HURTFUL WORDS....
everyone who knows you know, that they are all you are capable of... maybe it kills you more that I am not bending or catering to your whims... and just so you know, the hurtful words, themselves do not get to me -- what gets me is knowing that they are being said to those I love and care about... am just glad they know me well enough to not buy into your lies....
OK, got that off my chest... moving on.....
So, one should NEVER give up - ever.... with just a bit of LUCK and a bit of HELP from FRIENDS (Thanks Sue & Cecilia!) - all can be attained, acquired or accomplished. Such is the case of completing this year's Chinese NY Family Mart Premium Lucky Vinyl Toys.
Over the weekend, as we got together for the Taipei Toy Festival, Sue handed over to me a small paper bag containing the 3 that I was missing to complete my collection (see side photo)... plus a couple of others.... What A Feeling - always GREAT when am able to complete a collection. Especially these HARD TO GET ones. 
COMPLETE AT LAST!!!
But it never ends as the SUMMER PREMIUM PROGRAM has already commenced - HELP!!!
Looking back, I was hating the way my hair was soooo flat in all the TOY FEST photo - so on this weird weathered Monday morning, I just had to go for a haircut....
Am happy again... Lols, how a decent haircut can change one's mood... Now on to gaining a few POUNDS as am tired of hearing how skinny I am... waaah, just as when I reached my WEIGHT GOAL.....
VANITY - Never Ending Torture, really!!!
As you already know, my main reason for attending this event, besides all the cool Vinyl Toys was to FINALLY meet in person, tokidoki creator/designer, Simone Legno... I had already missed him a couple of times before - once in Manila and another time here in Taipei... So this time around I made sure I will be in attendance...
It was a 4 day event, starting Thurs the 9th, the day I came back from my last Manila trip... still feeling a bit under the weather, I made sure I took my meds, vitamins, and drink lots of juices to get better and be able to attend... Saturday the 11th was date of choice to attend... Perfect day for Juliana and Sue - alas, due to unforseen reasons, Cecilia could not come and it worked out well as David got the day off from work and was able to use the extra ticket.
For NT$150 (US$4.50) - we got to enjoy a day's worth of meeting and greeting the featured designers; get to see in person so many toys and products I only got to see online and in magazines; but and get personally authographed those that appealed to us; and of course, SIMONE LEGNO. He was totally nice, accommodating and sweet... could not have been happier. We got our goods signed, personalized, took photos with him and of course, chatted a bit... it was PURE HEAVEN for us all!!!
Well, it was more like HEAVEN & HELL!!! HEAVEN as we were loving all that was on displayed abnd being offered... HELL as it was not good for the pockets, as most hobbies, are not. Two things worked in my favour though and I saved myself a lot of expenses: 1) I pretty much have all the tokidoki goods made so far... and 2) the other stuff I was looking for, from different designers & tokidoki, were not available... except I did luck out and found the LE Platinum Version of SABOCHAN... so of course, I snapped this one right away -- happily so!!!
Some of my Purchases (Clockwise) tokidoki X Bearbrick: Issued for the Taipei Festival; Levi's X tokidoki tee; LE Platinum Edition Sabochan; Oli Bears "Heaven & Hell"
The experience was a real delight, one that I would totally recommend to all you Vinyl Toys lovers, and one I would love to do again, and again, and again.....
For all the FUN PHOTOS - PLS CLICK HERE
Story and Photos to follow...
Just could not contain the excitement from yesterday's Taipei Toy Festival outing...
Just Us with tokidoki GOD & creator, Simone Legno!!! Have a GREAT WEEKEND TO YOU ALL!!!
Just feeling like a SAP once more upon coming back to Taiwan, I decided to watch "Love Actually" again for the GOD only knows how many times now - I have lost count.... still the same bag of mixed emotions I get each and ever sitting... it is one of those movies I truly will never ever tire of... and it seems that each and every viewing - I pick up something I did not before -- as is in this case...
This time around, I got to really listen to the song; "The Trouble With Love Is.." - sung by Kelly Clarkson
The words are hauntingly true.... for me anyway.... I can totally relate.... line by line, I have at one point or another experienced pretty much all that is written in the lyrics.... the good stuff like hearing a symphony and wanting to shout out to the world about my love for someone.... but like a drug, love does make me blind from time to time, as am sure most of you can relate.... so much so that the heart is torn into pieces....
Still, there is no escaping when love beckons.... the minute my heart flutters for someone - like a moth to a flame, am there... wholeheartedly.... cautions thrown in the wind.... no reservations whatsoever.... against everyone else's warnings.... I just go with the flow of things -- doing the BEST I can, making the most of all, hoping for the BEST LOVE has to offer....
So, in this edition of weThink, weShare - I ask of all of you:
What do You Think IS the Trouble With Love? With Falling In Love? And, if you can, would you simply just walk away from it - fearing that, in the end, it all turns out the same?
====================================
A few Shots of TOTAL JOYs as demonstrated by a few people, and a doggie, while in Manila...
Aaaaah Youth! BEA: One Happy Little Girl!
Nanay (Cousin Rounette) and Ace - finding their instruments of Happiness!!!
Personally delivering to a couple of HAPPY SUSIE & DOLLS Lovers (Joan & Pole) and witnessing their total JOY in getting their SUSIE Dolls! And Shaq reunited with his Master Ace, after being separated for 4 months while Ace does his OJT in the US.
So, am back in Taiwan... but not without a whole lot of nervousness on my part... scared of being flagged down and being quarantined -- the same worries plaguing most, if not all the travelers of late...
The SUMMER WEATHER in Manila took its toll on me - finally and I actually got sick... so much so that I was practically bedridden the last couple of nites... Thank God it was not the dreaded H1N1 Virus -- and with proper medication my fever came down and was controlled.... still I could not help but worry going to the airport this morning, an early one at that, to catch my flight... then it was fretting over crossing CKS Airport's Health Customs at the airport... Glad that in the end, I was cleared and all is fine....
well, fine except for all the work (and everything else) waiting for me.... but that's another matter....
Summers in Manila can be really trying... The HOTTEST TIME of the year can also be the WETTEST time as rainy season falls on the Hot Summer months.... now I know why Schools' summer vacation here is between Mar & June.... so people can still enjoy some kind of summer instead of be stuck at home, or worse yet, caught in a flood somewhere while on a summer holiday.
The last few days have been either TOO SUNNY or RAIN POURING DOWN... and if one is LUCKY - you get both, alternating in one day... as I have been... makes it really so hard to get around, plus I cannot even go for a swim... I can only eat.... no wonder many people are a bit on the heavy side... and why I am always catching a cold when here in the summer months...
Oh well, at least there's the GREAT BIG & VERY CHEAP movie houses to escape too... as I recently did, and saw TRANSFORMERS... not that I was really dying to see this but nothing else is playing that catches my fancy.... besides, they had this BIG OLD TRUCK displayed right outside the movie theatre - which turned out to be one of the main robot characters in the movie... and in fairness, it was entertaining ebnough for the 2 1/2 hrs, its running time.
Johnny Depp and director Tim Burton teams up once again... this is the duo's 7th collaboration with the last one being the musical Sweeny Todd, for which Mr Depp was nominated for aBest Actor Oscar. This time around it is for the retelling of Lewis Carrol's "Alice in Wonderland.
Johnny Depp plays the Mad Hatter, which MAAAD HAT should fill in nicely judging by the publicity shots so far. And reuniting with him once again, is Mrs. Tim Burton herself, Helena Bonham Carter - as the Evil Red ("Off With Her Head!) Queen. Alice will be played by the 19 year old Aussie actress, Mia Wasikowska plus Anne Hathaway as the White Queen.
From their very first collaboration together, Edward Scissorhands, I have been hooked... it always AMAZES me what this duo can do together... and this one promises to do no less....
Okay, so if you TRAVEL between Taipei and Manila as often as I do, basically once a month, you have to be wise and find the BEST FARE available.... A few years back, I used to pay about $350US RT (round trip), about 17,000Php, but with CEBU Pacific it was cut down to about $100 US or 5,000php.... of course with that low fare, one does not get to carry as much (only 15KGS allowed) - and you have to know that for a BALIKBAYAN - that is just way too little.... Also, no food or drinks available for you (unless you pay on board!) - much less, MILEAGE to ACCRUE.... still, for a two hour flight - this is all OK, as am basically saving $200US each flight...
This cheap fares made PAL took notice enough to introduced the ECONO LITE FARE - as advertised, you also allowed just 15 KGS... 1 hand carry.... NO MEAL... but UNLIMITED PEANUTS & DRINKS... PLUS VIDEO SCREENS... hmmmm.... this caught my eyes of course.... enough to take them up on their offer this time around...
Boy did I make a BAD DECISION - which I came to CONCLUDE right from the start. Upon checking in I was told I cannot ask for an AISLE seat... with my fare I sit where I am placed in the last few rows - no matter if the aisle seats in the last rows are available, which they were.... so I ended up with the toilets right behind me and all the toilet goers feels that my seat was there for them to lean and rest on while they wait for their turn in the loo.... HEADACHE from too much SHAKING much!!!
Then as the FOOD CART was rolled, ECONO LITE people were passed over and were taken care of last... a couple of little bags of peanuts (about 25 pcs) in each bag -- if even) and a glass of drink... unlimited they said??? well, they did not even come back to offer anything else and I had to wait till they were already cleaning up and picking up trash to get another glass of orange juice...
And then there's the VIDEO SCREEN.... well, nothing to get EXCITED about... you would think with this 2 hour flight they could play a 1 and 1/2 hour movie or a couple of 30 mins sitcoms - nope... "an episode of JUST FOR LAUGHS" played twice is what we got!!!
Well, I learned my lesson.... am going back with CEBU PACIFIC... at least I know there is nothing to expect, therefore, I will not be disappointed!
1st of July, a brand new month that promises to be just as hectic & tiring as the month of June -- but at least a little bit more pleasurable...
Starting off with flying off this morning to Manila to check up on my Mom... i can only pray that this trip will be a bit better than the last.... then tomorrow I get to see my nephew Ace, coming back from San Francisco, California -- where he did his 3 month OJT for his HRM course... he has one semester left and he graduates!!!
Upon my return on the 8th, I get to look forward in enjoying a full fun day at The Taipei Toy Festival ( a 4 day event that I will be attending on Sat, the 11th - with my friends: Juliana, Sue & Cecilia) -- so many famous exhibitors from all over the world, but the one am dying to see and meet is mr tokidoki himself, Simone Legno.
There are other things, other happenings for the month of July: the musical Phantom of the Opera comes to Taiwan, a couple of movies, Public Enemies & the special effects driven, 2012; and summer goings on in Taiwan.
Here's hoping July has a lot of happenings in store for you, too... in your own neck of the woods...
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