Fakeup

"The best thing is to look natural, but it takes makeup to look natural."
- Calvin Klein

Mild Words

Today is a sunny day
and no amount of flipping
through a thesaurus
could change the intensity
of the sun for a thousand years.

You can recite
how the incandescence shrivels
the cutis so dry you can't squeeze
any sweat, sense nor sensation from it,
not even if you force a sob like a swan
with your back arched and hands
clenched over the chest,
keeping a perfect alignment
and rhythmic breathing.

Your performance does
not make the day any clearer.
They left you and I leave
you my mild words
suited for soothing
and say, today is a sunny day.

A Taxing Hobby

Our country is not exactly at the forefront when it comes to doll collecting. Barbie dolls were used to be manufactured here during the 80's but that's history. Others can quickly retort and suggest to resort to online shopping. Online shopping is a notion that hasn't caught on here...to me especially. Nothing can compare to inspecting the merchandise as closely as possible before a purchase.

Local distributors are not helpful either. The doll aisle is filled with passé items and they are not even on sale! Fashion Fever dolls from 2007 can still be bought here at their regular price. New items takes months before it reaches our country and by that time, they are no longer new. Case in point, the Barbie Fashionistas just last week reached selected local toy stores. The buzz on these dolls have died down since the introduction of the Barbie Basic Black series. Plus, there's nothing to buzz about Fashionistas other than their body but how many people in our country can perform a head swap?  The only thing that surprised me is that the Artsy doll is being sold here. Honestly, this is the first African-American Barbie doll I've seen sold in local toy stores.

I'd like to wish that the Fashionistas gets sold out. This could mean that our country is a good market for dolls, hence more dolls can be sold here. I can only wish, not hope. A major deterrent to me in buying these dolls locally is the price tag. They are being sold here for around PhP900. I got mine from Australia through a friend for PhP505. Even if local stores will have it on sale with 20% off, I still got a better deal with my friend buying abroad. (She doesn't charge me for shipping.)

I remember ranting about how the prices of dolls here are a lot higher, around 40% higher. The shipping costs per piece should drop if shipping in bulk. Plus, our country is nearer to China so I would assume that the shipping costs would be less. I was thinking what other charges are being passed on to hobbyists. Only one word came to mind. Tax.

I really don't know what taxes have been compounded with the price but the idea of the good money I'm paying going to the pockets of our corrupt officials is really sad. So sad, I'm in no mood to further explain.