Goddess, I Am.

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.

I grew up in a Christian sect (which shall remain nameless) that staunchly discourages the celebration of Christmas. Nevertheless, I’m a big fan of the holiday – not only now that I’ve left said sect, but even back in the days when I was quite the active member.

Because of this upbringing, however, I don’t see Christmas the way most people do. For one thing, the religious implications are completely lost on me, so I’m not going to go into that. I simply see Christmas as a time for family, friends, great food, and of course, presents.

This year’s Christmas is definitely one of the best ones – EVER. I’m thinking it’s probably because so many great things happened this year, and everyone in my family just has so many things to be thankful for. Not only that, because most of us work at home, we haven’t been obliged to go to this or that party to socialize with people we may or may not like, so our holidays have been spent with the very people we wanted to celebrate with – each other. Most of all, the coming year is going to be a big ‘un that’ll bring about a spate of huge changes that I can’t talk about right now, so I guess thinking about this time next year is making everyone want to make the most of this year’s holidays. (Plus, this year saw the return of mum’s famous “turbo chicken”, a family favorite that we haven’t had in at least 5 years!)

And then there are the presents. Everyone in the family gave the best, so we all received the best. No, I didn’t get any of the gadgets on my wish list, but I did get a lot of stuff that I wanted and needed.

First, there’s the fabulous new bed and mattress that The Husband and I decided to give ourselves as a Christmas present. The bed frame and headboard are made of a soft nubuck, which is really lovely to the touch. It’s also Queen-sized, a bit of an upgrade from our old double bed. The thick, firm foam mattress is somewhat recessed with a good half-foot nubuck border/frame around it, so I’m not likely to fall off the bed anymore.

We were actually eyeing it for months at SM’s Our Home where they had a camel-colored one on display, but when we finally decided to buy it, it was gone. I nearly burst into tears! Luckily, the salesman told us that there was a chocolate brown one still tucked away in storage, and when he showed it to us, we had it reserved right there and then. I’ve had zero insomnia since it was delivered a couple of weeks ago. In fact, I don’t think I’ve slept so well in my entire life! It’s well worth the $500 price tag!

The Husband and I decided to get the bed because we couldn’t decide what to give each other for Christmas. The idea was not to give each other presents anymore, but somehow we ended up getting wrapped presents for each other, anyway. I got him a Casio Edifice chronograph; he got me a Moleskine Daily Planner because I didn’t win the giveaway (sniffles). He couldn’t find the Moleskine Color-a-Day sort, so he just got me the plain black one because I already had a red Starbucks planner this year. I’m so happy! Moleskines are L-O-V-E.

The rest of this year’s haul was quite as impressive. Chin gave me my present earliest: a beautiful notebook made of all native and recycled materials, which is a great addition to my ever increasing notebook collection (yes, I have one!). The best thing about it is that Chin has its twin – isn’t that sweet? I wasn’t able to take a picture of it, though, because I didn’t have Caesar on me that night.

My best friend, Aileen turned up the morning of Christmas Eve with a fabulous Guess? bag – in purple! Now, I’m extremely bag-challenged. I hardly ever buy bags because I usually just take whatever my mum isn’t using (she has LOADS), and I would normally use whatever bag I’m currently using until it’s worn out beyond recognition. It’s nice to have a pretty new bag of my own, for a change.

My uber generous mother surpassed herself this year. The whole month has been a constant stream of surprises from her. I got a pair of jeweled wedges, several fancy Wacoal underwear, a fancy jewelry box, gorgeous white gold hoop earrings, and Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger. The rest of the family got a ton of really cool stuff from her, too. Our mum is definitely the most awesome one in the world!

From my sister, her darling Mike, and everyone’s darling Xabier, I got an extremely cool portable laptop stand and cooler in hot pink. It’s totally ergonomic, and I’m working more comfortably now. Octavian is also kept nice and cool at all times, which I’m hoping would prevent heating problems in the future. A week without Octavian is a week too many!

From Tita Pilar, my sister’s mother-in-law, I got a beautiful pair of pearl stud earrings, which had me squealing with delight. I love, love, LOVE pearls, but I haven’t worn any in years! I gave all my pearl jewelry to mum before I left for Thailand, and I’m just so happy to be wearing pearls again.

Yes, aren’t Christmas presents lovely? Why, I love ‘em so much that I’d be quite happy getting promotional tote bags!

What about you? What did you get for Christmas?

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.

I have a confession to make – I have never heard of Twilight until I started seeing the movie posters a couple of months back. And even then, I didn’t think much of it. I thought the vampire dude looked ridiculously gay and the girl was too plain. I never watched the movie, even when I found myself surrounded by hordes of giggling girls everywhere I went.

I wasn’t interested in the books, either, which was strange because I’m nuts about vampires – the Anne Rice ones, to be exact. But the whole Twilight hoopla was undeniable, and I decided that I could at least see what the fuss was all about.

So after a few well-timed hints and much traipsing around Fully Booked, I got what I wanted – all 4 of Stephenie Meyer’s books. I got Twilight and New Moon from The Fiance, and Eclipse and Breaking Dawn from my mother (there was obviously a conspiracy there).

As of this moment, I’m halfway through Twilight – and I’m now “unconditionally and irrevocably in love” with the book. And Edward Cullen. And the whole idea of a vampire lover. I’ve been swooning like a schoolgirl since the first page, and I practically jumped out of my skin (okay, the couch), giggling like mad, when Edward said, “But I’m tired of trying to stay away from you, Bella.” on page 84, much to The Fiance’s shock.

Now I’m near tears because all the theaters are now showing those ridiculous Manila Filmfest nominees, and I can’t find Twilight anywhere. I’m absolutely devastated. Oh, what I would give to watch Edward Cullen on screen right now, gay-looking or not! Looks like it’s back to the ol’ torrent download for me.

Apart from the Twilight series, I had a pretty good haul this year. I got The Time Traveler’s Wife from my best friend, a back scratcher (don’t ask) and nightgown from my sister, and my yearly Starbucks planner from mum. The only thing missing is a Macbook from, well, anyone. Any takers? After all, hope springs eternal…

All in all, it was a lovely Christmas spent just chilling with the family. Now I must wrap this up. Edward (and tons of articles to write, ack!) awaits…