Your friends will know you better in the first minute you meet than your acquaintances will know you in a thousand years.

- Richard Bach

Yesterday is probably one of my favorite days of the year. I had so much fun that I wanted to capture all the memories, so that when I am feeling sad I would have something to look back to and smile about. :)

After about six years of online friendship, I finally got to meet Grace and Kaiye, while it was the second time I got to see Belle. We met years ago via the now defunct Seventeen Philippines' website message board, Seventeen Sigaw (sigaw is a Tagalog word that literally means "shout"). Taking from its literal meaning, our message board was where we were able to voice out topics that concern us Filipino youth. You may think that all we did in the boards was gush about boys and makeup, but no, we talked about a lot of other serious stuff, too. Like what color goes best with magenta shorts. Kidding :D I spent a big part of my college years cultivating friendships with a number of ladies I met there, and I was able to post more than 5,000 messages there, and it was so sad when they shut the site down. Good thing we were able to keep in touch via other social networking sites. I love these girls so much to let them go just like that :)

Brace yourselves, there'll be a lot of photos! These are my favorites:

Krissy, Belle, Grace, Kaiye
Striking a pose at SM North EDSA's Sky Garden

Pretty ladies :)
First we had lunch at (where else?) Bigoli in SM North EDSA-Annex

Kaiye is very talented at taking self-portraits!

At the overpass going to TriNoma from SM North EDSA

One of my favorite photos of us four!
We had lots of fun trying on headbands at e.g.g.

Frozen yogurt at The White Hat. Seriously, this stuff is addicting!
Mine is the one with chocolate syrup, crumbs of graham crackers, and marshamallows :)

Playing with our cameras :)

I got a new headband from e.g.g. hee~

The escalator to TriNoma's Garden was not spared :D

Walking around the garden :)

I like this photo taken by Kaiye. It's currently my Facebook profile pic :)

Photos from across the fountain

Mich and Jonas were at Timezone Arena so we visited them for a bit of videoke :D

Kaiye performing her rendition of M2M's Don't Say You Love Me. Yay for songs from our teenage years :D

Fun inside TriNoma's restroom hee~

Last photo at 6:30PM. I almost cried when were already saying our goodbyes.

I went back to Mich and Jonas after they went home.

Bestfriends, just like Jerome and me :)

Having a little bit too much fun with my camera's Makeup Mode :D

I was able to get home at about 9PM. I had so much fun with them! Through our threads in the message board and updates in social networking sites it felt like I have known them personally for a long time already! And it's so  cool that we never ran out of stories to talk about; we are as cool and bubbly and sweet as our online profiles :) Nothing so special happened as the day transpired just like a regular shopping day. What made it extraordinary is that I was with extraordinary people. They are proof that you can meet real and true friends ANYWHERE. I met Belle, Grace and Kaiye online, I met Mich in the office, and I met Jonas through her as he is her bestfriend. You see, you can have friends anywhere so long as you are nice enough :)


Speaking of one great lady, have you greeted Nikolett a Happy Birthday yet? No? Then what are you waiting for? Visit her page here :) She is one of the most amazing friends I have met in this big blogging world, and I am forever thankful our paths crossed :)

Let's do this again real soon, mmmkay?

Mockingjay Launch Party

First of all I'd like to thank you for your comments in my previous post where I put a little postscript about an office bully. Let me assure you that it's not my new manager. If anything, he has been really supportive about the whole ordeal. Depending on how things turn out, I might tell you more about it in the next few posts.

Today I'll tell you about an event I attended yesterday with my good friend/ officemate Mich and her sister Jed. After work, we went straight to Robinson's Galleria in Ortigas for the Mockingjay Launch Party which was held at NBS Bestsellers.

Wore my black jumpsuit with the new belt I got the other day and my black wedges. The wedges gave up on me though (the strap on one shoe split) so I had to buy new slippers at the shoe section of the department store. :(

The program started at 1PM. Since we get off work at 2PM, we were not able to listen to the book discussion but we were still able to watch the games and avail of some Mockingjay-themed treats.

The post-apocalyptic country of Panem divided into the Capitol and the thirteen districts.

Look at all the people! It felt so surreal being in a room filled with fans of the series!

Chocolate cookie stamped with the Mockingjay :)

Drinks from the Haymitch bar. That's colored Sprite with lychee jelly. Yummy! :)

Look Ma! A Mockingjay tattoo! :D

I also met blogger Blooey! She writes really good book reviews :) I actually saw the invite for the event from her blog.

Jed, Mich and me holding my copies of the Hunger Games trilogy :)

Hhhhnnnggg I want my own bookstore!

Of course I had to have photo taken there :D

We also had our photo taken at the photobooth. I might be able to scan the photo later hee. Thank you Mich and Jed for coming with me!

I finished reading Mockingjay yesterday. Gosh, that series left me speechless. I'm still recovering from the range of emotions it made me feel, so I'll  publish a much more comprehensive review once I have more time in my hands. I have to get ready in a few minutes because I'll go to SM North EDSA where I'll meet my Seventeen Sigaw sisters Belle, Grace, and Kaiye. I met Belle months ago but it'll be my first time to meet Grace and Kaiye after about six years of online friendship! I'm on leave from work today and the next two days are my rest days and they will all be spent getting together with friends. :)

I can just feel that this week is going to be great. I wish you all a wonderful week ahead!

Team Peeta all the way!

I succumbed.

I've been bad. I know I said the other day that I would stay locked up in my private world with Peeta, but because I accompanied my good friend/ officemate Marsha to Medical City for her checkup, I had no choice but to go to the mall (since their clinics are inside malls).

You all know the pretty pair of shoes I saw last week and how badly I want it. I guess you now know what comes next.

It's now mine!
So pretty it has its own billboard :D

Also,

I saw and liked this pair months ago when it still cost more than P1,000. Saw this again today with the price slashed to P399. You bet I did not let this go anymore XD 

Also got a pair of denim shorts and cute sleepwear yesterday and then went semi-crazy at the cosmetics section of Landmark today. The last couple of days have been traumatizing for my wallet but I love it!

I've been feeling bad the last couple of days. Question to you guys, how do you deal with bullying in the workplace?

Tomorrow I go back to my Hunger Games-fandom. I will attend Mockingjay's launch party at the Robinson's Galleria. :)

I won't be disturbed for the next two days.

I got this today.

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins. Finale of The Hunger Games trilogy.
Can you sense my excitement radiating from your computer screens?

I got a free shirt and bookmark (and 20% discount!) because I reserved my copy at National Bookstore.

The shirt's too big for me, but I don't mind.

I will be in my special place with my favorite character, Peeta.

"Deep in the meadow, hidden far away

A cloak of leaves, a moonbeam ray

Forget your woes and let your troubles lay

And when it's morning again, they'll wash away

Here it's safe, here it's warm

Here the daisies guard you from every harm

Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true

Here is the place where I love you."

- Katniss Everdeen's song to Rue

I wish you all a wonderful weekend, and may the odds be ever in your favor! :)

The day I picked sunshines with Mai

Even the bleakest of days and the darkest of clouds cannot break the resiliency of the Filipino spirit. My Facebook wall was awash with a rollercoaster of emotions that ranged from disgust and sadness over the hostage-taking the other day to happiness over our very own Venus Raj making it to the Top 5 of Miss Universe yesterday, to surprise over the "major, major" answer she gave, and to pride again after bagging the 4th Runner-up spot among 83 contestants. While my other contacts were posting basically the same messages throughout the day, my own profile wall was peppered with my excitement over the worldwide release of Mockingjay (third and last in the The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins) today. I finished reading Catching Fire earlier (391 pages in less than two days!) and I am so glad I did not read it months ago when my friend recommended it to me, or else I would have been frothing in the mouth already because of excitement :D Each chapter ends with a cliffhanger that I didn't have a choice but to carry on reading. The last words in the second book brought the most suspense that I caught my breath and gasped loudly, and I can't wait to get my copy tomorrow!

Anyway, in the last couple of posts I told you about my first (of many, I hope!) meet-up with my new blogfriend Mai. I almost didn't get a chance to meet her in this big, big cyberworld! I only found out about her blog when she left a message in my cbox on August 3. I checked out her blog, loved her posts, and left a message. Then and there we became friends! She said she has been reading my blog for quite a while now. Thank you Mai for leaving that message that led us to meet! :)

We were actually supposed to meet with Meream but because of unforeseen circumstances she was not able to come anymore. A missed opportunity, but I hope I will get to meet you someday when you come back to Manila or when I (hopefully) visit Cebu, Meream!

Our original plan was to visit thrift shops as I've never gone thrift shopping before and would really love to try it because of all the pretty stuff I see from people posting their hauls online. Mai and I met at Gateway and from there walked to the ukay-ukay shops along Cubao. Almost an hour of rifling through stuff and I was able to score only three items. We then walked to Cubao Expo. I am a tourist in my own city! It was also my first time to go there and I was awed, it was like a completely different world out there! The compound is lined with shops selling antiques, artsy-fartsy stuff, vintage cameras, paintings, and other knick-knacks not found in typical malls. It was a total artists' hub with an air of charm and rustic vibe to it. Too bad I was not able to take photos of the place as it was raining, but that's a reason to go back there, yes?

Some photos!

She is so cute and charming and adorable!

I couldn't compete with her in cuteness, really :D

We ate at Singapore Chicken Rice in Cubao.
This makes me so excited for my Singapore trip which is exactly two months away! :D

Thrifted! This is love at first sight. I can already imagine myself wearing it with my oxford pumps :)

Thrifted! This is for casual days at the mall. I'd pair it with my beige loafers :)

Thrifted! The moment I saw this I knew I would give it to my good friend/ officemate Mich. She loved it :)

I spent only P270 for all three. Not bad for a first-timer, eh? I would love to go and try my luck in other stores, but I guess those can wait. After our Singapore trip, maybe?

Besides, this pair has lingered in my mind for days:

I saw this in Waltermart last Saturday. It was Gibi's moving-out sale but this pair was too expensive even with the 10% discount. It's so pretty though. And comfortable. I tried it on three times before (my broken heart and) I left the shop with Marsha.

Oh books and shoes and clothes and other pretty thingamajigs, why must you torment me so?

Again, thank you Mai for walking me through my first ukay experience! It was really fun to talk to you about lots of stuff and find out about our similarities LOL. You are the first person I met who doesn't use condiments or any kind of sauce when eating, just like me! :D Let's meet up again soon, mmmkay?

Btw, noticed the new layout? I got bored with the other one and had too much time in my hands today hee. What do you think? :)

Words are not enough.

I am sure by now you've already heard about the awful incident that transpired in our country yesterday when a former police officer, Rolando Mendoza, took a busload of tourists from Hong Kong under hostage. Eight hostages were killed and seven were injured before the hostage-taker was shot dead in the 10-hour standoff. You can read the full report here.

Local news channels gave a blow-by-blow account of what was happening: the attempts of the SWAT team to take over the bus and their embarrassing failed attempts to do so, gunfires being shot left and right, bystanders wanting to see the action firsthand (with one being shot as well), and gruesome shots of bodies being carried out (which IMO should not have been shown. I mean, that is part of Journalism's Code of Ethics, people). Really, it would be funny if it wasn't so tragic.

My heart weeps for the victims and their families. My prayers are with them in the long grieving period ahead. My head is hung in shame over the incompetence and lack of training of our police force. What do we do when the same people who should be protecting us from the bad people of this world are the ones doing these awful acts? Words are not enough.

In the words of DJ Mo Twister, why are you bad, Philippines? :(

I still love you, though.

Quest for Catching Fire - completed!

The whole scurrying around Manila for the last week took a toll on my body as I went home today feeling very tired. I am not complaining, though! If anything, I feel very happy and thankful that I am spending my time wisely - that is, by going out there and exploring the city (and then recounting everything in my little space in the world wide web).

I have sooo many things I want to talk about: my first (of many in the future, I'm sure!) meeting with a very cute and adorable blogfriend Mai, exploring Cubao Expo, going thrifting and eating Singapore Chicken Rice (all in the same day, mind you. Would love to post about it now but my Internet connection via my Smartbro Plug-It is acting moody and I can't edit the photos properly); the lovely people I met through Mommy Terry who are sharing their precious time with me by giving me Bible lessons; new old books from Booksale; and my frustration that Eat Pray Love is still not being shown here. Oh wait, let me tell you about that now. I am sad and frustrated that Eat Pray Love is still not being shown here :(

This is just a quick post to say how pysched I am that I was finally(!) able to get myself a copy of Suzanne Collins' Catching Fire, the second book in the Hunger Games Trilogy. I guess the odds are in my favor today. I got the first book - The Hunger Games - last week but I did not start reading it until last Tuesday. I am telling you, the book was brilliant! Definitely a page-turner! The only reason why I did not finish reading it in two days was because I did not want to be left hanging until such time I get my paws on what happens next to Katniss Everdeen. I wanted a copy of the second book before I finish the first but alas, all the bookstores ran out of stock! I even dreamed of Katniss and Peeta last night. This morning though, during my second break from work, I cannot delay it any longer. I have to know how the first book ends. And so I finished it and let a friend borrow my copy, with a fervent wish that bookstores will have new stocks soon, or else I would have to resort to ebooks which I didn't want to do.

I got it for only P607.25 from its original price of P759 thanks to National Bookstore's sale! :)

Also bought some bookmarks.

Srsly, how cute are these? :D

Louisa May Alcott is one of my favorite classic authors.

I have to finish Catching Fire in two days as Mockingjay will be released worldwide on the 25th of August. In my side of the globe, that will be this Wednesday. On Wednesday I will claim the copy (and my free Mockingjay shirt!) that I have reserved in National Bookstore last week. I will write a comprehensive review when I finish reading the Trilogy.

I will start reading it tonight and I am so excited! So there's my quick post. :) As they say during the Reaping, "good luck, and may the odds be ever in your favor!"