Life, Day by Day

Anyone who likes to shop (me) for bargains and other interesting but affordable stuff should be familiar with DAISO Japan store. When they opened in Robinson's Place Bacolod in December 2012, little did I know that it was a store that catered to my heart.  Obviously, I am a regular shopper and so when I saw that it closed, you can imagine my anxiety attack.  I was told however that they were undergoing some renovation and will reopen soon with a bigger and better store. What a relief!

In this day and age, malls are the to go to places of the young and old alike. I guess for many, one simple way of experiencing "the good life" is by going to the malls. While most people like the big malls, I on the other hand, love the ambiance and accessibility of small malls. In Metro Manila, my most liked places to go to are Greenbelt, Rockwell, Podium and Shangri-La Plaza.  I dislike big crowds and try to avoid it as much as I could, maybe because I got lost in it twice when I was a kid.

My love affair with ZALORA Philippines began one year and a month ago and it's been a joy shopping with them.  Since then, I have made numerous purchases from clothes to bags to accessories, and I have been a happy shopper ever since.  I think I now buy 60% of my clothes from them!

I spent 6 nights in Manila from June 17 to 22, 2013 to attend a Trainors' Training for the Zuellig Family Foundation's Health Leadership and Governance Program.  I was taking the 3:55 PM PAL flight from Bacolod, only it was 20 minutes delayed, so that we departed at 4:30 PM instead.  There was some delay in landing and we finally got out of the NAIA terminal 2 just a few minutes before 6 PM.  We walked to the taxi stand at the other end of the terminal but there were no taxis as it was raining, not heavily but not stopping either.  We finally got one at about 6:40 PM, and the driver asked if we can take the skyway, as traffic was terrible in EDSA and Magallanes.  To end a long story...we got to our destination in Makati Avenue which is a short distance of approximately 10-12 kms from the airport more than 3 hours later!   I think I kept yawning not so much from low sugar (hunger) but from lack of oxygen (CO2 saturated enclosed space).

Arghhhhh! wake-up call 6:30 AM and it's still dark outside!  It seems that sunrise and sunset come later in Singapore than in the Philippines.  We were instructed to be at the lobby by 8 AM for our short ride to Fort Canning Lodge for instructions on the cruise, some activities and lunch at their Coffee House. By 1 PM we were let loose at Orchard Road, first stop... Ngee Ann City where the high-end Japanese owned department store Takashimaya is located. We were brought to Level 2 where all the branded boutiques were and where we were instructed to converge back at the information lobby by 5:30 PM.  Since my point of interest was neither electronics nor the high-end brands, I opted to walk along Orchard Road to look for The Heeren where a neighbor's son works at the Subway Restaurant. After walking several hundred meters, I saw it but unfortunately, the son was off duty but will be coming in at 5 PM for some paperwork but I could not wait for him, so I just left a mes...

I was in Manila for 3 days where I attended a convention/reunion with my fellow graduates of HLMP. It was good to see them and a needed break for me to get away from the pressures of work. One of the activities lined up was to watch 2 plays in the CCP, Palanca in my Mind and Hubad , both of which I thoroughly enjoyed. In retrospect, these are the things I miss most living in the province...the diverse cultural events, the bars and the bands, bookstores (although now, we do have NBS in the province), Mark and Spencers...what I do not miss is the traffic, smog, pollution, the floods, the noise and all the other unneccesary trappings of an urban lifestyle. Of course, what I need most when I do go Manila...is plenty of money...but that's another story :)