The power of silk...

Aaaaaahhh... I got this kimono on EBay some weeks ago. It is lovely and so soft. The Seller is amazing: Japanese Antiques. Very helpful and friendly.

I wish I could use kimono when going out, but people may probably think I am going to a costume party. I will be wearing it at home, but probably need to shorten it a bit, or wear with some high-heeled sandals (or geta maybe?).

This type of kimono is a called an iro-muji. Iro-muji are kimono in solid colour, with no patterns, except in some cases a mon (ie, family crest) stenciled or embroidered in the back. This type of kimono can be worn on both formal and informal occasions, however if a mon is present it becomes more of a formal outfit. Mine is in rinzu silk, with textured pattern woven into the fabric - waves, in this case. It's a dusky rose colour, very pretty, and it is lined - the lining being in silk as well. It is also a mon-less iro-muji.

The picture I took from the seller's auction page on EBay. I still haven't had time to take any myself. I have other kimono to get pictures from: my red pre-WWII with urushi (lacquer) leaves, my nenneko (travelling kimono for carrying babies in the back!), and the haori (kimono coat) I am receiving this week.

The haori I also bought from Japanese Antiques, especially for my friend Audrey's wedding, in Sorrento next week. I will use it over a silk dress, and will post some pics later on hopefully. I also got a black silk haori with mon, in transparent soft rinzu, and that was very, very cheap, also from the same seller. Lovely!

For more information on mon please go to the amazing Japanese Emblem Library website. You can spend hours looking at those wonderful patterns, seriously! It's such a fantastic reference. Well-done!

A maid's life isn't all a sea of roses de arimasu!

As I was saying on a previous post, when Keroro arrives to Earth (Pokopen) he is found by Fuyuki Hinata and starts living with the family. There, Natsumi Hinata assigns him to all domestic chores - that were up to her until then, since Aki (the Mother) works 24/7 as a manga publisher. He agrees, of course, in exchange for staying in the house.

In the first episode of the series, which I received yesterday, he gets acquainted to a vacuum cleaner. He loves it and gets so excited and so amazed with the appliance, that he ends vaccum-cleaning Natsumi's skirt, much to her justifiable fury, of course.

That reminded of myself some years ago. We got that vaccum cleaner and, before I started working, I used to stay in the house, cleaning. One day I vaccum-cleaned a toilet roll. En entire one. Inadvertedly, of course. And I was so perplexed that I was unable to switch the thing off. I was just staring as the roll was quickly swallowed by the greedy, crazed device. Paper and, most impressively, cardboard roll.

Needless to say Keroro was as well startled and could not manage to press the button to switch it off. Natsumi-chan was in a rage, of course, and could not stop calling him, "stupid frog". Yelling at him, that is... I so much identify with Keroro... We are very much alike, he he!

(See, a maid's life is not easy).

My Dad (just a little tribute...)

If my Dad was still alive he would turn 103 today, May 19th. I took the above picture some months before he passed away. My Mom and him. I love the way they look there, although they both seem to silently acknowledge that there was not much time left. I wish he was still around. I am sure now we would have lots of things to talk about.

I miss you.

Mark and the sealion...

Just love this picture. Mark in the Lisbon Zoo being kissed by a sealion! Look at his/her moustaches... It bet it was a wee bit itchy, but I would just love to be kissed by one! Closest I got to that was to help removing a paper cup from a dolphin's mouth in Miami Seaquarium. It was great... A dolphin's skin must be the softest thing in the whole nature! And they know how to behave when they need help... Aaaaaaawwww...

Little beauty tips

OK! I was in one of these days where I had nothing to do and just wanted to chat online a bit (yes, that happens). I was in a girly board to which I subscribe to, then one of the threads was about beauty tips, namely, you should go there and add some beauty tips that you judge are handy, or cool, or beauty things you can't live without.

I have some. As in Brazil we say, if a piece of advice were really worth it, then it would not be given but sold. What I mean is, I don't follow all (or rather part of) these tips every single day, of course not. But I can safely say that I try and practice most of them.

I think it's always good to share those things.

- Do not wash your face with soap. That's my Mom's wise advice. She is 62 and has got gorgeous skin. Only water and products with no soap, no alcohol or abrasive chemicals are enough.

- Always use a sunblock. At least SPF15, even when it rains, in the office, whenever exposed to daylight, directly or indirectly.

- Do not use a cream with sunblock at night time, when going to sleep. It will irritate your skin. Use instead, if needs be, a night cream. Your skin has different rhythms at night.

- Do use oil for cleansing your face: Shu Uemura (my favourite), FANCL mild cleansing oil, or RMK are great options. It leaves skin baby-soft and it's much milder than exfoliators.

- Do use a primer before foundation and after moisturiser. Clarins Perfecting Touch is gorgeous and does not irritate problematic complexions.
- Do glow: undereye concealer and a nice subtle shimmery veil always look nice. I use the Shiseido concealers or Clé de Peau stick (also from Shiseido), and for the "shimmery" touch a Japanese pressed powder called "Maikohan", from Sana. This goes over everything else: foundation, powder, blush if any, always dusted very lightly.



- Do not smoke.

- Do drink lots of green tea.

New Asian Horror Films

I have decided to get some new Asian horror films for my collection! Scaaaary! And I got quite a bunch of them from both Play and Amazon:

- "The Ghost" (aka "Ryeong");
- "Whispering Corridors" (aka "Yeogo Goedam");
- "Memento Mori" (aka "Yeogo Goedam 2");
- "Wishing Stairs" (aka "Yeogo Goedam 3");
- "Premonition" (aka "Yogen");
- "Ju-rei: the Uncanny" (aka "Ju-rei");
- "The Eye 2" (aka "Gin Gwai 2").

Yesterday we watched "The Ghost", which seemed like a hybrid of "Dark Water" and "The Grudge". Lots of creepy and crawly hairy women coming out of the water (sounds familiar, huh?). The plot is a bit confusing. A group of high-school bullies in a dark tale of friendship and revenge. Average, I would say, but nonetheless entertaining.

The rest of the DVD's did not arrive yet, but since they will arrive while Mark is in Malaysia, I will not have the chance to watch them until he's back. I really do love horror films to bits, but I could not possibly watch them by myself, alone at night...

In the GP today...

I went to my GP today, because I had the flu since last week and wanted to get a certificate and talk to him about my annoying and constant illnesses. We were expecting for the results of an ultrassound of my gallbladder since the 11th of April. The results never arrived and today he phoned Radiology in St. Vincent's Hospital to see what was the story. They read it to him and it turns out that I have "multiple gallstones".

Dr. Kavanagh explained to me that I need to pay attention and see if I get any pains, because since it's "multiple" stones there is a risk for the gallbladder to burst and thus for me to get a bad infection as a result. He was amazed that the Hospital did not send him the results until now, of course. He also explained that I might need to go into surgery, but he doesn't know how the surgery would be, ie, which method should be used. So, he gave me a referral letter and the name of the specialist (surgeon) that will evaluate the situation.

I was a bit anxious because I never had a surgery in my life. I mean, I had one once, when I was 10. I was born with a small tumour in my tongue and, when I was about 9-10, it started to bleed constantly. That's why I got the surgery, so it could be sent to biopsy. It was not malignant, of course. I had local anesthesia for a surgery that was supposed to be performed with general anesthesia. Why was that? I refused to get "asleep" during the procedure because I saw my Father years before, when he came out of an operation and was very shocked, since he looked dead. I never forgot that image. I Really thought if I got the general anesthesia I could die while asleep, never wake up, things like that. And since that age, I hated the idea of leaving things "undone", unresolved, unachieved. And to leave people "waiting for me" somehow. I was afraid of not showing up in that specific case.

My Father stayed with me for the operation, holding my hand all the time. I still remember that. It was quite bad and painful afterwards, I've lost lots of blood, for it seems the tongue is very irrigated. But he was there all the time and I had the strength to go on with that thing, thanks to him. I did not cry, I did not move, and could only thing about "not falling asleep" and show some guts. Now, these thoughts are back. I don't even know if I need a surgery with general anesthesia yet, but the thought of that really creeps me out.

I will only see the specialist on June 14th, after coming back from Italy. I will try and not think very much about it, really!

Waterboys

I have received the DVD this week, from my beloved CDJapan, and what a lovely surprise! "Waterboys" is a light-hearted, witty, adorable comedy about these high-school boys that - initially trying to have a go at their new, attractive (female) swimming teacher - end up by forming a synchronised swimming team! Yes, all because the teacher was specialised in synch swim and a bit insecure about teaching in an all-boys school. Thing is, Sensei is pregnant and goes on maternity leave.

Meanwhile, they are discovered by the local news and cannot go back now and give up their plans for the school Festival - where they would hold their first presentation. It's funny to see them struggling with their fears and insecurities, and how they end up being "trained" (well, sort of!) by a wacky dolphin trainer guy (Isomura-san), in the local Seaquarium.

The humour is light, with some unexpected, hilarious scenes and unforgettable situations. It would look great in manga, I think, for its fast pace, very graphic scenes and daydreaming moments. There is, for example, a super-cool scene where the main character (Suzuki-kun, the leader) meets his soon-to-be girlfriend, and another where Sato-kun's afro hairdo goes on fire. All very well-performed and directed. All in all, if you love fun for the sake of fun, and clever, uncompromised entertainment, you should defo give it a go!

Keroro again... (he made me cry!)

Well, yesterday I finished reading "Sgt. Frog" vol. 10, and as ever, it was super-cool. It ends up with, with, how do they call it?... a "cliffhanger", no? Yeah, something like that... And now, the next volume will be issued in July only, so I am quite anxious to see what's gonna happen. It's a critical moment for the Platoon, so, I am waiting to see.

But the thing is... Keroro made a sad speech by the end of the book and, as a result, silly-me here even cried. Then I turned the page and read the rest. Guess what? It was a joke! Yes, he made that speech as a joke. And I - the very silly, pathetic reader - believed him, got moved, cried, but actually the "stupid Frog" (as Natsumi-chan would call him most of the time) was JOKING!!!! Gyaaaahhhh... Fine, fine, OK. I almost forgot it is a comic book, funny-ha ha, but seriously... He was SO convincing...

(I have a problem: sometimes I get a bit too involved!)

Adorable Amphibian Invaders

My latest manga passion is "Sgt. Frog" ("Keroro Gunso", ケロロ軍曹 ), by Mine Yoshizaki. It's cute, it's funny, it's clever... Sometimes while in the office I start counting the hours to come back home and read more of the books - see what the Sargent and his comrades will be up to next. As Natsumi-chan would wisely say: "these guys are up to no good..."

The artwork is fantastic and the plot quite simple: Sgt. Keroro is a diminutive green alien from planet Keron that looks pretty much like a frog and has plans (of sorts) to conquer the Earth (called "Pokopen" in Keronian). He is found and subsequently "adopted" by the earthling Hinata family:

- Fuyuki-kun - the weird boy who likes UFOs and the occult and who actually finds Keroro;
- Natsumi-chan - Fuyuki's elder and bossy sister;
- Aki-san - the Mother, a manga editor, the "sek-see" character of the series.

Their names (the Hinatas) are all related to the seasons and you can see signs for them in their bedroom doors: Winter (Fuyu, for Fuyuki), Summer (Natsu, for Natsumi) and Autumn (Aki, for Aki-san).

Gradually, new characters are introduced in the series, namely other Keronian aliens, such as...

- Tamama Nittohei - the black, cute one, with a slightly problematic double personality disorder and irremediably devoted to his "Mister Sergeant, Sir" (and candy, all things sweet);
- Giroro Gouchou - another amazing alien, the red one, very belligerant (apparently) but who falls in love with Natsumi-chan and kind of "adopts" a very cute kitten found in the Hinata's garden on a rainy cold afternoon;
- Kururu Souchou - the yellow one with crazy eyes, the genius of the platoon, inventor of crazy weapons and appliances that should help in conquering the so-coveted Pokopen;
- Dororo Heichou - the blue alien Ninja who ends up falling in love with the planet and its inhabitants;
- Angoru Moa - Keroro's cute niece, powerful enough to cause earthquakes and destroy planets at a whim. She is also in love with her "uncle", and has Tamama (Tama-chan) as her arch-rival (though she doesn't realise that herself!). Lady Moa is also known as the "Lord Of Terror", although nothing in her sweet, docile appearance would suggest that.

As for Keroro, he is green (d'oh!), hyper-active and easily distracted and performs the Hinata's household chores as determined by Natsumi-chan. He could even suffer of attention deficit disorder or something. While he should really be actively involved in plans, reports and strategies for control of Pokopen, the only thing he can possibly think about is buying and assembling Gundam plastic models!

Of course, there are other supporting human characters:

- Momoha Nishizawa, the rich girl who is terminally in love with Fuyuki-kun and also has a split personality like Tama-chan;
- Momotchi's butler and mentor/secretary, Paul Moriyama, who is an older guy and a very interesting character;
- The poet and handsome rebel Mutsumi Saburo, aka 623 (this time, it's Natsumi-chan the one in love with him!);
- Koyuki-chan (the pretty Ninja girl who befriended Dororo and who is in love, yes-yes-yes, with Natsumi-chan) etc etc...

The series is great fun and only God knows how much I identify with Fuyuki-kun's character: the outsider in school, looking for UFO's and ghost stories, super-shy and not good at PE at all! I was pretty much like that while in school, weird and always finding excuses for not attending those unbearable PE classes, ha ha!

My favourite character though is Tama-chan. He's got the cutest eyes and expressions and, in spite of his split personality, is mostly lovely and well-mannered and polite. Tama-chan is also the younger of the aliens, and has a little tail, a tadpole tail (they are froggies in the end, no?). Aw! and he calls Fuyuki "Fukki"!! Ain't that just adorable???

And lastly, another funny character, which does not appear much, but I thought was hilarious: the Ghost girl (or Grudge girl), who lives in an abandonned room chez Hinata. She is a bit of a piss taken on the recent Japanese horror films, I think, and the idea is just excellent. I expected however they would use her a bit more. Let's see how it comes up in the next books, though.