Bye 2012!

Yesterday was the end of the world according to the Mayan Calendar. I'm here to update the day after...I must be a survivor, or Armageddon was cancelled again for some reason as it has been on several occasions now. Who knows, maybe next year will be the end of the world again?

It's been a long wait, but finally I can breathe a sigh of relief as the year closes to an end. This has to be my worst year yet. I thought this was going to be my year because it's the Year of the Dragon...but no, the dragon was a total bitch! Seriously, had the world ended this year I'd be in deep crap because I know I will get no rest until I find redemption. Imagine me becoming one of those unrest souls in a world of an apocalytic aftermath...what's the point of being a ghost if there won't be any humans left to scare?

If there's one thing I look forward to this year, it was to end it...not necessarily via apocalypse, just get it over with December 31, 2012 - 23:59:59. 2013 better be good to me or else I'd be damned to endure another terrible year. My only consolation was buying myself a bunch of new stuff because, as a must for all, we must prioritize ourselves this Christmas season...therefore, before buying everyone else's Christmas present I bought myself these well-deserved gifts.


1. Hedgren Sling Bag (Php. 2700++ from Travel Club)

I have been eying this bag for a long time at Bratpack now, it's just that the ones available then were either too big or isn't the right shape I want. When I saw this on Glorietta's Travel club, I knew this was "it". I can still recall the priceless look the sales lady gave me when I said I was going to purchase the bag. You see, I was not in the mood to wear shoes that day, so I wore a shirt, some jeans, and the slippers I use at home. As you may well know by now, sales people were trained to not mind the people who look incapable of spending, so I went around the store unnoticed. When I finally inquired about the price of the bag, the sales lady wasn't enthusiastic about telling me that it was a little pricey. I recognized it as an all-purpose rude expression. That's wasn't my concern. Upon hearing that the price was in my budget range of below Php 3000.00 I immediately said, "Okay, I'll buy it." It took less than a second between the closing of her mouth and my decision to get it. And you should've seen the face of the woman, wide-eyed and jaw falling in disbelief that a woman dressed unfit to enter their store could do impulse buying under such quick circumstances. I had to dissuade myself from suddenly doing my signature evil in-your-face laugh...to see her send a telepathic apology as she handed me the paper bag was in-your-face enough.

This Hedgren was designed in Belgium, but made in China...and one of North Face's sister company. I love the words written on the print:

range results of Book or Life,
between and written those words!
Before the nebula of thoughts
history for the whole purpose
cleaning, beating flights crying
those starting art

Okay...I did not get that one either...must be a Chinese translation of a song or something.

2. Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf 2013 Planner (Priceless in my opinion, but if I add up the bill of 12 stamps in total, it will cost somewhere around Php. 1600++)

This may be the shortest amount of time I got to collect the stamps. In a span of two and a half weeks I was able to get the planner...simply because they gave it sometime mid-November, and knowing that I'll be leaving for Bacolod early December, I was pressured to drink CBTL almost every day for the planner. I'm thankful I was able to make it because other planners for 2013 doesn't seem all that perfect to carry around everywhere and write on...CBTL's planner had the perfect size, the perfect paper thickness and color, and the perfect daily space-size to fill up...I still wish the Saturday and Sunday boxes were bigger though because it's the only time of the week that I actually get to do a lot more than work a routine. Their coupons aren't all that interesting compared to two years ago though...sad.

3. Hardbound Notebook (Php. 200++ from a'postrophe)

I love this new fad of using the Brit-post-war ad campagine of "Keep Calm and Carry On" thing. There had been a lot of rendition and rephrasing going on, but I think the original thing is where the point of it all comes from. It's made in China--I know...but they did good with the paper quality used for the pages because the lines were dark brown and cleanly printed. I'm quite particular about where I write because it affects my thinking flow for some reason...those notebooks with blue lines irritate me and distract me from writing striaght because all I could think of is how ugly the lines look. But a closer inspection on the cover will tell you that it is made in China because behind the British tag line is a sentence saying, "New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area etc."

4. Five pairs of Muji Knitted Socks (Php. 695.00 from Muji)

Muji, though clearly is a Japanese brand, is chuck-full of Made in China tags. In my campaigne to avoid made in China products, I often look for the tag to see where it's made...unfortunately 90% of which are from China. When I got a glimpse of the Made in Japan text though, I gotta have it! It's one of the few items in Muji actually made in Japan. The thing is from recycled yarn which means it's eco-friendly other than the fact that it looks perky and cool.

As a side note, I forgot that this is one of the things I wrote on my wish list for our Secret Santa exchange gift program game thingy. Wait--come to thing of of it, I bought this after I wrote it on my wish list because I was so excited of recieving it that I actually bought it for myself instead. Anyway, I had a lot on my wish list that I thought I was gonna get the CBTL tumbler because it was cheaper than the socks...but Katrina was happily counting her gold bars when she decided to get me my secret gift. Now I have 10 pairs in my closet. Sweet!

5. Capri Cloth Wallet (Php. 1850.00 from Muji)

With my leather wallet self-distructing itself with its self-inflicting tears, it looked pitiful in my new bag...so I went to hunt down my new wallet for the next two or so years. I had three qualifications: it must be a three-fold, it must fit the back pocket of my pants, and it must not scream its beautiful branding. Check. Check. Check. The material was durable, it had a few slits to fit the few cards I carry, there was a copper zipper detailing on the inside which looked totally sophisticated...plus I have a thing for the blue and brown color combination lately thanks to Tricia Gosingtian's photos of guys wearing those color pairing in Paris. The only thing that was really hard for me was that it was a lot over my price budget. But it is lovely to grab and fill cash with. I think this will be a lucky wallet.