WHAT'S IN MY BAG?

Since my classes are resuming tomorrow, I thought I would take pictures of all the things that will be coming with me to school tomorrow. With the exception of this semester's books, which I have yet to buy, and a reusable water bottle that's in my kitchen, here's the list of things I keep in my school bag.

Since first year, I had a working Dell. It held up pretty well for three and a half years and ran all the programs I needed. However, the battery conked out early last year and the only time I could use it was if it was plugged in, which is highly impractical if I were using it in class. By November, I needed a computer that could travel easily and could run programs faster. I was debating between the MBP and the Dell XPS 14z, but in the end I chose Mac because of all the hype about its OS. So far, I've been impressed but I'm nowhere near the state of Steve Jobs idolatry.

I got my iPhone December of 2010 and I can safely say it's the most practical and worthwhile purchase in the history of my consumerism. It's my watch when I don't have one, my alarm clock, my internet when I just want to stay in bed, my primary news source, and my phone. Also, FaceTime is the most amazing thing for long distance relationships.

You've seen this on the blog before. This is the Amazon Kindle 3 with wi-fi, and I use it to read books on the bus or just right before I go to bed. I've also used it to store PDF files of readings, which I prefer over reading on a computer screen or printing off on paper. It's less strain on the eyes and better for the environment. 

Food! I need to constantly have food in my system or else I get really light-headed and pale; not to mention, my stomach growls (and it increases every time I get more anxious about it). 

The matches are not for "reading a magazine" as the cast of How I Met Your Mother would describe it. I got it from a smoke shop in Toronto and figured I'd keep it in my bag in case of a Zombie Apocalypse. As for the bag of girly secrets, it's made up of monthly necessities and makeup. 

Angry Little Girls wallet that Dan bought for me in Banff. He said the girl reminded him of me, so clearly there's some sentimental value there. 

Where do I keep all this stuff? In this overly-edited (colours are way off) Fjallraven Kanken backpack in the Frost Green colour and classic size. It's a perfect size for my small frame but it's just large enough to fit a 13" MBP in the inside sleeve. It comes with two side pockets/sleeves which are just narrow enough to fit an iPhone, keys, bus pass and ID for easy access. Oh, and I've also got a Brip, the Ugly Doll, keychain because I love it. Don't you?

NEW YEAR & NEW RESOLUTIONS

I wrote this post on a new blog over at Wordpress. I'm not quite sure whether I want to stick with this one or start a new one over there. Ideally, I'd get a wordpress.org account and self-host, but I can't justify paying for it when I'm so indecisive about blogging platforms.

It’s officially 22 hours into 2012 where I live. Last night, my brother told me not to spend anything on the first day of the year or else I would continue to spend frivolously throughout the year. The day isn’t over but I guess it’s fair to say that I’ve accomplished that small feat. If that should give any indication to my ability to follow through on goals and resolutions, then I’m stoked for 2012. This year, I graduate from university, I visit the Philippines after four and a half years, I plan to move out west, and I hope to figure out what I really want to do for the rest of my life. The only thing that can turn this year of infinite potential into a complete bust is me.

To usher in the new year and get myself motivated about getting shit done, I thought of coming up with a list of resolutions that address all aspects of my life (original, right?).

School & Career

• Get involved in more extra-curricular and volunteer activities
  • Take pictures again for the school newspaper, get involved with the new NGO, seek other projects and organizations in campus
• Improve your GPA – kick ass this semester
• Graduate in Fall 2012
• Apply for grad school 2013-?
  • Build relationships with your profs so you can get those letters of recommendation
• Gain work experience – apply for a legit job that relates to your degree

Finances

• Save up for pocket money and travel money to use in the Philippines
• Pay off at least 50% of student debt by December 31, 2013
• Save up enough money for the big move

Life

• Summer vacation in the Philippines
• The big move
  • Move to the bigger city (Toronto, Ottawa, Calgary, or Vancouver)
  • Save up enough money to cover the costs for 3 months
• Whatever happens and wherever we go, we are making this relationship work ♥
• Gain life skills – driver’s license, cooking, handiness, taxes, etc.
• Improve creative skills – photograph more; write more
• Exercise and eat better
  • Eat healthier, less processed stuff
  • Gain weight!
• Start a blog, stick to it, and update frequently
• Prove those Mayans wrong and make it out alive

It’s a rough list and it definitely needs to be developed more as the year progresses. Looking at it all laid out is so completely overwhelming that I just want to crawl under the covers and never leave. But I have to constantly remind myself to start working on the list and finishing them. If I keep doing, I avoid the likelihood that this list becomes nothing more than a meaningless blog post on New Year’s day. I probably need to set this post as the homepage on my browser, screen cap it and set it as my desktop wallpaper, and print it and tape it to my wall. It might be excessive, but it might just be the kick of motivation I need.

Your-Grandmother's-Couch-Leggings as Pants

Structure wool sweater from mom's closet, printed leggings from Aldo Accessories, Ecote Leather Chelsea Boots from Urban Outfitters, bracelets from H&M and Forever 21, Michael Kors watch

Just a quick outfit post to say hello and show you that I have other shoes besides my Aldo suede boots. I've been rushing through the process of getting ready the because of the three-week stretch of midterms, papers, and seminar presentations for school. I am a procrastinator by nature so it's not a strange sight to see me working on my review notes 10 minutes before my bus leaves, and going through those review notes as I'm on the bus. Strangely enough, I don't like cramming in information as I'm sitting in class waiting for the professor to hand out the test. Besides trying to keep calm, I have this fear that those last bits of information will wipe out everything else I studied the night before. Is that weird? One thing I can't give up in the morning though is breakfast. I can forego makeup and outfit planning; but I can never skip on food.

Today was no different in terms of getting ready. I pulled out this old, pilling pair of leggings from Aldo, grabbed a shapeless black sweater from my mom's closet, and finished it off with my pair of go-to Chelsea boots. Quick story about these boots - I saw them on the UO website a few months ago and wanted to purchase them but $20 shipping was really discouraging. UO has a number of shops throughout Canada but nowhere near where I live, so I think it's fair to say that $20 for shipping is absolutely ridiculous. Knowing that I was going to the States in August, I waited it out and went through two stores in Boston until I found this particular pair. The wait was worth it because they were marked $20 off!

Ecote Leather Chelsea Boots from Urban Outfitters

They're just the perfect go-to pair of shoes for fall. They go with absolutely everything, they are super comfortable, and so easy to pull on. I know this is the first time I'm showing them on my blog but I literally wear these three times a week because they never fail to add a little androgyny to any outfit.

Happy Halloween?

I think my next post will be on hair and how to cut your own bangs. I've been putting my hair up in these topknots lately because my bangs are now so long that if I leave it down, I look like a bruha. What do you, guys, think? Should I venture into hair tutorials?

Ilyana

Plato of Fashion

The return of the only shoes I wear, at least according to my blog.

Sorry about not posting regularly and not having an outfit post in over two weeks. I told you in my first post that I was going to be a really awful blogger - no shame there. To be honest, I've just been really busy with 18 credits of university courses, midterms and papers, and topped off with an average of 20 hours of work a week. I know there are tons of people out there who have less time, but blogging is not my full-time job (yet); I haven't been able to steal Rumi Neely's life, ok?

As soon as I finished my African Politics midterm, I felt like throwing my fist in the air and walking with the kind of swag you'd find in a John Hughes film. It almost makes me wish I had worn plaid and a leather arm band today. I rocked that midterm so hard, so I told myself I'd find the time to make an outfit post as soon as I'd get home. 

So here goes outfit post:

Topshop sweater, Levi's jeans, Aldo Qualheim boots

The clothes I've been gravitating towards have been comfortable fall pieces: oversized sweaters, ankle boots, and lots of slim-fitting bottoms. Most days, I would throw on a massive knit scarf or load up on layers, but today I thought to keep things simple. If any outfit can sum up my philosophy on Fashion (I'm like the Plato of fashion over here), it would be this one. My philosophy on fashion is not to take it seriously; there's no need to take too much of an effort getting dressed and lastly, wear what's comfortable. Comfort is my numero uno necessity; that's why I've given up on strapless shit because flat-chested girls like me will never be comfortable in a tube top (if you have any tricks that don't involve duct tape, let me know through the comments). There are far more important things out there for me to spend a ton of time ruminating on what goes with what and what this blogger says about this trend. I prefer to enjoy fashion and not really think about it - kind of like a cheeseburger. 

Comfort for me is throwing on a loose sweater, pulling on a pair of trusty dark denim, and wearing comfortable shoes. Normally, I would go for flat shoes but these ones are quite easy to walk in and they make me taller so it all balances out in the end. Wood heels are really frakking noisy though.

Love, self-declared Plato of Fashion. But now that I think about it, I might be more of a Descartes. 

 

I hope my face didn't scare you there.