I'm genki, and i've got my genki umbrella..

Yatta! I finally got my own genki umbrella! Yes, i'm referring to the transparent umbrellas used by most Japanese people. It's light-weight, comes in different colors and lastly, it's cheap! :)

When I read Anton's blog entry regarding this uber cute, transparent umbrellas, I immediately bought one for myself. Yeah, I'm afraid the supplies won't last long especially when everyone discovered and started to have one. Haha! Bad.. :P

Anyway, I got the violet one. It's cute. I'll post the pictures when I transferred it from my phone. I'm still thinking if I'll be getting the white one or the yellow one.. hahaha! I'm getting hooked on this, promise! I even got compliments, it's like I'm a walking advertisement. People tend to look at my umbrella everytime I use it. Of course, it's not suitable during sunny days since it's transparent. You'll still get sun-kissed if you use it. haha! It's perfect nowadays since it's raining most of the times.. ^__^

I'll post my genki-umbrella-experience on the review section.. :D

Confessions of a Flip Flop Fanatic

While I was looking for a certain file in my hard drive, I stumbled upon a file named, 'confessions.odt'. I thought it was one of the articles I've downloaded before, but it was not. It was one of the articles I've written a few years ago. And while I'm reading it, I realized, I think it is worth posting..

So here it is.. enjoy reading!

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Confessions of a Flip Flop Fanatic

by: Shane

I have been such a great fan of locally made flip flops back then. Banana Peel. Mixstar. Bench. Bayo. I usually ended up buying Banana Peel flip flops since it comes in a wide variety of colors and designs for a very cheap price. Not bad for a person like me who's fond of collecting flip flops since I can always buy a pair whenever I want. Though the fashion market offers a huge selection of footwear, it never came to my mind to purchase a pair of rubber slippers which cost as much as the branded shoes until I accidentally discovered “Havaianas”.


It all started last May 2005 when I saw a cute pair of rubber slippers from Brazil on an Internet website. It has the word “Havaianas” engraved on its pearly white straps and its sole is covered with printed flowers both in pink and white. That pair really caught my eyes and made me say “I want to have a Havaianas”. That time, it was not yet popular and purchasing one was not easy since I didn't have any idea where to find those Brazil-made ones.


My desire to have a pair grows as days pass by. I even have photos of it stored in my local drive and I could stare at them almost everyday. I could still remember Benette, my former officemate, saying to stop staring at those photos and go buy myself a pair. But being a “segurista” that I am, buying one is never easy. I had to convince myself for so many times that Havaianas is worth the price. Still, I didn't get myself a pair.


My Havaianas fantasy became an instant reality when I received a 500-peso worth of Rustan's Gift Certificate as a birthday gift from the DEVS. Inside the envelope is a drawing of a pair of flip flops with a note from Leigh saying “Pambili ng Havaianas”. I can hardly express my happiness during that time especially when I bought my first ever Havaianas pair – a Brazil flag Havaianas.


I wear my Havaianas for almost everyday. Not that I bring them to office, I wear them at home. I also make it to a point that I wear them every time I go out on a weekend. And since it entered my life, I started to ignore my other flip flops as well as my other shoes. It even left tan lines on my feet.


I've worn them everywhere. I wear them from beaches to shopping malls, to parties and even to Divisoria where imitations are so rampant. It never go out of shape. There I realized that Havaianas is really worth its price. These rubber slippers are so flexible that you can bend them and still the rubber wouldn't go out of its original shape.


I fell in love with it and my passion to have pairs increases.


One pair is followed by another and another until it reached a dozen. I could still hear some people asking about my addiction, wisecracking that they can buy a local “tsinelas” for a fraction of the price of Havaianas. But to those people who share the same passion as mine know that Havaianas is not just a typical “tsinelas”. Unbelievably, they are extremely comfortable. No matter how long I wear them, my feet don't feel such pain. I'm a flat-footed person and heels are not my best friends.


Twenty-eight pairs of stylish Brazilian flip flops hang on my wall. Most of them were from my hard-earned salary, a few of them were gifts from my boyfriend and one from the DEVS. These twenty-eight pairs came from different parts of the world – one from US, three from Dubai and the rest were from Manila.


Twenty-eight pairs sound crazy but not when you are a collector and not when you find out that they are my only current indulgence. I no longer go to shopping malls every weekend and splurge on nonsense things.


The period of collecting my twenty-eight pairs of Havaianas taught me some key things in life. Through this passion, I have gained new friends – friends whom I haven't seen yet in person and it's only the world wide web that connects us. My phone book, on the other hand, is loaded with tons of contact numbers from different authorized resellers nationwide. My face is already familiar to some salespeople from All Flip Flops. Every time I pay a visit, some of them greet me as if we're old friends.


Despite my addiction, my feet still remain on the ground and attached to reality. I am aware that in due time I have to give up everything even my biggest obsession. But for now, I think I don't have to. I'll just enjoy the best things that I have right now including my precious collection.


I know that there are worse obsessions other than my flip flop fantasies. My flip flop obsession is not even detrimental to my health and to those people around me. As long as it doesn't harm anyone, I shall continue to wear them with pride.


So allow me to float away with my addiction. This is the current indulgence that I have and I am willing to share my passion to everyone. Go, get yourself a pair and tell me your experience about it. ;)

Thank God..

ok, calm down..

katatapos lang ng sunog dito sa street namin.. and i'm still in a state of shock. Tulog kasi ako tapos bigla na lang ako ginising ng pinsan ko na may sunog daw. Buti na lang sa kanto lang ng street namin un, but still katakot pa rin. Lahat ng tao nasa kalsada na, nagkakagulo kasi wala pang bumbero.. WTF! Nawalan ng dial tone ung mga landline dito..

Super disappointed ako sa barangay captain.. ni- anino nya di ko nakita.. wala man lang sila nagawa. hay! At syempre, nag-panic din ako baka kasi kumalat pa ung apoy at makadamay pa ng iba.. Tumawag ako ng bumbero.. pasig ata ung natawagan ako.. nag-text din ako sa tita ko para tulungan kaming magtawag ng bumbero.. at eto pa kinaiinisan ko, may dumating na 1, volunteer ata un.. todo porma pa ung bumbero.. tas pagdating, walang lamang tubig ung tank. WTF! ang daming volunteer na mga taga-dito na ready ng tumulong.. tas ung mismong bumbero.. walang tubig! Buti na lang ung mga tao dito nagtulong-tulong hanggang sa napatay ung apoy. GAWD.. how disappointing! Dumating naman ung iba pang bumbero kaso tapos na..

Cause daw ng sunog is nag-overheat ung aircon.. nalimutan daw patayin, e wala daw tao dun sa bahay na un ngayon.. tsk.. tsk.. buti na lang at walang nasaktan.. at eto pa, ung kwarto na nasusunog, may baril pala dun.. ayun, nagputukan lahat.. e kung may matamaan ng ligaw na bala..

Pagkatapos ng sunog, nakita ko dad ko.. basang - basa. Isa pala siya sa mga tumulong dun sa pagpatay ng sunog.. Hay, at least, ok na lahat ngayon..

Na-aawa din ako dun sa nasunugan pero since mayaman naman sila, kaya naman nilang magpagawa ng bagong bahay.. masakit nga lang sa bulsa, at nawala ung ibang napundar..

Lesson learned: Be super duper extra careful.. esp. this summer.. uso palagi ang sunog..

No more apologies, CDO-Camiguin teaser

I really should stop apologizing for neglecting this blog.
Yeah, I mean it. Seriously. It's getting older and older.

I know most of the times, I disappear and reappear.And I keep on apologizing before noticing I'm disappearing again.

So this time, I will stop apologizing. Because maybe, err..just maybe, if I stop on apologizing, then I can actually get some blogging done.

A lot of things happened since my last post. Kathy and I finalized our plans for the CDO/Camiguin trip. Jori had undergone an operation for his impacted tooth which made Kathy changed their plan. We had our much-awaited trip to Cagayan De Oro and Camiguin Island for 4 days and 3 nights. Kathy and Jori were unable to join us for the first 2 days. But the good thing is, both of them were able to catch up with us.

At the end, it was great to see the whole team complete and enjoyed the entire CDO-Camiguin adventure. It was really a once-in-a-lifetime experience! ^__^

{ this our raft while conquering the rapids of Cagayan River }

{white water rafting, Cagayan De Oro, 03092k8 }

so guys, where's our next destination? :P

ps:
I'll try to blog the CDO/Camiguin trip experience on a separate entry.

Happy Valentine's Day!

so yeah, everyone's celebrating the hearts day!

love is in the air, ne?
flowers, balloons, chocolates.. even couples wearing the couple shirts.. everywhere..

and as for me, well.. i'm here at the office.. working until now..
it's currently 2:09 in the morning, GMT +8 MNL Time..

see.. this is how I celebrated my Valentine's day...
a HAPPY CAMPER on Valentine's Day! beat that! hahahaha!

on a lighter note, i did have a wonderful day..
despite of tons of workloads, someone out there surprised me..
yes, Glenn surprised me again! could you believe that?

for the second time around, he gave me a bouquet of white roses. But this time, the bouquet comes with 3 red heart-shaped balloons.. wow! honestly, i never expected that, to think that someone who's not fond of giving flowers, will give me another one just like last what happen last year.. of course, this year is way much better.. awww .. ^__^

i feel so touched and blessed...

so before i go back to work, i hope everyone had a great time celebrating the hearts day even if you're single, married or in a relationship..

ps:

happy anniversary to kathy and jori.. ^__^

Happy Valentine's Day!

so yeah, everyone's celebrating the hearts day!

love is in the air, ne?
flowers, balloons, chocolates.. even couples wearing the couple shirts.. everywhere..

and as for me, well.. i'm here at the office.. working until now..
it's currently 2:09 in the morning, GMT +8 MNL Time..

see.. this is how I celebrated my Valentine's day...
a HAPPY CAMPER on Valentine's Day! beat that! hahahaha!

on a lighter note, i did have a wonderful day..
despite of tons of workloads, someone out there surprised me..
yes, Glenn surprised me again! could you believe that?

for the second time around, he gave me a bouquet of white roses. But this time, the bouquet comes with 3 red heart-shaped balloons.. wow! honestly, i never expected that, to think that someone who's not fond of giving flowers, will give me another one just like last what happen last year.. of course, this year is way much better.. awww .. ^__^

i feel so touched and blessed...

so before i go back to work, i hope everyone had a great time celebrating the hearts day even if you're single, married or in a relationship..

ps:

happy anniversary to kathy and jori.. ^__^

..break from work part 2..

Xin Nian Kuai Le... Gong Xi Fa Cai..

in short,

Happy Chinese New Year!!!