When East meets West

I would like to attribute my new flight of fancy to my natural curiosity towards culture and philosophy. Maybe because I was bored, maybe because Lilian Too was coming to town or maybe because last year was such a downer for everyone, I thought it would be good to greet the new year armed with whatever I could humanly produce. Whatever the reason was, when Festival Mall’s marketing bigwig Marivic Arugay sat me down for a mini feng shui lecture, I was all ears. In between mouthfuls of Zong’s delicious pan fried chicken with salted duck eggs, she explained how certain elements influenced the flow of chi energies in one’s environment and life. I shall spare my dear reader with the details of my discussion. Suffice it to say that after lunch, I — the Wood Snake — would experience great challenges during the Year of the Boar.

Armed with my newly bought Lilian Too book, I drove to Filinvest’s Festival Mall and straight to Marivic’s suki William, who managed the feng shui charm store at the end of the building. A few items on my "must buy" list were a nine-eyed Dzi, a trinity of protectors (Chi-Lin, Fu Dog and Pi Yao), a mystical knot and a golden Ru Yi.

And then it hit me, staring at the assortment of items. All the stuff were so... yellow gold, so glossy, so... oh how can I say it? I couldn’t put those things in my house, they would clash with everything! My Western-trained aesthetic sense assaulted my newfound Eastern fancy. Form or fortune? The three-footed toad would awash me with money but was there enough money in the world to compensate for the agony I would have in placing a three-footed toad in my living room?

Imposed on my person would be these allies: Rooster and Ox as well as my "secret friend" the Monkey. My heart sank as I saw the dark looking medallions that bore these animals’ images. Couldn’t they have been made using white gold? Maybe I could fashion tennis bracelet charms using 20-k gold.... Oh gawd! The agony of marrying luck with luxe!

As the day closed, as all dilemmas usually end, I settled on a compromise. I did buy a pair of Fu Dogs (small ones. VERY small ones!) and placed them on top of a stack of European coffee table books (facing the door as I was instructed). I did buy the nine-eyed Dzi but had the plastic beads removed and asked a friend to spare me a thin strip of leather (genuine!) in their place. I am seriously looking into pulling out one leg of Sanrio’s adorable Kerokerokeroppi (can frogs pass for toads?) and having Balinese Rooster and Ox wooden figurines sit on my minimalist shelf.

Have I offended the feng shui gods to appease Thom Felicia and Nate Berkus? Time will tell. I shall keep this column to inform you dear readers of my Year of the Boar adventures. Till then — have a Boar-loving year ahead!