anna_wing | Entries tagged with some day

There is a lot of enthusiasm as some Asian countries slowly (very slowly) and carefully begin to allow travel in and out, at least for fully vaccinated people, who furthermore understand the concept of compliance with local regulations. There is a point I haven't seen raised, though, which is that one must also consider the level of medical care in the destination country if one does get injured or sick, either with COVID-19 or something else.

Yes, vaccinated people mostly don't get a serious case of COVID-19 if they catch it. But even a mild case can get worse if there is no medical care for it. Yes, of course, your travel insurance should include full medevac. But medevac services are not set up for pandemics. I know of at least one person whose medevac took so long to become available (simply because demand in the region is so high) that while he made it back to his home country, his condition had already deteriorated beyond their ability to save him. And someone who can't get emergency surgery after a car accident because every hospital in reach is tied up with COVID-19 cases is going to be in very serious trouble, insurance or no insurance.

So I think I've not going anywhere but home for at least the next year, unless the healthcare situation is convincingly reliable in the places that I am likely to want to visit.

https://www.news-medical.net/news/20211006/KU-Leuven-researchers-develop-an-ultrapotent-inhibitor-of-dengue-virus.aspx

The possibility of an actual dengue treatment that could also be a prophylactic, and perhaps the basis of a vaccine in future. This would be a major advance for the many countries where dengue is endemic or going to be endemic due to climate change.

Palazzo pants and straight-cut trousers appear to be back. Thank goodness, I loathe tight-fitting trousers, even if I'm now slim enough to look decent in them.

As WFH continues for those of us lucky enough to have that sort of job, nice loungewear that can also double as respectable workwear continues to be useful. I can highly recommend Indian fashion websites for both comfort and style. Kurta sets (basically palazzo pants and a knee or calf-length tunic) for instance, are really good for summer (coming soon in the Southern Hemisphere), and since India has plenty of cold weather, there will also be clothes that can be used for winter as well. You can wear a silk or cotton turtleneck underneath or add a toning cardigan or shawl for the layered look.

Most Indian websites will either make to order using your measurements, or send their clothes semi-sewn, so that the buyer can adjust the fit exactly. Since Indian fashion comes in every conceivable colour (Diana "pink is the navy blue of India" Vreeland wasn't wrong), there will be something that suits any humanly possible skin tone, hair colour (whether real or artificial), body shape, or size.

Here are some totally random examples off the internet:

https://www.lashkaraa.com/collections/palazzo-suits

https://www.mirraw.com/

http://rumascollection.com.sg/

https://www.inddus.com/palazzo-suits/l/fabric:cotton

And just for fun, an article I found about an exhibition of Norman Parkinson's fashion photography, which was apparently what prompted Vreeland's observation.

https://perchontheweb.com/pink-is-the-navy-blue-of-india/

Does anyone know whether and where any of these devices are actually being deployed?

A friend sent me this (it's a pilot project), but I couldn't find any others currently being actively used for the public, anywhere.

https://mothership.sg/2021/07/pm-lee-breathalyser-covid-19-test/

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/covid-19-breath-test-breathonix-hsa-trial-land-checkpoint-14874824

Something like this (or dogs) plus vaccination certificates might be a viable route to international travel without quarantines. SOME DAY.

It is now clear that vaccination does not prevent either re-infection or symptoms, though so far it seems to be successful in preventing serious symptoms or death (which is definitely a Good Thing). It also may not prevent transmission, though hopefully it will at least reduce it. I don't think there is information yet about the longer-term effects (the "long COVID" issue) for vaccinated people who catch COVID-19, but that may continue to be a risk too. The Singaporean cases received the Pfizer vaccine; the Seychelles cases received the Sinopharm one.

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/ttsh-covid-19-cluster-b16172-variant-vaccination-gan-kim-yong-14786206?cid=h3_referral_inarticlelinks_24082018_cna

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/5/12/who-reviewing-seychelles-data-after-fully-vaccinated-get-covid

So, masks will continue to be helpful, and I think it's worth while to carry on wearing a mask, at least in crowded public places, and while travelling. I will certainly do so in future. People in retail, F&B, healthcare or transport, basically any industry where they are constantly exposed to large numbers of strangers, should certainly do so for their own safety. People in open-plan offices, too.

Given the apparent global drop in influenza last year, there will be other advantages. Flu kills a lot of people too, and colds aren't fun, so avoiding those will be another positive side-effect. I hope for the development of reliably non-smearing lipstick ...

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/measures-put-in-place-at-westlite-woodlands-dormitory-covid-19-14672690

17 men who had recovered from COVID-19 in 2020 have tested positive again, though it's not clear yet if this is an actual re-infection or they are what the article calls "persistent shedders."

And of course, that's completely aside from the fact that COVID-19 is spiking horribly all over the world, vaccine or no vaccine.

The one bit of recent good news is that my favourite walking-tour company in Japan appears to have survived SO FAR, based on their website, and there is a very faint possibility that I will actually be able to go on an actual holiday again SOME DAY. I am already day-dreaming about it. What colours of mask to bring? Black to match the trousers, red-brown for the waterproof, emerald green or magenta or grey for the boots or high-vis yellow for the day pack? Solid colour or patterned? Season-themed, like everything in Japan? All of them and a different colour for each day? Decisions, decisions.

This post was inspired by a colleague who stopped dyeing her hair because of the COVID-19 lockdowns, but had it cut it as normal. She now has a very stylish half and half long bob, with the top half pale grey and the bottom dark brown. It looks very cool. I am in mild envy, since my hair is going white but is not yet all the way there . It is going white in odd patches, with additional gentle sprinkles all over, so I resemble an elderly reverse Dalmatian more than a silver fox...

I've never bothered to dye it, since (a) dye is bad for your hair (my hairdresser makes most of her money from dye-jobs, but I am hooked on her approval for not doing it; (b) a proper dye-job is expensive and time-consuming; and (c) white hair reminds people of my seniority, which is a Good Thing. However as I get more white in, it would be nice to be able to add colour from time to time (I have been told about something called hair chalk, which sounds very promising), and I also rather fancy the ermine look, with all of it white and just the tips dyed black. Some Day.

https://www.iata.org/en/youandiata/travelers/iata-travel-pass-for-travelers/

https://www.iata.org/en/pressroom/pr/2021-04-06-01/

The IATA COVID19 travel pass has been available for use since March 2021, and now has its first taker. According to the IATA press release. Twenty airlines have apparently been testing it, and Singapore will accept it from May 2021. If the other big Asian and Middle-eastern hubs and airlines do the same, that will be a very significant step towards a revival of international travel.

As I understand it, the travel pass will initially be used in relation to PCR test results, but can be expanded to include vaccination status eventually, once there is some consensus as to which vaccines qualify, and how to deal with people who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons (people who refuse to be vaccinated for other reasons are free not to travel).

Fingers crossed.

Dance-shoe shops, that's where. On Sunday, I learned that dance-shoe shops are the place to go for bespoke evening shoes. I am sure someone reading this knew already, and is saying in wonder "how is it that Anna_Wing missed something as basic as that?". I only found out because I have been taking ballroom-dance technique lessons for some years now, just for fun, and my teacher decided that it was time for me to get some proper shoes for Argentinian tango, ie with high heels, to help me to maintain the correct forward-weighted position.

So off I went to a highly-regarded local shop, and discovered that of course, dancesport shoes are functional. They're made to support feet and to endure hard use, so good ones are both comfortable and solidly made, despite the glitter and the sequins (and not cheap). Ideally, they're made to fit the dancer's foot exactly. And with re-soling, they can be converted for regular wear, both for work and for evening events. The lovely, knowledgeable people at the shop - who are retired dancers themselves and know their stuff - could even supply gorgeous 20s-style shoes (for the lindy-hoppers). So I ordered two low-heeled pairs in different styles and colours, and took away a very nice three-inch (the lowest possible - competition Argentinean tango dancers now use four inch heels, though the shop also had five or six inches, which my podiatrist would NOT approve) tango pair that by pure chance fit my feet exactly. If the tango pair are bearable to dance in, I will go back and look for another pair to convert into regular evening shoes. Against the day that I actually have dinner parties to attend again, SOME DAY.

Plus, of course, I am supporting a local SME.

50 more quinces have been ordered and will arrive tomorrow.

Quince ice-cream and quince tart are in the future of various lucky dinner guests, when I am allowed to have them again. SOME DAY.

The cotignac batch that was made with the candied ginger came out tasting absolutely superb. I have noted this for the ice-cream and tart filling too.

There are more of them than there used to be in the seas where I would reasonable expect to be able to swim SOME DAY. Before going anywhere near a beach, therefore, I should order myself a nice, full-body swimsuit, the sort that sensible north-east Asian and Australian ladies wear to protect themselves from sunburn and melanomas, and also, it turns out, jellyfish.

These look quite nice:

https://www.ecostinger.com/women-full-body-uv-swimsuits/

Though I am not certain that it is necessary to go so far as this, if one makes sure to swim at dawn, preferably on a west-facing beach:

https://www.facekini.com/

https://sc01.alicdn.com/kf/HTB1vdYwrMKTBuNkSne1q6yJoXXaH.jpg

They are pretty, though. I like the cat facekini, and the Chinese opera one is awesome. I'm not sure how the shoulder flap bit would perform, but I suppose it would be OK if one were just paddling about, which is all that I would be doing in the sea anyway. Laps are for the pool.

Water-based nail-polish is popular among the "Ooh, I hate nasty chemicals!" set, people who dislike or have allergies to specific chemicals involved in nail decoration, people who don't like the smell of regular nail-polish, and in my case, people who like the specific nail-polish produced by a specific company.

To whit: Ueba Esou, a paints and pigments company in Kyoto, which in order to survive in the 21st century took a logical next step and got into nail-polish and cosmetics as well. Founded in the first year of the Horeki reign (1751, more or less), which makes it practically a start-up by Kyoto standards. I like the Gofun Nail line, which uses gofun, obviously (traditional Japanese white pigment, made from oyster shells), and is removable with alcohol. Clinique No 2 toner removes it too, I think anything containing a reasonably percentage of alcohol would (try not to spill your cocktails on your nails...).

It's very light and transparent and glossy, which is my own preference, and apparently air-permeable too, which probably actually is better for the nails. Anyone who likes their nail colour opaque will have to add more layers, though. It also needs a bit more up-keep than regular polish, especially in these days of alcohol-based hand sanitiser bought by the liter, but the colours are exquisite (they have seasonal ranges, naturally). Perfect for someone who gets bored with one colour easily, or likes to match/complement nail-colour and clothes.

They appear to do online shopping, though I got mine via a friend so I have not tried it myself.

https://www.gofun-nail.com/

https://www.gofun-worldwide.com/

Their shop is on the shopping list for my next trip to Kyoto SOME DAY.

Several countries appear to have decent prospects for a reliable, fast (as in, within a minute) breath-based tests (high-tech sniffer dogs, basically) for COVID-19:

https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20201017/p2a/00m/0na/002000c

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/nus-covid-19-test-kit-60-seconds-minute-breathonix-13319362

https://www.hindustantimes.com/science/indo-israel-rapid-covid-19-testing-technology-ready-to-rollout-soon-ron-malka/story-8BdMghmt5etFECJsZsoyXN.html

Hopefully this will let those countries with a grip on their domestic COVID-19 situation (for now, at least) to open up to each other a bit faster. And help the ones who are still having significant issues.

I've never bought anything from Etsy but I am Very Seriously Tempted by this:

https://www.etsy.com/shop/AisteAnaite?ref=simple-shop-header-name&listing_id=198571191&page=2#items

https://www.aisteanaite.com/en/collections

Each outfit can be made to measure, which is good, since I am probably a lot shorter than the average Lithuanian. This designer did inspire the random thought that perhaps the "Clothes that make you feel safe" thing may be a psychological effect more prevalent in cold climates, where wearing a lot of clothes does actually make you physically safer. It then occurred to me that literal safety clothing is mostly only worn in intrinsically hazardous environments. A bullet-proof vest would not actually make me feel safe in any environment where I actually had to wear one (safer, perhaps, but that's not quite the same thing...).

On the other hand, there is a definite sense of psychological comfort when I know that I'm both well and correctly dressed for the occasion and milieu (I can cope if I'm not, but it does require a bit of mental energy).

I spent a few days in Vilnius in winter, for work some years ago. The whole centre of the old city is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and the nice thing is that it is still alive - there are shops and offices and flats and restaurants, it's not just a museum and tourist area (I have nothing against tourist areas, they are usually better policed). And Lithuania has lovely linen and very beautiful amber, so the shopping was good too. Food was a bit iffy, local cuisine-wise because of course Lithuanians eat Lithuanian food at home, not when they go out. I think the best meal we had was at an Uzbek restaurant... I did manage to buy some very nice honey-mead at the airport (my housekeeper used some of it to make a truly spectacular tiramisu), and some very tasty tinned venison.

https://cnalifestyle.channelnewsasia.com/style/makeup-for-asians-darker-skin-tones-rihanna-fenty-pat-mcgrath-13090666

Foundation colours for darker-skinned Asians can be tricky, since the (a) darker-skinned Asians are not necessarily the same shades as darker-skinned African-Americans, and (b) big international Asian brands are Japanese and Korean, and therefore as far as I can tell from their ranges mostly formulate on the basis of their own home markets, diaspora and China, which is basically more than a billion people who are pale, very pale, and paler than you would believe is humanly possible if you didn't see them in person.

However as Western-based international brands start extending their ranges for darker-skinned women, albeit mostly on the basis of women with some African and Middle-eastern origin, it has got a bit easier. There are also more regional Asian brands available on-line now.

https://www.stylecraze.com/articles/india-cosmetic-brands/

Given the size of the Indian market, Indian cosmetic and skin-care brands are not so well known outside India except possibly among the diaspora, but probably don't need to be. Ditto for brands from Indonesia.

https://coconuts.co/jakarta/lifestyle/5-homegrown-indonesian-makeup-brands-loved-local-beauty-enthusiasts/

My own view is that for a normal person, not someone who makes their living as a model or on Instagram, most make-up is unnecessary. The better the condition of your skin, the less make-up you need. It is a worthwhile lifetime investment to instead put the money into olive-oil soap, a good moisturiser (I am a lifelong devotee of Clinique's Dramatically Different Moisturising Lotion, like a good bourgeoise Gen X-er), a good sunblock (or a really good UV-blocking umbrella, ideally from Japan), and a lifestyle high in fruit, vegetables, plain water and enough sleep, while being low in alcohol, nicotine and sun-tanning. And also, obviously, removing your make-up before bed like a civilised person.

If that is too boring, Sulwhasoo and Shiseido skin-care products are indeed very good, though a bit expensive. My absolute favourite Yojiya is a niche Japanese brand that sees no need to acknowledge the existence of the outside world, so stocking up will have to wait until I can get to Kyoto again, SOME DAY.

I am fond of Middle-eastern food. Lebanese, Turkish, Iranian, Moroccan, Egyptian, they're all good. My main resorts for actual cooking are Claudia Roden and Arto der Haroutanian's books, Nawal Nasrallah's "Delights From The Garden of Eden" which I believe is about to reissued in a second edition, and 'Entertaining the Persian Way' by Shirin Simmons, which seems to focus on Zoroastrian cuisine.

Aljazeera English recently had a lovely piece on English translations of medieval Arab cookbooks, which sound absolutely fascinating, and which I will buy as soon as Book Depository resumes local delivery SOME DAY.

https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/medieval-arabic-cookbooks-reviving-taste-history-200514062518909.html

The titles are:

"Treasure Trove of Benefits and Variety at the Table", Nasrallah's translation of a 14th century Egyptian cookbook; and

"Scents and Flavours", a translation by Charles Perry of a 13th century Syrian cookbook.

I consider it utterly delightful that a Sassanian gentleman would have kept a personal recipe collection. Very right and proper, and a habit that I would encourage. I do it myself.

Today I spent a peaceful couple of hours of lockdown sorting out my decades' old, giant stash of sewing patterns (which I mostly take to the dressmaker/tailor, and say "Make me that, please"). And decided that when we are allowed to travel for fun again SOME DAY, I am going to Bangkok with a tonne-load of material from my (also) giant stash of fabric, and spend a few hours with a tailor whom I have ordered from before, making stupendous 1940s style ladies' suits and dresses, just because I can.

Plus the Jim Thompson Factory Outlet is an excellent place to pick up both more silk and the clothes, cushion covers, silk-covered notebooks and other small gifty things etc etc at a decent discount. Thai silk is stiff, not soft like Chinese silk, so it suits sharply-tailored styles very well. Don't try to drape with it, unless you've doing something architectural, with stiff folds.

FYI, Vogue Patterns (which also includes Butterick, McCall's and Kwiksew) runs stupendous sales a couple of times a year, at which a pattern that usually costs US$34 goes for US$5.99 or even less. They also reissue some lovely vintage patterns, usually from the 1940s and 50s, though I was lucky enough long ago to snag one from 1929 and a couple from the 1930s.

http://www.voguepatterns.us/