Advanced birthday party in the office

Friday is wash day but I still ended up wearing these pants again instead of jeans. I think it looks good with this leather mailbag and it was as far as I can do to be color-coordinated. It rain when I was already in the shuttle, though, and I was really worried because I was wearing suede shoes! LOL

Blue F&H polo shirt, skinny khaki pants, Yves Saint Laurent multicolor sneakers, J. Peterman countereit mailbag

Mon and his teammate, Joselle, will be both celebrating their birthdays in Sunday. In connection to this, his team decided to throw a mini-kiddie party, complete with a chocolate fountain and hotdogs on a stick most especially. Even if there were already a lot of us inside the pantry, we still ahd a hard time finishing everything. Well, most were girls and they eat relatively less ravenous than the boys so that was slightly expected.

Birthday boy and birthday girl

Chocolate fountain and hotdogs on a stick

Eating some ice cream

Guilty of the food she ate LOL

I stopped eating rice for dinner since Tuesday  and Faye has stopped eating some since… I don’t exactly know when. LOL Most of the people I was with inside the pantry were the “jogging bunch”, diligently getting their cardio fix before the day ends. I also wanted to join them but I am too lazy to bring workout clothes in the office. Excuses, I know. But I do my own share of exercise at home too!

Interesting comment from a reader

Summer is officially here and I should probably start buying lots of plain cotton shirts because of the heat. I love my workshift as I get to do things before going to the office but summer is always a tricky thing to deal with. Lately, I just bring another collared top with me in the office to change my usually drenched with sweat shirt because that was the minimum requirement of the dress code.

Camouflage shirt, skinny khaki pants, Red Wing 8875 boots, Mulberry wexford briefcase messenger and Prada trick in saffiano - Mulberry Bag Philippines

Anyway, I attached the trick keychain on the wexford messenger and they looked lovely together under the afternoon sunlight.

Prada trick saffiano and Mulberry wexford messenger briefcase

What I love most in having a constant access to my email is the ability to read curious events happening on my blog even on the go. So yesterday, when I’ve heard the familiar “You’ve got mail!” AOL-tone, I was surprised to see this message in my Inbox, for a comment left on the entry “Wednesday footwear finds“:

An interesting comment sent by a reader

Of course, I was taken aback. It never occurred to me that I had a fake pair of Red Wing shoes. The anonymous reader did not leave any e-mail address nor URL for me to get in touch with him/her, so there was no way for me to reach out to him/her. All I had was the IP address from a user located in G/F Centrum II Building in Makati, just near my workplace. (hmmm…) Anyway, I looked into this possibility and I would have appreciated more this piece of information, had the user elaborated on the reasons why. Personally, it is extremely easy to call out and pronounce something as inauthentic, especially under the cloak of anonymity in the internet. Maybe the comment was not left out of malice and the reader was really concerned; and in his haste, he had forgotten to indicate any contact information. But I can’t help but think of other reasons as well. =D

He had a point, though. When I first posted about the shoes in November, I just cross-examined it with the website of Red Wing and zeroed in immediately on the 875s. I did not bother scrutinizing the tag beneath the tongue of the boots and realized that these were 8875s and NOT 875s. But what’s the difference anyway? I did not know about nuances in design until last night (and I will not bother claiming that I know everything but at least I backed it up with my own research), and thanks to the reader, I got a better understanding of the Red Wing 8875s.

Red Wing Classic Work Moc Round Tote Style No. 8875 boots - Heritage Work

Screencap from redwingshoe.co.jp (Japanese site) with the 8875 boots

Red Wing 875 versus Red Wing 8875 - notice the difference in the color of the eyelets

Red Wing 875 versus Red Wing 8875 – notice the difference in the color of the eyelets

A careful Google search brought me to forums discussing the 8875 Red Wing boots and I found out here that:

Different model use different eyelets. 875, 1907 & 877 are different where u can find engrave of ‘red wing’ on each dark color eyelet which silver eyelet dont. 8131, 8875, 8165, 8134, 8167, 9111, 8173 and 8179 are made with silver eyelet.”

I also found out that the 8875 is a model exclusively produced in Japan and is more reddish than the yellowish 875. I also cannot find 8875 in Red Wing’s website but when I was redirected to their Japanese site www.redwingshoe.co.jp, I found the boots after a simple search. I also had a little difficulty searching for the 8875, but after knowing the Japanese connection, I had more relevant results when using google.co.jp.

Anyway, I’m still open to hear again from this curious reader. And hopefully, the next time he calls me out on something, he would leave some contact information so I can easily get back to him for a better exchange of words.

A day of learning

Last day of the month and February literally passed by with only twenty eight days. I was on half-day leave because I attended a conference/workshop regarding aging and migration in UP, with guest speakers from different countries, especially in Asia.

Bearbrick sweater, skinny khaki pants, stripes canvas belt, black 8-hole Doc Martens with strap and buckles, vintage Coach Metropolitan briefcase messenger

The venue was at the University Hotel and it was then that I realized that I have never entered that area of UP before. Finishing both my undergrad and graduate degree, I still haven’t visited a lot of places inside the campus and the University Hotel was no exception. I thought I arrived late, but good thing that the event did not start until 1:30 PM. I overlooked the schedule of activities, wherein 1:00 PM was just the registration proper.

University Hotel's entrance in UP Diliman
University Hotel's lobby in UP Diliman

The theme of the workshop centers on aging and migration in 21st century Asia. The primary organizer, Prof. Yoneno-Reyes, sent an invitation/announcement to everybody last Sunday. She was also my professor in aging and migration three years ago, and I still find the topic interesting and compelling. The moderator of the event, Prof. Sevilla, was also my professor in a West Asia course. For the whole afternoon, three speakers from Japan, China and South Korea presented their papers. Two of them were from Kyoto University, while the other one was from SungKongHoe University.

Emiko Ochiai from Kyoto University

One by one, the three guests presented their topics: from the concepts of intimate work, ‘housewifization’, to ‘a new woman’; as well as marriage migration chains in East Asia to South Korea’s changing policy on multiculturalism and migration. But if I were to be frank with my observations, it was quite frustrating having to follow and grapple with the discussion. Aside from the looming presence of the language barrier between the speakers and their audience, the faulty sound system made matters worse. I felt really embarrassed for the guests, especially when another discussion from the next-door’s conference got transmitted and broadcasted in our room in the middle of the speaker’s discussion, due to mixing up of wireless microphones’ signal. I wanted to hide under the table.

Gabriele Vogt asking a question

I looked at the list of guests and saw that Gabriele Vogt was present. I was really eager to see her because she wrote one of our required readings in class before. I even cited her in one of my essays for comprehensive exams.

If there is one thing I have learned about myself from the event, it was my tendency not to socialize with people I do not know. There were only two people in the room who I knew, and they were my previous professors who were busy with the workshop. I just sat at the end of room, next to the refreshments (coffee within an arm’s reach, yay!) beside two formidable-looking ladies. I did not start a conversation with them, until I decided against the awkwardness of the situation. I was stunned to know that I was seated next to the dean of the College of Nursing of UP Manila. O_O Good thing she was very approachable and even started asking questions about me. There will be another session tomorrow, but I’m not too sure if I would be able to attend. I really need to seriously start reviewing for another exam two Sundays from now.

P.S.
Just as the day turned 28, I found out that our grandmother (my father’s auntie) passed away due to stroke. She was in a nursing home in Alberta, Canada and I haven’t seen her since the late 90s. She died at the age of 88. May you rest in peace, Lola Soling and we love you so much.

Monette in the office!

Monday means back to work but I was more excited to wear the pair of khaki pants I have picked up yesterday! And because of the Chinese New Year, I decided to wear my Chinese collar polo — stupid excuse, I know. LOL

Blue stripes Chinese collar polo, skinny khaki pants, black Prada tessuto and saffiano messenger and black 8-hole Doc Martens with buckle and straps

Everything was normal, a usual day in the office when I suddenly got a text message from a friend of ours. Monette was in the area and told us she’d drop by the office and we were extremely happy to see her. She was in overdrive, though, and we can tell that she was extremely happy to see us. Ho ho ho. Monette, I know you are reading this and we were so delighted to see you! ^_^

Faye, Monette and I

A pair of this, a pair of that

I finally got the two pair of pants from the tailor, to whom I have approached exactly a week ago. I was really excited because they were the first non-black pants I have asked him to do. When I got in their shop, the tailor was not there but his assistant took care of things and I paid the remaining Php 400 balance.

Getting the pants from the tailor

 

 

Reaching my room, I immediately took them out of my bag to try their fit. I first tried the khaki pants and it was what I exactly expected. A bit snug but I can still move and I was fine with that. As for the navy blue one, it was a different story. It was so ill-fitting that I cannot even lift my foot off the ground without getting some unwanted ‘squeeze’. LOL I had to return to the tailor hours after, hoping that he can do something about it. I also threw in another pair of pants I have been intending to get altered and hopefully get both of them tomorrow.

My new pair of tailor-made skinny khaki pants

 

Trying on my skinny khaki pants for the first time

 

From a pair of pants, I also got another pair of black leather shoes from Ebay. I don’t have a conservative plain black leather shoes, as the other pair of oxford shoes I currently have is on the dark charcoal gray side — a shade sort of black. If I were to go on interviews in the coming months (ehem, ehem), I can’t show up in my Doc Martens because there is always a time for everything and I know when to stop pushing my stubbornness. Then along came this pair of black leather shoes and I instantly fell in love.

A pair of black Paul Smith Dip Dyed Cervantes Oxford ShoesAt first, I did not know what brand this pair was because it was very handsome in itself, with the veins on the leather giving it more character. Not to mention, it was the same style as the other Prada pair (i.e. oxfords). And then I saw that it was actually a pair of Paul Smith shoes!

Black Paul Smith Dip Dyed Cervantes Oxford Shoes and details - Original Dip Dyed Footwear

After several searches on Google, I found out that the style was called ‘Cervantes’. Selectism.com did two articles about the shoe back in 2009: one when the style was first released in March 2009; while the other was in August 2009 when the style was updated with a floral touch. Its listed price in the website of Gravitypope was US$ 319.99. O_O Mon was astounded on how easy it was for me to find a pair of shoes in my size. Well, I wear a US 8.5, so compared to his bigger feet, it was really way easier for me.

 

Back to reality

It is a Wednesday and we are officially back to reality and must go back working. Before leaving the house, I thought that it would rain but barely 20 minutes off from home, I was cursing under my breath the humid weather. For a start, I’ve decided to pair again my khaki pants with these Red Wing boots because I think they were a perfect combination. Besides, I know that I should be more smart and stop spending on clothes and there’s nothing wrong with repeating to wear the things you love over and over again. =D

Checkered shortsleeves polo, skinny khaki pants, Red Wing 875 boots, Prada nylon and saffiano backpack - Manila, Philippines

I arrived in the office and saw that Mon was wearing almost the same thing as me again. However, his was on red while mine was on… whatever color mine was. It was not the first time that such thing happened because last September, we had the same thing on. He also began wearing his glasses because of astigmatism. And again, we have the same style of frame but in different colors.

And we got identical glasses

Of course, just like everybody elese, I had to drag myself to work because four days of rest seemed very short. =D Not that I wanted to start the year off in the office marred with laziness but I just can’t stop thinking of my bed, our dining table and our fridge. LOL In all fairness to me, I was able to exercise for an hour by riding my bike again, and even gave our two dogs a bath. I think I’m off to a good start because I seem to start shaking the lazy bug off and get a move on with the things needed to be done.

What a way to start my week

I was already running later for my errands today and Mon and I even had a little argument over my supposed schedule. I was just being my stubborn self again and refused to admit that I miscalculated my time and even went on with my one hour of exercise, instead of leaving early to go to the bank. Anyway, this small squabble was finished in less than thirty minutes and we were already laughing our heads off over how silly we were. The weather was quite unpredictable, so I thought of testing this pair of Red Wing boots for the first time:

Gray Play by Comme des Garçons T-Shirt, skinny khaki pants, Red Wing 875 6-inch boots, Givenchy luggage duffle bag - Manila, Philippines

So off to BPI in KPMG Building I went, input some detail and took a number. But it took me forever before my number got called, and to make matters worse, the teller just informed me right there and then that their system was offline and I had to manually fill out two sets of transaction slips, which they will process once the system was okay again. So that was causing the delay. I couldn’t understand why they did not bother telling the people right away (I mean there were really LOTS of people waiting) and handed out transaction slips for us to manually accomplish, instead of telling every person approaching the counter to do so. Very efficient. Anyway, I ended up with an “OFFLINE VALIDATED” slip and off to the office I rushed.

An 'OFFLINE VALIDATED' transaction slip from BPI

Before reaching the elevator, I asked another BPI branch by the ground floor of our building if the system was already online. I was informed that it just went running again a few minutes back. I hurried upstairs and called the other branch to ask if they have already processed my two transactions. It turned out, the teller gave me the wrong telephone number. I also had a second glance at the transaction slip and she had wrongly written a digit in the account number. I had no choice but to walk back again to their building and ask her about it. Mon went with me this time and I was swearing a lot on our way. Mon looked nervous because he probably thought that I might be having a fit, but I calmly approached the teller and asked her about what happened. I was actually surprised about my reaction because I would normally lash out but I began thinking few weeks back that I should really learn to control my temper. The only downside, though, was Mon becoming my unintentional shock-absorber of my cussing fit.

Burberry London Leather Messenger Bag

So what made me really determined to have that transaction completed? It was because I was paying for a (yet again) Burberry leather messenger bag I bought online, from the same  seller who sold me the LV Epi Noir Pochette Cles. She was extremely nice and easy to talk with. Besides, it will be my first ever Burberry and I love the fact that it is leather and not canvas! I already accepted the fact that I might not receive it tomorrow but I was surprised when the seller was able to ship it as she reached the cut-off. The bag in question will arrive tomorrow. A big thank you to her.

Bye bye! Mon Hermès Fourre Tout!

Of course, it might initially seem that I was out spending on another bag again but the truth was, I had to let go of another bag, the Hermès Fourre Tout I bought almost three months ago. I liked it but I never really got the chance to use it and it was only my sister who had the chance to take it out on my nephew’s birthday (as a diaper bag!). In the process of selling it, I ended up guilt-free because it was sold at a price more than the cost of the Burberry messenger, which did not leave me with less resources. I just looked at it as a trade and this bag deserves another person who will lovingly use it.

I know it will be quite hard for me to just kick off my habit of looking into having another bag, but I have learned that the first step of just selling the things I don’t use clearly leads the way to a better spending habit. More or less, I end up with a new bag with extra money to spare. The ultimate goal, however, was to extremely minimize my bags to just a little over six or make it seven. =P I know I’ll get there someday, one step at a time. Who knows, maybe before 2013 ends, that goal has been already achieved.

P.S.
Today marks my 5th year at work! Also, the birthday of Lolo Dada (paternal grandfather — R.I.P. Lolo) and Mon’s maternal grandmother, who we fondly call as Lola Groovy. =)