Its that time of the year again where you can see Organizations setting up bazaars to catch the crowd of Christmas shoppers. Some were there to sell their used stuffs while others were there to raise funds for the needy. We were invited to two bazaars this year, one at US Embassy and the other at Hospice. This was the first time we did bazaar sales with our products. I wanted more brand awareness and it is working. People were inquiring about our locations and further discussions were arranged.

We could not capture any moments at the Embassy due to security reasons but still we had an equally productive time there. At Hospice whom we got to know Dr. Anne Merriman, had a more friendly, casual environment. She was also a Founder Member of the Hospice Care Association of Singapore and made major contributions to that discipline, not only in Singapore, but also in South East Asia generally. Nonetheless, we enjoyed both the outings. Jonathan helped out with the photography on this occasion.

Hospice Africa Uganda

Stands and stores of various Uganda's art and craft on display.

"My honey boutique" at the bazaar.

Doing our bit of contributing back to the community.

Sharing of information on our product.

Other products that were on sale.

Jonathan helping out with photo taking at the bazaar.

What: Rockwell Moonlit Bazaar

When: November 27-29, 2009; 12 Noon – 12 Midnight

Where: Rockwell Tent, Power Plant Mall

(This is a happy post. I’m getting sick of myself and the emo posts. Sheesh.)

Playing on  iTunes: Gitchy Gitchy Goo from Phineas and Ferb

Diane and I went out today for a much needed break from our monotonous lives (yeah right) and the pressing urgency of having to complete our Christmas shopping lists before the holidays hit. It seemed like a new experience to me, even if we always go shopping together – maybe because this time we actually shopped together and it wasn’t the usual ”let’s-just-meet-back-here-in-two-hours” routine we usually had.

Anyway.

We hit the NBC tent bazaar first which she happened to score tickets to.

I never go to bazaars and such thinking that they’ve got it all at SM, and between the busy-ness and the laziness (and sometimes my lack of funding), I’d rather go to the nearby mall than bargain hunt at faraway places. OH THE THINGS I”VE BEEN MISSING! I think Diane and I have both pledged to go to these things more often. I had so much fun that my bank account is crying.

Favorite purchase from this bazaar:

It’s a horsey necklace!

“OhmygaaawdDianeIwantthisnowdontletgoofit!”

Good friend that she is, she didn’t, even when I started to walk away because it was a wee bit pricey. Glad I bought it. Couldn’t stop smiling for a good 30minutes.

Also bought a shawl-ish thing and a fruit flavored rope for my Murphy, and got some checks off my Christmas list as well.

After her own purchasing and a bit of yanking me away from the pretty pretty things, we went and hit the Rockwell Moonlit Bazaar:

(Wrong dates on this one, but that’s ok, you get it.)

Diane and I had to pull each other away a lot to keep ourselves from buying totally-unnecessary-but-completely-essential-to-me-because-I’m-me things. She kept eyeing dresses and shoes and I was eyeing a gigantic woven hat, a small pink abacca top hat with feathers and glitters, , organic products, throws, cameos, rings, collectors items (records, cameras, coins, basketball figures) and did i mention the irresistible hats!!!?!

Anyway, here are my favorites from this bazaar:

A fringey wallet and a pocketwatch weee!

Been obsessing about fringey things for a while  now but this is the first one I’ve wanted to buy. I was looking for a similar bag but didn’t find one. Oh well. The pocketwatch I’ve wanted since forever, but most of the ones I’ve seen are either ugly or too expensive. This one is just perfect and I love it. *hearts* Got to check off some names off my Christmas list again, but the hats will have to wait as at this point I was already over budget and was getting tempted to go to the nearest ATM.

Diane got a bit light headed after a while so we stepped out to grab some dinner,  and then went straight on home, to prevent each other from financial turmoil and irreversible regrets. ‘Twas a good day, though, and I really enjoyed the spending spree. Although during the latter part of the drive home I got into one of my moods and started looking for realizations (I really must stop this, I know).

I did come up with some:

• I like vintage things.

• Money DOES play a big part in the happiness of people. I realized that when I bought Horsey. Horsey made me happy, but I needed money to go buy him, which I had and which I did, so I am now happy because I have Horsey. So every time I see or use or remember Horsey, I’m happy. But if I had no money and didn’t get to buy Horsey, then I’d be bitter now and unhappy everytime I remember it. This is all on a superficial level, yes, but people are all superficial to a certain extent, aren’t we? So no wonder rich people seem all the happier – they get to but what they want, do what they want… YES, there are other things that matter like love, family, yada yada, but like I said: superficial happiness. It counts too, you know.

• I can be too effin’ emo, YUCK.

Thanks for getting me to go, Dee, and for making me stop. Let’s go again on December ok?

I love my new favorite things. <3

Το κατάστημα Otium Exclusive/Rossos επε μας προσκαλεί σε ένα ξεχωριστό bazaar αφιερωμένο στο σπίτι. Με μοναδικά έπιπλα, χαλιά και φωτιστικά γνωστών ευρωπαϊκών οίκων, βάζα, συντριβάνια, κουζινικά, διακοσμητικά, χριστουγεννιάτικα είδη, έπιπλα από την Απω Ανατολή και άλλα είδη δώρου. το bazaar βρίσκεται στην οδό Αγίου Ορους 31, Μαρούσι και θα διαρκέσει μέχρι εξαντλήσεως του stock. θα λειτουργήσει και τα σαββατοκύριακα 12-13/12 και 19-20/12 από τις 11.00 ως τις 18.00. τηλ. 210 6801666

Ενας μήνας γεμάτος ευκαιρίες με νέα προιόντα και υπερπροσφορές στο Feng Shui House & More, Σταδίου 10 από τις 30/11 ως τις 31/12. Βρίσκουμε είδη δώρου, καλλυντικά, διακοσμητικά, χριστουγεννιάτικα είδη, μικροέπιπλα, είδη κουζίνας, μεγάλη ποικιλία βοηθημάτων feng shui και πολλά άλλα χρήσιμα είδη που ξεχωρίζουν για την ποιότητα και την αισθητική τους. τηλ. 210 6814444 http://www.fengshuihouse.gr

Wooha! I can add another item to my list of possible careers–a saleslady! Now I’m really confused.

My sister, mom, and I  manned a stall in Valle Verde 2’s Christmas Bazaar; we were selling LOTS of our old clothes and some pieces from my mom and sister’s jewelry line Passing Fancies.  It was a long long long long tiring day full of dirty old bills (crisp or not, always welcome though), haggling, and literal hot air. At the end of the day, I was really sticky and sweaty and it was EMBARRASSING because Jason was fresh out of the shower when he arrived (OP siya because we were all gross and he wasn’t BEHHH).

Can I just say that being on the other side (the selling side) of trade was… not really fun, especially when you’re selling stuff you used to wear and still love. I mean, how can 30 pesos account for OrSem memories or first dates or birthdays? Well, I really didn’t mind selling all the red dresses we were forced to wear for our grandmothers’ birthdays. But still! When I sold my favorite pink dress for only a hundred bucks, I remembered wearing it during a party, during my Candy meeting, during a date. I remember things through my clothes; how will I remember all the memories I sold today? Oh well… Jesus, why do I have such a difficult time letting go?

Good-bye clothes and the stench of memories you carry! Oh, good-bye jeans! Thank you for leaving tons of fresh space for new pairs of shorts and skirts! … … 

Highlights of my first day as a tindera:

1. I left my bag on the floor and someone grabbed it thinking it was for sale. Ate, may laman kasi at may mga notebook at schoolbooks… medyo obvious lang ha.

2. I need to take a refresher course on addition and subtraction–I was the self-proclaimed cashier and without a calculator, life was difficult.

3. We only sold female stuff, unfortunately, since my brother didn’t want to part with any of his things (lucky lucky) and his clothes won’t fit anyone else since he’s too sexy. Haha There was this man who was looking at my mom’s blouse and trying it on against himself. :|

4. Conversation at around lunchtime:

Customer: Ate, magkano itong blouse

Mommy: P50 lang yan pero sige, pwedeng 10 na lang

Customer: Ate, 20 na lang. 

:|

***

My family told Jason lies about me during dinner in Bananaleaf! How dare they?!? Traitors! And they say blood is thicker than water.

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Lying on the sand getting some sun off the coast of Rhodes, Greece in the summer of 2005.  Life was good.  Then in a flash, a thought popped into my mind.

I’ve come this far, why not go another step further.  Right then and there I decided to do it.

Found an (expensive) flight and took off for Constantinople; present-day Istanbul and took off the next day.

One propeller flight to Athens and then another propeller flight to Istanbul.  I landed at 10pm with no idea where I was going to go.  This was the only city I had gone to where not only did I not arrange accommodations beforehand but also didn’t bother looking up metro maps or even where the airport was on a city map.  I had virtually no sense of direction. 

It turns out sometimes being young and ignorant isn’t cool.  I didn’t feel cool.  Not in Turkey anyway.

I was scrambling and scared! 

Istanbul has a population of over 13 million people.   How many of them do you think would be kind enough to help a tourist at 10 pm, much less help him find his way downtown and a place to stay.  Ya I didn’t think so.

After paying the 60 Euro fee (be warned, you have to pay to enter Turkey) I made change and got on the subway.  I had no idea where I was going and to make matters worse, I have no Turkish language skills.  I did what anybody would do.  I followed the locals. 

I got off the subway and transferred to a trolley.  Looking back I have no idea why and how I did that.  After a short ride I started seeing massive mosques and thought nothing would happen to me around holy sites.  So I got off and started on foot.

Without knowing it I had stumbled upon the Sultanahmet District, the ancient part of Istanbul, or better yet, Constantinople. 

Here I found the fabled and head-shakingly beautiful Greek-inspired Agia Sophia which contains priceless Greek Byzantine relics (now hidden in back rooms for reasons I’ll leave up to you to decide).  Across the way the stunning Blue Mosque.  Topkapi Palace down the street.  Hippodrome.  This was it.  I found it.  Stunning and grandiose.  I can’t imagine how much more beautiful these sites looked when the visiting Romans and Venetians first laid eyes on them hundreds of years earlier. 

I didn’t have too much time to reflect as the time was now 11:30 and I still didn’t know where I was going to sleep.  I was up finding a Turkish bath too.  Were they open this late?  Did Turkey have a law against sleeping in park benches?  I didn’t know and didn’t want to find out.  I’ve heard Turkish prisons are a bitch.

After some wandering around history I found a hotel, which at this point felt like I just found an oasis in the desert. 

Taksim is traditionally the place where tourists like to stay while here.  Plenty of bars and action.  For some reason I didn’t want to venture all the way cross town to Taksim.  If I’m going to Turkey I want to be surrounded by locals.  So with that in mind, I got a room, dropped off my bags and headed out.  The hotel manager asked to keep my passport for safety reasons. 

I always feel nervous about leaving my most valuable travel document with a stranger.  But when it doubt, it’s better to do it.  You never know what you’re going to confront when sightseeing.  I found out what could happen, the hard way.

For some inexplicable reason I unconsciously decided not to take my passport, credit card or debit card with me on this night.  

By the end of the night I was glad I didn’t.

Picture this:  Underground bar.  Dark.  Having a drink in a booth closer to the back.  30 minute walk from my hotel.  Alone. 

A big man approaches and asks to sit with me in the booth.  We’ll call him Bill.  I think nothing of it.  He sits.

After a few minutes of small talk, two women quickly approach.  One sits on Bill’s side while the other sits next to me.  The waiter quickly follows with a glass of wine for each lady and also brings along various finger snacks and dips.

The couple across the booth start to speak Turkish.  The woman next to me speaks broken English and immediately starts asking me if I want to have sex with her.  I say no.

She persists.  I continue to say no.

Hindsight as we all know is 20-20.  Little do I know at that point that I was becoming a victim of a classic scam.  One that is pulled on tourists all over the world, on a consistent basis. 

I don’t know how and why it didn’t dawn on me earlier but I finally realized that this was actually happening to me.  I have plenty of street smarts but I guess when you’re confronted with a situation you only read about or see on television, your brain can’t grasp the fact that this is actually happening.  Careful not to offend her and her pimp, who for all I know is sitting across the booth from me, I make up a story about how my wife and kids are waiting for me back at the hotel.

She doesnt’ buy it and is now getting increasingly frustrated at the rejection.  She begins to speak Turkish to the rest of the group. 

I analyze my situation and realize that I’m in a very tough spot.  If I make a run for it I will push her out-of-the-way, possibly injuring her and definitely upsetting her boss in the process, whoever and wherever he is. On top of that I have to run across the entire bar and up the stairs.  Too big of a risk.  Not an option.

Besides if I make a run for it I leave without paying the bill.  Remember the Turkish prisons? 

I also remind myself that nobody knows I’m here.  This is a big mess and I don’t know what to do.  I have no out.  And on top of that I have another two major things going against me:  I’m Greek (which for all I know makes me the enemy in Turkish eyes).  I’m Canadian (which for all I know makes me rich in Turkish eyes). 

I stay and face what comes next.

The women suddenly leave. 

Bill asks me if I want another drink. I say no.

Bill asks for the check.

The waiter approaches, leaving it face down on the table.

Bill glances at it.  Looks up at the waiter and questions his math.

The total is $637 Canadian Dollars!

I had only one drink!

The waiter, not wanting to deal with any conflict, points to Bill and then points to me.

He orders both of us to come into a back room. 

I’m still oblivious.  Bill is my friend right?  He’s on my side right? 

My  mind is racing.  Millions of thoughts are coming and going.  $637??!!  What will I have to do?  Wash dishes?  Clean floors?  Sell myself?  What will I have to do to pay off this debt?

The small room,probably the size of a small bathroom, is occupied by three giants (Bill, the Owner and what looked to be a Bouncer) and one small, wimpy looking dude (me). 

“MONEY”, demands the Owner.

“I don’t have any money brother”.

Not believing me, he starts padding me down.  His hands checking my shirt, my pants and pockets.  He finds something….and it’s not what you think.

“What’s this?  Money?” 

I pull out my drivers’ licence, explaining that this is for driving only.  I also pull out my camera and $20 million lira ($20 CDN dollars).  Not a big score in their eyes.

“Take this money, brother.  This is all I have”, pleading.

30 seconds of silence.  Go ahead and count to 30. 

Now do it in a court-room-like setting where you don’t know what to expect, in a country you’re not sure about, dealing with laws you’re afraid to confront, in a bar that’s 30 minutes from your hotel room, alone with nobody knowing you’re there.

Let me save you the agony. 30 seconds of silence in that room was torture enough.

“Go. Get out of here”, says the Owner.

Without thinking I sprint.  Across the bar, up the stairs, out the door and down the main boulevard towards the hotel.  Istanbul’s normally polluted air was intoxicating that night. 

I run back to my room, taking both the main, lit streets and back streets just in case they changed their minds and came after me, they wouldn’t be able to find me easily.

What was Bill doing in the small room?

Nothing.

Bill had already done his job.  Bill convinced me I was his friend.  He hooked me in and hoped I had some big, Western cash on-hand.  That way everyone could get a huge cut.  

I consider myself very lucky.  The money doesn’t matter.  I was lucky to make it out alive and virtually unscathed.

As I said something told me not to load my pockets before I went out that night.  I decided to leave my passport at the hotel.  I didn’t bring my credit card or debit card either.  I took only one piece of ID, a camera and $20.  I can’t imagine what could have happened to me that night.  A confiscated passport?  Credit and debit cards maxed?  No money left?  As I said I’m lucky to have made it out alive and unscathed.

Make no mistake about it.  Constantinople is a stunning city!  If you get a chance to go you must.  It is a city that has mystified millions of people who have gazed upon it.  I have no regrets about visiting Turkey’s largest city.  I will probably visit again.  This of course could have happened anywhere in the world.  And it does.  Beware of the scam.  If you’re not this could happen to you too.

In case you’re wondering, no I didn’t visit a Turkish bath.  Next time I guess.

earlier today my mom and i went to the annual bazarre in an exclusive subdivision in QC where you could buy  GUESS, Lulu Castagnette & mossimo tops, Jeans and Bags for half the price, so as expected a lot of buyers came to take the opportunity to shop like crazy and spend as much as P15,000 (prices of tops range from P220-P380,bottoms P400-P700 and bags P500-P800)  in one go.it was fun for someone like me who loves shopping.  the worst thing that could ruin that lovely event was the organizers, they did not plan the event properly, it was so confusing for everyone that were there,the venue was too small (as in.) compared to the huge crowd that gathered,  the lines were so confusing and super long and nobody knew where to get the receipts  and from whome to get one. they were super short in manpower and to top it all off the cashier on my lane was slow as in slow. 

 we arrived at the venue around 10 am, we got out around 2:30 in the afternoon. 4hrs 30 minutes and 50% of that was spent in line waiting for my number to be called. And tomorrow i shalll return to buy the bag i was supposed to buy. ^_^;

What: St. James the Great Bazaar

When: November 27, 28, 29 & 30.

Where: Ayala Alabang Village (It’s not really inside Ayala Alabang Village.  St. James the Great Bazaar is right across Alabang Town Center).

Payment methods available: Visa & Mastercard accepted; BPI, Metrobank & UCPB ATMs available!

Products range from holiday foods for gift giving, Christmas décor, beautifully crafted home décor, wrought iron, native and imported bags, toys, shoes, Filipino ethnic products & handicrafts, Christmas packaging and wrappers, decorative candles, paintings, silver jewelry, over-runs of men?s, ladies and children?s clothes, accessories, sculptures and many more.

1. Shop for a cause!

If you’re buying Christmas gifts, make the money you spend go the extra mile by buying from a place that donates a portion of its profits to charity.  Proceeds are for the benefit of the St. James Foundation.

2. 600 participating concessionaires

Among the various bazaars happening throughout the city, the St. James bazaar stands out because of the more than 600 participating concessionaires. That’s a lot of choices! Hopefully, you’ll get your Christmas shopping done in a day!

3. Possibly Lower Prices & Better Deals

Perhaps due to the global downturn, local manufacturers & exporters themselves will be joining the bazaar. This is great news for shoppers to  possibly get lower prices and better deals!

4. Good Product Diversity & Range

Concessionaires are coming from all over the Philippines. Manufacturers, exporters, importers and traders from all over the Philippines like Davao, Cebu, Palawan, Sulu, Bicol, Iloilo, Baguio, Pampanga, Quezon, Bulacan, Laguna and Batangas will be joining as well.This adds to the diversity, quantity and quality of products available to shoppers.

5. Participation of Well-Known Eateries

The participation of well-known eateries ensures shoppers have a wide selection of food to choose from such as Las Paellas, Tapa King, Brothers Burger, Barrio Fiesta, Serye Restaurant, Yellow Cab, Ellies Roasted Calf, Coolman Halo-Halo, Potato Corner, Odd Balls, Theobroma.

6. FREE shuttle service

I like that the organizers are thoughtful enough to provide  FREE shuttle service from the shopping venue to their parked cars.

So if you’re not doing much this weekend, check out the St. James bazaar! Do let me know of any great deals you’ve scored!

Στις 27, 28, 29 Νοεμβρίου Πωλητήριο-Bazaar στο Μουσείο Κυκλαδικής Τέχνης με αντίγραφα, βιβλία, κοσμήματα και άλλα αντικείμενα σε ειδικές τιμές http://www.cycladic.gr

Want to travel to Germany over the holidays but don’t have enough cash? Get a taste of a German Christmas in Manila!

Filipino & German culture both share a love for the Christmas Season. While the Filipinos start preparations for Christmas as soon as the -”ber” months start, German culture prides itself of a magical and festive Christmas from centuries of heritage and tradition.

On December 5 December 4,2009; the Ateneo High School grounds will be designed and decorated in a similar fashion to German Christmas Markets. There will also be booths showcasing various German delicacies such as freshly baked Stollen, ginger bread, sizzling sausages grilled over charcoal fire, hearty stews with Wiener Wurstchen, among others.

Other activities include a choral singing competition, raffle draws, movie screenings, cooking demos, photo contests, games and trivia.

Movie screening starts at 1pm,3pm, & 5pm

Entrance to Weihnachtsmarkt is free!

Alta cocina a bajo coste

Leer la entrada completa »

Να πάμε οπωσδήποτε στο Χριστουγεννιάτικο Παζάρι του Ε.Λ.Ι.Α-Μ.Ι.Ε.Τ από τις 27 ως τις 29 Νοεμβρίου. τις μέρες του παζαριού θα λειτουργήσει και μικρή έκθεση παιχνιδιών των δεκαετιών 1950 και 1960, ενώ θα προσφέρονται μεζέδες και κρασί. Στο Παζάρι θα βρούμε πρωτότυπα Χριστουγεννιάτικα στολίδια για το δέντρο, κάρτες, ημερολόγιο του 2010, το γούρι της χρονιάς ένα μάτι από ασήμι αντίγραφο τάματος των αρχών του 20ου αιώνα, παλαιά συλλεκτικά έντυπα, δώρα για μικρούς και μεγάλους. Αγ. Ανδρέου 4, τηλ. 210 3211149 http://www.elia.org.gr

Το Μουσείο Σπύρος Βασιλείου οργανώνει ένα Χριστουγεννιάτικο Bazaar από τις 27 Νοεμβρίου ως τις 30 Δεκεμβρίου, όπου θα βρούμε μικρά έργα τέχνης και άλλα πρωτότυπα δώρα, εμπνευσμένα από τα θέματα του μεγάλου ζωγράφου. Ολα τα έσοδα θα διατεθούν για την υποστήριξη των εκπαιδευτικών δραστηριοτήτων του Μουσείου. Γουέμπστερ 5α, Ακρόπολη, τηλ. 210 9231502 http://www.spyrosvassiliou.org

Να πάμε στο Fetch Christmas Wholesale Bazaar στις 28 Νοεμβρίου στις 11.00 στην Θέτιδος 75, Εκάλη για χριστουγεννιάτικες αγορές!

-나에게 글쓰기에 대한 욕구는 늘 세상을 이해하고자 하는 것에 대한 욕구이다.

-많은 사람들이 삶의 고통과 어려움에 감정적으로 대처하려 하거나 회피하려 하지만

설득력 있는 글을 쓰기 위해서는 삶의 어두운 면까지도 받아들여야만 한다.

그렇게 책 밖의 세상이 침묵하는  부분을 책 속에 드러냄으로써 독자들을 위로해야 한다고 생각한다.

그리고, 당시 내가 겪은 사랑의 상처가 책을 쓰도록 동기 유발은 했지만 글을 쓰기 위해서는

우선 책 읽기와 다양한 어휘들의 뉘앙스를 사랑하고 무언가를 분석해서 자신만의 관점을 만들어야한다.

-나에게 흥미와 즐거움을 주거나 반대로 실타래처럼 얽혀 내 삶을 어렵게 하는 것들에 대해서 쓴다.

-좋은 작가란 우리가 일상에서는 잘 볼 수 없는 삶의 중요한 면들을 상기시켜야 한다고 생각한다.

in BAZAAR

This Saturday – November 28th – is the Heritage High School Holiday Bazar at Heritage High School in Vancouver. I will have my booth set up there. This event is a benefit event and all proceeds from the event go to the Heritage HS Class of 2010 Drug and Alcohol Free Graduation Party. The show is from 9:00am to 4:00pm on Saturday November 28th at Heritage High School – 7825 NE 130th Avenue, Vancouver, WA. This is a great chance for you to get a jump on your holiday shopping without the hectic crowds at the mall.

Be sure to stop by my booth and say hi. And as a blog-show special – if you mention my blog, I will give you 20% off of your purchase.

Hope to see you there!

Brian

We’re bucking holiday tradition this year…

For years we’ve headed across the street to James’ parents’ house for Thanksgiving dinner. It’s always felt like a fair trade. They’d provide the lovely dining room (ours is a teensy home office) and we’d provide the turkey.

But this year I’ve been relieved of my turkey cooking duties. I’ll still make the sweet sausage and sage stuffing and fresh cranberry/orange relish that I grew up on. But no bird. Boston Market has taken my place.

It’s a rite of passage I suppose. I recall making our first bird in a kitchen about the size of a yoga mat when James and I were just newlyweds. He’s still padding around in the sweat jacket he wore that year, which makes me smile. I suppose I can let the bird go.

I’ll have more time for my new baby—my blog. Knowing there are oodles of holiday performances out there that you need to know about, sleeping in just doesn’t sound like much fun. So I’ll spend the next few days hunting and gathering.

Hopefully you already have a copy of the current issue of Raising Arizona Kids magazine, so you can check the calendar section early and often for fun things to do with your friends and family during the holiday season.

But for my fellow performing arts lovers, I’ll be sharing a series of blogs on upcoming performances in three categories (one per day)-dance, music and theater. (Don’t ask me what order they’ll run in—a girl’s gotta have some whimsy.)

For today, I’ll share some ways you can celebrate the holiday season while giving a little something to others…

Note: Oops alert! Date of original post included wrong date for Ballet Arizona event. Correct date appears below. If you have an earlier copy of this blog, please stuff it with your turkey, and remember: What happens in the holiday blogosphere stays in the holiday blogosphere. Thanks –Lynn

Arizona Jewish Theatre Company. Online auction to benefit their education department. Auction runs through December 11th—which means you can enjoy holiday shopping from home and help Valley kids enjoy great theater!

Ballet Arizona. Nutcracker party to benefit their education, outreach and performance projects. Saturday, December 5th, from 10am to 2:30pm at the Camelback Inn. Enjoy a lovely luncheon, dance performance and shopping in Nutcracker Village. You can also donate to support their Nutcracker Angel Night for underprivileged children.

Childsplay. Buy a teddy bear (donated by Build-a-Bear) sporting a handcrafted sweater by Tempe fiber artist Sonja Faeroy Saar to benefit their Benjamin Fund, which provides free tickets to organizations working with underprivileged youth or youth with disabilities.

Free Arts of Arizona. Buy gift bows (made of authentic movie trailers) while supplies last at Harkins Theatres to benefit arts programs for abused, homeless and at-risk youth.

Greasepaint Youtheatre. Free performance by Greasepaint LIVE troupe with holiday bazaar featuring local artists, homemade treats and more to benefit the John Cannon Memorial Scholarship Fund. Wednesday, December 16th, from 6-8pm (show at 7pm). Also, receive $2 off your ticket price to Oliver! on Saturday, December 5th at 2pm when you donate an item for the St. Mary’s Food Bank holiday drive.

Note: Always call and/or click ahead for event details and ticketing information, since some events do not offer tickets at the door (and the brevity of blogs makes it impossible to list every detail). Thanks!

If I’ve overlooked a family-friendly art, dance, music or theater event with a “giving back” component this holiday season, please comment below and share what you know.

I look forward to seeing you Thursday with some musings on the things I am most thankful for. If you still have bird duty, just come back and visit after you’ve finished your pecan or pumpkin pie.

I’m always thankful for our one-of-a kind readers…

–Lynn

Here’s a little bonus Black Friday shopping tip for you: If a store opens before Starbucks, how much fun can it really be?

El fin de año está a la vuelta de la esquina. Todo el mundo prepara las fiestas y piensa en como puede ahorrarse unos euros en regalos, en celebraciones… y en cómo no gastarse un dineral en las `dichosas cenas´ de Navidad”. Para aquellos que quieran ahorrarse dinero en las comilonas navideñas, aquí tienen la solución.

iescabodelahuerta.edu.gva.es

Para la gente que está en crisis y para los que no quieren gastarse mucho dinero, el tapeo es una de las opciones más llamativas. Hay numerosos restaurantes que ofrecen tapeo en Navidad (o cuando no lo es) por un precio muy asequible.

La Gallina Loca, es un restaurante situado en el corazón del barrio de Moncloa y es una de las opciones que proponemos. En este restaurante no sólo ofrecen comidas y cenas de tapeo sino incluso,ofrecen también menús semanales. Se sitúa en la Calle Fernando el Católico, 84  y disponen de una amplia y variada carta. Entre sus especialidades se encuentra la  paella valenciana, el fabuloso arroz a banda,  y unos espléndidos judiones con codornices. Para las fechas navideñas, ofrecen un menú de tapeo para grupos por 20 euros, en el que se incluyen también las bebidas.

Otra opción interesante es el restaurante la Gloria de Montera, situado en la Calle Caballero de Gracia n:10

espaciossecretos.files.wordpress.com

 Este restaurante esquina a  la Calle Montera, forma parte de una cadena de otros de 4 restaurantes  madrileños (La Finca de Susana, Public, Bazaar y Ginger) de corte moderno y buen precio. También dispone de franquicias en Barcelona y Girona.

Una muy buena parte del tapeo ,es cocina mediterránea y entre sus raciones más suculentas se encuentran las croquetas de huevo con queso holandés y  las patatas bravas con chispitas de chistorra. El precio medio del restaurante oscila entre los 15 y 20 euros.

Entre otras sugerencias de tapeo madrileño también se encuentra el curioso restaurante El ingenio de Cervantes  que está decorado con motivos cervantinos y tienen una biblioteca con ejemplares de Don Quijote de la Mancha  escritos en más de 20 idiomas diferentes. El menú para los grupos es apartir de 17 euros.

Y como última sugerencia, llama la atención por su comida y su decoración basada en la cultura española, el restaurante Plato & Placer, que se encuentra en el barrio de la Latina . Su menú de grupo es a partir de los 20 euros e incluso el día de fin de año celebran esa gran noche, con un menú con los mejores platos que tienen en su carta y que que oscila sobre los 65 euros.

Ya que estamos en época de crisis, que la Navidad ni nosotros ¡lo notemos!

November 13 – January 10, 2010 Christmas Bangketa Sale Center Mall, Greenhills Shopping Center, San Juan City
 
Contact: Ortigas & Company, Eric Guttierrez and Kay Jose – 722-6795

November 25-30; December 18-20, 2009
Noel Bazaar & Christmas Shop Expo World Trade Center, Roxas Blvd., Pasay City
Contact: Cut Unlimited c/o Aprille C. Robles
(02) 687-3292; (0917) 885-8127

November 27-29, 2009
St. James The Great Christmas Bazaar
Cuenca Community Center & St. James
Parking Lot, Ayala Alabang Village,
Alabang, Muntinlupa City
Contact: St. James Foundation c/o Mimi Valerio
(02) 842-5140; (02) 807-1623

November 28-29, 2009 Christmas Wish Bazaar & Outlet Sale 2009 Makati Sports Club Ballroom
 
9:00 AM to 8:00 PM
Contact: Apex Events – 480-5667, 0926-6941700, apexeventsorganizer@yahoo.com

December 4-16, 2009
The 9th World Bazaar Festival World Trade Center, Roxas Blvd., Pasay City
Contact: Worldbex Services International
c/o Armand Bernardino
(02) 531-3615; (02) 531-6350; www.worldbex.com

December 5-6,2009 Gift Lab: The Great Holiday Bazaar Rockwell Tent, Makati City
Contact: Sharlene Tan – 0917-5280626, Anne Go – 2113804 or visit giftlab.multiply.com

December 5-6, 2009 Zonta Club of Alabang Christmas Carnivale Bazaar Cuenca Courts of Ayala Alabang Village, Alabang, Muntinlupa

Contact: Joanne – 2155376

December 4-6, 11-13, 18-23, 2009 Grand CHRISTMAS BAZAAR ‘09 @ the BIGTENT Holy Spirit Drive, Don Antonio,Commonwealth Ave., Quezon City
10am – 10pm; Fully airconditioned venue
Contact: Tel: 384-3609 / 412-3343Cell: 0917-4404690 / 0915-3705860
www.ordeptex.multiply.com

December 5-6, 2009
Noel Bazaar: The Special Edition A.Venue Hall, Antel, Lifestyle City
Makati Avenue, Makati City
Contact: Cut Unlimited c/o Aprille C. Robles
(0917) 885-8127; (02) 687-3292
aprillerobles@yahoo.com

December 10, 2009-January 10, 2010
Christmas Flea Market People’s Village, Tiendesitas
Frontera Verde, Pasig City
Contact: Las Islas c/o Eugene Paguio
(02) 826-8162

December 11-30, 2009
Christmas Bazaar Glorietta Park Tent
Ayala Center, Makati City
Contact: VGCOM c/o Joanne Fernando-Tamayo
(0919) 600-7567; (02) 706-1889 local 14

December 12-13, 2009 Santa’s Christmas Bazaar @ La Vista Year 4 La Vista Clubhouse, Katipunan
 (9 am to 7 pm)
Claudine Baron – 2110685, 09178636644 / claudbaron@yahoo.com or visit eventions.multiply.com

December 19-20, 2009
Holiday Madness Bazaar Cubao Expo, Araneta Center
Cubao, Quezon City
Contact: Sandy Allan Tel. (0917)-522-2100; (0922) 831-6670
soulcardreader@gmail.com

Feel free to leave a comment if you know of more bazaars!

I love attending the BPI Outlet Sales because of the big brand participation and big discounts!

Where: SMX Convention Hall 4, Sea Shell Drive, Mall of Asia

When: December 4-6,2009;  10am-9pm

Get in free with your BPI Credit Card or ATM.

Some participating companies / brands are: Rustans Marketing Corporation, Luxasia, YvesSaintLauren, Guerlain, Davidoff, Powermac, Chocolate Clothing Company, Crocs, Anne Klein, Lacoste, Puma, Adidas, Nike, And1, Canon, Philips, Crumpler, Juicy Couture, Dockers, among many others.

Enjoy your Christmas Shopping!

When creating a feature branch from a Subversion trunk, there are a few things to be aware of.

Consider the following Subversion repository structure representing components that are independently releasable:

trunk
  WebService1
  WebService2
  WindowsService1
  WindowsService2
  UiApp1

With this repository I am suggesting it is completely reasonable to release, say, just UiApp1 without releasing any web or windows services.

With Subversion I could create a feature branch as follows:

branches
  MyFeature
    WebService1
    WebService2
    WindowsService1
    WindowsService2
    UiApp1

Then, if MyFeature actually only needed changes made to WindowsService2, I can safely just merge WindowsService2 back into the trunk – i.e. I would use TortoiseSVN to right click on trunk\WindowsService2 and merge from branches\MyFeature\WindowsService2.

Things are different in the Bazaar world: you can only merge/pull/push from the level you branched at.
If you created a branch like the one above using Bazaar, you would have to merge/pull/push the entire branch – i.e. at the same level as your .bzr folder.

Why is this a problem?
Well, if you know that you have only changed WindowsService2, you can’t just push that back to the trunk. You have to push all folders back into the trunk. The problem arises if someone else has changed, say, WebService2 in the trunk. Bazaar will make you merge those changes into your branch first before you can push your branch back.

Example scenario (this situation happened in our team):

• Developer 1 creates MyFeature branch and works on WindowsService2 only.
• Developer 2 creates TheirFeature branch and works on UiApp1 only.
• Developer 2 commits change back to trunk and creates TheirFeature_Phase2 branch.
• Developer 1 attempts to commit change back to trunk. Bazaar says a merge in needed (even though Developer 1 hasn’t touched UiApp1).
• Developer 1 does the merge and pushes the branch back to the trunk.
• Now Developer 2 attempts to push back to the trunk – Bazaar says UiApp1 has changed even though only Developer 2 has worked on this bit of code!
• Developer 2 has to merge before pushing back to the trunk.

So, there are a few pain points here. From commit logs it appears as though MyFeature changed UiApp1 when it didn’t.
Both developers had to do unnecessary, potentially confusing merges.

So, to get around this issue, we now create branches at “component level”.
If MyFeature only needs to work on, say WebService1 and WindowsService2, we only create branches for those components.

The full feature branch area on the shared server may look like this:

branches
  MyFeature
    WebService1
	  .bzr
    WindowsService2
	  .bzr
  TheirFeature
    UiApp1
	  .bzr

Now we only have to push back the code that we have actually changed.

This strategy has been successful on our team – we use the great Bazaar features to make our renames/refactors/merges simple, and with just a small amount of extra branch creation work we can keep our synchronisation back to the trunk at the right level.