Of shopping and Taco Bell

While waiting for a business contact to arrive, I found the time to do some quick shopping. Bought this heather grey jacket from Dean & Trent, a local brand that offers stylish men's apparel for a reasonable price. Love the color and the oversized collar cum shawl.

After that, I filled my empty tummy with Taco Bell. Nothing like Mexican fast food for brunch.

The question is, why the few branches? I was especially disappointed that the Taco Bell in SM Southmall closed down. Until now, that spot remains empty. Paging the Aranetas: will you open there again so I could get my quick fix?

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New Golas

Bought some new kicks! I love 'em Golas. Got them for half the price too. Awesome.

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Golla

I was looking for an iPod case for months already so as to prevent damaging my earphones again.

Got this Golla case at the St. James Parish Bazaar for just Php 180. It retails for Php 750 at the mall. Sweet sweet bargain.

It fits my nano well.

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On my shopping list

I can already smell summer from where I'm sitting. I really need to save up and buy these: cargo shorts, board shorts, flip flops, tank tops, tees, and a pair of loafers. God I hate the consumer side of me.

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The Temptation got me

I tried to resist, but I had to give in. The Temptation (aka Topman) got me. A quick trip to their Mall of Asia branch and I went home with a polo.

Topman Hosted on Zooomr

Topman polo Hosted on Zooomr

It really was easy to blow money on Topman, especially when it is on sale. The polo originally costs Php1245, which I got for 50% off. This has left me even broke-r than before. I think I need to attend money management classes.

I finally had lunch at Taste Asia, which my favorite blogger Anton raved about. I was expecting to try Asian cuisine but unfortunately, that section was under renovation. There were fresh seafood, which you would personally buy and have it cooked. But I know nothing wet market buying, so I settled with T-bone steak from their Asian Fusion stall, which was basically Kamayan that can be found in every other SM food courts.

Taste Asia was packed by nursing students from nearby schools.

Taste Asia Hosted on Zooomr

I love dining al fresco but the area can be very hot during lunch. The cars passing by and the on-going construction do nothing for the ambiance.

Telecom Hosted on Zooomr

Despite this, I will be back to Taste Asia when the Asian section opens again. Or when I am with someone who actually knows how to pick the best seafood.

Since I'm perpetually in love with the sea, I wanted to check out the boardwalk and have a whiff of sea air blow on my face. Sadly, the Esplanade construction was still ongoing.

Esplanade Construction Hosted on Zooomr

I've been wanting to try this binocular for a while now, but when I finally did, it was not accepting my five peso coin.

View Hosted on Zooomr

Though I didn't get to see the boats and yachts up close, I finally got to see the humongous Spiderman 3 sticker on the IMAX Theater.

Spiderman 3 at the Imax Theater Hosted on Zooomr

The red works well, but I wonder how the black Spiderman would look like.

A photo gallery based on the year's top media photos has been set up inside the main mall. I love that the Mall of Asia has regular exhibits and galleries like this. It gives us mere commoners a chance to appreciate art and culture at a convenient place.

Photo gallery at MoA Hosted on Zooomr

Photo gallery Hosted on Zooomr

Since it was still early, I spent the time going to my usual haunt - Powerbooks. No, I don't really read much books, only comic books. I actually finished half of The Wedding Of Cathy And Irving.

Reading Cathy Hosted on Zooomr

Don't laugh now, but I actually have been reading Cathy since I was young. She's crazy, over-analytical, obsessed, and hilarious. I love her. I didn't really imagine I could relate to a woman, but I vividly remember this strip where she has a problem going to the mall without buying anything. And that is how I am actually feeling the past few months! I have to pass this certain mall everyday in order to get home, and all these little stores are screaming at my wallet.

This summer, I've been specifically buying smoothies on a regular basis, be it at Fuzion or Fruitas. I love the mango banana smoothie of Fruitas. I also tried smoothies from Conlin's and it's really good.

Conlin's Smoothie Hosted on Zooomr

In fact, I've been making my very own mango smoothies at home almost every day. All this talk has made me craving for one right now. I'll make one asap.

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Should I?

My favorite store, Topman, is having its midseason sale from May 11 till the end of the month.

I am still perpetually broke. But Topman offers really amazing apparel. Everything is nice, from the tees, to the shirts and pants, to the ties and cardigans. If there is one place I could shop at, it has to be at Topman.

But it is not cheap, at least not for me. So having sales like this is an opportunity to stock up on their nice clothes.

Should I buy? Should I? What the heck, I'll just take a peek tomorrow.

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I am broke, but I still spend

After getting an iPod nano, numerous impulsive buying of clothes, bags, and other things, succumbing to my growling stomach almost everytime, and having a beach getaway with my friends, I am broke.

But with Google giving away free $10, I cannot resist the temptation to spend. I originally wanted a top from Aeropostale, but they do not ship to the Philippines. Heck, all the other shops do not ship to this country. And if they do, the shipping would cost me five times what the actual product costs.

Fortunately, my friend Jamie is currently in New Jersey. So I asked her if I could ship the item to her, and she naturally obliged. You're a savior Jam.

Now, I got hundreds of products to choose from. But being the greatest friend that I am, ahem, I chose a Kingston 1 GB SD Card. Now I searched for hours to find a retailer than can ship for free, but sadly I didn't find any. After deducting the free $10, the memory card would cost me Php 375. The same memory card can be purchased for about Php 750 at CD-R King, so I was happy with my purchase. Yet, it drives me nuts that I have to spend Php 375.

That amount of money is big for a struggling student like me. That could have fixed my mobile phone, which yet again refuses to cooperate by not responding to my incessant presses at the number 8. To my friends: if I haven't responded to your messages the past few days, that means I cannot find a way to reply without using the letters t,u, or v.

Being broke, the engineer inside of me started to work. I opened up my mobile, which alone took me some time, and did everything I could to try to fix it. That is, wipe and blow away the dirt, and pray that it will work. After several repetitions of opening it up and dusting off the dirt, I did what most people do - place a piece of paper, and again pray that it will work. Fortunately, it did. I was so glad not because I got my phone fixed on my own, but because of the idea of saving up Php 250 on repair.

But that is way out of what I was previously talking about. Going back, I'll get my memory card when Jamie gets here by the last week of June. Only to go back to New Jersey by September. Ah, the hassle of getting that Green Card.

Seeing that this post is long but really about nothing, I could now say that my writing skills have officially deteriorated, not that I was a good writer to begin with.

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Google Checkout

I already have a PayPal account. I've used it once to buy Topman on Ebay. I saved around Php 500.

And now, I've got a Google Checkout account - with $10 free. Thing is, I cannot find a store that can ship to my address. Will my $10 go down the drain? I hope not.

I will have to find something after my quiz finishes.

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