TOPAZ HORIZON

I'm a Harry Potter fan. Been reading those books for as long as I've been loving Vince. I read the first Harry Potter book the year I met Vince, in 1999.

I lined up early to get the next books first. I always read the books straight (six to eight hours each upon release) in one sitting, resulting to massive migraines. I dragged Vince all over London, chasing night buses and figuring out British coins and looking for Platform 9 3/4. I cried for two days when Dumbledore died. I watched all the movies. While waiting for the next book or the next movie, I read magazines and websites and enjoyed behind-the-scenes photos. I felt like an era ended when I finished the last book. And now, again, it's time to say good-bye.



For the magic, thanks, Harry Potter. Good-bye!

Good morning, folks! I know Mondays usually don't make anyone smile but I'm just happy to be well again. I've been sick the entire week last week and it was an especially bad time to be sick because the bags finally arrived from Batangas and I had to collect payment, then package the bags and send them out, and it was the deadest deadline week of the magazine I edit.

I was able to drag myself to the office on Thursday in a jacket and a scarf wrapped around my head and neck and make sure the August issue was put to bed on time, but as for confirming payments and sending out the bags? No such luck.

Thank goodness my customers have a sense of humor!

I was so stressed out because in the world of online business, once the customer pays, the item must be on her doorstep in 3 days max. Unless it's overseas, of course. Since all the bags were fully paid and I wasn't shipping them out at all, I was plagued by thoughts of my first customers thinking I ran off with their money!

I was able to send out a few bags, though. Here are the first reviews:

Thanks, Trixie, for the Transformers 3 tickets!

I'm sure Joy meant "bag". Damn auto-correct!

Hooray! And today I am finally feeling better! Vince and I packed 10 bags last night (we slept at 2am!) and will finish the rest this week. We're also starting on the prototype of the 14" and the second batch of orders. You haven't ordered yet??? Why, click here to do so now!

I am soooo excited! This is going to be a very good week. I feel so happy about life! May you have the same excitement and joy, dear reader!

Off to Philippine Fashion Week in May! Wearing Bench tank, Zara skirt, Sapato Manila heels, Liz Claiborne necklace and Kate Spade bag

At Enterprise, on my way to Sunlife to file a claim, I met these yummy colorful creatures. They were promoting a raffle--vote for the M&M color you want and you get a chance to win $1,000 shopping money!

I voted for Green because she's described as "smart, strong and sexy." Hey, sounds like me! Teehee. If you want to join, click here. I hope I win, though! Good luck to us all!

Here I am at Sunlife again, this time to claim tickets to Varekai! I joined their contest on the last day and won! Am I lucky or what? Thing is I'd already bought tickets. So I gave my prize to my in-laws and watched Varekai on the second night. You all know what happened to us that Thursday night!

And this was Vito the morning after the Varekai show. We bought that hat, so enamored were we with the show. We're enamored with our baby boy, too!

I haven't gone out all week this week (except to watch Transformers 3 at Shang) so I haven't seen the Bench billboards that have been causing so much traffic talk lately. So I told Bench about it and they obliged by sending massive files of near naked men to my inbox.


Of course I opened the zip file just when my boss passed by. If there had been an ECG attached to my chest right at that moment, we'd have seen some spectacular activity. Behold our rugby team: the Philippine Volcanoes in all their glory!

Arnold Aninion Filipino/New Zealander Entrepreneur

Terrence Javier Carroll Filipino/Australian Laborer

Jake Robrigado Letts Filipino/Australian Post-graduate student

Ned Stephenson Filipino/Australian Student

Patrice Ortiz Olivier Filipino/French Rugby player

Kenneth Capinpin Stern (left) Filipino/American In finance Chris Everingham (right) Filipino/Australian Personal trainer

I can see the shape of their dicks, I swear. Now I'm imagining them magnified. I have to see these billboards!!!

I'm sooo happy Bench got athletes to model their underwear! No offense to our actors and actresses but a body honed and toned by sport and dance is much better than a body shaped by diets and the gym. See photos above? I rest my case.

Rugby is a sport, btw. It's a type of football. I've never watched a game so I really don't know how it works but after seeing those guys clad in just Bench underwear, I think I have a new sport to watch! If you actually want to play, you can go to the PhilSports Complex along Meralco Ave in Pasig for free Rugby 101 sessions (Mon and Wed, 6pm)

Anyway, I didn't know we had a rugby team. Bench sent me info that said we don't have just a team, we have a union! Read more about the Philippine Rugby Football Union on their website or like their Facebook page.

*all images courtesy of Bench Body

To the left are the black 16", the dark chocolate 14" and the 11" in natural leather.

The first batch of bags is here! They arrived from Batangas yesterday afternoon and now our entire living area smells like leather.

The 11" tan satchels. The straps are folded into the bag.

I sent out invoices last night and this entire day, my first clients paid in full. Wow! You guys are amazing. Thanks! I'm just sick with a very bad cold and a fever so Vince will attend to the packing and sending. Will send them all out this week, dontcha worry!

How cute is the natural leather? It's pinkish!

We're accepting orders for the 11" satchel (available in tan, dark chocolate and natural leather). Ya, still just that. We haven't decided on the final look of the 14" satchel (yes, I made a mistake--it's actually 14", not 13"!). Some feedback we got wanted the top handle, some didn't. Some said they liked the inner divider, some didn't. Yikes.

What do you think?