Necessary TV junk

I have not revisited my One Tree Hill DVDs for a long time now. After feeling sucky last Friday night, I just had to scour through what's left on my DVD pile.

I wanted something juvenile. I wanted to look at the beautiful faces of Brooke Davis and Peyton Sawyer while suspending judgment on how trite and trivial their high school issues are.

I still have OTH's seasons 4 and 5.

It was a hell of a good fix after a tiring week.

Oh well, add to that a good Italian wine from Galileo Enoteca, my favorite antipasto consisting of emmental and gorgonzola cheese, parma ham and spicy peppered salami.

Did I mention red lingerie and red slippers?

Bliss.

Thanks, Irene. For your words of comfort. For your sincerity. And for understanding where the angst is coming from. Aylavyah!

Closet clean-up sale aka “Send April to Chinese School Foundation”

Since I am still restless after several weeks, nay – months – of sleepless nights writing my thesis, I try to find other good things to do. Good, in a sense that these are items in my must-do list this year that were bumped off because I had to prioritize school.

One of those is my bi-annual closet clean-up sale. Actually, this year, I’m only going to do it once.

So last night, I started with my bags. 25 unused bags in the past 2 years. Some of them, it really hurts to let them go because we had history traveling and shopping together. I had to longingly and lovingly stare at 3 or 4 of them for a looooooong while – just to bid my final adieu.

This lunch time, I emailed the girlfriends a very neatly organized Powerpoint file of 20 of my never-used, rarely used and mint condition bags.

In 10 minutes – everything was wiped out.

Next to go will be my never-used-still-with-tags, once used and in mint condition clothes and accessories.

Proceeds will go to my tuition fee as I will go back to studying Mandarin.

And…

Speaking of bags…

I recently posted something about my beloved Vuitton.

After kong tigbakin sa blog, look at what I got in my mail the day after I wrote it:

Tadah! An invite to view the Women Spring Collection.

*Smirk plastered on my face.*

Why, Vuitton, why?

Given the stress that I was into, what with my thesis and my international outsource partners being here for 2 weeks, there's no better way to relax and unwind (without going the distance at that!) but to type in the URL of Louis Vuitton.

Louis Vuitton recently had its Women Spring Summer 2009 Show. Apparently, Marc Jacobs designed the latest Vuitton Spring collection of handbags.

No disrespect to my most favorite label in the whole wide world, but the bags...

Que horrendous!

Such travesty.

Check some of the frou-frou glamour bags and you will know what I mean:

First photo:
Animal prints are all over the place already. Animal prints again for Spring? C'mon!

Second photo:
I call this the LV punching bag. It's like carrying your red boxing gloves to the gym.

First evening bag looks like something you'd find in a Baclaran stall.

Second one looks like a Benetton bag with animal prints. What the?










I call this the kinuyumos version. No form, none of the usual LV structure and lines.












(Photos from Louis Vuitton)

It's just quite disappointing. I always look forward to LV's new collection.

Normally, LV makes me flash a wide smile. The Spring collection made me shake my head in disbelief.

Are you going to make me go back to Gucci, my first love?

Tinker day

Today is officially tinker day for me.

After I submitted my (hopefully) final school requirements, I have some extra time in my hands to fix my files and all my gadgets.

Ten months after Boyfriend gave me Kohji, I have not maximized my UMPC's use. So now I'm downloading all the patches, software and drivers Kohji needs to work efficiently. I have not even set up its wi-fi and Internet access.

So now, I'm doing just that.

On a Sunday afternoon, I am right in front of 3 computers - my Kohji, the newly-issued notebook in the office and the Jurassic one.

Also looking for a lunch and dinner place for friends next week.

Now that school is over, I can't stand not doing anything - I gotta fix something!

Random blah

Zara love

I got my car back last night. My reliable Honda guy made sure I got her immediately since it's been raining everyday!

I will not take my car for granted again. Ever.


And more paperwork...

One more chapter that I need to re-write.

My back is killing me.

I'm way ahead of my timeline - yey!

Now one of the heavier parts is to re-write my conclusion.

To be continued... tomorrow.

Desperately seeking taxi:

The travails of car-less days…among many other things

By just reading the title, you already know that this is a rant entry.

Yes, once again, Zara is with Honda Cars Pasig. I left her in the parking lot one day and when I got back, she already had an injury on the left door. As I cannot stand scratches and dents, I just had to get her immediately fixed.

I’ve been driving my own car for almost 5 years now and it doesn’t help that although my area is near the office, it is also difficult to just hail a cab from there.

So now I have to call cab companies to pick me up in the morning. In the next 2 weeks, I will have very early morning meetings. Crossing fingers Honda will give her back to me by Thursday.

As for the many other things…

The long and winding road to thesis-dom

I submitted my draft last Friday (refer to last blog entry). Actually, we weren’t really required to turn in a draft. I could’ve just gone the easier path of just printing out the final copy.

But noooooo.

The nerdoc side of me insisted that I submit a draft first so I have the chance to revise and improve my final requirement.

Lo and behold, my prof-thesis adviser emailed me his comments and revisions. ‘Commended me for the hard work and effort very apparently exerted to write that 100-pages long synthesis work.

Since the academe is THE academe, I already half-expected that I will need to revise it. The revisions are major since he wanted me to expand on 2 major points that comprise nearly 40% of the whole thing.

I wouldn’t normally complain since I was the intrimitida slash atribida who volunteered a draft. However, I’m only given barely a week to not just edit – but re-write major chapters! This involves reading 3 more reports from scientific journals.

Ergo, every waking hour not spent working in the office will have to be devoted to writing and ONLY writing my thesis.

Kase… sana nag-final paper na lang, eh.

Of friends and lying

They say, people lie – unintentionally or otherwise – to avoid hurting the one they love or they care about.

I’m not saying I subscribe to it.

Pero iba if the one who lies to you is a friend --- or one you considered to be a friend --- a part of the inner circle.

I don’t know what your motivations are – why, how much – you needed to withhold some pertinent truth that doesn’t really concern me, anyway.

But if you lie to me about something, don’t go running to me to save you when things fall apart on your end.

Sasaluhin naman kita, under normal circumstances, but I don’t appreciate you lying to my face --- especially WHEN I ASKED YOU ABOUT IT.

I’m not mad at you. Just don’t expect me to be the one to cover for you when you lied to your first line of defense.

Moving on…

Although things are tough this week, I just have to get on with it. Write the paper so I can submit by Monday – Panda bear eyes or otherwise.

When life gives you lemons… squeeze the damn things and make vinaigrette for salad, nampucha.

Another day marked in my calendar

Today, I finally submitted my thesis draft.

After 7 months of hard work and sleepless nights.

Crossing fingers it pays off.

The DevCom department is already asking me to apply for graduation next year.

Totoo na ba ito?

I will only fill the form up once I hear that my prof's satisfied with the draft.

Let's see.

Today...

Marks the first day that I heard a Christmas carol on the radio.

I was walking along the Al Fresco area of Robinsons Pioneer when I heard Winter Wonderland playing.

3 months to go before Christmas...

the first Christmas since 1993 that Marc and Ryan won't be here.

Sherry said it's finally sinking in.

As for me, I've been thinking, grappling about it since first quarter of this year.

The people who have my stories, who share my history --- they're leaving.

First Christmas.

I wonder how we will do it this time.

'Probly via Skype and Webcam, connecting us in Manila to Honolulu and Paris.

Sawadeeka!

Amazing Thailand.

It really earned its name.

Thailand is an enjoyable amalgam of good food, great buys at bargain prices and respectful, fun-loving people.

Thai food is on top of the list of my favorite cuisines.

Pratunam and the Chatuchak weekend markets are my favorite bargain jaunts. Add to this list my newly-discovered Suan Lum night market.

It’s just too bad that Thailand is once again arrested with political issues. Now tourists are discouraged from booking tours going to Bangkok because of the civil unrest and street protests.

Luckily, Boyfriend and I had the chance to take a 4-day extended weekend trip before the protests erupted!

Protests and civil strife notwithstanding, I don’t mind going back again late this year. This is especially true now that Boyfriend and I found a new friend in our tour guide, Ole Intasri, who happens to have the same birthday as mine and who is equally fab!

Here are some of the places we went to in our Bangkok “revisit”:

1. Four Seasons Bangkok - The hotel’s look and feel remains to be Thai. Our room had a humongous flat screen TV and an iPod dock. I’m also very particular with bathrooms. Rico, on the other hand, is peeved by small showerheads. Thebathroom is just perfect. How can we complain? It’s Four Seasons!

The hotel’s concierge was also very efficient. We came to Bangkok without any tour reservations. I just gave the printout of my desired itinerary and voila! The hotel took care of all our reservations.

155 Rajadamri Road, Bangkok 10330

Tel. 66 (0) 2 250-1000

2. Spice Market – uber yummy Thai restaurant inside Four Seasons. We were lucky to get a free 4-course meal as part of our package!

Normally, hotel version of Thai food is already tempered to cater to foreign taste. But I don’t want my Thai food tempered! Thai food and tempered – they don’t match! I want the burst of Thai flavor in my mouth and the Spice Market captured this.

Aylavet!

Did I mention that I love my food spicy? Spicy to the tagaktak-pawis point (Note to self: buy Thai chili powder next time).

3. Aqua Bar – also inside Four Seasons, just right in front of the Spice Market. It’s very cozy at night and the crowd is a mix of expats and nouveau riche Thais. Try their caipirinha and mojito cocktails. Wonderful!

4. Manohra Cruise at the Chao Phraya River

Owned and managed by the Marriott Hotel, the Manohra Cruise is the best river cruise along the Chao Phraya River. There are several river cruises plying Chao Phraya, but I find the other ones (except for the Loy Nava) too commercialized – with loud music, too many people in a “love boat” pa-effect liner.

Manohra, on the other hand, plays traditional Thai music in the background and the boat can only seat 40 people. It’s more romantic and relaxing with a very Thai ambience.

We rode the old rice barge made of dark, gleaming hard wood. It’s like cruising through Bangkok in its ancient times.

En route the Chao Phraya River, there was an introduction of the temples (Wat) that we see along the way along with the Grand Palace and the Royal Barge boat-house.

Boyfriend and I were served 3 kinds of appetizer, tom yum soup, 3 main courses and 3 kinds of dessert. Gluttony ito!

The best cruise, of course, comes with a price as it cost almost 6,000 baht for 2.

5. Pratunam shopping

Near the Baiyoke Hotel, the Pratunam area is populated by garment stalls. They do both retail and wholesale. If you’re the maarte cum claustrophobic shopper like me, you can ply the air-conditioned sections. If you’re a serious bargain-hunter, check out the side streets. Fashionable tops can be had at 90 baht, saan ka pa!

I go for hard-to-find and unique accessories and clothes. For fashion-forward apparels, I got some of them for 300-400 baht. Still not bad.

6. Chatuchak weekend market

Aaah, eto talaga ang shopping haven ng mga bargains. Warning: it’s hot and humid in Bangkok (as if it’s not in Manila, noh) so prepare to sweat it out. I mean, really sweat it out. Kung gusto ng bargain, pagtiyagaan ang crowded stalls. It is uber worth it, obs kors. I bought incense sticks, lavender sprays, 100 baht colorful shirts, hand-made copper and silver accessories and cocktail rings.

Honestly, my shopping was bitin. I was impatient and I didn’t have THAT drive to scour for stuff. As in dig. Next time I go, I shall come prepared!

7. Calypso Cabaret

The Patpong go-go bars are soooo out.

In fact, tourists are discouraged to watch these acrobatic, circus-type go-go shows where the girls and some katoeys smoke cigarettes, throw darts or what have you with their vajay-jays. Maraming manloloko and pickpockets in the area. So beware.

Instead of the usual Patpong visit, I scheduled us to watch the Calypso Ladyboy Cabaret show where the performers literally gender-straddle. In fairnezz, ang gaganda ng mga katoeys. Flawless. And they really look like women. Prettier than most women, even.

It’s a wholesome cabaret show. Plus, the spiels are really funny. I was LMAO.

8. Temple tour

Boyfriend and I booked a private tour (dahil sosyal si Boyfriend. Yes, Boyfriend – it’s you. Not me. Pwede ako magtiyaga sa 3-star hotel at sa siksikang tour. *wink*). We asked the concierge to do this and we were booked through East Meets West Tours and Travel.

We visited four temples:

- The Grand Palace

- Temple of the Emerald Buddha (Wat Phra Kaeo)

- Wat Po

- Wat Arun

The tour was very efficient and organized. Ole, the tour guide assigned to us, was very accommodating. At dahil

ka-federacion siya, his personality was very bright and sunshiny.

The travel agency also books tours in Bhutan, Cambodia and Vietnam. Check out their website: http://www.eastmeetswesttravel.com.

I never get tired of going back to Bangkok. Amazing place, fantastic food. It’s one of my breathing spaces. I can’t wait to go back! When I do, I will make sure I’m emo-prepared for shopping.

For my next wanderlust, I wish I can go to Siem Reap in Cambodia to see the Angkor Wat with Boyfriend before the year ends.

Wish ng wish. Baka matuloy. =)

Photos from:

http://www.bangkok.com/

http://www.fourseasons.com/bangkok/

Carrie Bradshaw, isdatchu?

It cannot get any Sex and the City-er than this. I saw this bubble skirt in eBay.

‘Wasted no time persuading the seller to end the bid early and sell it to me. Thank you, Clare, for selling this to me oh-so-cheaply.

It's so dirt-cheap, the price is unprintable!

Bubble skirt, come to Momma!

To sweep or not to sweep – that is the question

1. Taking admin work for granted

Doing personal admin work and running errands are both therapeutic. Not to mention necessary. While I like running errands or paying bills just to make me relax and space out from the mental gymnastics I have to do for work and for my thesis, time has not been on my side lately.

I have a lot of unopened mails from credit card companies, my insurance, my club memberships and Asia Miles. That being said, I panicked this morning when I learned that Citibank auto-enrolled me with an Asia Miles account and that I have untouched mileage since forever that’s about to expire!

OMG, sayang ang miles!

Lalong sayang when I computed that just a few more points and I can already avail of a round-trip ticket to Hong Kong via CX!

Now I have to back track and do my cleaning up since I still have to open a lot of account statements and letters. Plus, my cabinet’s about to burst with all the shopping I did in Bangkok.

Time for another closet clean-up sale!

2. Why starting over is difficult, IT-wise

Another admin work that was inescapable this week was transferring my files from my old laptop to the new one. It took me two days to transfer half of my files and applications. There were several missing installers that Gerwin couldn’t find anymore and I had to scour the Internet for them. The techie guys were no help, either. I asked them to back up and transfer my files last Friday.

Awa ni Universe, ni isang file walang nalipat.

Had my old laptop been faster, I wouldn’t even think of replacing it. It’s just too much of a hassle.

3. What you can do yourself, just do it!

And this leads me to my final point: while it is true that if there are tasks better delegated to other people (especially if they are more competent doing them), then just let them do the dirty work, there are some things that need personal care and attention.

I just hope I have more time in my hands to do them.

And that’s my cue to open more mails.

Can I just say? I love Chinatown!

In one of my SMS conversations with Boyfriend, I had to tell him, “You know what, I was probably a Chinese princess in my past life.”

I don’t know why, but I have this perplexing, almost odd fascination about the Chinese culture.

I love the smell of Chinese incense, the waft of Chinese herbal medicine --- and dig this, I even like how a Chinese bodega smells like. The combination of the heady scent of incense and brown balikbayan boxes stacked over one another – yes, I like how it smells. Weird, no?

Today, Globe friends (Cathy, Yoj, Jay, Kelvin and Angie) and I headed to Binondo. The plan was to have a food expedition: have a taste of great food in Ongpin.

And guess what? We went to six different restaurants/food stalls to eat! Talk about gluttony!

Anyway, here’s a chronicle of our food trip:

1. Dimsum at Royal Garden – I cannot even count how many heaps of those brown, wooden dimsum crates we downed. The group savored ha kao, chicken feet, pork siomai, spare ribs, pork and mushroom and radish cake. Each of us only paid forty bucks for everything!

2. Siopao and mami at Ling Nam – famous for their siopao and home-made egg noodles, each of us shared half a siopao and a bowl of mami. Wala lang – we just really wanted to have bits and pieces of everything. And since close naman kaming lahat, talo-talo na sa isang bowl ng mami!

3. Fried siopao and sugarcane juice stall – on our way out of Ling Nam, Angie and Kelvin saw a stall of fried siopao and sugarcane juice. Jay bought himself fresh lumpia. Fried siopao tastes differently from the usual fare of asado and bola-bola. Well, it’s different in a good way.

4. Frog legs sa Estero – I love this! It’s crazy – Boyfriend, who happens to be full-blooded Chinese, doesn’t eat frog legs and I, on the other hand, aylavet! I love it deep fried and spicy. Yoj was cringy about it at first. I told her it just tastes like fried chicken. She kept on telling us that her mind still tells her – palaka pa rin ‘yan! Yoj and Cathy were chided by everyone to eat the last pairs of legs – wahahaha!

5. Kiam pong, tofu and shakes at Eng Bee Tin Fire Volunteers’ Brigade Café – Jay wanted to try the kiam pong (literal translation: salty rice). So off we went to the Eng Bee Tin Café and ordered a set menu of kiam pong and tofu in soy sauce. Since we were all exhausted at this time, traversing Ongpin in the scorching heat, some of us ordered shakes. I got myself the peach shake, Yoj had her watermelon while Angie and Cathy bought themselves mango shake.

6. Sincerity fried chicken and oyster cake – the much-awaited finale of the trip is Sincerity Restaurant’s fried chicken and oyster cake. They did not disappoint! The fried chicken’s batter was uber yummy. No need for catsup! By this time, I was already bursting at the seams so I opted to defer rice.

In between our “taste test” of Chinese delicacies, we also went to several Chinese grocery stores. I bought cranberry tea and milk tea at the Eng Bee Tin grocery. Yoj and the rest bought hopia at Eng Bee Tin. Lo and behold, they have sugar-free hopia already! Saan ka pa? They have new flavors too, including moccachino and combination of cheese and ube. Jay and I bought asado rolls from Salazar bakery and some fruits from the sidewalk. Two kilos of longgan only cost me 200 bucks, so not bad. Yoj bought tableas in the famous tablea store. Hot chocolate is definitely a good partner for all the hopia that she bought.

Of course, mawawala ba ang picturan? Hala – picture sa tabi ng kabayo at ng Ongpin street sign. Kailangan may remembrance?

Since everyone was tired, we ended the day with an hour and a half’s worth of Thai foot and back massage. How soothing. Heaven.

All in all, it was a great day. I can’t complain.

Great food, wonderful company.

Thank God, it’s a happy Saturday.

I have posts about Bangkok, but it had to give way for this Chinatown raving.

I can’t wait to go back!

Next time, I will buy more tea, table and incense.

Sana Chinatown trip ulit.

Binondo, I love!

Off to the land of flavors and spices

Wading in the pool of Four Seasons.

Chowing down uber spicy food.

Manohra or Loy Nava cruise.

Clubbing at Glow.

Shopping.

Did I say shopping?

I can't wait!

I'm off to lala-land for a few days.

Sanity maintenance.

Wish me a happy trip, folks!

Unwritten

What I feel, what I'm going through.

For the most part.

Remains unwritten.

I will let you know soon.

Can you wait?

Wait until we are far and away.

Soon.

- waxing philosophical at 1:45am.

The Happy Book

I've been reading David Matthews' Being Happy for the past week.



It's a great follow-up read to Dr. Joseph Murphy's The Power of Your Subsconscious Mind.

Happiness has always been a personal choice and a state of mind.

The most successful and happiest people learned the art of choosing happiness over angst or sorrow in the most challenging and difficult situations.

And I'm just a newbie learning the how-tos.

As they say, the pursuit of happiness begins with learning to live "in the now," rather than drive ourselves nuts worrying about what the future will bring.

Sharing some excerpts from the book about Living in the Now:

"Living in the now is expanding our awareness to make the current moment more delicious rather than shutting off. Each of us has the choice, moment by moment, as to whether we really live and absorb and allow ourselves to be touched and affected.

Whenever we are living in the present moment, we drive fear from our mind. Essentially, fear is concern over events which might happen sometime in the future. This concern can be paralyzing to the point where we find it impossible to do anything constructive.

However, you are only open to intense fear when you are being inactive. The minute you start to take action and actually DO SOMETHING, fear subsides. Living in the now is about taking action without fear of the consequences. It is about putting in the effort for the sake of the involvement, without worry as to whether we will get our just rewards."

Note to self: Buy Boyfriend a copy of the book. 'Might just do some tricks in allaying fears of things that may not even be there or events that may not even happen.

Weekend spent happily with Ninay

This weekend was nothing extraordinary. I managed to write a few pages for my thesis, get the packages I bought from eBay, had some snoozy downtime on my ever-so-missed bed and spent a lot of time with my Mom and Ninay - my almost baby daughter.

Last Friday, after office, I went home to Mom's house for dinner and cartoons. As I was lazily lying on my Mom's bed, she was watching Ant Bully with me. When the movie was about to end, she saw that the kid from the movie eagerly hugged his Mom.
From out of nowhere, she muttered, "Basta ako may Mommy. Ikaw." Then she hugged me tightly and gently kissed my forehead.

How can you say no to a beautiful child like that?
Today, after going to church for Sunday Mass, I bought her first set of fat crayolas for beginners and her very first coloring book. I gave it to her after dinner and taught her how to color and stay within the lines. She already knows her colors very well and the best way for her to naturally recognize them is for her to dabble with crayons and paint.

That, and to avoid the scolding of my Mom. Ninay recently experimented with Mom's eyeliner and lipstick and drew lines and circles all over the mirror. Lagot na bata.

I reprimanded her for it gently. I can't get myself to scold or punish the kid - she's kind, wonderful --- and obedient. Mom made her clean up the mess she did, though.

She's one of the major reasons why I stay home a lot lately. It's not just about her having a mother figure in her life. It's also about me... learning so much from a kid like her.

It's great to see life in the eyes of a child and learn to appreciate its simplicity once again. And it's amazing how her kind, loving words can melt my heart and make me cry.

Shoppingera strikes again

My shopping frenzy is directly proportional to the level of stress I'm currently experiencing.

For two weeks now, I couldn't even go to the mall right in front of the office to have a quick go-see of new stuff. Working 12 hours on the average is no party.

Rather than feel sorry for myself, what better way to while away my time and zone out in between designing and thesis-drafting through eBay!

My latest indulgence:

1. Black two-toned corduroy and synthetic leather knee-high boots with butterfly applique'- At PhP420, this brand-new baby (no damages whatsoever, no catch with the cheap price!) is definitely a steal. I wouldn't even call it indulgence. I love this new pair. My boots collection is now growing at 6 pairs.




2. Tube dress in blue and yellow - works best with my knee-high leather gray boots. It's stretchable so small to large frames can fit in the dress. Yummy!









3. Tube dress in black and red - over jeans or by itself. Panalo! I bought the dresses from chelzy29. A very friendly and accommodating seller from Batangas. Photos taken from her site.

I was quite skeptical to purchase online from the local eBay, what with the proliferation of bogus sellers. A quick tip to know who's trustworthy: make sure to view the sellers' ratings. If they're 90-100% positive and they're known for both honest and fast transaction, don't hesitate to browse through their stuff. Plus, eBay has greatly improved their customer service. Their dispute console also helps customers make sure that they're protected from fraud.

For purchases that are quite expensive, such as Louis Vuitton, Fendi, Chanel and other signature bags, ask the sellers if they are willing to do meet-ups and CODs.

Be a reasonable buyer, too. If someone is selling an LV Speedy 30 or a Batignolles for only a thousand bucks, then don't be surprised if these are fakeys from Greenhills or Shenzhen. You get what you pay for.

It's also important to know how to spot and distinguish knock-offs from the real ones.

Let me look for this article I found online on how to distinguish fake LVs from the real ones and post here soon. I share these with fellow bag and LV aficionadas so we can all buy cheaply but not get ripped off!

Special shoutouts to Cyndi, Russell and Cathy - my new eBay sukis. You guys make eBay shopping a wonderful experience.

Monday: Emote mode

Barely a week in Toronto.

I'm sad. I miss. I'm conquered.