Sperry is LOVE

I have always been fascinated with boat shoes. For some reason, I find them smart and chic. So when I told myself I want to get my own boat shoes, it should  not be a puchu-puchu shoes.

Then there's Sebago, Sperry and other boat shoe versions of each brand. But one time, during my cousin's birthday shopping, she bought her own Sperry boat shoes. I was able to have a chance to get inside the Sperry store in Trinoma and everything there is beautiful. But then again, the price is a bit steep.

And so how did Iget my own Sperry? Remember my Christmas Wishlist post and my birthday gift post? Aldrin gave me Php8,000 as his Christmas gift budget but I only spent Php1,990 for the Ray-Ban, right? Well, a portion of the money he gave me went to the Sendong victims and... there's few money left for my Sperry.

Then last Saturday, after Aldrin and I watched Enteng ng Ina Mo, we happened to pass by a store in Megamall that sells Sperry and Keds shoes. To cut the long story short, napabili ako.

So there.... Thanks, my dear husband for your advance birthday gift (My birthday is on January 27).

Bahama in Metallic Suede

A Happy Wife on Christmas

You all probably read my Christmas Wishlist post. And of course, my husband got to read it as well. And so for December, here's what I got...

Ray-Ban Outdoorsman

Pardon my one and only picture since I took the photo using my phone only.

The story:

So my husband said he'll buy my the Outdoorsman that I like. We went through the malls to check the prices. It's Php8490.00 for every pair. Quite steep. I bargained with my husband. He'll just give me Php8,000 and I will pay for the Php490. He agreed. Well, he agreed because he has really no patience of scouting for good prices and he just put the responsibility on my shoulders of looking for my gift. He's not a good shopper.

Honestly, I am hesistant to buy this since the price is well... you know. So in search for the most affordable Ray-Ban shades, I bumped into this RIMA Warehouse sale in the internet. And days after anxiously waiting for the December 15 sale, at 8am sharp, I was already Pasong Tamo Ext. Unfortunately, the salesman said that they already ran out of Outdoorsman since they had their first sale last November. But I did not lose hope. I told kuya to look for more shades in their boxes. They found 2 - a regular  Outdoorsman and a polarized one. I didn't get the polarized one because the shape does not fit my face. I held on tight to the only regular Outdoorsman since a lot of people are eye-ing on it and my money (Aldrin) is not yet here. Price by the way is Php3,900 only! Not bad!

Then Aldrin came, handed me his Php8,000 (Christmas gift budget). I did sort of a quality inspection and found a little defect on the sides of the shades but is not obvious actually.

Me: Kuya, may defect ng konti sa gilid. baka may discount pa yan?

Kuya: Wala na talaga maam.

Me: Okay, sige kunin ko na yan.

Kuya: Maam, pakibayaran na lang sa cashier.

At the cashier...

Me: Ate, baka naman may super super discount pa yan kasi may konting defect.

Cashier/ Supervisor: asan maam?

Me: ayan po (pointing at the tiny defect).

Cashier: o sige maam, Php1,990 na lang po.

Me: ooooohyeaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!!!!

Then I realized everyone was staring at me. Ray-Ban Outdoorsman for Php1,900 only. Quite a steal!!! It really pays when you do your research first and a professional haggler always comes in handy. 

What I got myself for Christmas

Christmas gift for myself.

the free toner!

This is a long overdue post. I bought these when I did my Christmas shopping a week before Christmas. Then Sendong came and we were all busy with the donations.

Etude House Treat! I bought myself the following:

Bubble Hair Color – Php378.00

Moistfull Peeling – Php448.00

 Happy Tea Time Cleansing Foam – Php148.00

 I NEED YOU Aloe Mask Sheet  – Php58.00

TOTAL:  Php1,032.00

And I get a free Wonder Pore Freshener Toner!!!

I should do a follow up post on my Bubble Hair Color. The Moistfull Peeling is very good. Aside from feeling smooth after every use, I noticed my skin feels supple. Or I think, the Happy Tea Time Cleansing Foam helped as well. I just love the Happy Tea Time smell!

Of Help and Of Hope

So when I got saw the pictures of how badly stricken our city was because of Sendong, it suddenly rushed to me the urge to help. It was like it was a reflex, a part of my system that did not require me to think about it. Even if I was here in Manila at the time of tragedy, I knew I could help. Good thing that we already have booked our flights on December 27, 2011 because we usually spent the New Year in my hometown while Christmas, on my in-laws. I thought it was a good opportunity for me to ask for any form of donations I can bring to CDO. Besides, my cousins are doing daily relief operations to the victims. Immediately after the tragedy, they started cooking and delivered foods to the people. Our family members tried their best to be of help at that time because government help wasn’t really there yet. Everyone helped in their best way that they can. Cagay-anons from other countries also sent cash donations. My cousins used that money to buy food, lampara, sheets, blankets, laminated canvass (trapal), banig, etc. because those are really the ones that are badly needed in the affected areas.

Photo credits to my cousins Maebelle Bernardino and KC Saldua:

Relief goods all set now.

Improvised lamparilla by my cousins

Laminated sacks

Dinner time for them.

I, on the other hand, collected donations from my in-laws, officemates and friends. Special shout out to Leslie of AUB, Ate Gena of Healthy Options, Boss Matt of CVG, Michelle of Sutherland, Marie of Project I Am Love for coordinating the donations of their respective companies/teams.

Cerelac for babies.

The donations inside our house

Vitamins and cough syrup for the kids.

Paracetamol, Mucosolve, Syndrex and Vit. C for adults

The donations outside our house.

The donations deposited at Cebu Pacific

All in all, we sent out at least 300 kilos of clothing in LBC, 100 kilos through Asia Brewery and deposited 271 kilos in Cebu Pacific. Unfortunately, Cebu Pac has a 5-7 days of backlog for cargo because of the relief goods.  We deposited then December 26, 2011 and the 21 boxes arrived in CDO December 31, 2011 and the remaining 4 boxes, January 3, 2012.

My Superfriends and I had a feeding session last December 28. I spent my New Year's Day doing relief operations with my sister, her bf and my cousins.

All in all, it was a tiring experience yet it was fulfilling. We never really had a Christmas vacation because we all helped out. Plus, there was no water in 80% of the city so we have to get water somewhere else. So everyone was really doing their part. There’s no room for laziness in this situation. We spent the New Year’s eve at my auntie’s house where my grandparents and other relatives who were Sendong victims stayed. The reunion was bitter sweet. I could not dare ask them to recount what happened on that tragic night. I just thought we should just celebrate and be thankful that we are all safe. I know it’s hard to forget especially with the kids that had trauma but I put everything in good faith that everyone will recover from this tragedy. There were fireworks at 12mn but it was really different. Different from other New Year’s celebration that we had. I think the word that best describes the people of CDO during New Year was EXHAUSTED. Everyone was tired but somehow had that positive hope that everything will be better in the following year. Truly this is one humbling experience for me.

Wild Sendong Visits Our Home

December 17, 2011. It was a rainy Friday night. I was facilitating parlor games for it was our team Christmas party. We are all having fun when I got a text message from my mom saying, “Please pray for our family in Balulang. Naa na sila sa atop sa balay. (Please pray for our family in Balulang. They are now on top of the roof.)” I thought it was another OA story from my mom since Balulang, where our grandparents’ house is located is situated in an Antipolo-level altitude. How can there be flood in such place when my parents house in  Kauswagan is the one the usually gets flooded when there’s a bit of too much rain. So how in the world Balulang gets flooded when Kauswagan hasn’t sunk in yet? The downside of Balulang is - beside the baranggay, runs the Cagayan River.

So I continued the fun at the party when my mom started calling me. Then she was crying. And then I started to panic. I told her I’ll try to contact some of my friends to rescue Balulang. Balulang is part of my life. You see, I grew up there. When my grandparents built the house when I was about in grade 2, there were at least 50 families living there. The place was quiet and secluded. I loved it there.  Then I turned out to be lolo and lola’s girl. I basically just grew up there. I always go home with my grandparents even when I was already working at the age of 22. My husband, Aldrin, even slept there for a couple of times. I knew the place very well. I have grade school, high school and college friends from Balulang. Everybody knows everybody. And so I contacted all my connections. From high school friends, neighbors, producers of a huge television network, friends that are closely connected to politics, etc. I tried my really best. I was busy that night but I excused myself from the party to ask for help.

Then my mom texted me that my grandparents, aunties, uncles, cousins (ages 3-10 years old) are now safe and now in our neighbor’s second floor. I felt safe too. I relaxed, joined my colleagues for some drinks after the party without really knowing the real situation.

Photo credits to my Auntie Lyn:

That's our roof right there.

Our roof and my lola's tall plants/trees.

The rest of the survivors in our neighbor's second floor.

Our house damage. This was taken during the clean-up.

My cousins.

When I got home, I immediately opened Facebook and everything I saw really sent me to tears. I was crying. No, I was weeping.

Photo credits to Gian Paolo Duterte and Lyndon Abing:

Then friends, friends of friends, familiar faces, neighbors, classmates, batchmates, family member started to communicate each other doing a headcount. I thank the good Lord all my loved ones and friends are safe but some of our neighbors were unlucky. Many have died, have been missing. The houses were totally damaged. There’s mud everywhere. The roads, posts, establishments were damaged.  And the worse thing is, there’s no water.