Skip to main content

A Chuvaness.com gift to welcome me in Manila!

Good Morning, Paranaque! Hay naku, Manila, it's another one of your extremely blinding hot days.

I'm in Manila you guys! And everything is so busy and blinking and fast and noisy and fun and superlatively exciting! Since touching down last April 1st, everything has been strange. But you can't blame me, what's 10 days when compared to 26 years? All my life I've been in Davao. Suddenly, my plane lurched and landed (none too gently I may add) at the pristine NAIA.

I've been busy getting acquainted with the Metro's jeep / bus routes and trainstops. Having always been a one-route jeepney girl for a good part of my life, I was mortified to find out that there were so many ways you can easily get lost in various transportation; Manila is HUGE, myged, and you can't even ask people for directions daw. And not like I can actually muster the courage to ASK them, because my Tagalog is still lilting and funny and probinsianic. If that's even a word hahahaha.

Adjusting to Manila pace is hard. My regular Davao pace is so laid back like you wouldn't believe. Opposite ends of the haste-slow spectrum, I swear. But I will catch up. Especially now that I have a lucky charm from who else but the Queen of Hip Manila, Chuvaness.com ~

Her giveaway was the last thing in my mind when I got to Manila, because I joined when I was still in Davao and didn't think I could win this contest with so many people joining, and I am so unlucky at contests and giveaways it's almost unbelievable  But I got a text last Tuesday: "Hello, is this Kristine? This is Cecile." And despite so many random HR Company numbers texting me because I've been applying for a job here and there, my gut feeling told me-- OMIGOSHH THIS IS CHUVANESS!!!!!!

 I was one of her winners for one of her biggest giveaway! YEHEYYYYYY!


I collected my bounty at Pepper Lunch Shangri-La and was so happy to receive a HUGE parcel containing my Ethos Luggage/Bag which is probably the most perfect and the most magical bag I have ever owned.



Beautiful and solid and elegant. Reminds me of an 18th century bag in some of the novels I read. And if you know me from my other book blog, I LOVE HISTORICAL NOVELS!
The luggage/travel bag is packed with a lot of goodies I love. It wouldn't be a stretch to tell you that the contents were so generously put in.


When I settled down, I perused the contents of the bag extensively!

 

Me and my friend Avy checking out the stuff. Below are some of my faaaaaaaaaaavorites that I got:

 
URBANEARS 

I've always wanted street headphones just because. I have a Sennheiser MX370 that I use daily but I just love how headphones frame my head like a headband. Though I have a pair of headphones, my AKG K-44 MKII, I wouldn't think of using it in the streets because it's big, bulky, and more for video/audio monitoring. I haven't had the pleasure of using UrbanEars until now, and I am happy~ I love that it's grey/neutral, too! 

THE HAPPINESS PROJECT JOURNAL

Another one for my notebook/journal collection. Quite intrigued with this journal, I tried to google The Happiness Project http://www.happiness-project.com/ and it is awesome and quite unique for a journal. I've only always written lengthy posts (quite the tl;dr kind lol) in my journals and this Happiness Project is a commitment to just write one sentence about a happy part of your day. But the important part is that you do this for FIVE YEARS. 

Challenge accepted!

Everything I got was nothing short of awesome in the sense that it is a gift that I never expected, that I've always wanted and more. I truly, truly love it~! I use this bag daily because it's an anti-slash bag, and has an amazing lock mechanism that makes me feel like everything I have inside is protected (not that I have anything worth stealing .___. this bag is worth more the contents, I believe!) and it's a unique form and immediately gives anything I wear an oomph because of its tailored neatness and quite-English elegance.

Thank you, Cecile!

At first I was like (' u ' )
And then I was like :DDDD
All photos by Mike Tan
Labels:

Comments

  1. Julienne10:33:00 AM

    wow ultimate giveaway win na na! congrats kaau! :D

    ReplyDelete
  2. 文学少女 (Literature Girl)11:49:00 PM

    Hi Julieeeeeeeeenee~!
    Thank you ahahah stroke of luck kaayo ni. It's like I went here to manila just to get the bag! SHOWSHALLLZ

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Schoolgirl by Osamu Dazai: Melancholic Contemplation

Arriving all the way from USA, I had a tiny traveler plop down right in front of my desk. The moment I held the book, I immediately focused long and hard on the book cover. I've had my small share of contemporary Japanese novels and each had very interesting designs, but not one is as gently arresting as this Schoolgirl by Osamu Dazai published by One Peace Books . Soft yet stark. I'm not one to judge a book by its cover, but it certainly is a good way to hold the interest of the readers. A closer look at the cover would remind one of things that are "beautiful in its simplicity". Everybody knows the Japanese aesthetics, a "set of ancient ideals that include wabi (transient and stark beauty), sabi (the beauty of natural patina and aging), and yûgen (profound grace and subtlety). * " Reflecting at these values, it's wonderful to observe how the cover follows the flow of wabi and yugen, isn't it? But a book should offer more than...
2 comments
Read more

Go Home Faulkner, You're Drunk ('Difficult Books' series)

In my quest to 'broaden my literary horizon' I made a point to go out of this  terrible 'complaisant zone' I am currently  at. To be honest, my reading state is probably a lot bleaker that what I'm letting on: I have not finished a novel since three months ago! As penitensya for my incessant lack of drive and, I suppose, to jolt my brain back to the pace it used to enjoy prior to this reading drought, I decided that I must go the route of reading 'Difficult Books'. "A difficult book is still just a book",  I told myself; how silly to get hung up on what other people say about how much of a PitA   it is to slough through. I pride myself on reading basically everything I get my hands on. Because when all your life you've felt that reading a book was the warmest , most comfortable state to just be , it feels as natural as a breeze turning a page. So I grabbed a copy of William Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury . I am lucky enough to be at ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Atoning

Okay so it's not a clever title. Well, I am currently reading Atonement by Ian McEwan (wow, I've been at this book for aaaages) and I am trying to atone for the lack of posts lately! We were having--- actually we still are having a tough time at home. We're moving!!! Been pretty busy with the repairs of the new home and packing all our stuff. *Sniff, Sniff* I feel really sad leaving our home. We've lived there for around 13 years. Hopefully we can all scramble and leave before September 18. And ugh, it's such a downer to spend September 19 unpacking and decorating our home. It's my b irthday , I was planning to host a Crab Party! :( Anyway, I thought I would just like to share my favorite quotes on Atonement , if you don't mind. I love this book. Everytime I read a passage that struck me, I hastily jot it down. The book is wonderfully written, it is so erudite! The story itself makes me contemplate on the dynamics of family, the strength of imagination ...
8 comments
Read more