Let The Cat Out Of The Bag

I have a handle on the situation.
I have a handle on my space and contents.
My vacant hollow.
Or the items of which I house a dozen odds and ends.
I always know what I possess or what may be un-there or missing.
To study my physiognomy, one might think not much or lacking.
But closer on inspection, I am near divine and worthy of great travels.
A true companion of love and comfort, recognition, the familiar.
I have been held in such a clutch and such a love storm by my mistress and her values.
She takes me aboard a thousand footsteps, always holding on and never once ignoring.
Mostly I am there to steady, to balance her or witness.
She sometimes shuffles through my soul in search of needy things,
like painted sticks and looking glasses of which I keep most dear.
She searches inward and there she looks inside my sacred space.
Full of painted stick and looking glasses,
I am my lady's handbag.
- I Have A Handle On The Situation, a poem by David Roby
(bag pics: all mine)

Aside from my blog and other blogging communities, I also hang around the Purse Forum quite often . There a lot of sub-forums there on practically every designer bag in existence. On each sub-forum is a 'What's in your bag?' thread. Being a purse addict/fanatic/enthusiast/freak, I've posted pics of nearly every single bag I own. But being a (somewhat) private person, I've only shown one bag's innards just one time.

I used to be crazy for those vinyl backpacks from Sari-Sari Store in my teens. I remember at one time having 2 of the same vinyl backpacks. As I got older (or probably a bit more modest), I've learned to value my privacy.

I used to be sooooooo crazy for logos. Thanks to my middle-age exigency, I'm now partial to non-monogrammed bags. Don't get me wrong, I still love them, It's just that I hate those stares I get from people who seem to want to ask whether I'm carrying the real deal. I do not own a single fake honey, never have, never will.

So when I was tagged for this meme by December stunner (and birthday girl) Melai, I was more than happy to riposte.

Say hello to my everyday bag, my '06 Black Balenciaga City Peek-a-booThe auricularFrom the top:
Fino leather checkbook holder, Lacoste long wallet (had it for 9 years), Nokia 9210 (dinosaur-age, my bother calls this a deadly weapon as it is so old and huge), Ipod Nano in Tokidoki ISkin (on outside pocket), Ipod shuffle (Joel's, outside pocket as well), Canon Ixus, Coin purse (I've had it since high school, can't even remember where I bought it), black satin purseket from bag-a-holic

Inside the purseket:Rosary and scapular (both from my paternal grandmother), Louis Vuitton Damier Cles which holds 2 SD cards (for my camera) and my car's spare key, The Sak address book, Givenchy card holder, paracetamol tablets (for my perpetual headeaches), house keys, mints, post-it flags, calculator, oil-control film, metered dose inhalers (for me & my sons' asthma), MAC blot powder, Nars blush in Orgasm, Shu Uemura eyelash curler, Shu Uemura magnifying mirror, Smashbox Tint in Smashing Heat, MAC lipstick in Cherish, Shu Uemura blush brush, Shu Uemura compact face brush, Tweezerman tweezers.

Shoot, there goes modesty and privacy right down the drain.

In the spirit of torch-passing memes, I pass this on to Canuck Chick, Josey, Mae, Ghee, and Beng. Tell me ladies, what's inside your bags? :)

Happy Birthday Manilenya!!!!

The Gut-Spilling Torch

I've managed to spill my guts quite a number of times already. And just when I thought I've spilled enough, I was passed this gut-spilling torch by Canuck Chick (Thanks again girl ;). With much pleasure, I obliged. Since my sister has been complaining that my recent posts are thronged with statements (read: super long), I decided to add photos just to make them a teensy bit interesting. Without further ado, here's another gut-spilling post.

8 Things I'm Passionate About:
(in no particular order)
1. Hope, Faith, and Gratitude 2. Simulated flight
3. Randomness4. Unconditional love5. GeneticsYeah, I'm the bald little kid in the middle.

6. My Platoon in which I'm (nature-appointed) Platoon Commander.
Coco, Memai, moi, Tiff, Telly, Richard (taken just yesterday during Telly's birthday bash)
Meet my 3 best gals, Telly A.K.A. ECLAVU (who's finally 2 months preggers YAY!!!), Memai A.K.A. CHAKANESS, moi A.K.A. CHEVERLOO, Tiff A.K.A. CHUVANESS. 7. My 2 little angels8. My soulmate, best friend & lover, all rolled into one big hunk
8 Things (yet again) I'm Passionate About:
(I added this category since the ones I've mentioned earlier were priceless. These are my gulity pleasures. After all, I'm a mere mortal. Flawed, imperfect, wanting........ and materialistic at that, lol.......)
(in no particular order)

1. Wakeboarding 2. Designer bags Balenciaga, YSL, LV's......................all genuine, all mine..................

3. Chocolates
4. Cheesecake
5. Pokemon

6. Writing/ Journalizing/ Blogging (it consumes way too much of my time)

7. Books/ Reading

8. Diamonds & bling bling

8 Things I Want To Do Before I Die:

1. Help mold my children's character according to the Supreme Being's plan(s)

2. Travel on a whim

3. Perform a base jump off KL Tower in Malaysia
4. Go on an African honeymoon safari

5. Join a triathlon

6. Read every single novel, essay, screenplay, and story by Truman Capote
7. Get published

8. Secret! haha......

8 Things I Often Say:

(in this order)

1. Shit!
2. F***!
3. Chaka
4. Chuva
5. Chenes
6. Tarush
7. Bongga
8. Charing

8 Songs I Can Listen To Over & Over Again:

(according to my Ipod's 'top 25 most played')
1. Please Don't Turn Me On - Artful Dodge
2. Impacto - Daddy Yankee ft. Fergie
3. With Or Without You - Keane
4. Hate That I Love You - Rihanna ft. Ne-Yo
5. Breakin' Dishes - Rihanna
6. Semi-Charmed Life - Third Eye Blind
7. D'Sound - Tattooed On My Mind
8. There She Goes - The Cranberries

8 Things That Attract Me To My Best Friends:

1. Allegiance

2. Uberrima Fides

3. Brainpower

4. Trustworhtiness

5. Trustworthiness

6. Trustworthiness

7. Trustworthines

8. Trustworthiness

In the tradition of torch passing. I turn this over to 2 of my favorite lady bloggers, the winsome blagista, Melai, and the always in flight, Elay. I know you have a lot of tags to work on so if it's too much, just pick a category. I leave it entirely up to you. Spill your guts!