Thrice Disappointed

I was looking forward to the weekend, expecting to have a blast at the two convention/exhibits and the halloween thingie we were going to.

I shouldn't have bothered.

First, there was the WORLD OF CHINA EXHIBIT at the World Trade Center. Not sure if it was because it was running for almost a week then but there really wasn't much to see or interest someone at the exhibit. Shopping in Divisoria is more exciting, at least you get to see Nokia knock-offs (in the form of Nokla) and binge on Chinese food.

But yes, there were Crocs shoes and sandals being sold for P350 each (or 3 for P1000) but they only had limited stocks and colors. And yes, there were several exhibit booths selling exercise machines and herbal/organic stuff that supposedly helps one to lose weight.

It was interesting to watch a tea ceremony in real life, however, and the exhibit was free and you get canvas bags. And yes, they did set up a Great Wall there for photo opps. But still, it was truly a let down.

So we rushed to the SMX Convention Center for the Consumer Electronics thingie. Apart from seeing the latest models of Mac PCs and Nokia phones, the highlight of the exhibit would be watching photographers take pictures of a model who seemed to have been paid to pose all day and getting a free canvas bag from Philcopy. One other disappointment is that i've been to a few similar (and better) exhibits at Mega Trade Hall that cost me nothing while this cost me P50.

Sigh.

And then there's the Halloween Fun Craze at Alabang Town Center spearheaded by Kidsters, Inc. In retrospect, maybe I should have given into my misgivings when I was told that pre-registration is done there and then (sorry, but i've always thought pre-registration involves filling up an internet form or e-mails or calls are made to register BEFORE the event happens). I was also told that they'd be there from 10 AM to 5 PM.

So we got there at past 2 PM, I think, looking forward to loot bags at least for the effort we invested on our costumed kids (Lilo, Snow White and Tiger... and the tiger costume wasn't made for tropical weather!). Or at least, great photo opportunities. To our dismay, the event was set up on a non-air conditioned plaza and they were already awarding the costumed kids (winners, I think, were one dressed as a KAPRE and the other is an AXED LADY). But we were told that there'd be another batch of costume contest at 4 PM. The emcee announced it several times as well, that they were going to pick four other winners (most inventive, cutest, scariest and one other criteria) at 4 PM. The emcee also said that there's no pre-registration anymore in the afternoon. So our lot decided to give our kids a wardrobe change first and eat snacks... and just get back there at quarter to four.

We did just that. Imagine our shock then when we saw all the booths being dismantled and all the tables and chairs being taken away. They were packing up! And when we tried getting the organizers to explain, no one had an answer.

What a waste of an afternoon indeed! We could have gone to Powerplant instead... or baked cookies. Tsk.

So good luck to those attending the Halloween Fun Craze in Glorietta.