# 7 the color purple

an article by philippine star columnist and talk show host, jessica zafra (jessicarulestheuniverse.com), once made reference to giving names to objects, be it gadgets or toys or even cars, the latter being my add-on.  she had a name for her first Mac and when it died on her, she was quick to name the next one that came into her possession.  the main purpose of this name-giving is to invoke the object's (presumed) sense of loyalty and reliability, measured, hopefully, not only in months but in years.  if one is lucky,  it may even be stretched out beyond the short life of present day's dizzying upgrades and new releases. 

giving names to inanimate objects may be unusual to many but as the voss would say 'whatever floats your boat,' after all, cool and sleek eddie is her prized and pampered four-wheeled baby.  likewise, yangi, dudud and wawa have names for each one of their multiple-piece LPS collections. taking heed of ms. zafra's advice, my running shoes (saucony's all, thanks, voss! ) took on different personae, the better to huff and puff on many a race route. the first pair was nameless, the need to give a name lost in the excitement over the gift of a brand new footwear. iggy was second and after a few training runs, was decidedly the race-day shoes.  cony was designated as the training pair.

this new buddy's name is simply pol, taken from its color, purple. 

more finish lines to cross with pol !! isn't that awesome?

# 6 collect all 5 !!!

a double take....that's what happens when you see one of those eye-catchers on a grocery shelf -- a very cute basketball and and an equally cute soccer ball right beside it!  and wait, is that another ball behind it? you tell yourself you are not a sucker for those impractical and unusable marketing ploys and yet the balls endear themselves to you.  in a practically hypnotic spell, you reach out for one. just one, you tell yourself.

each ball comes with a one-kilo pack of MILO

in a heartbeat, five 1-kg packs are in your cart like a typhoon advisory has been issued and you are panic buying.  that's more than you would need for the next quarter of the year. for a split second, a guilt trip snakes its way into your consciousness but you shake it away. you tell yourself, it is not just any chocolate drink, it is THE chocolate drink of your childhood and yes, you know the lyrics of the jingle and aren't the balls so adorable?  if you buy one pack at a time, the balls might be all gone. without turning back, you go straight to the next aisle, all 5 packs securely piled up in your cart.

you can't resist the urge to collect all 5, impulse buying be damned !

a toast to marketing gurus and the suckers who keep them goin' !!!  isn't that awesome?

# 5 dog ears (not of the canine specie) !

what could push the REWIND button more than randomly finding something that reminds one of the good ole' high school days.  back then, the book report was a staple requirement of our english class.  a book was chosen on the merits of richness of theme and passion of author.  that one year, we were introduced to the genius of leon uris.

seeing this book among a collection of paperbacks built up in recent years, i can only shake my head, baffled and bewildered, as to how that book report was completed.  the introduction part was easy, i am sure but was i able to single out each character's distinct trait? did i have a firm grasp of the storyline enough to make my own interpretation and opinion of the main plot? 

who reads leon uris in high school nowadays?? 

thirty-four years after the deadline-beating submission of the compulsory book report , this uris masterpiece stands mighty and proud, albeit, hanging by its cover.

this oldie, pages turning golden yellow through the years and bearing that very distinct kept-in-the-closet-for-too-long old book scent, dog ears and all, is a gem of a possession. 

randomly pushing a high school REWIND button !! isn't that awesome??