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IKEA Obsession, Sign of Madness

20 Jan 2010 | By Iris

Since I got married, I've developed a strange, mounting obsession with home furniture. That's right! Beds, armchairs, tables, shelves, lamps - you name it, I want it. And because I believe IKEA is the furniture Mecca, I am therefore, obsessed with IKEA by extension.

Today, I am sick with a nasty sore throat AND a really, really bad toothache. I am cranky, headache-y, and extremely unhappy. So to cheer myself up somewhat, I spent the afternoon poking through the 2010 IKEA catalogue. And like vitamins to the soul, this did the trick:

I'm off to Singapore in April with The Family, and I'm dying to get one of these then. The only question is how on earth am I going to take the whole thing home, all the way to Cebu? Here's hoping that the joint baggage allowance of 5 people (and a baby) will let me. I swear, I'll go naked, if Cebu Pacific will only let me.

On a side note, guess what I found?

Yes, it looks like my lamp is really from IKEA after all. Or more accurately, it is an ÅRSTID table lamp, sans the little dangling chain.

FYI, CAMG in Parkmall carries most of the lamps in the catalogue, albeit at slightly higher prices.

Category: Me Likey!, Playing House, Wander Girl Tags: Cebu, Mecca, Singapore, toothache 4 Comments

I Now Have a Lamp, Yey!

03 Jan 2010 | By Iris

For the longest time, I've been using The Husband's battered, old 'Pixar' lamp. I call it such because it's exactly the same kind of lamp that hops in those Pixar movies. Unfortunately, the poor thing has traveled with him from London to Bangkok to Cebu, so it really is quite battered now.

Sometime after Christmas, I finally decided to pick up a new lamp. So off we went to CAMG in Parkmall (definitely one of my favorite shops EVER) to look around. The place carries stuff from IKEA, mostly lamps, so I was quite happy poking around the place all afternoon. Mind you, I wouldn't know if they're genuine IKEA or not, but I'm inclined to think so. (I'm also crushing on a plush, pink chair, but I refuse to think about it.)

Now, I originally had my eye on a white IKEA lamp, which was on sale (30% off!). But just as I was about to buy it, something pink and pretty caught my eye. It was one of those tactile lamps that would light up no matter where you touched it, and it was down from P2,500 to P1,500, so I bought it on the spot.

The uber helpful salespeople then rang it up through one of those barcode scanners - and promptly told me that I couldn't have the lightbulbs! Well, I'm not one to make a fuss over something as trivial as lightbulbs, so I asked the guy to write down in detail the kind of bulbs that I needed for the lamp. And because there was no hardware shop to be found in Parkmall and it was quite late to go elsewhere, I figured my lamp could wait one night.

The next day, The Husband and I went to True Value in Ayala to get the E-14 bulbs that were required. We couldn't find the round ones, but since the guy only specified E-14s, we figured any bulb of that sort would be okay. That night, we tried the bulbs on the lamp - and it exploded! And just like that, my pretty pink lamp was dead.

The next day found us back in CAMG. After all, I wasn't about to write off a 1-day-old exploding lamp just like that. The staff was fantastic, though. They immediately offered to replace it. Unfortunately, the only colors they had left for the same kind of lamp were a tacky gold and a gloomy black, and I wasn't about to settle for anything less than what I wanted.

And then my eyes settled on the white IKEA lamp that first caught my eye. I told them that I'd take it instead, and they let me - for P600 more. This time, I made sure that the guy talked to The Husband about the lightbulbs required, so there can be no more scary explosions. Thankfully, it works with the spare lightbulbs that The Husband normally has lying around, so I now have an awesome new lamp that is somehow making my bedtime reading 20 times more pleasurable.

On my desk chair: IKEA lamp, Antony and Cleopatra by Colleen McCullough, Moleskine planner, and Squirt (from Finding Nemo), the stuffed turtle that The Husband bought for me on our last trip to Hongkong Disneyland in 2007

Next project: a couple of proper bedside tables. Right now, the green chair is just so . . . WRONG.

Category: Married Woman, Me Likey!, Perspectives, Playing House Tags: Bangkok, Cebu, Christmas, green chair, London, pink chair, plush, True Value 3 Comments

Shop Girl

01 Dec 2009 | By Iris

I honestly don't know anyone who can multi-task better than me. Not that I have any choice in the matter, what with deadlines that never seem to want to get caught, a family that always seems to be doing something or another together, and a husband who refuses to get cheated out of quality time with his wife. Still, I cope very well under the circumstances, probably because I hate being idle and I actually enjoy working my bum off, believe it or not.

The past week alone, however, has seen my coping mechanism take a beating when we decided to showcase and market my sister's swimwear and clothing line in the IT Park Christmas Nights Bazaar. With my mum about to take the nursing board exam (which ended yesterday), who else gets to mind the shop with my sister but me?

The bazaar is open from 4PM to 12MN. This means hours and hours spent dealing with the most fickle shoppers this side of the equator, hours and hours away from my work, and hours and hours not spent with a very cranky husband.

But really, I wouldn't be The Queen of Multi-Tasking for nothing. I've been taking Octavian with me every day - with a fully loaded Smart Bro prepaid dongle to boot! - so I can surreptitiously run my posting/bookmarking/RSS aggregator software in between dealing with women who haggle with a zeal that borders between ruthlessness and downright mania. Yes, I'm working while I'm "working", and if I wasn't having so much fun dealing with people face to face for a change, I wouldn't be doing it.

Thank heavens, though, that we only signed up for 2 weeks (we're open only until December 10), and not through the entire month that the bazaar runs for (it's on until December 23). Fun or not, I will be quite happy when this ~~bizarre~~ bazaar business is over and I can go back to my usual routine. But what I really look forward to most is the chance to spend time having my muscles kneaded into blissful oblivion with the spa filter gurgling soothingly in the background to lull me to sleep.

Yep, the 10th of December can't come enough! But for now, come see Innuendo Fashion at the Christmas Nights Bazaar in Asiatown IT Park for gorgeous swimsuits, lovely dresses, and oh-so cute sleepwear. You can even get your swimsuits custom made, too, for extremely (and I mean really) reasonable prices. (FYI, the only other "company" we know of that offers such a service in Cebu charges ridiculous prices.)

Or, you can just come over for a chat with yours truly. I don't bite. And I give discounts.

Category: Familial Reports, Married Woman, Worker Bee Tags: aggregator software, Asiatown IT Park, Cebu, queen One Comment

My Dairy Woes

25 Nov 2009 | By Iris

I have lost the will to live, really I have. All because I think Nestle might have discontinued my favorite milk. And yes, this is a very big deal for me, folks.

You see, I'm an insomniac. And it doesn't help that I normally get hunger pangs just when I'm about to go to bed. In fact, the slightest sign of hunger will keep me awake till kingdom come. On the other hand, eating before bedtime makes me feel so porky that I end up staying awake and obsessing about it all night. Honestly, I can't win either way.

So I drink milk. Lots and lots of milk. And my milk of choice is Nesvita Pro-Weight Management. In fact, I've refused to drink anything else since I discovered it 3 (or was it 4?) years ago - save for the year I spent in Thailand, that is, when I subsisted on that lovely Foremost chocolate milk . . .

But I digress. I love Nesvita Pro-Weight Management because it tastes so good without being sinful. A glass of which only has about half the calories of a glass of 'normal' milk, which means I could drink it anytime I want without feeling guilty.

I drink about 2 or 3 glasses a day, which means a big box usually lasts me about a week or less. That's not a lot, is it? I couldn't have possibly consumed every single box there was in Cebu, could I? Because I cannot find a single box anywhere now. And believe me, I've looked and looked and looked in every grocery, pharmacy, and convenience store I could find every single day for nearly 10 days now.

Out of desperation, I picked up a box of the Pro-Bone variety, hoping that it would allow me to enjoy the same milky goodness that I've come to know and love, but I took one sip and flushed the whole lot down the toilet. I've tried going back to Nido and Birch Tree (the milk brands of my youth), but I only succeeded in eating them the same way that I used to as a child. I've tried various brands and kinds of fresh milk, too - none of which do it for me because I'm a powdered milk kind of gal.

Maybe I should write to Nestle and beg them to bring back my milk. Surely they won't ignore me, right? After all, it's not like I'm demanding an all-expense-paid trip somewhere complete with Myrtle Beach vacation rentals or anything ridiculous like that. I just want my milk, sleep, and my sanity back.

A Plea for Help: If anyone has seen a wayward box of Nesvita Pro-Weight Management, do let me know. Better yet, buy it for me. I'll pay you back, of course, with interest. I haven't had a good night's sleep in 10 days!

Category: Me Likey!, Perspectives, Waterworks Tags: Birch Tree, Cebu, Myrtle Beach, Nestle, Nido Tree, Thailand 2 Comments

All I Want for Christmas

25 Nov 2009 | By Iris

The Husband, he doesn't read my blogs. Or at least, I don't think so. I've never found any indication that he does, so I suppose it's safe to assume that he really doesn't.

Here are 5 things that I really want for Christmas, anyway, on the off chance that he might read my blog. Who knows? He might stumble upon my list while looking for worthwhile Christmas gifts for her - that is to say, ME.

Of course, I could always just tell him, but then, the rest of you, my beloved readership, won't know what I want for Christmas. I figured I'd make it a bit easier for you, just in case I'm on your Christmas list, tee hee. Hey, a girl can dream!

1. A White 32GB iPhone 3GS. I love all things Apple. But though I've come close to buying one of these several times, I just couldn't bring myself to buy myself another gadget when I've already bought so many this year. I still want one, though. In fact, I'm wanting it more and more every day, preferably one that's already jailbroken.

2. A 64GB iPod Touch. Okay, I admit the iPhone is a tad too pricey, but I'm reasonable. I would happily settle for technically the same thing without the phone and camera functions, among others. Naturally, I want the model with the most storage because how else will all the I, Caesar documentaries and Dexter episodes I downloaded fit?

3. An 18-200VR lens, also known as the 'all-around' lens. I knew photography was going to be a really expensive hobby to get in to, so I'm not going crazy on accessories for Caesar, nor do I plan to. I do know, however, that I'll need to invest on lenses eventually. Of course, it'll be a lot better to just get one for Christmas.

I want an 18-200mm lens because it's wide enough for landscape shots when I travel, yet it also takes decent macro shots, which I do more often, anyway. I'm thinking getting a good 'all-around' lens for Christmas will help me stop blaming my bad shots on my poor kit lens.

4. A Tenba Messenger Bag in Plum, size small. I have been longing for this bag since September. It's a messenger bag that's designed to carry a laptop, an SLR and 2 lenses, and just about any other stuff one can think of throwing in there along with these gadgets, such as chargers, cables, external drives, portfolios, etc. I'm so sick of having to carry different bags when I'm out with Octavian and Caesar, so this is the bag of my dreams.

As far as I know, only Digital Walker in SM carries these in Cebu. I was about to buy one one day, but they only had the larger size in black. After that, I kind of lost my nerve. At $108.95 (a whopping P7,500 from Digital Walker, for some reason), it does require a bit of courage. But watch the video, do! You'll know why it's worth every penny (or centavo).

5. Books aplenty! To be perfectly honest, I really am probably one of the easiest people to get presents for. Sure, I could harp on about how I'd like to have every single gadget known to man, and sure, I would be very happy to get any one of 'em, but really, I will be just as happy to get a good book or two.

Because I've spent the last 8 months reading 'em stories of Rome and Caesar, however, I've got very specific books in mind because I've got a lot of catching up to do on my reading. I'll probably post a list of the books that I really, really want soon-ish. That is, of course, assuming I don't get sidetracked.

Goodness, how did my 5-item list get so long? Off to bed with me, methinks.