Nebraska Jones

I've been labelled many things in my life. I've been dissected and picked apart and put in narrow categories. They focus on the parts they want to and they toss the irrelevant qualities in me so that I fit snug into what they perceive me to be. Along with everyone else. 

The process, although irritating and biased, happens to everyone and I'm sure by most people. It cannot be helped for it is in the natural function of humans to define things that are unknown. 

But take caution to this process because it is cowardly and lazy.

Stereotyping is the wikipedia of human judgement. It's often wrong or over simplified but it is a great starting point. Unfortunately and fortunately we are too complex for our character to be condensed into a summary. We are meant to be analyzed over and over again. Sometimes we do not have a pattern, we are not consistent, we are not simple, we are not concise in who we are, and we are not meant to be known in only a few conversations. We do not have a formula.

We are just as beautifully abstract as much as we are cultivated physical echoes of who we really are. 

We do not know people, they do not know us, and we can never say that we ever will. But if we are given permission, we can find the hidden words that fall in between the cracks of another's lips, of things still waiting to be said. We can dance in their day dreams and play with their realities. And we can even live in their lives and them in ours.

We are all beautiful.

Vibrance

Rib Fest 2014

I'm not sure if this will become an annual visit but it certainly is giving me something to do in the summer other than sleeping all day. 

This year I actually ate the ribs at Rib Fest. 

But I did not neglect the corn.

Graduation

I hate graduations. It is the hub for generic half hearted motivational speeches and generous plugs to impersonal anecdotes. "I remember the first day of school" will be found in all teacher edited speeches following after a quote.

Anyway, I went to one, the ceremony wasn't as exciting as the idea of graduation.

IM GOOD AT THINGS

Bleached

Punta Cana: Catamaran

Here are a few shots that I took on some of the last days on my trip.

 Sad and sunburned.

Punta Cana: Gardiner

I don't spend as much time as I would like to with my father's side of the family. They don't live close by and they're side of the family isn't as a big as what I'm used to. My father has one brother and one sister which is a big contrast to my mother's nine other siblings.

I am reminded that as much as I am a piece of my mother I am also my father's daughter. 

Here's my beautiful family.

 Uncle. Grandma. Dad.

Punta Cana: A Beautiful Day For A Wedding

I've been in the Dominican for the past week for my cousins wedding. My family and I walked around the five star resort my cousin was staying at and where they held the ceremony. Here are a few shots I took while there.

  

 And of course I had to do a photoshoot with my father.

 He's a natural.

New Toys: Zara City Bag

Despite my apathetic relationship to all my material things, I still feel the need to name them. A personal touch to my possessions so I can claim them because I know them by name. Ridiculous, I know. However this beautiful Zara bag will be unnamed (except from the company who designed it and obviously has the right to name her creations). 

World, my new school bag.

Getting Old: Lipstick

Good news is I have genes that make me look years younger than I am. Bad news is that I look like I'm  12. I will be grateful come 30 years when I still look like I've had eight glasses a day from the fountain of youth my whole life but first impressions are not my forte. 

I follow the same rule for everyone I first meet. I always reach out for the handshake first without any hesitation. I grin, lock eyes, and introduce myself, never forgetting the firm handshake. My tactics still do not ward off my "little girl" impression. At one point I introduced myself to a client I was interviewing and she replied with, "Oh, aren't you so cute."

 So I've developed three four tricks that have never let me down. 

Lipstick. Blazer. Heels. Midi.
(We'll get to other another time)

Lipstick is for drama. Currently I go back and forth Dangerous and Ruby Woo from MAC.

 Dangerous is a tangy matte red that's a fresh colour for summer. I've been wearing it with simple and monochromatic outfits to spice things up.

Ruby Woo is, dare I say, the perfect matte red that I have seen yet. I've seen multiple women wear this colour and it always looks flawless on their skin. It's a deep red so it's not as vibrant compared to Dangerous but I know for sure I will be wearing this out for years to come. 

Butter

Green Tea

Decided to finally try my face masks. This one in particular is from a The Face Shop and promises to heavily moisturize and "energize" the skin. 

A Year Later

A new pair of glasses.

They're Dolce and Gabbana.

Supply And Demand

I have very good skin. In fact, my skin has never given me any problems. Ever. I never noticed this when I was younger despite being in my delicate pubescent years when mini greasy-white-topped mounds began polka dotting on my friends' faces. People have only pointed it out later when the spike of new acne growth started to die and acne became more familiar and thus easier to control. To people's surprise I don't use any cosmetics to moisture, treat, exfoliate, or tone my face. I actually don't even wash it. 

However, I grew up eager to apply a ghastly green paste on my face like romantic comedy heroins would. But to my dismay, and although I am grateful for having skin that's so low maintenance, I never needed to.  

So I opted for buying face masks anyway for the sake of the self satisfaction I get from going out of my way to take care of myself. But because they're unnecessary and my skin does well on its own, I've had an uncomfortable difference of supply and demand. Too much supply for skin that's not so demanding. 

Plus, I'm a sucker for packaging and of course I have to try every single one even though they don't cater to my skin type.

ROM

Despite residing in the heart of the city for almost a year I still haven't fully seen Toronto as much as I would like to. My friend from Montreal came to visit recently and I was forced to participate in touristy activities to ensure an enjoyable and educational stay. Sometimes it takes someone from out of town to help you see what your town actually looks like. 

I use my Canon Rebel T31 too take photos. This was me attempting to use my friend's Nikon.

Later on in the day we visited the cobble stoned streets of the Distillery District, stopping to have some food from The Sweet Escape Patisserie.