Times like this, I could have used a friend. Unfortunately, two of my bestest buds were not in the city. I would’ve gotten drunk with them. So, I went out with no idea where to go or what to do. Getting drunk on my own was too depressing and humiliating for me. I decided to just buy some DVDs and just walk off my anger. But as I was walking towards my favorite DVD store, I passed by a salon. Right then and there, I decided to have my hair color changed.

I know I wasn’t thinking clearly. Looking back, I don’t know if I did it for myself, for revenge, whatever. All I know is that I went inside the salon, picked a color, and voila, became an instant blond. Well, dark/medium blond, anyway. I looked horrible.

The moral lesson of my story? Never let anger get the best of you. Look at what it did to me! I’m stuck with this terrible hair color for a week before I can have it changed without damaging my hair. Also, do not have your hair done in those cheap salons like I did. I usually have my hair done in a Korean salon or at Fix but I was acting stupid that time and I thought it would turn out pretty okay, I guess. But whatever. I’ll just have to grin and bear it and work this ‘do like it’s the best ‘do in the world.

My first reaction was, of course, WHAT THE F*CK! I mean, I know Manny’s HUGE, like, he’s in the Times and Forbes list and all that, but I didn’t know he was that BIG that he can get someone like Nicole Scherzinger (did I spell that right?) to do a movie with him. Or maybe I have this the other way around. Maybe Nicole would get a lot more publicity for this than Manny. I really don’t know. The movie would be for a local Film Festival, so I really don’t get it. What’s more, can you imagine Nicole kissing Manny? And we know how Manny loves over kissing his leading ladies (remember Ara Mina?). It’s just so sad and hilarious at the same time. I dunno if I should be -> or be -> ^^.

It’s too much to handle. It’s like when uber popular Korean people decide to make movies in Pinas. It’s mind boggling.

Ash Stymest.

Sasha Pivarova.

Lily Cole.

Sean O’pry.

Double Trouble: Winnie Woolston and Josh Beech.

Daphne Guinness. Not exactly a model, but I think this spread was genius.

Daria Werbowy.

Marlon Teixeira.

Jessica Stam. The first model I fell in love with. I think seeing her pics was what made me into such a model/fashion fiend anyway.

Lily Cole. So alien-ish. But I love her.

Sean O’pry. He got discovered through Myspace. He’s awesome.

Andres Velencoso Segura. Y’all can thank me later.

Coco Rocha. She’s also weirdly fascinating. She’s not a great beauty, but she’s a very good model.

Generation Next? Luke Worrall, Ash Stymest, and Cole Mohr. These guys are taking the modeling world by storm.

From home, I ride a 07B (Banawa – Colon) and stop at Bo’s, near Cebu Doc. I cross the street and take a 14D for Ayala. From Ayala, I take a 62B for Banilad, where my new office is.

For a month now, nothing exceptional has happened except for this one time that I saw a woman using her laptop/notebook on a jeepney. I wanted to grab her laptop and smack her face with it. If the bitch wanted to get stabbed by a snatcher, she better do it in another f*cking jeepney. Other than that, my mornings were uneventful.

But last week, the 62B jeepney I was riding on was graced by the presence of the dreaded Kuot-Kuot gang. Their MO was simple. Use their huge bags as cover as their hands expertly rid you off your cellphone, wallet, or cash. The day before that, my boy and I were on our way to SM and a lady lost her wallet. She didn’t notice a single thing, and the Kuot-Kuoter even had the decency (or gall) to close her bag’s zipper. That’s how good they are.

So, back to my story. At first, I was blissfully unaware of the gang’s presence. I was listening to my music player while casually maintaining a conversation with an officemate. Then, a scuffle erupted at the far end of the jeepney. I saw a man knock a studen’t head with his fist, hard. It was only after two men with big bags disembarked that we found out that they were trying to the nursing student’s phone. Fortunately, they were unsuccessful. However, the incident left me scared as hell.

This morning, I saw the same men inside the jeepney. Fortunately, I was seated near the driver and was too far from them. I wanted to tell the other passengers about the danger. But after a few minutes, the men got off, apparently because the people inside the jeepney also noticed them.

My advice to others who read this is to be vigilant. The gang isn’t difficult to spot. They carry huge (but light or empty looking) bags. That’s the first give-away. They may look clean and decent, but don’t be fooled. Don’t sit near the exit, since they’re partial to that (I think so they can escape easier, or whatev). Make sure your valuables are hidden deep inside your bags. Don’t put them in your pockets.

As for me, I am more paranoid than ever. I have no idea what to do, aside from taking taxis all the time. Or maybe I should bike to work. God knows I need the exercise. Or maybe I should enroll in Judo class. I dunno. If anyone out there who is uber rich and has a car he wants to get rid of, you know, I’m just a message away. No, seriously, be careful you guys.

today,
i just want to walk
and never return.
never look back.
but it’s a dream, really.
i am stronger than this.

Okay, I’m exaggerating. There’s nothing really “dangerous” about Colon now. But still, it’s downtown and I rarely venture anywhere near there because I am paranoid about getting held up (which actually happened once during my college years), but I digress. Also, my mom just wanted me to ask the owners of Cebu Thrift House about some items she wanted to buy.

I’ve actually been to the store a couple of times in the past and all I can say is that it’s heaven for bargain hunters. They sell used furniture, appliances, clothes, everything at amazingly low prices. But what really turns me on about the place is the sight of hundreds of books that fill up their shelves. The best part is that the books there cost less than a dollar. For a bookworm like me, going to the store is always a treat, and I always walk away with a dozen books or so.

However, the tricky part is finding good books. Although the books are segregated, the categories are limited to three: Romance, Fiction, and Non-Fiction, and more often than not, you’ll find some books are not where they’re supposed to be. So, patience, a lot of free time, and a seriously good nose (because it’s dusty in there, and I launch into a sneezing attack within minutes) is needed. Last week, I had none of the prerequisites, because one: Patience has never been my strong suit, Two: I was there on my lunch break at work so I had to hurry, and Three: I only have to think about “dust” in general and I start sneezing and having a psychosomatic asthma attack.

But I was not to be deterred. After I spoke to the kind (not menacing at all) ladies, I immediately went to the bookshelves and scanned the titles, hoping that I’ll find something really good. When I saw the book below, I actually shrieked. Here’s what I got for 40 pesos:

Isn’t it amazing? And to think, I was planning on buying the very same book at National Bookstore and I would’ve paid six times the price! The book was in great condition, too. A few minutes of scanning brought me another surprise. This time, it was this book’s title that jumped at me from the shelves. Price? 18 pesos:

My boi has been nagging me about this books for months. He says it’s really good. For 18 pesos, why not, right? And at bookstores, the price of the book is still around 300 pesos. So I saved a LOT. I also bought a book (30 pesos! Ha!) from one of my favorite authors, Dominick Dunne.

Dominick Dunne writes about the uber rich. He’s a contributing editor for Vanity Fair, and I’m really addicted to his books. They’re my guilty pleasure, I guess. I also bought my sister a romance novel, so that makes my total purchase to four.

My short trip to Colon wasn’t a waste at all. I got four awesome books without making a dent on my pocket. So, if you’re as addicted to books as I am, or you love bargains more than anything else, I suggest you head to the store right away. You’ll definitely love what you’ll find there.

A lot of things have happened in the time since I last wrote here.  In fact, I can say I’ve changed a lot since that time. No longer am I as carefree, as candid, as sure. I feel more cautious of happiness now. I found that, in the last few months, happiness was too fleeting to fully enjoy, a mere fantasy, and that always, reality never failed to rear its ugly head to remind me of all the things that are wrong in my life. Although I am not jaded, I find myself suspicious of anything that resembled something “good.” It saddens me, this change, and I am hoping, willing myself to believe, that it is not permanent.

Although “dreary” is perhaps the perfect word for how my life has been lately, I can say that it isn’t really that sad. There are constant bright spots in my life, like the proverbial lights at the end of tunnels,  that I will always be thankful for. Without them, I’d be lost.

So, here’s to me writing again. I’m going to try my best to keep this up and not disappear into oblivion once more.