In my excitement about the Magic Sing (see 2 posts down), I forgot other things I had originally intended to blog about on Sunday night.
When neither one of us in a hurry, or tripping over ourselves from sleep deprivation – I truly enjoy going on a shopping spree with Alfred. Last Sunday, that’s what we did and it was fun!
I had secretly wished we’d go to Cubao again so I can buy yarn from Maning’s for a project but Alfred wanted to avoid the UAAP crowd. As it turns out, half of the population was at the Araneta that afternoon, but the other half was in Trinoma! Aside from the Pampers event at the Activity Center of the huge mall, we could see no other reason why the place was packed. Seriously, there was a LOT of people in there.
Because this outing was specifically intended to be a jeans hunt for Alfred, he led the way. We still managed to land ourselves in the area where the Sports boutiques are – he was also secretly wishing something: that he’d find a pair of trainers that he loved on sale. Now I didn’t intend to buy anything that day, but I happened to see some thing(s) I like and that actually fit me, so I swiped away (not on credit, it was using my ATM as a debit card 😉 ).
So there was my first purchase at the Puma shop – a knitted sweater in some shade of gold.
They had it in black too, but when I tried the golden one on, it actually looked better than I anticipated (it isn’t the shining/shimmering gold type okay). I really like how it looks on me. It was Alfred’s vote to take the golden one. If I was on my own, I’d either have passed on it, or taken home the black one.
Next stop was the Landmark Department Store. Alfred was looking for a pair of blue pants for his mom – we were going to buy one for her as a birthday present. We searched and searched for the perfect pair but we ended up buying this cute, light blouse for me instead. At first, Alfred wasn’t keen on me getting that blouse, but when he saw it on me – he gave it a thumbs up. It’s not my usual style – but I think the light and airy feel of it reflects my personality better.
Why is Alfred’s opinion so important when I shop for my own clothes? It’s not because he has to approve what I wear and how I wear them. Not that at all. It’s just that when it comes to what looks good on me, I trust his taste. I don’t agree a hundred percent of the time, of course, but I do listen to him like 70%. Hehe. It’s a running joke between us that I think he’s gay!
We also needed to have some photos printed for Papa that day so dropping it off at Kodak Express was our first agenda. As with most other shops in Trinoma, Kodak Express was full too. We didn’t have to wait too long to be attended to though. They have staff there who Photoshop the photos before printing. In my mind, I was thinking, what’s the point? Why do they need to have their photos edited? This girl was laying over somebody else’s hair on top of this girl’s head in the photo. What was up with that? As Alfred and I were exchanging smiles and glances, I thought that’s what he was thinking too. No – he actually liked the idea of working part-time in such a place. Okay…
But why couldn’t the day just be perfect? We weren’t rushing even though Alfred had to go straight to work from the mall. We really were just enjoying ourselves there. More after the jump.
I woke up Tuesday to a very cool morning, and the first thing I noticed was the pitter patter of the raindrops. Last thing I remembered before dozing off was the sound of the wind outside. No, it wasn’t a howling wind, but you could definitely hear it.
A friend was supposed to come over before lunch and when he called to ask if the creek had already overflown, I said no without batting an eyelash. A few minutes later, I went down to take out the wet garbage and was shocked to see that I was so wrong. The flood waters had risen calf deep on the street and was just outside our gate. I had to stop my friend from coming over!
While I was chatting with my cousin who was standing watch, this man passed by with his dog. I thought they would surely turn back but they didn’t.
The dog was happily swimming in the flood! They didn’t walk the length of the road though, because it was getting deeper as they went farther from us. The guy led his dog towards the riprap alongside the creek and the mongrel walked from then on.
I’d have taken a picture if I had a camera with me at the time. I hadn’t anticipated a spectacle.
Cupcake charms!
I have new charms for my phone – cupcakes in a muffin pan!
These girls from work sell stuff over at Multiply but this one wasn’t even uploaded to the site yet. Isn’t it cute?
It was supposed to be a pendant but I don’t usually wear necklaces, so the girls offered to customize the chain for whatever purpose I was going to use the charm for.
The shell accessory you see there was from Alfred’s Boracay trip; the tiny purple rubber slipper is a freebie from Havaianas.
Worpress Improvements?
I wasn’t receiving new comment notifications in my WP admin email so I installed a plugin that would do just that. It doesn’t seem to be working though.
Chris, my first official commenter here, suggested a follow up comment notifier plugin so I got one too. But alas, it doesn’t seem to be working yet either.
I don’t have time to work on these anymore though so the improvements have got to wait til tomorrow.
Though I did not get much sleep, I am so happy with how we spent our day. Alfred finally took me for some retail therapy where all the bargain hunters go – Divisoria! (Check other posts about Divi – the place to be! – here, here and here.
So this edition of Thursday Thirteen is all about my July 2 2008 trip to Divi!
This was the earliest I’ve ever been to Divi – we were there before 9am. I got off work at around 730 and we went there right after breakfast. We were able to beat the traffic because we passed through North rather than traverse the length of Quezon Avenue and España. Early is the best time at Divi!
We hopped on a jeepney from Divi to Morayta on our way home. Why is this worth mentioning? Because I do not commute (public transport) on a daily basis. I take a cab to and from work not because I’m rich or maarte but because it’s the fastest, and actually the most practical way for me. If I were to go by public transport, it would take 2 rides and about 4 blocks on foot to get to work. I do take the jeepney if I only have to go somewhere “near.” The ride reminded me that I should commute more often – ditch the cabs!
We set out to find these, and we did! All I need is magnets and can turn them into those. They were so cheap!
We also got two pairs of pants for myself with some embroidered embellishments on the pockets (not too attention grabbing, don’t worry). (PhP 250 each)
I also grabbed a pair for my mom!
There are 2 shirts for dad too! (at PhP 250 for both!)
A black jacket for Alfred which really made his shoulders look broader than usual (I likey). This would hopefully curb his craving for an Adidas jacket. 🙂
Anime DVDs! (for Alfred too)
It rained so we had to purchase two big umbrellas (for 90 pesos or 2 US dollars each)
We used only 50% of plastic bags than we would normally have because I had my funky Envirosax tote!
Oh, and I got cheap fabrics for a project I’ll be making this weekend. I’m not sure but I got the feeling that these were scraps or rejects or something. But the prints are awesome. No pictures for now because I’d rather post the finished product.
I got a muumuu for myself, and one for Alfred’s mom. Okay, we don’t call them muumuus here, we refer to them as dusters but that’s the closest English equivalent I could find. And these ‘dresses’ I got are house-dresses, not what one would normally wear when going out. 🙂
Aside from the assault we did on Divisoria Mall itself, we were only able to look around the two streets leading to DM but there are so many other shops and sidewalk stalls in that area that we will have to scour next time we’re there. If things go the way I want them to in terms of projects, we’d probably go there at least once every month. Yay!
Read my past TTs here and here. Oh, Thank you for taking me there Babe!
One night, alone in my bed, I couldn’t sleep. My mind was working overdrive. My attention was somehow directed to the trashbag we had hanging by the doorknob of my bedroom. It was an SM shopping bag and I was puzzled by what was written at the bottom: BIODEGRADABLE.
I was itching to turn Alfred’s laptop on and do some research right there and then. But I had already turned off the wifi router downstairs and I really didn’t want to make myself up more by walking all the way down and then up again. So I decided to leave it until the next day.
I forgot all about it though. The next day, I wracked my brain for what I wanted to research but couldn’t remember what it was. Today, I saw three or four blue SM plastic shopping bags on a chair – obviously my parents went shopping on Sunday afternoon. Then I saw it again: BIODEGRADABLE.
Was it possible? I asked Alfred. We finally looked it up.
I am disappointed that there is not much press about SM’s – the largest shopping mail chain in the Philippines – initiatives like this. I mean, they should totally use it in their advertising. Here’s one story I found on Google. And there are a lot of shoppers who blogged about this too. They have photos posted as well, which is what kept me from posting my own photo of the bag. Haha.
BUT. There seems to be a question of proper disposal still.
“Proper composting methods are required to efficiently degrade the plastic, which may actually contribute to carbon dioxide emissions.”
Okay, I’d really like to know more about bioplastics and the proper disposal of such. Like, would it better if we use the SM bags to line our trash cans or would that mean it would also end up in landfills and would still not be decomposed as fast as literature says it should? I’d rather not research much on it right now though. At least not now. So if you have any useful links that can tell me more about this, be sure to send it over?
I appreciate that SM is taking steps to address the problem of environmental degradation, at no obvious added cost for the consumers. Maybe Robinson’s and Ayala Malls will follow suit? They should also encourage buyers to bring their own reusable bags.
After 36 hours of no TV, electric fans, computer and Internet – we are back online. Warning: extremely long post. You gotta give it to me, I itched to post!
Tropical Storm Frank changed course and hit Manila directly on Saturday night/Sunday morning. Alfred and I left work together and were both surprised at the strength of the winds and the rain that welcomed us as the glass doors of the building opened to let us out.
As the cab took a right on our street, it was so dark – there was no electricity in our neighborhood but those living right across the creek from us still had their lights on. Since the typhoon had cooled the house, we didn’t mind not having electricity, we did hope that power would be restored when we awoke. It was not to be.
At 3PM, we went down to eat and then confirmed that not only was power still out, but that my grandpa’s house had already been flooded though the water was already receding. My nephews had spent the day with my mom and dad and they even ate our share of lunch. Their moms and dads were already scrubbing their floors when I went out to check on them and the flood waters were already outside our gates. Our house was only built 6 years ago and the floor was elevated to the highest flood level recorded in this area, so we were safe from the flooding. My brother and his girlfriend got off work in the morning but were not able to come home because it was already flooded. They spent the day at Trinoma and were only able to come home at around 4PM when the water cleared.
Though it was still raining, the wind had died down and it was evident that the worst was over. We had also hoped that it meant that power would be restored very soon.
We had planned on malling because Alfred was on leave for Sunday night. We had not been to the mall since he moved to the night shift, and we were both itching to check out some shops. Off we went as soon as the water receded back to the creek and out of the road. We had to walk on the rip-rap though to avoid the stinky mud that was left by the flood. I had to concentrate on avoiding so much as glancing at the water lest I’d feel like falling into it. Eventually I asked Alfred to walk beside me on the sidewalk instead of behind me just so he could hold my hand. Haha.
Getting a cab was easy and so we were in Cubao in no time. The weather was conducive for a cup of coffee so we had some with muffins before we set off window shopping. When we finally went up to Gateway, we hit the shoe stores first but I didn’t find anything I really wanted. Next stop was Fully Booked – since seeing it in Yummy mag, I’ve wanted to purchase an Envirosax and so I did. This is how my lovely bag looks like and I am totally bummed out that I can’t show you the pic of Alfred modeling the bag for me last night. After purchasing the bag, I met him at the mall’s lounge and I went in to take a pee, leaving him with the rest of our stuff. When I came out, he had already unfurled the bag and put my purse in it. I also actually used the bag for shopping too. We went back in to Fully Booked and I finally got the sequel to the only Garth Nix book I’ve ever read, Sabriel. This one’s titled Lirael and it’s the first brand new book I’ve bought this year. I’ve just been buying previously owned books, remember? I also refused the Body Shop paper bag for my purchases and just plopped them in my reusable shopping bag. 🙂 Speaking of Body Shop purchases. White Musk is my new favorite scent and I love how the Chiffon Sheer Body Mist is so light – it feels soft, smells pretty, and you won’t feel sticky when you spray it on. Mom had it and I just had to get one for myself too! I also bought a gift box that had small bottles of White Musk Sumptuous Silk Shower Gel and Smooth Satin Body Lotion. Body yum! (the shimmer fragrance in the picture is on my wish list)
I also asked the attendant if they still collected the empty bottles of their products and she mentioned that they still do and they returned them to the factory, but there was no promo for it, meaning I won’t get anything in return if I took the bottles back. I don’t care. Knowing that I returned those plastic bottles for recycling is enough for me.
Alfred has been wanting to checkout the Adidas sale since he heard about at the start of the month, so the Adidas shop right next to Body Shop was one of our stops. He didn’t see any of the shoes he wanted on sale but he did see some jackets that he has been wanting to buy since time immemorial (of course he will only be buying one, if he actually gets to buy any). We’ll probably go to Trinoma next weekend (after payday) because he wants to checkout the stocks there too.
Last stop before having dinner was grocery shopping and of course we came prepared with the reusable canvass bag. I restrained myself from buying anything unnecessary and I really do congratulate myself for it. 🙂 After all our purchases were tallied I found that I had enough receipts to get a ShopWise card and earn points. The system was offline though, probably because of the intermittent power outages.
After dinner, we were confronted with a challenge – transport. There was a long queue waiting for cabs outside the grocery and after waiting in line for about 5 minutes and seeing no taxis, we decided to wait somewhere else. Out came my jacket (with hood) and our big umbrella and we walked towards Gateway. After another 15 minutes of waiting and only one other couple getting a cab we decided to move on to another stop, and then another. When we least expected to get a cab while walking towards the main road to just get public transport, we got one. 🙂
As we approached E.Rodriguez, we were hopeful because there were lights on the street and establishments. As we turned right at Sunny Side Drive and then through the streets of our barangay, there was hope because they too had power. Sadly – our street was still cloaked in darkness. Yes, just our street.
And I could not sleep. It wasn’t hot, it was still raining a bit and it was still quite cool. There were a few mosquitoes buzzing around but they weren’t bothering me – afraid I’d whack them I guess. But while Alfred was sound asleep, I couldn’t. When he woke up, I was just drowsing off. Haha.
I had to call Meralco several times over the evening, early morning, and yes, until this afternoon, to follow up on the reactivation of our service. I swear, between me, my cousins an uncle, I can’t count the number of times we’ve called their customer service hotline 16211. We understand that it’s because of the storm and that they have to address consumers from all over the Metro. But we didn’t even get an explanation for why were the only street that had no power for more than 24 hours already!
What’s worse is that the first time I followed up on my initial report, they said that a crew was sent over and was already at the site – and since my report was specific to this street, naturally that’s where I’d assume they’d be. We waited another hour, then two. Nothing. When we called back, the feedback was that power was restored. Well, duh?! Would we be calling back if it was? So they gave us a new report number. This time, response was not as fast. Up until 3PM all they can say when we called was that we were lined up on queue to be addressed. I asked that they trace whoever it was that reported that power was back in our area because obviously they didn’t go to the actual street that was reported! After I asked for such a report, on the next call, the rep mentioned that the team didn’t actually go to the site, but was just patrolling the area. That’s clear misreporting and mishandling of the report! Ugh.
Anyway, I do not want to continue hating the power company Meralco. There’s no use, right? I was upstairs when their crew finally came and I heard my cousin welcoming them sarcastically. They (including the kids) were singing the Meralco jingle that one would hear when they call the support number (their hold music). Apparently, they had to disconnect our lines yesterday because there was a tree that was in danger of falling due to the winds. They just didn’t come back to fix it right away. Now why didn’t they just note that in our reports and told us that in the first place? At least we’d know that they knew the reason why we didn’t have power!
Please offer prayers for the victims of the tragedy also caused by typhoon Frank.
Anyhoo… I am off to browse and watch TV and DVDs, and charge my phone, and drink cold water, and just show appreciation for our electricity. Haha. 🙂 Oh I do hope I still get to catch a sale or two in the digi world.
