I have quite a pile of books in our apartment’s nightstand. From French books, to International Studies books and some general reference books. In this lot, I only have only two fiction books. One was ‘Harry Potter and the Cursed Child’, while the other was something loaned to me by my officemate:
The wonder that is ‘Wonder’
Almost two weeks after buying the tools and materials for my leathercraft project, here is how it looks now:
Halfway done with my project: (clockwise) front of the bag, back of the bag with two D-rings and a triangle one, front top handle, back top handle
We saw Mockingjay Part 1 last Sunday and on our way home, I finally got up close the display window of Rustan’s Makati.
Christmas 2014 display window of Rustan’s Makati
They undoubtedly have the best windows and they periodically change them after a couple of months. However, they always reserve the best decoration for December. This year, it looked like an enchanted winter forest that is very Tim Walker (a.k.a. Mr. Fairy Tale Fantasy) meets Narnia. Of course, Tim Walker is well-known for photographing very whimsical spreads and campaigns. However, what I do not like about these was the fact that you can no longer see the clothes. The branches by the glass were too busy or had they reduced the sides for about a foot each, it would have been much better. I still get envious of all the Ayala Avenue people because they have better Christmas decorations, compared to the bleak and sparsely decorated area of McKinley Hill. Do they know it’s Christmas? LOL Yes, I’m really claiming the Holiday Season this year, and I’m as giddy as my niece Brianna seeing glittering decors and blinking Christmas lights.
As usual, I am typing things through a stream of consciousness. I would have wanted to be more structured with how my points are presented on this ‘radical’ move, but most of my entries trying to make a strong point are done as an internal monologue anyway, thus the name ‘bryologue‘. What prompted me to totally quit Facebook? A more direct answer might have been exasperation with the general public, but I have this perfect opportunity to elaborate on the motivation.
First of all, I did not have an Instagram account, not until four weeks ago. I am still using a BlackBerry phone, and as we know, it does not have a native Instagram application. I got really curious with all the brouhaha on the likes and hashtags, and it seems that it is a prerequisite for people around my age to have one. I might be missing out on something. I have a no-name Android tablet my father gave me a year ago when he went home, which I primarily use for reading Ebooks. The 4 gigabyte memory card capacity was rife with PDFs and Epubs. I am ashamed to say this, but I finally gave in and created an Instagram account just to get over the curiosity of why people are crazy about it.
Albert Camus’s “L’Etranger” realized on Lego pieces
I was perusing over things in my room at home, specifically looking for a children’s book I got from my grade school library. However, it took me more than four hours to find it and in the process, I was able these. I had amassed a substantial amount of French and Italian books, as well as some of previous Vogue magazines I did not bring to the apartment with me. I also saw these two neckties and a catalog, and this damaged silk scarf also resurfaced. I completely forgot about the catalog and I can’t even remember why I had one. It was either given as a free gift by one of the sellers from Ebay when I was still buying more than selling, or I got it dirt cheap so I bought it anyway.
Language books and Vogue magazines
Look what I found
The BookSale in UP Diliman did not have a world history textbook, which was quite a letdown because they have one of the best selections of foreign language literature books. But the BookSale in Cityland near our workplace had a hardbound world history textbook for sale. It was sold at Php 415, though, and I debated for a few minutes whether to buy it or not but a brand new book definitely costs more than Php 2,000 and photocopying an entire book from the library will cost me about the same as the secondhand one — that is if I can borrow one because I’m no longer enrolled, thus can’t borrow from the library.
So, I gave in and bought the book. I now have my own copy of Comprehensive World History – Fourth Edition. I even asked if I can have a discount but was told that it was originally tagged at Php 1000. Yikes. I also found a Complete Idiot’s Guide to American Government for only Php 45! I had no idea why I bought this book but I thought that I will have a good use for it in the future. LOL
I also had to notarize an application form and I first thought of getting it done in Marikina. But Mon mentioned that there were was a row of notary publics behind Makati Medical Center, just past McDonald’s in the Aegis Peoplesupport building. We walked to the area from our office and entered the first one, near the short bridge over the creek.
I presented my application form to the lady in the counter, and she asked me for a government-issued ID. I always have my Voter’s ID with me, but when she noticed the form, she suggested I present my passport. I did not have it with me but I recall having a spare photocopy of the first page containing my personal information in the office. I just asked Mon to wait for me in the Notary Public and I then walked back to our office and feverishly searched for that important piece of paper. When I at last found it, I ran back to the Notary Public. Done, all done! And best of all, I only paid Php 50 for the notarization fee! Bless this place!
ETA: 25 October 2017
This place above, as far as a I know, no longer exists. LOL But as this posts gets viewed a lot, let me recommend another notary public in Makati around the area. If you know Rodic’s in Salcedo Street, Makati (which, by the way, will close at the end of October 2017), the notary public was about 2-3 stalls to its right.
This is near Salcedo Street corner Rufino Street along the same side of Watsons and Slimmers World — practically walking distance from Makati Medical Center. It cost me less than Php 100.
Well, I’ll just put a map here. Easier to follow, right?
A week after my adventure to fix my requirements in the university, I was back earlier to get some of the papers that require shorter waiting time. According to the OUR, my Transcript of Records won’t be due until the 29th and I can’t do anything but trust and hope that they will release it on the said date. I desperately need my TOR on the 31st.
I first went to the Shopping Center to have one of my classmate’s book photocopied, then I took the TOKI jeep to the Registrar. I was really hesitant because I have no idea how the route would be, and the last time I have taken this jeepney during my undergrad, I was made to walk from Mathematics to FC because the driver told everyone that it was his last stop. I was forever traumatized. LOL Anyway, I reached the Registrar to claim the Certified True Copy of my undergraduate diploma. I must admit, I was expecting that it would be just a photocopy of my diploma in a bond paper, but I did not know they will be using the same fancy paper as the original one. The only difference was the university seal. In lieu of the foil material bearing the seal in the lower left-hand corner, the CTC just had a dry seal indicating that it was a “Certified text of the original”. I also got my True Copy of Grades from CAL and CSSP, just in case.
Before leaving school, I dropped by the BookSale in AS Walk to see if they have interesting books for sale. I saw a very old copy of Thomas Hobbes’ Leviathan but I did not buy it. This was the same place from which I previously bought a now-lost copy of Albert Camus’ L’Etranger and I was hoping to see other French novels as well. While perusing the Language, Arts & Poetry shelf, I saw these two books::
Upon seeing Victor Hugo’s Notre Dame de Paris, I suddenly remembered my classmate who made a thesis around the book. She was having a hard time with the book because it was admittedly a handful to read even in English, and to do it in the native language that it was written was way harder. The other one was Voltaire: Romans et Contes, which was far easier to digest in the manner that it contains shorter stories, compared to Hugo’s. The best thing about these books, they only cost Php 120 each. I think I had a great bargain.
Two days ago, I expressed my desire to buy more cotton shirts for the upcoming summer season and I had unexpectedly begun earlier. On my way to work from school, I decided on a whim to kill time and challenge myself to look for interesting finds in the big Ukay complex in Cubao.
I ended up buying three shirts for a ridiculously low price. The white Graniph shirt with the old-school camera print was sold at Php 35 (not even close to a dollar). Then I bought from another stall this cross-eyed Abraham Lincoln shirt for Php 89 and the shirt with the Atari logo print for Php 59. The overall total: Php 183 or barely US$ 5. ^_^
Tomorrow, I will be returning to UP Shopping Center to get the ‘original’ book (as it was also a photocopied book) and hopefully return it to Tin. =D We will also be watching Ang Lee’s The Life of Pi tomorrow in Trinoma after eating dinner in Mashitta. I also wanted to watch Kathryn Bigelow’s Zero Dark Thirty but maybe we can have room for that next weekend. Of course, I’m also most excited on the 16th — Les Misérables will be finally screened here in Manila!
Last July 24, I was exasperated over the two books that were not returned on time by the person who had borrowed them (which turned out to be a classmate of mine). But now, the due date of these books that I borrowed were on August 9, 2012 but I only had the sense to return them earlier. Last week, I saw a post of a classmate thinking out loud whether the library checks on people who borrowed books, if they were still alive because the ones that she needed were still not yet returned. I have a nagging feeling that she was looking for these two books — of course I did not reply to her status. >_<
So before going to work, I went to the library to FINALLY return them. I paid Php 90 pesos per book, for a total of Php 180. In UP, they charge Php 2.00 per day for regular circulation books, but it costs higher for reserved titles.
I just realized that it will be the last time that I’d be entering this library, well hopefully. I’m optimistic over the results of my comprehensive examinations and after this semester, there’s no point in enlisting for residency with library use.
As I was carrying books, I just brought this little sling bag. But it was surprisingly spacious as I was able to fit in a lonn wallet, a pouch full of trinkets, my IDs, iPod, a digital camera, an agenda, keys with lanyard, a USB flashdrive and an umbrella. This is actually Hermione Granger’s handbag. LOL I can’t remember when was the last time I used such a small bag to work; but carrying a convenient bag was, after all, liberating. My shoulders and arms were briskly thanking me.
After leaving the library, I was surprised to see Tin rushing towards my direction. She was on her way to submit her term paper to one of her professors, and as I found out, she’s still trying to finish another paper for her 299 class. Well, I’m not going to pretend that I miss all the rush of beating the clock when the semester ends, but it made me wonder what should I be doing next. I went to graduate school in 2009 due to the sheer interest of learning new things. And now that I’m about to finish it, what’s next?
I have never tried taking memory enhancers until today. Desperate times need desperate measures. I’m just reminded of that scene in Harry Potter where Ron and Harry were desperate participants in the heavy trade of memory enhancers to help them in their O.W.L. exams. Hermione confiscated them because: a) they don’t work, and b) they are sometimes dangerous.
For the first time in five years, I had been inside the library until the night fell. If I’m not mistaken, the Main Library is the only library that remains open until 12 midnight inside the university. I was originally in CAL Library the whole afternoon but transferred to the Main Lib after eating a quick snack past 3:00 PM.
