Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Update --

So, I got my old phone fixed and I was able to transfer all of my important stuff to my new phone. (My contact numbers, my photos, etc.) The only thing I couldn't transfer was my calendar of appointments --

Here's my new phone -- I got the Sony Ericsson W710i in purple. When the guy at the store showed me their stock -- the little purple thing, I fell hard and got it immediately. ^_^

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

* * *

Internet problems --

We had some internet problems last weekend and couldn't access some websites, including my blog.

The problem has been solved (thanks to my sister) and I can merrily blog again. ^_^

* * *

Weekend books-shopping --

Aside from Booksale, there is another bargain book place in Robinson's Place and we went there last Sunday with Seth.

It's more difficult to browse through their books because it is just stacked on several tables and shelves and are several books deep.

Johann was really determined to go through their inventory because their book are really cheap. (Plus, they seem to have a pretty good stash of Fantasy/Sci-fi stuff.) He found a really quirky book --

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

I managed to find a copy of Irving Stone's Immortal Wife for my sister. My sister and I are big fans of Irving Stone and it is a lifelong dream to collect all of his published works --

So far, we have:
The Agony and The Ecstasy <-- story of Michelangelo
Lust for Life <-- story of Vincent Van Gogh
The Origin <-- story of Charles Darwin (found in Booksale)
Men to Match My Mountains <-- story of the American West (found in Booksale)
Sailor on Horseback <-- story of Jack London (found in Booksale)
Immortal Wife <-- story of Jessie Hart Fremont (found in bargain book place)

We would really like to find a copy of Depths of Glory (Camille Pissarro) and Passions of the Mind (Sigmund Freud).

I remember being introduced to Irving Stone -- our first book was The Agony and The Ecstasy -- I couldn't finish reading it but sister kept encouraging me to finish it. She even printed a chart (listing the Medici), a timeline and some random notes on how to tackle the book.

For weeks, that sheet of bond paper was folded and unfolded several times as I tracked my progress.

My sister and I share an interest in reading fictional accounts on the lives of famous painters/artists. One of our favorites is Naked Came I, a novel of Auguste Rodin by David Weiss which we read in a Reader's Digest Condensed book.

* * *

Christmas Wish List Update --


The trouble with thinking about it too early is being able to cross out most of the things before Christmas even comes. ^_^;;;

1. LeSportSac deluxe everyday bag or classic hobo
2. New cellphone <-- this shows up on my list every year and I never get one

3. New pair of glasses <-- I might get one earlier than December
4. Giordano Skinny Polo <-- in as many colors as possible. This is part of my "mom uniform" ^_^
5. A pair of nice fitting jeans <-- my hubby bought me a pair when we were in Manila! ^_^
6. Mike Gayle's latest book <-- I don't regret not getting the copy in Singapore. It's the large paperback version and was too expensive

A new addition:
7. A new wallet <-- mine is so ratty na! I've been converted to those big checkbook wallets and I'm looking for a nice one

Friday, November 23, 2007

A funny thing happened on the way to SM --

I've been busy the past few weeks and I haven't been able to adjust my schedule to handle all the extra stuff that I've been doing.

Today, I finally had the afternoon off so I decided to bring Seth with me to SM to buy some supplies -- paper, etc.

As I was closing the door to the car, I heard a thump -- my bag got caught in the door. I didn't think much of it so we proceeded to SM. On the way, I pulled out my phone to check for messages and got a blank screen --

The "small" accident with the door broke the screen of my phone!

I have been planning to buy a new phone for myself but I didn't expect something like this to be the impetus. (Again, waffling.)

Here's the sad part of this whole thing -- apparently, a lot of my numbers hadn't been saved to my SIM. I discovered this when I transferred my SIM to Johann's phone --

*sniff*

I've lost everyone's contact information!

*sniff*

I have a lunch appointment tomorrow and I don't know how to contact my friend to confirm! Bleh.

If anyone plans to text me anytime soon, please identify yourself first.

Thursday, November 22, 2007

My hubby is a --

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

We finally found Johann's one-true magazine (the magazine that fits his personality) --

We stumbled upon it in Booksale and he bought it because it had an article about World of Warcraft.

We loved the magazine so much, we went back to Booksale the next day and were able to find another issue.

Friday, November 16, 2007

Random --

Today was a good day --

I was able to visit the Booksale branch in Robinson's Place and found some cheap magazines. On my way out, I bought some donuts (Bavarian!) and ate it in the car while reading one of my new magazines.

Seth was so active this afternoon so I decided to bring him along when we fetched Johann from work. Then we went to SM City to get dinner from David's Tea House (asado congee for me and my sister, plain congee for Seth and beef brisket rice for Johann). While waiting, we decided to go down to Booksale. My hubby was nice enough to let me browse while he played with Seth in the nearby coin-operated rides.

At Booksale, the shop attendant was talking to me about some magazines and pointing out titles that I might be interested in. I mentioned that Seth was in this month's issue of Yummy so she took one out, opened it and looked for the page. You could see that she was excited about it. (That made me smile.)

We put up the Christmas tree today and Seth was thoroughly fascinated by it. He didn't eat much of his congee and opted to mill around the tree, touching every ornament in sight. I was planning to "talk" to him about looking but not touching because I was worried that he might ruin some of the decorations -- I was relieved that I didn't have to. He seemed to know that the tree was something to be careful about.

I've been indulging myself by reading "mom" books -- the first one was The Nanny Diaries and the second one was I Don't Know How She Does It: The Life of Kate Reddy, Working Mother. It amazes me how much of parenthood is universal and there were times when I felt I was reading pages from my own life. The second book made me cranky with indignation (my sister says she gets a similar feeling when she reads Dilbert) the whole of last week which made me a pain to be around. (We now have 3 pints and a half-gallon tub of ice cream in the fridge. <-- Ice cream is happy food.)

Johann and I are currently addicted to Pokemon: Ruby (GBA) --

Give One, Get One --

One Laptop Per Child

Yes, they accept international donations (but you will need to provide a US/Canada address).

Tuesday, November 06, 2007

A Waste of Time --

My hair is a mess -- I decided to change the part of my hair and it's all tikwas plus I haven't had a haircut in over 3 months. I should've gotten a haircut while I was in Manila but I wanted to get my hair cut together with my sister.

We've had very little success finding someone who can cut our hair properly here in Iloilo and we thought we had finally found one --

The salon is called Stretch and the guy with the magic hands is called Pepoy (he owns the place) -- he came highly recommended by my OB who regularly has her hair cut by him and I've always liked the result.

I tried him out -- made the appointment and showed up on time. I noticed he was very chatty with his other customers but, when it was my turn, he switched on his bluetooth and started talking to some other person while he was cutting my hair. I didn't really mind -- I'm not good with small talk and my hair was cut very nicely.

When it was my sister's turn to get a haircut, I convinced her to try him out. We made the appointment and went there during our scheduled time -- we had to wait 30 minutes before he cut our hair. I wasn't very happy with the way he cut my hair that second time but my sister's hair turned out beautifully. During my second visit, the bluetooth was switched on again.

Flash forward to yesterday -- I called last Saturday to ask about his schedule for the week. I was informed by the receptionist that his only appointment in the afternoon was for a trial make-up at 1:30 so I asked to make an appointment at 3. On the day of the appointment, I called at 2 to confirm the appointment and to ask if we can come in earlier (in case the trial make-up finished early) and the receptionist told me that 3 would be the perfect time.

We arrived there at 10 minutes to 3 and I saw Pepoy cutting someone's hair -- I thought that he had finished his trial make-up and we were next so we decided to wait. I was surprised to see that, after he finished with the one haircut, he proceeded to do 2 more. I approached the receptionist and asked about my schedule. The receptionist told me that the trial make-up started late and these were clients who had earlier schedules.

So we waited until he finished the 2 other customers. (By then it was already 3:45.) I asked the receptionist again when our turn would come and she assured us we were next.

At 4:15, my sister told me to cancel our appointment -- she said it wasn't fair to still give him business after the shabby treatment we got.

I had anticipated some delay, which is why I informed Seth's yaya that we would be back at 5 but I never expected to be kept waiting for an hour and fifteen minutes for nothing.

Leaving the place, my sister and I reflected on the entire experience -- going to a a beauty salon is supposed to be a feel-good moment -- you come out of it feeling like a shiny new penny. Yesterday, we felt even more tarnished than when we came in.

When we arrived home, my dad noticed our lack of haircuts and we told him what happened. He asked us if we had rescheduled and we told him, no -- never.

My sister and I may be just two people and he would probably never feel the loss of our business but we would rather take that business where it is appreciated.

Friday, November 02, 2007

Back! --

We arrived from Manila yesterday.

There are so many stories to share (mostly Seth-related) but this is my favorite --

Johann indulged me one evening and cancelled our scheduled our movie date so I could go to National Bookstore-Cubao to have another go at finding the bargain books. When we entered National Bookstore, Johann told me he had a good feeling about this visit and he said that we were bound to find something good.

True enough, after about an hour of browsing, he came up to me and showed me a copy of Anthony Bourdain's Gone Bamboo. It is the find of the month for us. ^_^

This trip was mostly about books (in contrast to our Singapore trip) -- I bought a total of 3 blouses (one for me and two for my sister) and a pair of jeans. We were able to find really cheap books -- mostly in the bargain bins of the various bookstores.

I am still obsessing over Christopher Buckley and wasn't able to find any of his books (either on sale or full price).

I did help Johann find a really good (new) comic book series titled The Umbrella Academy written by Gerard Way (who is, apparently, a member of My Chemical Romance O_0). It was the cover art that made me pick up the title and, it was only after that we realized that James Jean did the covers! ^_^

I wasn't really able to meet up with anyone because our schedules revolved around Seth (sorry everyone! maybe next year? ^_^) but I was really, really glad we brought him (and the yaya) along. Without him, I would never have been able to experience this --

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket