an early wake-up call

Last Saturday, I woke up at around 9:30 a.m. If it was any ordinary Saturday, I'd be getting up much later, except on that particular morning, the fire alarm was ringing like mad!

I hurriedly put on my shorts, ran to the living room and opened the door of our condo unit. Outside, along the corridor, two of my neighbors' maids were screaming at each other in panic.

"Where's the fire?" I asked one of the maids. She pointed to the fire indicator (see right), shouted, "Sa 10th floor!" and disappeared into the fire exit. We were on the 17th.

I dashed back inside my unit, stood in the middle of the living room and thought hard. "Okay, okay, calm down, you can't bring everything with you!" I told myself.

So I just grabbed the bag nearest me – my leather Nike carryall designed by Carol Davidson (creator of the Nike "Swoosh" logo) and stuffed it with the basics: my wallet, checkbooks, car keys, house keys, mobiles phones, iPod, camera and chargers.

Next was my laptop which I always toted inside a lightweight nylon bag.

Then I went into the bedroom and got my valuables: watches, jewelry, passport.

After that, I grabbed the dog carrier and shoved my pet chihuahuas Kenzo and Hogan inside.

Finally, I was ready to go. But first, I went to the main electrical switch and turned it off. Before locking the main door, I stared at my condo for a brief moment, trying to make sure I didn't leave anything...

Oh. My. God. The Bearbricks! F___ing s__t! (Freeze frame.)

But I decided – there was no time left to pack them. So I took a deep breath, stepped outside and locked the door.

:-(

As I made my way to the fire exit, the elevator doors opened and my neighbor from Unit 17-C walked out, wearing only house robes and clutching her Louis Vuitton Speedy bag to her chest. "False alarm!" she blurted out.

:-O

:-D

For me, that morning's alarm was an important wake-up call – I should keep my bears in friggin' rolling luggage!

(Top pic) If I were to save just one of my Bearbricks from a fire, it would be my BWWT Bearbrick designed by Nike CEO, Mark Parker. For me, it's the most inspired Bearbrick creation ever. It's interesting how the bear's body is engulfed in flames, isn't it?

a gem of a be@rbrick

Do you know that in the the "Pink Panther" film series, the panther isn't really an animal but a large and valuable diamond?

In the original 1963 version directed by award-winning American director Blake Edwards (Breakfast at Tiffany's, Days of Wine and Roses), a jewel thief known as "the Phantom", played by David Niven, plotted to steal the Pink Panther from its owner, Princess Dala (Claudia Cardinale). A French detective named Inspector Clouseau (Peter Sellers) played his klutzy adversary.

According to the story, the pink panther diamond had a flaw that formed the shape of a leaping panther, and this image could only be seen if the stone was held up to the light in a certain way.

It's interesting to note how an imperfection can make one all the more extraordinary. Remember supermodel Cindy Crawford's signature mole? Before her arrival in the modeling world in the 80s, such beauty marks were often airbrushed out of fashion magazine covers. But it became Cindy's million dollar trademark.

Speaking of gems, the Floyd Ring Cup (below) is as irresistible as a real diamond ring. It's so clever!

I bought several cups at the Franc Franc store in Hong Kong and gave some to couple of friends who just celebrated their anniversary.

The gem in the Floyd cup ring isn't a real diamond, but it's a genuine Swarovski crystal. I guess that's bling enough to impress, don't you?

This gem-of-a-cup is still sold at mollaspace.com, at a price that's a steal.

(Top, left) The Pink Panther Bearbrick is a collaboration between Medicom Toys and Universal Studios Japan.

Info from Wikipedia / Bearbrick pic by yours truly / Floyd cup pic from thisnext.com