How I spent my Valentine's day

For the last three years, I have always had someone special to celebrate valentine's day with.  This is the first time again that I'm single and well, celebrating Valentine's day with my friends. Although there is nothing terrible with that idea, of course I cannot help but feel a little jaded with all the consumerism that is being attached to this day. I think that's how all single girls must feel hehehe.  Nonetheless, I still celebrated Valentine's day with a red shirt :) I actually did it for luck, since this year, the Chinese New Year and Valentine's falls on the same day.                                       

Every year, UP holds their annual fair where the biggest bands in the country converge for a weeklong long celebration.
It's certainly an event not to be missed. I invited Mon, a Dire Husi artisan from Cagayan de Oro to visit Manila.  Nope, I am NOT his date. Mon is really a nice guy but our relationship with each other is extremely platonic and truth is, that is all i'm wishing for.

Crazy as it sounds, I actually played Cupid for him. There's this one girl that I asked to be his textmate. They did meet at the fair and it was really fun seeing them together.

On heart's day, Mon and I visited my community in Banaba wherein he had performed his magic tricks for the kids of Buklod ng Kabataan. Afterwards, we headed to Taco Bell where I treated Mon for a big burrito. We also visited Cubao Expo where I showed him the shops where we can sell the DH crafts. After that, we went to UP again to watch the bands. 

Some thoughts that crossed my mind that day.

If the X and I were still together...

1. I wouldn't have met the Dire Husi Artisans
2. I wouldn't have gone to Cagayan de Oro in the first place
3. I wouldn't have participated in the Buklod ng Kabataan Valentine's party

And if I missed out on these things, I think I would be a very sorry lass. There are moments to be thankful for and not to be bitter about. When something terrible happens, you have to see the whole picture and just deal with it.

My new baby, Molly

Yesterday was an eventful day for me. I went to Robinson's Galleria because I needed to get a new journal. The other day, I bid goodbye to my old journal. I still keep it but I got no intentions
of writing entries on it any longer. I've had that journal since 2004. 6 years is quite a long time but it still has at least 10 blank pages on it. Given that, I think, my old journal has some negative feel into it ever since I started writing about my ex. I just remembered that my ex actually prohibited me from writing on my journal. He never ever wanted me to see me writing on it. He felt that I was trying to hide things from him. I think that's just plain nuts. Which adds to the fact that I really am better off without him. hehehe. Well, going back, almost all of the entries there are just plain text, I never tried putting any artwork on it. The last few pages though, I pasted my origami works. Parting with a journal is not easy. It was like bidding goodbye to a friend. My last entry was a prayer.


So my new journal's name is Molly. It's short for Moleskin. I've always wanted one. I absolutely adore that small notebook. It is awfully expensive though, almost 1000 pesos. Ouch. I think I should start exercising and just take walks when I need to ride the tricycle.

old journal in blue, new journal in black

Borrowing words from Dahl, it is whizzbanging and fantabulous! It is the same notebook that Picasso and Hemingway has. I'm not claiming that I am in those ranks haha, but somehow, we all have the same passion for a good notebook.And although blogging is easier and friendlier to the environment (since no trees are cut, yey!) I think, notebookism is still alive these days. The other week, I have read Orwille's blog about losing a notebook. It made me realize even more that notebooks are friends. I rely on my notebook as much as I would rely on a close friend...sometimes even more. When my spirits are low, writing makes me feel secure about myself. Writing on journals is like second nature to me, like drinking water.


My first entry on my notebook was a letter to Molly. If you have ever read Anne Frank's diary, you would know why. It was like an introduction of myself to her. However, I didn't notice
that I actually wrote my first entry on the 3rd page of the journal. So I went back to the
first page and wrote a small prayer for Molly. My next entry is should be a visayan paragraph about my memorable moment in Cagayan de Oro. This is my assignment from my CDO friend, Mon! I think my comprehension in Visayan dialect is getting better but I really need to practice my speaking skills.


Going back about my malling, my trip to Galleria didn't end with my purchase of my new journal. I went to a japanese store and I was expecting to see origami papers; I was not disappointed. I saw so many origami papers, it was crazy! There were papers for folding animal origami, insect origami, and they even have glow in the dark papers! However, since I used up all my money on my new notebook, I didn't buy anything at the store. For 85 pesos per set, it was a bit pricey.















I also saw weird items in the store. It was a banana keeper. Maybe the inventor of that item went bananas over bananas (pun not intended). It was made so that if you want to bring a piece of banana to work, to any place, it would not get bruised or mushed. hahaha. I must go back again! It was really fun just looking at amusing stuff you have no intention of buying.

Today my mother will be coming home from Davao. Wish me luck. I am alone in this house. It is so quiet I can hear the buzzing of the fly. I really hope that I can do all the cleaning before she comes home.