Meet & Greet

Last night I attended a gadget forum meet & greet at Trinoma in Quezon City. It was the second such event I've attended, these get-togethers are kind of fun. Let's just say the pizza at that location was so-so, but the banana split was divine.

Last time I purchased a screen protector and was given a cellphone charm. This time I won a raffle prize, a laptop ProudSKIN for my black 4g ASUS eee, worth PhP 500. The design was of a feminine anime character, which I later gave to Ning in exchange for her rising sun (superimposed on the Tokyo train map) skin. Later on, as the Hokusai wave print I really wanted went to Reggie, I gave my rising sun skin to Mark. He promised to give me a gift in exchange at the next meet & greet. I also received a free nLite cd from Glenn, having been a repeat customer 3x over.

Reggie requested comics files, and so I obliged with a suite of Witchblade. (Well, not so complete, I'm missing issues 97-98. of the series. But I included Tales of the Witchblade and all the Witchblade crossovers.) To read files like these I usually use CDisplay, a comic reader you can use with WinXP that allows you to not only view jpg-pdf archive files (.cbr & .cbz format) but also change the orientation of your screen. This works pretty well with an ASUS eee, seeing that it's only got a 7" lcd and is roughly the size of a trade paperback. Reggie however, is running Xandros (the Linux variant especially developed for the eee), so Ade suggested Comix reader.

All in all, lots of fun. Can't wait for the next one.

My Controlled Substance

I just submitted this url to Google. But just out of curiosity, I googled the term "lavender junkie" and true enough, there are others like me in the world.

In my closet:

Yardley of London talcum powder
Marks & Spencer deodorizing body spray
Marks & Spencer shower gel
Marks & Spencer body lotion
Marks & Spencer bath salts
Crabtree & Evelyn soaps
Crabtree & Evelyn shower gel
Crabtree & Evelyn moisturizing hand cream
Agua Lavanda baby cologne
In Essence lavender essential oil (Australian)
The Body Shop home fragrance oil (for burners)
My own blend massage oil (lavender, chamomile & eucalyptus in sweet almond oil)

and, to drink on stressful days

Bizu lavender and green tea blend (what lovely, lovely fragrance & delicacy!)

Lavender is my controlled substance. It gets rid of my headaches and helps me unwind naturally at the end of the day. Makes me drowsy. Chamomile is my second, but hey, it doesn't smell half as good. It just keeps me glued to the bed while my eyelids wake up ahead of the rest of my body for at least ten whole minutes. So you can see how they work in tandem. So perfect for a compulsive workaholic learning to slow down and smell the... er, lavender.

Getting Back on the Bike

This is my third blog, the first two of which died of neglect. I think I am incapable of raising Tamagotchi (remember that, kiddies? The electronic pet that demanded more time than your boyfriends did?). Happily, the plants in my house are still alive, and my one thumb-sized goldfish is still swimming happily in its glass pumpkin-shaped cookie jar.

Somehow my blogs were always started on a Holy Week. Here in Manila people either went to the beach or to the church on Holy Week. I just avoid either; there is much to be gained from contemplation while coccoooning. Ok, OK. Those were fancy words intended to disguise laziness. Oddly, I'm not too lazy to try blogging again. In the past work took up most of my time, but there's really nothing else better to do on a Holy Week than to keep your mind occupied lest it become the devil's playground (which is relative, hehehe).

This is thanks to Brian Gorrell, the HIV-positive Australian who wants $70k of his life savings back after being allegedly swindled by his former boyfriend, Pinoy "socialite" DJ Montano. His blog, The Talented Mr. Montano tells the whole story. I feel for him, I would wear a Team Brian or a "$70k NOW" shirt all around Metro Manila if someone actually made one and sold it at the Salcedo Saturday Market. [The only thing that bothers me about that idea is whether someone would be altruistic enough to donate the t-shirt proceeds to a charity once they've recovered production costs. ]

Oops, does the addiction to that blog mean my mind HAS become the devil's playground? Fortunately I'm not Roman Catholic, so idle thoughts of rage at the perceived injustice committed by a fellow Pinoy against someone who loved him does not count as sinful to me. It is deceit, greed and betrayal that are sinful, and they compound each other. And THAT, folks, is something to contemplate on today, Holy Thursday. Thou shalt treat people who love you the way you want to be treated.