From YSL, with love!

Today is Valentine’s Day and the first thing I did before going home afterwork was to buy flowers for my mother and sister. In front of the Immaculation Conception Church in Marikina, there were already several rows of flower vendors selling single long-stemmed roses, up to bouquets with elaborate presentations. I began haggling for the price to be lowered and I finally reached an agreement with one of the vendors when I mentioned I’d be getting two. My mother and sister were very happy this morning when they saw the roses.

Three roses for my mother and sister on Valentine's Day

Last Friday, I was watching a pair of shoes on Ebay.ph and I was hoping I could snipe bid on it — a pair of black Lanvin suede with patent toe sneakers.  But for whatever reason, I completely forgot about the auction ending last Monday evening and I was really heartbroken on not being able to at least take a shot in bidding for it.

A pair of Lanvin suede and patent sneakers

(Photo from the Ebay.ph seller)

So yesterday, I decided on a whim to browse auctions in Sulit.com.ph. I was not particularly looking for a particular item, as it was just an online window shopping.

And then I saw a pair of Yves Saint Laurent sneakers, listed by a seller from Binondo. Unfortunately, it was already reserved for another buyer and it was clearly not my lucky day. But I still asked the seller via text message if the item was still available and he replied within a few minutes.

He said that it was already reserved to a buyer from Bacolod but he was still not able to pay. I immediately jumped on the opportunity and eventually secured the pair of sneakers! My apologies to you, the supposed-buyer for whatever inconvenience I might have caused you in getting the pair. It was still the call of the seller and I hope you get to find another pair soon. =/

I met up with the seller and it did not took very long for our transaction to finish. In the vernacular, we call that kaliwaan and it was done in less than a minute.

I was really anxious of the size because looking at its online photos, the size might be larger from what I normally wear. The other pair of YSL  sneakers I currently have was already about half-a-size bigger, which was okay. But the one above might be about a size and half bigger and may be a bit umanageable.

But surprisingly, the sneakers fit nicely when I tried it on, and it was just about a size bigger. Thank goodness!

The sneakers were still in good condition, with no rips or tears in any of the leather and canvas parts. But of course, suede tends to react differently towards humidity and it is showing some signs of ‘reaction’, but it was still nevertheless gorgeous.

A box of tikoy from the online seller

As an added bonus, he even gave me a box of tikoy! Still a Happy Chinese New Year to me! That was very gracious of him. =D

(Photo from Highsnobiety.com)

The curious me opened Google and tried searching more info about the shoes. After several searches, I was able to find out that these were the Spring/Summer collection of five years ago and Highsnobiety.com even did an article about them here from way back in March 2009.

I’m beginning to think that my luck may not lie in raffle draws, or anything that requires waiting for an opportunity to come, rather than working hard in painstakingly combing online auctions and persuading people for a particular item. I’m not that unlucky, then.

Hats off to my five years!

I left the house quite early because we had to be in the office for our ride, which left exactly at 2:15 PM. I was not quite sure with the Jil Sander shirt I planned to wear, so I brought another shirt with me just in case I had a last minute change of heart.

Gray CK Calvin Klein and Jil Sander dress shirts - Manila, Philippines

But in the end, I decided to stick with my original plan, even if I had an inkling that I might be under-dressed for the event because of the shortage in sleeves. The invitation called for ‘Business Formal’ but I just pretended that I didn’t get the memo.

Mirror, Mirror - Jil Sander dress shirt, short sleeves

Jil Sander shirt with contrasting cuff sleeves, tailored skinny pants,  black Lanvin leather belt, Prada leather shoes and black Gucci sling bag - Manila, Philippines

We arrived early in the venue at Endurun, McKinley Hill. It was my first time to set foot in that place and I readily appreciated the architecture of the building upon entering ‘the gate’.

Enderun in McKinley Hill

While waiting for the event to start - Enderun, McKinley Hill

I was with few of my officemates that I sincerely like(Ayen, Kait and Rev), and it was also delightful to be with other people I knew from other teams. It was like one big reunion and nostalgia as we all realized that we have been employed for five years already in the company. We can now search for opportunities elsewhere, just kidding.

Rev, Ayen and I

Ayen and I

The program immediately took off with the awarding of plaques of appreciation, first, to those who have been employed for five years in the company. Of course, none were paying attention to the plaques but as to WHAT would be the other thing handed out. It was a paperbag for a TechnoMarine watch. We all sighed in relief. Days before, there was a rumor that they might give us Tiffany ballpoint pens instead and I was personally hoping that the rumors were not true. The year before, they gave out Charriol bracelets and I expected no less than that. In fact, I’m fine with the bracelet but a watch was of course more welcome. =D As there was a disproportionate number of people who were employed for five years, it took a much longer time to hand out what must be given.

With Angel

Then a sort-of appreciation speech was given by two people from each batch and Angel, a classmate/course mate of mine from UP Diliman, was one of them. She went to to give her experience right from the beginning, and I mean from the beginning beginning when she started out with her interview. She also mentioned memorable events from her first months, particularly that Manila Peninsula rebellion on November 29, 2007, which was also the same date that I have signed my contract before officially starting four days after. She proceeded to share everything that happened to her, including her growth within the company and it made me realize one thing — girl was lucky to have that opportunity because she has been promoted four times within half a decade. And what about me? I realized early on, like right on my first year, that I have limited growth opportunities within the group I found myself in. Then I decided to go back to school and take my master’s degree. =D Let’s see what might happen within the following year because I see significant changes happening.

Enderun at night - McKinley Hill

Pretty yellow lights - Enderun, McKinley Hill

With our former manager, Ms. Fen

Anyway, the night had fallen and the program was finally finished. We proceeded outside for the cocktail party and we have been b*tching moments before how famished we were. Frankly, I did not care much about the things I put on my plate, and the only thing I can remember was that they served three kinds of pasta. The waiters were frequently passing by our side of the ‘lawn’, and we just kept on getting sweets after sweets. LOL Rev managed to get boxes of cupcakes for us, which I have reserved to give to Mon. He likes desserts a lot, non? =D

Cupcake for Mon

So now, what about that watch? I had opened the box in the venue right after receiving it but I waited until I got back in the office to inspect what was inside. It was a Technomarine Cruise Original 110042 watch. I searched for it online and it was at sold at US$ 375 in their website. *wolf-whistles* It wasn’t bad after all, even if I knew that they might have gotten a considerable discount since they have bought a lot.

The watch - TechnoMarine Cruise Original 110042

Had to change from white to black immediately - Technomarine Cruise Original 110042 watch

My initial instinct was to remove the white straps and change it into black. More discreet and less prone to any grime and dirt (though I’m perfectly sure that the straps were made to be more or less resistant to superficial dirt). Then I found out that there was a hidden ‘something’ underneath the white strap — our company logo. It was as if I instinctively removed the white straps, without deliberately knowing about that. But think about it, with the changing of the straps, I can be creative with the combinations so it was like getting several watches in one. LOL

I remember categorically saying in my first interview with my then-soon-to-be managers that I would stay in the company for two years, three years tops. Never say never. I definitely know that I will not stay to reach ten years and I foresee a maximum of 18-24 months before I call it quits. Time to plan this time well.

The J.Peterman Counterfeit Mailbag and some studded collar

J Peterman Counterfeit Mailbag

More than four years ago, I did not care about bags. I used a Nike messenger bag and already thought that I was cool. Then everything changed when I saw this bag from a thrift store being sold for Php 500 (or only about US$ 12) on April 13, 2008, a day after my 23rd birthday.

Almost brand-new J.Peterman Counterfeit Mailbag - messenger bag, Manila, Philippines

Almost brand-new J.Peterman Counterfeit Mailbag

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My “stuff” — extremely picture heavy!

So yesterday (or last Saturday as it is now Monday here in Manila), I had an afternoon to fix my things because they are scattered everywhere in my room.

I had the opportunity to clean what needs to be cleaned, polish what needs to be polished and others similar to that.

I also took advantage of the perfect afternoon sun diffusely shining by the window to take pictures of the things I currently own. I used to take pictures of them but only with my camera phone, and I’m not surprised that photos were better on a digital camera.

The most logical way for me to post my “stuff” (i.e. bags and SLGs only) here is via size, first with the largest until the smallest:

vintage louis vuitton keepall 50 manila philippines

Louis Vutton Keepall 50

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