meet my new girlfriend

(sing to the tune of Copacabana) Her name is Nona. She is a show girl.

Chos.

This somehow looks like a still from an Alfred Hitcock movie.
I like! :) I heart Hitch. (self-portrait trial at the
rainbow reading room / December 2011)

We look good together, 'no?

Heehee. Yes, I have a personal relationship with inanimate objects. However, I am bad at naming them. Like my male-bodied queer friend has a new car and he named it Kevin. Imaginative. Me, I have a new laptop and I named it Pilak, Filipino for silver because, er, it's colored silver... So imagine what my old copper-colored laptop is named. Not Tanso, but... Copper. Copper Cantor. Hehe. Well, this is the first time I'm naming a camera, so well... Nona. Hehe. Because it's Canon. Labo.

Well hello zoom, we meet again. Play nice. Behave. And heed to my instructions only. And we're gonna be just fine...

This one was a personal struggle. For quite a while, I've resisted owning a digital SLR since my first wifey, my Minolta SLR with the Vivitar telephoto lens, is still around...but not handy anymore. Ah, Minolta, we've been through a lot. She has seen me struggle with my undergraduate thesis film in the '90s and saw me through it. She was ever loyal by my side when I started becoming a professional in the world of showbiz then in the world of literature then in the world of journalism up until the world of freelance writing. We've photographed events graced by three Philippine presidents and hence that ugly, ugly hard-to-remove "Presidential Security Group inspected" neon stickers on her body. We've photographed indigenous peoples up north of the Philippines and we've photographed future political rabble rousers down south of the country. We've photographed interestingly unknown Filipinos and we've shot uninteresting celebrities as well. We've climbed mountains, been in beaches, and covered Pride Marches since the time I transitioned from being cisgendered/semi-questioning to femme lesbian to genderqueer. But as with time, functions fade and services wither, and she has been dormant and quiet for years now. Just there, but never forgotten.

Hello depth of field, where have you been all these years? I missed you immensely.

So ever since, we've been having this open relationship and she has permitted me to fulfill my desires with others because she can't perform the role anymore. Hence, my wonderful trysts with two point-and-shoot Nikon cuties. They served me well.

But now, no more flings. It's time for a serious commitment. And hence, this (monogamous) marriage (for now...).

Chos!!!!!! :)

Don't mind me, I'm just high on chocolate covered malt balls.

Mighty fine capturing of details I initially thought wasn't possible
in digital technology. I was reared on celluloid film, after all --
both the still photo 35mm format and motion picture 16mm format.
Film "purist" no more. Democratizing image capturing is the shitz!

Well, it was either this or a backpacking trip out of the country during this time of the year when it's best to be out of the country (Ah, Xmas in the P.I.? That's another blogpost!). I'm glad I chose well. As a superfriend said, I should buy first what I need to have immediately in my life right now. No questions asked on what that is. Priorities. That trip can wait.

And man, am I ever so glad that the universe is watching! I seriously thought I would end this year on an unhappy note and usher in an even unhappier one. But there really are times when you just throw things up in the air and yes, they fall into place eventually. That's when good karma points earned will help glue those pieces strongly. And here we are.

Thank you, universe. Thank you goddesses for looking after me. Artemis, you rock!!!!

Now let's use this baby well!

To quote Rick in Casablanca, "I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship!"