Ms. Clavel

The launch of the first and only sneaker magazine in the Philippines was last night. The drinks were flowing, the ladies were rocking, and the kicks were burning.

It was a fun event. It was nice getting to talk with true sneakersheads. A lot of things have happened. They have families now and their priorities have changed. Similar to how my priorities have changed when I started my own family. But, the love for the hobby(?) is still there. That much can be deemed from the convos we had.

Thanks to Jojo for the invites and congratulations to Endo for a successful launch. See you on the Six Rings Crew Christmas Session. (If I am available.)

The White Shirt

We are off to the province in a few minutes. I am just waiting for Little Popot to finish dressing up. My parents are already there. They went straight to the province yesterday after securing stuff for Lola's wake. I have packed my only white polo shirt, the one that only gets worn during burials. I wore it for Uncle Jun, and for Lolo, and now I will be wearing it for Lola. I hate that shirt.

Do Not Think Outside The Bun

I hardly slept. Only had a couple hours of rest before I went to the airport to fetch my parents. It was raining when I got out of the house. The cab driver did not mind the slippery road and just went ahead zigzagging his way along Edsa. I got to the airport a quarter past six. The boards showed that their plane has already landed. I though we would be out of there in about thirty minutes. Instead it took almost two hours. (Only in the Philippines?)

My dad brought home the stuff that I bought off the Internet. Whenever I buy something online I have them shipped to my sister's place. This is how I can save on shipping cost. The drawback is that I only get my items whenever they go "balikbayan". That is once every year if I am lucky. Otherwise, it takes two, even three, years before I get my hands on my online purchases.

No sneakers this time. It has been ages since I actually bought a pair. I got a couple of DVDs, a couple of audio CDs (yes, I am the one crazy guy who still buys legit CDs), some toys, and a shirt. So, the DVDs i purchased last September are finally here. I cannot wait to watch them. I might be the only women's basketball fan this side of the planet. And I am no ordinary fan. I am a big fan. I like women's basketball- WNCAA, WNBA, and the international game - more than the NBA. Forget Lebron and Kobe. It is all about Diana Taurasi!

Velvety Smooth

I skipped work again. (I, too, am wondering why they have not fired my @ss yet). My folks are arriving tomorrow and I had to make some preparations. There was nothing else to keep my mind busy after I called some people and made arrangements for their transportation to the province. Little Popot was already in school. The TV had nothing that held my interest. I was not in the mood for music. I wanted to get out, and so I did. Went to the mall. Was not thinking of getting anything. I was only going to "look" and walk away the time.

Little Popot has been pestering me for a couch set to go with her Barbie - My House. There is a set that even Big Popot wanted, a purple velvet piece. Unfortunately, it has been sold out ages ago. We saw one on display in SM Makati a couple of weeks ago. But, that is the thing - it is a display, and not for sale. I told Little I am going to get her another couch set for Christmas. We have seen some regular ones in Toy Kingdom. I was surprised to see an unopened box of the velvet couch. No more rush shopping for Little's gift. It is ready. Only hard thing was sneaking it into the house.

Gone

I woke up quite early this morning. Some thing did not feel right. I am fat, I know. But it felt like I could not move properly. My body felt really heavy. Heavier than what I weigh. I attributed it to a just concluded bout with asthma (and partly to my natural laziness). I decided not to go to work.

Tried to go back to sleep. It would not work. My mind would not shut down. It was constantly tossing around incoherent thoughts. I know I was thinking about something but I could not figure out what that something was.

The cellphone buzzed. My favorite cousin was on the other end. She bore bad news.

Lola, say hello to heaven.

Rewired

What the difference between these two?



One lets you connect to the Internet.

The other is the biggest waste of Php2500.

I could have bought so many cool things, or eaten some really good food. Heck, I could have restocked on Tsingtao. Instead I bought a useless flash modem from Globe Telecoms. I am a fool. And YES, Globe Visibility sucks!

If not for my bad back I would be outside, standing by the staircase, the 'puter on one hand, pilfering Internet connections from my good neighbors.

New Neil Gaiman

"I said
she's gone
but I'm alive, I'm alive
I'm coming in the graveyard
to sing you to sleep now"
- Tori Amos, "Graveyard"

Just got the new Neil Gaiman book, The Graveyard Book. Picked it up from National Bookstore Robinson's Galleria for Php315. They only had one copy left. My take is that it has been out locally for quite some time now. Powerbooks Shangri-la Mall did not have any more copies, so is the NB there. Man, I am really out of the loop. I did not even know Neil came out with a new book.

I also just found out that Coraline is already a movie. I saw a "Movie Collector's Edition" of the book. Now, that is a film I am looking forward to seeing. If you loved MirrorMask, I am certain Coraline is going to be better. The director is the same guy who directed The Nightmare Before Christmas, Henry Selick.