Fashion Friday: The Jean Jacket

In a jean jacket and spiral perm, my aunt looks away. The conversation between my great uncle and grandmother doesn't interest her anymore.

The Bible On Cassette

We have many copies of the Bible in our house. Most are stamped with the addresses of the churches my mother took them from. She believed in blessing each room with one, open to her favorite passages. She was secretly hoping that with so many open bibles, I'd have to look down and start reading. Then I'd succumb to their holy power. When she was sick, I drove her to church every Sunday and would mouth the words to the songs, just to fit in. While I refused to get baptized, she was glad that I was under God's roof for a short time.

For a while she believed that blasting Christian radio sermons through the house would make it holy. I found it impossible to tune out the monologues about armageddon. It was a kind of sound torture, my mother must have known. We came to a truce. She then only listened to Chinese talk radio. I'm thankful that she never blasted the Bible on cassette tape and only littered the house with the books. 

The Survival Kit

Clockwise from the upper left: yarn rope made from a homemade loom (popsicle sticks glued on a toilet paper roll), Hello Kitty whistle, Hello Kitty origami paper, Sergio Valente zipper wallet, The Little Red Hen book with lenticular cover, Hello Kitty wind-up clip, Hello Kitty stamp, mushroom sticker dispenser, Goropikadon band-aids, Sanrio Vaudeville Duo band-aids, plastic letter stencil, glitter puffy paint, Hello Kitty gumball hair band.

When I'd come home for the holidays, I found it reassuring that I still had all my Hello Kitty crap and the Little Twin Star suitcase. It seems wrong that no one had made me get rid of these things and that as thirty something I could still "play" with them. As a kid, I put only the most important things in there. In the event I had to pick up and go, I'd have band-aids (two sets), reading material (The Little Red Hen), and something to sit on (yarn circular pad). 

I had never experienced natural disaster or political upheaval, but growing up Californian the earthquake preparedness drills at school must have really left an impression on me. Why else was I always assembling emergency kits? I made one for a wicker basket that had playing cards, marbles, vials of glitter, and Wrigley's Spearmint chewing gum. The glitter would be purely for aesthetic value and the cards entertainment. But gum was going to save my life! In the event I was stranded in a trench caused by an earthquake, I'd use the foil gum wrapper to signal passing planes for help. 

Music Monday: Grandpa's Records, Bag #1

I found three bags of vinyl in my grandfather's box. Here's the first bag. I'll post more music on Mondays.

Bag #1

The feathered hair and a tilted "come hither" glance on what looks like a Chinese rollerderby queen.

It's the one record you need for birthdays and weddings. "Happy Birthday" is on Side A and "Wedding March" on Side B. 

It's a birthday cake and a handsome bride and groom. 

The Kingdom And The Beauty, the official soundtrack to the film. No, I've never heard of it either. 

The Romeo and Juliet soundtrack. "A Time For Us" was internationally loved.

"Around the World With Whistling Jack". Jack made an entire album of just whistling! I suppose whistling was the beatboxing of an earlier era. This could be very dangerous torture music if left on repeat.

Answer to Mystery Object #5

It wasn't hard to figure out (I need to start making these harder) but Mystery Object #5 is gummy bracelets! We officially called them Goomies back then. Thanks Michelle for being the first to guess!  

This chain of goomies was originally five times the length. They've unravelled over the years but I've clung to them because of their neon-like colors and my slight guilt associated with them. During a childhood summer I spent in Taiwan my grandmother sent me to her distance niece's house to learn the abacus (no joke). I had never met this niece and her family, but she taught the abacus for extra income. My cousin and I went for a full day of tutorials when I noticed that one of her kids was playing with a giant pile of goomies. Apparently this family was also in toy exporting, but the toys were the flimsy, plastic Made In Taiwan in the 80s kind. Their were nothing like my die-cast metal robots or pricey video games. I had been pretty spoiled with our toys in the states. I asked if I could have a few goomies and ended up taking a giant chain. I was thrilled. These were coveted by the girls at school! 

They weren't the softer goomies that I had at home. They were hard plastic and retained the last shape they were bent, which was not desirable (see above photo). And they scratched. But I took them just because I could. When we got home I got in trouble with my grandmother for asking for so many. I also didn't remember know how to use the abacus. 

Fashion Friday: Movie Star

In this photograph it looks like the movie star is making her rounds, meeting her fans. 

I've always thought that my mother looked like a movie star. I suppose that's something women say about their mothers because your mom is your first example of what a beautiful woman should look like. When my mother was young she was often approached by film industry people who wanted her to model or act. My grandfather was deeply against it. In Taiwan in the 60s, being an actor was akin to being a prostitute. She never told me if being a moviestar interested her but she'd relay the story to prove that she was indeed more beautiful than others and that her looks deeply affected her life. 

My mother insisted that being beautiful was a blessing and a curse. She was able to charm my dad  and always had admirers. But there was a dark side. She grew up bullied by classmates. In junior high her peers trashed her things and taunted her. No one wanted to be friends with a beautiful girl. It's too much of a threat.

When my father was still alive my parents had neighborhood friends, other couples from Taiwan with whom they frequently ate out and played mahjong. My parents made weekly social calls and went to house parties where the men talked about hi-fi equipment over basketball games and the women gossiped in the kitchen. After my father passed away no one called my mother any more. It was odd at first but she understood. She was a free agent, a beautiful one that nobody wanted near their husband. While my mother just wanted the company of friends to fill her days, she was shunned and heartbroken. It was a familiar feeling and she knew exactly why. 

Mystery Object #5

Know what this is? Tangles of rainbow hair perhaps? Leave your guesses in the comments. First correct response gets a vintage travel postage from the garage! (The garage has seen the world, yo.)

Autumn Sweater

A pink forest is growing in my chest. The leaves have blown away and the pond has turned yellow.

Today I'm wearing a theme sweater from my mother's collection. Sleeveless and made of cotton, it's a light summer sweater that I'm transitioning into fall with a turtleneck. Next to the PANDAmonium and Urban Christmas, it's one of my more wearable favorites. The best sweaters are the ones that tell a story. 

Do you have a favorite sweater?