An affair with a wizard

This month marks the first anniversary of the release of the last installment of the Harry Potter series. I was one of the millions of fans who eagerly awaited for the Deathly Hallows. National Bookstore offered a preorder system then for acquiring the book. Two months before the scheduled release, I paid National the required preorder fee. The book was released on a Friday, July 21. I got my copy at exactly 9 am, just minutes after National opened, and took a leave from work the following day so I can devote some time for reading it. Although a lot of people in Cebu have preordered The Deathly Hallows, there were no people lining up in National to get their own copy on its first day of release. It took me less than 5 minutes to get my own book.

I spent the next two days reading the book. The Deathly Hallows provided almost all the answers to the questions posed by the previous books. J. K. Rowling has bewitched me. I can't imagine how a children's book could affect me in the most intense of ways. I was deeply moved when I learned the truth about Snape, the most viled teacher of Harry. Deathly Hallows has completely turned the spotlight from Harry to Snape.

So how did I fell for Harry? I discovered Harry through the DVDs played by my sister, who is a die-hard fan. I was out of the country when the bruhaha over Harry started so I was so clueless why millions were raving about the boy wizard with a scar. The movies offered me an idea of the greatness of Rowling's creations. Right there and then, I vowed to myself that I will read the books. It was in 2006. I scoured all the bookstores in Cebu to find HP 1-6 in vain. The only available books then were HP 5 and 6. I wanted to buy the entire set but there were no stocks anywhere. So I turned to Amazon but they required credit card, which I don't have then. I eventually acquired the books through a friend. She was so generous for giving me the books. Thank God for friends like her.

Sundried tomatoes

I love tomatoes. I love them in sinigang, pakbet, and pritong tuyo (fried dried fish). However, storing in them the fridge for 5 days is not feasible. Tomatoes are the fastest-rotting vegetables. It's always been a dilemma for me whenever I have to throw away rotten ones. They aren't sold cheap on this side of the earth and throwing any spoiled food is a mortal sin. While watching one of the episodes of Quickfire, I discovered that tomatoes can actually be sundried. Sundrying tomatoes is not a popular method of preserving here. We Filipinos are familiar with sundried fish and mangoes but sundried tomatoes are a little bit unheard of.

So, here's what I learned about sundrying tomatoes in my Internet search:

Slice the tomatoes in half

Place them in tray

Sprinkle with salt

Let them dry out in the sun

Drying them will probably take a maximum of a week. It all depends on the weather actually. But we are blessed with eternal sunshine even if it's supposed to be rainy season and so I guess that will not a be a problem. One should only be wary of the insects that might be attracted to those sunbathing vegetables. So there, the next time we buy fresh produce in the market, I will buy 2 kilos of tomatoes. The first kilo will be devoted to my experiment.

Nuts about Robbins

For those people who are about to try to read a Tom Robbins' book for the first time, I have to warn you that his books are not easy to comprehend. Robbins does not follow the conventional way of storytelling. He always have this habit of introducing seemingly unrelated characters and events. My first attempt to read one of his books (Another Roadside Attraction) was something of an ordeal. I was already in the middle part of the book and I still didn't have an idea of what the book was all about. But I persisted because he was highly praised by one of my favorite bloggers. And it was only in the last quarter of the book that I began to appreciate Robbin's take on philosophy and comedy. It is rare to find a book that will make you think and laugh at the same time. Robbins have this knack of making these two conflicting ideas work.

I'm now half-way through reading Jitterbug Perfume. As expected, I'm still clueless of how the story will go. But I will not stop because I know I will be rewarded in the end.

Bookay-Ukay

Two weeks ago, I chanced upon Bookay-Ukay, a Manila-based second-hand online bookshop, in Multiply. I was looking for cheaper alternatives for buying two of my desired books which I can't find anywhere in Cebu. I was no longer hoping that they have my books because I've been disappointed on several occassions. But they have Robbins' Jitterbug Perfume and they said that I could have it for 250 pesos, which includes the shipping fee. Immediately, I went to a pawnshop that accepts GCash remittance and paid them. Two days after, I am a very happy owner of Jitterbug Perfume. The staff at Bookay are so thoughtful. They even wrapped the book with bubble wrap, obviously to minimize damage to it during transit. The book came in good condition, although there is a small tear on the cover and the pages have yellowed. Because I am satisfied with their services, I vowed I'll tell everyone I know about Bookay-Ukay. So guys, if you happen to read this and if you are looking for hard to find books, Bookay-Ukay is a great place to shop. You can find them at http://bookay.multiply.com/

Happy book-hunting everyone!

Joy

Happiness is:

(1) To have a boss tell you that he received a mail in your behalf. (This is more special if the guy is extra cute.)

(2) To have a friend compliment on your writing abilities for the first time after discovering your blog. (Again, this is truly spectacular if the compliment was made because your friend truly thinks so and not because you are friends.)

Anyway, I'd like to thank AR and MA for making me so happy today. You guys just don't know how my self-esteem has shot up 100 percent because of your kind words and actions.

Gateway

NAIA 3, the supposed gateway of the Philippines to the future, will be opened this month for domestic flights. It was supposed to be operational since last year but due to a ceiling that collapsed, it's opening was postponed as engineers tried to ensure its structural safety. Mareng Winnie, one of my favorite TV hosts, provided her views on the controversial government project this morning at Unang Hirit. She does not believe that the terminal was poorly made. She thinks that an entity is sabotaging the opening of NAIA for some self-serving reasons. I agreed with her contentions. I also think that Filipino engineers are not incompetent as some have believed. So let's all hope that nothing untoward happens anymore that will hinder NAIA 3's opening once more. It's high time that the Philippines has its own airport that is at par with that of other industrialized nations'. After all, its the first thing that foreigners see when they arrive to our country, and the last thing they'll see when they leave.

Upcoming project

I'm an addict of Project Runway, the fashion reality show. So it was really an exciting discovery for me when I learned that there will be a Philippine version of the hit show. However, the said series will only be shown on ETC and SBN 21. ETC can only be viewed by those people with cable subscriptions and SBN 21, which is free, is inaccessible if you are living islands away from Davao. ABS-CBN or the other two more popular networks should have gotten the rights to produce this show. Producing the Pinoy version of Project Runway is expensive so the network with the most viewership has better capabilities to recoup production costs. I just hope that Project Runway Philippines, if it goes on air soon, will not be a poor imitation to the original show. I've had enough of Pinoy versions of Marimar, My Girl, etc. They're just a disgrace to the original shows.