I will keep referring to my Singapore trip as a Long Weekend, even though it isn’t, technically. Nonetheless, it was fun. When we landed on a Thursday afternoon, we decided to swing by Orchard Road then just to get it over with. I think we had Orchard Road overload from our last trip. Because of this brilliant decision, we had time (and energy!) to explore the rest of the places we haven’t been to. But that’s another story.

Here’s a slideshow of Instagram photos. I was going to do a collage, but I like big photographs! The following are from Laneway, the house we stayed in, and weird ice cream.

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Part II of this post: Our winner for the Field Notes Giveaway, Via, didn’t reply to my email for the last few days, so I picked a new one, alliekabok on Tumblr. I forgot to take an iShowU video of my randomization, and I obviously can’t re-enact it, so here are screencaps. Anyway, I just sent her an email and am expecting a response within the next 24 hours. Allie’s been a loyal reader of Nothing Spaces and has been a keen commenter.

Thank you again to Avalon.ph for the goods (haha) and for all y’all who joined. It’s been fun!

In other news, I’m so dreadfully sick of this layout. Aren’t you? I hope I find the time to change it soon.

After 384 entries for the Field Notes Giveaway, a random generator picked a lucky winner: Via! Congratulations, I’ll be sending an email to you shortly.

In the event that Via doesn’t respond within 24 hours, I will re-draw again from the existing list of entries. Thanks for joining, everybody! It’s been fun. Thanks to Avalon.ph for the Field Notes pack and calendar.

PROOF OF RANDOMNESS

I might be the hugesest Field Notes fan that I know. It all started when eliepstein kindly sent me a Just Below Zero 3-Pack, and the rest as they say, is history. I can’t help it; they are so useful, and so pretty.

A lot of people have asked me where I get my Field Notes fix and are dismayed when I say that I order all the way from Chicago, IL, where these beauties are made. I’m happy to announce that Avalon.ph has now made the classic Field Notes books available in the Philippines!

Avalon.ph and Nothing Spaces (me!) are giving away an original 3-pack (ruled paper) and the 2012 18-Month Workstation Calendar to one lucky winner!

I use Field Notes for everything. It’s a no-fuss notebook, that is both useful and easy on the eyes. I’m a huge Futura nerd, so I love the design to pieces. It’s also great for lists, sketches, notes (for reviews and blog drafts), and full-blown sketch battles with my dad in the emergency room:

Field Notes is a super portable notebook, great to keep in the back of your jeans or shirt pocket. It’s slim enough so that it’s not a nuisance to bring around, but the 48-pages are just the right amount before you’d need to whip out another one.

Did I mention that it’s beautiful?

The paper is lined with a soft brown soy-based ink.

The back of the calendar has a list of useful dates.

FIELD NOTES GIVEAWAY MECHANICS
Winner of the Field Notes set (Ruled 3-pack and 18 Month Workstation Calendar) will be picked at random using a randomizer. Do at least one of the following; each counts as an entry for you. Open only to residents of The Philippines.

1. For Twitter users: Tweet “Dear Nothing Spaces and Avalon.ph, I am joining because I want to remember now. http://bit.ly/ns-fieldnotes #NSGiveaway” You can tweet only once during the contest. Don’t forget to use the hashtag.
2. For Tumblr users: Follow my tumblr and reblog this entry. Each counts as 1 entry.
3. For Nothing Spaces readers: comment with something you want to remember
   or link http://bit.ly/ns-fieldnotes in a blog entry and comment on this post with the link.

Good luck! Comment if you have any questions or clarifications.

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Avalon.ph has been up and running since 1999. It’s a great resource for wonderful limited edition and signed books, among others, gift and novelty items, and stationery, including Moleskine journals, and now—Field Notes! They carry all the original variations, but will eventually make other products (Steno pad, pencils, etc) available as well. For more information on Field Notes products available on Avalon.ph, click here.

You can also check them out here:
Google+: http://gplus.to/avalonph
Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/avalonph
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/avalonph

Quick post to announce the winners of the Chabon giveaway! Congratulations to Diane Cortes and Angeline Arcenas. I’ll be mailing said books off on Friday. Another contest is currently going on, so join while it’s still up! Click to join the contest here.

As of yesterday, I’ve imposed a strict 30-hour workweek on myself, effective next week. The reason for this is because I’m a horrible, lazy person. I found a pretty effective spot for productivity. I know this to be true because I’ve been up here since four this afternoon, and save for a quick bite of dinner, I’ve been crossing off things on my to-do list. It’s been eight hours.

I would give myself a pat on the back, but I have this unspoken resolution for myself to be less annoying. So, I won’t.

I can’t wait to fix this workspace up and post photos. It’s totally Person 2.0 of me, but I don’t care. I’ve sort of embraced it. I think I’m more Person 1.0 now than I used to be, though. I should tag this post as #Progress2k11, huh?

Hello, all!

Winners for the Chabon contest will be announced in about four days. For this leg of giveaways, I have three books up for grabs. Honestly, a part of why I am doing this is because I have no more room in my room for new books. Another part is because of International Literacy Month—which is a “cause month” that I can get behind. And yet another part just likes being nice, I guess.

I got all three of these books in 2008 on a trip to the States, and they’re all what my friend would call airplane books. Which is to say, they were entertaining to read to pass the time, but I haven’t really formed any close bonds with any of them.

First up is Water For Elephants, which was apparently a NaNoWriMo novel. It’s been developed as a film with Robert Pattinson and Reese Witherspoon as the leads. It’s about an old man who reminisces about his days in the circus as a young man. It was a pretty quick read—I read it in a resort in Florida.

This book, I actually read on an airplane, and shuffling in airports before my flight from Florida to New York City. Possible Side Effects is an entertaining and amusing collection of personal stories by Augusten Burroughs.

Fangland, I got from CostCo. It’s a vampire novel. To be honest, I only reached until chapter thirteen, but it was a sufficiently creepy novel. It takes part in a shady part of Europe where vampires are said to roam.

Anyway, same general rules, but as there are three books in one entry, I had to tweak them a bit. People outside the Philippines are welcome to enter, but please be open to paying for shipping.

GIVEAWAY RULES & MECHANICS:
Winners will be picked randomly.

1. Comment on this blog post. Indicate which book you are trying to win. This counts as one entry. (Make sure your email address is valid.)
2. You can comment only once per book. (Make a new one for each entry.)
3. Tweet one of the following:
   - “I want to win a copy of “Fangland” from Nothing Spaces! http://bit.ly/ns-three #BooksAreSoCoolLike”
   - “I want to win a copy of “Possible Side Effects” from Nothing Spaces! http://bit.ly/ns-three #BooksAreSoCoolLike”
   - “I want to win a copy of “Water For Elephants” from Nothing Spaces! http://bit.ly/ns-three #BooksAreSoCoolLike”

   This will qualify as your additional entries in the lottery. You can tweet per book once daily.

   REMINDER: If your Twitter is locked, I won’t be able to see your Tweet.

4. You can comment until 11:59 PM on September 25, 2011 (+8:00 GMT).
5. Winners must reply to the email alert within 24 hours of receiving it. Otherwise, I will pick another winner.

Feel free to share this contest (link: http://bit.ly/ns-three) or to join the first leg.

Thank you! I have a bunch of other books to give away, so stay tuned.

September is my favorite month. For one thing, it’s my birth month. For another, I quite like the weather when the calendar hits this spot. Apparently, it is also (Inter)National Literacy Month! Which is kind of perfect because I had been meaning to do book giveaways for a long time now.

I’d like to challenge myself to be diligent in updating this September. Words and books have a soft spot in my heart, so I like putting them in the spotlight when I can. I’ll be having a few more giveaways and launching book-related projects until the end of the month, so watch out for those, too!

The first leg of these giveaways (because there will be several) concerns a book that I haven’t read by an author that I love. The Yiddish Policeman’s Union is a novel by Michael Chabon. I always pass by used bookstores and sales, and I always feel compelled to buy it because I totally judge books by their covers.

Unfortunately, I keep forgetting that I already have a copy of this book, and that is how I ended up with three. I’m keeping the first edition that I managed to find, but I’m giving away these two paperbacks.

I’m going to do a random picking again, like my last giveaway. Again, for international participants, I’d ask you to shoulder shipping fees, if you feel compelled to join.

GIVEAWAY RULES & MECHANICS:
Winners will be picked randomly.

1. Comment on this blog post. A “Hello, my name is!” is fine, but try to tell me something nice! This counts as one entry. (Make sure your email address is valid.)
2. You can comment only once.
3. Tweet the following: “Two copies of “The Yiddish Policemen’s Union” up for grabs at http://bit.ly/ns-chabon #BooksAreSoCoolLike” This will qualify as your additional entries in the lottery.*
4. You can comment until 11:59 PM on September 16, 2011 (+8:00 GMT).
5. Winners must reply to the email alert within 24 hours of receiving it. Otherwise, I will pick another winner.

If you know someone who loves Chabon and does not have this book yet, feel free to share this link: http://bit.ly/ns-chabon.

Visit me for the rest of September for other book-y goodness. I’m also trying to revive my kind-of-dead book blog, so fingers crossed. I’ve actually been reading a lot. Not as much as Sasha, but I’ve been reading!

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* Thanks to Val of QuietGirl.net for this idea! You may only Tweet once a day.