Prudence and Madness

“Ahhhhh…s’ya pala si (insert blog name/blog URL/handle here)!”

I must have heard this phrase (and it’s one thousand variations) all afternoon and all evening of Saturday at the poolside of Classica Tower II. It reminded me of that scene from the Matrix, when Neo met Trinity for the first time in an underground S&M bar:

Trinity: Hello, Neo.

Neo: Who are you?

Trinity: My name is Trinity.

Neo: Trinity? The Trinity? The guy who cracked the IRS database?

Trinity: That was a long time ago.

Neo: Jeez…

Trinity: What?

Neo: I thought you are a guy.

Trinity: Most guys do.

Repeat this scene several times over (with a little modification of the names) and you get what took place early at the party, when everybody hustled to get everybody else’s signatures on their Blog Parteeh “bingo” sheets.

After an hour of mingling with bloggers and collecting signatures, organizers began raffling off some prizes. It became a sort of pattern in the party: prize raffles interspersed within the party’s program.

There was a portion in which blogs of the attendees were flashed on the screen randomly and when it stops on a certain blog, the owner of that blog should introduce himself and his blog. A timer was set and when the timer is up, the last person introducing his site gets a prize.

I was the last one talking about my blog when the timer ended. Guess what? I won P500 gift certificate from Bubbagump!

(pic from karlaredor.multiply.com)

That’s me with the Bubbagump certificate and Mr. Jayvee “Uma lookalike” Fernandez (hehe).

A lot of other prizes were raffled off like:

• iPod Video 5.5 Gen 30GB
• JBL Creature II 3-piece speaker system
• Belkin F8N044 Notebook Cushtop (courtesy of Microwarehouse Inc.)
• 5 iPod/Palm gadget beanbags (couresty of Microwarehouse Inc.)
• 5 double dozen Krispy Kreme Gift Certificates (Php550 each)
• Php2,500 Gift Certificates for Bubba Gump
• Google / Blogger Products
• IT Books
• 1 SIM Backup

I didn’t win any of it, though.

And all those time, I firmly believed that I was destined to win the grand prize: the iPod Video 5.5 Gen 30GB. Maybe that was why I didn’t get the other stuffs, I reasoned. I was already thinking of the mp3s to put in “my” iPod when this guy popped my bubble:

(from Migs)

I’m surprised AJ didn’t get mugged on his way out of the place. Hahaha…just kidding.

I may not have taken home the iPod but I still got other stuffs like free Mobile, Kerygma, and Fish mags, a box of half-dozen Krispy Kreme donuts, Google giveaway, and a USB mini-fan.

And, of course, I wouldn’t forget the friends I gained in this party:

(LA, Niknok, and Me. Pics from LA)

I didn’t take pictures but I have to mention the other people I’ve met: Poell, Dotep, Darwin, Pierre, Ade, Shari, and many others (just check my blogroll for the list of other attendees).

I just can’t wait for the next one! I bet it would be another big night filled with “Ahhh, ikaw pala si…” and “Siya pala yun…”

Hehe.