pansin ko lang..

...Masarap magikut-ikot sa kabubukas na mall sa umaga, kaunti lang ang tao.
...Mas mabilis magbayad ng mga bills sa SM kaysa sa mga bangko o kaya's sa Globe mismo.
...Ang mga Koreano pag kumain sa fast food ay naglilinis ng kinainang mesa pagkatapos at tinatapon nila ang kanilang basura sa basurahan o kaya'y inaabot sa tagalinis.
...Mukhang madami talaga ang nahahatak ng SM MOA dahil sa band parade nila ng 4-6 pm araw-araw na kung saan may maraming mga mascots na kasama. Bukod dun ay marami ring nanunuod ng kanilang fireworks display tuwing 7pm kada biyernes at sabado.

Si Diane Elise ay nasa Robinson's Galleria sa ika-1 ng Pebrero ng 4pm.

Si Julia Fordham ay magtatanghal sa mga Ayala Malls ss ikalawang linggo ng Pebrero.

celebrity sighting...
...Bianca King sa Glorietta. Petite at sexy, maganda talaga kahit walang make-up.

sightings

celebrity sightings...
...Sam Oh (of ETC) at Greenbelt; Misha Quimpo of the ADMU WVT at Glorietta. May mga ka-date eh, sayang! :-)
...Kitty Girls at Music One Glorietta! WOW! Sobrang HOT!

Why Powerbooks Sucks!

Powerbooks used to be my favorite bookstore but not anymore... 10 reasons why:

1. Their PowerCard constantly has problems and they fail to address them promptly. I already have 700+ in my e-purse and I suddenly "lost" it in my succeeding purchases. I have been following up on them and they haven't resolved it after more than 1 month. It would've been quite okay if this were the first time, but it has happened to me before and it also took a very long time for them to rectify their error. They get a lot of complaints regarding their PowerCard but they don't seem to be doing anything to improve their system. Whatmore, I see them continuing to get PowerCard enlistments but admittedly they always encounter a lot of problems with it. The card is supposed to encourage loyalty to their store, but you can't really remain loyal to them since you can't trust them to keep and maintain a proper record.

2. They are ususally out of stock of bestsellers and it takes them quite a while to re-stock and make these available. If you can't find yourself a copy of a bestseller in Powerbooks, go to National and chances are you'll be able to get yourself a copy. I personally noted this to be true. I also noticed that Powerbooks seems to make poor choices in what books that they get a lot of copies of. They even stock up on Reader's Digest and other magazines quite late into the month.

3. They used to have hard-to-find books and people used to go to Powerbooks if they were looking for a book that they could'nt find anywhere else. Today that is not the case anymore, because they have almost exactly the variety that is in stock at National. They also usually do not have the complete line of books of a series or a particular author, unlike Fully Booked.

4. Their online book checker/directory is not helpful since it is not up-to-date.

5. It used to be that Powerbooks had that homely ambiance that is conducive to reading. Nowadays, their stores are springing up everywhere and they have less reading nooks or areas. The new stores have limited overall space. At Robinson's Ermita there are even two stores there at present, one in the ground floor and one at the 4th floor!

6. When they are on sale, other bookstores like National are also usually on sale too. This offsets the advantage of buying at Powerbooks instead, along with the fact that their PowerCard system is flawed like I've already mentioned (and you're not quite sure that the points you earn won't get lost in the future).

7. Book launches are only done at their Greenbelt store, but their choice of books to launch are not wise. Case in point: They recently launched Kapihan, a book about coffee in the Philippines, but the book costs a whopping P1800+. I've seen the book and I think the content is not worth that much (and it does not even have a beneficiary).

8. The Java Man coffee shop is now only available at Greenbelt. The one in Megamall is already closed (they are renovating there).

9. The pretty store assistant that I had a crush on no longer works there. Lousy reason, I know, but I have to come up with at least 10 reasons!

10. Their customer service is not as helpful as I once thought. They just log complaints in a log book and I don't think it reaches the proper departments. It is all for show. They also are not that helpful/knowledgable with book queries.

insprng txt msg..

Rivers don't drink the water they carry;
Trees don't eat the fruits that they bear;
Clouds don't bathe in the rain they produce.
We are meant to give even if we get nothing from it.
Measuring life by what others do may disappoint us, but measuring life by what we do will make life meaningful.

National Treasure II

I was able to watch National Treasure Book of Secrets at the new Robinson's Midtown Cinema 3. The cinema is clean and cozy and seats are positioned well to give an unobstructed view of the screen.

The best thing about the movie is that they were able to get the cast of the 1st film all together again. I find Diane Kruger to be very pretty. The sequel is much like the 1st one in terms of plot and action such that it's quite predictable. Entertaining enough, nonetheless. Ending sequences promise a possible 3rd movie.

U.P. Centennial

Nakapunta ako sa U.P. Centennial Kick-off sa Diliman ng Jan. 8. Papunta pa lang ako sa campus ang dami ko na nakakasabay na estudyante galing UP Manila. Binaba na kami ng jeep sa CP Garcia, sarado na kasi University Avenue dahil sa parada. Doon nagtipon-tipon ang mga kasali sa parada at dun din nagsimula. Lahat ng units may padalang kalahok (Diliman, Manila, Baguio, Los Banos, Mindanao, Visayas, Pampanga, at Open University).

Festive ang atmosphere! Mainit nga lang pero buti naman at hindi umulan. Ang daming tao! Karamihan estudyante, pero madami ring alumni. Nandun din ang media. Halos lahat may camera o celfone na may camera, at kumukuha ng mga litrato. (Ilang pics sa multiply ko )

Ang daming gimik! May mga banda, may ati-atihan dancers, may cheering squad, mga taga-Baguio na naka-ethnic, mga Vanguard na naka iba't-ibang military uniform, mga paputok, at mga aktibista/militante ay siyempre nakiparada rin. May helicopter pa nga na nagtatapon ng confetti. Mayroon ding mga skydivers na lumapag sa field malapit sa Admin. Pinakahuli sa parada ay ang Fine Arts. Parang Lantern Parade nga nung dulo eh. Nagbigay-pugay sila sa mga National Artists na nagtapos sa UP.

Highlight ng okasyon ay ang 100 torch bearers. Sinimulan ng isang 100 taong gulang na inhinyero na gradweyt nung 1930s. Tapos maraming íba pa na galing sa iba't-ibang UP units. Nandun ang ilang senador, mga dating UP Presidents, mga media personality, at mga BOR at iba pang UP officials. Pati si Goma torch bearer eh. Ang ika-100 ay si President Emerlinda Roman (kauna-unahang babaeng pangulo ng UP). Pagkasindi niya ng Centennial Torch ay siyempre nag-talumpati siya.

Pagkatapos nun, kinanta ang U.P. Naming Mahal! Siyempre ramdam ko rin yung moment at kumanta ako kasabay ang libong estudyante at alumni! Sumayaw at nag-cheer din ang UP Pep Squad pagkatapos. Da best!

Nadinig ko na rin tumugtog ang Carillon! Ayos din yun! Natural pagkatapos nun ay kumain ako ng Tapsilog at Jumbosilog sa Rodic's. Kaka-miss ding yung lasa ng Rodic's eh. May konsiyerto pa sa Ampitheater at fireworks nung gabi pero di ko na pinanood. Pagod na rin ako nun eh... pero buti na lang at nakilahok ako sa selebrasyong iyon. Minsan lang sa 100 taon nangyayari yun eh! :-)

Sour Cream & Onion

While roaming around the grocery, I came across these two Sour Cream & Onion snacks. I decided to get one of each and compare them to find out which is better.

Lay's Stax is 155.9g and costs P97.50. It has a Nutrition Facts box which says that 12 crisps = 150 calories (90 of which are from fat). It also says that it has 0 cholesterol and 0 trans fat, and only 2g sugar.

Pringles, meanwhile, is 120g and P53.75. The packaging does not have nutrition info and it just prominently says that it has no artificial colors. There is a taller cylinder but I got the one that is more or less the same height as Stax.

Having tasted both, I found that Lay's crisps are thicker and saltier. Pringles' are somewhat smaller. Both are crispy but Pringles' seem to break off more easily. Aside from the fact that Stax is costlier, I guess I'd rather have Stax in the future since it seems to be more filling and tastier.

Happy 2008!

Looking forward to a HAPPY, HEALTHY and PROSPEROUS 2008! :-)
Tomorrow would be the 2nd anniversary of my blogspot!