Raise the Maroon Lantern

The Lantern Parade two nights ago was the last official event of the UP Centennial Celebration and it was a shame it was the only Centennial festivity I got to attend. As expected, it was the grandest I've ever witnessed. The crowd was at its biggest; the lanterns (and costumes), at their best; and the streets, at their brightest. The avenue fronting Quezon Hall was teeming with people. Students, of course. Children, my daughter Indie among them. Outsiders wanting to watch the spectacle. Vendors taking advantage of the occasion. Alumni like myself, my husband Nubs and my friends Georgia and Uncle, better known as Concon. Everything was fantastic. Except for the pictures we took. Bummer.


We were late. But that was okay since we made it just it time to see the beautiful angels of Babaylan in their sky-high heels and skimpy outfits. Nubs couldn't resist clicking at the most curvaceous in the group. Too bad our conjugal Nikon was at the repair shop and we had to make do with my old one and its frustrating shutter speed. And we shouldn't have switched the poor thing to "night mode" when there was no tripod at hand. Naturally, our pics turned out blurred, grainy, or both which was just great.


The hall of famer that was FA (College of Fine Arts) came in last. No one could have done the Carnival theme better. From the ticket booth to the umbrellas to the upside down people to the grotesque characters, it was all so superb. Dora the Explorer in the mouth of a crocodile was a bit off though as far as little Indie was concerned. Apparently, she didn't like seeing her favorite treated so badly and was in a semi-sour mood thereafter.


The night was capped with a grand fireworks display. A cool hundred grand burned there was Georgia's calculation. Yeah, maybe. It looked anything but cheap, especially the finale shower which my lowly camera just couldn't capture. Arrgh!

Beating the Holiday Rush

'Tis the season of giving. The list is long. The lines at the malls are longer. The holidays can indeed be a pain at times.

But not to me.

What I have been doing for the last several years is to make my Christmas list as soon as the New Year kicks off. I have around 80 names there. Mostly family and friends. Plus inaanaks. Almost all names are staples. With a few additions when balikbayan relatives are home for the holidays. And one or two taken off the list when a family member passes away.


The best time to start your Christmas shopping is during end-of-season sales that all happen early January. You get to purchase nice presents at half the price if you're lucky. For my young recipients, I almost always buy from Bayo and Big & Small Co. Then there are mid-year sales. There are great finds at Debenhams, Rustan's, even Zara sometimes. The trick is to go when the sale period is almost over and markdowns can go up to 70% off. I gift-hunt in between sale seasons in Greenhills, Dapitan Arcade, Shoemart, Crossings, Toy Kingdom and others. Then there's the big Podium sale first week of October and this is where I shop for the senior citizens in the list, particularly in Living Well. This is usually my last stop for the year.


Come December, all I have to do is take out my shopping bags, wrappers, ribbons, gift tags. And it's a wrap.

A New Dapitan

Along a nondescript road with a name made familiar by virtue of its similarity to Rizal's place of exile in Zamboanga and made famous by its proximity to Manila's oldest university is an equally nondescript structure bearing the name of the street where it stands. Dapitan Arcade is the place to go for the most wonderful bargains and finds. From ceramic export overruns. To native crafts, also overruns. And a whole lot of other exciting things.

Dapitan Arcade is in the corner of Dapitan and Kanlaon Streets, at some point where Quezon City and Manila meet. It is a small palengke-like building during the first three quarters of the year that extends into a mini-street market from October onwards. We run to this shopping haven whenever balikbayan relatives are here and we need pretty Pinoy-ish stuff to give them as send-off presents. We do part of our Christmas shopping there, but long before the Holiday crowds come like as early as summer.

Anyone who’s into country decors will love Dapitan. I’m not but I usually buy stuff for my sister Odie who’s into these things. Among these are a lovely tin watering can that my sister now uses as a flower holder, little ceramic tiles that can be used as wall accents and assorted ceramic bowls, plates, etc. There are also wicker baskets of all shapes and sizes—for bread and pastries, CDs, dirty clothes and even pet dogs—with prices ranging from 20 to 350 pesos only. China goods also abound and they cost less here than in Beijing because these might have originated from Shenzhen.

Among our worthy finds is a pair of scarecrows that we tie to the gate of our Balayan home every Halloween for only 100 pesos each. There's also this tall cylindrical clay vase that I haggled down to 200 pesos. And cool plastic coasters at 5 pieces for Php100. Dapitan has already contributed 3 lamps to Nubs' collection. We have scored quite a number of Christmas ornaments during the few years that we've been frequenting the place. Our favorite buy is a large round capiz shade that we converted into a candle holder that we got for 70 pesos, would you believe? Prices are good at all times. I never had to part with a Ninoy for any single purchase.

No wonder even rich matrons flock to Dapitan. They usually wear wide-brimmed hats over their heads and huge sunglasses over their eyes. The place though has no attraction whatsoever for little kids like my Indie. Everytime we go there, she refuses to get off the car, always exclaiming that it's not a mall. Of course, it's not. Otherwise, everything won't be soooo cheap.