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Going to blog about my birthday weekend here because I can and because no one is entitled to read it anyway.

Took a trip to Manila over the weekend for a little relaxing early birthday celebration.

First stopped by Fully Booked in Bonifacio High Street for the first time.
Huge bookstore. About 4(5?) floors tall. Complete with a Starbucks on the second (or was it third?) floor. Very relaxing atmosphere.
As a bonus, the store’s radio actually played Radiohead’s “The King of Limbs” album in its entirety the whole time I was in there, which made my browsing experience a lot more… animated.

Top floor was music/videos. Saw a fully stocked Deathly Hallows DVD section. Some of them came with a box of Hogwarts pins from The Noble Collection. Swag.



There was also this interesting section dedicated to used 7” vinyl records of all sorts. I actually took the time to browse through every single item.
I’ve developed an addictive habit of carefully searching through vinyl records after making numerous trips to record stores in a span of less than a week.

Notable finds were a Beatles Ballad of John and Yoko/Old Brown Shoe 7” and a Ventures Walk Don’t Run/Yellow Bird 7”. Both Japanese imports.



As for books, grabbed a copy of Murakami’s Norwegian Wood and…
(here it comes)
The Perks of Being a Wallflower.
Just to see what the big deal is all about with that book. Sheer curiosity.

Wonderful book store. Definitely makes me miss Borders. Shame I couldn’t take any pictures in there. Maybe I’ll try and sneak some in next visit.

After spending about 2 hours (yes, I had that much fun in that place) in Fully Booked, next stop was Cubao Expo.


crossin da streetz

Because I didn’t do my research before hand, most of the stores were closed when I had arrived. There was one particular antique store that sold old books and records (well, there were more than one, but this one was open). The owners seemed pretty knowledgeable about some of the music. Asked if they had any Smiths records. Turns out someone bought a “Meat is Murder” record just last week from them. ffffff.
Did come across an aged first edition copy of Vonnegut’s “Jailbird” though.



Afterward, I was already pressed for time with the rest of my schedule, so I made quick strolls through Green Hills and Megamall due to their proximitiy.

Nothing too special here aside from passing by pretty girls at every floor. Found a used copy of a Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei manga and bought a new school bag.



Called it a night. Came home by 10pm.

Overall a quiet celebration in a loud city.

Getting lost in huge crowds in busy cities is fun. Lonely, but fun.

Had a laid-back lunch with family and then studied for classes the next day on my actual birthday.

Definitely looking forward to the next trip.

(Source: medicines)