~* SHOPPING & GREY'S ANATOMY *~

My calves hurt. As in. When I woke up today, I felt the muscle ache on my calves. Reminds me of the saying "shop til you drop"...

My Saturday started early coz my college friends Rose, She and I had planned to go shopping at 168 Shopping Mall. I met up with She at Sucat at 6:45am, then we picked up Rose at Las Piñas and then we drove to Divisoria, arriving at exactly 8:01am at 168. We ate breakfast at the nearby Chowking and then started to comb through the 168 stalls around 9am. We went through each and every frigging pasilyo alphabet on all three floors! I spent a total of Php1,700 and took home all these: 1 black office bag, 2 puff-sleeved plain colored shirts, 3 lace-trimmed tank tops, 1 chocolate brown asymmetrical blouse, 1 puff-sleeved office blouse, 1 pink & brown plaid clamdiggers, 1 basketball shorts (for my nephew) and 1 plain cotton shirt (for our househelp).

It was my first time to go to 168 and I was thrilled with all that good bargain! You'll definitely get a lot more bang for your buck when you shop there. Anyway, here are some tips which I learned from my friend Rose who is a seasoned 168 shopper (plus some of my own input):

1. Bring cash. Everything is on cash basis transaction so leave your credit cards at home.
2. Spread your cash. Don't keep everything in one place. I had some money on my wallet which was in my bag, some on my left pants pocket, some on my pants' tiny right pocket.
3. Don't bring your ATM card. If you want to be on a strict budget, leave your ATM card at home so you won't be tempted to withdraw more money just to buy some more unplanned stuff.
4. Dress simply. No bling-blings, no expensive watch. Avoid looking hmm *rich* so you can be believable when you make barat/tawad to the tindera.
5. Wear comfy footwear. Your feet are your friend in this journey to retail therapy!
6. If you must bring a bag, go for a body bag or belt bag. Don't bring shoulder bags that tend to dangle on your shoulders and become very accessible to pickpockets. Hold your bag closely and keep it in front (not even on your side) where you can see it.
7. Avoid flashing around your gadgets. Expensive celfones, iPods, PDAs or whathaveyous may tempt the pickpockets. Better be safe than sorry!
8. Always try to make tawad. Don't just buy at quoted price. Haggle and negotiate first for a really big discount. The vendor will usually disagree with your quoted price and will make a higher-priced counter-offer. Haggle some more until you reach a middle ground. It helps if you chika the tindera and talk nicely. If they don't give you your tawad, sometimes it helps if you feign losing interest and start walking away from the stall. More often than not, they call you back in and concede to your bargain price ;-)
9. Bring one huge sturdy bag. Put every item you buy inside this huge bag so that you won't have to struggle in lugging around a lot of plastic bags from the different stalls you buy from.
10. If you're bringing a car, strive to be at 168 by 8am (or even way earlier during peak season like Christmas time) so you can still get a good parking space.

We finished shopping and left the mall around 4pm. Wow. Imagine that! Virtually 7 freaking hours of walking! No wonder my calves hurt now :-(

After bonding with my college friends through shopping, I spent some q-time with my dear high school friends Abbie, Tin and Charo who went over to our house around 9pm last night. We scheduled a Grey's Anatomy "DVDthon" and watched the first 5 eps of season 3 in my room. We ate some junk food (No crumbs on my bed! I give them 5 stars!) while watching McDreamy, McSteamy and annoyingly pa-cute Ellen Pompeo [Meredith].

Tin had a grand time copying some of my mp3s into her portable hard drive. I heard her exclaiming over finding Jeremy Jordan, Wilson Philips and Tiffany songs in my PC :D On the other hand, Abbie "checked out" (yeah, I have a log book for anything borrowed from me, hehe! I'm OC with my possessions!) some of my CDs so she can OC-ly rip them at hmm 320kbps? ;-)

We were supposed to finish all 7 eps of GA on the DVD but we were too sleepy na by 3am so they all headed home. We'll just have to schedule another DVDthon for the rest of the 3rd season eps! ;-)

~* WHILE I WAS iTUNING... *~

I have been sooo remiss with my blogging duties... So here goes one big update!


I GOT MYSELF AN iPOD NANO. Yeah so basically this is the reason why I've been neglecting my blog. I was supposed to buy a Sony Ericsson Walkman fone W850i but got turned off when I examined an actual unit in the store so I ended up buying a pink iPod Nano instead. I have been OC'ing over putting album artworks and fixing the ID3 tags on my 2,999 mp3s worth 11.5GB. And I am still not freaking done. I haven't even organized the genre tags. Arghhh. And about a hundred mp3s still don't have their respective album artwork. OCness does give you carpal tunnel syndrome. Ouch.


I LOVE THE HOLIDAY! Saw this movie with Abbie & Charo last V-day. I love this movie! Jude Law and those dreamy eyes *sigh* I didn't feel any chemistry between Cameron Diaz (Amanda) and Jude Law (Graham) but I liked the pairing of Jack Black (Miles) and Kate Winslet (Iris). It's refreshing to see Kate act goofy and to see Jack as a romantic male lead. The lines in this movie are such quotable quotes, I love it... especially the lines of Kate's character. Here are some of my favorites:

Amanda: You know Graham, I just broke up with someone and considering you just showed up and you're insanely good-looking and probably won't remember me anyway... I'm thinking we should have sex... If you want.
Graham: Is that a trick question?

******
Iris: You're supposed to be the leading lady in your own life, for God's sake!

******
Iris: I like corny. I'm looking for corny in my life.

******

Iris: ... And then, there's another kind of love: the cruelest kind. The one that almost kills its victims. Its called unrequited love. Of that I am an expert. Most love stories are about people who fall in love with each other. But what about the rest of us? What about our stories, those of us who fall in love alone? We are the victims of the one sided affair. We are the cursed of the loved ones. We are the unloved ones, the walking wounded. The handicapped without the advantage of a great parking space! Yes, you are looking at one such individual. And I have willingly loved that man for over three miserable years! The absolute worst years of my life! The worst Christmas', the worst Birthday's, New Years Eve's brought in by tears and valium. These years that I have been in love have been the darkest days of my life. All because I've been cursed by being in love with a man who does not and will not love me back. Oh god, just the sight of him! Heart pounding! Throat thickening! Absolutely can't swallow! All the usual symptoms.

******

Iris: It doesn't matter how many new haircuts you get, or gyms you join, or how many glasses of chardonnay you drink with your girlfriends... you still go to bed every night going over every detail and wonder what you did wrong or how you could have misunderstood. and how in the hell for that brief moment you could think that you were that happy. And sometimes you can even convince yourself that he'll see the light and show up at your door. And after all that, however long all that may be, you'll go somewhere new. and you'll meet people who make you feel worthwhile again. And little peices of your soul will finally come back. And all that fuzzy stuff, those years of your life that you wasted, that will eventually begin to fade.

******
Hannah: My god, I've just noticed how pathetic you are.
Iris: Really? I'm *sooo* aware of it.

******


WE HAD A YUMMY FAMILY LUNCH AT KAMAYAN SA PALAISDAAN. My Tito Boyet from the States was in town for a short visit so we treated him and my Lola Pura out for lunch at Bay, Los Baños (Laguna) last Saturday. I love the ambiance of the place... the type where you can have a very relaxed lunch and just enjoy the "countryside" appeal of the place. {more pictures on my Multiply}






WE WATCHED AN URBANDUB & DICTA LICENSE GIG. Another Sonic Boom event was held in San Mig, ATC last Saturday so Tin and I grabbed this chance to see Urbandub and Dicta License perform live. Typecast, The Ambassadors and Airport Drama also played. Hilera wasn't able to come coz they were still in Fairview. Got a little bitin on the Urbandub set coz they didn't do an encore :( Gabby looked pretty tired already. But they did a kick-ass set anyway so it's all good. Pochoy (Dicta License) looked *hot* as usual. He is just *so* cute in white shirt (ooh, a new version of the Faspitch shirt in white!). Dicta License played last so the crowd pretty much thinned out when it was time for them to play. Good for me though coz I managed to stay right beside the stage on Boogie's side. Really -- this band is so damn good looking (pogi rock alert!)... every single band member is cute in their own way. But that's not to underestimate the intensity of their songs. Pochoy sings with so much passion about socially-relevant themes that is meant to wake up the youth of today. Now THAT's extra pogi points ;-)

~* NOW PLAYING: The Kill by 30 Seconds to Mars *~

Found this nice acoustic version of The Kill which was performed by 30STM at AOL Sessions...

THE KILL

by: 30 Seconds to Mars

What if I wanted to break
Laugh it all off in your face
What would you do?
What if I fell to the floor?
Couldn’t take this anymore
What would you do, do, do?

Come break me down
Bury me, bury me
I am finished with you

What if I wanted to fight
Beg for the rest of my life
What would you do? (do, do)
You say you wanted more
What are you waiting for?
I’m not running from you

Come break me down
Bury me, bury me
I am finished with you
Look in my eyes
You’re killing me, killing me
All I wanted was you

I tried to be someone else
But nothing seemed to change
I know now, this is who I really am inside
Finally found myself
Fighting for a chance
I know now, this is who I really am

Come break me down
Bury me, bury me
I am finished with you, you, you
Look in my eyes
You’re killing me, killing me
All I wanted was you

Come break me down
Break me down
Break me down

What if I wanted to break?

~* 30 SECONDS TO JARED LETO *~

Jared Leto: From My So-called Life to rockin' 30 Seconds To Mars

So I just found out that Jared Leto was actually the vocalist of 30 Seconds to Mars when I chanced upon an E! celebrity feature on Cameron Diaz early this January (he used to date Cameron). I was surprised to know that coz I've been digging 30STM since last year! And frankly, my only vivid memory of Jared Leto was from the Claire Danes TV series "My So Called Life" which I used to watch back in my highschool days. I don't even remember seeing him in Panic Room nor in Fight Club (must be too much Brad Pitt eyeballing)!

Anyway, I first got into 30 Seconds to Mars' music last year when I saw them as one of the nominees in the MTV Video Music Awards -- mentioned pretty much in the same breath as Panic! At The Disco whom I also love. And so, I can't believe how a Hollywood actor can actually rock! NOT a lame attempt at all! The band has enough street cred since their single "The Kill" rose up the charts. He can actually sing... I saw this one interview in youtube and he was fooling around & singing in a Sinatra kind of way-- so unlike the screamo vocals on A Beautiful Lie [album]. You know how screamo-alt-rock their music is? I was listening to their album in my Winamp at the office the other day and my boss actually asked me to tone down my music. Heh. Probably way too much of Jared's screamo-emo :p Favorite tracks from the album (aside from The Kill which was my first love): A Modern Myth [loved the violin tracks here!], Attack, From Yesterday, Hunter [a cool Bjork cover!], The Fantasy... Well actually the entire album rocks :-)

The band's drummer, by the way, happens to be Jared's brother Shannon. Their guitarist Tomo actually started out as a fan and then later auditioned as a replacement. (No interesting footnote about the bassist. Heh.)

the 35-year old eyeliner-wearing hottie as he appears in 'the kill' vid

I've been youtube'ing and I've seen funny interviews of the band and live performances. I love their acoustic performances... most of the performances were just with Tomo & Jared onstage and in those stripped down arrangements, it's amazing how Jared's voice is actually nice in a soothing, breathy, semi-gravelly kind of way. There are some Daily Download videos on youtube which had Jared & Tomo accompanied by this string section which resulted in a gorgeous version of The Kill. In the funny interviews, Jared's facial expression [when he amps up his humor] reminds me of Jim Carrey. And one interviewer actually introduced him as "singer/actor/hottie." And hottie indeed he is. He's got those pretty intense eyes and killer lashes, virtually perfect teeth and those lips that curl at the corners.

Been surfing up some bad press about him though... this thing about his fight with Elijah Wood and this blogger/press writer... his dating habits... etc. And do you remember that infamous pic of him kissing Scarlett Johansson wherein he was actually checking his phone WHILE kissing her?! But anyway, strictly talent-&-looks-dept. only, I would chalk him up beside Brandon Boyd of Incubus ;-)

~* HAPPY B-DAY MOM! *~

Twas my mom's birthday Jan 7th so we treated her out for a nice yummy dinner at Seafood Island (Market Market - The Fort) last Saturday night. Haven't eaten crabs for a long time so I pigged out on the Salt & Pepper Crab... in fact, that was all I ate (okay, and some oyster rockefeller. Mmm!)

with the bday celebrant

yum yum boodle feast et al. and the *very* nice lights on one corner of the resto

~* NOW PLAYING: LOVE WILL TEAR US APART by FALL OUT BOY *~

I have Nouvelle Vague's lounge-y chill-out version and I have recently stumbled upon this awesome punked out acoustic version by Fall Out Boy over at Multiply. Ooh I just love cover versions. This is originally done by Joy Division (uhh, Joy who? hehe.) back in the 80s.

When routine bites hard
and ambitions are low
And resentment rides high
but emotion won't grow
And we're changing our ways,
taking different roads
Then love, love will tear us apart again

Why is the bedroom so cold
turned away on your side?
Is my timing that flawed?
our respect run so dry..
Yet there's still this appeal
that we've kept through our lives
Love, love will tear us apart again

Do you cry out in your sleep
All my failings exposed
Get a taste in my mouth
As desperation takes hold
Is it something so good...
Just can't function no more?
But love, love will tear us apart again

~* NEW YEAR, NEW YOU, LET'S MULTIPLY *~

It's a brand spankin' new year so I was inspired to change my template and finally displace some of my houndstooth pattern fixation ;-)

Last week, I just saw this certain postcard from PostSecret which totally got my attention. It read "Everyday I am asked to be a magician in a world where magic doesn't exist." And then somebody emailed a reaction about the postcard and Frank posted it too. I love the inspiring/empowering words of the person who reacted: "You aren't the magician, you are the magic." Wow. Very concise but it had such a big impact on me. And that's how my new template theme was born.

~*+=+=+=+=+=+=+*~

I believe Abbie has beat me to it (she texted me about it yesterday) but I'm also gonna rave about Multiply. At first I was just using it for the photo albums but when I was told that I can search for music there, I was in love. I am a big mp3 junkie and I have started with winMX back in 2001 and then switched to Kazaa, shifted to Bearshare and lately, I have been using Sharezaa. But now, I think I'm gonna stick with Multiply for my mp3 needs. I swear, you can find almost anything there! From really old 90s Pinoy rock.... to band covers of pop songs... to the Lacoste (touch of pink) perfume commercial soundtrack. There are just a handful of elusive tracks that I have not yet found so far like Nadege's version of Heart's "These Dreams", Agot Isidro's "How Can I Be Sure", The Party's "Where is My Romeo", Tribal Fish songs, "Black to Gray" by I'm-not-sure-who but it's OPM -- Skychurch or something and Saga's "Berto." I'm also eager to upload and share some obscure and lesser-popular songs so watch out ;-) I've already uploaded two playlists as of now so feel free to download! :-)