working girl

this is another one of my projects from the previous semester. it was for a bridge collection. for those of you who don't understand what a bridge line is, well it's a little hard to explain because it means a lot of things. we have the high-end designer lines, like donna karen, and then her bridge line would be considered dkny, where it is more affordable for the masses, and consists more of separate ready-to-wear outfits (although there are, of course, dresses). bridge collections are usually for everyday use, especially for the working career woman, sometimes to take her from the office to dinner. there are also some well-established bridge lines like dana buchman, tory burch and so on (although some people consider them more contemporary).

we were supposed to design a working woman's wardrobe, inject our own design aesthetic into it, and yet keep it wearable for the masses and to be able to carry someone to the office and then to a dinner.

BOY it was hard. i decided i wanted to do a masculine collection with a male touch, because although i do love crazy stuff, i also love the suit and i love jackets and i also love menswear, so i wanted something menswear inspired that a strong woman could wear.

besides my favorite white, black and navy colors, i also wanted to inject some brights in there with my two beloved neons, pink and turquoise. yes, ladies and gentlemen, you will see these colors in a lot of my clothes!!

ps: although i do wanna show you guys more of my croquis and the planning stage, i've decided that that might not be a good idea after all. i guess i have a need to keep some of my ideas to myself! heh heh!

ready to kill my flatmate

i got back in new york yesterday morning, and was so tired, i slept all day. like seriously, ALL DAY. like from 2pm to about 9 am this morning. i woke up once in between just to go to the toilet, but i went straight back to bed each time. not being able to sleep on the plane really sucked, and is a great shock to me (and perhaps also to all those who personally know me, because yes, i am a pig and i can usually sleep everywhere and anywhere at anytime. no joke.)

anyway. school starts on friday and i am not looking forward to it. i had a fabulous time meeting up with all my friends in japan, and really, although i am learning a lot in parsons now, i regret moving away from tokyo. regret it so much i can't even explain it.

so i've been looking for a new place to move to for a while now. although this apartment i'm living is really old, it's close to school and i love it for the convenience. the doormen are also really nice, and the room is really quite large. however, i hate my flatmate and her fucking yappy dog. hate them. ok maybe "hate" is too strong a word. but i seriously dislike them, and i don't think i've ever disliked a dog before.

i first wanted to move after a very very traumatic trip to ikea with my flatmate. i wanted to go to buy stuff for my room (i had not much furniture), and i needed her to drive me, because i wasn't confident driving on the left side. (in singapore the driver's seat is on the right.) it was a nightmare, and she was the biggest psycho bitch i had ever met in my life.

first of all, she wasn't the best driver. i mean, she can't drive and look at signs at the same time. like, what kind of fucked up driver is that right? how did she manage to pass her driving test? is it so easy to get a licence in canada and america?!?!

i was in charge of reading the map. but look, i'd only been in the states like what, about 3 months at that time, and i definitely haven't been on the road, nor read any american maps. i read out to her what the directions say, and tell her turn left or right at whichever crossing and whichever freeway and all that. and she's like, "no read me exactly what it says."

i'm like, "it says exactly what i just said!!!"

and she goes like, "well you have to look out for it and tell me where to turn because i have to concentrate on the road!"

and i'm like, "well i'm looking out for it but what kind of driver are you if you can't drive AND look out for signs?"

and she goes, "you're really bad at reading maps."

and i go, "well i'm telling you whatever's written on this thing, and i have no idea how american roads are like so i don't even know what i'm looking for. i don't know what a turnpike means, i don't know what a i-94 means, we don't even call it a 'freeway in singapore. i tell you to turn left and you say 'what?' and we miss the turn because you claim i'm not reading the directions right."

i mean, after a while i just let her go off on her rockets. if not because i needed her to drive, i would never, repeat never, have wanted to go along with her. she goes crazy swearing at other drivers, honks at people like a million times (i'm not joking), and while honking, she screams "fucker you mother fucking mothing fucking fucker!!!" nonstop. i'm serious.

the most terrible thing was that the car we rented had a technical problem with it, and we had to call in to the car company we rented it from. she doesn't have a mobile phone, so i used mine to call in. and one of the steps to prove one's identity was to key in one's birthdate, and although she was driving, she refuuuuuuused to tell me her birthday and i had to pass her my handphone for her to key it in herself. i can't even explain to you guys how much i rolled and rolled my eyes. and rolled it again.

what was worse was that i had to go to ikea a second time. i thought, maybe she was having a bad day and it was mean of me to write her off just because she went insane on me one time. but the second time was just as bad and each time she went crazy at various things, i'd just roll my eyes and swallow hard to keep myself from arguing back. after all, what's the point? i almost laughed a few times because she was just so ridiculous. i did all i could to stop myself from recording a short movie on her going crazy and putting it on youtube. especially each time when i read her some certain direction from the map i printed, and she would say it didn't make sense and in the end we'd miss it. then she'd go on her "fuckfuckingfuckmotherfuckingmotherfucker" screams again, and then shout at me that it's my fault and she doesn't know how to go back to where we want to go. i'm like, dude. i don't know american roads, but if you can get here, you can go back to where you were. if we took a wrong north turn, we just have to find the south way back.

like, duh?

and she'll be like, "well i'm concentrating really hard on driving and it's your fault so you go figure out how to get back to that road."

seriously at times it was so ridiculous i wanted to laugh and tell her, "i think you're one of the dumber americans i've seen."

after the second trip to ikea together i decided that i couldn't stand her and that i had to look at other living options.

but it wasn't until my macbook and email and bank account got hacked into, that i really made up my mind. at first, i thought that it was just my online stuff that had been hacked into, but i realised later that the hackers probably hacked into my computer, and that it must have been through my internet cable. so i talked to her about it and said that i had spoken to a few of my really techie friends and they all agree that the hackers might have hacked in through the internet. i said that i think it's possible and i asked if she had firewall and a password set. she said she didn't know. so i asked if i could get someone to put a firewall and password up, and her answer was something like, "i don't know what's a firewall and i don't know how to do that and i don't wanna touch it and mess anything up and i don't want anyone touching it either."

fucked up eh? i wanted to slap her and i secretly wished that her computer would get hacked too.

at that moment i decided, that was that, enough was enough, i cannot live with someone like this.

i was in the middle of my final projects at that time, and once school was over i left new york to go back home. i was supposed to leave her my rent cheque for the month of january before i left, but i realised at the last minute that my bank had yet to send me new cheques for my new account, and i only had my old cheques from the account i had closed after the hacking. i didn't feel comfortable leaving cash behind, sitting on her desk (she had gone back home to toronto), especially since i knew that she had left her keys with two other neighbours and that they would be using the house to keep things for their year-end parties. so i emailed her and she said i'd have to pay a late fee of $35 when i get back.

fine, i thought.

as my holiday ends, she emails me to double-check when i'd get back. and holy crap, she even emailed my dad for god's sakes. when i got back to new york and turned on my mobile in the airport, i realised that she had also tried calling me a few times and had left voice mails. my iphone was not usable while i had been in japan, so i only realised she made those calls when i turned on my phone when i got back in new york. and i don't know why she even bothered calling because i specifically told her in my emails that my phone will not work in japan!!

so i got back to manhattan yesterday morning, tired as hell after a 12 hour flight and lugging 46 kilos of luggage (i brought a lot of books back). i said hi to her and told her i'd give her rent first thing tomorrow, and i go to sleep after a shower.

fast forward to 3 am, like 13 hours after i had first gone to bed. i woke up to pee and she had already gone to sleep. i walk into the bathroom and guess what i see?

yep. there it was, a yellow post-it, stuck on top of the toilet bowl. "good grief" i thought. and went about my business.

i flushed and turned to wash my hands. guess what i saw again?

yep! you guessed it right, another yellow post-it!!

like hello?? i'm not stupid, blind, nor as forgetful as she is, ok. and i've never been late with my rent and my reason for not leaving my rent behind was very valid. and i was already fine with paying whatever late fee, so i don't know what the fuck her problem was. and was i paying the fee to the landlord or to her anyway?!

best thing is, she kept emphasizing a.m., which i'm not sure why because she never wakes up in the morning anyway!! she used to work at a sony studio nearby as a receptionist, but her shift always started in the afternoon so she was never awake in the mornings. after she got fired a few months ago, she continued to wake up after noon everyday, and the only times she would wake up earlier than that was to go to the bathroom, because believe me the lady has bladder problems. no normal person goes to toilet that many times a night.

i got out of bed at about 9 am to go to the bank to get money for my rent, then realised while i was walking there that i was famished from not eating all of yesterday, and having only lousy aeroplane food that i hardly touched the day before. so i bought a huge breakfast, went back home, and really ate too much.

as i expected, she didn't wake up in the a.m. morning. instead, she only woke up at about 2:30pm when i opened the front door to go throw something, and her fucking yappy dog barked her stupid head off. so why the hell did she have to write two idiotic post-its to tell me to pay rent in the morning??

and don't even get me started on that dog. i want to smack it so bad and if it irritates me anymore, i just might. it's one spoilt little brat of a pomeranian with the most irritating high-pitched yap, and trust me she yaps at everything. and once she starts it's like 5 to 10 minutes before she stops. i hate that stupid dog. and my flatmate talks baby-talk with her dog. i think that's gross. i can't stand people who do the baby-talk thing. when i speak to my own dog i speak in a higher pitched voice sometimes, but i don't do the baby-talk thing unless i'm talking to an actual baby.

and can i just go back to bitching about my flatmate again and mention that she has lived in this apartment for 12 years, and some of the things she uses in the place is just as old? example: i bought myself a can of lychees that i had found in the supermarket. i love lychees and it's something i grew up eating, so i was quite excited to see that it was sold in my local supermarket. i came back to my apartment and tried looking for a can-opener, but there wasn't one in the drawer with all the spoons and forks, nor the drawer with the knives. i opened the other drawers and found a can-opener.... but it was super old and super rusty it had things growing on it like a habitat. i nearly puked. "surely this is just lying here and not used??" i thought. i kept my lychees in the fridge and refrained from having to use that disgusting can-opener. when i went down the next day to buy a new opener, i came back and saw that crusty old one, laid out to dry after being washed, but still rusty and crusty and disgusting. "GROSS GROSS YUCK *pui!!*" i said to myself. how could anyone use that kind of thing to open a can of food that would eventually go into your mouth!!! disgusting. as i'm typing this i feel like i should go into the kitchen and take a picture of that gross thing, but she's at home now so i can't do that. which is a pity because seriously, the only way i can prove how gross it is, is with a real visual image.

so anyway, here i am, looking online for apartments in new york, instead of finishing my holiday homework. i was doing my homework all day, but i put my sketchbook down a little while ago when music from the living room was blasting so loud i couldn't concentrate. it was blasting so loud, it drowned out the sound of my tv, even though i turned the volume of my tv up to the loudest notch. oh my god i'm so pissed i'm boiling.

i think it's gonna be more expensive to rent an apartment by myself, but i'm seriously never going to give myself more headaches like this and share a place anymore. no way. no fucking way. i really don't need any of this crap!!

and that music from outside better get turned down soon before i go out and give her a piece of my mind. ugh.



update!!
thanks for your comments. you guys made me laugh. i managed to take a picture of that can-opener. seriously i think it's gross. hope it doesn't spoilt your appetite. hee hee! open up the picture to view a larger image! *wink* click click!

i honestly cannot imagine using that. bleah!

back in tokyo

hello my darlings. it's been while since i wrote in... but actually i've left singapore and am in tokyo now. woohoo!! i flew in yesterday and will be here until the morning of the 15th, tuesday, tokyo time, and then leave for new york.

it's been crazy, and i have a week left of my break before school starts.

coming back to japan has been rather difficult.

i miss it so much, i really regret leaving.

oh well, depressing stories are boring. i'll upload photos (i have tons. no, really. tons.) once i get back to new york. hopefully i'd have finished all my stupid holiday homework by then!!!

in the meantime, take care!

love, gilda
xoxo

happy new year!

it's the new year! i can't believe 2007 went past so quickly. i was in japan till may, then i came back to singapore for 3 months, which was my longest break back home since i had moved to tokyo 4 years ago. then i moved away to new york, and now i'm back here in singapore again for my winter holidays. it all seems so surreal.

i made some new year resolutions at the start of 2007, and, if i may say so myself, i think i did pretty well in making most of them come true. here are my new ones for the year:

1. practice my japanese relentlessly and never forget it!
2. pick up french.
3. stay in touch and not get lazy about keeping in contact with friends
4. learn how to cook better!
5. sleep.
6. eat healthy.
7. laugh. and laugh.
   
8. be thankful for each day.
9. grow up and act my age.
10. love myself more so i can love others more.

i also hope to start my own business on the side, and hopefully not burn out from lack of sleep or poor time management. i'm really hopeful for this new year.

i'm going to turn 25 in a few months. it's kinda scary. when i was younger, i had envisioned all sorts of things happening by the time i was 25. but things don't always go according to plan, but i am quite happy to say that i'm really satisfied with how everything has turned out.

i have had opportunities that would never be available to most people, and how many people can really say that they are really living their dream? i know i am, and i'm really grateful.

one thing i need to think about though, is that after over 4 years of getting used to living alone, i have gotten used to being by myself. although i have had relationships in that time, i still kept my own private space, and i like it that way. now i'm thinking, am i ready and willing to give up my space and time, and open up my heart to someone else? i don't open myself up very easily; i've always had problems doing so. i take a while to warm up to people, and i don't openly show that i care even when i do.

do i go all out and reach for my own personal goals, or do i take a step back and let myself enjoy life a little more with someone else? i can't be bothered with childish, trivial relationships with a person i don't see a future with, hence i don't and never have gone on casual dates. i hate clubs where proper conversation is impossible, and on the extremely rare occasion that i do go, i find myself with an amused scowl and thinking, "all these kids rubbing against each other - thank god i wasn't brought up like that."

maybe i do need to change my mindset. but then again, i was brought up with a very certain set of values that i do treasure, and i'm not sure i'm willing to give that up for anything. i'm not someone with a super high IQ, but i know i'm not dumb and i believe myself to be intelligent enough. i'm stubborn and when i want something i find it hard to listen to others, even if i know i should. i love to laugh and i love to make others laugh, and while my sense of humor may be rather sarcastic and crude sometimes and offensive to some, at least others think it's funny! i know what i want in life and i know i can make it happen for myself without having to depend on someone to lay it out in front of me.

maybe when i get older, i'll regret going about on my solo goals and leaving no space nor energy in my life to find that perfect someone. but then again, i don't wanna slow down or wait around for that person to appear.

people always say that "the one" is always right there when you least expect it. i look around myself and all i see are people that i do love and have built great friendships with, but no, "the one" isn't there. maybe i am being really picky, i'm not sure. what i do know is that i am looking for someone who shares a similar sense of humor, and needs his own space and gives me my own to breathe, and who is really smart and intelligent, someone i can respect and learn from. i don't think i can spend time together with someone who makes me think he isn't all that smart, which is a mean thing to say but hey, at least i'm being honest.

so although i'm in a holiday mood now, in just 2 weeks, i would be back in school and busy with my life. a friend once said that one shouldn't be too satisfied and happy with his single life, or he'd never go out there and find a partner. my reply was that i can't be bothered to go out there and "look" for someone, and yes it's too much work and i don't have the time for all that. to which he said, "well you don't wanna grow old alone, do you?"

i couldn't reply.

maybe i'm not giving myself, nor love, a chance. i've grown up with a whole lot of stubbornness, self-pride, and perhaps a little too much independence. if you knew me personally, i'm really a huge tom-boy and i think i have more guy-is traits than some guys themselves - so much so that when i see some women who just pretend to be helpless when they really aren't, i absolutely scorn and detest them for whining their way through things.

ah well. the new year has begun and i have all sorts of plans for myself. i'm enjoying life now, although i have to admit that it gets lonely from time to time. hopefully, i would be on my way to greener pastures by the end of 2008. hopefully, i would be one more step to achieving my ambitions in life. hopefully, as i hit 25, the only lines i would get on my face are those from laughing too hard.

i am optimistic for the future. i know i will become the person i want to be. hopefully, there will be someone to share it with, somewhere out there. beneath the pale moon light. someone's thinking of me, and loving me tonight. somewhere out there, if love can see us through, then we'll be together somewhere out there, out where dreams come true.

and all that kind of mushy, positive stuff. heh heh.

"if you do things well, do them better. be daring, be first, be different, be just."

by the late anita roddick, the body shop founder, who passed away at 64 from a brain haemorrhage in september 2007. it's a really beautiful thing she said, and something we can definitely live by in 2008 and beyond.