Spam spam go away

I know the word verification thing sucks. I myself find it inconvenient to try and decipher the letters so I can respond to comments. But it was really annoying to sift through the spam in a previous post to get to the legit ones.

So here's the deal. Teach me how to delete the spam so I can remove the word verification process. Before, all the comments had this nifty trash box immediately below it so I can zap nasty comments into oblivion. But I do not seem to see this recently. What gives?

Help please! Thanks!

More than just dinnerware

The Landmark in Makati should pay me for advertising their shop but it's freebie for now :-)

My introduction to chinaware began when my mother gave me a small, old, chinked bowl that with Japanese art in it. She said that it came from the Japanese occupation era. I was intrigued, and learned - as so many historians already do - that these simple ceramic things actually hold interesting stories all their own.

While I did not delve deeper into artifacts, bowls of distinguishing colors and shapes have fascinated me. Especially when I developed the taste for Japanese food; the presentation itself makes the entire thing enticing! But hold the sea urchin please.

Actually I have been buying these Japanese bowls and plates and this small cup they use to drink wine with, until I realized (thanks to my wife) that I haven't really been using them much, and so these were categorized as non-essential items. I brought some to the office instead for lunch.

At any rate, I was just passing by Landmark last week when I saw this nice blue bowl. And then I saw a couple of plates. And before I knew it, I was already at the counter paying for these nice finds. I really don't like to dilly-dally and spend hours deciding on what to buy. When I like it, I buy it. Which must be why I'm in such a financial fit right now. :-)

I showed the photo of the things I bought to my wife (Who is in Baguio now), and she exclaimed I could have bought more so we have reserves for gifts this coming Yuletide season! hmmm...


And why would she let me buy more? [Refer to the photo above] Because the rectangular plate in front costs 15 pesos (great for serving peanuts, or sushi if you're into that), the blue bowl at the right costs 15 pesos (I like rice toppings!), the plate at the left costs 18 pesos (is that a plate? not sure), and the white one at the back costs 20 pesos. There's a good 4.75 to 6.75 off each item. I only paid 68 pesos for this quartet! What a find!

So if you'd like to jazz up your dinnerware, head on to Landmark today. I think the sale isstill on for the month of September.

It's original!

My wife and I were on high spirits last weekend as we were eager to put our negotiating skills to the test in the ukay-ukay stalls of Baguio. We have grown so accustomed to each other's quirks that when we are quoted a high price for something we know should cost a lot less, we would exclaim WHAAAAAT!? in sync with wide eyes, and has gotten a lot of mixed reactions - mostly funny - from the vendors.

But last weekend definitely tops the list. And it wasn't funny at all. We were in one stall looking at designer bags. My wife then asked for the price of one she liked: a Prada.

"350", came the response.

We nodded in satisfaction. We can still have a few pesos shaved off that. After a bit more browsing, we visited the next stall. We saw another, smaller bag with the same brand and we casually asked the vendor how much it was.

"1,500", said the vendor without batting an eyelash.
WHAAAAAATTTT!
"Original yan!", she butted in.

We didn't care to negotiate. We were disgusted because everybody knows they get their goods in bulk. In huge boxes. And the rate of one box is just about the same as the other, regardless of whether there are Guccis and Pradas in there. And how could she know if what she's selling is the real thing? She's the designer bag expert all of a sudden?

We'd have loved to give that vendor a piece of my mind. But have something better in mind. We'd go back to the other stall, buy the bag, then go to this other vendor, ask her price, and flatly tell her how much we got the much nicer bag we have. And it's original. Yes, we're experts :-)