weekend trippin' part deux

Manila, Manila, I keep coming back to Manila...

Going there i had The Hotdogs' song playing over and over again in my head. Yup, that's where we were going! After a late night last friday, Jason, Melissa, Mitsy and I trekked to Divisoria early on Saturday (11am is early for a weekend y'know) to check out pirated dvds, cheap cheap goods and yup, stuff i need for the office.

See, things would have been easier if we took the mrt. Thing was, we had to drop off Melissa's cousin Louie along Quezon Ave., so we decided to do the "old school" way and ride an FX. Interesting trip, and i might say, it was cool to ride one of those again. Note: I do not abhor FXs or any mode of transportation similar to it. In fact, when i was living in Proj. * i used to ride it a;ll the time. It has been quite some time since i rode one though. Anyway, we took one and were able to get down Quiapo.

Quiapo church and "plaza" was something of an eyesore before, but they cleaned it up (thank God!). However, when we got there, the place was cosed down (weird for a Saturday). Anyhoo, we decided to bask in the scenery and check out the market. Lotsa goodies and stuff! I felt bad i didn't bring a camera to take it all in. Got myself some good ole' street food since i haven't eaten breakfast --- corn, some squid balls and yep, mineral water. It was exhilarating being in Quiapo again --- a lot has changed since i was here (back in college we'd go here for really cheap camera and photo supplies) , like the fact that the streets were nicer (well, there was a better semblance of a walkway, and th evendors were mroe lined up, hehe) and sincve it was Saturday (a.k.a. Market Day) there were a lot of items being sold, from pirated dvds to the cheapest fruit shakes (Jason swears they taste a LOT better than the ones we had in Bora).

An interesting ride to Divisoria commenced since we took another jeep towards Recto. Walked along the busy intersections before finally arriving at Tutuban, the "mall" in the Divisoria area. While they searched for DVDs, i went through the retail stores outside to buy some sinamay and some ribbons to use for the boxes i was supposed to work on for work.

What's amazing about Divisoria is that things are cheap and really easy to find here, despite the heat and busy traffic. They have specialty stores which can carry the most obscure items (there were two stores which just specialized on candles and wax --- anything and everything you need to make candles) as well as interesting retailers outside lined up selling kewl toys and items (i saw a bundle of Snoopy toys being sold for P10 a pile) I can hardly believe this is still part of Manila sometimes --- the crowd, the heat, the chaos! It's stifling yet engaging.

My legs could not take any more of the walking afterward, not can my body take all that heat and chaos. Soon my battery just died and i found myself numb to everything but the need to go home, change and get some rest. Even the ride in the new MRT was not enough get me back to my "perky" self, and i was crabby and easily irritated by everyone and everything that bugged me. Twas a good thing that Mel and I had the whole "massage" thing afterwards.

Divisoria is something that one can do when one is totally psyched for an entire day of walking, jostling and haggling. Sadly for me, i can only take a few hours of this treatment before succumbing to the strain.

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Cubao, cameras et al.

Cubao was another interesting adventure for Sunday. The idea was propelled by the need to explore Shopwise for groceries, particularly the outlet in Cubao (it was nearer than Libis). Jason and I went over to check out what Cubao had to offer, looking for a garment bag in Rustan's, Ali Mall and SM, and stopping over the Shoe Expo for some second hand clothes and nice shoes.

My ego had a crushing blow when he totally dissed my "dream camera" when we looked over some digicams. It's amazing how one little comment can totally blow you away sometimes. I felt bad that he didn't like it, but calling it "dumb" was a harsh blow. Admittedly, the design was not as elaborate as i once thought it would be, but certain features which i loved abpout it still made it a priority choice. I have been saving up for it for the longest time (try 9 months), and hearing how "dumb" the design was, I couldn't help thinking how dumb he may have thought me to be if i actually bought that thing.

I know it shouldn't bother me so much, but sometimes i feel that everything i do is just dumb because i don't know much about anything any more. I keep thinking that as much i don't really think much about stuff he likes, i never really dissed him publicly about it, not to his face anyway. It's one of those things i am still adjusting to, i guess. I couldn't help but wonder if this was really what he wanted, a girl who didn't know much about stuff. My whole insecurity kicked in, and i wondered how long before he gets bored with all this.

We didn't talk much about cameras anymore after that. I know i shouldn't make such a big deal out of this, but i guess personal shit hurts, y'know? Then again, perhaps i'm over reacting.

We decided to check out Shopwise for groceries, buying stuff we needed for the apartment. The place is a huge warehouse of goodies you can find for your home! I'm soooo in love with Shopwise!!! :-D I'm glad we were there, at least the ego blow i got earlier was lessened after seeing all the really neat stuff they had inside. We shopped for all sorts of stuff, from bathroom cleaning materials to groceries. One thing i love about him is the fact that he loves grocery shopping as much as i do. :-) After a "grueling" afternoon, we managed to get home before 6pm, passing by a sunday shoot of a movie in front of the building. After all the excitement, i'm just glad to be back in the apartment again. Whatta day!

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