Devil in the details

Love this shirt. A "what I wore today" post that doesn't--at all, show me as much.
Photographed by yours truly

Haven't been posting that much personal looks as I used to, for many, many reasons. But here is one for you guys that I wore yesterday.

Street style sure is at its peak now, but I read that one of GQ's writers believes street style's airtime is about to end. Whatever you believe in, we all have to admit that style has never been this celebrated. Thanks to all these platforms, everyone suddenly has a clear-cut sense of style, a personal knowledge of it and also just how much "hand" style has in the makings of culture and life.

There's actually nothing wrong with street style and street style photography, so I guess whether or not it's about to die on all of us soon, what matters is that style is celebrated for its worth and its play on life as well.

To change it up a bit, I decided to take on the impossible role of a photographer. No expertise on photography whatsoever, I guarantee you that, but because I found it interesting how my look yesterday had much texture and detail to it, I just had to take pictures. With my office's new camera, a few minutes of free time, I managed to do a look post for this one. Veering away from the traditional one-shot-one-whole-body photo, I decided to focus on the tiny details of some of my favorite pieces. You will see here the many grainy textures to my look yesterday...You will, also see my face here somewhere after, and the hairs on my forearm and the little wrinkles on my all-time favorite desert boots and more.

The devil truly is in the details. 

George II

One of my all-time favorite bags is my George (I name my bags, remember? hahaha). The Forever 21 rucksack I've been carrying around the gym, school and basically everywhere else that requires more things. Lesley's photographed the bag a lot, I believe and you've definitely seen it a lot as well.

A lot of people like this bag and it seems like I never miss a compliment when I carry it around.

Remember this look from late last year?

The very first person I saw that carries the same bag is model John James Uy. After visting THE SDA PROJECT, I stumbled upon this.

So, I guess this is George II? hahaha...

Cool, cool.

P.S. He definitely wore it better...The hell he's a model!



- Gerard

Printed Matters

In the dry afternoons of summer, what we're planning to do is to walk around, talk about whatever's worth talking about and while we're at it, take to the streets printed shirts that are as easy, cool and light as any ideal summer look ought to be. 

Welcome to a Salt exclusive shoot, featuring SM Boys' Teens Wear Department's affordable and neat summer offerings for basically everyone. Photographed by super photographer/friend Lesley Choa, one of my best friends, Tj Estrada and I have gone 'round to test the afternoon in SMBTW's printed matters.

on Tj left: Undefeated shirt,
on me right: Mickey Mouse Spray painted shirt

You might not see it, but Tj's Undefeated shirt is the perfect counterpoint to my Mickey Mouse shirt. On Tj's is a photo of a man, wearing blinders and on his head Mickey's ears, the photo rendered dark and a little moody. Hence the story of him being the bad Mickey (what with all his dark, sober colors) and I being the good Mickey (thanks to so much perked up hues).

Tj: Team Manila Klasik shirt
Me: the Daily Grind shirt

Summer's one of the best reasons to wear some shorts and to pair these basic shorts with, we chose shirts that'll draw attention, like my Daily Grind "Gai Jin" shirt and Tj's Team Manila Klasik "Salisalita sakalye ngManila TeamManila Klasik".

Me: "Teenage Stray" James Dean shirt
Tj: Charlie Chaplin shirt both by Undefeated

My idea was to give tribute to Old Hollywood icons, my idol James Dean and the ultra talented, legendary Mr. Charlie Chaplin. Tj's idea was to shoot this inspired by those models off duty and how they look like on JakandJil photos. The first one, I say is a success. The second one, is quite alright... And yes, we smoke and I drank way too much Coke for my own good. But that was the inspiration. (Tj pointed out that I should've had Coke Zero or Light but the regular one popped best on photos).

Me: "Bossing Para!" shirt by Team Manila Klasik
Tj: "A Mouthful O' Knowledge" shirt by Daily Grind

I badly wanted to play tennis that afternoon but I couldn't find a tennis ball (hahaha) and we only had one racket. As you might've guessed it, yes, the styling's intention was to sort of match things up but at the same time made sure it had contrasts. This last look both had statements on them and speech bubbles. Seeing them on their hangers didn't really make much sense other than those two similarities, but it turns out they looked so great together on photos. The colors, especially.

Visit SM Boys' Teens Wear Department's Facebook page for more information on their collections, status-as-advice posts AND most of all a chance to win 5,000 pesos weekly from SM as prize from their contest. What contest? First off, like their Facebook page. Second, check out the details on the page itself for SM's lookbook contest and search for the application. Once the dirty work's done, go ahead and get your own talented photographer or if you are one, take a photo of your self sporting at least (2) of SMBTW's pieces purchased during the promo period. Got it? Then, once you're done, upload it on SMBTW's Facebook page and make sure to gather all your friends to have them vote for your photo. If you're photo is that good and you manage to beat everyone else with the number of votes/likes you get, then you're definitely going shopping in SM and you could forget about your wallet.

Go be creative and celebrate your own style!

Thanks to Lesley Choa, Tj Estrada and SM Boy's Teens Department for the amazing clothes you've got on your shelves. Keep them coming SM. You've found new customers in us.

PEACE!

- Gerard

How's it looking (so far)

Doing the "model-off-duty" photos.
"Teenage Stray"/James Dean shirt left, Tj Estrada in Charlie Chaplin shirt all by SM Boys' Teens Wear Department
Photo by Lesley Choa

The shoot is done.

Our Salt exclusive, mini-project took place yesterday, under a pretty dizzying after lunch sun. Photographer, friend and all-round whitest girl in the world, Lesley Choa took some real great photos, most of which I never expected to look so brilliant. I was too preoccupied with sweating and making sure that we got our shots than looking at the pictures.

So, when I got them just minutes ago on my e-mail I was pretty pleased with the outcome. It was fun shopping around SM yesterday, looking for great shirts that Tj could wear along with what I've already bought. And even Tj was amazed at just how much you could find at SM Boys' Teens Wear Department. 

The photos will be up tomorrow night and all the final photos will be there. As you know, it's a shirt story and you're going to see lots of sunglasses as well since it is summer. If you haven't heard and if you haven't liked SM Boys' Teens Wear Department's Facebook page, SM is holding a contest. 

For all teenage boys out there the contest is all about you wearing at least 2 items purchased during the promotion period (which is on now) from the SM Boys' Teens Wear Department. Whatever style you swear by, it's perfectly fine. Applications will be sent soon, I believe so you could have your photos uploaded on their Facebook page and when it's that good, voters could put you on top of the entire contest. If you're the highest, you definitely win a prize (trust me, I'd want to win that prize). And the prize is no joke. It's some serious prize they're offering, so better do good. I'll be posting more details by tomorrow, so you could start your own shoot. 

As for Tj and I, well, we're pretty satisfied with what we've got, shopping from SM Boys' Teens Wear Deparment. Those shirts we bought will be on heavy rotation I tell you, during these scorching days of summer. And the photos are proof that you'd want to pile up on them for sure.

Here are more news: ROGUE has finally granted me headline space. Though I haven't got my name on it, my Chuck Taylor piece (thank you LA) made it the headlines and that's been on my wishlist for a long time, so thank you ROGUE. PLEASE grab yourselves a copy, not just cause I wrote for this issue, but because it'll blow your sucks off. It's an AMAZING cover, I promise you. Probably their best.

GOODIES magazine, the online magazine that got me as a columnist (thank you Kelvin) finally published my review of Patrik Ervell's aerial collection. Check out what GOODIES has got for you from hot ladies to music news to people worth reading about. GOODIES is all about every man's interest, trust me, it's a cool new avenue for what's great now. 

And before I bid goodnight, here are more of the outtakes from our shoot yesterday. ALL PHOTO credit goes to Lesley "Le Sizzle" Choa. Thank you Lesley, thank you Tj and thank you to SM Boys' Teens Wear Department for all the great clothing options you NOW offer everyone.

The Bad Mickey Good Mickey look.
Tj in an Undefeated shirt, TOPMAN button down, Me in a Mickey Mouse Disney shirt and H&M Button down
T-shirts from SM Boys' Teens Wear Deparment
Take note of my face. ahahahah

The sportiest we could do:
Bossing Para! shirt by Team Manila Klassik and Mouth Full O' Knowledge shirt by the Daily Grind
from SM Boys' Teens Wear Deparment
I look damn pregnant here. Tsk. hahaha...

P.S. I just might be pregnant. :))

- Gerard

It's Like That

Remember talking to Mia here about graduation gifts.
Still praying for you Mia.
Photographys by the Lesley Choa

Currently still bothered by a.) my always problematic ear b.) that project I have with (dot dot dot) and c.) the resumes I've sent to the magazines I want to work for. Bothered doesn't always mean a negative. Troubled, I say is more derogatory than bothered, don't you agree? I was never a "kampante" kind of person, one who despite the most obvious of positive facts would be able to sit back and relax. I'm a big nervous wreck and as I've mentioned before, the trick is to keep it all cool outside while inside you're like a volcano about to go burzurk. And I always, always have to tell myself to calm the (fuck) down, cause worrying could only make things worse. Thing is though, it's my magic. It seems like the more I build myself up for the panic, the more "better" the outcome is for me. See... The world has its odd ways. It's like that, and that's way it is, some RUN DMC for you.

Let's drop the worrying for a while and talk about the RUN DMC shirt. I have a RUN DMC shirt and an AC/DC shirt and a Mickey Mouse shirt I got from SM---by the way, in the next days I'll be posting this cool, cool style diary project I have of myself, and I know it sounded vain, but it's not that vain..., and you'd wonder if wearing shirts with these prints on them reflect my interests and what have you. Sure. RUN DMC, I'm no huge fan of, but I appreciate their music, thus the look. AC/DC's the same case for me. Mickey Mouse, however is a bit of an issue. I'm a Donald Duck, not a Mickey Mouse. But it turns out that while I was snooping 'round SM for something good to get for the dreaded summer days to come---long sentence right there, this really cool Mickey Mouse shirt had the best size and colors that I liked. Donald Duck's designs weren't that good for me. SO....there. Anyway, this street-ish style I've been pulling off on my lazy days. You'll probably see me in more of these especially when April comes cause that's when doing my usual layering style would cause me a heat stroke. You know how Manila gets, it's all t-shirt weather and God bless you if you have the body to pull off a birthday suit. Yeah. And I'm still blaming Chico Lachowski for this. 

Now, we go back to the worry. Last day of school was yesterday. I know. And I'm like "why the hell am I not going sentimental all over this"? I mean, I just said goodbye not only to a great, great, great, great, great college life, but also to the decade-long education before university. Then my heart starts going a little too fast than its normal pace and I realize that in a matter of weeks/months/(hopefully not) years, I'd be entering the real world all of education has prepped us for. While all of this is happening, right, news goes and warns us of a 10.5 earthquake that could POSSIBLY hit our country (I repeat, it's a possibility). Others can shrug it off and say "if it happens, it happens", but I'm not like that. Seriously, the moment I heard this I couldn't sleep straight. So I've been constantly in prayer. We don't want to lose more lives, and to think we're still praying for Japan. And while all of this is happening, I'm worried sick about a subject I have and of the future jobs I'd be getting and of a place to stay in when I'm, say, 22 (I'm 21 now)....

So what I do is, I go---at night, to the park, sit myself down and think it all out. Here's the cheesy part: I'm sitting on a blue swing right, listening to whatever's on my iPod, and I look up and the moon's  looking back at me, perfect inside a frame of dark, dark leaves of a tree and then the wind brings you this summer night chill and you want to giggle at yourself cause you feel like it's all coming from some novel you've read and found on Tumblr, and then it hits you again...That freaking sound of your own voice, in a panic of what life and what is beyond life about to bring you in the next seconds... Then you calm yourself down again and laugh at yourself cause, honestly, you know you're starting to sound like a schizo. 

The moral of this post is that, we have come at an age where paying so close attention to what the latest news about you is, is just plain old useless. We're old. It's like that. We age, we grow and we start on a journey to close the latest, extremely tough and beautiful chapter of a young life. Up to this very moment, I'm still entering that Samuel Beckett kind of thinking and (yes, that's one reason why I picked up smoking...Sorry) I'm trying my hardest to be on top of it all. And to think, the future's still not here yet. It's only beginning. Hah. Well, what I'm surely happy and grateful of is that God has always had such great love for me and for the people around me. Even when things start to look so bothering, troubling and dark, we still get to experience those (not cheesy) great moments in between and it's not such a bad life at all.

It's really just like that.

More of these good bye posts---ones that are more straight to the heart, in the next days. As of now, I have put aside worrying cause I'm soooo sleepy.


- Gerard

Under the Weather

Well, someone looks miserable...It's the attempt...I ought to stop feeling like this.

Photo by Lesley Choa

I wrote this poem, for a story I'm working on and I had all the urges to pair it up with these photos, but had opted against it. Not only does the poem ring such a different sentiment from these ones I have---which, by the way, looks pretty miserable because I look miserable, but Lesley, nevertheless has done a splendid job, but I'm having "Under the Weather" syndromes: too lazy, too moody, too happy, too schizo...It's bad. And that's what they teach us in school, to be masters over our moods instead of being slaves to them, but you can't blame me for falling trap under such changing weathers. Last week (this picture was taken) was pretty cool, and then this week, it's starting to warm up for summer...Which is also one reason why I couldn't blog as much, aside from the work I have.

Hopefully this week or next, I'll start getting on steady blogging. I've been missing this too you know and it's my kind of therapy. 

This look, I really love. Well, I'm starting to love. If I tell you who inspired it, and if the person reads it, there's going to be a lot of trouble. So, this look I'll just say is inspired by someone from school. People who can't pick context clues well might call me copying, but that's so highschool. Anyway, I just remember waking up to this day, and the first thing that comes to mind is that person's one look. I loved it cause it really relaxed but at the same time spelled out a pretty cool attitude. And just like Henry Fielding's "Fashion is the science of appearance, and it inspires one with the desire to seem rather than to be", I'm not necessarily trying to be someone, but it's an attempt to emulate something that I admire from someone. Don't worry, you might've lost me there, I lost myself too. hahaha... But I really do like this look. Thanks to my favorite Uncle Ed for the nice hoodie/plaid shirt. You know, I never thought I'd be able to like these sort of hybrid clothing items, like a cardigan with a hood (that's still not something I'm open to), but this one I really like. Probably cause my uncle knows exactly what I want, sometimes knows better.

P.S. No more under the weather posts after this....I'll try... 

-Gerard

The Story Teller

This photo has always haunted me...
Paul Newman and this beautiful lady
And the results?

You know when days are just so beautiful and the things you see are just incredible that you feel like you're about to burst of inspiration? That was today...When it seemed like everything went for me....(that test, my History of Ideas test, wasn't one of them though)....

Even Laur Lim seemed to have molded well for my inspiration. Check the Institution of Style for our "couple" picture.

And finally....Here it is....

The best one we got, thank you to Lesley "Le Sizzle" Choa, who's always the patient, cool girl I love

That's a whistle...Guess what song?

Donald Duck the bag by Tj "Chort" Estrada

The "working man's" bracelet and the silver braided one from Tj "Chort" Estrada
Watch my great, Lolo Pete's
The rosary bracelet from LSM

It's not just Paul Newman's photo that figured well for me today...

It was that dream of my Lolo that visited me and influenced my sartorial choices for the day. The dream was happy, he was wearing something red and he was pointing at something that he told me he was waiting for. It seemed that when he'd visit me in my dreams he's always happy and wearing such memorable clothes, probably the reason why I've taken to loving the ones I've inherited from him more (this one I'm wearing is of course, part of that collection). And finally taking to school Tj Estrada's (as you know one of my bestest friends) birthday gift for me two years ago, the Donald Duck bag proved an amazing hit and an unexpected bit for my outfit. People loved it and I loved it even more because it had a story, one that was special for me since Tj knew exactly what I had wanted and knew that there was nothing like it out there. The bracelets too are from him...

And after seeing how our photos (meaning Laur and Mine's and of course, Lesley's masterpieces) told so much---at least for me, I realized that great relationships make great style too...

Of course, it's not my whole claim to fame, that I have great style, but I guess what I'm trying at is a conclusion that when clothes are storied well with great people as makers, givers and simply other people who have the same value for style, clothes aren't just for keeping you warm or cool or decent or even about fashion per se...They become like amazing Penguin Classics, bound by fantastic paper, worded with elegant writing and stories worth leafing through over and over again...

Too sappy? Well, that's life... So far, my favorite post for this blog...

Dedicated to my late great Grandfather, Lesley the master lensman, Laur the "quirky" half of our "quirky" couple and of course, Tj, one among my bestest, most promising tastemaker friends ever...

NOW, I can sleep well. (hahaha).

-Gerard

(Not) So Moody

This is because Joel, Cindy, Jonas, Jamie D. made me smile...They're great people 

All photographs by Aaron Articulo

Jordan, looking all big and handsome

Donald...Still my favorite Disney character

This by the way is Maximilian, the bag...

The Clydes...And I remember Paolo Ramos telling me the more beat-up it is, the "junky-er" it gets. And I like it a lot

It's the all-black, monochromatic look, which I love doing on days that demand much from me. Usually, it's like that...When I feel like I have more free time in my hands, I let my mood take me to dressier looks (and this is in personal, relative context), but when there's pretty much a lot to do, it's going realer for me. Which is probably why I love that look number 30 from Jil S. I remember telling Tj that I can't go out wearing just a shirt, a white shirt to be very specific, but after some bit of moody realization, I suddenly wanted to go simpler than usual (I know, others wouldn't be fans of it, but that's style and that's what makes it nice). 

After seeing everything that's on my plate, I badly wanted to just wake up one day, extra early and shop for food, good books and bring my super close friends with me to take them to a beach...I know it's awfully so young and escapist, ala Where The Wild Things Are to an extent, but I've been haunted by it...The idea of letting things go and never coming back afraid, is oh so romantic and taken from the pages of novels...

I guess I have to admit to myself that these moods of mine are pretty much lording over me and at 21 years old, it's a bit unforgivable. That's why, I choose  face things...I mean, we all have to. All the pressure of school, work and everything else that fits so perfectly in between are slowly pulling at my strings and soon, I just might come incredibly undone...

Then again, I get over the feeling. When it comes to personal troubles, ones that don't involve matters of the heart (you know what I mean), I give myself time and space to feel things, feel bothered, feel afraid, feel weak and confused and hurt and hateful, and then when I've maxed it out, I let it go, sleep things off and wake up, a pinch more aware of what things should be and what really matters...

And that's Philippine Historiography, two mid-terms this week, catching the rerun of my play, FREE HUG and a pretty tensing meeting scheduled next Thursday, somewhere in Pasong Tamo extension... As for tonight, well, I feel better, just because I've given myself the luxury of coming undone without ever looking like a mess and actually being one...How it's done? I honestly don't know...Maybe dressing the part helps...Not that it's about dressing like a mess, but rather, unconsciously letting the mood pick the look...

For me, it works just fine. 

P.S. I'm such a silly person. As you can see above, I've given my stuff names, just so that I take care of them better...Hey, judge me all you want, but for me they turn out such huge advantages...And Jordan and Maximilian know that. (hahaha...if one day they'd talk, those things I own with baptized names, I'm certain that I'm crazy).

-Gerard

Comfortable

The original, fat one

The fake, slim one

Photos by Aaron Articulo

Today I was supposed to wear something else...But as the day progressed and the weather had thankfully allowed for it, I went for this loungey, slightly careless  sweater look (inspired by Lounge Acts on DETAILS and Dolce & Gabbana's Spring 2011 looks)  and the result seemed quite flattering in person but the other way around on photos.

See, that's the disadvantage of going for a bigger size of trousers. Usually, when I do buy jeans at TOPMAN, and they're skinny, I go for a size bigger...The difference is that they cut well when it gets below the knee and then it's a little baggy up top, which is why the crotch is kinda awkward and makes my already healthy thighs, all the meatier (because the meatier, the merrier). But the better (actually best) part about wearing size-bigger jeans is that it's so comfortable you could f-ing sleep in them. They may not make your legs look as long and lean as an underwear model's, but you'd be hassle-free... and imagine the burden of worrying about random veins, just choking cause your jeans are too tight. I remember wearing good quality skinny jeans on a flight from Manila to (swallow now) the US and by the time I got off at Detroit, I had totally forgotten about the feeling of having legs and being able to walk in them. 

And maybe you might be saying I'm just so pathetic that I'm actually justifying a bad pair of pants, and you know I wish I had skinnier legs, but I actually love the photos and I don't mind it looking all meaty and what have you. Besides, I'm quite old now so matters of image have lessened on my "to-bother-with" list (but it doesn't mean that I don't AT ALL care about my looks. I do, I just put them second. hahaha)...If this had been me years ago I'd start killing myself, but hey, I felt great in that outfit. Oh, and since I told the Aaron Articulo  that my legs were ginormous, he told me he'd edit them...Just for fun. So, here they are. The original, meaty pair and the fake, skinny pair. I love them both, but I love my face the most (smug).

The lesson about style and confidence really does take you a long way. I mean, there are looks offered on the runway that are painful to look at, but there are people who have balls and are able to pull them off, looking like the world was in fact theirs to conquer. And I love it when people bring themselves well, even if they don't have all the goods for it. It says so much about a person who's comfortable with him/herself. For me, one of the most attractive traits about any person is the  ability to make a joke out of him or herself. It's sexy because it measures---for a better, more visual analogy, like a well-worn t-shirt, or how junkie old sneakers fit so perfect on you that even when they look like crap, you just don't want to trade them up. That, takes a certain self-confidence too to pull off, which entails being able to carry one's sefl well and in great humor and most of all a full awareness of the self, right? It's not being self-depracating, but it's about humility and knowing one's self that sort of makes it all so sexy and brilliant and worth admiring.

Not that I'm trying to be sexy, but I'm doing my best to be humble...In all aspects, you know. I guess that's the reason why girls who, say, have a crush on Robert Pattinson are dying everytime they see him it's because he has that "open" trait about him that gives the man a steady stream of young love. It's nice to be comfortable in one's own skin, even when it sounds all so preachy and tiring, but you can't tire of the truth. Right?

And as a last photo for the day, before I head back to reading for Film Theory and trying to do Bottega Veneta justice, here's another photo, which I like just as much as I do the first REAL one.

The "pacute" pigeon feet style

Them suede shoes...

Which BTW, looks perfect with the pale blue of my jeans and sweater

Credit goes to the master of dreamy photography, I'd like to call him my own "McDreamy" hahaha...OR, well, Camilla Akrans, Mr. Aaron "AA" Articulo...And he always takes the dreamiest photos...Duhh...

-Gerard

Fever 50

photo by Lesley "Le Sizzle" Choa

Jack Kerouac

Neil Cassady (white t-shirt) and Allen Ginsberg (middle)

So during the holidays and while it's still an on-going fascination, the 50s has not only proved that it's back (in style of course) but it's also giving me the biggest fever I've had in ages. Suddenly, all I think about now is the 50s, the 50s, the 50s, what they'd wear in the 50s, what they'd smoke in the 50s, what language they used in the 50s, and why the hell did I ever leave my 20s behind?

I tell myself it's a phase, cause I'm quite the pathetic type, you know? The kind that when it's all I ever think about I let it consume me until I'm tired of it and I tell myself, well, you've felt how it is to go Gatsby, now it's time for some Kerouac. It reads like a pretentious kid trying to write instead of just writing...But hey, I'm honest like that. I guess it's all the movies I've been watching lately, thanks to Film Class, the magazines, the books, fashion...And you have to ask yourself, even when you're not as open or easily swayed as I am, why is it that at certain times we resurrect certain pasts and fall in love with them? I'm staying as close to the things I believe I understand such as fashion and film....Like suddenly Howl (which by the way is the core of this fascination with the 50s...well, at least one of the biggest factors) and other era-inspired shows like the super sleek Mad Men... Fashion I see is turning 50s too... Or maybe not, but the idea is that our times have been incredibly open to looking back at the past, loving it maybe because we see in it the present...Don't you think? I've never lived in the jazzy, dizzying 20s or the smoking, paired-down 50s (and the Beat generation I've always heard in Western Literature class) to say that sure today, it's just like those times...but there has to be something about them that we find so addictive, so important that they're worth the reliving...

And while we leave those daunting questions slightly unanswered, I finally pinned down the all-important Ms. Lesley Choa for a photo of myself. hahaha...That sounded crappy...So, the inspiration behind this look, aside from my mood, was the colors I've constantly seen in Howl...It's mostly olive green, navy blue, brown like the ones from those handsome tortoise shell glasses, mustard yellow and they're all so very masculine, poetic even and for some reason, romantic. The shirt is from my grandfather's, the man whose style I will always admire and place as a touchstone...And yeah, it's a 50s inspired look and I'm pretty much in love with it now....Who knows what I'll be wearing tomorrow...

But you do have to admit, Allen Ginsberg, makes perfect, perfect sense here:

"The weight of the world is love. Under the burden of solitude, under the burden of dissatisfaction." ----Allen Ginsberg 

And that's one of the reasons why I'm mad about my course (meaning madly in love) and mad about the olden times...

-Gerard

The Smile

I really, really like this photo....It's real candid and really nice.

I rarely go out to party and when I do, I always pull that smile, that awkward, unflattering smile that would always pop up on all the photos I have.

If it's not that smile, it's the pout, which I think does me better.

If it's not the pout, it's me talking with my hands somewhere near my face...I love my hands and maybe that says a lot and why they always figure into a photo.

Point is, Josine Protasio's birthday celebration was amazing. For someone like me who rarely goes to things like these, it means a lot when I say it was that amazing. Thank you to her!

Enjoy checking out pictures of me and my hot girl friends...which includes Tj of course.

Photos courtesy of Bella.

-Gerard