The tale of the bag

I KNEW I shouldn't have gotten up anymore this morning. But lunch at this new restaurant was sooo tempting! So I rushed out of bed and didn't even get to read my emails or news online, or facebook! (Notice I use it as a verb like "google".) I left Q.C. quite late after waiting forever for a cab to take me to the MRT station. No matter how many Our Fathers I prayed, the cab just didn't come.

Eventually, one finally did but as soon as I arrived at the rail station, *SNAP!* the strap of my bag broke, and I was so pissed ...I was feeling this day wasn't going to turn out well for me. I had to clutch my bag so firmly, my hand cramped so badly. And to top it off, despite the time not being exactly rush hour, I wasn't able to get a seat until we reached Galleria. I made kalikot my bag to see how I could repair it temporarily but it was hopeless. So I made do while tying one strap to the other strap. It looked goofy especially since the straps were gold chains intertwined w/ some black fabric. Basta it looked weird.

Anyhoo, upon reaching the MRT station in Ayala, I went straight to the SM Department store to get an Emergency bag. Did you ever notice how pricey the bags are at SM? Aba, think P1,000 and up! This was SM ha? Not even Nine West! Grrr. I never bought bags at SM and I was like freaking out I might end up w/ a Secosana, yikes! cos I was really in a hurry as I was late for my lunch appointment! Anyhoo, I chose a P450-shoulder bag in bronze (it was on sale, the original tag was P1,099...wtf?!?!) w/c I made sure didn't come from Secosana. It was roomy enough for my stuff, and the details were okay naman, so I bought it.

Got into a cab and arrived at the restaurant. I sighed in relief as lunch had just started. Introductions were made all around and I tried to sit back, relax, and savor the food brought to us. Comfort food, thank God. And I sipped on a super refreshing shake. I thought everything was fine until...

...someone accidentally spilled water all over me! drenching my pants and hitting portions of my blouse. The accidental spiller was super apologetic naman and I tried to reassure him that it's okay. Buti nalang hindi red wine daw. (Actually, red wine stains are much easier to fix. Just sprinkle baking soda all over the stains, and it will absorb the wine. With water you have to wait it to dry. Period.)

So off I went to the gorgeous women's rest room to dry my clothing in the hand dryer only to find out, there was no dryer! JUICEKODAY!!! Since there was no fireplace inside the banyo either, lucky me, I just chose to return to our table and sit it out. It was okay except for the clammy feeling on my thighs. Meanwhile, we had coffee and dessert.

Lunch over, as soon as I got into a cab to go to the MRT station, well guess what? as I was zipping my new bag close, the zipper clip just snapped out! JUICEKOLORD! anova?! I wasn't even pulling on it so hard! Okay, breathe in, breathe out. Ma-traffic na ha. Arrived at SM the roundabout way just to avoid the traffic, and of course they make you wait forever just to have one item replaced! The bags are on the second floor, the Customer Service Dept. is on the third floor, and I was clunking around in my uncomfortable shoes. (I don't know why we women just love torturing ourselves w/ our shoes!)

Finally I got my bag replaced, and rushed to the rail station to catch a ride back to Q.C. I was half-expecting more disasters to happen when I got off at TriNoMa. But so far so good. I just had to buy a cake at Conti's to comfort me. (I chose the blueberry cheesecake w/c wasn't terrific really, but better than Red Ribbon naman. Have you noticed how the prices of Red Ribbon cakes have shot up as well? Wasn't it only yesterday we were paying like P300 for an entire cake? Now that only buys you their mini-cakes! And you think, parang SM bags ha? Bakeet?).

Got in a cab, arrived home alive and in one piece. But of course, my food photos didn't come out so well again. Not unlucky here, more effed up, as I know the problem is w/ my phone camera w/c has been going funky on me since last month. Kabwiset talaga! (Mental note to self: Must win a digital camera in the next Christmas raffle.)

Off to sleep, I can only sigh a Hay salamat Lord! Natapos din. Whatta day!

UPDATE: Okay, the upside to all that happened yesterday naman is that I had a great meal, bumped into my Ex-boss (lucky ba yun?), and made new friends. Sige, I should look at the glass half-full daw. Thank you Lord.

Major hiccup at the stock market

I NEVER thought Ayala Corp. would drop to P200 per share this fast. Parang it was only yesterday that it was selling at P250. But the market crashed today, dropping by 10% which triggered the circuit breakers to halt the trading session. Whew! Then after resuming, the market slipped even further closing at 1,713.83 points. This was the single biggest day drop since July 1987.

Banco de Oro was probably the hardest hit, falling by 23% to P22.75. It had just reported its third-quarter loss because of the covers it allocated to its credit exposure in Lehman Brothers. Belated reaction dontcha think? But actually ever since BDO merged with Equitable, the income of the unibank has been unsteady because of expenses owing to the merger and the expansion of some of its units. So if you think about it, the situation isn't really that bad. The situation was just aggravated by the losses from Lehman's. And tapos na 'yan. The losses are booked. Period.

But the first nine months of the year actually was still profitable for the bank. Check out the press statement here. It was just lower than the same period last year. But Christmas looks promising because I know the BDO consumer lending business has been very strong. Loans were up 35%, deposits too at 32%, and from what I know from my sources, the bank is still in a hiring mode. So in short, there is no reason to worry, especially if you are a BDO depositor. In fact, with the extensive holdings of the Sy family in a diverse array of businesses, we are assured of a steady stream of income from any of the Sy companes. I even once told a friend that the Bangko Sentral can very well fold up, but not BDO. These guys have money. Lots of it.

Okay. Now I'm waiting for Ayala Corp. to fall to P120, then I'm buying. If you've got extra cash kids, check out those stocks. Many of them are already trading at a bargain. I am predicting an upswing after the Nov. 4 elections in the U.S. and Barack Obama is proclaimed the winner. So start looking through the stock market page, but choose wisely.

Grief management

(Luv my new rainboots!)

WHEN my eldest brother passed away three years ago, my Ate and I went on a buying spree of colored chinelas near the palengke in our Pop's province of Roxas City. "Grief management" is what my Ate and I dubbed it. Our Mom even went to Gaisano just to buy jeans and several shirts, just to also ease the pain of our family's loss.

When it was Pop's turn to meet his Maker last year, we all pigged out eating at the wake as friends just supplied us with the yummiest dishes. The best dish I still recall is what my Auntie Mila called American Lumpia, it was cheese, ham, veggies wrapped in an egg lumpia wrapper...yum! Of course, I also bought a few things after that, a new phone, new curtains for my home office, etc.

(Chaikofi at 3rd level, The Block, SM North)

Since my friend passed away last week, I've been on a non-stop buying/eating binge again...buti nalang it's sales season in all the malls so the splurging doesn't hurt as much. Bought new beige wedgies from CMG and really cool rain boots from the GAP (which I have been waiting for to go on sale since it opened in Manila), and eating like there was no tomorrow.

(This wasn't my order, but it looks yummy noh? Chunky Chicken at Chaikofi, The Block.)

Last Thursday, I even cooked Spaghetti Vongole after I found freshly-blanched clams at S&R. With a good chardonnay on hand, I cooked it and invited Francine over for dinner. Had some off that smoky-sweet roasted chicken from S&R as well to complement the pasta. There's nothing like eating and making chismis with a good friend to chase those blues away.

(This is my order...Crabstick Sandwich w/ Caesar Salad and Mint-flavored Iced Tea.)

Anyhoo, atill on my grief management, this afternoon I ate at one of the cafés at The Block at SM North. (Actually I had to go there because my eyeglasses broke apart last night and needed a replacement asap. Thanks to Executive Optical for a pleasant, hassle-free experience. They only charged me for the frame.)

Chaikofi I think is of Malaysian origin, and offers value-for-money lunch and merienda specialties. I'm always satisfied with my order and the overall service of the place. Except that today, they mixed up my order...I had ordered a crabstick sandwich and Caesar salad combo with iced tea. I got served the chunky chicken instead, which though a wrong order, looked yummy as well. They did change my order but minus 5 points na yan sa for customer service, hehe.

(Sebastian's at The Block...yes, civilization has now come to SM!)

Although there is a tendency to take liberties with the mayo, overall the sandwich was good and very filling. Aside from the crabstick, the sandwich had a slice of cheese, tomatoes, and lettuce. I could only finish half of the sandwich. The Caesar salad had bacon bits, parmesan cheese, aside from the lettuce and chicken chunks, and was coated with just enough of the right amount of dressing. Meaning, hindi ka bitin sa dressing so the salad was really malasa. Well, the iced tea was okay. It was supposed to be mint-flavored but I didn't taste the mint. All that for just P170. So it doesn't hurt your pocket at all to eat there. Pls. lang though, keep the in-house music toned down!

(Ice cream burgers...mmmm)

For dessert, I walked across from Chaikofi to tadaah! Sebastian's ice cream. Glorious creamy goodness talaga! I have been so in love with Sebastian's ice cream since it opened in Alabang. I'm not really an ice cream ghel, but when the ice cream is super delicious like this one, naku! I cannot help but eat it. I ordered the Chunky Mocha and Almond Fudge, hoy sugar-free yan! and it was really heavenly. Graveh the almond bits were really huge! And for P95 with a cone pa (w/c was not sugar-free I suppose so useless din to order the sugar-free ice cream pala, haha), it was divine.

It's been a long productive and "splurgious" week. But I'm happy na. Ay, hindi pa pala. Will still be getting my new Mac next week. Then I'll be happy. Have a great weekend, folks!

(Sugar-free Chunky Mocha and Almond Fudge...heavenly!)