From September 15 to 19, 2010, at 10:00 am to 8:00 pm, the 31st Manila International Book Fair will be held at the SMX Convention Center, SM Mall of Asia Complex. It looks like much of the exhibitors are publishers of academic books and school materials, but I’m still very much interested to check it out. Providing I’ll be able to get someone, or better yet some people, to go with me.

Well, for those who lives far away, or simply don’t have the time or the inclination to browse through thousands of books in the company of thousands of people, there are always stores and websites that sell textbooks online.

For the second year in a row, my sister is going to the States for a business training. I am envious. Because I never had that kind of opportunity where I work. Past tense because I don’t think there ever will be at this point. I’m convinced that I have to do it on my own if I really want to travel and purchase something like Orlando vacation packages for myself. All in the right time, I guess. I’m going to have to be content with my pasalubongs for now.

Tomorrow will be the first birthday celebration of my friend’s daughter. It’s a pretty exciting event, of course for the family but also for everyone of us who have been there with the parents even before they were married. It also reminds me of how fast time passes. I don’t want to say that it passes me by, because that sounds bitter if not downright  pathetic. It’s just that these little people who are growing up before your eyes, even or especially if they are not your own, make you see how the world is changing, with or without you doing the same. I’m getting melodramatic. I’ll just enjoy the party, is what I should do. I think this Baby jogger city select thing is worth a look. I don’t have my gift yet.

It seems cliche now.  To say that you have to try and do something to challenge yourself once in a while. To try to tip the scales your way sometimes. Or is it?

I was reading this book my sister brought home – it’s about how to gain power. Looking at the table of contents, I immediately realized that the book is probably the real deal. If you follow what it’s saying, I have no doubt in my mind that you’ll gain power over some or a lot of people. The problem is, it is also a sure way to gain haters and enemies. I guess that’s the problem with power. Especially if you’d like to have the my-own-office, title-on-the-door type. I’m not saying it’s better to be powerless. Maybe I just want to have a few things my way from time to time.

Living in the day and age of digital photographs, when everything can be captured and viewed in a flash (pun intended), and just as easily forgotten, the old days of saving your film for more important shots, worrying about exposure and damage, and waiting for days to get them developed seem so far behind. I wonder if families still keep photo albums now; most are probably storing their children’s pictures in their hard drives and just printing those meant for framing. The more tech savvy ones will create a slide show and upload it to their favorite networking sites so their friends might see.

I just realized that I lost tons of pictures because I didn’t save them when I reformatted my PC and then later switched to laptop. Those I managed to upload online were lost, too, because I didn’t upgrade my membership. Oh, well. Perhaps  my friends have copies, so I just have to go into a hunt if I really want them back.

So have you seen the trailer of the new Julia Roberts flick?

This is the movie adaptation of Elizabeth Gilbert’s bestselling memoir Eat, Pray, Love. Chick flick you say? Maybe. But I’m a chick and I’ve always liked personal journey stories, so I’m right in the middle of this film’s demographic.

I saw an interview of Elizabeth Gilbert at YouTube and there she says that this is her story, and she wants to inspire people, but it doesn’t mean that everybody’s journey will involve pizza and Italy and Bali, and all those places she went to. I wholeheartedly agree. But it doesn’t mean I can’t dream about cross-country trips, road trips in cars with filled thule roof racks, or even trips beyond borders.

You just got to keep on dreaming. And waiting to finally do even a part of the “everything” you’ve always wanted yourself to be able to do.

Okay, let me share a (or another?) factoid about me – I’m more likely to look twice at a guy who is wearing a long-sleeved formal shirt than one who is rocking a sportswear. I don’t know why (or maybe I do, but that calls for another blog post); there’s just something about the air of maturity and professionalism it gives that impresses me. I don’t go to a workplace where such an attire is an absolute requirement, so professionals in crisp, well-ironed men’s polo shirts it’s always a welcome sight for me. Even if I’m more of a classic T-shirt and jeans kind of person myself.

You’d think I’ve played, and enjoyed, a Wii by that title, no?

Truth is, I haven’t. I’m actually trying to pronounce it, if it makes sense. So how do you pronounce that?

I’ve been hearing about this rage for a while now, and maybe it’s just a matter of having too many other things that get my curiosity, I haven’t really been that curious about Wii or wii accessories. A friend of mine, I heard, bought one and if anything, I think I’d like to try playing tennis on that one of these days. We’ll see if hours and hours of watching the game on TV has given me a sense of the right moves and strategy.

Unlike what that very popular song says, those two things actually cheer me up. But before anything else, I’m talking about light rains – not the ones that cause flood or damages. I love the smell of freshly rained-on earth (or cement?). Mondays, on the other hand, is the start of the week, so for me it’s very promising.

So, ironically, I’m writing this on a Friday. Or, technically, Saturday morning. It just rained and I’m quite thankful that I wasn’t at work tonight. Another good thing is that the weather’s cold enough for me not to overuse the air conditioning unit. Not that I’ll need an Amish fireplace anytime soon. But it’s good enough for me to hopefully have uninterrupted sleep. I love my weekends, too, if I must say so, but bring on Monday!

I need The Super Mario Brothers to fix my sink. I’ve reported this to my landlady a few weeks ago but it seems that the issue has been forgotten. Well, I’m also a bit to blame because I couldn’t spare the time to knock on their door and remind them that I need them to call a plumber. It’s not a Kohler kitchen sink by any means, but it’s so hard to clean up the kitchen, much less attempt to cook, when your sink’s not working. I’ve already tried those liquid decloggers and none worked. So I guess I need to stop ranting and actually look for a plumber now.