EAVESDROPPING

Sometimes there's humor, wisdom, compassion, or some other gem in the conversations of others that make you stop and smile, reflect, or remember to appreciate the little things. I hope to collect as many of them as I could through my inadvertent eavesdropping and share them here. So far, it goes a little something like this.

Dad at home on phone with friend - "Just 'cause they're rich doesn't mean they're happy. If they have millions but it's still not enough, they're not happy, you see. I don't have a lot of money, but I have enough to live. I am happy."

Stranger crossing Grand Ave. on 7th St. in DTLA - "YOU GOT A BIG BUTT FOR A SMALL GIRL!"

2 Cavs fans while watching ESPN - Me: "When did Kobe start playing? " Fan 1: "I don't know, man. We don't care. Nineteen ninety-something?" Fan 2: "Nineteen ninety-rape."

2 random men at a gas station somewhere along our road trip through the US (about me) - Man 1: "Boy or girl?" Man 2: [Looks me up and down.]

Security guard at National Portrait Gallery in DC (to me) - "Excuse me, sir."

Happy hump day.

THE DANISH GIRL

We finally got around to watching The Danish Girl last night and I can't comment on how head over heels I was for the costume design without first acknowledging the incredible performances by Alicia Vikander and Eddie Redmayne. The character portrayals were so raw, they were spilling. With V-day less than a week away (not that it matters), I think us lovers out there could take a tip or two from the story of these pure hearts. Their love was crushing, yet so tender. So vulnerable. So deep.

Now what of the costumes? Absolutely exquisite. While the premise was focused more so on the transformation of Einar Wegener into Lili Elbe,  I was particularly smitten with his wife Gerda's style and couldn't help but notice the costume changes from scene to scene. From her smock jacket and matching midi skirt to her oversized robe and dainty night gown to her Gatsby-esque frocks, the costume designer Paco Delgado nails his vision with masterful execution. Let's just end by saying it was visually stunning. 

SAIGON 1950s-1960s

My grandparents, back in the day. These photos were taken over a span of 20 years in and around Saigon, including in their home and in the highlands of Da Lat. From stories told, my mother's parents were of the bourgeois class and lived a pretty high life of societal envy. They owned a car and motorbikes, holidayed all around the country, had outfits for days, and help around the house. Their quality of life was starkly in contrast with that of my father's and his parents' who grew up rather impoverished.

My grandfather never left home dressed as anything but a gentlemen, always in pressed trousers and chemise, an optional tie, and loafers. Not to mention, a pack of cigarettes ready to go at all times. He took up smoking as a teenage boy until the day he was diagnosed at 80-something with a heart condition. 

I never realized my grandmother had white hair until she decided no longer to dye it. By then, I was already in my 20s. She was always very feminine. A touch of lipstick here, a dab of eau de parfum there, her hair always curled, an influence that carried with her from the days of French Indochina. Without those virtues, one was hard-pressed to capture her on film.