Into the wild

I just finished watching Into the Wild, a movie directed by Sean Penn. Many thoughts run through my mind as I write this. I had read the book several months ago and fell in love with it inmediately.

Although I'm more in tune with my mellow side on my day to day life, there is a part of me that knows some of the best things in life will not be found anywhere you can ride your car without any effort. I guess, like with everything in my life, I go through cycles. While I enjoy spending my nights at home, knitting, reading, drinking chamomille and writing, there is this urge that I can't really control (it may go away as unexpectedly as it arrives) to get out of my usual comfort zone. In the seeemingly masochistic act that renouncing to showers, hot food and a comfortable bed might be, there are great rewards to be found. Moreover, I don't think the insightful experiences one goes through when 'out in the wild' could ever be found without this uncomfortableness. It's not only about nature, it's also about leaving behind those things that make us fall into a dream-like state.

I'm not radical on this. I could never be like Chris McCandless, yet, I still think life becomes a whole different experience when one can appreciate sunsets in a deserted mountain or wake up in a cold morning next to a lake. Spend an afternoon on your own on a nearby forest or lake, its too easy to just sit and wait for days to pass.

I'm starting to feel the urge to get my backpack back on my shoulders, at least for a few days. I'll let you know if I decide to go away.

Meanwhile I'm spending my days in the park nearby my house, watching Iago run around in a mad happiness. Oh... and thrifting.

Will show my finds in next post.

By the way, I recommend reading the book more than I do watching the movie. The book is full of great insights by the writer that could, of course, not be captured on screen. Still, the movie is beautiful. Watch it if you get a chance.

This is not a love song

(Long distance relationships are hard. I don't feel like going into detail today, maybe I will tomorrow.)

So tonight I'm going dancing with some friends. This is what I'll be wearing. My friends are taking too long to arrive, so I'm using this opportunity to snap a quick and painless outfit-photo. They are coming to my house first. It's already half past twelve and they are not here, so I guess it will be a late night this time.

A cigarette and a beer will do me good tonight.

(I'm sorry if the photo effects bother you. I hope they don't. I just discovered them so they are fun to use)

After Hours

Being away for so long - it has been almost two months - made me think about the reasons why I started blogging in the first place. Going through some of my favorite blogs I can see different motives why people do so themselves. There are the creative and artistic bloggers, the look-what-I-just-found bloggers, the help-me-decide-an-outfit-between-all-these-options ones, the blogging-as-a-healing-process, the I blog as a way to gain more security on my unorthodoxal style sense.

So, why do I blog? I'm not quite sure if I fit into any of those categories, in fact, I'd say most people fit into more than one of those descriptions.

What is it about for me?

I'm a pretty outgoing person in 'real' life, yet I can't seem to get rid of this feeling of loneliness that I foster. I guess it's because my social persona filters a lot of my insecurities, dreams and contradictions and presents what she believes is a more appealing and interesting version of me.

I have read in a lot of blogs people saying that bloggers act and present themselves differently than in real life. I don't believe this means they are 'faking' the image they present to the anonimous world that is the web, on the contrary, I think blogging gives people the opportunity to experience and experiment with that side of themselves that they usually hide for various reasons. Is the self that you present on your blog more or less real than the one you show to the people you deal with on regular basis? I don't think its neither. I have always been a firm believe that there is nothing such a set and established self, but rather, different aspects of each person manifest in different opportunities.

In that way, I love the opportunity that this blog gives me. It gives me the opportunity to share a part of myself that I usually keep to myself and in that way, get to know who I am in a deeper sense.

Thank you all for the comments. A lot has happened in this month a half - lots of important decisions, I'll hopefully get to them eventually. I think my favorite item for this winter are my red tights. Also, taking this photograph makes me realize what a mess my bookshelf is. Hopefully now that finals are ending I'll have time to fully clean and reorganize my room.

(currently listening to: Kleider - La Capital)

This is not good-bye

Well... It was bound to happen at some point. A few days ago, my digital camera (which wasn't very good to begin with), decided it was time to call it quits.

We've had a short but nice life together - she said - I jus't don't feel there's anything new we can give each other. Its time to go separate ways...

The funny thing is... This wasn't a total shocker. Things hadn't been going great lately between us and I was doing things I certainly felt guilty about. I wasn't really cheating, but I can't admit I hadn't been tempted. Maybe she had already realized what those late nights I spent looking at her meant. Maybe she realized my dissapointed looks whenever I looked at the photos and felt... well, that this wasn't going to be able to go for much longer. In that case, I understand, she wanted to leave proudly, instead of slowly fading into oblivion.

Bottomline is, she's gone. So this blog will have to be on indefinite hiatus until I manage to get my hands on that other camera I mentioned. It should'nt be so long since I've got quite a good editing jobs I'm working at right now that don't make me feel exploited.

I envy bloggers who can keep blogs up with inspirational posts, or presenting beautiful collection of photographys they find online, but I guess that's just not me. The intention of this blog was... well, to share different bits and pieces of my life, and the lack of a digital camera certainly complicates that equation.

I'll still make sure to check my favorite blogs regularly and to keep discovering new ones, and to let everyone know when I'm posting again.

Lots of love, J.

wandering in white

Although I'll be really busy the next following days, I didn't want to leave the blog on its own, all left alone...

So here's an interesting video. A friend of mine is moving to New York to study film direction in a couple of days, and he did a video with fragments of his first three shorts. I was in his first one, so that's me, the girl in white wandering through an abandoned street.

Shooting it was a beautiful experience. Although I don't have the full video, I thought it would be fun to share this. You can't really see it, but where I'm walking is actually located in front of an amazing beach in Lima. It used to be one of the fanciest places to hang out when my father was younger, a place to see and be seen. Nevetheless, because its hard to reach there, it became extremly dangerous during the almost two decades my country spent under the opression and fear of both terrorists and military forces alike.

Now it is pretty abandoned. It never really recovered from those dark times. Yet, it is one of my favorite places in the city, it looks decadent and fascinating. Like time froze. My friend lives in the building right above where I was walking, he has one of the most fascinating views in Lima for next to nothing.

In the cold, cold night

El clima empieza a cambiar en Lima y la neblina y el frio cada vez mas intensos, hacen que andar por las calles convierta instantes cotideanos en pequeños fragmentos de historias de nostalgia. Tardes cada vez mas oscuras, segundos que se alargan con el frio colandose por cada descuido que dejamos en nuestro atuendo.

Siempre me gusto el invierno, siempre preferí el frio, hay una parte mia que no encuentro en las epocas de calor que empieza a manifestarse cuando baja la temperatura. ¿Será por eso que esta falda, aunque de verano, solo se me antoja en el invierno? Quizá la delgadez de su tela no corresponde con como me hace sentir.

Winter is really here. Finally. Winter and the fog that always comes along with it are making my daily night walks become lovely nostalgic moments. Afternoons end sooner everyday, and every moment feels longer, as the cold air finds its way to reach bits of our skin we left uncovered in an unaware moment.

I have always prefered the winter. Could it be right to say I'm more of a winter person? I don't know, yet as the temperature gets colder, I start to rediscover parts of myself that seem to have been asleep during the warmer months.


I guess my life goes in an opposite direction as that of some animals. A part of me goes to sleep during the summer, awakening to enjoy the beautiful winter.


Winter means spending more time at home. And I love to stay at home, and drink some chamomile while listening to my dad's old vynils.

The skirt was made by yours truly. Its has three segments and velvet strips that divide them. There are little pleats over the velvet strips that my camera is unfortunately not good enough to zoom in.

The funny thing is, its a summer skirt. Yet I haven't worn it once during the summer.

Maybe something about it goes better with my winter personality?

Relooking: - The Denim Jacket -

I remember commenting a few weeks ago in somebody's post about denim jackets. Apparently they are the new item everyone is wearing. I don't know... what I do remember saying was that I felt it was a trend I wasn't going to apply to my own personal style. I just... I can't really explain it, but denim jackets don't seem to work on me.

I know, they look great on so many other people. As I commented before on this blog, I don't really follow trends much, so I don't think I could give you the scoop on who is wearing what and how. Something I do know about this trend, though, is that you are supposed to wear them big, washed out and vintage.

I did everything wrong, its tailored, dark and brand new. Yet, I love it.

I think the belt at the bottom makes it look a little bit like a biker's jacket, which is great. I need things like this to take the 'princess' vibe out of some of my outfits.

After a very crazy week, things are finally settling back to normal. I was exhausted and severely sleep deprived.

Its funny though, taking the stress aside, I'm amazed with my career. I love it so much it actually feels wrong to call it that. Reading for my exams, discussing the lectures... I feel like I coulnd't be any luckier. Studying philosophy... well, sometimes it feel so right it makes me feel guilty.

Es curioso, pues a veces me he quejado de lo difícil que se me hace decir aquello que en verdad quiero decir manteniendo este blog en inglés.

Quizá por eso tomé la determinación de empezar a escribir en castellano y quizá posteriormente cambiarlo.Extrañamente, ese tampoco es el método que más me ha acomodado. A veces creo que mi mente funciona en inglés y en castellano de manera inesperada, corre de un idioma a otro sin avisar y vuelve y vuelve a cambiar.

There are some things happening, right now, that have me feeling very excited. I will share a bit more in the future, but right now I'm too nervous to say them outloud.