Tuesday, September 05, 2006

Backblogging Again: The Book Fair

.:The Book Fair, The First Day:.

Well, Tuesday was a bit of non-happening since I mostly spent it sleeping and so forth. However, the Book Fair was definitely something else. Although I was a bit shocked to find out about David Pomeranz being a Scientologist, it was still cool...


David Pomeranz onstage, followed by my reaction after he hinted what song he was gonna sing…



Elbert and I tried to guess what song he'd sing for the opening and the closing numbers, and Elbert got the opening number right. He guessed “Got To Believe In Magic”, and the moment Mr. Pomeranz said something about believing in the magic of books, you just knew he was going to go for that one.

Afterwards, Elbert didn't want to put up with all the long-winded speeches and whatnot, so he just goes ahead inside the fair, and I had to endure those speeches for a while until I confirmed that his song was going to be “Born For You”, and not “King And Queen Of Hearts”. Beyond that, he also gave an acapella rendition of “I Can See Clearly Now The Rain Is Gone”, and aside from that, he even snuck in hokey lines of “opening a book” and “flipping through the pages” in the middle of the actual lyrics.

Afterwards, we went to Central Comics Headquarters, where I found a haven for manga priced at a mere 100 pesos per volume. I was under the impression that there were only 9 volumes of Battle Royale, so I went for five of them over a span of two days, as Johan, who tagged along with Maika during the first day, sprung for issue 3. Of course, the problem was that Battle Royale isn't just 9 volumes... it's 15. Nonetheless, I've certainly rediscovered my love for all things Battle Royale. It's definitely awesome, to say the least, and I'm pretty sure I'll manage to cough up chapter 3 before this month ends... heh.

Along the way, I've ended up running into a few old friends like Willard, who, amusingly enough, hasn't changed one a bit. Of course, the funny thing is that, although he's working in the same channel as Kris Aquino now, he kinda gave up on her now... awwww...

Also ran into Luis Geronimo, who's now assistant manager for a bank, which seems miles away from what he graduated for (Political Science.)... heh.

Along the way, I had a few pictures taken to exchange MMS pictures with a new friend... have a looksee at the pics Elbert took of me... lol.


It’s me, pimping out the Disney Princesses! Yeah!



In any case, hanging out at the CCHQ was really cool, mainly because it ended up being an opportunity for me to revisit some age-old Disney classics, due to the Disney Booth right beside us. It was just too bad I didn't find any copies of Encyclopedia Brown at all for myself, as it was out of stock. No worries, though...

When it was time to leave the book fair, we went with Johan, as we headed to Elbert's condo to talk about stuff. It was real nice, to say the least, and I especially found it good for Johan and Maika that it seemed they were doing fairly well, to say the least. I was trying to get some sleep, and though I had a bit of a nap, I was still underslept, and when I woke up, I heard a familiar voice. Turned out to be Estelle's, and she had to ask Elbert to charge her phone for a bit. Seeing Bessy for the day was definitely cool, and she met up with a friend at Bubble Gang Toppings after the fact, so I managed to try their bagnet, which was pretty good, although I'm sure the Vigan variety is the best, though. In any case, I noticed how affectionate towards her friends 'Elle really was, and it made more and more sense why I gravitated towards her from the word “go”.

Afterwards and as usual, we bonded a bit more when I hitched a ride to WAVE with her. Truth be told, we've been talking about debating quite a bit lately, since I've been very enticed to go and adjudicate for the NASHDC in La Salle on Saturday...

It's amazing, really. A friend I've known for a mere three weeks or so, and already, we've had a genuinely wonderful connection. Friends like these are one in a zillion, so is it any wonder how floored I am to have guys like El, 'Elle, Sach, Clair, Abby, and so forth?

.:The Book Fair, The Second Day:.

I left work early again for the book fair, but this time, it was less about getting to the fair early than it was about getting to have some sleep since I was so underslept for the most part.

I met up with El and 'Elle in Shangrila, and then we headed off to the book fair, although we passed by ND first to give her stuff to her, but it turned out that our peer pressure-fu was strong. ND ended up going with us to the book fair, and it was just awesome.

For the most part, we were just going around the shops El and I went by yesterday, but the Disney booths where we wanted to get some Mickey ears and a Chicken Little book was the main highlight... heh. Nonetheless, I've been turning into quite a camwhore lately, what with the pictures where I was being a pimp in the company of some Disney princesses... hah.

After a while, we went to the National Book Awards, and lo and behold, Siglo: Passion won. I'm glad that the guys who made all that possible felt validated after all the blood, sweat, and tears that they had to go through just to get to that moment right there. In the middle of things, Estelle managed to surprise and touch me when she picked up the first volume of Chobits for me... I, being a huge fan of Chobits, positively melted on the spot.

After the book awards, we went to the piano and played a few tunes here and there, while mainly El and 'Elle talked while ND and I focused on the piano. I'm very happy that Elbert and Estelle have been getting along better and better on practically a daily basis, which to me, is a good sign, but I digress... hehe.

Nonetheless, I was very grateful for the gesture from 'Elle. Chobits is one of my favorite anime of all time.

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