Your guide to the next best thing in bazaars

FOUR months to go and Father Christmas is just about here. Greenhills Shopping Complex’s COD Christmas display is almost done, while Makati has started its dry run for the annual Christmas spectacle along Ayala Avenue.

If Christmas is near, expect the bazaars to take up most of our weekends to complete our list of holiday gifts. As early as August, groups such as Zonta Club of Makati headed by Olga Martel held a weekend bazaar at Rockwell Tent.

Bazaars are actually hotbeds for the next best thing. Entrepreneurs utilize bazaars to market-test their products.

Who will ever forget the success stories of Blued, a college project by trailblazing Ateneans led by Tess Manimtim? What started as a college exhibit called Bluemark became a household name, thanks to the brand’s preppy dose of colorful windbreakers, paisley-printed hooded shirts and cotton boxer shorts. From college bazaars to stand-alone store in the old Glorietta 2 that opened in 1992, Blued became a benchmark of bazaar success stories.

Candles and more

Recently, I did a visit of bazaars and listed possible Christmas gifts.

For candle lovers, Pont A La Ligne, Gien France and Deco Candles are brands meant for export to Europe. They are made at the Export Processing Zone in Rosario, Cavite. Nautical-inspired candles ranging from corals to clams will definitely look good on dinner tables or in one’s private study.

For bag hags, Bags in the City sells everything from magnetic money clips to totes to accessories organizers, while Lulu Virata Jorge’s 1203 Exchange Limited sells trinkets and colorful faux croc-skin minaudieres, perfect for ladies who love to smooch come cocktail hours.

For bazaar veteran Jocelyn Ramos, her Multi-realms Enterprises sell Pucci-printed shirtdresses and clothes fresh from the runway. She faithfully scours fashion magazines for fashion inspirations that will catch the eye of discerning bazaar-goers.

Meanwhile, Vella offers leathergoods from tissue holders, cardholders to notepads. Imagine checking in at Immigration counter using a Vella travel wallet that carries your passport in style.

Everywhere you look – hotels, country clubs, even vacant lots –
a bazaar is happening these days, and it’s still 15 weeks before Christmas. As the world limps out of recession (hopefully) before 2010, let us spread the joy of the holidays by bazaar-shopping.

Thanks for Chikka..

The sunset pictured above was from Baguio. It was the first time I appreciated this scenery despite the many times I have been up there. Maybe I am to busy shopping or the place was too foggy to notice it. I took this one from the Baguio Cathedral deck.

I used to remember, whenever my Globe postpaid line was disconnected, i panicked a lot, that was before, when I had friends and a lovelife, but now, both of them are non-existent, so when Globe disconnected by line, I took it in stride, no need to rush to the nearest business center to have it connected, what the heck, I am not expecting anything important, no calls that I have to place, to messages that I have to send. Thank God for Chikka, at least I get to reply once in a while to some messages, like clients from eBay, or from some people that have decided to text me.

Despite the absence of a working phone line and a permanent residential or office address, I had business cards that were printed just in time for an all important PR briefing/bidding for a Swiss multinational, and it dawned on me that after attending biddings for this client, I just realized that in this business, talent is irrelevant, it is all about timing, not mine nor anyone's else, but God's. If this project is really meant for me, then by all means, I will get this. As I was reading Deepak Chopra's book, he mentioned about the "Law Of Least Effort", which is really the way I should look at things. He specifically made an example wherein one is trying hard to recall something, and no matter how hard we try to remember it ( as they say, "it was on the tip of my tongue..."), when you totally let go of that matter, after a few second without really trying to remember it, then, you will just remember it. That's a perfect example of that law. So I will try to always live by that maxim, i won't put any effort on anything, period. I will put a lot of efforts though in praying and hearing masses, imagine, I even pray that the Lord make me invisible, at least from the building owners, so that they won't notice that i haven't replied to their demand letters or eviction notices, Har!Har! Har! Sometimes, I do pray for the wrong things, so I get them faster, be really careful with what you wish for, for you just might get it, as the adage goes.

While I am still on the topic of remembering, please do check out the latest copy of Time Magazine about the Heroes Of The Environment, a pinoy made it on the list, hooray!!! And check out the last page write up about social networking. The writer succintly defined what I am trying to say. This social networking is really a crap, I don't even see who invented it, I have a Friendster, Facebook, Blogspot, Multiply, Flixster, YouTube, X-Tube, and what-have-you accounts, and yet, not a single friend from these sites do call or text me, hahaha! with the exception of a few friends.

Thank God for Chikka, again, Dennis Mendiola, you are God-sent! Now I have to get my Globe reconnected, and that will be another story, for now, will wait for some stuff to be sold on eBay. My life has become a big sob story, and when the end comes, I will give the author of The Secret a run for their money, because it will be great!!!

Ground Zero Glorietta 2

A picture perfect photo of Glorietta 2 which I found in my files. I held the launch of Dwayne Wade shoes in this site last Nov. 3, 2005 which coincided with the global launch. I took care of everything, from planning, leading, organizing and control, and I must say I was pleased with the result. Tessa Valdes-Prieto hosted the event which was directed by uber-nice Jackie Aquino. Collections by Randy Ortiz, Tonichi Nocom, Vittorio Barba, JC Buendia and Kate Torralba were presented, and I asked them to design their own versions of the iconic Chuck Taylor to which they came produced beautiful renditions. James Yap was present as the image model for the brand and i asked the basketball varsity team of University Of Asia & The Pacific to be his background support. Aimee Marcos, Mariel Rodriguez, Bianca Gonzales came, as well as Town & Country editors Monique Villonco and Mia Borromeo, FHM's Ana Kalaw, Mega's Vicky Tensuan, and host of other writers. Coca Cola Tigers, Sta. Lucia and Red Bull players such as Billy Mamaril, Nelbert Omolon, Warren Ybanez as well as Coach Eric Altamirano came. College basketball players of UST such as Dylan Ababou and College Of St. Benilde's Paolo Orbeta also dropped by.

I can't believe that investigators are pinpointing that the source of the blast could be an accident, a deadly mixture of methane gas and diesel which emanated from the sewerage located at the basement of the mall. The huge crater at the center of the site and the destruction all the way to the third level that blew the glass dome is a sad reminder that anything can happen to anyone. So far, 11 people have died from the blast which hit the mall during the Friday lunch rush hour. I am thankful that I was not there, to think I live around 500 meters from the site and I usually pass by that entrance lobby since a booksale is always held at the atrium. Also, it sits beside Goldcrest, another favorite hangout of mine for bargains. Sometimes, the Lord will really make me blessed despite the odds, He made sure I was hearing mass in Sacred Heart when the blast happened, which I dutifully do everyday. There are times I wanted Him to take me but it seems He has bigger plans for me. I am very thankful for the daily blessings He has bestowed upon me.

Silence...

There was silence. I decided not to blog for months. I felt that people were just looking at my blogs and they did not care if I was still surviving. Some were mocking me, as if I was a leper that was an outcast because I have nothing. I have learned to count my blessings rather than dwell on my misfortunes. By this time, I have known true friends from fake ones. I have become more prayerful, praying for others especially those who are against me. I guess friendship nowadays has become so lax, in this time and age, people won't bother to call you or text you to find out how are you faring, if you have eaten, if you have moved. Well, life is too short and I have decided to make this one be my signature life. I am young, beautiful, smart, and that was Ugly Betty's signature line. Please check out my photoblog at www.jakedeleonramirez.multiply.com

Lucky threesome..

And there was 3. I decided to get a new puppy since I heard that having even and not odd numbers as pets is very unlucky. I need to break the series of unfortunate events in my life. I am already on my 23rd week of hearing mass daily, and it has done wonders. I just received a call that I won P30,000 in cold cash from a promo, not bad. I am a sucker for raffles, and I have joined a lot. The most I got was a rice cooker which I never get to claim, I won an electric fan from a rigged office raffle, and won a gift certificate or two. Due to my addiction to raffle and shopping, which is a bad combination, I raked my credit card usage just to earn points and join in Mastercard or Visa raffle. I already got an overnight stay from Oakwood Hotel due to high points from Ayala Discount Plus. Even if I don’t smoke Philip Morris or Hope, I made sure that I get from the trash bin or from the “takatak’ boys (medicant cigarette vendors) the empty packs. Name it, I have joined it, Myra E Blooming Everyday, Halls Pera Sa Wrapper, La-Cash Tama Extra Joss, BIR’s Pera Sa Resibo, the daily lottery. Out of compulsion, I always place a bet under “lucky pick”, so far, I have won 4 numbers out of 6 combinations, to think the factorial is 1 out of 42 million, 45 million or 49 million, depending whether it is 6/42, 6/45 or 6/49, and I don’t even check out the results religiously, maybe I have won already millions and PCSO just kept my winnings since I didn’t claim the pot prize.

Well, I have named the 3rd dog Alberta, she is a mongrel I bought along Session Road for P500, not bad to think I won P30,000 with just an envelope and empty Myra E packs as capital. The luck continues…

Hermes Shoulder Birkin JPG 42 cms. Found!

NEWS!!!

Lindsay Lohan has pricey bag stolen!

Lindsay Lohan had a pretty bad day yesterday. She had her orange Hermès Birkin bag stolen at Heathrow Airport in London. Now ordinarily just losing a bag worth almost $10,000 would be bad enough, but she apparently had contents inside, including "a quantity of jewelry," valued at upwards of $1 million (!). Lindsay's rep, Leslie Sloane, says Lindsay is extremely upset about the loss. "She is begging for the return of the items," Sloane says. "She doesn't care how she gets them back, she just wants her stuff back." Yeah, good luck with that.

Update: Wow. A paparazzo helped locate Lindsay's bag, apparently with everything still inside. Lindsay's attorney said, "Lindsay wants to say a massive thank you to Mr. Paparazzi Darryn Lyons for handing back her bag to her today after his paparazzi film crew helped catch the thief and return her belongings. "She feels that maybe justice has been served, and karma may have played a role in the return of her bag today given that the paparazzi are usually a pest to her and today they have been a Godsend."

Hermes’ new designer Jean Paul Gaultier on the helm has redesigned the infamous ‘Birkin’ bag for spring/summer ‘05. This is no small innovation, given that the original is in such demand that there is a wait to get on the waiting list. But JPG’s changes work — now you can actually get the bag over your shoulder. Due to its shortened height, the bag seems as long as an eighteen wheeler semi! Like Luella with her Baby Gisele, the logic step to an already successful handbag was to adding a shoulder design and appeal to a wider audience. Among the large variety of carry-alls that we’ve seen, this new shoulder Birkin sure is in contention for the throne. So damned appealing! As shown on the right in the new “pumpkin orange” shade, the bag will go for £4,000 (~$7,500). Stores around the globe hesitated with the large orders for the bag, unsure about how the new low profile would appeal to the customer base. In addition, a limited production is running on these treasures as well. Hence, the new Hermes Shoulder Birkins are even more scarce than the legendary regular Birkins.

And lucky me!!! I got a Birkin Shoulder JPG in tan, if interested to buy, please let me know, let's work it out.

Cosmopolitan Bachelor Bash 2007

The annual beefcake fest dubbed as “Cosmopilitan Bachelor Bash” was again, a success. Cosmopolitan Philippines, who recently celebrated its 10th year anniversary in the country, and Saga Productions, pulled all the stop to mount 2007 Cosmopolitan 69 at NBC Tent in The Fort. This year’s theme is a ripped off from “Lost” and “Survivor”, wherein an airplane full of hunks crashed and the survivors got stranded in the island, with the audience, of course! A pleasant flight attendant voice continuously spoke on the start of the show mentioning the sponsors over and over again, and let me do that for you, “Air Cosmopolitan 69 Flight is brought to you by Premiere Condoms, Guess, Moschino Funny, Artic Vodka, Samsung and Caronia”. The stage was designed as a jungle, and all hell break loose when the boys started parading onstage, girls and gays alike screamed on top of their voice, they cajoled the boys to show more skin, and boy! These boys were pros, they titillated the crowd as if they were just wearing their Moschino scent, nothing else.

Previous awardees such as Richard Gutierriez, Jericho Rosales, Dennis Trillo, Marco Alcaraz, Zanjoe Marudo, and host of others became bigger star afterwards. This year’s awardees, as voted thru texting, were Dingdong Dantes, Jake Cuenca, Alfred Vargas, Derek Ramsey, Paolo Paraiso, Joem Bascon, Jon Avila (formerly Mullaly), Marvin Raymundo (formerly Wijangco) and Luke Jickain. Fortunately, the girlfriends of the awardees such as Karylle and Angelika Panganiban were not around, or they will go home with bragging rights that they got the best specimen of Pinoy manhood, as proven by the endless shrieks of girls and fags that night. Only Mylene Dizon was around to lend support to the father of her son Tomas, Paolo Paraiso. Tickets were so hard to procur as if it’s a holy grail, again, thanks to Nelson Canlas of GMA 7 for getting me in to the VIP area. I bumped into former Cosmopolitan editor-in-chief who’s now at the helm of Marie Claire Philippines, Myrza Sison, who started this search in the country. Her successor, Ianne Evangelista, resigned already to raise a family of her own, and the acting Editor-In-Chief, Zo Aguila, was my Boracay buddy when we took the ro-ro going to the island in June 2002 and stayed for 4 days with a storm raging, and how I wish the fabulous 69 bachelor hunks were with us that time. Well, too late for wishes, they still come true, at least for this year’s Cosmo Bash, heavy rains poured outside NBC Tent after the show, so we got stranded with the boys.