The Lovely Doll

I have to admit that the summer has pretty much sucked any interest in dressing up right out of my life! I wear the same thing almost every day -- a black T-shirt and a flowy skirt. My make-up case is sitting lonely in a corner because I hate the feel of anything on my face when it's humid, even lip gloss. Jewelry, unless it is sterling silver or stainless steel, irritates my skin. High heels aggravate my back problems (and they are already aggravated enough!) Over the past couple of months, I've just come to terms with the fact that I'm going to look pretty boring until the weather gets cooler.

On the other hand, I've developed a new obsession -- vintage Japanese pose dolls! I see a few of these decorating boutiques here in Taipei from time to time. They were popular in the 1960s and 1970 in Japan and were grouped into two main styles: mod and Southern Belle. Here are some of my favorite mod dolls that were on eBay last week:

I loved their proportions, their carefully detailed faces and those outfits. Don't the blues ones look like something Trudy Campbell on "Mad Men" would wear?

I was tempted to bid on one, but in between my Blythe dolls, urban vinyl and toy cameras, I don't need to start collecting anything else! If you like the dolls, too, and want to see more eye candy, check out the Lovely Pose Doll from Japan group on Flickr. Try the search terms "Bradley dolls," "Japan pose doll" or "Japanese pose doll" on eBay.

Hope everyone is great and still keeping me around on their RSS readers! Taken by themselves, my different health issues weren't worrisome... but unfortunately they all seemed to happen at the same time and for a while I was feeling very gloomy and unproductive. But everything's coming back together again, the way the different pieces of mimetic polyalloy converge and resculpt T-1000 after he gets shot in 'Terminator 2.' Soon I, too, will be back to molding my arms into razor-sharp kitanas and chasing after John Connor in order to save the future of Sky Net.

Or something like that. Have a great weekend everyone!

Anyone still around?

As you can tell, I've been off the radar for most of June. I've had to spend time taking care of some health issues. Hopefully I'll be back to my old self soon... and finding delight in each little thing I see, instead of letting everything past by me in a blur. I hope I still have readers and I apologize for neglecting your blogs!

First off, I want to start focusing on my photography again. When I was still in the States, my Blythes were my muses. I feel like I've been neglecting them lately in favor of Taroko George, our cat.

One of my goals this summer is to combine my love of photography (especially film photography) with my prized family of Blythe dolls and all the surprised-filled lanes, alleys and nooks that I love about Taipei City. The weather has been gloomy -- hot, gray, wet, oppressive -- but the weather report says that things will shape up by the middle of this week. Yeee!

Back in NYC, it was simply too expensive to invest in equipment beyond my secondhand digital semi-SLR and a few vintage Polaroid cameras. I wanted to try 120 film and cross-processing, but made do with what I had -- and what I had at that point where Polaroid 600 and Spectra film you could buy at Walgreens. Looking back, I can't believe how LUCKY I was back then. Sure, I wanted to try 120 film and was hard to find plus expensive to process... but I had all that Polaroid film right around the corner from my apartment! It really made exploring Long Island City fun.

Now that I can better afford my photography hobby, I hope to capture images that express all the different feelings and reactions I have while living in Taiwan. These tires were snapped in Long Island City, Queens, near the waterfront. It was just a pile of abandoned tires, against a wall of fading graffiti, but I thought it was such a beautiful thing to pass by on a sunny day.

Photography helps me find new ways of looking at my ordinary life. When I'm out with my camera and can't find anything good to snap, I ask myself what I'm missing. There are so many things I take for granted. Oddly enough, realizing this makes me feel free and easier. There is so much wonder in the word. I just need to let it in.

Everything has its beauty, but not everyone sees it. -Confucius

Charmed, I'm sure

I've been in love with the idea of charm bracelets since I was a young teen. In fact, I like the idea of souvenir jewelry in general, including lockets and hair jewelry. I had a locket that I wore through college. In it were photos of our family's cats, Crystal (who passed away my junior year) and Deedee (who is still around and fat). Every time I showed the inside to someone, they looked surprised and told me they'd expected to see photos of a guy, which I thought was odd. At 19, my cats were more important to me than any boyfriend could have been. Even though I am married now, I'd still pick a photo of our cat, Taroko George, over one of my husband for a locket (a choice I'm sure Ron would approve of, since we are both feline fanciers).

During our honeymoon in San Francisco a year ago, I thought it'd be fun to start a charm bracelet. I didn't get the chance, however, until we'd returned to Taipei and I discovered De Stijl, a store that imports vintage jewelry from the US and Europe. Several of the charms on my bracelet are from De Stijl; the rest are from Internet sources. The first was this little cat in a basket, which Ron bought for my birthday last year:

I chose the charm because I think the kitten, cozy in its little basket, represents the household that Ron and I have created together. Also, I'm a basketcase sometimes.

The next charm was the one you see at top of this entry. The typewriter represents my career as a journalist. I debated getting the miniature ad or holding out for a tiny 3-D typewriter, but in the end I decided I like the "50 words" at the top. Sometimes when I have writer's block or am stressed out by a deadline, I remind myself that everything will fall into place quickly if I just write 50 words at a time (and keeping doing it for as long as I have to).

I've always been bad at keeping a personal daily journal. Despite that, I think it's important to constantly look inward and think about how your own thoughts and actions have contributed to the shape of your life and your relationships. This tiny diary is a reminder to myself to be accountable. Also, I get a kick out of the fact that it opens and closes, like many things in my life, including my jaw.

The zebra symbolizes our wedding. We got married at the San Francisco Zoo on a platform in their African Savanna habitat and there were several animals grazing behind us during our vows. There's a zebra (or its butt) in a lot of our photos from the ceremony.

This sewing machine represents my love of needlework (and its history). It also represents the fact that I could not find a knitting charm that does not look like a silver ball of snot with two sticks stuck through it.

Photography has been a big part of my life since our parents bought my brother and me matching kids' cameras with disposable flash cartridges (remember those?). This charm is the only one on my bracelet that isn't sterling silver. I'm thinking of looking for one that is, because the contrast between the color of the metals is a little jarring for my taste.

I found this tiny bust of Queen Elizabeth II at De Stijl and debated buying it for several days. The history of the British monarchy reminds me of cultural imperialism and colonialism. As someone of Chinese descent, I find those things distasteful in a personal way. At the same time, I admire Queen Elizabeth II for her sense of duty -- and the fact that she occasionally wears thick-rimmed spectacles with evening gowns. Now that's what I call charming (rim shot)!