View allAll Photos Tagged twotakes}
Such a difficult decision, I have so many pairs that I love. But these are one of my favorite pairs; they're so soft, like velvet. The colors are truly inspired. I'd wear them every day if I could.
365 {91}
{two takes::east/west}
Let's see if I can remember this right - I'm part Irish, American, Spanish, German, Chinese, Filipino. And that's just my bloodline, who knows about past lives! Feels like a lot of layers there. I was born (and grew up mostly) in the Philippines, although I have traveled abroad and lived there for some years when I was much younger; once in San Francisco with my hippie Aunt; another time in Paris when mom decided to leave the Philippines to make nursing a broken heart easier. To bring forth 'change' by wanting 'a new life', far from all the painful reminders, meant flying away to France. nly to fall madly in love again not so long after the heart break. and there was also a time I lived in Anaheim where I went to a school called El Rancho. But it was always back here in Manila where I would land - a country so highly influenced by the west. Highly.
We speak, act, and think like our western influences. We were under the colony of Spain for over 300 years. Then the Americans came. And I guess they were more "popular" since they supposedly freed us from Spain. Supposedly. So, basically, as a country and as a people we were constantly struggling for our independence and identity. Our old culture and traditions are very much like our brothers and sisters in South East Asia - Malaysia, Indonesia, etc... but, you don't see much of that anymore. Only very little is preserved. For many of us, English is our first language.
I've had a lot of "finding myself' to do. It's nothing unusual, I know. It comes when you are trying to figure out who you are... when you're still a young mind relating to the world, trying to belong. But, because of the having to move around a lot and because when you ask yourself "who am I?" and part of that is somehow connected to one's nationality / culture (roots), it was a bit, hmmm, confusing? I felt I wanted to live in the U.S. I felt absolutely alienated here in my country, I hated it. But I fell in love and got married to a man who's first language was Tagalog and more 'Filipino' than any of my friends and family. I suppose it is through this relationship with him that I have learned to experience a deeper connection with my homeland; I have learned to find peace with all the struggling of "where do I belong?" and accept the beauty of this part of me; the Filipina. The mix.
You want to know the truth behind this image? It's not that deep really. It can be, sure. But it's not. I look and I see a plump self and I am blaming it all on PMS. Yup. Damn you PMS for all the bloating and craving and the uggh-ness and the thriller mood swings. But, I accept. I accept you. And I accept myself this way. :-)
I was trying to take a picture of my reflection and in the process hit the button too soon. I almost deleted this photo, but then saved it. I'm glad I did.
{two takes::awareness:beginning/ending}
the tattoo says "turo" which means "point" and also means "teach". i think that you can play around with these ideas and you will find that both have a beginning and ending story there.
I did not take this while I was driving. Nope. I would never do such a thing. I love how it captures the movement.
i enjoyed looking back thru my camera roll to see what happy mistakes i could find. this was by far my favourite. chair and table at my office.
{two takes::below}
I had no idea that I would bump into Chrissie and Consuelo when I took this photo. These were mirrors being sold in the street market and I passed them on my way to a bargain store - well, okay, you see, I wasn't supposed to go to the bargain store; I was really only going to buy a couple new hair rubber bands - not in the bargain store, but from some side-street vendor.
This pause right here to get this shot was part of the path to see them. Perhaps if I didn't stop here, I would've missed them. Who knows. But, it was such an unlikely place to bump into a couple of expat women, both artists, and apparently on the same path in their creative life as I am - we were all beginning, emerging. We had a lovely chat while rummaging through shirts, skirts, dresses... and once in a while we would give each other a deeper glance and wonder why on earth we met there. I know the answer now: Possibilities. Everything staged the meaning of Possibilities.
[Bargain or thrift stores in the Philippines are called "Ukay-Ukay"]
{two takes::awareness::beginning/ending}
early morning. looking up at my bedside desk. contemplating two takes and what words speak to me clearly; what will i choose to interpret... ending / beginning and the lesson of letting go.
Dived into the archives to find the photo in which Eric shows me the heart stone. www.flickr.com/photos/jofabi/6848492440/in/photostream This photo is already four years old. We went on a camping trip Bretagne and ended in Yport in Normandy. It was magical, end of camping season but still sunny.
When I think back I remember it as an hilarious holiday too. We took my dads old tent with us for the first time. It was a heavy cotton tent. Not checked the bags before we left knowing my dad as an organized man.
What a surprise to find only 11 tent pegs in the bag. A problem with sunny but windy weather. We looked for a place to put up the tent that had a few trees around it and tied the front of the tent to two trees. It worked, the tent didn't fly away.
And it was also the camping trip that we were unpleasantly surprised by a tiny tent next to ours after a day trip. Imagine an empty camping and find a neighbor only two meters away. At night we could hear all kinds of sounds from the tent next to us.
It was a special camping trip and I still think back fondly.
{two takes::above}
I was glued to the television late afternoon, distracted from work. It was years since I last saw the movie 'Phenomenon' and there it was on HBO. The movie had a big impact on me in my mid-20s; that immediately after watching it, I bought a silver ring with a colored circle spiral design. It was the one that called out to me in the shop. I had to mark the impact - now I get it: Bullseye.
So here I am in my 40s, watching it again, in my son's room, and I am crying in so many scenes. And completely grateful for the reminder. "Everything is on its way to somewhere...", a line George says. "Have a little faith in me...", a song. And of course, this one www.youtube.com/watch?v=Atlz3qj0K68 - a must watch and listen! (has the lyrics and cool images). I think part of the direct hit on my heart is that feeling of wanting to connect and knowing there is THAT connection, and more importantly it is a connection that is immersed in a love or light that wants to make the world a better place for everyone.
The movie ended sunset and I moved to my bedroom and there was this pink and red glow all over. I opened the curtains, opened the window, and this was waiting.
Tell me, do you sometimes cry because you get it? Because deep down inside you wish you could change the world, even just a bit? To make a difference even just a bit, to give to the world a certain light so that someone, somewhere, can see their own light and shine?