my youngest sister

my most favorite picture with Leslie taken at Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte

My sister Leslie and I are super close. Back home, she's my roommate, eating mate and "gala"-mate. And just like her big sister, she also loves reading. During her younger years (and until now, I suppose), she’s addicted with Tagalog romance pocketbooks. Then came Harry Potter (through me, of course) in her high school life, she started reading English fiction.

Her latest obsession today is none other than TWILIGHT! And since Twilight has been a big time craze among teens and women all over the world, my sister can’t find the book on any bookstore in Pampanga (my hometown). I can’t tell her to go to Manila for the book instead, lest she’ll get lost in such an unfamiliar jungle. So I asked her to wait for me to finish the books then I’ll send them to her.

That was December last year.

After that, every time I call her, she keeps on nagging me like “when are you sending the Twilight books?”

My younger brother Levi came home from the US last month so he bought the first two Twilight books as pasalubong to our youngest sister. Now I only have to send the last two.

As of today, I STILL haven’t read the fourth book, Breaking Dawn. Last week, I was already thinking of sending it (as brand new) off to her this week along with Shopaholic Takes Manhattan by Sophie Kinsella, which I still need to buy.

I have all Sophie Kinsella’s books back home, except for this one because it was the first Shopaholic book I’ve read and I just borrowed it from a colleague 3 years ago. I felt no need to buy it that time so now, my sister can’t read the 3^rd Shopaholic book, Shopaholic Ties the Knot, unless I buy the 2^nd book.

However, as I just found out from courier companies online, airfreight charges would cost me some 1,200 dirhams (equal to Php 15,600) for express delivery of 2-3 days. Waaaaaaay too expensive! I can opt for the 150 dirhams (equal to Php 1,950) with some local freight companies here but my sister is not too willing to wait for 30-45 days for it to come. You see, I have delayed it already for nearly four months.

This morning, as I was going through my normal routine of browsing the internet for some useful stuffs and readings, a “lightbulb” came flashing on my boredom. Why not search an online bookshop and make them deliver the books right at my sister’s doorstep? And make that an online bookstore in the Philippines.

I thought of National Bookstore and Powerbooks so I browsed through their webpages. For no other reason, I have decided to go for Powerbooks and checked the availability.

[Picture Source: Breaking Dawn, Eclipse, Shopaholic Takes Manhattan]

After some minutes of adding my chosen books into my cart, I have checked out a total of three books (Eclipse, Breaking Dawn, Shopaholic Takes Manhattan), provided the shipping and billing address, wrote a short message for my sister then paid for only Php 1,273 including the shipping cost of Php 250. The whole transaction for just 15 minutes.

A time-saver!

And soooo cheap!

I haven’t told her about this one but it will surely surprise her.

I soooo miss her!