4 am

A friend shared me this video. It's about the coincidence of this time, being involved with prominent people, events, and culture. Rives here talked about 4 am and how it seems to always mix up with such stuff, despite the fact of being supposedly the most placid time of the day. Watch this video before reading through.

Rives: Is 4 a.m. the new midnight?

Disclaimer: I know that this talk is purely for entertainment only and has no intentions of being taken seriously. Please don't mock me if you think I'm being too opinionated about it and I put too much effort on explaining myself. And yes, I did a little research for this blog. (Don't laugh, it's a short and easy research lang naman.) I just like entertaining the idea in my head, okay. (Defensive much? haha)

It's a good observation from poet, Rives. His speech definitely boggled my mind. It might have convinced me a little that there is something magical about 4 am. He displayed enough facts that constitute the mysteries surrounding this time of the day; controversially linking together unrelated people and events that should have no more similarities other than their association to 4 am. It amazed me how Rives was able to connect all these things, but I still doubt it when he said that there might be a hidden code beneath it. Hearing the Da Vinci Code, apocalypse predictions, illuminati rumors, and all these make-believe crap made me realize that people have a knack of connecting things far from related.                

Just for example, this sem break I've been sleeping passed 4 a.m. and I happen to be writing this article about 4 a.m. which also happened to be Patrick Swayze's theme when he wrote his autobiography, "The Time of My Life". Hollywood has noted Patrick Swayze's talent when he appeared in the movie Dirty Dancing, in which he was even nominated for a Golden Globe Award for "Best Actor".  After which though, had been nominated for the Razzie Award for "Worst Actor" for his next two consecutive movies. He's only redeeming point was when he was again nominated for best actor for the very last time when he played the leading man in the movie, "Ghost" which was premiered on the year of 1990.1990, the year that just so happened to be the year I was born with! 

When you think about it, there are loads od facts you can state about every person. And the odds of one of a person’s many facts being connected to one of another person’s many facts shouldn't surprise us at all. Of the many facts that each person could carry, no matter how different and unrelated two persons are, there will always be that one thing they would have in common. Like Patrick Swayze and I. Now matter how bizarre the thought is, this man who was once named “The Sexiest Man Alive” (not that I care about it), share something in common with an average girl like me.

I think the reason why things have been associated with 4 am is that it has earned quite a reputation. It’s being regarded as the idle time of the day when people should be sleeping. Therefore, people have been using 4 am to depict that strangeness of still being awake at this hour and actively doing stuff that’s meant for another time. Kind of like how they used to use 12 midnight on having that uneasy aura of being awake in  most horror films (that could also be found in other genres). 12 midnight however had lost its gist, now that most of the people are still awake during this hour. Maybe this is the reason why people have been opting for 4 am instead. 

So 4 am then maybe is the new midnight?

I'm posting this at exactly 4 am! :D 

But mom has been noticing my erratic sleep habit. She's demanding me to sleep early, before 4 am. Funny, eh? :P

References

• Wikipedia, "Patrick Swayze", http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_Swayze, accesed 10/29/2010
• Wikipedia, "4 AM",  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4_AM, accessed 10/29/2010
• Rives, TEDtalksdirector, Youtube, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORYKKNoRcDc, accessed 10/29/2010

Sail Away, Sail Away, Sail Away!

Sorry for the low quality picture.

What happened when I tuned up its contrast and color

colored pencils on paper

Lost Sketchpad Drawing #2

Girl in the Night Street

colored pencils on paper

Lost Sketchpad Drawing #1

I lost my sketch pad! :(( 

To commemorate it, I'm posting some of my stuff there here. Good thing I managed to scan some of them before i lost it.

How to Shop at Ukay-Ukays

Ladies perk up and go gaga for sale season in malls today! But still, nothing screams good bargain like ukay-ukays do!

A lot of good ukay-ukay stores have been popping everywhere in the Metro. It's not like before when most of the good finds can only be seen as a tourist attraction in Baguio; when scoring a decent piece is like finding a needle in a hay stack.

There are reasons why ukay-ukay is becoming a fast trend today. Uniqueness for one! Try buying a shirt there and you would have a 99% guarantee of not knowing anyone who has the same shirt as yours. Another is all pieces are vintage. If you're looking for that old school kick to add to your style, ukay-ukay is the place to be! You'll find trends that are not sold in boutiques and department stores anymore.

But most importantly, it's thrifty! The most obvious reason why we shop in ukay-ukay and should be our main drive! If you want to have a successful ukay-ukay shopping spree, this should be our mindset: we shop here to save money!

Shopping in ukay-ukay can get pretty intimidating, especially to first timers. There's a lot of racks and stacks of clothes presented in a very unattractive way. Good pieces would look ugly piled with sacks of clothes. Some people would loose interest upon seeing this sight. On the other extreme, some go impulsive and buy almost everything they lay eyes on upon knowing they're cheap. Both behaviors are discouraged. To have the best ukay shopping spree ever, check out these pointers:

Bring alcohol/sanitizer. Ukay-ukays are not the most hygienic places; most of the items are mildly covered with dust (emphasis on "mildy", this shouldn't freak you out). You might wanna dab on alcohol on your hands and body after ransacking and trying out items there.

Look kawawa -seriously. They'll be hesitant to give you discounts if you pose around in gucci's and channel's. If possible, dress as a squatter. The more pathetic you look the bigger the discount they'd be willing to give. This means no speaking in English/Taglish too (you know why).

Set a standard. Don't buy something that will soon fall apaaart- duh! You should know how to identify good quality. Check for holes, tears, stains, etc before spending. Also, make sure the item fits you well.

Hesitation is encouraged. If you grabbed on something decent but you feel like there might be something better, drop it! You will find something better, if not leave and go to another ukay-ukay. Don't settle, be satisfied.

Dig into those mountains of clothes. Don't get intimidated by the clutter and chaos of ukay-ukay. Their items are intentionally arranged and presented that way. It's the sales ladies' way of concealing their favorite pieces they ought to keep themselves from customers.

Have your large bills changed first. Again, how can you look kawawa if you parade one thousand peso bills in front of them.

Put on your poker face. Don't let the sales lady know how you would die for that bag. Show no emotion, or else she'd be hesitant to give you a discount.

Be best friends with the sales ladies. The chummier you get with them, the bigger the discounts they give. Leave them your number so they can update you when the new arrivals come. It never hurts to expand your circle of friends!

Keep in mind these pointers and I guarantee you'll have the best ukay-ukay shopping experience ever!