Lisette's blah-blah-blah Blog

May Lane Outdoor Gallery

Sun, 25 Jul 2010 18:46:59 +1000

May Lane Outdoor Gallery

Grafitti Gallery

Sun, 25 Jul 2010 18:30:00 +1000

Sunny 16?

Out comes the camera.

Hello May Lane.

Thank you for always being a stunner!

And the beat goes on… Drawing on this for inspiration for...

Tue, 20 Jul 2010 23:28:28 +1000

And the beat goes on…

Drawing on this for inspiration for a new piece of ink.

- courtesy of:

eatsleepdraw:

always listening to music..

Sweet Success

Wed, 07 Jul 2010 13:15:40 +1000

“I cannot give you the formula for success, but I can give you the formula for failure – which is, try to please everybody all the time.”

Herbert Bayard Swope

No truer words were spoken.

A note to myself when juggling life and trying desperately to keep all the balls in the air.

As if I already didn’t have enough on my plate - uni kicks off in a month.

Bring it on!

Must get new uni bag…

love (via eatsleepdraw)

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 09:22:17 +1000

*love*

(via eatsleepdraw)

Life's like that

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 09:21:08 +1000

It is true.

When it rains, it pours.

Getting sodden, cold and miserable is worth

the breathtaking rainbow at the end.

May the rains never stop coming,

may the rainbows never stop appearing.

A new day is dawning

Thu, 24 Jun 2010 12:18:56 +1000

Australia’s first Prime Minister has just been elected.

Julia Gillard, you have just made history!

What does it mean to be Pinoy?

Wed, 02 Jun 2010 22:52:53 +1000

“Pinoy” for all those readers who are furrowing their brows and tangling their tongues in an effort to pronounce the word is the informal term for Filipinos. It is our version of “Aussies” to the more formal “Australian”. A reference to our origins, and always with a tinge of pride and patriotism.

It is the response you give when confronted with the question,

“Where are you from?

Sydney. [blank stare followed by a few seconds of silence]

I mean, what nationality are you?”

The simple answer is Australian of course.

But no, it’s not defined by the label embossed on the cover of your passport. Nor the detail in the laminated ID page inside - next that unsmiling photo only meant for Australia’s Most Wanted file.

It goes beyond that.

It is borderless, boundless and undefined by the country you choose to call home.

It is the essence of your being.

It permeates your every fibre, every cell, every molecule, every atom.

It is the reason why you can find the scent of salt-dried fish deliciously aromatic instead nauseating. It explains why in the middle of winter, you can still walk around stockingless without the fear of blinding passersby with a flash of white, flourescent legs. It is why the bridge of your nose is vertically challenged and those pair of sunnies that looked so good on the magazine just keeps sliding off your face. It is the reason why you sometimes crave for that amazing dish made of pork liver and blood jelly that everyone else finds disgusting.

Yes, it is all that and more.

For those who have packed their bags and chosen a life outside what is rightfully their homeland, defining who you are is much more complex. It is strange that this fact is only ever highlighted in the company of other Pinoys. It is ironic that the ones you are meant to have an affinity with, judge you the most.

There have been numerous occasions when I have been confused by some of the comments about what it means to be a Pinoy. Trips to the Philippines have made me realise that I am increasingly being referred to as “so Australian” as I get older and more set in my ways. Recent conversations with a friend also touched on this “so Aussie vs so Pinoy” reference when I mentioned how my value system differed to that of another person, who admittedly was a recent resident to the country. Even a casual chat about a relation being “still so very Pinoy” despite being here for decades has added to my confusion.

So what does it mean to be Pinoy?

For me, it has always been about standing up for what is right and fair.

It is about fighting injustice, not inflicting it.

It is about earning respect, not demanding it.

It is about humility, not ingratitude.

It is about giving back, not just taking.

It is about helping the hand that feeds you, not biting it.

It is about taking action against what is wrong, not just acknowledging it.

But then again, how far off am I in defining what it means if I am more Aussie than Pinoy?

…

Overheard at the Duhiggs

Sette: Tim, what does it mean to be Pinoy?

Tim: When’s independence day?

Sette: June 12

Tim: It’s about knowing the public holidays.

I am a sucker for all things beautiful eatsleepdraw: Eternal...

Wed, 02 Jun 2010 21:05:39 +1000

I am a sucker for all things beautiful

eatsleepdraw:

Eternal Sunshine sketchbook work. Typography isn’t my strong suit.

Sir Anthony Hopkins (Vanity Fair, read today at Deus Ex Machina)

Mon, 31 May 2010 18:50:57 +1000

Sir Anthony Hopkins (Vanity Fair, read today at Deus Ex Machina)

dear Cancer

Sun, 30 May 2010 22:46:01 +1000

“Things should go especially well for you today, dear Cancer, so don’t worry about a thing. Life doesn’t necessarily get easier as you get older. You just learn how to deal with things. You’ll find this to be true right now as your incredible sensitivity and wisdom are making it possible for you to attain a clearer perspective. You realize that things are much better than you may have thought.”

…

The past month has been somewhat of blur. The cosy, comfy, cushy world that I had gotten so used to was thrown into a whirring blender of cosmic changes and complex challenges. Gone was the rose-coloured glass bubble that sheltered my world from the harsh, blinding reality of life. Long story short, the past month has made me realise that the tough decisions need to be made, the demons confronted and the dragons slain before you can truly say that the battle has been won. Yes, I am being vague but I am here. With a spring in my step and a bouncing beat in my heart, having survived what has been.

Watch this space

Sun, 30 May 2010 21:26:35 +1000

Unintentional blogging hiatus coming to an end. Promise.

i like you

Mon, 12 Apr 2010 21:59:44 +1000

Tucked away in the last few pages of Lydia and Andy’s marriage ceremony booklet was this piece which Tim and I both loved:

I Like You

by Sandol Stoddard Warbug

I like you and I know why.
I like you because you are a good person to like.
I like you because when I tell you something special, you know it’s special
And you remember it a long, long time.
You say, Remember when you told me something special
And both of us remember

When I think something is important
you think it’s important too
We have good ideas
When I say something funny, you laugh
I think I’m funny and you think I’m funny too
Hah-hah!

I like you because you know where I’m ticklish

And you don’t tickle me there except just a little tiny bit sometimes
But if you do, then I know where to tickle you too

You know how to be silly

That’s why I like you
Boy are you ever silly
I never met anybody sillier than me till I met you
I like you because you know when it’s time to stop being silly
Maybe day after tomorrow
Maybe never
Too late, it’s a quarter past silly

Sometimes we don’t say a word
We snurkle under fences
We spy secret places
If I am a goofus on the roofus hollering my head off
You are one too
If I pretend I am drowning, you pretend you are saving me
If I am getting ready to pop a paper bag,
then you are getting ready to jump
HOORAY

That’s because you really like me

You really like me, don’t you
And I really like you back
And you like me back and I like you back
And that’s the way we keep on going every day

If you go away, then I go away too
or if I stay home, you send me a postcard
You don’t just say Well see you around sometime, bye
I like you a lot because of that
If I go away, I send you a postcard too
And I like you because if we go away together
And if we are in Grand Central Station
And if I get lost
Then you are the one that is yelling for me

And I like you because when I am feeling sad
You don’t always cheer me up right away
Sometimes it is better to be sad
You can’t stand the others being so googly and gaggly every single minute
You want to think about things
It takes time

I like you because if I am mad at you
Then you are mad at me too
It’s awful when the other person isn’t
They are so nice and hoo-hoo you could just about punch them in the nose

I like you because if I think I am going to throw up
then you are really sorry
You don’t just pretend you are busy looking at the birdies and all that
You say, maybe it was something you ate
You say, the same thing happened to me one time
And the same thing did

If you find two four-leaf clovers, you give me one
If I find four, I give you two
If we only find three, we keep on looking
Sometimes we have good luck, and sometimes we don’t

If I break my arm, and if you break your arm too
Then it’s fun to have a broken arm
I tell you about mine, you tell me about yours
We are both sorry
We write our names and draw pictures
We show everybody and they wish they had a broken arm too

I like you because I don’t know why but
Everything that happens is nicer with you
I can’t remember when I didn’t like you
It must have been lonesome then

I like you because because because
I forget why I like you but I do
So many reasons
On the 4th of July I like you because it’s the 4th of July
On the fifth of July, I like you too
If you and I had some drums and some horns and some horses
If we had some hats and some flags and some fire engines
We could be a HOLIDAY
We could be a CELEBRATION
We could be a WHOLE PARADE
See what I mean?

Even if it was the 999th of July
Even if it was August
Even if it was way down at the bottom of November
Even if it was no place particular in January
I would go on choosing you
And you would go on choosing me
Over and over again
That’s how it would happen every time

I don’t know why
I guess I don’t know why I really like you
Why do I like you
I guess I just like you
I guess I just like you because I like you.

Fun Wall

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 20:26:55 +1100

Kala's drawing #2

Graph Paper Doodles [L:Tim, R:Sette]

Marker Love part II

Fun Wall

No one really tells you how hard it is. And even if they did, nothing can ever prepare you for...

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 11:37:49 +1100

No one really tells you how hard it is.

And even if they did, nothing can ever prepare you for it.

The warnings are there but fall on deaf ears until you’re in its midst.

Then the understanding dawns.

For some it creeps up unnoticed.

For others it stares them head on - blinding.

But the essence remains the same.

A perennial paradox.

It is both pain and pleasure permeating the senses.

Sweet and suffering simmering in the same molten pot.

Love and loathing lurking in its depths.

Laughter and tears trailing through its path.

Motherhood.

How you confound me!

Our Funwall (beats Facebook’s any day!)

Fri, 19 Feb 2010 20:32:02 +1100

Marker Love from Timmy

This is how he bribes me... trinkets!

K's 1st drawing - red scribbles

Our Funwall (beats Facebook’s any day!)

Those three words

Mon, 15 Feb 2010 23:56:26 +1100

For as long as I can remember, every phone conversation my mum has ever had with my Lola (grandmother) always ends like this:

I love you.

I love you too!

…

We never tire of hearing those simple words from the ones we love.

Don’t hold back, spread the love.

Light up your life

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 09:26:19 +1100

When in comes to rekindling long-forgotten friendships, renewing fading family ties or even restoring broken relationships, don’t hesitate.

Our lives are a mere fleeting moment in time and for each moment that we chose not to do something that enriches it, our light is ever so slightly diminished.

Each one of us is a part of the Whole, the Universe, whatever you want to call it. And as a result, we have an inherent need to be with each other, to remain connected. The constant challenge is how we do this - how each conscious action we take satisfies this need.

Every day is an opportunity not to be wasted.

Don’t hesitate.

Take that step to happiness.

Photo

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 10:41:51 +1100

Sette's fisheye, K is bored

B-B-Bouncer

Chomp!

Flying with Big Daddy T

Leaving on a jet plane

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 15:20:07 +1100

Leaving on a jet plane