by a small handful of people, all over the world), but apparently not in singapore. :-(

bought highly cool blinged out heart-shaped hair clip at chomel.

checked price of nikon D60 in camera shop. was reassured that i got a good deal.

finally located shop with black iYiYi, but no iSongbook, cutting down on deliberation over which one to get. bought last iYiYi in the airport at discount price since it was display model. tried BOTH iPods that were in my possession in it to ensure that it worked before agreeing to purchase display model.

very nearly bought PSP in lavendar while waiting for the iYiYi to be packed up, but grabbed hold of the reins and resisted.

boarded plane. seated in row 55! wondered whether plane was large enough to accomodate so many rows.

forgot to mention totally fabulous new coach purse and wallet which accidentally fell into my possession (mental note: do not convert prices into danish kroner, it makes them seem extra cheap).

was seated next to coolest possible person on the plane--italian captain who was joining a bulk carrier in manila (more about that tomorrow since i'm currently hitting the wall (it's 2 a.m. and i've had two nights of 3 hours of sleep)).

arrived in manila, baggage came off belt in the first 5 bags, manila pen limo waiting for me right outside.

greeted by the lovely staff at the manila peninsula who said, "so nice to see you again, ms. broberg." and escorted me to the club floor to check in.

quick change of clothes (sending most of them to laundry and dry cleaning) and popped over to the giant mall across the street for manicure and pedicure (which looks lovely and cost a total of $8 USD including tip for BOTH!!).

located the gap and experienced nirvana in the jeans department.

bought new version of manila mug (featuring cool red jeepney) at starbucks (along with much-needed double latte).

back to hotel to bathe and then meet old friends for a WONDERFUL dinner at sala.

it's difficult to express (at this level of sleep deprivation) how great it is to be back at the Pen. but it's wonderful beyond belief. it's like my soul comes home when i enter the doors. and there's absolutely NO sign whatsoever of the tanks that burst through, guns blazing, last november, just a few days after we left. to be honest, it wouldn't affect my love for this place in the least if they burst through while i was standing right there. it's heaven. heaven is in manila.

jetlagging and another list

it's late. again. and because i'm on a shopper's high (which you can read about here), i'm WIDE AWAKE. and that is once again SO STUPID because i have to get up for a morning flight. at least it's at 9, which means i have to head for the airport around 7 if i want to get in a little retail time at the airport. i know that sounds strange, but lemme tell ya, singapore's changi airport is shopping heaven. and i'm gonna get me some henry kloss tivoli audio action for my writing house.

around noon today, i thought i was going to drop dead, right there in the conference room, of sheer tiredness. i could actually hear that my heartbeat was sluggish. it was perhaps a reaction to an especially boring speaker or staring at the master of ceremonies of the conference who appeared to have last had his mullet cut in august 2007 and who may have actually slept in his suit on a regular basis. or maybe it was because i didn't go to sleep last night until well after 4 a.m. (i stopped looking at the actual time because of how disturbing it was counting how many minutes of sleep i'd have if i went to sleep NOW.) but anyway, two excedrin (thanks sis, for leaving those!) and a good lunch later, i was feeling quite ok again. and now, thanks to the retail adrenalin, i'm once again awake.

i have a lot of impressions and have filled 9 pages of notes in my little waves of inspiration notebook. i'll leave you with a few teasers, since i'm into lists this week:

1. totally disturbing bar called "the clinic" at clark quay. chairs are hospital beds and wheelchairs and it appears you can order blue drinks that come in an IV bag. it was actually rather creepy or perhaps just deeply cynical, and i would definitely have to be in a very special mood to go there.
2. i ordered a fried tofu dish that had some very thinly shaved japanese daikon on top which was moving in a very disturbing way which made you think it was alive or at best that they hadn't totally killed it back in the kitchen before they brought it out. it turned out to just be the breeze from the ceiling fan. and the german couple at the next table was also very transfixed by it. i thought they were a little creeped out, but they proceeded to order one too.
3. power point should never have been made available to the masses. you should, at the very least, have to have a license in order to use it. and it should be VERY difficult to get one.
4. there is a very odd food server culture. they are EXTREMELY attentive when you first arrive--eager to bring you drinks and take your order, but once your food comes, you are totally on your own. heaven forbid you would want to order an additional glass of white wine. often, the original waiter or waitress you had at the beginning just completely disappears and another one takes that person's place. the new person, however, does not do the attentive at the beginning thing, even tho' it's the beginning for them.
5. i have started a collection of martini glass stamps. it is in order to, at long last, have the martini party that i've been talking about for years. it will be the kind of party where you send hand-written or, in this case, hand-stamped, invitations in the snail mail. you will be requested to bring your own martini glass to the party, with the idea that you then leave it behind as your hostess gift and in order for me to acquire enough martini glasses for future parties. pretty cool idea, eh?

with that, i will leave you and try to get some sleep. dreaming of cameras (sorry, jaime, i went for the nikon--it just felt right in my hand) and iYiYis.